[ Sorry, he is just lost in his thoughts… Further lost as he thinks about Mia who told him to fetch Dokja, saying she’ll come with him, and even trained to be strong to fight off the stars alongside her big brother.
… It weighs in his heart that he took her with him, that she would help him save the person he was meant to save, and yet he would throw her away. This may not be the first time, but those regressions where she would die, where he would fail her—they rush him in the silence. ]
[ Still no response, uncertain as to what Joonghyuk could potentially be thinking about. His lips part once more but no words come from him.
⸢Y o u sho uld r e a d⸥
What's to say he isn't still reading. His grip loosens, even if the fear of loneliness is still there. The absence of the fourth wall was noticeable in the last game but this time he's much more aware of it. It hasn't been a consistent thought, he's had some time since he's woken up, but that... that memory. ]
[ He tightens his hold on Dokja's hand, trying to snap him out of it.
You and your companions regressed. You made it to the final scenario... You finally reached Kim Dokja, but you failed. You all have failed. The scene at the last train car still haunts you, with the letters and sentences coming from Kim Dokja's small body flit and flutter in the air.
... You feel. Empty.
“Orabeoni.”
Whenever Mia uses that term, she wants to ask you (for) something.
You knew that after going through many, many regressions, but you listen to her, anyway. You owe that to her after the many lives you've failed her, after having trained her and allowed her to suffer the scenarios alongside you another four years. This time, you were able to protect her. She did not need to die. She did not need to be sacrificed. Your sister is here in front of you because of a man, a man who is no longer here—Kim Dokja.
...
She quietly stares at you and you stare back, but you worry that she will read you. Mia is smart, intuitive, and knows you well. Maybe that's why her next string of words isn't so rude.
“Orabeoni, you did your very best. No one can do more or better than what you have already done.”
... Do you look so sad that your sister is comforting you? You're a poor excuse of an older brother, of a guardian, and you want to reassure her. Before you can utter a word, she climbs up on a chair and places her hand on the crown of your head. Pat pat. The child you've raised since infancy is trying to lift your spirits.
... It makes you feel worse, but grateful.
“Let’s stop and go back home.”
You can go back home, the ending that Kim Dokja gave you and everyone else. You don't answer back, but you pick her up from the chair and she settles on your arm. Holding her close, you give her a hug and she keeps patting your head.
he feels that tighten hold on his hand but his thoughts do flicker to Mia. what Joonghtuk had said in trial and he... he sucks in a small breath.
he raises his companion's hand still in his own, it's still so hard to see but he manages to bring that hand up to press his forehead lightly to it. ]
We'll save her too.
[ both yoo mia and biyoo deserve to get out of this situation they're in. (assuming it's real) he won't let Joonghyuk risk losing her again. he has lost her too many times already. ]
[ He also remembers what he says in trial and it doesn't weigh light on his heart. It was in the moment... And both him and his sister owe Dokja for their happiness, more than once.
Maybe Mia and himself would be happier if they didn't live without the other, anyway, but he shakes his head. The touch also helps cement the words. ]
That's right. We will save her and Biyoo.
[ Assuming this is real at all, which he isn't sure about. ]
[ Dokja already knows the ending he wants, the one he's living in, they're both there. All four of them are. He won't settle for less. ...Yoo Joonghyuk deserves the ending he wants as well. There's some reassurance when he responds to him. Words of agreement.
Then, suddenly, they're thrust back into the hallway and Dokja takes a moment to adjust to the light again as his head swims disorientated. ]
[ Joonghyuk does not know that future. He isn't there yet, isn't sure if he will get there. Even if Dokja here should be a testament to their hard work, a vision of what's to come, Joonghyuk remembers the possibilities. It could very well not be his future.
But Joonghyuk allows himself to be comforted, to believe that it will be his. Niah whines some, but stops when they're back in the hallway. ]
... I don't think we would find anything useful in these rooms.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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However, he knows that he shouldn't know. It could change his ending far beyond his control. It could jeopardize their happiness. ]
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... ] How do you think we get out of here?
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… It weighs in his heart that he took her with him, that she would help him save the person he was meant to save, and yet he would throw her away. This may not be the first time, but those regressions where she would die, where he would fail her—they rush him in the silence. ]
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⸢Y o u sho uld r e a d⸥
What's to say he isn't still reading. His grip loosens, even if the fear of loneliness is still there. The absence of the fourth wall was noticeable in the last game but this time he's much more aware of it. It hasn't been a consistent thought, he's had some time since he's woken up, but that... that memory. ]
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... The room will spit us out soon.
[ He tightens his hold on Dokja's hand, trying to snap him out of it.Mia... ]
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he feels that tighten hold on his hand but his thoughts do flicker to Mia. what Joonghtuk had said in trial and he... he sucks in a small breath.
he raises his companion's hand still in his own, it's still so hard to see but he manages to bring that hand up to press his forehead lightly to it. ]
We'll save her too.
[ both yoo mia and biyoo deserve to get out of this situation they're in. (assuming it's real) he won't let Joonghyuk risk losing her again. he has lost her too many times already. ]
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Maybe Mia and himself would be happier if they didn't live without the other, anyway, but he shakes his head. The touch also helps cement the words. ]
That's right. We will save her and Biyoo.
[ Assuming this is real at all, which he isn't sure about. ]
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Then, suddenly, they're thrust back into the hallway and Dokja takes a moment to adjust to the light again as his head swims disorientated. ]
Right.. so, not that one again.
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But Joonghyuk allows himself to be comforted, to believe that it will be his. Niah whines some, but stops when they're back in the hallway. ]
... I don't think we would find anything useful in these rooms.
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[ He reaches out to pat Niah, it's okay. No more void for them. Jin fusses a little as she circles them. ]
Some of them add questionable injuries too at times so.
[ it's. probably safer if he avoids getting any sussy evidence on him. again. ]