December 17th, 6:78pm
Two days after writers awards programme on Webnovel, which was what I'd call a great achievement for me.
I'm Zhrak Jin-Ah, an author on various platforms, Webnovel included, since that's where my heart belongs.
I was the winner of this year's Book of the Year award, and many other categories.
Apparently, it was quite surprising, knowing fully well I didn't have one single hope about me winning.
I had been invited a week before to attend as a supposed premium author, only to be announced the winner.
As at then, I wasn't aware of the announced winners, as well as the guests to attend.
Now I'm back in my apartment in Berlin, Germany, preparing to head back to China for an author's meet-up.
And I'm ashamed to say I shouldn't have left the ceremony so early.
Because now I'd have to pay for my flight back to Shanghai.
I stood at the center of my bedroom, on a call.... brainstorming, arms crossed, with a pencil stuck between my lips, a sketch board and laptop on my desk.
Another day trying to pump out chapters for my newest book.
However, I couldn't help but think about the editor that had died yesterday.
Reports said he was killed by some maniac author who didn't get nominated for the award.
Funny right? It's crazy to think of the lengths people took to satisfy themselves.
Unfortunately for me, I happened to know this author.
During my years as a newbie in the community, he was one of the top authors that I took interest in.
But he went from being one of the top five, to not even falling in the ranks.
Felt bad, but most times I didn't care, because he happened to be one of those special people who thought they were better than anyone.
The Peak Peacocks.
Around the time I was active in the community groups, he had called a lot of authors trash.
Maybe fate did her part and he fell.
Then bringing the whole theory of fate, I find it meaningless and at the same time useful, since every living being needs something to believe in.
I often wondered if we were characters of some certain supreme author, which only meant fate was pointless.
Nevertheless, those weren't things I had to think of now, because I have so much to do.
Pack up, write out five chapters to be published, and believe me when I say, the editing process is harder than actually pumping out the story.
I'd have to stop at the government office to gather some paperwork, and my bank.
After that, I'll be heading to the airport by 11pm, then I'll be able to locate my hotel after the flight.
Funny enough, I had only written two sentences, and took a water break, that led to me ordering takeout, and watching movies.
I'm hopeless, I know.
Lucky for me, a knock came a second later, when I thought of dancing to get inspiration.
I slipped out of the bucket of cold water I stood in, told the person on the other line to stay quiet till they hear me talk, and made a quick penguin walk to my door.
Once again, as ignorant as I was, I didn't bother to check the peephole.
I opened my door and behold, some crazed idiot holding a gun to my forehead.
Let me rephrase that, there was a crazed dwarf holding a cold gun to my forehead.
He looked like someone who had crawled out from the sewers.
Greasy hair hanging over his forehead, strangely familiar green eyes, bloodshot, that looked like he was obsessed with me.
Lips curled to a smile like he just won something. The gun trembled in his hands, not from weakness... it was more of rage than weakness.
Did I mention he was short? Haha.
"Took you long enough, Seung-Min, I was beginning to think you weren't serious with your threat," I said, grinning with the pencil still stuck between my lips.
He blinked, startled by how calm I was, maybe even more so because I recognized him.
"You always had a thing for dramatic entrances, I heard what you did to editor Noah," I added, then slowly pulled the pencil from my mouth and let it clatter to the floor.
To be honest, I should be shaking in my cold pants right now, but hey... there's not always a time you get to laugh at someone who fell from superiority.
I raised...no, I lowered my head to get a better look at him and continued.
"So what's the plan? Beat me to death in my own apartment? That's how you want your comeback to go?"
His jaw clenched. "You think this is a joke?"
"Oh, I know it is. Your mere existence is a joke too," I chuckled.
As someone who got influenced by haters, I'm proud to say I've got a sharp tongue, and I'm going to die because of it.
"The guy who used to trend every week now trends only in conspiracy threads. Of course it's a joke."
He shoved the gun harder against my forehead. "You think I didn't notice? You think I don't know what's going on between you and the head editor?"
That made me pause, but only for a second, but is this guy that insane. I could remember how she beat and made me starve the last time she came over and I mentioned it.
And said, "If you think you can take advantage of my position in the company because we are dating you have something else coming...lazy idiot."
Can't blame her, but that woman is scary as hell.
"Naomi," he said. "She's the reason you're up there. She fixed your rankings. Pulled strings. You think you're hot shit, but you're just sleeping your way through the industry."
I tilted my head, slowly stepping back just enough to guide his attention toward my desk.
My laptop screen was still open, Naomi's photo staring back from the wallpaper like some digital goddess.
He saw it. Shit, She's going to kill me if I survive this.
I gave him a slow clap. "Ding ding. Detective Seung-Min strikes again. You cracked the case, my guy."
"You're disgusting," he spat.
I walked past him casually, like I hadn't just been threatened with a weapon, and leaned against the edge of the table.
"I'm not the one at my ex-mentor's door with a plumbing tool and a... gun and I actually did work for that spot," I said, part of that wasn't true, I was just writing like every normal person.
"You know what's funny? All those years calling other authors trash... now you're the one on the curb."
He stared, fuming horribly. I could see his knuckles whitening around the pipe.
"You used to be good," I went on.
"I looked up to you. Winter Eyes? That shit had potential...."
"....but then you let your ego choke your writing. And now look at you, delusional, bitter, irrelevant."
The pipe moved faster than I could finish my sentence. Cracked against my shoulder. I staggered, but I laughed. Actually laughed.
I'm so going to die.
"That all you got?" I coughed. "You hit like a rejected Wattpad character."
A second hit, my ribs this time. Pain exploded through my side.
I dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. It hurt. A lot.
He towered over me, shorter than me but somehow still looking down.
"You don't deserve that award," he growled. "You don't even deserve to be breathing."
I spat blood onto the floor, and stared deep into this eyes.
"And yet, here I am. Still the guy who won. Still the guy with Naomi's photo on his laptop. Still the guy you couldn't beat, even with a damn pipe."
"Wait..." I held my hands up, getting prepared to add more to the flames.
"I remembered you telling the other authors she was cute, that you'd talk to her... If I remember well, you weren't even invited, and I managed to pull her....Hehe."
He screamed.
The final blow came down like a punctuation mark, followed by a bullet to my chest.
My body crumpled to the ground, almost lifeless, with blood running out of my mouth.
The idiot escaped without even checking. My phone lay beside me, displaying a silenced call with her.
"Babe," I called lowly, and she responded, saying I should hold on.
She's so cute for actually listening to me and not saying anything.
She must be devastated by now, and she must have been panicking. I actually told her to, especially the last time I got robbed, and they used her to blackmail me.
Damn, the things humans do to satisfy themselves.
Might have to find a way to come back and apologize to her, that's if it's possible.
Good thing she's the only one who has access to my bank stuff, haha.
Till then, the great Zhrak Jin-Ah. The guy who pulled an editor in the industry I work in, died honourably.