Stuck Between the Lines of a Tale (ORV OC)

Chapter 1: Aren't I totally doomed?

My name is ⬜️⬜️⬜️

I've never had a partner. While I self proclaim to have my looks set on average, most people had considered me... unfit for their tastes.

I lived a normal, dull, and lonely life that was only ever entertained by the presence of fictional characters.

For some reason today, I woke up in a subway.

That sentence wouldn't have been so strange had I actually been on a train a few minutes ago.

However, I was supposed to be in my room with puffed up eyes from staying up all night reading webnovels again. Certainly not in a subway surrounded by Korean passengers in business suits. The contrast between that and my casual clothes was jarring really.

What I did found neat was that I actually understood their Korean, as if I had automatic subtitles popping up in my head.

I chalked it up to this being a self-indulgent dream, resulted from all my K-drama binge watching. I tried to ignore the short glances from the passengers that were curious of my foreign-ness. This lucid dream was getting a bit too realistic alright.

I decided on looking out the window for the scenery, since it wasn't everyday you get to experience your own simulation of Korea. I would've continued doing so had someone not caught my eye.

Across the seat, there was a tall figure dressed in black— a long coat that did not resemble work attire at all. In fact, the man had a sword hitched to his side. The average person would probably assume that guy was on his way to a cosplay event.

But it took me one good look at his face to realize who he was.

Slightly wavy hair, thick eyebrows, and an overall stern handsome face. It only made sense for him to be considered eye-candy. The familiar get up that I've seen so many times in fanarts — this man had to be Yoo Joonghyuk.

Of course my first reaction would be to look at him in awe, since I've finally had a chance to see him in my own dream.

That was when it hit me: Why was this scene starting to feel increasingly familiar?

Exactly like how Kim Dokja found himself in the train where the apocalypse starts, he realizes that the novel 'Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World' had become real. My situation was a bit like that, but in a dream.

No, wait, even if we considered this to be real— in most stories, wouldn't this be considered an 'isekai'? Was I just isekai'd into a post-apocalyptic novel?

Aren't I doomed then?

The first scenario requires everyone to kill at least one living organism to pass, with the reward being a set amount of coins and avoiding elimination.

However, Kim Dokja was able to find a loophole in this rule by killing a pouch of insect eggs instead, leading to him receive a crap tons of coins.

That being said, most people don't actually bring critters in the subway. And it wasn't like public trains were so filthy to have rodents running around either. I couldn't possibly use that trick.

Would I have to kill someone then? I didn't have the answers to that. (Somehow the thought of being known for murder by any of my favorite characters made me feel stiff.)

There was no way I'd let myself get eliminated after finally getting this great of a dream!!

And since this was just a dream, it didn't really matter whether or not I took someone's life, did it?

A metallic sound was heard, and the subway lights turned off. The sudden darkness resulted in the screams of passengers. I had barely managed to hold onto my ground as the subway shook.