Chapter Text
What the actual fuck?
Was that it?
That was the oh-so-awaited ending?
He wasn't exactly sure about how to feel about it. It wasn't a bad ending like in "awfully written, it makes no sense, what the fuck was the author thinking?" Nor in the way of "it feels kinda rushed dear author-nim." No, it was bad in the way of "Why the heck did the author make it so damn sad?"
Damn it, could you even call it bad? It's just straight-up sad!
He's not against killing off some characters; heck, sometimes even killing the protagonist is a good idea.
But this author might as well just hate the protagonist. Was there really a need to make him suffer that much?
Kim Dokja, finally, got to close the book after who knows how many hours. He left it on his side while he laid on the bed, still unable to get out of his shock.
It's really been a while since he read physical books.
He has never missed tags more.
It’s not like he doesn’t like physical books, actually, he loves the feeling of acquiring a physical copy and if it's a hardcover is even better. Yet his salary as a low-wage employee was barely enough to make ends meet.
So, why did he buy a physical book?
He's about to get fired.
How does he know?
He happened to overhear it.
And while most would cry and drown themselves in alcohol, maybe go to some eerie-looking place and do illegal gambling to rake a little more money (or to lose what you had left) for the following incomeless days. But not him, Kim Dokja isn't that kind of man.
He knows firsthand how bad those activities are and how much they can harm a person and those around them. Damn, he doesn’t even smoke!
There are only two addictions Dokja has:
Coffee and web novels.
Both are stuff that if were to disappear he might as well follow soon after.
So how did Dokja manage the news of his soon-to-be unemployed status?
Fuck them, I’m doing what I like then and not that stupid document they asked for.
So, he went to your usual spooky second-hand store in search of a book of his liking.
They say you can find some true gems in shady places like those.
And true to the statement, he found a hidden gem. It was a fat hardcover novel titled “The Emperor of Kaizenix”. It was a simple yet eye-catching title.
But the final push he needed to buy it was a comment made by the owner of the store.
[“Are you interested in that book sir…?”
“Kim Dokja,” he introduced himself, “yes, it has a catchy title”
“Oh! What a coincidence! If I’m not mistaken, there’s a character in the novel with your name”]
Knowing there was a character with his,his, name in there was quite a miracle, with how weird his name was. So of course, he bought it.
The story could be resumed as follows:
Yoo Joonghyuk is the crown prince who is soon to be crowned emperor and has to get trustworthy allies. But, Oh no! spies. And, Oh no! betrayal. But hey! He killed them so it’s alright! And then assassination attempts against him, he falls in love, they use his lover against him, he kills more people, it evolves into a civil war, his enemies outside the frontiers use this to try and destroy the empire, blah blah blah, multiple mayor character deaths. At some point he actually gets crowned after murdering his father and stops the civil war, more death and betrayal spiced with some little sweet moments with his lover to make it way more painful when she finally dies, he goes on a killing spree, and somehow the war was finally over but so was the life of the former prince. What’s worse? The villain got his way and became King! Not emperor though, because they lost tones of territory after the war, but it still angers him.
Yet again, Dokja had to remind himself that the story wasn’t bad, it was just angsty. Like really angsty and had a sad ending. A tragedy at its finest.
Although what did bother him was the character with his name.
The moment he appeared, Kim Dokja was left wondering if the man would be an ally to the hero or if he would be a villain or an important minion at the very least. So, you can imagine the huge letdown he got when he discovered he was the comedic relief and pawn of the major villain for 10 chapters.
Normally he wouldn’t be mad about that, comedic reliefs are good! But how that goddamn character gave so much secondhand embarrassment he could barely read through it. Every time he tried to get close to Yoo Joonghyuk he would either be ignored or glared at, and he was so desperate it was painful to watch! Dokja had no way to know if he was grateful or sad when they killed him in the 10th chapter after discovering he was a spy.
He sighed. To think he bought the book because of that guy.
His hand traveled to the pocket of his pants in search of his phone.
1:51
He had work the next day, so getting around two hours of sleep was his safest bet. Unfortunately for him and his already shitty sleep schedule, his tummy had other plans. Somehow it remembered how to ask for food, and it was doing it now.
He reluctantly stood up from his bed, put on the first hoodie he found, grabbed his phone, wallet, and keys, and for some reason the book as well.
I’m still missing the epilogue. I could read it at the convenience store.
So prepared and ready, he set off on his epic journey to the closest convenience store.
***
The convenience store wasn’t that far, a few squares away from his apartment complex, close enough to walk there without getting his not-in-shape body tired.
The cold breeze was making him tremble even though he had a hoodie and sweatpants on.
When he saw the convenience store was in the next square, he couldn’t help but feel happy, he knew they had calefaction inside.
He looked left, then right, good, no cars coming. He tightened his grasp on his book and stepped on the road ahead of him.
“If this was some sort of isekai, now is when the truck hits me.”
He said to himself, laughing at his ridiculous remark.
He kept on walking, and for some reason, the road felt wider, but he paid no mind to it. After all, he was starting to warm up, or at least his hand on the book did.
He stopped his steps in the middle of the street.
Why was the book warmer? Well, at this point it might be more accurate to say burning; it got so hot, that Dokja was forced to drop the book.
Then the sound of an engine caught his attention. He turned his eyes to the left, greeted by a blinding light.
What the f-
Dokja couldn’t even finish his thought, he was busy jumping out of the car’s way.
After calming down his racing heart, Dokja bent to grab his book, covering his hand with the hoodie, so he wouldn’t burn himself
The sound of another engine caught his attention, this time from the right. A motorcycle that was speeding his way.
What the fuck!
He moved out of its way, falling on his butt. Ok, he had to get out of that street.
He stood up and speed walked to the other side of the street. The book was still burning but, he wasn’t going to just leave it there. He spent money on it, he wouldn’t allow it to go to waste!
He entered the convenience store after what felt like an eternity. He paid for a kimbap and sat at one of the tables inside the store, next to the big glass wall that had a view of the street. The book was still warm but not as hot as before.
Ok, what happened on the street was crazy, but it wouldn’t stop him from reading the epilogue.
He went to the page signaled in the index as the beginning of the epilogue.
[“His eyes opened, only to be greeted by darkness. He inspected the room, a room he couldn’t recognize yet felt familiar with.
‘Where am I?’ he wondered.
He stepped out of the foreignly familiar bed; walked to a window he couldn’t remember yet, somehow knew. Opened the curtains with an unknown familiarity; the moon, white and bright greeted him, it looked like a lighthouse in the middle of the dark night; yet it couldn’t guide him, he still felt lost.”]
His mind started to feel dizzy, but he kept on reading.
[“The stars shone proud and bright around the moon, greeting him with their light. He couldn’t bring himself to remember such a sky, yet he felt as if he’s seen it multiple times before.
The streets were quiet and empty, he wasn’t sure if they were supposed to be crowded or not, nor if the faint light of the lanterns has always been blue. Somehow it felt right and wrong at the same time.
‘Where am I?’
He wasn’t sure if the houses felt antique or modern. Somehow, he felt like they were both. This sense of duality is quite confusing and yet comforting.”]
He felt sleepy; how late was it?
[“His gaze returned to the room in which he woke up. There was a tiny light on a desk, he went for it.
The light was focused on a hardcover book, it was velvet the title and author were written in gold.
‘■■■■ ■■■’]
What?
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t decipher those words.
[“All he needed was to read the title for truth to hit him like a truck”]
As if on cue, lights blinded Dokja, this time from his left. A truck was driving at full speed and was going to crash on the store, right where he was seated.
Fuck.