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Kim Dokja pled not guilty to being the one behind Yoo Joonghyuk’s creation, but nobody believed him. He was imprisoned in the galaxy’s tier 91.0 prison to live out his remaining days in solitude. Meanwhile, Kim Dokja’s creation escaped from its confinement as it was being shipped to a nearby galaxy well-known for retaining dangerous criminals. It begins running rampant across the whole of the galactic confederation. When questioned, Kim Dokja just shrugs smugly, saying that Yoo Joonghyuk was created to loathe being denied of his desires, which is to plunder and destroy. Kim Dokja also mentions that Yoo Joonghyuk hates being in captivity, so no prison could possibly hold against him.“It’s in his DNA to escape. Heh.”“Okay, smartass,” Han Sooyoung grits out, having been unfortunate enough to be saddled with the task of babysitting this abhorrent criminal. “Why don’t you utilize your omnipotent knowledge to help us, then?”“Hm?” Kim Dokja’s lazy smile was as smarmy as could be. “You can’t possibly believe that I, his hapless creator, holds any fair sway over his decisions?”Kim Dokja croons mockingly. Han Sooyoung resists the urge to bash his head into the prison wall and bluntly denies, “I don’t. But you know your creation best. In exchange for your freedom, recapture Experiment 1-8-6-4 and deliver him back into our custody.” Kim Dokja acts coy the entire trip, saying that Yoo Joonghyuk is a terror and impossible to catch. He does, however, give intel as to what Yoo Joonghyuk’s habits are: Likes to destroy things. Likes to terrorize. Likes to show dominance. Likes to hunt his prey.“Does this monster enjoy anything other than barbaric rampaging?!” Han Sooyoung screeches.“Oh,” Kim Dokja utters innocently. “He likes to eat dumplings.”They decide to set up a dumpling shop on a very rainforest-esque planet with giant monsters roaming around.“Why the heck are we here on a monster-infested world?” Han Sooyoung questions, almost at the end of her rope.Kim Dokja comfortably drapes himself across a foldable chaise lounge, fantasy novel already open in his lap. “Didn’t you hear me? Joonghyukie likes to hunt and destroy. He’ll be drawn to places that have large creatures he can slice apart with his bare hands.”“...You are horrible. You know that?”Kim Dokja dramatically gasps, clutching at his heart as he turns mock-offended eyes Han Sooyoung’s way. “Hey! Why’re you attacking me? I’m only the genius behind the beast!”Kim Dokja and company are forced to move shop when they nearly die from a monster invasion though. Before they leave the planet, the motley crew pick up a survivor who’d been living by her lonesome, having apparently been trapped on that forsaken planet by her mutinous crew who had abandoned her there several months prior.Things were quickly settled. When they finally departed, Kim Dokja thought he felt a chill run down his spine, but when he looked back, there was nothing.Kim Dokja and gang take root onto another planet. This time, Kim Dokja decides to sell swords.Han Sooyoung squints her eyes dubiously. “And for what purpose, you idiot, is this supposed to serve?”Kim Dokja sighs long-sufferingly. “Does nobody listen to me? Yoo Joonghyuk runs through his fair share of weapons. He’s bound to need new ones. So we should supply him with some!”“We’re here to capture the monster, not to encourage its murderous tendencies!!”Here, the locals seem particularly awed by Jung Heewon’s swordsmanship. She draws a crowd, and one of Kim Dokja’s old friends come. It’s Lee Hyunsung, who used to be Kim Dokja’s childhood friend back when Kim Dokja was still living a normal life, before he had decided to create Yoo Joonghyuk.“How goes it, Dokja-ssi?” Lee Hyunsung enthusiastically greets Kim Dokja.Han Sooyoung decides to burst Lee Hyunsung’s idol-worship fever. “If you aren’t aware, this man is a heinous criminal.”While Kim Dokja and Lee Hyunsung are busy catching up, Han Sooyoung gets news that the planet they were previously on had been decimated.“Uhh, hey.” Han Sooyoung mercilessly prods at Kim Dokja. “Are your predictions regarding your creation really accurate?”For a moment, Kim Dokja looks baffled. “...Depends? Why’re you asking?”“It seems like Yoo Joonghyuk is hunting us now.”Kim Dokja raises an eyebrow. “Wow. So fast? I thought it’d take more to pique his interest...”Han Sooyoung finally explodes. “Idiot! Will you take this more seriously?! The monster has already taken down half of the planets in the eastern quarter! You know, where we were just two days ago? IN THE EASTERN QUARTER!”Kim Dokja gives Han Sooyoung a nonplussed look. “None of the planets in the eastern quarter are inhabited by intelligent life. What’re you getting so panicked for?”Jung Heewon glares at Kim Dokja. “Hey, I was on one of those ‘uninhabited’ planets, remember?”Kim Dokja coughs. “Okay, fine. What do you want me to do about it? You want me to stop him or something? That’s impossible, and besides—I thought our mission was to ‘recapture’? Isn’t it a good thing he’s heading our way then?”Han Sooyoung narrows her eyes. “There’s something you’re not saying, isn’t there?”“W-What?”“You’re unusually calm right now. In the prison, you got so flustered at the thought of having to meet your creation face to face again. We even had to dangle your freedom before your nose three times before you’d agree to the mission. But now, you’re so strangely at ease about it all. What gives?”Kim Dokja shrugs, his movements stiff. “You’ll see.” They did not. For as long as they waited, Yoo Joonghyuk did not show up on the planet they were on.Kim Dokja finally sold all the swords he’d been making. They now had nothing left to sell.“Should we leave this planet?” Jung Heewon asks. “It’s clearly a bust.”Han Sooyoung kneads her forehead in frustration. “What the hell is this. He destroys over ten planets in two days and suddenly, we don’t hear a single peep for weeks? Kim Dokja! Explain!”Without looking up, Kim Dokja just smirks from where he’s lounging in the shade, slender fingers turning a page in his fantasy novel. “Told you so. Even my Joonghyukie needs a break every now and then. He’s probably off to taste-test some cuisines from the far planets.”Han Sooyoung practically snarls. “So he’s a cook now?”Kim Dokja feigns surprise. “Didn’t I mention? My Joonghyukie makes a mean chicken broth dumpling soup.”In truth, at first, Kim Dokja was indeed very panicked about meeting Yoo Joonghyuk again. After all, when they’d first separated, Yoo Joonghyuk had threatened to cut all of Kim Dokja’s limbs off and stuff him in a box, and Kim Dokja had decided that he’d do the selfish thing and release Yoo Joonghyuk into the wild so that Yoo Joonghyuk could terrorize somebody else besides him for a change.Then somehow, Yoo Joonghyuk had gotten captured by the confederation, and Kim Dokja had been dragged off for trial. They hadn’t had a chance to speak to each other again after that, but now that Kim Dokja was given a chance to start over?Kim Dokja could only grasp the opportunity to run away. From the confederation, from Yoo Joonghyuk, from everything that tied him back to his regrettable past.In the beginning, Kim Dokja was scared he’d have to contend with Yoo Joonghyuk while he schemed a way to get the slip on Han Sooyoung. However, as time went on, Kim Dokja began realizing that Yoo Joonghyuk didn’t seem to care about him after all.He’d ignored his existence. He hadn’t chased after him.That was...good. That was good. Kim Dokja was happy. He didn’t have to worry about Yoo Joonghyuk getting in the way of his freedom. One man would leave the other alone, and the other would similarly turn a blind eye. They were two criminals who would decide to pass each other by to live their own separate lives without entanglement.Good. Perfect. Kim Dokja was happy.Kim Dokja and gang finally get ready to leave their second planet. Suddenly, as the ship is departing, an alert pops up on Kim Dokja’s console. Kim Dokja’s eyes blow wide open. He practically vibrates in place, urging Han Sooyoung to change their coordinates to visit a neighboring planet instead.However, Han Sooyoung doesn’t understand the reason for Kim Dokja’s sudden, inexplicable enthusiasm.“No way. Why do you even…”“Didn’t you just see that alert?!”“Yeah, I saw you freaking out over nothing.”Kim Dokja looks like he’s on the verge of exploding with frustration. “No! It says! Here! That this planet sells books in print! IN PRINT! Han Sooyoung, do you know how rare that is, in this day and age?!”Jung Heewon rolls her eyes from the back of the bridge. “Was he always like this?” she asks Lee Hyunsung.“Mm, it seems like Dokja-ssi hasn’t changed after all.”Han Sooyoung looks like she’s had enough of this nonsense. “Did you forget our mission? We’re not here to chase one of your stupid fantasies! You’re out on parole!”Kim Dokja glares. “Let me buy a book, or I’m not helping you track down Yoo Joonghyuk!”“You freaking—Do you wanna die?! Who are you to threaten me?!”In the end, Kim Dokja got to visit the planet.“Was this always here?” Jung Heewon suddenly asks, as the crew come to a stop in front of a quaint bookshop in the middle of the city. Kim Dokja has already giddily disappeared into its interior.“What, you know this place?” Han Sooyoung absentmindedly lets her eyes roam across the brightly painted storefront.As everyone walks into the store, Jung Heewon answers. “Yeah...when I was still a space pirate, we raided this planet.”Han Sooyoung raises an eyebrow. Seeing her expression, Jung Heewon scoffs in derision. “It’s not like you haven’t done unscrupulous things in the past too, Madame High General. Everyone knows the confederation is corrupted.”Lee Hyunsung tries to appease the steadily rising tension in the air. “So, umm, are you saying this planet wasn’t known for its bookstores previously?”After casting one last glare Han Sooyoung’s way, Jung Heewon says, “No, it wasn’t. In fact, the people here valued weapons far more than they valued words.”She picks up a pen from one of the shelves and frowns at it in distaste.Meanwhile, a shopkeeper comes up to Kim Dokja. “Are you looking for something in particular?” the lady asks amiably.“Eh? Oh...I’m just browsing. Thank you.”The woman smiles. “I haven’t seen a customer as enthusiastic as you in a while. Are you from Siyola by any chance?”“Huh?” Kim Dokja is caught off guard. “Yes, I am. Are you...?”The woman laughs. “Oh, yes. I just came here from Kiton a few days ago, actually. There was an urgent broadcast calling for experienced booksellers, so I thought, ‘Why not seize this chance to see a bit more of the galaxy?’ You know?”Kim Dokja latches onto the crucial part of her sentence. “Wait, a few days ago?”“Yes.” The woman cocks her head. “Is something the matter?”Kim Dokja frowns. Is there something the matter? Something wasn’t right here…“Hey.” Kim Dokja appears before Han Sooyoung like a specter from between the aisles, nearly causing Han Sooyoung to screech and fall over. “We should leave as soon as possible.”Han Sooyoung stares at Kim Dokja like she’d stare at a madman. “Why? Weren’t you the one who wanted us to come here oh-so-badly? Why the sudden rush, you loon?”Kim Dokja fidgets. “It’s just...”Han Sooyoung sighs. “Look, I’ll be woman enough to say, I actually agree with you for once.”Kim Dokja is startled into speechlessness. “Huh?”“We should take this chance to relax. It’ll be the last break we get before we catch Yoo Joonghyuk for good this time. Didn’t you say Yoo Joonghyuk doesn’t particularly care about things like books and academia? In that case, he’s not likely to attack a planet that has traded in its weapons for the written word.”“Right...”
But, I like books.
The strange thought pops up into Kim Dokja’s mind, but he ultimately has to dismiss it. Why in the world would it matter to Yoo Joonghyuk if Kim Dokja likes books? The point is, it is true that Yoo Joonghyuk is unlikely to come to this planet. It just doesn’t have enough things for him to destroy, so his programming would keep him far, far away.Kim Dokja and gang stayed for a week. During this time, Han Sooyoung was strangely absent. Some neighborhood children had bumped into Kim Dokja when he’d been strolling about with his nose in a book and accidentally knocked over a desert box they’d been holding. To make up for it, Kim Dokja bought them some new ones, and after that, the children would sometimes visit him at the beachside villa Han Sooyoung had rented on their own accord. Jung Heewon wanted to visit a few places nearby and dragged Lee Hyunsung along with her. Kim Dokja was left by himself most of the time, though Kim Dokja never cared since he spent all day reading...Until one day, on a sunny morning, an intimidating man carrying the scent of blood came.Having lain in wait for this exact moment, Han Sooyoung bursts into the beachside villa, plasma guns drawn. “Hands up, bastard, where I can see them!”However, Han Sooyoung finds herself talking to air. There is no sign of Yoo Joonghyuk anywhere…nor of Kim Dokja.Both of them had slipped straight through her fingertips.“Damnit!” Han Sooyoung spat.At that moment, Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung rushed in. “What?” Lee Hyunsung scoured the room with uneasy eyes, anxiously searching for Kim Dokja’s slender figure. “What happened?”“He got away...” Han Sooyoung muttered.Jung Heewon was also looking around, one hand on her plasma sword. “Who? That experiment thingy?”Lee Hyungsung couldn’t find the person he was looking for and turned doleful eyes towards Han Sooyoung. “Sooyoung-ssi…Where’s Dokja-ssi?”Something flickered across Han Sooyoung’s expression, but it was gone in an instant. Han Sooyoung remained silent.Jung Heewon slowly turned an incensed gaze onto the woman besides her. “Wait wait wait, don’t tell me—were you using Dokja-ssi as BAIT?! How could you?! You know how dangerous that Yoo Joonghyuk man is!”“And what else was I supposed to do, huh?” Han Sooyoung replied coldly. “Let a monster like that roam free in the galaxy?”Jung Heewon snarled and grabbed Han Sooyoung by the collar. “You unconscionable, confederate dog—”“One man for the sake of many. Isn’t that right?”Everyone suddenly froze at the unfamiliar voice, turning in unison to see Yoo Sangah, the shopkeeper who’d talked to Kim Dokja frequently in the days when he’d visit the bookshop for new novels, enter through the door. Behind Yoo Sangah, a teenage girl stalked up as well.“That man stole my ship!” the girl complained loudly.Han Sooyoung immediately caught on. “You mean the man with the scarred hands. Tall, scary-looking, acts like he could strangle a baby in cold blood.”The teenage girl named Lee Jihye eyed Han Sooyoung warily. “Uhh, lady. What kind of crack have you been on? I’m talking about the squid-looking man. Sometimes he comes and gives the kids I babysit deserts. I didn’t care, as long as he wouldn’t do anything too fishy...but this time, he took my ship!”…What had actually happened was this: Thirty minutes ago, Kim Dokja had been reading in the villa on his favorite lounge chair. Suddenly, the door had burst open to reveal a terrifyingly familiar silhouette. Kim Dokja had sprung up, novel dropping from his lap, his face ashen.“No,” Kim Dokja whispered, but he wasn’t given a chance to utter another word before Yoo Joonghyuk had teleported to his side and grabbed him by the neck. With Kim Dokja immobilized in his grasp, Yoo Joonghyuk had whisked himself away with his quarry, and Han Sooyoung had arrived at the villa just a few minutes too late.Yoo Joonghyuk had dragged Kim Dokja over to the shipyard. There, Yoo Joonghyuk had forced Kim Dokja to swallow a pill with a compressed bomb imbedded within, made to go off at Yoo Joonghyuk’s command.“That bomb will wipe out everyone within several kilometers of you,” Yoo Joonghyuk had growled. “If you want to save the lives of the people around you, you best do as I say from now on.”Like this, Kim Dokja was coerced to act natural and approach Lee Jihye to tell her that Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yooseung had gotten arrested at the station for vandalizing property, and that Lee Jihye should go bail them out. Lee Jihye had rushed off, cursing, and that was the moment when Yoo Joonghyuk had slowly rematerialized from the shadows. Like a ghoul straight out of one’s worst nightmares, he’d skulked up to Kim Dokja, grabbed the man by the wrist, and brusquely dragged the struggling Kim Dokja onto the ship to take him off-planet.Reviewing the footage up to here, the gang could see all that had happened and slowly fell into a horrified silence.“...Does that ahjussi need saving?” Lee Jihye sounded a little guilty. “I guess I should’ve noticed he didn’t look like himself. He looked all scared and shit...way more ugly than he usually looked.”Han Sooyoung was clenching and unclenching her fists repeatedly. Jung Heewon scowled and muttered something dark under her breath. Lee Hyunsung was nervously rolling a steel cartridge between his fingers. Yoo Sangah had this strange, scary smile on her face.And then, Lee Jihye spotted Lee Gilyoung’s and Shin Yooseung’s tiny forms through the view of the window. “Hey, you brats—No, what, where’re you guys going?! Get back here!”“I’m going to save hyung!” Lee Gilyoung screamed.“I’ll be the one to save ahjussi!” Shin Yooseung hollered.“You idiots!” Lee Jihye ran after them. “Wait for me!”Spurred by the children’s drive, Jung Heewon snapped into action. “Are we just going to let the kids do the brunt of the work? Hyunsung-ssi, let’s go!”“Right!”“Hold on,” Han Sooyoung hurried to say. “We need a plan.”Jung Heewon sneered. “From someone who left Dokja-ssi to die? No thanks!”Han Sooyoung’s stress finally boiled over, and she roared, “I was doing it to save Kim Dokja the most! Yoo Joonghyuk poses the biggest threat to that idiot’s life!”“You were just trying to protect your job! You confederate scum are all the same! So help me if I ever let myself believe another one of your lies!”Yoo Sangah neatly cut in before the two people set on murdering each other could carry out their hotheaded intentions.“Have you two forgotten the main goal here?” Yoo Sangah asked serenely, but with a razor’s edge to her voice. “Save Dokja-ssi. Until then, put aside any other misgivings. Got it?”Everyone was cowed into silence by the look on Yoo Sangah’s face.Lee Hyunsung was the first to hesitantly speak up. “Yoo Sangah-ssi. You’ve got a plan?”“Not yet,” Yoo Sangah replied calmly. “But if we work together, we’ll surely find a way to get Dokja-ssi back.”Jung Heewon muttered. “I’ll kill that experiment bastard with my own two hands.”Lee Hyunsung hummed. “Dokja-ssi will be safe as long as I can shield him from harm.”Han Sooyoung stared at her fellow crew members. After Yoo Sangah shot her a look, Han Sooyoung finally let out a draught-out sigh.“Fine. I rescind my title as a Confederate General.”Under everyone’s shocked and disbelieving gazes, Han Sooyoung ripped her medallions from her vest and threw them onto the ground. Straightening her collar, Han Sooyoung locked eyes with each of the party members one by one, and she finally let her lips curl into a very Kim-Dokja-esque smirk. “Alright, gang. From now on, let’s just make saving that stupid squid our number one priority. Anything after that can be decided after a game of cards. Sound good?”Jung Heewon was the first one to snort. “Only you could come up with the cheesiest lines. Dokja-ssi saved my life, so of course I’m in.”Lee Hyunsung piped in. “I’ll protect Dokja-ssi the way I wasn’t able to when we were kids, so I’ll follow him until the ends of the galaxy!”Yoo Sangah smiled. “Sooyoung, you’ve grown up,” she said softly, and Han Sooyoung clicked her tongue and turned away.“Whatever. Let’s roll out, everyone. We’ve got a squid to catch.”