Masquerade ::: A false show or pretense

A novel that revolves around a 26 years old writer byul, who ended up being the protagonist in her own masquerade. In the maze of the heart number 1313 will she be able to recognise her fate?

EPISODE-1

" Heart number 1313's ratings are getting low day by day, can you actually believe it?"

" It was meant to be, the second lead's fans got too much upset for his sad ending, they already know that he won't end up with the main female lead but they are still being like this "

" I heard the author got hate comments about it and some people even asked her to change the story line too "

" But I guess it won't affect the drama version of the series since the director has already changed the script and will only make the female lead end up with the one the audience mostly asks for "

" Our director is too kind "

" She got reasons though "

I heard those gossips as I entered the shooting area, yes I am an actress as well as an anonymous famous author of the webtoon series heart number 1313.

A dramatic life with a tiresome story line.

" I'm going to play a role of my own made character I still can't believe this"

I said to myself as I walked towards the gate.

" THE FIRST SCENE SHOOTING IS OVER "

I ran over to the director as soon as I heard her voice

" Director? I need to talk to you about something"

I said as I waited for her response

" Sure drop by my cabin after you read your script " she said.

After reading my script I sighed and went towards her cabin.

" Director, Can I come in?"

" Sure sit, and say what's the issue?"

"Actually, I don't think I'll be able to take part in this drama as the main female lead since I won't be able to come in work for 2 weeks from tomorrow onwards"

" Is anything wrong byul? Is it really important for you to take this break?" The director asked being concerned

" Ah yes, it's important "

" I see, we can do one thing, we can start the shooting of the drama from December onwards and finish it before the new year starts, will it be alright for you? I personally don't want anyone else except for you, for this role since it suits for you the best" the director said calmly while looking straight at me.

" Okay sure then, Thanks a lot" I said while smiling

" That's alright girl, just remember to sign the papers and send it to me by tomorrow"

"Remember to be careful" the director said to me and smiled

"Careful?" I questioned myself

I came out of the shooting area and sat inside my car.

"Are they shooting for the upcoming drama heart number 1313?"

My assistant Kuro asked while looking towards the site.

" No, it's for an another drama "The visitor" they are shooting their first episode there, I knew the director of my drama would be there so I dropped by and had a talk with her, Moreover I had to read my script so yea"

I said while scrolling through my social media.

" I see, but the male lead is quite different from what he looks like " kuro said while looking towards the window

" I know, obviously everyone in the entertainment industry aren't what they actually seem like. Looks and talent just overshadows their actual personality" I said.

"And that's the reason our byul mam hasn't dated for the 7 years of her career" riko my driver said that while laughing

"But it's quite amazing, isn't it? That you are both the author and the female lead of heart number 1313 drama version?"

Kuro said while laughing.

"I know right" I laughed back

"Anyways, mam why did you take 2 weeks hiatus from the industry?" Riko asked while looking worried

" Mam is going to Australia tomorrow " said Kuro while checking my schedule

"Suddenly?" Riko asked again

" Some things " I said and continued scrolling through my sms until I heard a huge sound of the car break.

"Oh my god someone got hurt" Riko said while being shocked

I opened my car door and ran towards the person, it was raining and he had an umbrella which was keeping him away from getting wet.

As soon as he kept away his umbrella I saw his face. His eyes were shining like constellations. His hair and his earing.

"I've seen him before" I said to myself as I sat there being dumbfounded.

"Are you okay?" I asked being worried.

"No, I'm fine it's not your fault actually I just sat down to fix my shoelaces, see?"

"OHHHHH" I suddenly realised and I stood up.

He took his umbrella again. His eyes were still stuck in mine. He suddenly smiled and said

"This rain is getting you wet" he said as he grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to him and his umbrella"

As I was close to him, I noticed his details and suddenly one realisation hit me until

"MAM, WE ARE GETTING LATE, ARE YOU OKAY?"

Riko said while shouting.

"It's all because of you" Kuro said while glaring at Riko and then he came running to us with his own umbrella.

"Sir, are you okay?" Kuro asked while looking at him

"I'm alright" the stranger said as he looked at me

"We will be get going then, sorry for this inconvenience" Kuro said while taking me in his umbrella and getting towards the car.

After getting under the car, we went straight towards my house. On the way I was still thinking about him. "I've definitely seen him somewhere Before"

"Mam, did you realise the guy from here looks similar to your webtoon male lead?" Kuro said while checking out my drafts.

"Oh yes, no wonder he looked so familiar" i talked as I realised Kuro and Riko were the only ones who knew about me being an author.

After reaching home the first thing I did was to open my laptop and find my webtoon's comment section.

" I'm happy for Hyun Woo but let's be honest Dawn is so messed up he's getting too agressive in every episode too"

I choked as I read this comment, what are they talking about? I made Dawn's character as soft as the clouds and made him the most deepest and sensible character among the rest.

" Hyun Woo is so romantic!!! I'm dying his and female lead's scenes are killing me "

I choked again and thought to myself that these people must haven't read the whole webtoon carefully until I opened my editing draft of the webtoon and saw how all of the characters are messed up. Dawn was supposed to be under the umbrella with the female lead byeok? What is Hyun woo doing here?

When did Dawn become a bad guy by hurting both Hyun woo and Byeok? Are you kidding me?

I tried to redraw but it got erased I wasn't even able to change the dialogues of the characters.

"It must be a glitch" I said to myself as I breath deeply.

"I think it's more than a glitch though"

I got shocked as I heard a man's voice

from the laptop.

— — — EPISODE 1 ENDS HERE — — — —

I was startled by the unexpected sound of a man's voice emanatIng From my laptop.

I diligently reviewed the websites I had previously opened in search of the source of this peculiar occurrence. Suddenly, a powerful burst of light radiated from the screen, forcing me to instinctively shut my eyes to shield myself from its intense heat.

Suddenly, a man sporting a distinct mole on the right side of his forehead, exuding a gentle charm, materialized before me. He posed a question, "Could you do me a favor?" I couldn't tear my gaze away from him, gradually recognizing him as the very character I had crafted in my webtoon. Bewilderment engulfed me as I grappled with the inexplicable reality of his presence. Could this be a dream?

" W-Who are you? Why are you here? And by what mysterious means has this become a reality?"

He maintained a steady gaze, then at length, he chose to respond, "You see, I am the character you've crafted, I go by the name Dawn. It's a perplexIng situation, but within the world of our story, my narrative arc has become rather scrambled. Remarkably, the Coco Bird of our story realm has sent me on a mission to retrieve you."

"Which realm are you referring to? How can such an extraordinary possibility even exist?"

I said as I looked at him again"

"For the time being, I'm afraid we don't have the time to make you understand all this. Please agree with me to go down to the story realm"

He said in an anxious voice while looking up to me.

" Only the author of our story can fix everything and that is you "

"I'm skeptical of your words, but I'm willing to go along with your plan. Let's get it done as swiftly as possible." - I didn't want to waste further more time with him, I had a lot of work to do and ever since he has appeared in front of me I've managed to waste literally 5 minutes of my time already.

But isn't it weird how everything that he has said till now makes a bit of sense? Just like how the characters of my webtoon series ended up getting messed up by itself? I'm the only owner of this device, only I do have the password of my account, so how is this all even possible?

I was logically thinking all of this and then

He held my hands carefully, closed his eyes and this words -

"Coco, swiftly transport me back to the heart of the story realm, adventure awaits"

"As his hand enclosed mine, an unfamiliar sensation coursed through me, something so foreign that words failed to capture it. Meeting him for the first time, every word that escaped his lips seemed like an implausible fabrication, convincing only to a mind unhinged. Yet, here I stood, bewildered by my own credulity, unable to make sense of it any longer"

And then Boom!

Before I could fully grasp it, I found myself in a realm reminiscent of an enchanting fairy tale, a place of such breathtaking beauty that it mirrored the very heavens scribed by writers. The azure skies, the avian symphony, the fluttering butterflies, the emerald meadows, and the most astonishing of all – we were soaring through the air. The sheer impossibility of it all left me wondering if I might faint from sheer disbelief.

A bird with yellow stripes and blue eyes suddenly appeared in front of me and started scolding me out of the blue "Hey author, slap yourself with a plot twist and pay attention to this masterpiece in the making!"

" What do you mean? " I was annoyed by her tone. She looked pretty cute but her voice. Oh, God!d! it was too in a high pitch But hey w-wait a sec, since when did birds start to talk? Am I dreaming? Is it happening due to my sleeping schedule?

TO BE CONTINUED-