Chapter 2

“I’m Dokja . ” [1]

I usually introduced myself to people like this, then the following misunderstanding would occur .

“Oh, are you an only child?”

“I am, but that isn’t what I mean . ”

“Huh? Then?”

“My name is Dokja . Kim Dokja . ”

Kim Dokja (Highly Respected Only Son)—my father gave me that name to be a strong man by myself . However, thanks to the name my father gave me, I turned out to be just a normal single and lonely man . In short, it was like this: I was Kim Dokja, 28 years old, and single . My hobby was reading web novels on the subway .

“Then I’ll go on my smartphone . ”

In a noisy subway, I raised my head reflexively . A pair of curious eyes were staring straight at me . They belonged to an employee from the human resources team, Yoo Sangah .

“Ah, hello . ” I greeted her .

“Are you going home from work?”

“Yes . What about Yoo Sangah-ssi?” [2]

“I was lucky . The manager went on a business trip today . ” Yoo Sangah sat down soon as the seat next to me became vacant . A subtle scent came from her shoulders, making me nervous .

“Do you normally take the subway?”

“That…” Yoo Sangah made a dark expression . Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d met Yoo Sangah on a subway train . Starting with Personnel Manager Kang to Finance Manager Han… There were rumors that Yoo Sangah had men from the company driving her home every workday . Yet unexpected words came from Yoo Sangah’s mouth, “Someone stole my bicycle . ”

Bicycle .

“You commute by bike?”

“Yes! I have a lot of overtime these days and seem to be lacking exercise . It is a bit annoying, but it is worth doing . ”

“Aha, I see . ”

Yoo Sangah smiled . Looking closer at her, I could understand the feelings men held toward her . However, it was none of my business . Every person had a genre of life, and Yoo Sangah was someone who lived a genre different from myself . After the awkward conversation, we looked at our phones . I opened up the novel app I was reading on before while Yoo Sangah… What was this?

“Por favor dinero . ”

“Huh?”

“Spanish . ”

“…I see . What does it mean?”

“Please give me some money,” Yoo Sangah replied proudly . Studying on the subway while going home… She truly had a genre different from me . However, what was the use of memorizing words?

“You’re working hard . ”

“By the way, what is Dokja-ssi looking at?”

“Ah, I…”

Yoo Sangah’s gaze was fixed on the LCD screen of my smartphone . “Is it a novel?”

“Yes, well… I am studying Korean . ”

“Wow, I also like novels . I haven’t been able to read lately because I don’t have time…” It was surprising . Yoo Sangah liked reading novels…? “Novels like Murakami Haruki, Raymond Carver, Han Kang…”

I thought so .

Yoo Sangah asked, “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 . [3]

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…”

Yoo Sangah’s eyes widened . “Aha . Lord of the Rings . I’ve seen the movie . ”

“The movie is good . ”

The silence continued for a moment . Yoo Sangah 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 Yoo Sangah’s expression .

“Ah, I…” Yoo Sangah trailed off .

I had forgotten . Yoo Sangah 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 Yoo Sangah 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 Yoo Sangah made an effort . I just read novels on the Internet, while Yoo Sangah studied hard . It was natural that Yoo Sangah 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?” Yoo Sangah’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 is okay, Yoo Sangah-ssi . ”

“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…” Yoo Sangah had a serious expression on her face . 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 . ” [4]

Yoo Sangah 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 . [5]

[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 .

Kiiiiiiiik-! The subway train shook loudly and let out a metallic sound . It caused Yoo Sangah to scream and grab my arm . Then I heard the sound of other people getting stirred up . Yoo Sangah 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 . Yoo Sangah 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 a beeping sound, and the broadcast turned off . The inside of the train became a mess .

“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—7:00 p . 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 .

[1] Dokja= can mean only son or reader

[2] -ssi: -ssi (씨) is the most commonly used honorific used amongst people of approximately equal speech level .

[3] 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 while keeping the author’s different name for any fans of the novel .

[4] Sangah=ivory

[5] nim (님) is the highest form of honorifics and above -ssi .