My dear Dokja (reader)

Untitled part

The door was quietly opened and closed, with extra care so the other inhabitants of that apartment wouldn't even notice his presence. Kim Dokja was a stranger in his own house, well it was his aunt's house and he was only tolerated here. Since his mother's death a few years back, he had been living with his aunt and uncle and his cousin, but in this family, there was no place for him, for Kim Dokja, the lonely child.

Dokja let out a small tired sigh before he threw his school back into a corner in his dark and small room. The sun was shining brightly and not a single cloud was seen in the sky. They threw some small sunbeams into his room, lightening it up for at least a bit. His room was facing southwest, so getting at least a bit of sun was a luxury for him.

The room was so small that it only took him two steps to reach his small old wooden desk where he sat down in the rusty chair. Kim Dokja stared at the empty wall for a bit, before he stood up again to open his school bag and grabbed a rather old book Han Sooyoung borrowed him.

"Don't be too gloomy, here, I found this book in an antique store and I must say, it's written really well. Even someone with such a taught eye like me can see that the author had talent"

Han Sooyoung said to him during their lunch break in school. Han Sooyoung was a friend Kim Dokja is very thankful for. She was the only one who ever approached him in school without malicious intent and while she certainly had a rather rough tongue, she never meant any of her insults. Sooyoung even stood up against Dokja's bullies and beat them up, leading to Dokja finally having a peaceful school life.

He brushed against the cover of the book. It was a rather old book as the slightly worn-out cover told him, but it was beautiful nonetheless. The corners were decorated with golden ornates and the title of the book looked like it was embroidered in pretty golden cursive.

Three ways to survive in a ruined world

'How did Han Sooyoung even find such a pretty book in an antique store'

Dokja wondered as he tried to find more information about the author, but the name was nowhere to be found, neither on the front, nor on the back, but Dokja didn't mind this at all as he carefully opened the book, trying to not ruin its fragile binding.

The story was a rather simple one, nowadays, one would call it a cliche story. A hero, as the protagonist, fights his way to save the kingdom from the demon king. Of course, the hero was born through a prophecy and made various companions and friends on his journey.

Even though the story was simple, Kim Dokja couldn't help but be sucked into it. Something about the protagonist made his heart beat fast, the way how much he suffered in his early life, the companions he lost, Kim Dokja felt like an imaginary link between him and the protagonist. He loved the way the protagonist was described as handsome, the way the protagonist's little habits as scratching his sword on the ground when he was happy, were transferred to him through the thought-out choice of words. And most of all, the protagonist never gave up, no matter how many times he was beaten up and defeated, he always stood up again and continued, even though he knew that he would continue to suffer if he did that.

Kim Dokja couldn't help but cheer for the protagonist. He was captivated by the story, that he read the first 3 chapters of the novel in one go. So much happened and the protagonist wasn't the same as he was in the first chapter. But no matter how much the protagonist changed, Dokja always commented on the protagonist's actions or cheered him on.

"You can do, don't give up yet"

"Don't worry about it, believe you can overcome it"

"You're so cool, don't throw your pride away, never give up"