#orv novel chapter 548

[pttucker]

Yoo Joonghyuk dazedly sitting there began reading the novel again. ⸢211th day of drifting.⸥ He continued to read this story all by himself, and… ⸢258th day of drifting.⸥ …And, read the story again. ⸢279th day of drifting.⸥ He finally understood Kim Dokja just a little. ⸢316th day of drifting.⸥ [Your Stories have absorbed your emotions.] Every time he read Han Sooyoung's novel, the consumed Stories would regain their vitality for fleeting moments. Although it couldn't match the speed of consumption, he wouldn't have been able to hold on until now if he didn't read the story.

Joonghyuk finally beginning to understand what Dokja meant when he said that his story saved him because now it's Dokja's story saving Joonghyuk. 😭💖

[pttucker]

– In a world where the scenarios have come to an end, what should he do to continue living on? That's right. That's what he wanted to ask Kim Dokja. Because that guy knew everything. Kim Dokja, always thinking about the end. The man who planned for everything, and didn't hesitate to sacrifice his own life to see the conclusion of a certain story. A fool like that should know, he thought. If it was Kim Dokja, then he should know more about Yoo Joonghyuk than Yoo Joonghyuk knew about himself. That's what the latter thought. The regressor who stopped regressing – just what would become of him? Lee Jihye said that she suffered from nightmares every night. But for him, his life had been a constant nightmare for the longest time. The only reason why he managed to endure until now was because he still had a goal, an aim, which he hadn't achieved yet. However, that goal was now no more, and the scenario had ended, as well. The regressor Yoo Joonghyuk was free. But as he stood before the hard-earned freedom, he couldn't figure out what exactly he had finally earned.

Joonghyuk needing to find Dokja so he can tell him what to do. 😭😭😭

Oh man, we've seen him slowly soften throughout the entire novel, losing his hard edges and his lightning-fast "just kill everything that bothers me" and while that's good for his humanity, it's also resulted in so many moments where he just seems so lost and now he's literally lost, drifting through space, and he just wants his companion back because Dokja always has all the answers, especially the answers in regards to him.

Oh man, and the fact that his creator was right there but he doesn't want to ask her, oh no. She may have created him, but she's not the one who understands him. She's not the one who loves him. She's not the one who read through every single chapter of his story and thought there was nothing greater to be found in life.

Oh man, and the similarities with Dokja's own journey as Oldest Dream. While Dokja drifted along the train and slowly lost bits and pieces of himself and his memories, Joonghyuk is drifting through space losing bits and pieces of himself and his memories. 😭

Actually, I think Sooyoung had moments like this too while writing TWSA while in her younger self's body, iirc. Meaning all three of them have sort of given up bits and pieces of themselves as part of this process - Sooyoung gave part of herself to the work as she wrote it, Dokja gave part of himself to the work as he read it, and of course Joonghyuk is the living embodiment of TWSA and we all know what he's given to it. And now the process starts over with Joonghyuk giving up part of himself as he attempts to deliver a new story to the reader.