23/10/2030

•

•

•

The weekend is quiet. Where Juho was curled up on his apartment's sofa, comfortably absorbed in reading a novel he'd been curious about for a few weeks but only just now able to do so, with how busy he is as a middle-school teacher. His expression shifted frequently—confusion, wonder, then confusion again as he tried to make sense of the unfolding narrative.

With a sigh, he had to put his phone down for a moment and stare at the ceiling, the room now was engulfed in silence, as it always has been.

What was this story? The plot had taken such a strange turn, and he felt lost. "Damn the writer," he muttered under his breath. But almost immediately a sense of guilt crept in, and he quietly offered a quiet, unspoken apology to the author.

After all, there was something compelling about the madness. Maybe it was him who just didn't get it yet.

He's not one to read a novel, but he used to. Lately he felt rather lonely because he has been away from his family for a few years and still doesn't find time to visit them because of his work, and to relieve it, he idly opened the light novel website and came across a fantasy novel named "Villain Overkill."

Such a fancy name, he thought at the time. Because he was a rather curious person, he finally decided to read the novel today. At first he wasn't too excited, but it escalated quickly.

Ah, how would he describe it? The protagonist lost his entire family in a short span right in front of his eyes, all because of the author—no, because of the story and the things called Void Hood killed them. He couldn't imagine that happening to his family. Never.

Juho sighs for the umpteenth time. Reading novels like this made his desire to become a writer resurface. But reality hits hard—making real money means selling a ton of books, and his family's financial struggles when he was young made pursuing that dream feel even more impossible...

He shook his head and decided not to dwell about it too much, it's all in the past now. He went to grab his phone again, but somehow he suddenly felt a sting sensation when he held it, he reflexively hissed and threw his phone, instantly regretting it.

"What the heck is that?!"

Shortly after, the television, which he had not switched on, abruptly came to life. Displays a government warning that stated a large portion of data on the internet had been corrupted due to an attack by an unknown group, and it's not only happening in Korea. But all over the world.

'Impossible', he thought. However, it showed right in front of his eyes, and Juho became anxious.

He tried to calm himself down and went to pick up the phone on the floor. He brushed it lightly to make sure it was okay and turned on his phone.

He should still be on the novel's page. But somehow, it's now back to the home screen, he opened the website and sighs in relief when it's still functioning. Fortunately the network is running just fine.

But... It was empty, there were no recommendations for various novels like he had always seen before, only a blank page, but there's still a search bar. Hesitant, he types in the title that has been on his mind: Villain Overkill

As he hit enter, the website loaded, and what appeared next made his heart race...

The novel you are looking for... is unavailable? This means what was broadcast really happened. His body shook slightly, it hurt... After all, he had only read it for like 40 chapters, the novel has potential, he knows it. Is this really going to be a cliffhanger for him?

He clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms as he let out a heavy sigh. The gnawing sense of frustration pulsed within him.

Questions that remained unanswered seemed like splinters that were too deeply embedded to be removed. And this...this chaos? It was the worst cliffhanger of all.

"If only I could read the ending..." Juho murmured, a whisper lost in the quiet room. The novel had promised answers, yet the situation right now leaves him dangling over an abyss of mystery.

But now, he was caught in the middle of that very story, a story where pages didn't turn, and no hidden author could write out an ending to save him.

His mind flashed back to moments, pages, and half remembered words. Could it be... That the novel held the answer to all of this madness? Or was he just holding on to a thread of lies?

He shook his head, biting back the bitter taste. No. He couldn't let it go, not until he knew. If there was even a hint of truth in that story, he found the answer himself. Because he had to. He was done living in someone's incomplete story..

. . . A few minutes later, when he realized what he had thought, he felt embarrassed by himself. Not this nonsense again, keep in your mind that you're not special, Juho...

The government said that a large portion of data on the internet has been corrupted, the novel seems to be affected too. He hoped that was all that happened, but... What sane person would dare to do such things on such a large scale?

——Boom

Juho was snapped out of his thoughts and cursed under his breath. What else is that? He briefly closed his eyes, then moved to the window and opened it.

It looks like there's a riot out there, a lot of people are desperately screaming for help, but of course no one was coming to save them.

He swallowed hard, stepping back slowly. His breath hitched when he saw, in the distance, bodies collapsing—some of them cut down by a figure in a black robe.

A frown slowly formed on his forehead as he processed the scene before him. 'What the...? I bet that person will look at me.'

As Juho had predicted, suddenly the individual wearing a black robe abruptly turned their body towards him. Their gazes were cold and piercing. The startled Juho immediately crouched down and looked at his hands, which were trembling because of the mere glance alone.

Oh great heaven, his heart nearly almost fell out. He shouldn't have jinxed it in the first place.

Juho stiffly changes his position to sit on the floor and stares at his room in disbelief.

He gave his cheeks a few hard slaps to make sure that this was just a dream, but all that remained was the pain on his cheeks, which showed that all of this was not a dream but a reality

Juho looked at his phone lying on the table and remembered what was happening now, which is written at the beginning of the chapter in the novel, even the person in the black robe was in that novel. Void Hood, isn't that the name?

Juho closed his eyes and thought really hard, didn't the protagonist in Villain Overkill also read a novel that became reality, with the exact same circumstances as what was happening now? Meaning, he(Juho) was reading a novel about someone else who read a novel that also came true?

He's confused by the words that seem to be spinning in his mind. Taking a deep breath, he decided to step outside to see things for himself. As he opened the door, he was met by the sight of people running in fear.

A sense of dread hovered over him. Juho closed the door behind him and took his time, walking in the direction of the stairs.

He only walked on the edge and was also a bit worried because people were running from the upper floors, pushing each other, their frantic footsteps filling his ears. Adding to the unease.

He walked from the seventh floor to the first floor, each step felt heavier as the chaos continued to unfold around him. By the time he reached the bottom, nearly fifteen minutes had passed.

What happened next hit him like a cold wave. A person was crouched on the floor, shaking as they were clutching their friend's lifeless body with blood-stained hands. Another cried, their sobs choked with terror, while a man darted past, frantically searching for somewhere to hide.

Juho's chest tightened, but he forced himself to keep moving, trying not to let the rising panic cloud his mind. How did it come to this?

•

•

•

To Be Continued...