Chapter Text
“Hey Sooyoung, do you believe in fate?”
Riiingggg...
My hands reach outward to (rather aggressively) turn off my ringing alarm clock. A yawn leaves my lips before I blink several times as earth calls me back to reality. Honestly, that was quite a weird, distant dream. Does anyone ever even get those?
“Miss Sooyoung! Come down, breakfast is ready.”
A voice spoke loud and clear, and I couldn’t help but grumble as I dragged myself out of my room. Walking down the stairs, I tidy and straighten myself up for one last time before moving towards the dining table.
Fluffy pancakes drizzled in sweet maple syrup, good quality berries, creamy yoghurt and more things that I didn’t want to name out were freshly set on the table. Average morning breakfast, you could say. Munching on my food, my thoughts get lost in thinking about what I should do for the day.
Since summer break began recently, I was honestly kind of planning to spend my time with a junior named Lee Jihye. She’s actually really enjoyable to be with. The first time I saw her was when she was sent to detention for throwing a crumpled piece of paper on her physics teacher’s head. Did Kim Namwoon, her (probably psychopathic) boyfriend coax her into doing so? I’m not so sure.
I finish up my breakfast and stand up from my seat. After several hours of excruciatingly doing other things, my hands were now busying themselves in typing a new chapter for my webnovel. Although I’ve been stopping every few minutes just to text Lee Jihye.
– Hey unnie, sorry, cant hang out with ya this week
– What? Why?
– Namwoons bein annoying and he keeps asking me to hang with him
– Oh. That’s alright, I guess I could stop by a library for once.
– For your novel, rightt?
– Yeah.
- Oh, goodluck thennn
I turn off my phone and throw it atop my mattress, the object in collision with the soft material. Now, what else could I possibly do?
. . .
A warm cheery voice entered my ears, “Welcome to Sangah’s library!”
My body stiffens for a minute and I nod my head, an awkward smile present on my face. Turning over to the woman's left, I passed through quickly. The scent of fresh books met with my nose. My eyes lingered around the shelves and the tip of my fingers brushed against the neatly organized spines of the material.
“Should I add romantic qualities to my novel? Maybe even more action? Or should I go with different fighting styles for my characters?” I mumble to myself as I continue.
My feet stumbles upon a plated name tag, a name engraved in the small silver object. My lips utter the following words on it. “Kim Dokja?”
Everyone present in the room were all helpers with each of their little name plates, I found it quite adorable to be honest. The thought of one of them panicking about losing it would be quite silly. Stopping myself from getting distracted any further, I march towards the front desk. I talked to the lady for a while before offering it to her. Showing me her gratitude in helping, I found myself smiling.
A voice appeared behind me, presumably a man’s, “Excuse me, that name tag that you have there. Could that possibly be mine?”
Turning over, my shoulder accidentally bumps against his chest and his phone comes crashing down on the ground. With guilty conscience, I pick it up quickly and notice something on the screen. Familiar contents come into view and my eyes sparkle in astonishment.
“Wait a minute, isn’t this my novel?”
“Ah— You wrote this?” He says.
A hand on my hip, I say with a smug grin. “Of course.”
His eyes narrow slightly, “Sorry, but it looks like a plagiarized copy of another novel that I’ve read.”
Like how his phone fell out of his hand, my own words fell out of my mouth. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but my work is an original masterpiece.”
Seemingly unsurprised, the man called Kim Dokja didn’t bother to formulate an answer and took the name tag from the lady behind me.
“Hey wait! If you’re so good at coming up with something, then why can’t you just help me make a novel then?”
Kim Dokja stops infront of me before turning around, “I didn’t mention being a writer. But as a reader, I take pride in the justification that you shouldn’t plagiarize someone else's hard work.”
To my retaliation, I respond through a shout. “I’m telling you that I didn't plagiarize anything!”
Someone interrupted behind us, their tone filled with strictness. “This is a library. If you’d like to talk loudly, then please escort yourself outside.”
Kim Dokja nodded along, and I felt my blood boil. Seriously, why does he not believe me at all? Taking a turn, I make my way towards the exit and leave briefly. Maybe I’d come by the next day to inquire about when his shifts would happen. Just so that I could avoid going on those days.
If I ever see his face again, I bet I’d want to scratch it right off!