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The sun is shining. The birds are chirping merrily. The sky was a lovely shade of baby blue and the clouds were like cotton candy handcrafted by the gods themselves, untainted and perfect save for the smoke coming from one certain establishment—
“Oh my God– Gilyoung, turn off the oven now!”
Lee Gilyoung hurriedly ditched his bowl of candy ornaments at Shin Yoosoung’s call and immediately switched off the oven while their gingerbread dough was still in the middle of baking, on the way to being overbaked.
Lee Gilyoung carefully took out their gingerbread house parts with oven mitts. Thankfully, the parts looked fine. “See, I told you we should’ve taken them out after 15 minutes!”
“You don’t know anything about gingerbread house making!” Shin Yoosoung argued back. “I’m just following the recipe in the cookbook. It clearly says 25 minutes.”
Lee Gilyoung rolled his eyes. “Sure. If you’re baking a castle.” His eyes darted over to the refrigerator, where they knew rows and rows of perfectly baked gingerbread dough rectangles and house parts were being kept. “Y’know, things would be easier if we just took some parts from Yoo Joonghyuk’s gingerbread stock… surely he wouldn’t notice if one or two rectangles went missing. Or five. Or nine.”
Shin Yoosoung looked at him as if he had grown three heads. Not exactly anything unusual in the Star Stream, but it was still a mortifying image for someone like Lee Gilyoung. “... Do you have a death wish? Yoo Joonghyuk will murder us.”
“We have no other choice!” Lee Gilyoung took off his oven mitts. “I’m not going to spend another minute following that stupid recipe. Our gingerbread almost burnt.”
Shin Yoosoung turned to him with a scowl, her hand holding the mixer propped on her hip. “Do you not want to make this as great as possible? I’m sure ahjussi wouldn’t want to see such a flimsy gingerbread house.”
“It’s only flimsy because you’re the one making things worse with that stupid cookbook!”
Shin Yoosoung gasped, a bit too dramatically. “Do not question the 50 Great Christmas Treat Ideas. It was 10,000 coins at the Dokkaebi Shop.”
“Well, screw your damn cookbook!” Lee Gilyoung tied his apron ribbon behind him tighter with a defiant huff. “I’m going to make my own gingerbread house and I’m going to make it even better than yours.”
“Fine!” Shin Yoosoung whirled around to her own creation. “But don’t start crying when the others start complimenting me instead of you!”
“What’s going on here? What’s all this yelling?”
The two kids looked up to the new voice that entered the kitchen. Lee Gilyoung panicked as he hid the smoke coming from the oven, quickly fanning the remaining fumes with an empty tray as to not let anyone else see.
“Heewon-unnie!” Shin Yoosoung showed her the picture of a gingerbread house on the cookbook in her hands. “We’re making gingerbread houses. Originally, we were gonna do them together but Lee Gilyoung wouldn’t stop whining so we decided to each create our own.”
“Only because your cookbook is for shit!”
“It’s worth 10,000 coins. It’s not for shit, bug boy.”
Jung Heewon cracked a confident smile as she started to tie her hair up in her signature bun. “Gingerbread house-making, eh? I used to make a lot of those when I was in high school and would join all my class’s gingerbread-making competitions. Mind if I join in?”
The two kids’ eyes sparkled with awe, immediately foregoing all initial hostility towards each other. “Yes!”
“Um…”
“...”
“Ah…” Jung Heewon sheepishly rubbed the back of her head, eyes darting everywhere but the culinary atrocity before her. Gingerbread house? More like gingerbread… something. It didn’t have a form, but it was something. “I-It’s not me. There was something wrong with the batter while it was baking.”
[The constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is encouraging incarnation ‘Jung Heewon’.]
[The constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ nervously says it’s not so bad!]
[The constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ is holding back a laugh.]
[The constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is glaring at the ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’.]
“Noona,” a drop of sweat rolled down Lee Gilyoung’s cheek, “Were you, perhaps, last place in your class’s gingerbread house-making competitions…?”
“It’s not like you’re faring any better than me, Gilyoung-ah,” Jung Heewon spares a glance at his half-done gingerbread house.
“It’s not done yet!” Lee Gilyoung answers. “Just– Just let me cook! It’s still in the early stages so it doesn’t look like anything yet, but the final product will look great.”
“Sure,” Shin Yoosoung fought back a giggle as she was already methodically placing the icing on her gingerbread house. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
“Why you–!”
“I think I know how to bake the batter better.” A mischievous glint appears in the judge’s eyes as she pulls out the Sword of Judgement – a gift to her by Kim Dokja, used to slay all evil. She put a new batch of gingerbread house parts in the oven, but instead of closing the lid, she pointed her sword at the opening.
[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ rubs her eyes in disbelief.]
Said incarnation looks up at her sponsor with a demon-like grin. “You trust me right, Uriel?”
Shin Yoosoung gazes at the oven worriedly. “Heewon-unnie…?”
Jung Heewon activated Hell Flames Ignition.
Shin Yoosoung shrieked, “Heewon-unnie!”
One false fire alarm later, Jung Heewon managed to pull out nicely-baked gingerbread almost comparable to that of Yoo Joonghyuk’s.
[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ says they turned out quite nicely!]
[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ thinks of summoning an incarnation body to taste her incarnation’s gingerbread house.]
“I’m glad you like them, Uriel,” Jung Heewon wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her palm as she marveled at her work. “Whew! Who knew I could use Hell Flames for stuff like this?”
“Mmm, something smells good in here…”
The three turned back to see a tall and buff man looking unfazed and bright despite the several new cuts and burns all over his body. His iconic shield – another gift from Kim Dokja – was strapped to his back, undented and unbroken.
“Welcome back, Hyunsung-ssi,” Jung Heewon smiles in greeting, pointing to his entire body. “How was the hidden scenario? You should probably get those checked at Seolhwa-ssi’s…”
“Dokja and the others will follow suit,” Lee Hyunsung opens the refrigerator to get the water pitcher. He stumbles, nearly knocks into Shin Yoosoung, and both fumble for an apology. “They just had to double check something, but we all cleared the scenario together.”
“I wish hyung would come back sooner…” Lee Gilyoung says with his head on the kitchen island’s counter. “I bet he’d be so happy to see my gingerbread house.”
“Quit dreaming,” Shin Yoosoung shot him a glare. “Wait ‘till ahjussi sees mine.”
“I think I’m faring better than you two, though,” Jung Heewon grins as she plots her icing arrangement. “So far mine’s the most promising one.”
“What?”
“Huh?!”
“Are you guys making gingerbread houses?” Lee Hyunsung suddenly perks up, like a golden retriever. “We weren’t the ones who got together to make it, but we had one back when I was in the army. I’ve always wanted to make something like that but never learned how to.”
“There’s ingredients in the fridge!” Shin Yoosoung chirps helpfully, holding up the cookbook she bought. “Here’s a cookbook if you need one.”
Like it was something precious to be handled and not something cheaply bought, Lee Hyunsung gingerly took the book with two hands. “Thank you, Yoosoung-ah… you’re very helpful. Now let’s see…” He flipped open to the page with the gingerbread house recipe as he walked to the refrigerator. “These instructions don’t seem too difficult to follow. Oh look, we have everything we need right here.”
[The constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ likes the festive spirit of the incarnations of nebula <Kim Dokja’s Company>.]
“Hehehe…”
[The constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is looking at incarnation ‘Lee Gilyoung’.]
Lee Gilyoung looks up at the ceiling, outstretching his hand upwards while holding something. “Archangel-nim, what do you think of this?”
[The constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ gasps!]
[1,000 coins have been sponsored.]
“What?!” Shin Yoosoung whips her head around upon seeing the notification. “What did you do? Why did the archangel suddenly sponsor–”
“You’re just mad you didn’t think of this earlier,” a devilish grin graces the boy’s face. “Get a load of this.” He dramatically moves his other arm to reveal little gingerbread figures of their other companions, earning him another 1,000 coin sponsorship and another indirect message from a very happy archangel.
“Oh hey, Master looks pretty recognizable here.”
Lee Gilyoung recoils and nearly falls out of his chair.
Lee Jihye emerges from the other side of the kitchen island counter and stands up, inspecting his gingerbread cookie figures one by one. “Which one’s me? What the hell, why does mine look like shit?”
A faint blush appeared on Lee Gilyoung’s cheeks. “I-I tried, okay?! Of course, I can’t get everyone 100% accurate, but I made sure to make one of everyone…”
Lee Jihye scrunched her nose distastefully. “Why’s the ugly ahjussi the most detailed one?! Shouldn’t it be Master since he’s way more good-looking–”
“Because it’s what he deserves!” He retorted. “Leave my cookies alone! I’m not done decorating them yet.”
Lee Jihye roamed the kitchen, sword at her hip making a sound with every step she took. When she got to Lee Hyunsung’s spot, she whistled. “Wow, even Hyunsung-oppa’s making a gingerbread house. Hey, doesn’t that look really good? I never took you for the type to bake well!”
Lee Hyunsung’s ears turned red at the compliment, his eyes sparkling. “Really? Thank you, Jihye-ya. I just followed what it says in the book. If you want to make one with us, there’s ingredients in the ref–”
“Guys.” Shin Yoosoung’s suddenly cold voice cut through the kitchen, prompting everyone to stop their activities. “The… the…”
“Is something wrong, Yoosoung-ah?” Jung Heewon cranes her neck to look in the younger girl’s direction. She seemed to be in the middle of looking for something inside the fridge.
Shin Yoosoung gulps, hand at the refrigerator handle. Slowly, she turned around to face everyone, the horror in her expression comparable to when they lost Kim Dokja during the 10th scenario.
She says nothing, but her eyes flit over to Lee Hyunsung’s suspiciously quickly well-made gingerbread house for someone with absolutely zero experience for a second.
“By any chance…” she manages to croak out, her index finger shaking as she points towards his house in particular, “T-Those ingredients you used…”
“These?” Lee Hyunsung cluelessly takes a bite out of an unused rectangle. “I found them laying there. They were really easy to assemble, I was surprised! Why?”
Shin Yoosoung promptly closes the refrigerator. Then her eyes. Then, she inhales and exhales. Repeat. She waits for the fear in her heart to subside. It does when she remembers that Kim Dokja will probably take her side and defend her. Probably.
“It’s fine,” her voice is strained, but she tries her best to come off as fearless. “It’s fine.”
Concern colored the former army man’s face. “Yoosoung-ah…?”
“It’s not like Yoo Joonghyuk will find out that the parts he made and saved for later use are now missing,” Shin Yoosoung went back to her station. By now, she’s thought of a solution. “If he asks, we can just blame it on… I don’t know, Jang Hayoung or something. It’s fine.”
“I was using Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi’s ingredients?” Lee Hyunsung’s mouth falls open. He gapes at his creation – a cute little house too, unfortunately enough – and one can almost see his spirit crumble. The cookie he took a bite out of drops to the table.
“That’s minus one competitor,” Lee Gilyoung smirks. “It’s okay, Hyunsung-oppa. We’ll take your side when push comes to shove!”
Shin Yoosoung is naturally the first to bite back. “You’re still treating this as a competition?”
Lee Jihye mused, “Why shouldn’t it be a competition?”
The two kids turn their attention towards her, a hand propped on her chin in thought, and a strange look in her already devious eyes. Although she often makes fun of Kim Dokja’s looks, her smile can be likened to Kim Dokja’s at that moment – one full of mischief and (horrible) ideas.
“C’mon, it’ll be fun!” Lee Jihye grins as she sits on an empty part of the counter. “Since you guys wanna fight so bad, let’s just make this a competition and see who impresses ahjussi the most!”
“You’re joining in too?” Jung Heewon arches an eyebrow at her.
Lee Jihye grabs flour from one of the kitchen cabinets and opens it. She does not get an apron, nor cares enough to. “Why not? I learned how to cook from Master. I can do this. Probably even better than Yoosoung or Gilyoung too.”
“Oh, that’s it!” Lee Gilyoung slams a fist on the counter. “It’s on! It’s officially on! We’ll see whose house ends up looking like shit by tonight.”
[The constellation, ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ appreciates this turn of events!]
[500 coins have been sponsored.]
When did that guy get in here?
“Sorry, I was nosy. I heard something about a gingerbread house making competition?”
Lee Hyunsung was still gaping at his creation (ingredient credit to Yoo Joonghyuk) when a certain brown-haired girl made her appearance, her ever-present warm smile gracing her face. Her presence alone can soothe all worries. The others instantly started feeling better, until–
“Good God, what is that? Even I can't tell what that’s supposed to be.”
Jung Heewon clenched her fists and felt a vein pop. Of course she would be here too.
Entering the battlefield (kitchen) were Yoo Sangah, everyone’s favorite, and Han Sooyoung, everyone’s arguably least favorite (next to Kim Dokja). Han Sooyoung wasted no time getting up in everyone’s business, inspecting their gingerbread houses. She gave Gilyoung a little ruffle on the head for “making Sooyoung-noona look cool”, an approving look at Shin Yoosoung’s by-the-book house, and a little giggle when she got to Jung Heewon’s which earned her a hard glare.
“Hyunsung-ssi, show me yours,” Han Sooyoung prompted him.
Lee Hyunsung used his big body to hide his creation, and chuckled nervously. “I-It’s not… it’s nothing…”
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean? It can’t be that bad.”
“He accidentally used Yoo Joonghyuk’s gingerbread dough which he was saving for later,” Shin Yoosoung answered without looking up from her craft.
Han Sooyoung whistled. “Oh, you’re a dead man…”
“He won’t know!” Lee Gilyoung defended, holding up his arms, “We’ll tell him that Jang Hayoung ate them!”
“You’re telling who I ate what?”
As if on cue, Jang Hayoung appeared in the scene, gaping at the young boy in horror. Turns out she was actually just right behind Yoo Sangah and Han Sooyoung when they entered.
“Ah, crap–” “Shit–”
“Were you bastards going to use me as a scapegoat?!” Jang Hayoung slammed a fist on the kitchen counter, causing Lee Gilyoung to nearly fall out of his chair again. “Oh. Oh, this won’t do. Now I really have to beat your asses at the competition.”
“It’s not a competition…” Lee Hyunsung says lamely, voice falling flat.
[The constellation, ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ cheers on incarnation, ‘Jang Hayoung’.]
[1,000 coins have been sponsored.]
[The constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ is looking forward to his incarnation’s creation.]
Han Sooyoung’s head jerked up. “Hey, who said I was joining–”
Yoo Sangah places a hand on her shoulder. “I think it’d be a great team-building activity for everyone! I’ll be joining too. Won’t you indulge everyone just once, Sooyoung-ssi?”
“B-But–”
“Come on, Sooyoung-unnie, we can’t be the only ones who are pumped up!” Lee Jihye gives her a wink and a thumbs-up. Her gingerbread house was already starting to take form.
Still, Han Sooyoung’s answer stands as she starts to make her exit. “Y’know, I’m not really equipped for these kinds of things. You guys can go on ahead without–”
“What, are you scared?”
Han Sooyoung stops in her tracks.
Jung Heewon rests her sheathed blade on her shoulder and gives her companion a sly smile. “If you’re scared, you can just say so. We wouldn’t want to hurt the pride of the great Black Flames Empress…”
Han Sooyoung marched back in, rolling back the sleeves of her purple hoodie and white coat.
Even Yoo Sangah was surprised. “Sooyoung-ssi?”
Han Sooyoung snapped her fingers. All around her, clones of herself materialized, all wearing the same determined, annoyed expression.
Jung Heewon clicked her tongue. “The Avatar skill? Hey, that’s cheating!”
“You can’t talk, noona, you baked with Hell Flames Ignition earlier,” reminded Lee Gilyoung.
“There’s no rule against using skills,” the author grins wickedly. “Which means I can do this~”
She snaps her fingers one more time and a foldable bench materializes on one corner of the kitchen. Han Sooyoung makes a grand show of opening the bench and laying down on it as one of her clones brings her an iced drink.
And now, the gingerbread house-making competition for Kim Dokja’s Company is in full-swing.
… Semi-full swing, rather. Not everyone in the company was here, but the majority was still present.
The determination of all the incarnations of Kim Dokja’s Company was akin to the level they exerted when facing the life-threatening scenarios of the Star Stream, where much was at stake and they could have everything to lose. In a way, much was at stake here, too; no one wanted to be branded the loser of the night. What if the loser received a story about how badly they lost this event? It would be a blemish on their reputation, no matter who received it.
Despite the ruckus in the industrial complex’s kitchen, the atmosphere was rather nice and homey. Jung Heewon was chatting with her sponsor about ideal toppings to put on the roofs. Lee Hyunsung decided to make do with what he currently has and not put Yoo Joonghyuk’s ingredients to waste – and despite competing against him, Yoo Sangah was gladly giving him tips as she carefully made her own gingerbread house. Shin Yoosoung and Lee Gilyoung are in another petty argument but honestly, when were they not? Lee Jihye was… what the hell, that's not a house, that’s a gingerbread warship.
The point is, everything was peacefu–
“Argh, damn it, Black Dragon! I told you, I can’t give you another piece! You ate half of my cookies already!”
[The constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ wants more gingerbread cookies!]
Han Sooyoung – now singular, once again – glared at the ceiling. “I can’t just give all of them to you! I have to complete the chimney first. If you want the cookies so bad, then I’ll give it to you after I’m done making the house.”
[The constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ wishes to incarnate into the scenario.]
Han Sooyoung’s complexion paled. “H-Hey! Black Dragon, what are you–”
[The constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ says he wants to help incarnation ‘Han Sooyoung’ bake.]
[The constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’...]
“Is this even allowed?!” Han Sooyoung stressfully put a hand in her hair. “You’re going to destroy the whole industrial complex at this rate!”
[The constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ insists it’s fine and promises to help out!]
“But won’t the probability be–”
A great flash burned her eye sockets before she finished her sentence, causing everyone in the kitchen to avert their eyes from the source. Not long after, a grinning teenager graces (or curses, depending on how one would look at it) their presence. Sparks appeared around the body of the 15-year old-looking constellation but it seemed not to care.
[The constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ gasps!]
[The constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ wishes to bake by her incarnation’s side like that, too…]
[The constellation, ‘Scribe of Heaven’ is shooting a warning look at the ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’.]
[The constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ pouts.]
“What the hell is going on here? I just felt a huge status coming from the kitchen.”
Everyone simultaneously turned towards the source of the voice. Just by looking at him, the mood suddenly brightened. He was the head of their company and the founder of the nebula, the one man they’d trudge through a thousand hells for. “Dokja-ssi!”
Kim Dokja was sweating, like he had been running a marathon. He must’ve sensed danger and immediately ran towards this place. He wasn’t alone; shortly after he leant against the doorway for support, Yoo Joonghyuk tailed along. And behind him was Lee Seolhwa, who looked the least bit worried.
“It’s nothing to be worried about,” Jung Heewon pointed a thumb towards the constellation too short to reach the top of the kitchen counter. “We just have a visitor.”
“Visitor…?” Kim Dokja face-palmed as he came face-to-face with the boy. “Black Dragon, what are you doing here?”
[I’m merely helping my incarnation! Stay away!]
“And can you please not use your true voice so much here? You’re going to give the others a headache…”
[The constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ says you can’t tell him what to do!]
And yet, he does anyway…
“But what’s all this?” Kim Dokja’s eyes, always lost in thought and always calculating, surveyed the room. “Why are so many of you gathered here?”
“Everyone’s having a gingerbread house making competition,” Yoo Sangah chuckles into her closed fist as she replies, sprinkles of flour on her cheeks. “It started out with just the kids but somehow everyone got involved.”
Shin Yoosoung was the first to come up to him, holding up her creation. “Check out mine!”
The corners of Kim Dokja’s eyes crinkled softly at his incarnation. “No wonder it smelled so good in here. This looks great, Yoosoung-ah! As expected of my incarnation.”
“Hyung! What about mine? I didn’t have enough gingerbread to make your wings, though, so I hope it’s fine even if it’s like this…” Lee Gilyoung shoves a grumbling Shin Yoosoung out of the way and holds out his own gingerbread house, angling it in such a way that the little gingerbread figures he made of everyone would be in view first.
And Kim Dokja was equally delighted, ruffling his brown hair. “Wow, there’s one of everyone! Oh, is that me at the center? You did a great job of capturing me in cookie form.”
Lee Gilyoung shoots Shin Yoosoung a defiant look. “Of course, Dokja hyung!”
“A gingerbread house making competition,” Yoo Joonghyuk repeats Yoo Sangah’s earlier words, voice impassive. It’s hard to tell what he’s thinking (if you’re not Kim Dokja) when he sounds like that 90% of the time. “Everyone is involved?”
As if their brains were connected like a hivemind, everyone who was currently baking shared a knowing glance and looks of panic. If there’s anyone who absolutely shouldn’t join the competition, it should be this guy! But who was going to tell him that? And risk death in the process?
“Hey, Supreme King bastard!” Han Sooyoung spat out her words in his direction. “Just stand on the sidelines! You absolutely cannot join the contest!”
A crack formed in Yoo Joonghyuk’s blank demeanor. “... What?”
Kim Dokja clasped his hands together as he understood her words. “She’s right, Yoo Joonghyuk. Your stupidly high cooking skills would blow everyone out of the water. Give everyone a chance!”
Yoo Joonghyuk looked like he wanted to strangle the constellation in front of him. And he really might've had if Lee Seolhwa did not intercept at the last second. “It’s fine, Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi,” she places a hand on his shoulder to placate him. “You can just make the Christmas Eve dishes, instead. It’s not like we’ll only be eating gingerbread, noh?”
This seems to work for him. Without another word said, he goes straight for the refrigerator.
Lee Hyunsung, Shin Yoosoung, and Lee Gilyoung averted their eyes from his figure.
The Supreme King’s voice echoed throughout the whole kitchen, “Who took my ingredients? ”
The kitchen fell silent. Even Jang Hayoung who was giggling away at a message she received from her Wall quieted down at the sudden change of atmosphere.
Then, the unexpected happened. The two kids, Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosoung, caught Kim Dokja’s eyes for a second; the man hated by several constellations winked at them reassuringly and thus spoke, like the bastard he is, “I ate them. They were yours? Aha, I didn’t know. They tasted really great, too. I guess you’ll have to forgive me, Joonghyuk-ah~”
Yoo Joonghyuk shot him a glare deadly enough to kill historical-grade constellations and Shin Yoosoung started to pray, but nothing happened. He merely sighed as he knelt down while shaking his head, and the children knew they were safe.
[The story, ‘Life & Death Companions’ is snickering.]
Boy, this was going to be a long night.
Snow fell outside by the time midnight struck and Christmas Eve arrived. By this time, everyone had completed their gingerbread houses.
Various constellations the nebula was friendly with came to the industrial complex for the Christmas feast Yoo Joonghyuk had prepared and were already socializing with the incarnations. Lee Sookyoung and Persephone were at one table, drinking tea and talking calmly among themselves. Sun Wukong tried to shoot a cookie in the Black Dragon’s open mouth, purposely missed, hit the Black Dragon’s eye, and was now trying to shake off the Black Dragon biting his arm in retaliation. Meanwhile, Uriel went from table to table, examining each and every gingerbread house and fawning over each one while stuffing Yoo Joonghyuk’s Christmas-themed muffins in her mouth. Bits of eggnog trickled down the corners of her lips.
At last, the most awaited event of the night came – the gingerbread house judging. Against his will, everyone decided that their beloved nebula head should be the judge of this competition (which Kim Dokja was secretly glad about. He doesn’t know shit about baking! No skill will ever prepare him for this!). Kim Dokja started to roam the table.
“I talked to some Murim chefs through the Wall and got some wicked cooking skills,” Jang Hayoung was first. She gestures towards her creation: a 12-centimeter tall gingerbread figurine of a very familiar being with large wings and horns sprouting from his head.
“That’s just a statue of me, though…” Kim Dokja pointed out.
“No it’s not,” Jang Hayoung folds her arms against her chest. “That’s the Demon King of Salvation.”
“Well, yes, but that’s just… nevermind. It looks… great.”
“Huh? Why did you hesitate? Jerk!”
“Ahjussi, check this out!” Lee Jihye was up next. She dramatically pulls off a sheet of white cloth from her gingerbread house to reveal… that it was not a gingerbread house. It was a gingerbread turtle ship.
“That’s not a house,” Kim Dokja points out.
Lee Jihye clenches her fist. “But it’s impressive, isn’t it?”
[The constellation, ‘Maritime War God’ nods in acknowledgement.]
[1,000 coins have been sponsored to incarnation, ‘Lee Jihye’.]
“Sure, there’s points for creativity,” Kim Dokja moves on. “But it’s still not a house.”
Lee Jihye falls to despair. “Ahjussi… you’re so cruel… I’m taking back all the cool things I said about you…”
He’s already seen Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosoung’s house, so next in line was…
“Oh,” Kim Dokja says as he sees Lee Hyunsung’s gingerbread house, and immediately understands. In fact, he already knew what happened when he used Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint on Shin Yoosoung’s thoughts a while ago.
The buff army man rubs the back of neck sheepishly. “Yeah… I know, Dokja-ssi…”
“It’s still a well-put together house, though,” Kim Dokja remarks, tasting a bit of the icing on the roof. “It’s exactly how it looks in those cookbooks.”
“Really? Dokja-ssi…!”
“How about mine, Dokja? I had the help of Uriel with this one.”
“Hey! He was looking at mine first. Black Dragon, I said get off–”
Yoo Sangah tried to get in between Jung Heewon and Han Sooyoung. “Now now, let’s not fight. Dokja-ssi will eventually get to ours, so we can just wait.”
Lee Seolhwa took advantage of the situation and smoothly walked up to him while holding hers up while he was inspecting Gong Pildu’s mini gingerbread fortress, complete with turrets and cannons. How did he even mold this? “Wanna see mine, Dokja-ssi?”
“Smells herbal,” Kim Dokja turned to her, taking a cookie from the gingerbread house’s lawn. “Ooh! It tastes a little bitter but it’s still really good. Did you include oregano in these?”
Lee Seolhwa chuckled. “You noticed? I’ve got a special surprise in those cookies.”
“Special surprise?”
Lee Seolhwa sets down her house and holds up a bowl of perfectly identical green cookies. There were precisely 6 cookies in it – and Kim Dokja had a bad feeling about this. Her smile was a little childish when she said, “One of these cookies was made with SSSSS-grade Hell Chilis. I managed to get some from a personal scenario a few days back and couldn’t decide what to do with them, so I put them in one of the cookies. Aren’t you curious how it will taste?”
A drop of sweat rolls down the constellation’s cheek. “I-I’m sure they taste great, Seolhwa-ssi… but, um, Russian roulette cookies are a bit...”
“Oh, you made cookies,” Yoo Joonghyuk suddenly appeared by Kim Dokja’s side. “I was not aware you baked as well.”
“It’s a hobby of mine when there’s nothing to do in the industrial complex,” Lee Seolhwa offers him the bowl. She doesn’t offer him the warning. “Do you want one, Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi?”
Yoo Joonghyuk, who normally didn’t eat what others made, took a cookie from her bowl. Kim Dokja, curious at his companion’s reaction and luck, does not make any attempt to stop him. Lee Seolhwa shoots him a knowing smile.
At first, Yoo Joonghyuk chewed like everything was normal. Soon after, his face distorts, like he was in great pain. He tried to mask it by staring blankly ahead but his muscles were twitching.
“… These…” Yoo Joonghyuk’s throat was dry, “... Are certainly… unique.”
Lee Seolhwa stifled a chuckle. Lee Jihye was staring in horror.
“Do they taste good, Joonghyuk-ah? Seolhwa-ssi worked really hard on those,” Kim Dokja’s voice trembled. He was pinching his right arm to prevent himself from bursting into laughter.
“They do… they’re good… they’re… please excuse me.” Yoo Joonghyuk promptly leaves the room towards the direction of the bathroom.
[The constellation, ‘Secretive Plotter’ fights to stop a giggle from escaping at the misfortune of incarnation ‘Yoo Joonghyuk’.]
[5,000 coins have been sponsored.]
Kim Dokja sighed. “Biyoo.”
The cotton candy-like dokkaebi materializes in the air with a cute [Ba-at?]
“Please check on him.”