Chapter Text
“I’m Dokja.”
This is how I introduce myself to others. And nine times out of ten, people misunderstand me.
“Oh? So you’re an only child!” A man in a suit cheerfully asks, his grin wide and charismatic. Another man stands before him, managing a nervous smile as he hands the man his employee card. “Well… yes, but that’s not what I meant.”
The man in the suit looks confused, scratching his head before taking the card, “Oh… then what did you mean?
”It’s my name,” a slightly nervous man responds, his dark eyes looking anywhere but at the man in the suit, “Kim Dokja.”
My father gave me that name because he wanted me to grow up to be a strong and independent person. But perhaps my name was a curse… because for the parts that mattered most in my life, I was lonely and single. That was until…
“Dokja,” a man with a stern face is shown staring him down inside an apartment. His face looks as though it was carved by a master sculptor, every crevice and inch of his face a testament to perfection, even if that was partially ruined by the permanent scowl fixing his features.
Him…
Kim Dokja, on the subway, stared intently at his phone.
My hobby is reading serialised web novels on the subway on my way home from work. But today’s subway ride was unlike any other.
A small child was revealed to be napping on the man’s lap, his hand holding the boy was rubbing soothing circles on the smaller being. Kim Dokja had finally gotten Hoseok to sleep, and he wasn’t planning on letting the boy wake up again anytime soon.
The chuckle that came from nearby caused Dokja to flinch and look up in surprise as a familiar-looking person teased him, “Oh, my. At this rate, you might get sucked into your phone.”
It took the omega more time than he liked to admit to finally recognise this woman, Yoo Sangah, a fellow omega from the HR department of the company he worked for. “H-hello…” he stammered, confused as to why she approached.
Yoo Sangah smiled down at him and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, “Are you heading home?” Kim Dokja nodded before politely returning the question. “Yes, I got lucky, my team manager is away on a business trip.”
She looked so cheerful as she sat down on the vacant seat next to the startled introvert, which caused the man to flinch a second time and the child on his lap to stir slightly.
‘I can’t believe I ran into Sangah, the most popular girl at work… her shampoo smells really nice though.’
Letting curiosity take over him, Dokja decides to continue the conversation, “Do you usually take the subway home?”
‘From the HR assistant manager to the finance team manager, I’ll bet there's a line of alphas and betas waiting to drive her home.’
Yoo Sangah sighed as she visibly deflated, “Actually… someone stole my bicycle.” Dokja was both shocked and outraged at two completely different things.
“You commute to work on a bike?” He felt Hoseok stir more, but paid no mind to it right now.
The female omega nodded, “Yes. I’ve been working a lot of overtime lately, so I thought I could use the exercise. And I have some personal reasons too…” She smiled at Dokja again, and he suddenly felt like someone had dumped sunshine behind her, and he let out a nervous laugh.
‘Seeing her up close, I get why all the people at work are head over heels for her. Well, none of that concerns me. She and I live completely different lives.
But Sangah wasn’t the reason why today’s subway ride was different.
Hoseok gently woke up and began to sleepily look around the train. The four-year-old let out a yawn before turning to face the man holding him, “Eomma…”
Yoo Sangah finally seemed to realise that there was a child, and her gaze turned even more curious, “Is this your son, Dokja-ssi? He looks so small.”
With a nod, Kim Dokja felt his nerves skyrocket. No one at work knew he had a kid, and now someone did, even if that person was the kind Yoo Sangah; it still made Dokja fear that other people would find out.
Dokja quickly dismissed his fears. Sangha wouldn’t mention anything about it if he asked nicely; she was just that kind of person, so he felt more at ease with telling the woman about the boy on his lap.
“His name is Hoseok. I take him to a nearby kindergarten before going to work,” Kim Dokja let a small smile cross his face as his boy began to snuggle into him.
Thankfully, the other omega left it at that after making another comment about how cute the boy is. Silence overtook them once again before Sangah suddenly spoke out loud.
“¿Puede prestarme dinero?”
Kim Dokja gains the most bewildered expression on his face, “Pardon?” He receives a very cheerful reply, “It’s Spanish! It means ‘Please lend me some money’.”
‘Studying on the subway… she’s a different breed altogether. Where would she even use that phrase?’
He decided to cut it short at that, “You’re studying hard-” Yoo Sangah immediately but in, all the while looking over Dokja’s shoulder.
“What about you, Dokja-ssi? What are you reading?” All while keeping a smile on his face, the male omega quickly moved his phone out of her sight, not bothering with an explanation beyond an attempt at a sentence, “Oh… I’m…”
Sangha looked more cheerful “Is it a novel?"
Dokja nodded passively, really hoping that today would be a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence that would never be repeated.
The woman smiled even more, “Wow! I love novels!” She then begins to ramble excessively,
“My favourite authors are Murakami Haruki, Raymond Carver, Han King, and…”
Kim Dokja immediately became increasingly nervous.
“Who’s your favourite author, Dokja-ssi?”
He let out a nervous laugh, “You probably wouldn’t know even if I told you… they’re very underground…”
‘I can never tell her what I’m really reading.’
That’s right. My hobby is reading serialised web novels on the subway on my way home from work. Although I’m not proud of my hobby, the reason today is unlike any other is…
Kim Dokja’s eyes went glued back to the novel on his screen as he clicked a button.
…Because ‘Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse’, or TWSA for short, which I’ve been reading for the past ten years… Is ending today.
People might wonder why I’m making such a fuss over the ending of a web novel, but this story in particular is very special to me. I’ve been reading this series since I was in eighth grade. I read it when I was bullied at school and separated from my only friend…
A young Kim Dokja sits in the secluded corner of a library on his phone, his face is covered in bruises and scratches alike, his clothes in a mess, and his hair gently falling over his eyes with a blank expression.
…When I failed my entrance exams and ended up at a third-rate college…
Kim Dokja still looks younger than he does now. He sits on a bench alone, staring at his phone as other groups of people chat happily around him.
…When bad luck got me stationed on the front line during military service…
Kim Dokja sits at a computer in an army uniform, his hair much shorter than it used to be.
…When he almost died in a car accident…
Kim Dokja sits in a hospital waiting room with a haunted look on his face as he stares down at his phone; he’s surrounded by people happily greeting loved ones
…And even now, as an unstable contract worker getting transferred from company to company…
‘Damn it, what's the point? My life is filled with miserable memories…’
…It’s bittersweet that this fictitious world I’ve been following for so many years was now coming to an end. Today is the day the epilogue of TWSA will be uploaded.
‘A grand serial consisting of 3,149 episodes. A ten-year-long epic journey that began in my late teens and ended in my adulthood. I can’t believe the series went on for so long with just an average view count of one…’
Kim Dokja scrolls through the long list of chapters in his favourite story, Hoseok slowly drifting off again, whilst trying to merge with his father’s chest.
‘The first chapter had around 1,200 views, but by chapter ten, there were only about 20 views. Then the view count dropped to 12 by chapter 50. And now… I’m the only one reading…’
It was a story written for me and only me.
‘I wanted to support the author with a donation.’
Kim Dokja lets out a small sigh as he stares at his newest comment, thanking the author for everything while also stating how he’s excited for the epilogue.
‘But I would receive the biggest lecture of my life, so I just thanked the author by writing a comment.’
The omega laments as he remembers the times he tried to recommend the novel to others; he earned only critiques and scathing remarks, some even claimed that Kim Dokja must have been the author. He had felt so offended on the poor author’s behalf!
He felt his chest puff out in indignation. It is a great series if you don’t mind the length! Some people really just needed to give it a good try!
“Dokja?” A voice called out.
The man in question turned his head towards the voice, freezing before flinching just a bit too late when he realised he had just completely forgotten about Yoo Sangah’s presence. In his panic, he kept talking, “Oh! Come to think of it, it’s already been a year since we started working at the company. We started around this time last year!” Dokja laughs nervously. “Time sure flies by suddenly, doesn’t it?”
Good change of topic!
Sangha laughed back, though hers wasn’t because of nerves, “We had no idea what we were getting into back then…” her scent of oranges bright and bubbly with her mood.
Dokja nodded, “Yeah…” he calmed his panic slightly as he eased into the conversation, “It seems like it was only yesterday. I can’t believe our contracts are ending soon.” His and the other omega’s smiles both froze as one suddenly remembered something, and the other came to a sad realisation.
He had forgotten.
‘That’s right… Sangha-ssi was promoted to a full-time employee due to her diligence and hard work.’
With a very apologetic smile, Yoo Sangah began to stammer as she tried to explain something, but the male omega just cut her off to try to make her relax. “Ah… that’s right, sorry for the late congratulations,” a small laugh breaks out of him, “I guess I should have learnt a foreign language as well.”
It seemed Sangah wanted to comfort him too, “No, it’s fine, Dokja-ssi.. I haven’t completed my performance assessment yet, and…” she trailed off, trying to think over her words before speaking again.
‘I don’t want to admit it. But Sangah-ssi is so cool. If we were characters in a novel, she’d definitely be the heroine. It was obvious… I didn’t try, but she gave it her all. I read web novels while Sangah-ssi studied.’
With a blank look on his face, Kim Dokja mused about how obvious it was that Sangah would become a full-time employee; she had always been a hard worker. His thoughts were ended when the woman in question spoke up again.
“Um… Dokja-ssi?”
Noticing how nervous she seemed, Dokja gently hummed back in response, prompting her to finish. Yoo Sangah fiddled with a strand of her hair as she managed to spit out a sentence, “If you want… I could… show you the app I use? To study, I mean…”
The omega’s eyes widened a slight fraction before his face returned to being impassive. The hand that was gently holding Hoseok shook slightly before steadying.
‘If I were in a different genre… if the genre of my life wasn’t non-fiction…’
Dokja looked across from him at a boy carrying a container full of grasshoppers with a thoughtful expression on his face.
‘...but fantasy… could I… have been the protagonist…?’
Sangha seemed to notice how he was zoning out, and she called out his name to check if he was alright.
“It’s okay, Sangha-ss,” Kim Dokja firmly replied, his voice steady, despite the woman’s confusion, “it wouldn’t matter if you told me the name of the app or not.”
‘I don’t know. If one thing was certain, it’s that the genre of my life is non-fiction. In this genre, I’m no protagonist… I’m merely a reader.’
His voice softened a fraction as he looked down at his sleeping boy, “I have to live my own life…”
Yoo Sangah looked shocked more than anything, and she gently repeated Kim Dokja’s words before a wave of emotion washed over her, “You’re so inspiring, Dokja-ssi…” The female omega looked more determined than Dokja had ever seen her.
Dokja’s confusion was evident in his reply, “Sorry?”
With an energetic fist pump, the woman beside him declared that she, too, must live her own life, causing Kim Dokja’s confusion to skyrocket. Yoo Sangah then spoke again, “Like you, I’ll strive to live my life to the fullest!”
Kim Dokja just blinked and stared before slowly nodding and thinking in slight relief that at least it got her to stop talking anymore. His attention was stolen by the buzz of a notification from his phone. The omega opened his phone and clicked on the new message.
Back then, I had no idea…
[Thank you.]
‘TLS123? Wait, is this the author of TWSA?’
Shock began to take over the man.
…what would happen to me next.
Dokja replied quickly.
[Are you the author of TWSA?]
[Thanks to you, I was able to finish my story. I also won a prize in a contest.]
Suspicion began to mount as Kim Dokja wondered when TWSA was ever in a contest of any sort; was he being tricked right now?
[Congratulations! But what kind of contest?]
[It’s not a big contest, so you wouldn’t have heard of it.]
[Oh, and the series will become paid content soon.]
[Starting with the epilogue today, TWSA will become paid content.]
[As a token of my gratitude, I would like to send you a present. Could you tell me your email address?]
What was about to happen to this world.
Kim Dokja was sceptical about the mention of a present, and expressed his confusion through text, only to receive what genuinely sounded like a thankful response. The man supposed it wouldn’t hurt.
His mind went back to the author’s earlier words.
‘Wow… TWSA won a contest. An unknown contest, though, maybe he doesn’t want to tell me because he’s embarrassed…’
The omega began to make guesses in his head about what this mysterious present could possibly be. There was only so much you could gift over email. Another buzz from his phone alerted Dokja that he had gotten the email, and he opened it excitedly.
{Mr. Kim Dokja.}
{Starting at 7 pm today, TWSA will become paid content. This will help you. I wish you all the best.}
‘Starting at 7 pm? It’s 6:55 right now, so that means I have five minutes left.’
Kim Dokja opened his favourites to check back on his favourite web novel, only to see that there were no results. Confusion overtook him again as he anxiously held Hoseok tighter, perhaps once novels became paid content, they were removed without any warning?
All the lights in the carriage turned off as the train came to a screaming halt.
People immediately panicked, and screams rang out.
“W-what’s happening!?”
“Is it a terrorist attack!?”
The train halted violently, and Dokja had to hold onto a pole tightly to ensure he didn’t go flying. With concern evident, he looked down at the now very awake toddler on his lap. The man stood up and quickly checked if Yoo Sangah was okay before attempting to stop Hoseok crying from the pure shock of being awoken like that.
“Hoseok-ya, it’s okay… just go back to sleep, nothing is wro-”
It was by sheer coincidence that I checked the time at that exact moment.
The clock hit seven.
A frantic voice came over the speakers of the train, “Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. P-please evacuate… evacuate!” The speaker cut off with an unsettling beep.
Dokja held his son closer, worry beginning to eat at his nerves. “Dokja-ssi… what's going on?” Yoo Sangah sounds terrified as she huddles closer to him out of instinct, her pheromones beginning to spike and turn sour at the change in emotions.
The faint sound of lightning crackling began to sound from a more empty side of the carriage as a strange red light began to appear and move as if alive. Dokja felt his heart drop to his feet.
‘Why does this feel familiar?’
He turns his body away and covers his eyes to shield both him and Hoseok from the blinding flash that follows, but when the omega turns back to look at what exactly happened, he freezes.
[The free service of the 8612th planetary system has come to an end!]
The voice was loud and sounded far too happy to make a shiver travel down Kim Dokja’s spine. He knew these words. He knew these lines.
[The main scenario will begin now!]
It was at that moment that the genre of my life changed.