Episode 1 – The Beginning of the End (1)

December 31, 2023.

Around this time, crowds would gather in Hongdae. It was inevitable—it being a popular holiday and all. While I would have liked to join in the celebrations, I found myself in a bit of a bind.

I was stuck in the hospital, yes, that's right. There was no way I could attend, even if I had wanted to. Besides, I don't exactly have friends to celebrate with.

As for how I ended up in the hospital, I can't recall the specifics. But here's my story:

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 dedicated 27 years of his life to the military as a sergeant before he tragically lost his life during an operation. His savings enabled me to attend a private school, excel academically, and secure admission to university.

My mother, a renowned actress at a prestigious studio (the name of which escapes me), passed away in my final years of high school, just before graduation.

I was an only child with no other siblings or relatives. Despite our small family, we managed just fine. Occasionally, it did get lonely as my parents were often away due to work commitments, but I coped.

As for how I supported myself financially, I've established myself as a successful horror writer, earning a monthly salary of approximately ₩500,000,000 after taxes. I began my writing career at the age of 15.

After being inspired by the popular novel, I decided to write a story of my own creation. Since I was new to the world of writing, I received alot of criticism from the readers. The abuse was so unbearable that I was left with no choices then to abandon my first novel and delete it.

But that was not the end. I didn't give up. I persisted through writing, listening, researching, and repeating the process until I noticeably improved.

When I thought about it, it was a funny memory. Every writer has that first crush. I was also the same. Sadly, the name of my first story escaped my memory.

I shall explain.

Ever since childhood, I had a rare sleepwalking condition. 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 normally continue writing the chapters of my ongoing novels but I didn't want to think much.

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 slender figure and large chest. Her long wavy hair was an extremely beautiful shade of golden blonde and her porcelain skin was flawless as though meticulously sketched without any flaws. In fact, those terms were somewhat lacking when used to describe this person.

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. So what's it about?"

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

"Survival?"

"Yes. And it's also filled with horror elements."

"I see. Is it a popular novel?"

"Not really. I wouldn't say it's a popular series. Someone used another novel as inspiration, so people disliked it and labeled it a fraud."

"So, it's plagiarism?"

"It's more complicated than that. Song of Nightmares is genuinely different from its inspiration, but most people don't realize it."

Exactly. Most people read only 100 chapters of the novel and called the book a fraud. Initially, I felt the same way until I read up to chapter 1998, and my perspective changed.

"..."

The silence dragged on, making the atmosphere increasingly awkward.

As a loner, my social skills were lacking, leaving me unable to break the tension. Why did she bother visiting me every day?

Angelica Lockhart. She was one of the most popular girls at the National University. In fact, she even had the title of one of the top ten beauties on campus until she graduated. It wasn't surprising.

With her pretty face, fair skin, and mature figure that many women would envy, she possessed all the qualities a man could desire.

I'd even heard rumors that seniors used to hit on her before graduation. Looking at her up close, I could understand their feelings. Even I felt the same way.

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.

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 all for reading this story up to this point. I truly appreciate your support. But don't be disheartened, dear readers. Just because the story has ended, it doesn't mean the world we've built together will vanish. It's now in your hands to imagine and create your 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 won't be an 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 had 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 today.

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 before they..."

I didn't get the chance to finish my sentence. Suddenly, an unexpected announcement filled the room, but it wasn't from the hospital.

[Initialisating the assimilation process...]

[Assimilation confirmed.]

[The Nightmare Stream has registered the 287th World to the Nightmare Scenarios.]

[The Nightmares will begin.]