It was supposed to be a normal day.
Go to work. Get through the shift. Spend my entire hourly wage on some overpriced, terrible excuse for a meal.
Repeat.
Every. Single. Day.
For once, I wanted something different. Something that didn't feel like I was stuck in a loop, slowly rotting in place.
Looking back, I should've just stayed in that loop.
At least it was safe.
After my shift—one that was probably breaking labor laws in at least three different ways—I dragged myself home. Not that I could complain. It took me three months just to land this job.
I flopped onto my bed and pulled out my phone.
That stupid ad popped up again.
It had been showing up all week. Honestly, I was half convinced my phone had a virus, but fixing it wasn't exactly in my budget.
Same ad. Same bright colors.
Same annoying persistence.
Probably a scam. Who in their right mind would click on it-
I click on it.
.
.
.
A paywall.
"Are you serious?"
I stared at the screen, offended on a personal level.
But then I hesitated.
My days had been painfully boring lately… and my paycheck was coming in tomorrow anyway.
It was just a webnovel. A one-time payment.
The cover looked decent. The reviews were fine.
I checked my bank account.
I groan, "Ouh...That's close."
I had nothing going on. Nothing to lose.
I pressed the bright red button. In my defense it practically begged me to!
By the time I got home, I was exhausted. I dropped face-first onto my bed, not even bothering to change.
I should read that novel.
Dinner could wait.
I scrolled to the synopsis.
Historical romance?
Honestly...Not really my thing.
But whatever. A story's a story.
I tapped the first chapter.
.
.
.
Maybe just one more.
.
.
.
I'll stop after this one I swear!
.
.
.
Wait what chapter am I on again?
.
.
.
Why is it morning...? And why do my eyes burn?
I blinked at my phone screen with dry eyes.
Final chapter.
I had finished the whole thing in one night.
And it was awful.
The plot? A mess.
The ending? Oh dear god...
The so-called "main antagonist" didn't even get justice. He just...lost. Completely.
Meanwhile, the protagonist, the Crown Prince walked away like he'd done nothing wrong!
If anything, he felt more like the villain.
Cruel. Arrogant. Completely devoid of empathy.
He tortured the antagonist for no real reason.
At least... that's how it looked to me.
I scroll down to the comments.
"YES! Finally that useless Wonder is gone!!"
"Took long enough, I thought he'd try to fight the Crown Prince again lol."
"That tea scene was SO satisfying 😭 he deserved it."
"...Huh?"
I frowned at the screen.
Why was everyone celebrating this?
Wonder—the antagonist—hadn't even done anything wrong.
He was just born into a baron's family, surrounded by nobles from powerful duchies. Every "crime" he committed felt...justified.
Someone mocks your outfit in front of an entire ballroom?
Of course you're going to snap back... Duh!
And that one scene—
A countess throwing scalding hot tea in his face...
His skin burned.
And everyone laughed!
The Crown Prince laughed.
The heroine giggled.
Aren't you supposed to be the heroine?! Aren't heroines supposed to be humble and caring? What manners does a countess have? You clearly should not throw scalding tea at the son of a baron!
And after getting burned by the hot tea.
Wonder politely asked to leave.
Politely.
But no!
The Crown Prince pulled out a file full of alleged "crimes."
Fabricated. Twisted. An exaggeration in my opinion.
Wonder obviously denied all of it.
They didn't care.
No trial. No proof. No chance. No anything!
He was thrown into prison and in the end
He died alone in a cell.
I checked the time.
7:00 AM.
At least I had the day off.
I rubbed my eyes and typed out a comment.
"Wonder didn't deserve any of that. Why is the Crown Prince so... un-prince-like? He's just cruel. And the heroine isn't any better, she's shallow and blindly cheerful."
I hit send, tossed my phone onto the bedside table, and dragged myself into the shower.
Clearly sleep wasn't happening.
**********
Half an hour later, I crawled back into bed, still damp.
My phone buzzed.
A reply.
From the author.
"...oh?"
I opened it.
"I see. Thank you for the critique, but if you care that much, why don't you write it yourself? It's MY story. I don't understand why you like Wonder so much. Do you relate to him or something?"
"Wow." Just wow.
Defensive.
Petty.
Yeah it's clear she doesn't like this character one bit.
My phone chimed again.
My paycheck.
Finally.
"Thank God..."
Maybe I could eat something that wasn't instant noodles or plain rice for once.
My stomach growled like it had a personal vendetta against me. Sorry stomach... I apologize under my breath
I dress and go out.
That's when I saw it. A promotional booth. For the novel.
"...You've got to be kidding me!"
"The Crown Prince Loves Me! The Heroine!"
That was the title.
They were giving out free physical copies—with the author's signature.
...Right after I paid for it. Of course!
I walked over anyway. Free stuff was free stuff.
The author was there, chatting excitedly with someone dressed as the Crown Prince.
"Oh my! I love your Alonzo cosplay! Thank you for supporting my work!"
She handed him a copy of the book—his face printed on the cover.
And on the other side of the booth is Wonder.
I stepped forward, she turned to me with a bright smile. "Hello there! Would you like a free copy of my novel?"
I nodded.
"Yeah. The one with Wonder on it." I pointed towards the book on the far end of the booth.
Her smile faltered.
"Oh... are you sure? I can only give one copy, you know."
"Yeah. Im sure. He's my favorite character."
"...Seriously?" She scoffs. "Out of all my characters?"
"...Yeah?"
She hesitated, then sighed.
"Whatever. Just take it." I grabbed the book.
Even her signature looked… off.
Like she didn't care.
Or maybe like she did it on purpose. I felt like she was off. Can an author really hate their character?
My stomach rumbles, I looked across the street and I saw a restaurant, maybe I should grab a quick bite?
I started to cross, I held the novel with the Wonder cover close to my chest.
A horn.
Screaming.
Too loud...
A shadow covers my entire body.
I look to my side.
A truck.
********
People screaming.
Someone shouting.
A mother telling her kid not to look.
Funny.
I didn't feel much.
Hey... Maybe this wasn't so bad.
Dying I mean.
It's not like I had anything waiting for me.
No parents.
No friends.
No one.
No one at all.
Just me.
And the end.