WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: smol_anon

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 2: Episode 1 - Launch of the Paywall (1)

“I’m Dokja.”

This was how I often introduced myself to people, which usually led to some misunderstandings.

“Oh, so you’re an only child?”

“I am, but that’s not what I meant by ‘Dokja.’”

“Huh? Then what do you mean?”

“My name is Dokja. Kim Dokja.”

‘Dokja’; a word that could mean ‘only child’ or ‘reader' in Korean. However, I was named for its third meaning- ‘independent’. My father named me in hopes that I would grow up to be a man with strength of character, even without anyone’s support. But as a result of that name, the life I’d led had been nothing but a single, mundane, and lonely one.

Kim Dokja. 28 years old. Single.

My hobby? Reading web novels on the subway after work.

“If you keep doing that, you’re going to get sucked into your phone.”

Amidst the noise in the packed subway, I reflexively looked up. A pair of curious eyes were staring right at me. It was Yu Sangah from the HR department.

“Oh, hello.”

“Heading home?”

“Yes. Are you on your way home too, Yu Sangah-ssi?” [1]

“I’m lucky today. My department head went on a business trip.”

A seat opened up next to me, and Sangah sat down with a flump. A subtle fragrance of perfume as her shoulder brushed against mine made me tense up unconsciously.

“Do you usually take the subway home?” I asked.

“Well... not really...”

Sangah’s face darkened. Come to think of it, it was the first time I had seen her on the subway after work.

That made sense. Everyone at the company knew the rumors—that from Assistant Manager Kang in HR to Manager Han in Finance, men would line up offering to drive Sangah home. But what she said next was unexpected.

“Someone stole my bicycle.”

Bicycle?

“Do you commute by bike?”

“Yes! Lately, I’ve been working a lot of overtime, and I started to feel like I wasn’t getting enough exercise. Plus, I’ve been dealing with a bit of a troublesome situation, so I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone.”

Ah, that explained it.

Sangah smiled brightly. Looking at her up close, I could see why so many men were infatuated with her, but it had nothing to do with me. Everyone lived their own genre of life, and Sangah was clearly living in a genre different from mine.

After the awkward conversation ended, we each turned our attention back to our phones. I reopened the novel app I had been reading from, and Sangah... what was that?

“Puede prestarme dinero.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s Spanish.”

“...I see. What does it mean?”

“It means, ‘Can you lend me some money?’”

Sangah answered confidently. Studying even on the subway after work? We really were from different worlds. But where would she ever use a phrase like that?

“You’re really dedicated.”

“But what are you reading so intently, Dokja-ssi?”

“Oh, this...”

Before I could react, Sangah’s eyes were already fixed on my phone screen.

“A novel?”

“Yeah, well... it’s kind of like studying Korean.”

“Wow, I love novels too. I haven’t had much time to read lately, though...”

That was unexpected. Yu Sangah liked novels?

“Authors like Haruki Murakami, Raymond Carver, Han Kang...”

Of course, that’s what she reads.

“What kind of authors do you like, Dokja-ssi?”

“You wouldn’t know them, even if I told you.”

“Oh, come on. I’ve read a lot of novels. Who’s the author?”

Admitting I read no-name web novels would be especially embarrassing now. I glanced at the title of the novel displayed on my app.

『The World After the Fall』

Author: singNsong

There was no way I could bring myself to say, “I’m reading The World After the Fall by singNsong.”

“It’s just a fantasy novel. You know, like The Lord of the Rings...”

Sangah’s eyes widened.

“Oh, The Lord of the Rings. I’ve seen the movies.”

“The movies are quite good.”

There was a brief silence. Sangah still seemed to be looking at me, as if waiting for me to continue.

It was getting uncomfortable, so I decided to change the topic.

“We’ve been working at the company for a year now. We joined around this time last year; time flies.”

“It really does. Back then, we didn’t know anything, did we?”

“Yeah, it feels like just yesterday, but now our contracts are almost up.”

It wasn’t until I saw Sangah’s expression that I realized I had brought up the wrong subject.

“Oh, I...”

I had forgotten.

Sangah had already been promoted to a full-time position last month, as an acknowledgement of her role in securing foreign clients.

“Right, of course. I’m sorry, congratulations are long overdue. Haha, I should’ve worked on learning foreign languages too.”

“Oh no, Dokja-ssi! There’s still your performance review left, and...”

Much as I hated to admit it, Sangah cut a dazzling figure as she spoke. Her face was radiant, as though the world’s spotlight was focused solely on her.

If this world were a novel, someone like her would surely be the protagonist.

It was only natural. She had worked hard, and I hadn’t. I spent my time reading web novels, while Sangah studied. Of course she became a full-time employee, while I was about to be let go.

“Um… Dokja-ssi...”

“Yes?”

“Would you like to know what app I’d recommend?”

For a moment, Sangah’s voice seemed distant. I felt like I was being pulled far away from the world. I forcibly turned and focused my gaze straight ahead to try grounding myself, and my eyes fell on a young boy on the seat across from me. Sitting next to his mother, he was staring down glumly at the plastic insect collection case in his lap.

“...Dokja-ssi?”

If my life had been different, what would it have been like?

What if the genre of my life had been different?

If it wasn’t ‘Realism’ but ‘Fantasy’... could I have been the protagonist?

I didn’t know. Even if I had all of eternity, I could never be sure. But if there was one thing I did know, it was the fact that…

“It’s okay, Sangah-ssi.”

“...What?”

“Even if you tell me about that app, nothing will change.”

…the genre of my life was undeniably ‘realism’.

“As ‘Dokja,’ I have my own life to live,” I continued. “My life as a reader.”

And in this genre, I was not the protagonist—I was the ‘Reader’.

“The life of a Dokja...”

Sangah looked at me with a serious expression. To show her I was really okay, I waved my hand flippantly. While I didn’t get why, she was probably genuinely worried about me. She was in HR after all... she must know about my work performance by now.

“Dokja-ssi, you always have such profound things to say.”

“Huh?”

“Then I guess I have the life of a Sangah.”

Sangah smiled, as if making a new resolution, and went back to studying Spanish. I watched her for a moment before turning my attention back to the web novel.

Everything returned to normal, yet for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to scroll down the novel pages again. Maybe it was the weight of my reality I’d just become aware of hanging from the screen’s edge, becoming too heavy to scroll past.

It was then that a notification appeared at the top of my screen.

[You have 1 new email.]

The sender was none other than the author of TWSA. I quickly opened the email.

-----------------------------------------------

Subject: Thank You for Everything

Dear Dokja,

Starting at 7 PM this evening, the paywall will be in place. This should be helpful to you. I wish you the best of luck.

[1 attachment]

-----------------------------------------------

Oh, right. He had said he would send me a gift. Was this the gift? ...I really was Dokja the Reader at heart. Just receiving this one email got me so excited.

Yeah, maybe living as a Reader wasn’t so bad after all.

I checked the time. 6:55 PM.

The paywall was starting at exactly 7 PM, which meant there were 5 minutes left. I opened my favorites list on the web novel app. After all, I was the sole reader of TWSA. The least I could do was be the first to leave a congratulatory comment to encourage the author. But...

―This work does not exist.

I tried typing different combinations of “three ways,” “apocalypse,” and “survive” into the search bar, but the result didn’t change.

The page for TWSA had disappeared without a trace.

That was strange. Sure, the novel was going to go behind a paywall, but would they delete its entire page without notice?

At that moment, the lights in the subway flickered off, and the subway car plunged into darkness.

Clang!

The subway screeched as it shook violently, with the sound of metal grinding against metal. Sangah let out a small scream and clung to my arm. She gripped it so tightly, that the pain in my left arm was more distracting than the inertia of the sudden stop.

The subway car came to a complete halt about ten seconds later, and confused voices erupted all around.

“What’s going on?”

“What the hell is this?”

In the darkness, one by one, smartphone lights began to flash. Sangah, still clinging to my arm, asked in a trembling voice.

“W-what’s happening?”

I tried to sound calm as I reassured her.

“Don’t worry. It’s probably nothing.”

“You think so?”

“Yes, even if it’s not a minor issue… well, the driver should make an announcement soon.”

As if on cue, the PA system crackled to life.

―Attention, all passengers. Attention, all passengers.

The noisy surroundings fell silent. I sighed in relief, about to say, “See? No big deal, after this the lights should return.” But then...

―Evac... Everyone, evacu...!

The announcement was cut off with a sharp beep. The subway car erupted into chaos.

“D-Dokja-ssi? What’s going on…?”

A blinding light flashed from the front of the subway car, followed by the sound of something exploding, and then a deafening noise, like a giant drum being ripped apart.

Within the darkness, something had set its sights on us and was approaching fast.

It was a complete coincidence that I’d chosen that very moment to look at the time.

7:00 PM.

With one tick of the clock, I felt as though the world had come to a standstill.

Then a voice rang out.

[The free service of Planetary System 8612 has ended.]

[The Main Scenario will now begin.]

That was the moment when the genre of my life changed forever.

Footnotes:

[1] In Korean, the suffix -ssi (씨, 氏) is a polite honorific that is often used when speaking to someone of a similar social position.

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