'What the actual fuck am I reading?'
The thought never came out of the man's mouth. But somewhere in the back of his mind, an irritated voice was telling him that he should close his laptop and throw it straight out the nearest window.
Truth be told, he was tempted to do so, very tempted, but he resisted the urge. If he didn't, then he'd be the one sweeping up the mess and financing its replacement.
And that would be a huge problem.
'Maybe I should give it another read…'
The man casually sighed and forced himself to scroll up the screen to the top pages and reread the chapter again.
"The hero glared heroically into the heroic sunset…"
Staring at the line, his eyebrows twitched.
"What's with the 'heroic' redundancy? No, more importantly, what in the world is a 'heroic sunset' even supposed to be?"
He gave the page another troubled look as he read another sentence.
"His eyes were as blue as the bluest ocean—"
But that was where he stopped reading.
He hadn't even reached the end of the sentence. The words cut off mid-line. No, more like he couldn't finish it. His mind refused to process the rest!
Whatever cursed string of words he had been reading, whatever sacrilegious nonsense dared arrange itself so brazenly on the page…
It was blasphemous!
The man closed his eyes, he took a deep breath in, and then he let it all out with a heavy sigh.
"The hell is wrong with this chapter?"
[The Hero That Left The Academy]
That was the novel he was reading now. It wasn't officially published on any platform yet. The story was still in its early stages. And he was one of the very few permitted to see it.
A proofreader.
Up to a certain point, the writing had been fine. Decent, even. But these recent chapters… it wasn't what it used to be anymore.
"Is something going on with the author?"
His fingers pressed against his temples as if that would steady his thoughts.
"It feels like she's rushing her story these couple of weeks."
From what he knew, she wasn't supposed to be in a hurry. She had plenty of time. She planned to publish the novel next year, after all.
So why did it read like she was trying to escape her own story?
Shaking his head, the man turned and stared at the far wall where a corkboard leaned. It was layered with paper clippings, annotated screenshots, and printed excerpts.
Each page was tacked, dissected with obsessive care. A few red threads crisscrossed the corkboard, binding his conclusions in place.
Those were his investigation into one specific criminal that he had managed to solve a few weeks ago.
'Somehow, solving any criminal case is easier than trying to guess what's inside her head.'
Ding!
His monitor lit up with a new notification.
[Chapter 1602 uploaded: The Hero Who Left the Academy – Beta Reading Access.]
The man frowned as he read the notification.
"Another chapter?"
"So, seven chapters for today?" He said, staring at his computer screen in disbelief.
[@TheCurator: This will be the last chapter btw…]
He reread the first attached message below the notification, then frowned even more.
"Huh!? What is she talking about…?"
"The story is not even finished yet?"
A short laugh slipped out from him. He wasn't amused at all. Yet it came out because he didn't know how to react to that news.
'Don't tell me she's planning to drop the story?'
He didn't like that sort of possibility either. In fact, the idea alone made his stomach twist. But for some reason, it felt like the only explanation that made sense.
'Was I harsh with the previous feedback?'
"Ugh. Seriously… she'd better not drop the story."
He muttered his complaint and leaned back in his chair.
His gaze drifted toward the window.
Outside, the cars were moving slowly on the street. Their headlights were shining on the road, as if to tell that the cities rarely sleep.
The stars, for once, were scattered clearly across the sky. While in the center, the moon was luminous, watching over his city.
The man let the sight of the beautiful moon settle into him.
Staring at it always calms his mind.
Poetic, isn't it? His mother named him Yuzuki Nozomi, which meant 'Moon of Hope', and now the very same man named after the moon sought what little peace he could by losing himself in its blue light.
The moon's radiance washed over his windowpane, casting tremulous reflection across the glass.
His own image stared back at him.
He had short, brown hair that softened the look of his ocean-blue eyes. But the rest of his face did not show much emotion.
Slowly, an incredulous smile stretched on his face in the reflection.
"We've been working on this together for 1,600 chapters… you can't do this to me now. Who else would chew this many chapters if not me?"
He couldn't help but laugh while shaking his head in absolute stupefaction.
"Ah wait, there is that other masochist girl, too, but my point is…"
"Haa.."
He sighed, then closed his eyes and pulled his hair back with frustration. If it was true that she's dropping the story… then, he will never get to see the ending of it.
'What a shame.'
Seeing the ending of this novel was all he ever wanted from this story. And was also the reason why he had stayed as the beta reader.
'No… this won't do.'
Then, his fingers, almost of their own volition, drifted back to the keyboard.
There was still a way to change things around.
"Alright, to make sure she doesn't drop the story yet… I'll give her an encouraging comment. That would work. This is probably just one of her dramatic writer's moments."
Click-clack.
The sound of his keyboard filled the room. With that, the man worked continuously for more hours on his computer.
*****
After what felt like long hours of editing and writing, his gaze drifted toward the bottom corner of the monitor.
[11:47 PM. April 1, 2029]
His hands stopped moving on the keyboard.
'Huh? It's already late.'
Standing up from his chair, the man stretched until his back made a cracking sound. He picked up his plastic cup of coffee, and was about to head to the kitchen, but then…
His phone suddenly rang.
Buzz!
The sharp intrusion caught his attention.
'Hm?'
He turned his head toward the offending noise.
[Caller: Shindo]
'Haaa… not him again.'
The phone buzzed across the desk.
Yuzuki stared at it, his face devoid of emotion. Honestly, he was considering ignoring it, letting it ring itself until it stopped.
That would have made his life easier tonight.
But it might cause him trouble later. He doesn't like trouble, and he doesn't want to eagerly answer the call, as well.
So, he waited until the third ring, letting his small, petty habit rule his decision, only then did he pick up the call with a tired voice.
"Yes?"
"Yuzuki-san!"
Shindo's voice exploded through the speaker. Cheerful and far too loud for this late hour.
'Should I end the call here?'
Yuzuki grimaced and felt a faint regret for answering it.
"Got a sec? I need your insight on a case."
With a heavy sigh, he brought his cup of coffee closer to his mouth and sipped the last remaining of it.
Then, he sat back in his chair, and brought the phone closer to his ear.
"Go on." Yuzuki replied.
"Okay. You know the convenience store burglary last night? Security footage caught the guy on camera, but the mask makes ID'ing him a total pain!"
"So, until now, we got absolutely nothing, no fingerprints, no distinct features. Just a black hoodie, dark jeans and gloves. The guy's careful!" Shindo explained.
Yuzuki let the words pass over him, his eyes resting on the shadows stretching across the far wall.
'What? How did they not figure it out yet?'
Yuzuki put the cup back on the table.
"The footage… did you check the timestamp when he entered?" Yuzuki asked.
"Erm, yeah, around 2:13 AM."
"And when he left?"
"Uh… 2:19 AM. Why?"
"Too fast."
"Huh?"
"The register was emptied. Shelves ransacked. Six minutes inside a store full of cameras, alarms, and a few things that make noise when they break. Do you really believe someone just strolled in and managed to speedrun the whole thing completely alone?"
The line went quiet for a moment.
Then, Shindo's voice came back a little too loud.
"No way, so you're saying he wasn't working alone all this TIME?!!"
Yuzuki frowned and pulled the phone away.
'Ugh. Does he have to shout?'
"Yes. He had an accomplice, someone on the inside." Yuzuki replied, almost disinterested.
"That's the clue. Now, shoo. Go and solve it. I'm going to sleep, and don't call me again until tomorrow afternoon."
"Got it! Haha, and sorry. I knew you already figured everything out."
"Ah, right, one more thing. That old geezer has been running his mouth again… telling the newcomers that you're always freakishly lucky, arrogant, a show-off, and a completely shameless playboy!"
'Huh?'
"But I know that's not true. You're just always good at what you do," Shindo said, sounding oddly proud of it.
"Ah…" Shindo's voice faltered, as if he suddenly realized what he'd just said.
"Ahem! M-my bad. Sorry, Yuzuki-san. I forgot you don't like being praised!"
'No, no, no, hold on.'
Firstly, the praise is not the problem here. And secondly, where did he even get that character summary of him? Which old geezer was it this time?
Yuzuki blinked slowly, trying to process his thoughts.
And… since when did he ever say that he hated being praised!?
Ridiculous.
He very much welcomed any praise.
"Anyway!" Shindo jumped back in, determined to recover after Yuzuki's long silence.
"Thanks again. I owe you one, Yuzuki-san. We'll take care of it from here."
'...'
"Don't bother," Yuzuki quickly replied.
"…Eh?"
Yuzuki never asked for anything in return. He helped because it was logical. After all, at the end of the day… it was just what he chose to do.
"Also, good work," Yuzuki added.
Before Shindo could respond, Yuzuki ended the call.
The screen glowed quietly, returning to the homepage of his nightly ritual.
"…Alright. Time to submit this to her."
[The Hero Who Left the Academy.]
With a small click that barely made a sound, he saved the file, then opened his Diskbox.
The thread was already there, second from the top.
[3 People] – marked as Online, including himself, with a tiny green circle glowing quietly beside their name.
Yuzuki immediately sent the message and the attachment.
[@SpicySteroids]: Finished Chapter 1602. Feedback attached.
[@DuchessOfGoon]: Holy shet, already? I'm still stuck at Chapter 1595 (T-T). Why are you working so fast? Author, punish this man! Also, can someone change my name back? I want my DuchessOfDoom title again (T-T).
Yuzuki let out a small laugh.
'Pftt. Why is she complaining? She was the one who asked for that. Once it's granted, there's no going back.'
He shook his head and reached toward the power button.
Then, when he was about to turn it off, a jolt came—tore through his right hand like static given malice.
"Tch!"
The laptop slipped off the desk with a dull thud on the carpet. His fingers were still twitching from the jolt.
Yuzuki stared at his hand, then at the laptop lying on the floor.
'…What was that?'
Dumbfounded by the situation, he kneeled slowly next to the corpse of his laptop and stared at the black screen. In the glossy surface, his own distorted reflection stared back at him.
Yuzuki reached his finger out and pressed the power button again. But the device did not respond.
Whether the device was truly dead or simply pretending, he couldn't tell. At this point, he wasn't sure the difference even mattered.
He let out a quiet sigh, more tired than frustrated.
"This is driving me nuts."
His mind felt heavier than usual. He was extremely tired and drowsy. If the laptop was truly broken, he would deal with it tomorrow then.
As for tonight?
He didn't feel urgent enough for him to care.
'Yeah, I should just sleep and call it a day.'
He went to the bathroom to clean himself up before he climbed into his bed. After a while, his gaze wandered back to the laptop on the floor, lingering there without much concern.
"But why would it suddenly snap like that?"
He stared at it longer than he meant to.
"Whatever."
Then, his hand reached toward the switch beside the bed and turned off the light.
The room became dark.
He pulled the blanket up to his shoulders and shut his eyes.
'I'll just send it to Shindo to inspect it tomorrow.'
But then, just as his world began to fade at the edges, something weird happened…
On the carpet, where his attention had been moments before, the laptop sparked back to life.
A violent bloom of garbled text, glitching and twitching across the monitor.
▓̴̛͍͇F̸̨̯̝̬I̵̟̦̮̪̪L̴̬̜͔͚E̵͎̺̖͠ ̶͙̤̯N̵̯͈̮͎A̷͚̠M̷̹̮E̷̡:̶̙ ̸̼̖"̸̺̳̮̱T̷̘̼̲̯̪h̴̖͉̻͈e̷̙̳̖ ̵͓̖̺H̴̹͙̜͖e̵̟͉̼ͅr̶̺͇̜̖̼o̶̡̠̖̝̘ ̵̥̠ͅW̴͍̬h̷͍̘̞͉̺ơ̶̝͔̳̱ ̸̰̼͚̬L̸͕̫̟̟e̴͎̹f̸̡̩̞̟t̸̳͘ ̴͎t̵͚̝͇̥h̶̠̳̤e̴͕̱ ̴̮̜A̴͇͙͓c̵͙̪͉a̸̬̯͉̜d̶̨̼̠̹͙e̵̢̮̳̟m̵̡̟̤y̷̢̘"̸̼̟͜
And then, below it, another line followed.
I̵̺̻͕̝̝T̸̢̳̥̯̩̙ ̸̪͕̺̮͓W̴̲͚̟̞̪̯A̵̼̯S̷̞̼̙ ̴̖̦̳N̷͇̖̼̤̹͠E̸͍̤̯̘̰̬V̶̢̼͉̳E̷͚͓R̴͓̰̱̦ ̵̲̠͖̳̩͜M̶͚̟̱̫ͅͅĘ̴̠͈̻̼A̷͓͕ͅN̶̤̫̬͖T̷͖̲̱̬ ̶̡̤̺̼̫T̷͚͈͎Ó̶̻ ̶͓̼̥̯̪̠E̷͉̘̘͎͉N̷͓̝̙͕͓D̵͔ ̷͙̯͉̯L̸̺̞̪͕I̵̟̪̠K̴̪̟̝̮̰̬Ę̸̯̥ ̴͇̟̻͕T̶̢͉͈H̸̢͔̥I̵͙̱̼͕S̶͔̬
In an instant, the screen blinked out and the light died.
For a while, silence returned.
But above the bed, in that thick, dark of his room…
A second figure was rising slowly.
It had Yuzuki's shape. His face. His exact sleeping posture. It hovered weightless and translucent, as if his reflection was peeling itself free from a mirror.
And all around, the room began to fracture.
The edges of his desk wavered, bleeding into flickering pixels. Corners of the room peeled apart as if the reality itself was corrupting.
And then, the next thing he knew, when he woke up from his sleep, it wasn't the same world anymore.
It entirely became something out of—
A fictional story.
W̷͓̜͠R̴̝̱̞̝̳͈I̸͍T̶̺͇̜̮̜E̷̝̫̬̖ ̵͇̘̼̤A̸̢͓̤̝̮ ̸̺̙̫̦͓̮N̶̪̪̯̱̫̘E̵͚̪̘̘̼̲W̷͓̬͔̳̥ ̷̢͓̮̰̞͚̝E̴̺̟̖͕̙̞N̸͙͍̼̘̯D̸̼̝̪͖I̵͙̖̱͎̹̬N̶̞̤̼͜G̷̪…̸͉͎̦̪ ̶͓̠̘̟̲O̷̬͈̼̥̬̤R̴̘͕ ̸̹͎͎̱̤̱B̶̪͈͙̖̰̳E̷̥̥ ̸̘̬̞C̷̞̬O̶̼̹̝̠̺N̶̯̬̱̬͖̥S̶̹͉U̷͈̜̠̝̤M̶̮̦̮̳̯͇E̷̠̼D̸̖̠͜ ̴͈̘̮̯̮W̶͉̩I̶͙͎̝̖T̸̰͍H̸̢̲ ̴̯̲̼͖̟̥I̸̠̳̖T̴͚.̵̡̳̖
──────── ✦ ────────
[Chapter 1: A Fictional Story]