Episode 1 – The Beginning of the End (1)

December 31, 2023.

It was around this time that people would flock around Hongdae. It could not be helped. It was a popular holiday so people wanted to simply celebrate.

I would have loved to celebrate as well but I found myself in a bit of a pinch.

I was in the hospital. Yes. That was right. I was struck in the hospital so there was no way I could go even if I wanted to. Besides, it's not that I have any friends that I can celebrate with.

How did I find myself in the hospital, you may ask. Honestly, I can't remember the exact details but my story goes like this;

Kim Jakga, 25 years old, single, a citizen of South Korea, Seoul. A recent graduate from the Department of History at Seoul University.

My father was a sergeant in the military that served the army for a long time, a total of 27 years. He died on duty during an operation. The money he left behind was enough for me enroll into a private school before graduating with good grades and landing an admission into the university...

My mother was a famous actress at a popular studio, I can't remember the name. She passed away during the final years of high-school before graduation.

I didn't have any other siblings or relatives. I am the only child of my father and mother. We were a rather small family but it was enough. Sometimes, it becomes lonely since my parents aren't mostly home due to work but it was manageable.

I have a rare sleepwalking condition since childhood. Although unexplainable, it rarely occurred, but because of it, I got hit by a moving bus and fell into a coma. Thus, why I was in the hospital.

Apart from my blurry memory, I was recovering very smoothly. In fact, I felt so healthy that I already wanted to leave the hospital.

Of course, the doctors did not allow me. They said they wanted to run tests on me to ensure I was not suffering from any mental damage. They must have thought I have amnesia because of the accident.

Sometimes, Doctor Kwangsun would check up on me and ask me questions from time to time and I would nonchalantly answer. It was tiring and I wanted to go home.

I sighed before opening my smartphone and began going through a list of novels. At moments like this, I would continue writing the chapters of my ongoing novels but I decided not to.

Clak!

A few moments later, the door swung wide open.

Someone stepped into the room and the atmosphere changed. It was a woman dressed in a white shirt and sleek black pants. She was tall in stature with a voluptuous figure and large chest. Her long, wavy hair was a stunning shade of platinum blonde and her porcelain skin was flawless as though meticulously sketched with a pencil.

I sighed. Unfortunately, she was someone I knew. This girl was really hopeless.

"Angelica, you are back again? Aren't you supposed to spend time with your friends?"

"If I did, wouldn't you be all alone for the new year?"

"I don't mind, really."

"Sigh... This is why I can't leave you alone."

"I don't know what you are trying to say but..."

Reflexively, my eyes landed on what she was holding. A basket of apples.

"You bought apples?"

"I picked them up on the way. Here, take one."

She sat next to me and gave me an apple. I took a bite out of the Apple and took glances at her from time to time while looking at my smartphone.

Angelica had the appearance of a foreigner but she was a mixed breed. Her mother was from Korean and her father was from America.

There were rumours going around the campus that her father was the CEO of a famous company. I couldn't remember the name though.

"Hmm?"

She cocked her head to the side. She was looking at the LCD screen of my smartphone.

"By the way, what are you looking at?"

"Um... Well."

"Is it a novel?"

"You read novels?"

"Of course, I love reading novels. Though I haven't been able to read because I have been busy lately."

It was surprise. She always liked reading novels.

"Which novels have you read?"

"Emergency Contact, Shine, Flip the Script... There are more but I can't remember their names."

My expression dropped.

Honestly, what was I expecting. All the novels she just listed belonged to the romance genre. I haven't read those novels but I was able to immediately tell.

As an experienced novel reader, I was able to tell the genre of a novel from just hearing their names once.

"Anyways which one is your favourite novel?"

"You won't know even if I tell you."

"I read alot of novels so tell me."

You couldn't even remember of five novels, you know? But I didn't tell her that. I glanced at the title of the novel displayed on the webnovel platform.

[Songs of Nightmare]

Author: Turteme666

I showed her my smartphone and she looked at the screen.

"What's that?"

"See! You don't know."

"I'm sorry for being arrogant."

"Don't apologize. In the first place, the novel isn't popular so it's obvious you wouldn't know."

"So what's it about?"

"It's a fantasy novel. It's about survival."

"Survival?"

"Have you read Omniscient Reader Viewpoint? It's similar but it's filled with horror elements."

Her eyes widened.

"Of course, I've read it. The novel is really popular. It even got a manhwa adaptation. Wait..."

It was then she finally noticed something was wrong.

"If it is similar to Omniscient Reader then how come the novel isn't popular?"

I smiled wryly. I was expecting this question.

"You see. It is very similar to ORV, to the point it could almost be called a copy. As a result, people started calling the author a fraud."

Angelica frowned. What she was thinking was obvious.

"Copying another person's work should be Illegal. Especially a masterpiece like Omniscient Reader."

"True. But here is the thing though. It is not a copy."

"Huh?"

"Only the beginning phase of the novel is similar to Omniscient Reader."

That's right. People only read 100 chapters and concluded it was a fraud. I was the same as well. But when I read up to 1998 chapters, my mindset changed.

"I see."

She only said that and remained silent. The silence continued for a while and the atmosphere became awkward. As a loner, my social skills were not good so there was no way I could turn the situation around.

'Come to think of it, why did she bother visiting me everyday?"

Angelica Lockhart. She was one of the most popular girls at the National University. No, it was safe to call her one of the top 10 school beauties. It was not unbelievable.

A pretty face, white skin and a voluptuous figure that would make most mature women look like a child. She had all the qualities a man would look for in a woman.

I even heard rumours that she currently get hit on by the seniors. Looking closer at her, I could understand the feelings they held toward her. Even I felt the same.

However, There was no hope for me. Both of us lived in two separate worlds that cannot be measured by the concept of distance. That was just it.

Maybe if the genre of my life was different. If only I was the protagonist. Then maybe, just maybe...

Angelica seemed to have become busy with her phone. Maybe she was chatting with her friends. Then I also returned to reading the novel.

Everything had returned to normal. But strangely enough, I stopped reading. It was because I scroll down anymore.

[The End]

'What? Is this really the end? No way, isn't there an epilogue?'

Trying to deny the reality that the story has come to an end, I scrolled on the screen multiple times. But the word 'complete' displayed on the platform was unmistakable.

The story was over.

'It is really over, huh?'

It was inevitable. All things must come to an end. It was a universal law but I still found myself wanting more. After all, this story has been with me for a very long time.

When I was bullied in high-school, when I got rejected by my first crush, when my parents died and I felt into despair, when I barely managed to enter a public university. Let's stop now.

'This is also fine.'

I found myself smiling. There was a mixture of a sense of satisfaction and despondency that the world I knew was coming to an end.

「Author: Thank you so much for reading this story up to this point. For that, I give you my thanks. Dear readers, don't be disheartened though. Just because the story has come to an end, doesn't mean the world will disappear. It's up to the readers to create their own ending!]

Was he trying to sound cool? If he is, then he is doing a pretty good job. But I noticed something in the text. It was the author's words.

'It's up to the readers to create their own ending. So that means there will be no epilogue.'

I was hoping for an epilogue since the story has come to an end. But that was completely thrown out the window now.

I opened up the comment box and began to write something down.

–Kim Jakga: Thank you for writing this story.

Those were sincere words. Even though the author might never see my text, I still gave out my words of gratitude.

'I wish I could write a review but...'

I have already written a review and several times at that probably around 20 times. I even tried to write a recommendation on illegal sites but I got reported.

'If only they would just read the story...'

If people just read past the first 100 chapters, then they will see the beauty of the story. But that was not happening any time soon.

Even I wrote a recommendation a hundred times, fraudulent status of the novel won't change.

It was here the smartphone suddenly vibrated. A new notification? I opened the phone and checked the new message.

[Author: Oh! By the way, the monetization will begin by 12 pm.]

Why did he decide to monetise the novel now at 12 pm? Wasn't that the time the bell ringing ceremony was supposed to start? Was this a coincidence?

One would monetise their novel the moment they meet the qualifications. But this person waited for three whole years. I didn't understand what he was thinking but it wasn't my place to ask.

"Jakga!"

I was suddenly bought back to reality. Apparently, Angelica has been calling my name for a while. I completely forgot about the author for the moment.

"Geez! I have been calling you all this time and you are not answering."

"Ah! Sorry, what did you want to say?"

"Ah well..."

As if her annoyance was an illusion, her cheeks became slight red and she started playing with her hair. Then out of nowhere, she asked a question I wasn't expecting in a million years.

"Since it's almost time for the new year, I was wondering if you had anyone you liked?"

My eyes opened wider.

'What the f*ck?! Where did that come from?!'

It felt like someone had punched me in the gut and my heart was beating faster and faster with no signs of stopping.

"Well, I..."

As I tried to speak, I fumbled over my words as if something was stuck in my thought.

Undoubtedly, it was just a simple question. But I had no way of answering that simple question.

I could easily say 'no' by I found myself unable to do so and if I said 'yes', I would have to tell her who that person was which I could not do.

After all, there was no way I could actually tell her that the person I liked was her.

'Wait, isn't this the perfect opportunity?'

Both of us were alone in this hospital room so I could freely express my thoughts. There was a risk I could get rejected and that would make the atmosphere between us even more awkward.

'But I might never get this chance again?'

There was no telling what would happen in the future. I might never get this chance again. If I wanted to act, then I have to act now.

Therefore, I slowly began to say the words that may cause my destruction.

"Actually, the person I like is y..."

Riiing! Riiing!

My smartphone notification interrupted me and I soon realised my mistake.

'What the hell was I thinking?'

I narrowly escaped that blunder. Thankfully, I was saved by my smartphone.

"Suwon, what did you..."

"Sorry, I have to check this."

I opened my smartphone and saw I had a new notification. Coincidentally, the time was 12 pm right now. Was it a message from the author?

In the next instant, all the lights in the building went off. It wasn't just the hospital, the lights in the neighbouring buildings also went off and the place became dark.

"Huh? What happened? A blackout?"

"Relax, hospital's backup generator will be come on anytime now."

As I finished speaking, the lights in the hospital came back on.

I sighed and opened my mouth again.

"See, it isn't a big deal. Maybe the lights went off because the government is working on a new project. Really now, they should make an announcement when they..."

I didn't get the chance to finish my words. An announcement was made. But it was not from the hospital.

[The Nightmare Trial has arrived.]