"I'm Dokja¹."
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."
My father gave me that name so that I'd become a strong man even
if I was on my own. However, thanks to this name that my father
gave me, I was simply living as a single man, unremarkable in my
loneliness.
In short, my life was like this: Kim Dokja, 28 years old, single.
My hobby was reading web novels on the subway while going to
and from work.
"At this rate, you'll get sucked into your 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-ssi²?"
"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! It's because I felt like I've been getting less and less exercise
since I've been working overtime a lot lately. And because there was
also a bit of an annoying matter… Things like that were why."
Aha, so that's how it was.
Yoo Sangah smiled brightly. Seeing her this close, I could kind of
understand why men found her attractive, but, ultimately, it didn't
matter to me. The genre of every person's life was already
determined, and Yoo Sangah was someone who lived in a genre
different from mine. 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?
"Puede prestarme 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. But where was she planning to use a phrase like
that after learning it?
"You're working hard."
"By the way, what is Dokja-ssi looking at?"
"Ah, I…"
In the moment it took me to think, 'Oh, shoot,' Yoo Sangah's gaze
landed on the LCD screen of my smartphone. "Is it a novel?"
"Yes, well… You could say that I'm 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…"
Ah, of course.
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.
I couldn't say that I was reading 'The World after the Fall by Sing
Shangshong'.
"It's just a fantasy novel. It's… What was it again? Right, Lord of the
Rings, it's kind of like that…"
Yoo Sangah's eyes widened. "Aha. The Lord of the Rings. I've also
seen the movies."
"Yes, the movies are good."
Silence followed. Yoo Sangah was still looking in my direction and
seemed to be waiting for me to say something. It was getting
awkward. So, I decided to change the topic. "It's already been one
year since we joined the company, hasn't it? It was around this time
last year, I think. Time really flies."
"Yes, you're right. Back then, the two of us had no idea what was
going on, didn't we?"
"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, that's right, that happened. My congratulations are late. Sorry
about that. Haha, maybe I should've worked hard to study a foreign
language too."
"N-no, not at all, Dokja-ssi! There's still the performance review,
and…"
I didn't want to admit it, but the sight of Yoo Sangah speaking—it
was pretty cool. Her face seemed to glow with a brilliant light, as
though the world's spotlight was shining down on only one person.
If this world were a novel, the protagonist would likely be someone
like her. In fact, it was an inevitable outcome.
While I hadn't worked hard…
Yoo Sangah had.
While I read webnovels on the Internet…
Yoo Sangah studied diligently.
So, it was inevitable that Yoo Sangah would become a full-time
employee and that my contract would be terminated.
"Um… Dokja-ssi."
"Yes?"
"If you don't mind… Should I let you know the app I'm using?" All
of the sudden, Yoo Sangah's voice sounded distant.
It felt as though I was getting infinitely farther away from the
world. To rein in my mind which felt as though it would drift away,
I forced my eyes open and focused my gaze straight ahead.
A boy was sitting in the seat opposite mine on the train.
He looked a little over 10 years old.
The boy who held an insect collecting net in one hand was smiling
brightly as he sat next to his mother.
"…Dokja-ssi?"
What would it be like, if I had a life different from the one I had
now? In other words, what if the genre of my life had been
different?
"Kim Dok…"
If the genre of my life weren't 'realism' but 'fantasy'…
Would I have been able to become the protagonist?
Who knows.
That was probably something I would never find out. However, if
there was one I did know, it was this:
"It's fine, Yoo Sangah-ssi."
"Pardon?"
"Even if you tell me the app, it won't be any use."
The genre of my life was plainly 'realism.'
"It's because a Dokja has a Dokja's life, you see."
"Hm? What do you …"
"It's just that some people are like that in life."
And in this genre, I wasn't a protagonist but a 'Reader'.
"A Dokja's life…"
Yoo Sangah was wearing a grave expression, so I waved my hand a
bit to show that I was really alright. I didn't really know why, but
this person seemed sincerely worried about me. Well, she was from
HR… so she was probably aware of my work performance already.
"Dokja-ssi says truly great things."
"What?"
"Then, I suppose I have my own life as well—a Sangah's life."
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-nim³, my novel will become paid from 7 p.m. This will be
helpful. Good luck.
[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 child', 'reader' or 'individualist' in Korean.
[2] ssi is a Korean honorific. It is the formal way of addressing
someone when you are talking to or about them. [3] nim is a high level honorific used to show respect.