- The author wrote it while he was a little out of his mind.
- Even the author doesn't know what he's writing.
- The author doesn't even know why he wrote it.
- It's a bunch of clichés.
- Please read it lightly... It's a mess of a piece of writing with little to no plausibility...
- I intentionally left the part where the heroine's original name appears blank. Readers can just insert their own names and read on...
-TRIGGER WARNING! This story is based on an internet novel popular in the early 2010s, so it may contain scenes reminiscent of school violence.
How to Survive as an Extra
: One day, I became an extra in a novel.
W. Gpeum
Kim Yeon-ju's marriage announcement, the reason this ridiculous incident occurred was simple.
“You…! This…! Ao…!”
“…No, I just didn’t think about it because it was so obvious that you guys were dating….”
“You call that an excuse…!”
"Kim Yeon-ju and Kim Seok-jin are dating." It was Kwon Yeon-hee's fault, mostly, for forgetting to write down this simple sentence in her notebook. Because she hadn't written that one line, the Kim Yeon-ju and Kim Seok-jin of the novel's world remained friends. So, I suddenly became a shameless person who went on a date alone with a friend, kissed her friend in front of them, and then, worse, married a man who wasn't her friend, becoming a piece of trash. Damn it. If this isn't a fishing ground, then what is? I exploded at Park Jimin's whining, "How do you feel about being a fish?" to Kim Seok-jin, who suddenly became a fish in a fishing ground.
"What are we going to do with all this!!"
-I ended up grabbing Kwon Yeon-hee by the collar.
Because I had committed a crime, Kwon Yeon-hee couldn't bring herself to shake me off and quietly gave up her collar, while Kim Seok-jin barely managed to calm me down as I grabbed her collar and started shaking her. Kwon Yeon-hee rolled her eyes at the desperate look in Kim Seok-jin's eyes, telling her to hurry and figure out a solution.
“…Ah! There is a way! There is a way!”
Kwon Yeon-hee shouted urgently. Then she pulled out something familiar from the bag she had been carrying: an old notebook and a ballpoint pen. She showed them to me, who was barely holding on to Kim Seok-jin, and spoke.
“Because anything that happens in the future can be fixed!”
Those words calmed me down a bit. I figured I wouldn't marry a complete stranger.
Finding a solution didn't solve the problem overnight. The problem was how to quell the marriage rumors that had already spread among their classmates. Since they were practically engaged, it was impossible to just whine and insist on calling it off. Regardless, Park Jimin suggested they just break up, and I shook my head.
“When I opened my eyes, I saw the house where Kim Yeon-ju lived alone… For some reason, I had a feeling that there might be a real Kim Yeon-ju.”
Am I over-immersed? Anyway, I don't want to do anything that would harm Kim Yeon-ju. After all, it's just a novel, so why bother? No one responded. Perhaps it's because everyone here has experienced similar situations. Only one person reacted differently. Kwon Yeon-hee listened to me, then, with a wicked expression on her face, said:
“Don’t worry, I won’t turn you into trash.”
“…Hey, why do you feel more anxious because of that?”
"What's the point of being anxious? If you don't want to be trash, just make the other person trash!"
Watching Kwon Yeon-hee unfold her Lulu Lala notebook, saying, "It can't be this simple," I felt a pang of guilt. ... I wondered, "Is this even okay?" Of course, that guilt vanished completely when Kim Seok-jin timidly grabbed my shirt hem. "Yeah, why would I leave her behind with another man?" I offered a brief condolences to Kim Yeon-joo's fiancé, whose name and face I didn't even know.
Kwon Yeon-hee, who was scribbling excitedly, wrote down the story of Kim Yeon-ju's broken engagement right where she was sitting. The pace was so fast that everyone just watched, speechless. "Well, at this rate, the marriage should be ruined," she said, accepting the notebook she offered. As they read through the rather short text, the four of them's expressions shifted constantly. They were so absorbed that they found themselves saying, "This is crap." Instead of us, who were dumbfounded by the absurd development, Jeon Jung-kook spoke up.
“…You should think about debuting as a morning drama writer.”
Kwon Yeon-hee burst out laughing and slammed the table.
And then, shortly after, my marriage really fell apart.
How convenient it would be to live as a writer in a novel. Just a single line and most things become reality. I thought as I looked at the chaotic wedding hall. The flustered MC, the guests who were half-up, mumbling and watching, and...
“Ugh, let go of this…!”
“How could you do this to me?! You said you would only love me…!”
Who wrote the lines? Oh, it was Kwon Yeon-hee. I thought, looking down with cold, icy eyes at the groom-to-be (who will never become the real groom, of course) in his pristine white wedding dress, his hair pulled out in front of me. "I think the kid's been watching too many soap operas," I thought, looking at Kwon Yeon-hee, who was laughing and clapping in the bride's guest section. I found it annoying how she shamelessly smiled, unfazed by the harsh stares of the adults around her.
This is the story of a chaotic wedding. The bride-to-be, Kim Yeon-ju, is excited about her future married life, unaware of the situation, while the groom-to-be, Won Jun-woo, attends the wedding with a sense of unease. And the groom-to-be's anxieties become reality the moment the bride enters the room...
A story so incredible it could easily be the stuff of a morning drama awaited them. As soon as the officiant began, a woman burst out from the groom's side, shouting, "This can't be happening!!!" and grabbing the groom's hair, turning the wedding into a complete mess. Initially wondering what was happening, the guests were stunned by the words that spilled from the woman's mouth. The words, which clearly proved the groom's family was in fact having an affair, were uttered without hesitation. And the chaos reached its climax with the woman's final words...
"Where are you going leaving our child behind!!!"
Needless to say, the wedding was a chaotic affair. At the mention of "our child," guests noticed the woman clutching her groom's hair, and of course, Kim Yeon-joo's parents were among those who noticed.
"Let's pretend this marriage never happened!!"
Well, we were the only ones laughing in that mess. To cut a long story short, the very next day after that chaotic wedding, we broke open the celebratory drinks.
"Congratulations on Kim Yeon-joo's wedding party-!!!"
I don't understand why the toast was like this. Is it something to be celebrated? From Kim Yeon-joo's perspective, it must have been a bolt from the blue, but from my perspective, it deserves to be celebrated, so I'll make an excuse.
Anyway, under Kwon Yeon-hee's leadership, my wedding was a complete, complete success.
📘 📗 📕
"Hey!! Congratulations on your wedding!!"
So this isn't my wedding.
“What kind of wedding dress suits you so well?”
“What I mean is….”
“Kim Taehyung’s mouth is going to burst….”
I nodded. Seriously, Kim Yeo-ju, smiling brightly in her wedding dress, was seriously pretty. Was this the heroine effect? I gazed at Kim Yeo-ju's dress, which felt quite different from the one I wore during the recent chaos, for a while before raising my head at the sound of her calling me, "Yeon-ju!" Kim Yeo-ju smiled at me and beckoned me over.
"Congratulations on your wedding. So you're going first?"
“Ugh, Yeonju, that’s…!”
"Why are you apologizing again?! It's not even your fault?! Okay, just take lots of pictures."
I sat down next to Kim Yeo-ju, who reluctantly took a stance. Not only Kwon Yeon-hee, but even Lee Yu-jin, who had even used up her monthly leave for Kim Yeo-ju's wedding, gathered together and looked at the camera. The shutter clicked repeatedly, timed to the sound of "one, two."
I packed the instantly developed photos into my bag. My eyes met with Kim Yeo-ju's, who was chatting with her friends, her face bright and cheerful. She smiled back, as if it were a habit, and I followed suit, raising the corners of my lips. Grabbing her hand, which was clad in a pristine white glove, I asked.
"Kim Yeo-ju, are you happy?"
Then, Kim Yeo-ju answered with her characteristically bright smile that she was happy.
"Yeah, really!"
"It looks like it. Kim Taehyung's mouth is about to rip."
"Hey, Taehyung?"
"I wonder if you'll cry when you enter."
"Hey, no way~"
Let's briefly talk about the wedding that day. First, Kim Yeo-ju's wildest dreams became reality. The groom burst into tears the moment he took his bride's hand, bringing laughter to the wedding guests and a bright smile to the bride's face. The wedding, which began with the groom crying instead of the bride, ended with the bride soothing her husband, taking countless photos with the guests, frantically thanking them, and running around to catch a glimpse of them before finally bursting into tears in her parents' arms before boarding the wedding car.
"Live well, be happy."
The last thing I remember about Kim Yeo-ju was her replying to my words and leaving in the wedding car.
"…OOO,"
"Huh? Why don't you sleep more?"
"I can't sleep..." I grabbed Kim Seok-jin's hand as he buried his face in my shoulder, groaning. His faint, ticklish breath clung to the back of my neck. "OOO," I muttered, and when I heard my name slip from Kim Seok-jin's lips again, I asked, "Why?" and he let out a deflated laugh.
"Kim Yeon-ju."
"huh."
"OOO."
"why."
"OO-ah,"
"why."
OOO…, my name is mumbled out.
"What's so disturbing that you're acting like a puppy with separation anxiety?"
It's been like this ever since I skipped 15 years overnight. I pretend not to notice, but the voice that occasionally calls my name fills me with anxiety. Kim Seokjin twitches his fingertips. He reacts directly, as if he's being stabbed, but he pretends not to notice.
“…I’m not anxious.”
I released Kim Seokjin's arm, which was tightly holding my waist, and turned around. Tears were already welling up in his red, puffy eyes. How could he not be anxious? I looked at Kim Seokjin with a dumbfounded expression, and he averted his gaze, as if he knew full well that my words and actions were completely inconsistent. When I asked him, "Do you blow when you say something nice?", he pretended not to notice and hugged me. He really must think I'm a puppy. I patted Kim Seokjin's broad back. I pretended not to notice that the shoulder where Kim Seokjin buried his face was getting damp. We stayed like that for a long time.
“…I had a dream,”
Kim Seokjin opened his mouth only when his waist, which he had been hugging tightly, began to hurt.
"You weren't OOO."
"what?"
"You were Kim Yeon-ju, and you were embarrassed every time I called you OOO."
"……."
"I said, 'Who is OOO?' That, that keeps repeating itself…,"
"……."
"I'm afraid that you might still be OOO, that you might still be Kim Yeon-ju."
Somehow, this was the reason why I kept calling your name.
“It couldn’t be that terrible that the only way I could tell you and Kim Yeon-ju apart was by your name….”
Kim Seokjin sobbed. I never knew how many times I'd see a fully grown man cry, but since he was my boyfriend, Kim Seokjin, I forgave him. I lifted the hand I had been patting and slowly stroked his back. Would you calm down if I told you it was just a nightmare? Would you be anxious that it would happen again? … Was it even a nightmare in the first place? Judging by all the petty worries I'd had, I didn't think that kind of comfort would calm you down. So, what should I say so you wouldn't be anxious anymore? You're so anxious right in front of me.
I slowly released Kim Seokjin's hand. I held it tightly with both hands and opened the veranda door. The after-party for Kim Yeo-joo's wedding, which was held without the other guests present, had been held at the home of Park Jimin, the eldest son of P Corporation and a wealthy man. The spacious officetel living room was littered with corpses, drowning in alcohol. Kwon Yeon-hee and Park Jimin, who had been frantically chugging down drinks, asking how long it had been since they'd had a drink, were already asleep with their heads on the table. Jeon Jungkook was also there, proudly occupying the sofa, his long legs stretched out as he slept. Even Lee Yoo-jin, who I didn't know who had called, had joined in, occupying a corner of the living room. I walked, pushing away the flailing limbs with my feet.
My last conscience tore at me, forcing me to stay in the landlord's bed. So I went to a random empty room and lay down on the floor. Kim Seokjin, who followed me into the empty room without protest, blinked his reddened eyes. He tapped my side with his palm, as if to ask me why I wasn't lying down, and reluctantly, he carefully lay down next to me. I hugged him tightly. Still unsure of what to say, I simply patted his back like I had on the veranda.
"Keep calling, I'll answer a hundred times."
"……."
"But if you're too tired, don't want to do it, or feel like you can't do it, just stay there."
"……."
"If it's a little late, I'll go find it, okay?"
"You're twenty-seven, and yet you still have so many fears?" I thought, watching Kim Seokjin bury his face in my arms and begin to sob again. Still, the fact that his fears stemmed from me felt good, so I willingly offered my arms to Kim Seokjin, who burst into tears.
“…I’m watching Kim Yeo-ju’s wedding today.”
"huh."
"I remember you wearing that wedding dress last time, it looked so good on you."
"huh."
“…but I feel bad.”
"Oh, really?"
"…huh."
"I didn't notice because you were smiling."
“I thought there was no need to show it since it was a family wedding anyway….”
"huh."
“…I was in the guest room and I was annoyed because you were wearing a wedding dress.”
"……."
"I'm jealous,"
"Oh, this is driving me crazy."
Unable to hold it back, I burst out laughing. Then, as if embarrassed by something, I kissed her earlobe, which had turned red, and her belly turned bright red. It was an utterly adorable sight. We held each other for a long time, chatting away. Soon, my eyes grew hazy, and I closed them, drifting off to sleep. Something gently touched my forehead, then fell, and then my consciousness faded into the distance.
When I opened my eyes again, Kim Seokjin was gone.
All I could see was the unfamiliar ceiling.
It's so obvious.
📘 📗 📕
BGM Recommendation: Beyond Time / IU
When I opened my eyes and jumped to my feet, it wasn't Kim Yeon-ju, but my parents' voices calling my real name. The unfamiliar ceiling was that of a hospital, and even in my daze, they examined my body and found me dressed in a patient gown. My parents, who spent a long time feeling my face to confirm I was awake, told me that I had suddenly collapsed from cardiac arrest a few months ago and remained unconscious. Judging by the fact that the day I collapsed was similar to the time I had been possessed by the novel, it seemed my time in the novel had flowed exactly as it did in reality. I should be thankful that I hadn't wasted 15 years.
The idea that returning to reality would solve everything was a delusion. From the moment I'd lost a few months, if not 15 years, I had a mountain of work to do. It took days just to say hello to the friends who'd rushed to me upon hearing of my collapse. There was the school issue, forced to take a leave of absence due to my sudden collapse, and the contractual issues with the company I was supposed to start work at when the semester started. It wasn't the time I'd wanted to lose, so I felt a sense of injustice, but it was already happening. The next few days were hectic, with no time to breathe.
As I continued on like that, the countless problems that had been blocking my path gradually disappeared. I had a quick meal with those who had rushed to me upon hearing that I was awake. I resolved to remain on leave for the rest of the semester since I had been granted a leave of absence. The company I was supposed to work for was short-staffed, so I postponed my contract and decided to start work next month. Everything was neatly sorted out. It was so neat that it almost seemed impossible. But one thing wasn't easy.
"Is there anyone here named Kim Seokjin?"
"Could you please wait a moment?"
I fidgeted nervously, only to receive the reply, "I'm sorry, but there's no one named Kim Seokjin here." I couldn't count the number of times I'd been left in limbo. I sighed, said "I understand," and left the building.
"Another waste of time?"
"huh."
The only one I could easily find was Kwon Yeon-hee. Since we were high school classmates, it was easy to find out what she was up to through her acquaintances. Even then, I'd already failed several times to find Kim Seok-jin, so I hesitated in front of her, wondering if she'd find him. Kwon Yeon-hee was the first to spot me. She hugged me tightly, saying, "Hey, OOO!" I felt relieved. My anxieties—that it might have been a dream, a delusion, a long nightmare—dissipated as if they were nothing more than a fleeting nightmare.
"What about you? Park Jimin and Jeon Jungkook too?"
"Well, I only heard about the area. Honestly, I'm not that urgent. In the first place, there's no reason for you and Kim Seokjin to find each other... and even if we don't find each other, I can just say, "Well, I lost a friend," and move on."
"But it's still a shame."
"Who would ever give up? Besides, it's Busan. Getting down there is a chore, so how on earth are you supposed to find them in such a vast place? I don't have the courage to confront them like you did."
"Don't you use social media or anything?"
"I do have it, but I guess I don't use it. It's been years since they last appeared, and I haven't been in contact with them. What about you? Have you looked for Kim Seokjin?"
"There are way more people with the same name than I thought. Besides, I can't contact them all and say, 'Do you know me?'"
"What the hell is this?"
“That’s right….”
"If I'd known this would happen, I should've wiped out all my personal information before I came," Kwon Yeon-hee grumbled. "If I had, I wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble," she said, her voice cracking with laughter. It was absurd that she was now blaming me. I couldn't understand. Perhaps finding Kim Seok-jin wouldn't take a day or two, but years. Still,
"I'm not going to quit."
"of course."
He spat out the straw he'd been chewing and grinned. "You were calling my name at the top of your lungs. How could you give up so easily?" "I'd already promised to go first, so there was no need to worry."
"I'll find it, no matter how long it takes."
Just like Kim Seok-jin did.
I did everything. I installed all sorts of social media platforms I'd never used before and signed up for them all with my real name. Just in case, like Kwon Yeon-hee and I, one of the three of us might find us through social media. I even deliberately uploaded photos of myself with Kwon Yeon-hee, fearing she'd think I wasn't there if I was completely inactive. But I also made sure to look for Kim Seok-jin. The novel never mentioned how we'd find each other when we returned to reality, so all I knew about him was that he was a twenty-seven-year-old fresh out of college, that his hometown was Gwacheon, and that he'd gone to college in Seoul. I vaguely remembered the name of the company, but my damned memory was already fading. All I could do was go to companies with names similar to my own and ask, "Is there anyone named Kim Seok-jin?"
It was exactly two months after I returned to reality that I received the call.
"Didn't you guys get sick or anything the day you started practicing? Did you collapse or lose consciousness?"
"Cardiac arrest? You were in danger too. No, not me. I'm just unconscious. Not me, Seokjin hyung."
"I just got in touch with you. I just happened to get in touch with you. ... You didn't get in touch with me? Oh, I didn't get in touch with you."
"△△Hospital, why don't you go?"
"What are you afraid of?"
“Uh…, I guess there’s no need to worry about that.”
"No, that's not it."
Jeon Jungkook reportedly went to Park Jimin first. He said it was easy to meet him since we were both in Busan, and he pretended to be crazy and spoke first to confirm that what happened in that world was real before coming to us. He started by grumbling about how annoying it was to dig up accounts he hadn't even used, and then he spoke about Kim Seokjin's whereabouts. That day, when I received the call, I had no choice but to run out of the house, ignoring my mother's nagging about where I was going so late at night. The hand hailing a taxi was urgent, and the voice shouting, "Mister, please hurry!" was urgent.
“I said I only found OOO, Seokjin hyung.”
Kim Seokjin, who had collapsed from cardiac arrest, regained consciousness only a week ago. Even then, whenever he regained consciousness, he would mutter a name he'd never heard before. A name that even his family, with whom he'd spent 27 years, had trouble identifying. He hasn't uttered that name again since regaining full consciousness, but he's counting down the days until he's discharged. Jeon Jungkook smiled and said, "Isn't this the love of the century, really?"
△△Hospital Room 1204. Unable to wait for the elevator, I threw open the emergency stairwell door. My body, having only regained consciousness a month ago after months of bed rest, couldn't possibly handle such a sudden movement. My legs gave out several times, and I crawled, then fell down the stairs with a thud. A startled passerby reached out to me, asking if I was okay. I ignored him and continued climbing the stairs for a while. Upon reaching the 12th floor, I flung open the emergency stairwell door. There, where those who had visited patients late at night were preparing to return home, I stood before the only patient room that wasn't open. I opened the door. Your eyes widened as you turned to the door, and my eyes stung as I ran into your arms. Like a scene from a novel filled with predictable clichés, I kissed you.
The protagonists of this cliché-filled novel will be you and me. From now on, forever.
How to Survive as an Extra
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