Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Novel MTL - Chapter 555

Chapter 555

Episode 1. The World After The End (2)

―Ahem, ahem. Is this microphone working?

Was this the same sensation the characters felt upon first seeing Bihyung aboard the train?

―Can everyone hear me?

The woman on the screen looked so much like the Han Sooyoung I had always pictured that it sent a chill down my spine.

I likely wasn’t alone in that thought; the other readers were also staring at the display with their jaws slack.

―So, there are still people who remember that guy’s tale. Well, I suppose you were all Kim Dokja, too.

It was Han Sooyoung, down to her characteristically impolite manner of speaking. It was probably an advanced deepfake, but whoever was impersonating her was incredibly skilled.

Then, Han Sooyoung began saying something bizarre.

―I uploaded a short side story to the cloud a while back. Has everyone had a chance to read it?

What?

―Of course you have. I know you did. But that was merely a preview. The true ‘side story’ is about to start.

Wait, hold on. How can you say that when I haven’t prepared any chapters yet?

You need to send me the manuscript immediately.

―I’ll be in your care from now on. Now, you get to ask one question each.

The readers, who had been fixated on the screen, exchanged uncertain glances.

Han Sooyoung added more.

―Don’t ask where Yoo Joonghyuk bought his boots, or if Lee Gilyoung actually eats grasshoppers. I have no idea about those things, so just get that straight now.

Someone let out a sigh of disappointment.

The attendees seemed to be hesitating, wondering if they could actually pose a question.

Though, it was most likely a pre-recorded video, so asking anything would be pointless.

Yet, one person raised her hand.

“Is Kim Dokja alive again?”

It was a young female fan seated in the front row.

A short, heavy silence fell over the room.

It was the question every reader who finished the final chapter would wonder about.

In a way, everyone already knew the answer, making it a question that shouldn’t be asked.

I felt a pang of sadness. If the Han Sooyoung in that video was real, she would undoubtedly feel the same.

However.

―Oh, that. You’re talking about Kim Dokja, right?

What?

―Well, you see…

Could it be a live feed?

The very next moment, the screen cut to static with a fuzzy *tsutsu* sound.

A collective gasp of surprise came from the crowd.

“Oh, what a shame, the connection dropped! I guess we’ll all have to find out together if Kim Dokja is alive through the side story!”

The host’s adept recovery was truly on par with something Kim Dokja would do.

I could hear the readers beginning to chatter excitedly.

“Is a side story really being released?”
“There wasn’t any official announcement for it, was there?”

Of course not. I never actually announced one.

Ji Eunyu, sitting beside me, whispered teasingly.
“Isn’t that a cute way to threaten you to start writing again?”
“Maybe, but it feels a bit too sincere for a threat.”

I let out a soft sigh as the host introduced the final part of the event.
“Now, it’s time for today’s last event, the ORV trivia contest. We have plenty of prizes so everyone can win, so if you know the answer, please come up to the stage right away.”

Judging by the readers’ gleaming eyes, this was the main attraction.

The host in front of the screen read the first question.
“The first question is―”

After hearing it, several readers raised their hands. It was unexpected; I had thought it was quite a challenging question.

When the selected reader gave the correct answer, the host applauded.
“Congratulations. Please come up here.”

The reader, face flushed, was guided by the host and vanished behind the curtain at the back of the stage. A moment later, their presence disappeared with a *tsutsu* sound.

I chuckled, and the other readers did too. It was an interesting bit of staging.

I decided I would try to answer the next one.

“Now, for the second question. How many times did ■ appear throughout all of ‘ORV’?”

Ahem…

No matter how I thought about it, who could possibly know that?
I certainly didn’t, and I’m the author.

But someone raised their hand.
“Me! The answer is―”

The reader began speaking. I assumed they were just guessing, but to my surprise, the host clapped.
“Congratulations. Please come this way.”

How on earth did they get it right?

The reader who answered correctly was also guided behind the curtain and disappeared.

The host smiled.
“Are the questions too challenging? This next one is easier!”

I focused on the host’s words.
Okay, I’ll get this one.

“Third question. In ‘Ways of Survival’, Yoo Joonghyuk regresses 1,863 times. What is the symbolic meaning behind the number ‘1,863’?”

I was momentarily stunned by the question.
What symbolism did that number hold?

I tried to recall why I, as ORV’s author, had chosen the number 1,863.
I think… I had no particular reason. I’m certain of it. I should know, since I wrote it.

This time, many readers raised their hands. When the host pointed to one, they answered.
“1,863 is the year the world’s first subway began operation, symbolizing how Yoo Joonghyuk’s endless cycles of regression always lead back to the subway.”

What?
I thought, ‘That can’t be right,’ but the readers around me nodded in agreement.
“Oh, yes, that’s it.”
“Ah, I read about that in RepresentativeKimDokja’s analysis post.”

As the host applauded, the reader who answered walked up to the stage, smiling.

Ji Eunyu asked me,
“Did 1,863 really mean that?”
“Naturally. In my writing, every number is significant. Every element is intricately connected.”

The quiz continued. Some questions were about details I remembered, while others were complete mysteries to me.

Yet, as the answers were shared, I felt a complex emotion.
Stories I recalled. Stories I had forgotten. Stories I never meant to tell. The tale I hadn’t written for three years was still alive and evolving here.

A sudden question occurred to me.
Could I truly claim to love this story more than they did?

“What is the name of the sword Jung Heewon received from Kim Dokja in the Theater Dungeon?”
“Me! I know!”

Jung Heewon, who was sitting near me, managed to answer one correctly.

Ji Eunyu muttered nervously as she watched Heewon excitedly disappear behind the curtain.
“At this rate, we’ll be the only ones left. Is there a penalty for not answering?”

From then on, Ji Eunyu也开始 raising her hand.

After about ten or twenty questions, Ji Eunyu finally got one right.
“I’m heading in first. See you outside.”

Even after Ji Eunyu waved and vanished, I still didn’t raise my hand.

The remaining readers gradually left their seats one by one after answering correctly. Some were suddenly wiping away tears.

I watched them exit the theater for a long time.

“Now, there is only one final question remaining.”

The voice echoed through the now-silent theater.

Before I realized it, I was the only one left in the audience.

Looking at the many empty seats, I thought about the person named “Kim Dokja” for the first time in a long while.

“This is the last question.”

I listened nervously.
It had to be an easy one.

The host asked with a bright smile.
“Who is the heroine of ORV?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it again.

Perhaps sensing my difficulty, the host added reassuringly,
“I’ll give you a minute to think.”

ORV’s heroine.
Who would Kim Dokja consider the heroine? I don’t know. I’m not Kim Dokja.

So, I decided to answer from the perspective of ORV’s author, “tls123.”

「 Who is the heroine of ORV? 」

Truthfully, “ORV” wasn’t written with a traditional heroine in mind, and romantic elements were nearly absent.

“10 seconds left.”
“The heroine of ORV is―”

I said the name I was thinking of. I wasn’t entirely sure. Compared to other main characters, her presence wasn’t as prominent.
Nevertheless, she was a character I created for Kim Dokja.

The host was silent for a moment at my answer, then asked,
“Why do you think that?”

I probably aren’t the one who loves this story the most.
I may not be the one who knows it best.
But I wanted to say this at least once.

“Because I wrote it.”
“What?”

The host asked again, as if they hadn’t heard clearly.

I smiled faintly and raised my voice.
“Because she is my favorite character.”

I didn’t know if my answer was correct.
However, the host simply nodded without a word and slowly began to clap.

Was it right or wrong?
Come to think of it, the host had never actually said “correct” all this time.

“Congratulations.”

With the host’s words, I descended the theater stairs and walked onto the stage.
Following the path the other readers had taken, the empty seats of the theater came into view.

The words [Fourth Wall] were glowing faintly on the screen.

I suddenly remembered the readers who had walked this path—some wiping their eyes, others smiling and looking back.
Only then did I seem to understand how they felt. They didn’t cry or laugh just because they were happy to answer correctly.

This was the completion ceremony for 『Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint』.

I felt as though I were walking down a path I should have taken long ago.
The readers had reached the endpoint in their own way, and now it was my turn.

On the stage, the host was waiting. We looked at each other for a moment.
The host glanced at the nickname on my name tag.

[■■■]
“Your nickname is quite difficult to pronounce.”

I smiled and nodded.

Even up close, the host’s face was unclear. Their voice was strangely neutral, making it impossible to distinguish their gender.
I suddenly wanted to ask if they were “RepresentativeKimDokja.” But I didn’t. I felt I hadn’t earned the right to ask.

“The merchandise is just beyond the curtain. You can take it and leave.”

I felt a flicker of excitement at the mention of merchandise.
What could it be? A gift certificate?

I reached for the stage curtain. Then I stopped. I truly felt that if I opened this curtain, the story would finally be over.
But wasn’t there still more story to write?
There were sentences I’d forgotten and words I hadn’t yet written.

At the last second, I looked back. I thought maybe someone was still there.
And if there was, I thought I would want to write a story for that person.

But there really was someone in the spot where I looked.
When had they moved there?

The host was waving from the middle of the audience.
You could see the audience much more clearly from the stage than I expected.

I waved back at the host, then slowly turned and reached for the curtain again.
Now, it was time to live in the world after the ending.

“Are you really going to finish it like this?”
But then.
“If you end it by yourself, what are the rest of us supposed to do?”

I heard the host’s voice.

Huh? Just as I was about to respond, I heard a *tsutsutsutsu* sound from somewhere. I instinctively grabbed my phone. It wasn’t vibrating.

“So, please tell us that story.”

Something swirled before my eyes.
Ugh.

The vortex sucked me in, stifling the sound in my mouth. Sparks flashed, and my vision flickered. It felt as if my body was being crumpled and thrown into a subway car caught in an infinite loop of emergency stops.

A faint, vomit-like taste rose in my mouth from holding my breath.

And when I opened my eyes.

「 I was really on the subway. 」

My field of view was slightly higher than usual.
A lukewarm breeze came from a ceiling vent. Smelling the oddly musty scent of underground dust, I blinked.

The vague sensation of floating slowly faded, and a sense of reality gradually returned.

「 To be precise, it was a subway station. 」

Why am I here? As soon as I wondered, an answer surfaced from deep within my mind.
I already knew exactly where this was.

「 “But author, why did you start the story on the subway?” 」
Ji Eunyu had once asked me that.

「 “Because it’s the most natural place to begin.” 」
But now, I couldn’t accept that answer.

“What is this?”

I was startled by how unnatural my own voice sounded.
I looked forward reflexively.

Reflected in the screen door was a man with narrow eyes, not “Lee Hakhyun,” staring back at me.

“No—”

An unfamiliar cell phone was in my hand.
I absently pressed the power button.

「 It was just a coincidence that I checked the time at that moment. 」

The numbers on the phone’s clock changed with a soft tick.
7:00 PM.

The moment I looked up, a message arrived from somewhere, accompanied by a small explosion.

[The free service of planetary system 8612 has been terminated.]
[The main scenario has started.]

I knew the sentence that would follow all too well.

「 It was the moment the genre of my life was rewritten. 」

But that wasn’t what I was thinking.

「 So. 」

In that moment, I was “thinking.”

「 I had entered 『Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint』. 」