Chapter 4: The Distance We Close

The hallway outside the hospital wing was quiet.

Kim Dokja stood still before the door. His hands, now finally familiar to him, trembled slightly as he raised one to knock.

Lee Sookyung was still recovering from her return to the 1864 world line due to the collision with the 4th wall

But before his knuckles could land, the door opened from the inside.

She hadn't changed much.

The white in her temples was more pronounced now, streaks of winter through raven black. Her back wasn't as straight as he remembered. But her eyes—those weary, sharp eyes—were the same.

"…Dokja?"

The voice was hesitant. A breath caught between hope and disbelief.

He didn't speak at first.

He just bowed his head.

"I'm sorry it took me so long," he murmured.

There was a long silence. Then, unexpectedly, a scoff—small, brittle, the ghost of a laugh.

"I thought I was hallucinating. That the doctors were playing some cruel joke on me."

He looked up, his throat tight.

"You're not."

She stared at him. Slowly, with care, she stepped forward and reached out a hand. She touched his cheek, fingertips brushing the outline of his jaw like she was checking if he was real.

"You look thin."

He huffed a breath that was almost a laugh. "I had a very long diet plan. There is no food in the center of the universe."

She smacked his arm. Lightly. Tenderly.

And then she folded into him.

There were no more words.

Just a mother holding her son like she hadn't done in years.

Just Kim Dokja, burying his face in her shoulder, letting himself cry like he hadn't dared to since the world ended.

When she pulled back, her voice was gentler than he'd ever remembered it.

"I read your story."

His breath caught.

"It was sad," she said. "But it was yours."

He swallowed. "Did you hate me for it?"

"No," she whispered. "I was proud. I just wish you didn't have to be so alone."

A pause. And then her hand cupped his face again.

"But you're not anymore, are you?"

He shook his head. "No. They… They found me."

Her smile reached her eyes. "Good. Then you better go. They're waiting."

He blinked. "But I—"

"You're alive, Kim Dokja. Live, then."

He nodded. Wiped his eyes. And when he left her room, it felt like stepping out of a story that had long since turned its final page.

Lee Sookyung fixed his thin arms for more than a minute speaking to herself after the new founded joy of reuniting with his only son " I hope this time I can atone for my sins for raising you without even giving you the chance to imagine yourself happy...oh I will pay for that a high price."

.

.

The sun was warm overhead, scattered through the trees like gold flakes on a lazy canvas.

The park near the Han river had once been abandoned—like so much of Seoul after the scenarios—but now it thrummed with life. Children's laughter rang from the swings. A dog barked in the distance. Someone played soft music from a speaker.

And beneath a wide shade tree, a mismatched group sat on picnic blankets, surrounded by Tupperware containers, foldable chairs, and the unspoken promises of live all together made before the final scenario.

"Uriel, if those cookies make me float again, I'm going to sue you."

"Too late! No refunds!"

Sun Wukong had climbed halfway up the tree and was hanging upside down, offering snacks to Shin Yoosung and Gilyoung like an overgrown gremlin. Gilyoung giggled as a butterfly-shaped cookie flitted up and hovered like a pet.

Lee Hyunsung manned the grill nearby, an apron reading "GRILL MASTER" on his chest—courtesy of Jung Heewon, who denied any involvement with a straight face.

Yoo Joonghyuk sat at the edge of the group, not quite engaging but not leaving either, an unopened canned drink in his hand. Occasionally, he glanced toward the children and his sister to make sure they didn't wander too far.

Yoo Sangah had brought a woven basket full of fruit, which she sliced with the calm efficiency of someone who'd once disarmed bombs.

Serena was tossing a frisbee with Gong Pildu, both pretending they weren't actually enjoying it.

Lee Jihye was too busy trying to steal food while being regularly scolded by Shin Yoosung.

Anna Croft was leaning against a tree, sipping her absurd tea with an expression that said, this is all beneath me, even as she smiled faintly whenever Gilyoung called her "Auntie Croft."

Jang Hayoung sat cross-legged on a blanket, feeding cookies to a tiny version of the chimera dragon. She glanced up when Dokja returned and raised a hand in greeting, eyes a little red but smile firm.

And slightly apart from them all—near the crest of a small hill—stood Han Sooyoung.

Hands in her coat pockets. Back to the group. Gaze set on the river.

Dokja approached her quietly, footsteps muffled by the grass.

"You're going to make people think you're brooding."

"I am brooding," she replied, not turning.

He stopped beside her, hands in his own pockets. "What's the occasion?"

"I don't do well with soft things," she said, tone dry. "They make my teeth itch."

He didn't reply. Just waited.

Sooyoung eventually exhaled, turning her head just enough to glance at the group below.

"They're different now," she said softly. "You see, we tried everything to save you, we relived that nightmare, and now that you're really here.... well let's say that maybe I haven't metabolized it yet, I still have that fear that as soon as I turn around, you'll disappear again for good

"I won't" Dokja said.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

There was a pause. Wind rustled through the branches.

Sooyoung finally sat down on the hilltop, arms wrapped around her knees, a candy in his mouth.

"You going to sit there like a weirdo or join me?"

He sat beside her.

They didn't speak.

Below them, laughter bloomed. A frisbee landed in someone's potato salad. Shin Yoosung shrieked as Wukong tried to juggle sausages on sticks. Uriel was humming an old ballad from her constellation days. Someone had started drawing stars in the dirt with a twig.

"Feels fake," Sooyoung muttered.

"Maybe it is," Dokja said. "But I don't think that matters."

She snorted. "You would say that, Reader-nim."

He smiled faintly.

Then, quietly:

"My mom says I should live this life for good this time."

Sooyoung glanced sideways. Her eyes softened.

"You finally saw her?"

He nodded. "It hurt. But it was good to finally talk with her without filters"

Sooyoung leaned her head against her knees.

"I'm glad, she didn't show it but she was in first line with Persephone against that fucker of a wall" she said.

Down below, someone called for more drinks. Joonghyuk grunted and stood to help.

Lee Seolhwa pulled out a book of riddles. The sun began its slow descent.

Han Sooyoung reached over, and without looking, tugged lightly on his sleeve.

"Kim dokja," she said, "hey i have a question."

"….You starting to scare me."

"You better will" she said coming closer to him " this scene reminds me of ways of survival third turn picnic that Yoo Joonghyuk do with his companions ...do you remember? Her eyes a slid after the question.