Luna woke up to her phone buzzing like a wasp on steroids.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
She groaned, rolled over, and checked the screen. Group chat again. "Weirdos Who Still Read Trash." Someone—probably Mira—was flooding it with screenshots.
Mira: GUYS LOOK AT THIS LINE 💀 "You may be the emperor of this world, but you'll always be my little puppy."
Ken: i'm deleting my eyes
Mira: Chapter 420 too. the prophecy is real
Luna: why am I awake
Mira: BECAUSE YOUR DESTINY CALLS, READER-SAMA
Luna blinked at the screen, sighed, and flopped back onto her pillow. She wasn't emotionally ready for this level of chaos at 9 a.m.
Fifteen minutes later, she sat in front of her mirror. Or rather, slouched in front of it like she was trying to disappear into the floor.
Eyebags? Prominent.
Hair? Fighting gravity and winning.
Mood? Somewhere between "sleepy cat" and "burned toast."
She brushed her hair with one hand and checked the group chat again with the other.
Mira: real question tho: when's the last time u went out socially
Luna: define "socially"
Ken: did you talk to a human with your voice
Luna: cashier at 7-Eleven?
Mira: GIRL NO
Ken: emergency hangout. today. we touch grass
Mira: u have 2 hours. wear pants
Luna stared at her phone like it had betrayed her.
Social battery: 0%
But friendship guilt? 900%
She stared at the mirror. "Ugh."
Somehow, she dragged herself into the shower. Then into some form of socially acceptable clothing. Jeans, hoodie (clean-ish), sneakers, minimal effort. Glasses adjusted.
They met at the food court in a nearby mall. Classic location: semi-loud, always chaotic, and filled with teenagers pretending to study.
"LUNA!" Mira's voice hit her like a truck.
A blur of red hair, crop top, and too much energy tackled her into a side hug.
"I haven't seen you in so long! You look so pale. Are you okay? Blink twice if you've been held hostage by bad writing."
Luna blinked twice.
Ken arrived behind her, iced coffee in one hand, death in his eyes. "I regret coming already."
"Same," Luna said, deadpan.
They all laughed.
The three of them had met online years ago—comment section of a very cursed webnovel. Somehow the trauma bonded them.
Now they hung out in real life at least once every few months, like divorced parents sharing custody of one shared brain cell.
"I brought printouts," Mira said, slamming a folder on the table.
Ken blinked. "What, like homework?"
"No. Worse."
She flipped it open.
Top 10 Worst Webnovel Titles (That We Still Finished Anyway):
1. I Accidentally Adopted the Demon Lord and Now He's My Dad
2. She Became a Chair, But the Heroine Sat Only on Her
3. The Emperor's Secret Weapon is a Vtuber From Earth
Luna cackled. "Why do we do this to ourselves?"
Ken sipped his coffee. "Because we're unemployed."
Mira added, "And because fiction is cheaper than therapy."
They talked, ate cheap takoyaki, and argued passionately about the best betrayal arcs.
Luna found herself smiling more than she had in weeks. Even though her social battery was draining like a phone on 2% brightness, it felt… nice. To be seen. To laugh.
At one point, Mira pulled out her phone. "So, serious question: if you had to write a webnovel, what would it be?"
Luna blinked.
"What?"
Ken nodded. "Yeah. You've read like 800. Surely the brainrot infected you by now."
"I don't know," she said, sipping her milk tea. "I mean… I like reading, but writing is a whole other thing."
Mira leaned in. "Come on. Off the top of your head."
Luna thought for a second. Then shrugged. "Maybe… something realistic. No magic. Just someone trying to survive their twenties while slowly losing their mind."
Ken laughed. "So… your autobiography."
"Exactly."
By the time they left the mall, it was late afternoon. The kind of golden hour that made even strip malls look like they had emotional depth.
"Same time next meltdown?" Mira asked.
"You know it," Luna said.
They hugged. Ken fist-bumped her, awkward but sincere. And then they were gone.
Luna walked home slowly. The streets were warm, familiar. Someone was playing music from a second-story window. Kids screamed over a basketball game nearby. A dog barked like it was yelling at God.
For once, she didn't have headphones in.
She just… listened.
Back in her room, the silence didn't feel so loud anymore.
She put her phone down. Opened her laptop.
Clicked on a blank document.
She didn't type anything. Just stared at it for a while.
Then, finally:
"Life As a Webnovel Reader — Chapter 1"
She hit save.
Then closed the laptop.
Small steps.