"This is ridiculous."
In a dim, gloomy room, a frustrated nineteen-year-old guy muttered the words through gritted teeth. Jin slouched in his chair, glaring at the novel in his hands.
It was one of those typical harem stories—the cover showed a smug protagonist surrounded by beautiful girls, the title screaming wish-fulfillment.
"How is this even possible?" he snapped. "One guy gets every girl to fall for him just like that? No effort, no struggle—boom, another one joins the harem."
With an annoyed grunt, he hurled the book straight into the trash can.
"What a waste of money. I can't believe I actually bought this garbage."
He was pissed. The main character had just charmed yet another perfect woman without lifting a finger, adding her to his ever-growing collection like it was nothing.
"This author is completely delusional. Reality isn't like that."
Jin had just started college this year, full of hope and big dreams.
He'd imagined the perfect campus life: tons of friends to hang out with, fun adventures, maybe a cute girlfriend, nothing supermodel-level, just someone sweet and pretty he could take on simple dates, hold hands with, feel normal with.
But life had other plans. Zero friends. No girlfriend. Just endless pressure from exams, assignments, and studying. On top of his part-time job at a grocery store.
It wasn't like he was ugly or weak. He was decent-looking, average but not bad, and he could build some muscle if he tried. It just... never happened for him. Bad luck, he guessed.
Those harem novels were his escape—the one thing that kept him going through all the stress.
Today, he'd bought a new one, hoping to relax and lose himself in some harmless fantasy. Instead, it was the same old trash: unrealistic scenes that only existed in lonely guys' dreams.
Jin leaned back in his chair, letting his head drop against the headrest. He closed his eyes, trying to calm the irritation bubbling inside him.
The room was dead quiet except for the steady tick-tock of the wall clock.
Then, suddenly, a bright light flashed behind his eyelids.
Jin snapped his eyes open—and froze. "What the fuck?"
Floating right in front of him was a glowing blue screen. The kind you only saw in novels or games.
"Is this some kind of prank?" He whipped his head around, scanning the room for hidden cameras or laughing roommates.
Nothing.
He stared back at the screen. New text slowly appeared, letter by letter.
Loading...
Jin blinked hard, half-convinced he was hallucinating from reading too many of these stories.
"Is this real? Am I finally losing it?"
Curious and nervous, he reached out with his right hand to touch it. His fingers passed straight through—like poking a glitchy hologram—rippling the surface with static.
Then more text popped up. And it made his blood run cold.
This is real, you dumb fuck. You called me delusional? Said my novel was ridiculous? Thought you were better than my main character? Ungrateful little critic. Let's see how YOU handle it.
"What...? Hey!"
Chosen Host: Jin
Age: 20
Offense: Being an ungrateful little critic.
Penalty: Transmigration into the exact same "ridiculous" world of the novel you just threw in the trash.
"Wait—transmigration? What do you—" Jin shot up from his chair, voice rising in panic.
But before he could process it, an invisible force yanked his body forward—straight toward the screen.
"Hey! Wait! I didn't mean tha—!"
His words cut off as the screen swallowed him whole, pulling him in like a black hole.
In an instant, Jin vanished leaving his lonely room, clock ticking and the trash can with the novel.