24 Yoo Jonghyuk's side quest #23: Ultimate Sacrifice. [part 5]

Our reader didn't fall inside the dreamer category, instead, he preferred to regard himself as a traveler voyaging through stories. Although there were times when he had subconsciously forfeited reality because he had been too engrossed in the reading, Kim Dokja knew better than to recklessly indulge himself with his figments.

The reader had never overlooked his status. Nevertheless, the instances where temptation had prevailed over him were not few. Amidst his confusion he may or may not have developed a slight case of schizophrenia. There were days when Kim Dokja could have sworn to have heard the characters inside the novel whisper in his ear, encouraging him to cross that tangible line between real and fake.

Kim Dokja had often fantasized about being the protagonist, but it wasn't because he was prone or thrilled to the idea of playing a pivotal role in a story. No, the reason behind this curiosity wasn't anything sophisticated or noble. His single wish was to understand how it would feel like to have people relying on him.

By all accounts, Kim Dokja wasn't complaining, on the contrary, he was rather content with his current role as a simple reader. He couldn't even have imagined, that one day, he'd experience a life-threatening situation where a protagonist should be in.

"Grrrr...!"

Many emotions flashed across his deep and glistering eyes. Kim Dokja's mind was in a complicated mess, however, he had to maintain enough clarity to avoid the charging beast. With his back now drenched by a layer of cold sweat, the teen could only allow his survival instincts to take over as he fended off the beast.

They say animals can smell fear. And even though Kim Dokja was anxious, there was no dread inside his dark pupils. And as a matter of fact, it was opposite to that. There was an inferno burning inside behind those clear eyes, an unappeasable blaze filled with indignation towards all those uncalled hardships thrown at him.

Only with his life on the line, Kim Dokja finally realized that he had to survive even without anyone's help. There were still a lot of things he hadn't been able to do yet, and surely, this isn't how he will allow everything to end.

Scanning around the dim-lit room, the teen tried to assess his current situation. Describing this room by using the word 'barren' wasn't an understatement at all because, besides a wooden crate, there was nothing but dust.

Kim Dokja could only silently curse as he wondered how had this already depressing life of his went even more downhill since he met with that man. Was this how fate was indirectly telling him that he can't have anything good in life because he's destined to die alone in a ditch? What a load utterly crap.

Feeling a sudden pump of adrenaline rushing through his brain, Kim Dokja felt the urge to curse out loud. While punching out a fist forward, he lifted his thumb ups before turning it down to taunt the beast.

"You bastards! After this, tomorrow better be the best day of my life!"

"Grrr...!!!"

Kim Dokja's mockery had proven to be more than effective by seeing the reaction of the white hound dog. However, he soon realized that his taunt had maybe been counterproductive because by provoking the beast, he had only managed to worsen the situation for himself. His threats hadn't managed to weaken its momentum at all, but instead, they added to the latter's intimidating aura.

Upon seeing the albino beast ready to make another sprint towards him, he could only count on his quick wit to save himself at this point. Kim Dokja lunged forward without any hesitation, dashing towards the wooden crate, he tried moving it but the contents inside the box made it far too heavy to be lifted. But fortunately for Kim Dokja, the old timber had been worn down by the passing of time after being left forgotten inside this unused old basement to rot.

_____

(Idk if I should make a warning for violence against animals or not. But better safe than sorry. |/!\Animal Violence Ahead/!\| p.s. don't feel too sorry though :P)

_____

It looked as though he had eyes on his back when his body reacted before his brain could register anything. Rolling down to the side across the dust, he watched as the white hound dog leaped towards him. The disheveled young man gulped down as if he was trying to swallow his own thumping heart.

He raised both arms to protect himself, desperately scrambling around, hoping to land a blind hit and swat the beast away. However, as if fate worked against him, the hound had managed to sink its teeth on his right arm.

As if injected with a dose of numbing narcotic drugs, the pain on his arm didn't even make him wince, but instead, pushed his dopamine levels through the roof. His body felt light, brimming with energy as he allowed an uncharacteristic fearless composure to take over him. Kim Dokja raised his leg and kicked towards the dog's abdomen using all the energy he could have mustered up. The hit had flung the whimpering hound dog towards the wooden crate, which was destroyed by the impact.

"Bark! Bark!"

After raising itself on the ground, the albino hound dog began limping towards Kim Dokja whose attention was solely focused on what the crash had revealed inside the box. Those were all pieces of scrap metal, but a certain sturdy looking iron rod had piqued Kim Dokja's interest. With that, he can have some chance to fend off this crazy hound.

Glaring back at the beast, Kim Dokja scoffed as he watched its pure white fur contrasting the bleak surroundings. While grasping his wounded arm, he noticed his torn sleeve as well as the familiar crimson-colored liquid flowing out. The hound dog, despite the pain of its broken bones, howled as it got more excited because of the metallic scent trailing in the air.

They both entered into another stagnant standstill for a few oppressing minutes. It was Kim Dokja who made the first move, the hound followed suit, and before even realizing it, they had begun to cautiously circle the room again. The young man's mind sharp, focused, waiting for an opportunity to snatch the broken iron rod. After finally reaching the spot, he lowered himself to pick up the improvised weapon whilst still keeping eye contact with the hound dog. Even if his plan had just an iota chance of success, he must still execute it.

As the beast pounced again, this time Kim Dokja was ready to counterattack. The iron rod whizzed through the air as he swung it down with all his might towards the creature's backbone. An audible crack was heard as the hound whimpered because of the broken spine. There was no hesitation as Kim Dokja grasped the iron rod with both hands, following motions by stabbing downwards the crippled beast. Blood spurted everywhere as the beast kept thrashing around. Having not allowed it a quick death wasn't his decision but rather the fault of his lack of proficiency in such matters.

Kim Dokja sighed in relief as he watched the blood oozing out from the stiff, impaled beast. He was safe at least. The reddish color dirtied the once pure white coat of the dead animal. While looking down at himself, the young man furrowed his brows because his current appearance was far from presentable. Not only were his clothes torn, but he was also stained with even more blood now.

The bloodstains looked almost completely undetectable on his black blazer, however, another story could be said for the white shirt underneath it. Kim Dokja wearily dragged himself near a dark corner, tightly grasping his arm as if the pain receptors inside his body had finally decided to function again. The wound on his arm kept bleeding out, creating a crimson trail trickling down from his pale fingertips till reaching the ground as bloodied rubies. He heaved another sigh as he weakly leaned against the wall, slowly allowing the weight of his listless body to drag him down on the cold concrete floor.

What he had been left with after the adrenaline stored inside his body had all burned was exhaustion. Kim Dokja mockingly laughed towards himself. Why was he so weak? In the past, he had survived even a worse case of blood loss. This should be nothing in comparison. But maybe this time around, the difference laid in his performance because today he pushed himself towards the limits. He managed to slay down a rabid beast for heaven's sake! This was probably the coolest, and yet most dangerous, memorable moment in his life. Next time he would brag about this with... nobody.

Looking around the bleak room, a small amount of despair managed to seep through his defensive walls. What if no one comes to his rescue? Will he rot inside together with that hound?

They say that before dying, life would flash before your eyes, fragmented memories of the vicissitudes of one own existence would flood these last moments. However, for Kim Dokja was different because his cheapskate of a mind had provided him with only one last single mirage.

It was a hazy image of someone striding forward without turning back. As the wind gently lulled that figure in the distance, the ends of the black coat lightly swayed as if bidding him farewell.

Kim Dokja had reached out before receiving a harsh awakening brought by the stinging pain of the wound on the arm he had just subconsciously moved. With the last bit of clarity left in his eyes, the image of the blood dripping down the white hound dog's fur seemed to overlap with his remembrance of that one time he had been hospitalized.

The white room, the white bed, the white quilt, the white-clothed people, and the white bandages soaked in red.

"I really... hate the color white." He softly whispered before completely losing consciousness.

***

The police convoy surrounded the heavily wooded area, and while some of them delved inside the forest together with the hound dogs, others have remained behind to guard the perimeter. The searching party was arranged in three teams, the biggest one led by the commander in charge, Gwon Hyuntae, while the other two groups were tasked to investigate the surrounding vegetation.

Gwon Hyuntae was a resident from the area, so he was roughly knowledgeable about the abandoned facilities hidden deep inside this forest. And honestly speaking, he heard about a watchtower too. He had initially hoped for it to become a landmark. However, unsure if it was because of the darkness or the overwhelming height of the trees, because in the end, of this elusive watchtower, not even a shadow was caught.

They have never imagined that it would have been Chief Song's awful taste in music leading them at the end of the day. To make her position more noticeable, the clever policewoman had put at full blast one of her favorite songs on her phone. She had debated if the noise could attract wild animals too, but after evaluating the pros and cons, she decided that a big commotion is better than no commotion at all.

After she had spotted the first lights nearing her, Song Daehwa didn't hesitate as she shouted while waving her hands. However, instead of a distress call, what she screamed about was to cooperate with a certain black-clothed man who's inside the factory, highlighting the part where she advised not to shoot him because he was with her.

While perplexed, they still obliged. Yoo Jonghyuk was easily spotted inside the building, but the look on his face was less than pleased. The aloof man did not hide his annoyance when they had tried to stop him. His sharp phoenix eyes flashed with a cold glint. The regressor was well aware that killing civilians could hinder his progress and because he was also short on time, he was left with no choice but to bring along this extra baggage.

Yoo Jonghyuk's arrogant behavior didn't stick well with some of the constables as they began to whisper to each other. His haughty demeanor, in particular, rubbed in the wrong way the Commander Gwon Hyuntae whose notorious prideful character could only be rivaled by Chief Song's eccentricity.

"Commander Gwon, are you sure we can trust him?"

The commander in charge looked towards his subordinated and shrugged his shoulders helplessly. What can he do about it? That man had already Song Daehwa as his liability.

Gwon Hyuntae may be a petty man at heart but was also rather strict with his job ethics. Furthermore, with a jeopardized life on the line, he must uphold himself properly as a policeman. However, as the person in charge, he had to make his stance clear.

"I'd like to hear a quick report of the current situation, sir."

The regressor didn't even bother to turn around when he had curtly retorted back by clicking his tongue. This action had managed to irk the constable even more. Nevertheless, because of the precarious situation, he could only grit his teeth and push all the blame towards that woman. The ability of that ex-coworker of his who's able to throw problems at him even though she had already changed departments since ages ago, should he weep or applaud her genius?

Walking through the dark corridors, their group had smoothly descended towards the underground floor when Yoo Jonghyuk suddenly came to an abrupt stop. Before them, was a tightly sealed off metal door, it would be a miracle if they could open it regardless of the rust.

"Changnam-ah, try to unlock that door." Gwon Hyuntae turned around and interpellated the officer that had talked to him before.

"Yes, sir."

The latter crouched before the locked door as he fiddled with few lockpicking tools in his hands. These series of actions made the regressor's face fall into a deep frown as he silently stood by the sidelines. In the end, annoyed by the slow policeman who was just trying to carry out his task, Yoo Jonghyuk unceremoniously yanked the man away.

"Wha-"

But before any of them could mutter a single word of complaint, the black-clothed man started to kick forward with tyrannical strength, and all his powerful hits managed to leave a deep dent on the heavy-steel door. The once resentful policeman who got pushed onto the floor swallowed down all the grievances down his throat. That man was a monster! He's not human! Thank God he had refrained himself from saying anything rude that could anger the other, otherwise, the consequences could have been dire.

But what greeted them was a gruesome sight. Some of them couldn't maintain their cool and ended up fighting against the gagging reflex while they covered their mouths. The room was littered with corpses together with few tied up bodyguards, all of this was bathed in the same bloody stench rushing out the door towards them. The helpless bodyguards began whining and squirming around more energetically when they saw a streak of light breaking through that cold darkness.

The regressor's cold expression fell several degrees lower. Contrary to his expectations, before him wasn't that long-awaited heartfelt reconciliation hug, but another bunch of trash.

Yoo Jonghyuk didn't bother concealing the distasteful scowl on his face. He walked towards the nearest one and yanked out the piece of cloth from that bodyguard's mouth while kicking him down. With one of his dark combat boot pressing on that person's chest, Yoo Jonghyuk growled as he deliberately put more pressure down his foot.

"Where is Kim Dokja."