Chapter Text
Kim Dokja means only child and reader; which he is.
This reader is a lonely, worn down man who’s always been oblivious to positivity. Ever since he was 15, he’s been reading Three Ways To Survive The Apocalypse, or TWSA for short by tls123. He feels guilty, like he doesn't deserve to read something so great, because Dokja believes he is undeserving. Yet, he continues to do so.
The novel helps and has helped him through his worst moments. He doesn’t think of it as a mere story, not a novel to be put away, and not as something mere hidden behind fiction. KIm Dokja sees TWSA as a window to another reality where he can truly just be alone, but not lonely.
Constantly, the reader thinks of himself as Yoo Joonghyuk; the protagonist of TWSA. Whenever the reader is anxious, scared, or challenged, he thinks: “What would Yoo Joonghyuk do in this situation,” and “I am Yoo Joonghyuk.” Ever since he was 15, he’s been reassuring himself with a fictional world, an unhealthy attachment.
Kim Dokja is preparing himself instant ramen, because it’s all he can afford.
Work in the office of MinoSoft hasn’t been fun. (when is it ever fun to do work you don’t enjoy?) Kim Dokja’s acquaintance, Yoo Sangah, has been promoted. The reader had forgotten to congratulate her, but she didn’t seem to notice.
I mean, who would willingly notice someone like Kim Dokja?
He’s scrawny, malnourished, and quiet. He probably seems like a creep to her… but anyways, because of the promotion, it created a whole new problem for Kim Dokja.
Work was pushed onto him by his boss, Han Myungoh, and this boss is also giving Kim Dokja an earful of not getting work done quickly. Isn’t he rude?!
If you underpay me, don’t bother to complain about extra busy work!
It’s just useless, and it has Kim Dokja up all night searching for other jobs.
Really, it would be so much better if he could just read and not worry about jobs.. Searching for something to do, like a job, drains Dokja’s will to live(if there is any).
His contract at MinoSoft is coming to an end, and he still doesn’t have enough money to buy what he desires. It’d be so nice to have a shelf of books, but he can’t afford it.
Maybe, just maybe, tomorrow at work will be more fun. Afterall, Han Myungoh said we’re collaborating with a new team.
The morning is boring.
Kim Dokja is going through his usual, exhaustingly repetitive routine of getting ready for the day. The subway to work is, like always, crowded with the underpaid workers of Seoul. The reader easily blends in, holding onto a pole with one hand and reading a web-novel with the other. Today is the last chapter of TWSA. Kim Dokja feels melancholy and dissociative. He was going to read the last chapter after work, so he had something to look forward to, but he couldn’t wait. It’s not every day that something that’s been keeping you alive for 13 years just… ends.
It’s hard to believe.
There won’t be a prologue. The end of TWSA is short. It’s not grand, and there’s no happy ending. It just reads “Goodbye. Thank you for aiding me in this world, and I hope you can welcome me.”
Kim Dokja is confused.
What does this mean?
As the sole reader of this web-novel, he knew that these words were directed to him. But, it doesn’t make sense. Shouldn’t there be some… event? An event to indicate the ending? Whatever. Kim Dokja is just glad there’s no happy ending, as he’s always hated ‘happy endings.’ It’s not real, and it just makes Dokja feel empty.
But this, a vague ending breaking the fourth wall, leaves him not with emptiness, but confusion. It’s fine, though.
Afterall, it’s just fiction..
Right?
Stepping into the building of MinoSoft, the corporate smell hits him. It’s a facade of cleanliness. Kim Dokja walks to the elevator and takes himself up to the floor of his office. As he steps out of the elevator, he spots Yoo Sangah filling her water bottle with the water filter. She hears the elevator and glances behind her.
“Oh, Dokja-ssi, Hello.”
Kim Dokja is awkward, but he speaks anyway.
“‘Morning, Sangah-ssi. Uh, congrats on your promotion,”
Yoo Sangah smiles and nods at him. She’s smart and can recognize when someone is awkward, so she doesn’t push her small-talk any further. Kim Dokja goes to his cubicle, setting his bag down and sitting in his worn-down corporate chair. He boots up his laptop to get ready for work.
An hour or two pass by before the office doors suddenly open.
Kim Dokja looks up, and Han Myungoh is standing there in the doorway; his smug face pisses Dokja off.
“Hello, everyone. Today, our collaboration with Regression Gaming Works will be starting.”
Dread fills Dokja’s stomach. He has the feeling that Myungoh is going to give him even more unnecessary work.
Han Myungoh steps to the side and lets a few other people step into the room. There's 2 people; a young and short woman with a lollipop in her mouth, and… oh my.
Kim Dokja can only think that this is who tls123 was referring to when writing about Yoo Joonghyuk’s appearance.
There’s a tall, muscular, broad, gorgeous man with a stoic face, beautiful eyebrows and hair, and a jawline sharp enough to cut through skin. Kim Dokja is in awe, staring at the man’s beautiful aura.
The man looks directly at him.
The reader’s head drops as fear clogs his windpipe. Dokja didn’t expect the man to look at him, so when he did, Kim Dokja could only overthink.
What if he thinks the reader’s a freak? That he’s a creep?
The thoughts claw at Dokja’s mind, causing his nape to be covered in sweat underneath his shirt’s collar.
He busies himself by focusing on the work in front of him, just so he has something to distract himself with. Han Myungoh lets the team introduce themselves after showing them around the floor.
The black-haired woman speaks up first.
“Name’s Han Sooyoung, I’ll be in charge of looking over the game production. After-all, all these game ideas are mine!” She’s rather calm, but she speaks sort of arrogantly. The lollipop in her mouth waves around when she talks, and she looks at the guy beside her as she’s finished introducing herself.
“Yoo Joonghyuk.”
The man next to her spoke up. A deep, soft and at the same time gravelly voice, pleasing to the ears.
However, Kim Dokja is not pleased at all. He goes still as he hears the name.
No way.. Maybe it’s a coincidence? Maybe Yoo Joonghyuk’s name from TWSA is more common than the reader thought..?
He’s stunned. Kim Dokja feels like he’s between life and death, teetering on top of a thin dry dam.
The day passes by slowly, slower than the reader would like. He finds his thoughts drifting back to Yoo Joonghyuk every chance he gets. In the meantime, he does work that's not even assigned to him.
During lunch break Kim Dokja is going to the cafeteria to get a cup of water, because anything else would cost too much for him right now. As much as he wants to eat something other than store-bought kimbap and instant ramen, he doesn’t have the money for anything else. The reader’s thoughts are rapidly changing every second as he sits down by the window with his cup of water.
He brings his hands to his head, hoping that in some impossible way it could calm his thoughts down.
It hurts, his mind feels like it’s getting punctured by a thousand needles; it’s cold, unforgiving, and painful.
The reader's whole body feels like TV static.
Yoo Sangah spots Kim Dokja sitting by himself. He looks… rather miserable.
Sangah would like to believe that he’s simply having a rough day, but it looks like he’s suffering. She recognizes it; that pose, the cup of water and nothing else, the anxiously jittering leg..
He’s uneasy.
Kim Dokja startles when the table underneath him rattles. He quickly looks up, taking a second for his mind to process that Yoo Sangah just sat in front of him.
She’s smiling. He can’t understand why she’s smiling…
This reader is no one special,and he’s never even greeted Sangah first.
He lowered his hands from his head. Sangah’s smile falters as she goes to hold them, but then she retreats her hands. She doesn’t know if he's okay with it or not.
The reader nods, seemingly granting permission to hold his hands.
She smiles and brings her hands forward to his, her warm hands holding his cold and clammy ones.
Kim Dokja melts into the touch.
It’s been so, so long since he’s been touched with good intention.
The reader’s heavy eyes soften, and Sangah’s chest feels warm. She makes no effort to talk to him, and he appreciates it. He’s never been good with talking.
Afterall, he’s just a reader,
not an author.
Sangah looks at his eyes and nods. Kim Dokja nods back. They’re checking in with each other.
From another table over, Han Sooyoung watches this interaction go down. She’s drinking a coffee, sitting with an empty plate on the table.Yoo Joonghyuk had gone off to discuss plans for the gaming production with the boss.
Ever since arriving here, Han Sooyoung has had her eyes on Yoo Sangah.
I mean, who wouldn’t? She’s practically a model. Her long light brown, almost golden hair flows like water against her. Her eyes, kind and full of understanding that shines like the sun. And oh,
Han Sooyoung has been entranced by her.