Episode 1

Episode 1- first friend

⚠️WARNING⚠️ mention of ab*se(ab*se is no joke)

Im Baek-hyun(Baek can mean white and hyun can mean clever)

I usually introduce myself to people like this,then the following replies would occur.

"Oh you must be a clever boy then!"

"Yes,but thats just my name"

" well, your parents mush have raised you very well!"

"..."

Lee Baek-hyun(Baek can mean white and hyun can mean clever) my parents gave me that name to become an intelligent and clever boy myself.However in order to please their desires they controlled me,they forced me to do things i didn't want to,made me go past my limits,ab*sed me,threatened me to be always in the top.

Thanks to the name my parents gave me,I turned out to be a lonely and intelligent boy.Kids would constantly bully me everyday.There was no end to it.

In short, it was like this. I was Lee Baek-hyun, 11 years old, and a loner. My hobby was reading novels and fantasies in my room.

"Well that wasn't that bad"

In a noisy subway, I raised my head reflexively. A pair of curious eyes were staring straight at me. They belonged to a kid who looked like the same age as I am,he had a container filled with grasshoppers.

"Ah,hello"

"What book are you reading?"

"Um,Unspoken.."

"I have read that book before,it was quite interesting" The boy next to me said.I was quite nervous talking to him because I never really had any communication to anyone besides my parents.

"Do you normally take the subway?"

"Yes,I always take the subway to go home after school"

"Lee Gilyoung"

"huh?"

"My name is Lee Gilyoung,what about you?"

"My name is..." I hesitated for a few seconds because of the replies i was expecting to get.

"Lee Baek-hyun."

"cool"

"wanna be friends?"

I was shocked by Gilyoung's statement,I looked at him witg wide eyes trying to find if there are any signs of him joking and...none,there was none.He looked at me with confusion and looked at the book I was holding.

"Do you like reading?"

I snapped out of my thought and replied

"Oh uh, yes Its my hobby"

"Cool so wanna be friends or not?"

I hesitated once again trying to find some sort of joke or sarcasm in his eyes but there were none.

"Sure..."

"You seem quite hesitant"

"Sorry,I never had friends before"

"Oh..Guess im your first friend then"

"yea.."

I looked at my book again and started daydreaming again not noticing a pair of eyes looking at me.

???(POV)

"So he reads too...But on books"

Baek-hyun(POV)

While I was daydreaming Gilyoung noticed a bruise on my cheek.

Lee Gilyoung(POV)

While I was seated in the subway I heard a boy next to me spoke.

"Well that wasn't that bad"

I turned my head to see a boy who looks like the same age as i am,He was referring to a book he was holding.

The boy turned his head and looked at me.

"Ah,hello"

"What book are you reading?"

"Um,Unspoken.."

"I have read that book before,it was quite interesting"Indeed I have read that book before and it was a really interesting story.I decided to talk to him more cause he seems nice.

""Do you normally take the subway?"

"Yes,I always take the subway to go home after school"He said,I decided to introduce my self and maybe be friends with him.

"Lee Gilyoung"

"huh?"

"My name is Lee Gilyoung,what about you?"

"My name is..."

He was quite hesitant and nervous but I don't blame him since meeting new people can give you some sense of nervousness.

"Lee Baek-hyun."

"cool"

"wanna be friends?"

When I said that sentence he looked shocked and looked at me if I was joking or not,I decided to let it go for now I thought maybe he was just nervous and didn't know how to react.

He looks like some one who like to read books.

"Do you like reading?"

"Oh uh, yes Its my hobby"

I decided to ask him again if he wanna be friends or not.

"Cool so wanna be friends or not?"

Again he hesitated and looked at me like he was staring in to my soul, It was quite scary...

"Sure..."

"You seem quite hesitant"

"Sorry,I never had friends before"

"Oh..Guess im your first friend then"

"yea.."

I stared back at my glass container where I put my grasshoppers and their eggs.

I glace back at Baek-hyun to see him daydreaming but...something caught my eye,There was a bruise on his cheek.The bruise looked fresh meaning he probably got not long ago.

I didn't want to make him uncomfortable by asking where he got the bruise from but my curiosity took over me.

"Hey where did you get that bruise from?"

Baek-hyun(POV)

"Hey where did you get that bruise from?"

I snapped out of my daydreaming and looked at him

"What bruise?"

"The one on your cheek,It looked fresh so meaning you got not to long ago?"

"Ah yes,Well uh.." I was trying to make an excuse for the cause of my bruise since I didn't want to tell him that I got beat up earlier.

"Um..I bumped into a pole"

"..."

I looked at Gilyoung and sweat drop at his reaction.

He was looking at me with round eyes.

"How did you not notice the pole?"

"I was busy reading this book"

"I see.."

Kim Dokja(POV)

“Ah, hello.”

“Are you going home from work?”

“Yes. What about Yoo Sangah-ssi?”

“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! I have a lot of overtime these days and seem to be lacking exercise. It is a bit annoying, but it is worth doing.”

“Aha, I see.”

Yoo Sangah smiled. Looking closer at her, I could understand the feelings men held toward her. However, it was none of my business.

Every person had a genre of life, and Yoo Sangah was someone who lived a genre different from myself.

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?

“Por favor 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. However, what was the use of memorizing words?

“You’re working hard.”

“By the way, what is Dokja-ssi looking at?”

“Ah, I...”

Yoo Sangah’s gaze was fixed on the LCD screen of my smartphone. “Is it a novel?”

“Yes, well... I am 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...?

“Murakami Haruki, Raymond Carver, Han Kang...”

I thought so.

“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 (TL: The author uses the name of his previous novel and his author name, but with slight changes. I decided to go with the actual novel translation name)

I couldn’t say that I was reading ‘The World after the Fall by Sing Shangshong.’

“It is just a fantasy novel. That... Well, like the Lord of the Rings...”

Yoo Sangah’s eyes widened. “Aha. Lord of the Rings. I’ve seen the movie.”

“The movie is good.”

The silence continued for a moment. Yoo Sangah was looking at me like she was waiting for me to say something.

Our conversation was becoming strained. So, I decided to change the topic. “It has been a year since I joined the company. This is my last year. Time moves really fast.”

“Yes. At that time, we both knew nothing, right?”

“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...” I had forgotten.

Yoo Sangah received credit for a foreign buyer last month and was already promoted to a full-time employee.

“Ah, right. My congratulations are late. I’m sorry. Haha, I should’ve worked hard to study a foreign language.”

“Ah, no Dokja-ssi! There is still the performance review and...”

I hated to admit it, but the sight of Yoo Sangah talking was wonderful. It was like the world’s spotlight was shining down on only one person. If this world was a novel, the protagonist would be such a person.

In fact, it was the inevitable result. I hadn’t tried, but Yoo Sangah made an effort. I just read novels on the Internet, while Yoo Sangah studied hard. It was natural that Yoo Sangah would become a full-time employee, and that my contract would be terminated.

“That... Dokja-ssi.”

“Yes.”

“If you don’t mind... Would you like to know the app I use?” Yoo Sangah’s voice momentarily became distant.

It felt like the world was far away. I braced my mind and stared straight ahead.

A boy was sitting in the seat opposite me onthe train. He was 10 years old or so. The boy held an insect collecting net as he sat next to his mother, laughing happily.

“...Dokja-ssi?”

What if I had a different life from now? I mean, what if my life genre was different?

“Kim Dok...”

If the genre of my life wasn’t ‘realism’ but ‘fantasy’... Could I be the protagonist? I didn’t know. It would probably be unknown forever. However, there was one thing I knew.

“It is okay, Yoo Sangah-ssi.”

“Huh?”

“It won’t work even if you tell me the app.”

The genre of my life was obviously ‘realism.’

“Dokja has a solo life.”

“Huh? What...”

“I am just someone like that.”

In this genre, I wasn’t a protagonist but a ‘solo’ person.

“The life of a solo...” Yoo Sangah had a serious expression on her face

However, I waved my hands to show it was really okay.

I didn’t know why, but this person was really worried about me. Maybe because she was part of the personnel department... I was already aware of my performance though.

“Dokja-ssi is really good.”

“Yes?”

“Then I will live an ivory life.” (Sangah\=ivory)

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-nim, 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

♡EPISODE 1♡

First Friend

Word Count:2513

Author:♡Rya♡

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