Changing Gear of Fate

Countdown

An Hour before Cataclysm

Russet eyes glanced at the clock.

Another hour and the stage truly begins.

Only time will show whether the dominoes that he had set up years ago would finally pay off or not.

"Rok Soo-yah." Choi Jung Soo called. "Your hair is red."

"Right." He fiddled with his pendant and his form shimmered and became leaner, with his black hair turned red like spilled blood and framed his now European-like face.

"Our job here is almost over. And the kids are not here to see it." He reasoned. Taking out a wine from the drawer, he asks, "Care to join me? We still have an hour."

"Sure."

Swirling the wine, Cale began to muse.

Gods are annoying, and the God of Mischief practically needs their own warning labels. And if he has to directly handle this universe's mess with its multitude of gods watching his every move... he gonna commit mass-scape deicide. Lucky for the world, this time Kim Rok Soo, or Cale Henituse as he prefers whenever he can afford it, doesn't have to personally handle it. His role here is as an observer and guide.

Unlike the mess that was The Birth of A Hero and things with the Hunters.

And this time, there's a fool-proof measure to prevent him from accidentally stealing the Protagonist Halo. Again. And involved in more hijinks than the world of TBOAH had in store.

Let Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk take the fame. Cale is done dealing with godly bullshit and cleaning up their messes.

They will be all right. Cale had specifically prepared them, especially his now-Dongsaeng. Hopefully, his effort in raising The Oldest Dream right would pay off. He did a lot of things to raise the "sleeping" Omniscient Being's self-worth, so he won't be eager to throw his life away.

Super Rock often asks if Cale wants to sacrifice himself. Pssshh. He had nothing on Kim Dokja. Cale's injury is because his body formerly had a weak plate so it cannot be helped. That brat, on the other hand, would develop the habit of choosing the riskiest path if Cale didn't try to hammer it out of him.

Come to think, most of Kim Dokja's sacrificial act is borne out of his love for Yoo Joonghyuk. Thus him meeting and getting close to this Universe version of Yoo Joonghyuk before the Apocalypse can either result in even more restraint to do risky stunt, because he had other people to worry about, or doubling his bad habit, because he knows Yoo Joonghyuk as a fellow person, not just a character.

Cale had headaches.

Aigoo... he's gonna need to keep a close eye on that pair, isn't he? His poor Slacker Life...

Maybe he should call someone to help him. Team Leader sounds like a good idea. He has a good head between his shoulders... unlike some that Cale unfortunately could name off.

.

Thirty Minutes Before Cataclysm

"Orabeoni!"

"Mia?" Kim Dokja blinked. "Joonghyuk-ah?"

"Dokja-yah." The taller male smiled and pressed a kiss at Dokja's forehead, Ignoring the squawk.

Listen. He and Dokja had danced around each other for years. He had to swallow his insecurity and jealousy when Dokja talked about female colleagues because he didn't know if Dokja swung for the home team or not. It was thanks to Kim Rok Soo-Nim and Choi Jung Soo-Nim's machinations, and Mia-yah's prodding, that Joonghyuk knew that Dokja had been pining on him, too. Obviously he's not going to let the chance slip off.