Shin Soobin blinked groggily as sunlight poured into his room, filtering through the blinds. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, feeling the familiar comfort of his bed beneath him. His black hair, messy from sleep. He stretched his arms, feeling the slight pull in his muscles. It was just another normal day in his life.
'Another day, another routine,' he thought, yawning. He dragged himself out of bed, lazily shuffling through his morning routine—brushing his teeth, grabbing a quick breakfast, and then throwing on his casual college attire: a black hoodie and jeans. Just before heading out he checked his reflection in the bathroom mirror—a typical Korean guy, maybe slightly better looking than most with his defined features and sharp eye and fair skin but nothing too out of the ordinary.
"Alright, let's get this over with" Soobin muttered to himself as he grabbed his backpack and headed out the door. The bustling streets of Seoul greeted him with their usual cacophony. 'Ughhh....just how people can look so alive in this rush,' he thought, sidestepping through the crowd of people.
On the metro, Soobin managed to squeeze into a seat, sighing in relief. 'Finally.' With a habitual motion, he pulled out his phone.
The first thing he did was open kakao and check whether his favourite webnovel was updated or not. Echoes of the Spiritbound. The title alone sent a jolt of excitement through him. This was his only joy currently in his lonely life.
'ah lets see what's going on in the new chapter,' he thought, diving into the latest chapter. He had been following the novel religiously for months, captivated by the story of heroes, spirits, and flashy skills.
The train rumbled along, and Soobin got lost in the novel, completely absorbed. Just as the mc prepared to unleash a skill , the lights in the train flickered. Soobin frowned, glancing up. 'What the hell?' The train gave a sudden jolt. He blinked, confused as an eerie silence fell over the passengers.
Suddenly, a loud crash—a deafening boom—filled the air. The lights went out, and Soobin's body fell forward, the world around him collapsing into blackness.
---
Soobin gasped for air, jolting awake, his heart pounding violently in his chest. 'What the f..… just happened?' His breathing was ragged as he sat up, trying to shake off the sense of disorientation. He blinked rapidly, his vision slowly clearing.
'was it just a dream?' he thought , his lips dry
He reached out for the bottle of water which was usually kept on the table by his bed.
But suddenly he realised, 'Wait… this isn't…' His eyes darted around the room. The bed beneath him was soft—far too luxurious for his cheap apartment. The room was decorated with glowing, luminescent plants, and the walls were decorated with glowing orbs , casting soft light across the room. The air felt different—lighter, fresher. It smelled like… pine?
'Where the hell am I?'
Soobin leaped out of bed, his mind spinning. 'Okay, okay, think. What the hell happened? One moment I'm on the metro… and now I'm in some weird, fancy room?' He scanned the space, desperate for something familiar. But everything was alien—the elegant furniture, the glowing plants, the extreme futuristic technology.
"Where is my phone??" he frantically started searching his pockets,
Panic clawed at his chest as his eyes locked onto a mirror across the room. He stumbled towards it, his reflection catching him off guard. His face was the same—his black hair, his sharp jawline—but something was off. His clothes were strange. He was dressed in fine, unfamiliar fabric, more fine than anything he owned. 'What is this? since when did i have clothes like this?'
He swallowed hard, staring at the reflection. "This… this can't be real. what the hell is happening"
Just as he was about to freak out entirely, a soft voice called out from downstairs. "Soobin! Breakfast is ready!"
He froze. 'Thats…my name... and thats not my moms voice.'
A cold shiver ran down his spine as he tried to make sense of what was happening. 'Whose house is this? And who the hell is calling me?'
His legs moved on their own as he left the room and descended the stairs,. At the bottom of the stairs stood a woman, smiling warmly at him. She looked familiar, like he had known her for years, but Soobin couldn't place her.
"Soobin its not nice to sleep till so late," she said, her voice stern but warm. "I was just about to come wake you."
Soobin stared at her, his throat dry. "Wh-who… are you?"
The woman's expression faltered slightly, concern flickering in her eyes. "Soobin? What's wrong? Are you feeling okay?"
'Soobin? She called me Soobin again?.' He blinked, trying to process. 'Wait. This can't be…'
Suddenly, his head throbbed violently. Pain surged through his mind, and memories—memories that weren't his—began flooding in, like a dam bursting open. Images flashed before his eyes. The room. The woman. His life… but not his life. He clutched his head, trying to fight it, but the memories kept coming.
'This body… this person… is Soobin too. But he's not me. He's… someone else.'
His chest tightened as the realization crashed into him.
He was in a different world.. he was inside "echoes of spiritbound".
"This… this is the world of the novel," he whispered, the words barely leaving his lips.
The woman's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Soobin? You're scaring me. Are you alright?"
'I'm not alright! I'm trapped in a damn novel!' his mind screamed, but he forced a shaky smile. "I… I'm fine, just… a little tired, I guess."
The woman nodded, though her expression was still laced with worry. "Come, sit down and eat. You'll feel better."
Soobin's legs felt like jelly as he made his way to the dining table, his thoughts a chaotic mess. 'This isn't real. This can't be happening. How is this even possible?' He picked up the utensils with trembling hands, pretending to eat, though his mind was far from the food in front of him.
'so I am possessing this random nobody in this world… not even a background character? How am I supposed to survive here? How am I supposed to go home??"
The overwhelming reality of his situation hit him like a ton of bricks. He wasn't the protagonist, or some powerful hero with a destined fate. He was just a nobody—insignificant, forgotten, never even mentioned in the story.
'What the hell am I supposed to do now?'