Bab 1: Kim Dokja
There he was.
The Kim Dokja they had always known.
Standing in front of them with an expressionless face.
"Dokja-sii?"
"Ahju-ssi?"
They called out to him, but he didn't answer.
Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung ran towards him and hugged him tightly. Their eyes were full of tears and they shouted his name.
Kim Dokja patted the top of their heads.
They took a couple of step back, waiting for him to say something.
He looked at Han Sooyung, Yoo Sangah and Yoo Jonghyuk.
Wings grew out of his back and horns grew from his forehead.
Kim Dokja turned around and jumped out of the building of the one window in the room they were in.
He flew away from them.
"What the...?" Jung Heewon said.
"Why is he....?" Lee Hyunsung asked.
They all had questions.
Only the three Kim Dokja had looked in the eyes partially understood him.
Yoo Jonghyuk could feel his presence, and therefore could tell the direction he was taking.
"The idiot is going to the forest where we took a break before the Final Scenario" He answered confidently.
They all walked towards that place at a slow pace except Yoo Jonghyuk, who sprinted as fast as he could towards the forest. Maybe the rest of Kim Dokja's Company was scared of what they would find there.
Yoo Jonghyuk arrived a couple of minutes after Kim Dokja.
He found Dokja sitting in front of a water stream.
Even when Yoo Jonghyuk got closer, Kim Dokja kept looking at the water stream with distant eyes.
"Last time we were here, the kids were competing to see who would catch the largest fish." Kim Dokja said without turning towards Yoo Jonghyuk.
"Right." He answered with a disinterested tone. Yoo Jonghyuk was standing at Kim Dokja's left.
"It all feels so distant." Dokja muttered.
After his companions had fought for a long time to save him, his entire being was split into many many fragments.
Just like his subconscious, "The Most Ancient Dream", gave birth to the world from the novel "Ways Of Survival, 3 Ways To Survive In A Ruined World", Han Sooyoung wanted those fragments to subconsciously give birth to the Kim Dokja they had known. And she had succeeded.
Kim Dokja was here.
The only problem is, that Kim Dokja is much more than the Kim Dokja they know. All the things that Kim Dokja's Company did not know about Kim Dokja would be lost. Therefore, this Kim Dokja might be their image of him and not the real one.
They were all aware of that. Even this Kim Dokja was aware of that fact.
"I can imagine why it would feel distant." Yoo Jonghyuk said as he turned towards the river.
"I have all my memories, but I lived many lives after I left Kim Dokja's Company. I remember the lives of all the fragments of Kim Dokja. Each fragment lived its own life. And now, I was brought back as the Kim Dokja all of you knew. But... But I'm not sure if I am the real Kim Dokja." He said.
"You are Kim Dokja." Yoo Jonghyuk exclaimed.
Kim Dokja chuckled.
"Yes. I am partly Kim Dokja. I am exactly what you all wrote in the novel."
He lowered his gaze to the ground.
"I lived many lives too. More than 1800 lives. Some regressions made me feel the way you are feeling now."
"I know."
"You're just as much an idiot as you used to be."
"Yeah? Well. I heard you did a lot to bring me back" Kim Dokja said in a teasing manner.
Yoo Jonghyuk turned towards Kim Dokja with an annoyed expression.
[ The Story 'Life and Death Companions' continues its storytelling.]
"I wonder when this story began." Yoo Jonghyuk said. A hint of nostalgia could be felt in his voice.
Kim Dokja was surprised at that and turned to look at him.
"Was this story born when I saw you for the first time? Or did it start when I threw you into the water? Was it after that, when I accepted your help for the first time? Maybe it was a long time after that, or a long time before that depending on how you see it. During the 0th regression, I mean. The Demon King Of Salvation helped me along the way to survive and save my loved ones. It was thanks to you that we all survived. Not only did we survive, but we led a happy life after the end of the scenarios. All thanks to you, The Demon King Of Salvation. But it wasn't fair. We all got to live thanks to you, but you were far far away. You were the only Constellation left in the sky. The only Constellation out of my reach." Yoo Jonghyuk took a long pause.
Kim Dokja could not mutter a word. It was the first time Yoo Jonghyuk had talked to him for so long.
"That Constellation, it deserved recognition. I had a debt to repay to The Demon King Of Salvation. At the end of my 0th regression, I decided that I would repay that debt no matter what. And as you know more than anyone, I always repay my debts."
Yoo Jonghyuk stared at Kim Dokja.
"I had to bring you back, because I had to repay my debt to you. In the end, it took me more than 1800 lives to repay that debt. I forgot about that debt along the way, but I still managed to repay you, The Demon King Of Salvation."
Kim Dokja lowered his gaze once more and looked at the ground.
"I had a debt to repay you, Kim Dokja." He took a pause once more.
"So when I say that you are Kim Dokja, you are Kim Dokja."
The speech made him feel good, but was it really the truth? Wasn't the present Kim Dokja just the character constructed by the novel written by Kim Dokja's Company? Kim Dokja wasn't sure.
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation..." Han Sooyoung said. She sat down at Kim Dokja's right.
All of Kim Dokja's companions had arrived. The rest of them were a couple of meters behind the three.
Kim Dokja turned to look at Han Sooyoung. Her face was just like he remembered.
"You might be THE Kim Dokja, you might not. But I think the fragments that made THE Kim Dokja could perfectly imagine his personality. Anyways, your personality wasn't that great so some change wouldn't be too bad." Han Sooyoung continued.
Kim Dokja chuckled.
She did not chew her word. She said what she thought bluntly, just like he remembered.
'I guess, if the protagonist and the writer work together to save the reader, they could do it.' He thought.
But more than anything, that thought was but a longing.
"Anyways, we created you for a reason so come talk to everyone and stop your little personalized regression depression." Han Sooyoung said as she stood up.
The three of them walked towards the rest of the group.
Slowly but surely, Kim Dokja found his place in the group once more.
He talked to them about the lives his fragments were living.
Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung talked to him about their relationship.
The kids talked about the newest games and argued about who was the best at which game.
The atmosphere looked jovial.
They were all enjoying their time together, but they also all had a deep anxious feeling that screamed 'What if this isn't the real Kim Dokja?'.
After a while, Kim Dokja Company decided to turn this into a picnic.
Yoo Jonghyuk and Yoo Sangah started cooking.
While she usually didn't as her culinary skill were far inferior to those of Yoo Jonghyuk, Yoo Sangah was in her own right a very good cook.
They decided to make dumplings.
While Yoo Sangah was giving plates full of dumplings to each member of Kim Dokja's Company, she asked each one what sauce they would like with the food.
Lee Gilyoung, Shin Yoosoung and Lee Hyunsung preferred sweet sauces, while the rest preferred very spicy ones.
When Kim Dokja's turn came, they all started recommending him their favorite sauce.
"You should take the spicy one." Han Sooyoung suggested.
"Umm. No. I really like sweet sauces. Do we have a sweet and sour sauce? That's my favorite." Kim Dokja asked Yoo Sangah.
As soon as Yoo Jonghyuk heard that, he let go of his cooking utensils.
He stared at Kim Dokja with wide eyes.
"What?" Kim Dokja asked awkwardely.
Han Sooyoung catched up a second later.
She turned to look at every member of Kim Dokja's Company before asking.
"Did anyone know that sweet and sour was his favorite?"
They all had surprised expressions at the question, but all of them shook their head.
"Nobody...nobody knew that..." Han Sooyoung muttered.
"So?" Kim Dokja asked, not really understanding what the fuzz was all about.
"Not one of us knew that your favorite sauce was Sweet and Sour. It wasn't in the novel we wrote." Yoo Jonghyuk said as he picked up the utensils that he had let go of before.
"Do you...Do you mean?"
The rest of Kim Dokja's Company slowly catched up one by one.
Han Sooyoung smiled at him and said:
"You're more than the novel we wrote."
Kim Dokja lowered his gaze towards the ground.
When he raised his head, he looked at each one of his companions.
A tear made its way down his face.
"I...I am Kim Dokja."
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Adam_K47xx
Adam_K47xx Repost of my fanfic on the new account.
I've been thinking about doing a second chapter centering Yoo Jonghyuk but I'm not sure yet.
-Author
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