Set in Stone

Chapter 1 - The Ending

Sunoo dropped his phone on his unkempt bed, lips turning into a frown while his brows are furrowed together. Traces of tears could be seen on his cheeks as he lightly buried his head against the soft covers. A look of disbelief is still evident in his eyes, seemingly unable to wrap his head around what happened.

Soft what the fuck's escaped from Sunoo's lips, and he looked towards the suspect of his foul mood at 2 AM on a weekday: the lit up phone showing an open tab of a web novel entitled The Trumpet Flower.

Right, Sunoo has been losing his damn mind for the past 40 minutes because of the epilogue published by the author.

He was excited for this, he really was! He opened the website at 11:45 PM since the final chapter will be uploaded at exactly 12 AM, and the 15 minutes in between was spent daydreaming about all possible endings for this cursed web novel, but never in his life would he even think of an ending as wretched as this. Fine, the protagonist and the love interest survived, and while the ending was nothing near a 'happy ever after', at least they were alive to be with each other! While his favorite character, Park Sunghoon, just had to be the side character that would be killed off right at the end.

"He didn't have to die... He doesn't deserve the death he was given, he was literally the best character here and he died saving his lover? What was the point? We didn't even know much about that lover and they got to live while Sunghoon died?" He muttered to himself right before imagining a meeting with the author where he listed off all the plot holes in the story and he gives his two cents on the ending.

Maybe that would be pretty extreme, but, hey, it's not like he's actually going to do that, wouldn't he? Sunoo recognizes that he was overreacting due to the fact that his favorite character died, and he decided to hate the book and the author for a few hours—maybe a few weeks at most. The book was good, extremely his type. It was realistic, the characters were three-dimensional and the progression was even better than those published books.

Still... Why kill off Sunghoon? It's not like it had any bearing to the protagonist and the main story. Did the author just feel like killing someone before ending the novel? If so, why not kill the lover instead?

Sunoo shook his head when he thought about it. 'It's the author's story anyway, what right do I have to dictate them with what they should or not do about their novel?' He thinks to himself, as he wiped the tears off his face and looked at the mirror near the bed. His eyes were swollen, as if he was mourning the loss of his boyfriend and not just a 2D character from a book.

After reading the epilogue twice and thinking about it for almost an hour, he decided it would be best to rest for the night. Sunoo laid on the bed and closed his tired eyes as he slowly drifted away to sleep.

When suddenly—

His doorbell suddenly rang, startling Sunoo from his light slumber. He felt disoriented at first, confused if it really was the doorbell ringing, and after the initial confusion, he felt even more confused as he thought of the time. "No one would ring the doorbell at 2 AM unless they're a burglar, a killer, or asking for help." He says to himself, wary about opening the door.

If it was a killer, then that would've been fine, he didn't have much to live for. He lived alone in his house without any pets, and his parents are already long dead. Sunoo had friends, but the friendships they had were superficial, not really reaching a different level.

If it was a burglar, that would be bad. Not only did the person not kill him, but he would also be left without any belongings. That would be bad, since he still had to pay off the bills and other important stuff.

And if it was a person looking for help, then Sunoo could accommodate them if they were really in a dire situation. He heard stories about people dying because of cruel homeowners, and he didn't want to be one of those people. If he could help, that would be good for the person and for his conscience.

Sunoo walked towards the door, and asked the other side, "Who is it?" He really wasn't expecting a good answer, he just asked in case the person really did know him and decided that 2 AM was a perfect time to catch up and talk about the weather.

"Kim Sunoo?" A voice slightly muffled by the door entered Sunoo's ears. And almost instantly, his eyebrows shot up. It was a man's voice. Slightly high-pitched, but not high enough to hurt his ears. It actually blended well in the quiet atmosphere.

'He knows my name, and my house, but I'm sure I don't know him at all.' His breath got stuck in his throat. 'I've never heard that voice in my whole life.' Sunoo thinks, heart suddenly beating fast enough that he fears it will jump out of his chest anytime.

Three consecutive knocks came from the other side, and the unknown man speaks up again. "Is this Kim Sunoo's residency?" The voice was softer now, maybe the man realized it wasn't actually normal to come up to people's homes at an ungodly hour.

Sunoo clears his throat before opening his mouth. "Who is this?" He would refuse to open the door now that knows this man knows him. Of course, he still wouldn't open the door if the person on the side doesn't know him.

It was just alarming, is all. Having someone know you and your house while you absolutely know nothing about the other person.

"Uhm, you definitely do not know me, but my name is Sunghoon." The man, Sunghoon, answers. "Park Sunghoon."

Park Sunghoon? Interesting, Sunoo thinks to himself. This guy has the exact same name as his favorite character that recently died.

After that initial thought, red lights and emergency alarms started going off in his head. Park Sunghoon. He doesn't know a living person with the same name!

Could it be that random guy from the bar? No, that's Nam Sunghyuk.

The one that occasionally sits next to him at the laundry shop? Not that either, his name is Lee Donghoon.

Uh... That one higher up that Sunoo rarely sees but is nice to him? Wait—that's Mr. Park Jihoon.

He has never, ever, seen or heard this man before this encounter at 2 AM. But this random guy somehow knows his name and his home address. An alien? An angel? An incarnation of Sunoo's favorite character? What? Who the fuck is this guy and...

"Yeah, I don't know you. Do you mind telling me why you're here and how you got my address?" If it was a normal person, they definitely would've stopped talking to the dubious stranger and would've called the cops already. But Sunoo... Well, let's just say he has a few loose screws and nothing to be afraid of.

It went silent for a few seconds, perhaps the man really doesn't have anything to say to him. Maybe this person named Sunghoon just likes knocking on random people's doors at night, disrupting them from their sleep. Sunoo had this absurd thought, that maybe Sunghoon is actually the second coming of Christ, and he would get punished if he didn't let him inside his home right now. All those delirious thoughts were brought by his sleepy and confused brain, like how the mind crashes and brings you a thought that sounded reasonable at first, but will leave you speechless in a few hours once your foggy brain clears up.

"I—Uh, I'm Park Sunghoon, and, uh..." Park Sunghoon trails off, eyes roaming around the area as if looking for an answer amidst the dark surroundings.

What comes out of Sunghoon's lips rendered Sunoo completely speechless.

"The weather is really good right now, isn't it?"