1 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.

How did I find myself in the hospital?

Honestly, I can't remember the exact details but I was involved in a car accident and I fell into a coma as a result. I was hurt pretty bad and it was a miracle I survived.

My memories was a bit blurry but overall, 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 surviving from any mental damage. They must have thought I have Amnesia but I didn't though.

Doctor Kwangsun would check up on me and ask me questions from time to time and I would nonchalantly answer. Today was one of those days.

"What is your name?"

"Kim Suwon."

"Age?"

"21."

"Martial status?"

"Single."

"Hobbies?"

"Reading and playing video games."

"I see. What were you doing before the accident?"

"I was a college student before the accident."

"Name of Institution?"

"Seoul National University."

"Do you have any relatives or family?"

"No. My parents died way back and I'm an only child."

"No other relatives?"

"Not that I know about? It was just me and my parents."

"You had it rough."

"Life is never fair. I'm just the unlucky one here."

The tone of voice sounded down and the doctor immediately noticed this and changed the subject.

"I guess that is true. Ah! Sorry, let's continue. Do you have any friends?"

"Hmm, I think so."

"Now that is just sad."

"Hey now! Don't say it like..." Realising something, I shut my mouth at once.

Thinking back, I didn't talk much in college so I didn't have many friends. The term 'Loner' would describe me perfectly. Truly, it was rather pitiful.

"Haha! Forgive me, I was just messing with you."

"Why you..."

Sometimes, the doctor would joke from time to time. It seems he wasn't the strick type that only followed procedure.

I sighed. I wish he would stop teasing me so much.

"Do they usually visit?"

"At first, they did. But they stopped visiting less and less as time ticked by."

"One person always comes though. I'm sure you already know who I'm talking about."

"I already know. I wish she would stop coming though. I always told her to stop but she never listens."

The doctor sighed .

"Maybe she just likes you."

"No, I don't think so. I mean, it doesn't feel that way when I'm around her."

"She does visit you everyday without fail so I definitely think she likes you more than you realise."

"Is that so?"

But that girl was just that kind of person.

"In any case, we are done for today. You should use this time to rest."

"I mean, that's the only thing I can do. Isn't that right, doctor?"

"Haha! I guess you are right. Take care now."

Dr Kwang-Sun left those words behind as he left the room. The room did stay silent for long. Because a few minutes after he left, the door opened once again.

A tall figure had entered the room. Long golden hair, blue eyes and very beautiful porcelain skin that could make even the most famous models jealous. She was someone I already knew.

I sighed.

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

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

"I don't mind, really."

"See, 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 looked like a foreigner but she was a mixed breed. Her mother was from Korean and her father was from America.

There was a rumour 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

(TL: The name is a reference to the name of the author of 'The Beginning after the End'.)

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

"Songs of Nightmare? 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?"

Angelica's eyes widened.

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

Amidst of her excitement, she finally noticed something was wrong.

"If it is similar to Omniscient Reader then how come the novel isn't popular? After all, omniscient reader is a story that broke out of the Matrix."

I smiled wryly. I was expecting this question.

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

It was here that Angelica frowned her brows. I think I know what she was thinking.

"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 was one of the most popular girls at Seoul 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.

'There 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 Suwon: 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 I suddenly heard the smartphone AI saying 'a new message has arrived'.

–Turtleme666: Thank you.

It was a message I was not expecting. I recognised that username.

–Kim Suwon: The Author?

–Turtleme666: That's right. And no, this is not a prank.

So this was really the author. But why was the author thanking me.

–Kim Suwon: Why did the author thank me?

–Turtleme666: Because you read my story.

–Kim Suwon: I'm not the only reader.

–Turtleme666: But you're the only reader that continued to read the story.

It was true. As the novel gained its fraudulent status, the readers continued to reduce one by one until I was the only one. Indeed, I did not give up on the story.

–Turtleme666: To show my thanks, I will like to send you a gift.

–Kim Suwon: A gift?

–Turtleme666: It is a gift for the last reader who bought my story into reality.

I sent the author my e-mail address as he asked.

–Turtleme666: By the way, the monetization will begin by 12 pm.

–Kim Suwon: 12 pm?

Wasn't that the time the bell ringing ceremony was supposed to start? Was this a coincidence? More importantly,

'Why is he waiting until now to monetise the novel?'

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.

"Suwon!"

I was suddenly bought back to reality by Angelica calling my name. 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 fuck?! 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?

I checked my email and came across the message from the author.

[The monetisation will begin now.]

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 #287 World has been registered to participate in Nightmare.]

[The First Nightmare has arrived!]