"I'm Dokja."
In Korea 'Dokja' means only son or reader. So if I introduce myself to someone like this, than this kind of misunderstanding will occure.
"Huh... Are you an only child of your parents?"
"Yeah, but that's not what I mean."
"Huh? Than?"
"My name is Dokja. Naam Dokja."
My father gave me that name because he wanted me to grow up to be a strong and independent man. However, thanks to the name my father gave me, I turned out to be a normal single and lonely man. Yeah, that's how it was.
Anyway, if I tell in short. I'm Naam Dokja, 27 years old, and single. My hobby is reading webnovel on the subway on my way home from the work.But today's subway was different.
In a noisy subway, I raised my had reflexively. A pair of curious eyes were starring straight at me. And they belonged to an employee from the human resources tesm, Jung Haerin.
"H-Hello."
"Are you on your way home?"
"Y-Yes. And you too?"
"Yeah, I was just lucky. My team manager went on a business trip today?" Haerin set down soon as the seat next to me became vacant. A subtle scent came from her shoulder. It was making me nervous.
"Do you normally take the subway?"
"Oh.. That-" Haerin made a dark expression.
Oh right. It's the first time I met Jung Haerin at the subway. From.the HR Manager to the finance team manager, I'm sure there is a line of man to drive her home.
But unexpected words came from her mouth. "Somebody stole my bicycle."
"You commute to work by bike?"
"Yes. These days I have been working a lot of overtime. So I thought I could exercise and I've some personal reasons too."
"Oh.. I see."
Jung Haerin smiled. Looking close at her, I acn understand what other guys feelings towards her. But, It's none of my business. And just so you know, she is not the reason why today's subway is different.
"¿Cuánto cuesta?"
I was surprised hearing something from her that I didn't understand. "Pardoon?"
"Oh.. It's spanish. It means 'How much is it?'."
Studying on the subway while hading home... She truely had a genre different from me.
"You're working really hard."
"By the way, what about you, Dokja? What are you reading." She immediately looked at my at the screen of my smartphone. "Is it a novel?"
I immediately took away my phone before her eyes.
"Well. Yes, I am. You can say I'm reading Korean."
"Wow, I also like novels. I haven't been able to read lately because I don't have time..."
It was surprising. Jung Haerin liked reading novels...?
"Murakami Haruki, Raymond Carver, Han Kang..."
I thought so.
"Dokja-ssi, what writers do you like?"
"You won't know even if I say their names,"
"I've read a lot of novels. Who are the authors?"
At this time, it was really hard to say that I read web novels as a hobby. I glanced at the title of the novel in the app.
[The World after the Fall]
Author: Sing Shangshong (TL: The author uses the name of his previous novel and his
author name, but with slight changes. I decided to go with the actual novel translation name)
I couldn't say that I was reading "The World after the Fall by Sing Shangshong."
"It is just a fantasy novel. That... Well, like
the Lord of the Rings..."
Haerin's eyes widened. "Aha. Lord of the Rings. I've seen the movie."
"The movie is good."
The silence continued for a moment. Haerin was looking at me like she was waiting for me to say something.
Our conversation was becoming strained. So, I decided to change the topic. "It has been a year since I joined the company. This is my last year. Time moves really fast."
"Yes. At that time, we both knew nothing, right?"
"That's right. It seems like just yesterday, but the contract period is already over." I
realized that I'd said something wrong when I saw Haerin's expression.
"Ah, I..." I had forgotten.
Jung Haerin received credit for a foreign
buyer last month and was already
promoted to a full-time employee.
"Ah, right. My congratulations are late. I'm
sorry. Haha, I should've worked hard to
study a foreign language."
"Ah, no Dokja-ssi! There is still the performance review and..."
I hated to admit it, but the sight of Haerin talking was wonderful. It was like the world's spotlight was shining down on only one person. If this world was a novel, the protagonist would be such a person.
In fact, it was the inevitable result. I hadn't tried, but Jung Haerin made an effort. I just read novels on the Internet, while Haerin studied hard. It was natural that Jung Haerin would become a full-time employee, and that my contract would be terminated.
"That... Dokja-ssi."
"Yes."
"If you don't mind... Would you like to know the app I use?" Haerin's voice momentarily became distant.
It felt like the world was far away. I braced
my mind and stared straight ahead.
A boy was sitting in the seat opposite me on the train. He was 10 years old or so. The boy held an insect collecting net as he sat next to his mother, laughing happily.
"...Dokja-ssi?"
What if I had a different life from now? I mean, what if my life genre was different?
"Kim Dok..."
If the genre of my life wasn't 'realism' but 'fantasy... Could I be the protagonist? I
didn't
know. It would probably be unknown forever. However, there was one thing I
knew.
"It's okay, Haerin."
"Huh?"
"It won't work even if you tell me the app."
The genre of my life was obviously 'realism.'
"Dokja has a solo life."
"Huh? What....."
"I am just someone like that."
In this genre, I wasn't a protagonist but a
'solo' person.
"The life of a solo..." Jung Haerin had a serious expression on her face However, I waved my hands to show it was
really okay.
I didn't know why, but this person was
really worried about me. Maybe because she was part of the personnel department... I was already aware of my performance
though.
"Dokja-ssi is really good."
"Yes?"
"Then I will live an ivory life." (Haerin-
ivory)
Haerin seemed to have decided
something as she turned back to studying
Spanish. I gazed at her for a while before returning to the novel.
Everything had returned to normal, but
strangely, my scrolling of the novel didn't
go well. Maybe it was because I realized the weight of reality that I couldn't scroll down.
At that time, a notification appeared at the
top of my smartphone.
[You have one new mail.]
It was from the author of 'Ways of Survival.
I opened the mail. -Reader-nim, my novel will become paid from 7 p.m. This will be helpful. Good luck.
[1 attachment.]
The author said he would give me a gift. What was the gift?
...Like my name, I was also a reader by
nature. So, I was excited to receive the
mail.
Yes, it wasn't bad living as a reader.
I checked the time. It was 6:55 p.m. I had
exactly five minutes before the novel became monetized at 7 p.m. Then I opened up my list of preferred
novels in the app. Since I was the only reader, I should leave a congratulatory comment and give strength to the author.
However...
-The work doesn't exist.
I tried typing 'ruined' several times in the
search box, but the result was the same.
The bulletin board for 'Ways of Survival had disappeared without a trace. It was strange. Had there ever been a case of a novel being deleted without notification when it was going to be monetized? At that moment, the subway lights turned
off, and the inside of the train became dark.
Kiik-The subway train shook loudly and let out a metallic sound.
It caused Jung Haerin to scream and grab
my arm. Then I heard the sound of other people getting stirred up. Haerin gripped my arm so tightly that I paid more attention to the pain in my left arm than the sudden stop. It took a dozen seconds for the train to stop fully.
Then I heard confused voices coming from everywhere. "Uh, what?"
"W-What is this?"
In the dark, one or two smartphone lights
turned on. Haerin still held my left
arm tightly as she asked, "W-What is going
on?"
I pretended to be unconcerned. "Don't
worry. It isn't a big deal."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, it is probably a disturbance from a
suicide. The engineer will soon make an announcement."
As I finished speaking, I heard the engineer's announcement, Telling all passengers on the train. Telling all passengers on the train.
The loud surroundings became calm.
I sighed and opened my mouth, "See, it
isn't a big deal. Now an apology will air, and the power will come back on..."
-E-Everyone run away... Run....!
"What?"
There was broadcast turned off. The inside of the train became a mess.
a beeping sound, and the
"D-Dokja-ssi? What is this...?"
A bright light flashed from the front of the
subway train. There was a loud drumming sound followed by a pop. Something was heading this way in the
darkness. It was just a coincidence that I saw the clock at this moment-7:00p.m. Tick, it felt like the world was stopping.
Then I heard a voice:
[The free service of planetary system 8612 has been terminated.]
[The main scenario has started.]
This was the moment the genre of my life changed.