Dojka Kim is, what can best be described as, a 'normal' office worker. Hates his job, wishes he could flee to another world, the standard. Like most, instead of trying to numb the boring, Dojka turned to fiction. Well… mainly one story, a story simply named, "Three Ways to Survive an Apocalypse".
It was an interesting story, though maybe a bit bland at times… but, it just so happens to share a start with our story.
Thanks to his name, many people would prefer not to interact with him. He calls his name a curse. Dokja could be read as 'only child', 'individualist', or simply 'reader'.
Dokja is sitting on the train near a coworker of his, Sangah Yu. He recently finished a story he has been reading for a full ten years… in fact, he's probably the only person who read it all the way to the end… said ending was utterly unsatisfying.
On the train, now with about nothing to do, Dokja decided to make some small talk. "S-so… do you usually take the subway home?" He asks, already mentally berating himself for starting off like that.
"Actually, someone stole my bicycle," she responds, letting out a barely audible sigh.
"You commute to work on a bike?"
"Yes. I've been working a lot of overtime lately, so I thought I could use the exercise. And I have some personal reasons too…"
'Seeing her up close,' he thinks, 'I get why all the guys are head over heels for her.'
'Well, none of that concerns me. She and I live completely different lives.'
"¿Puede prestarme dinero?" She suddenly says.
"Pardon?"
"It's Spanish. It means, 'Please lend me some money'."
'Studying on the subway… she's a different breed altogether.' "You're studying hard."
"What about you, Dokja? What are you reading?" She asks, leaning close to peer at his phone. He swings it up, out of her line of sight.
"Oh, I'm…" he tries to reply, but he's cut off.
"Is it a novel?"
"Yeah, I guess you could say that I'm studying Korean, haha…" He tries to joke… not failing, but he sure didn't succeed.
"Wow! I love novels! My favorite authors are Murakami Haruki, Raymond Carver, and… Who's your favorite author, Dokja?"
'Of course' "You probably wouldn't know even if I told you. Haha…"
He can't help but think about how today was different from the rest… because the story he's been reading for ten years is over. 'Three Ways to Survive an Apocalypse', or TWSA for short, ends today.
Most would wonder why he cares so much. "So what"? They'd say, "It's just a story." But, they fail to remember… that he's been this story's longest reader, being the only one to read every chapter of the last ten years. It's been with him, in his highs and especially his lows.
As Dokja is off, thinking about the story, Sangha gets his attention with a simple, "Dokja?"
He doesn't flinch… he just stares. "...Oh! Come to think of it, it's already been a year since we started working at the company. We started around this time last year. Time sure flies, doesn't it?" 'I totally forgot she was here. I should change the topic.'
"Yeah, we had no idea what we were getting into back then…"
"Yeah… it seems like it was only yesterday. I can't believe our contracts are ending soon."
…
'Oh.'
'I forgot. Sangha was promoted to full-time employee last month due to her diligence.'
"Oh, I…" She tries to say, feeling just a bit awkward.
"Ah, that's right. Sorry for the late congratulations, haha. I guess I should've learned a foreign language too."
"No, it's fine, Dokkja. I haven't completed my performance assessment yet, and…"
"Um… Dokja. If you want… I could… tell you the name of the app I use…"
…He couldn't help but think… 'If I were in a different genre… if the genre of my life wasn't non-fiction… but fantasy… could I… have been the protagonist?'
"...It's okay, Sangah. It wouldn't matter if you told me the name of the app or not." 'If one thing was certain… it's that the genre of my life is non-fiction. And in this genre, I'm no protagonist. I'm merely a "reader".' "I have to live my own life."
"...Your own life… …You're so inspiring, Dokja."
"Sorry?" 'She sounds… earnest?'
"I should also live my own life!" '?!' "Like you, I'll strive to live my life to the fullest."
'Well… at least that got her to stop talking…'
Suddenly, he feels his phone buzz. 'A message?', he thought, checking his phone. It was, indeed, a message… and it simply read, 'Thank you.' from someone named TLS123…
'Huh? Is this the author of TWSA?'
He sends a message back, 'Are you the author of TWSA?'
Another message. 'Thanks to you, I was able to finish my story. I also won a prize in a contest.'
Congratulations! But, what kind of contest?' Dokja sends another message.
'Its not a big contest, so you wouldn't have heard of it.'
'Oh, and the series will become paid content soon.', the author sends multiple messages, back to back.
'Starting with the epilogue today, TSA will become paid content.'
'As a token of my gratitude, I would like to send you a special present. Could you tell me your email address?'
'Wow. TWSA won a contest? A present? Is it a gift card? It would be great if it's a $50 gift card.' And he gets yet another message… which just says, 'Good luck'.
Then the train's lights lose power.
"Hmm? What…" Sangha says, confused and slightly scared.
Thats when the crash part happens, people screaming about how this might be a terrorist attack and the like.
The next thing anyone knows, they can hear… Very, heavy breathing… like the pants of an animal.
"Sangah, are you okay?
"Y-yes. What do you think is happening?"
"Don't worry. It's probably nothing-"
…The clock ticks over to seven PM… and the speaker powers on, blaring a message. "Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please. P-please, evacuate… Evacuate…!"
"Dokja, what's goin on…?", Sengah looks over a Dojka… who isn't panicking nearly as much as someone normally would be. He definitely is still panicking, but it's not much.
A large storm of red lightning appears, swirling and clashing together into one solid form… and from that sea of red, came a voice.
"The free service of the 8612th planetary system has come to an end. The main Scenario will begin now."
