Episode 1: The Chaebol 10th-Circle Swordmaster's Return (3)

"No, it's not ghostwriting..."

What Ji EunYu meant was this. She explained, waving her hands in confusion.

There was a famous writer whose serial suddenly stopped. When they tried to contact him, they found his house empty. It's been over a year since the work was in limbo, and the author was unreachable.

"That's the same thing, isn't it? You're asking me to continue writing that," I argued.

"Writer, please calm down and think about it."

In frustration, I gulped down the coffee on Ji EunYu's table.

"Ah, that's hot!"

"Cough!"

The coffee trickled down my neck, seeping under my shirt. Ji EunYu frantically grabbed tissues. Everyone in the office was whispering and looking in my direction.

I can't remember if I pushed Ji EunYu's hand away first or ran to the bathroom first.

Taking off my wet shirt, my shabby white undershirt was exposed, along with my sporadically grown beard and lusterless skin.

The reflection of a 28-year-old unemployed man stared back at me from the bathroom mirror.

What have I been living for all this time?

Why did I cling to the hem of literature while others prepared for TOEIC and jobs?

...Not even knowing what literature is.

Washing my shirt with cold water, I thought it might be a punishment for my past.

Like the coffee stains that won't wash out, there are times that can't be erased.

Let's give up.

Who am I to think of becoming a billion-won writer?

I'm already 28, but I can still catch the last train to employment. If I start living earnestly now, I might get into a small or medium-sized company, if not a big one.

Thinking this way made me feel a bit better. Of course, Ji EunYu will be disappointed.

She talked about ghostwriting, but I know she suggested it thinking of me.

She knows my situation well.

Soon, the project funding will be cut off. Her suggestion must have been a consideration of various factors. She must have felt terrible saying it.

Damn, what do I care? I'll get a job and treat her to a meal.

I was about to leave the bathroom when I heard a conversation near Ji EunYu's partition.

"Ji EunYu, how long will you hold onto that guy?" It was Manager Seo's voice.

"We've been trying for half a year. It's not working. No need to push it."

I knew they were talking about me. My grip on the doorknob tightened slightly.

"Why not take on another writer? There's one who recently switched from mainstream literature. Good potential there."

"Manager Seo."

Was it my imagination?

Was I hearing what I wanted to hear?

Ji EunYu's voice felt cold.

"I'm not pushing it."

It was the usual Ji EunYu.

Calmly destroying my novel, pointing out flaws in the composition.

"He's talented. Not someone you can dismiss so easily."

"Really? Seems like he's reached his limit."

"No, he hasn't."

"Haha, Ji EunYu, don't you understand the temperament of former mainstream literature writers? He'll soon give up—"

"What's wrong with being a former mainstream literature writer?"

Ji EunYu snapped back.

"Maybe you're right. He's still stuck in his old ways. Extending one sentence into three, making characters speak like they're in a Shakespeare play. But..."

My heart sank.

"He's the only writer who has completed all the tasks I've given him."

Ji EunYu was looking at my manuscript.

"That's why I believe in him. It doesn't matter whether he wrote mainstream literature or genre fiction before. What matters is his effort. Whether it takes one year or two, he will succeed. I'll make sure of it."

Tears dripped onto my drenched shirt, soaking the office floor.

Ji EunYu's voice faded. Startled, Manager Seo coughed and retreated.

"Writer?"

Why am I doing this?

I don't know.

What right do I have to say this? But still, I wanted to say it. But still.

"I'll do it."

"What?"

"I'll write that work."

Why did I say that?

My hand holding the manuscript trembled.

If someone wrote this scene in a script, it would look like this:

Lee HakHyun: (In a soaked, stretched undershirt) I'll do it.

Ji EunYu: (Surprised) What?

Lee HakHyun: (With a cool squid-like expression) I'll write that work.

I wish a reincarnation truck would hit me. It would all end in one go without pain.

I'm scared of what Ji EunYu might be thinking.

What if she decides not to work with me anymore?

As I worried, I arrived at my studio. 

Think positively.

It's not like I accepted this job just because I was moved by Ji EunYu's words, right?

I sighed, looking at the manuscript she gave me. The first thing I saw was the title of the novel.

"99 Ways to Live as a Returner"

I made a scene, but I didn't accept this job just because of Ji EunYu's words. The real reason I took on this job was—

—Writer Yu ChanYoung.

The author of this manuscript was 'Yu ChanYoung.' Yes, that Yu ChanYoung.

The one from the video I saw before, the annoying guy with an annual income of 1 billion... no, 2.4 billion won.

—Yu ChanYoung has gone missing?

"Yes. It's been over a year. The readers were really outraged back then... They still think he just paused the series without reason."

Apparently, Yu ChanYoung disappeared suddenly after that interview I watched. It was eerily coincidental.

Where could he be, abandoning his manuscript? Maybe lying on a luxury yacht in the Mediterranean, being served by beauties.

—It's a great work. It'll definitely help you. It was number one on Textpia Platinum Best as soon as it was serialized.

According to Ji EunYu, it was so popular that it received an average of a thousand comments per chapter on Textpia, known for stingy commenters.

Envious.

A thousand comments. I haven't even received ten.

I read a few comments attached to the file Ji EunYu sent.

DestroyYuChanYoung: As expected of Yu ChanYoung!!!

BelieveAndSee: If I believe and read again, I'm an idiot.

PermanentPauseMan: Always pausing, when will you stop? Come back and say you've gone mad again?

FreeReaderz: It's still free, but readers' reactions are... Please calm down...

Wow, even for a free series, such reactions? Being a famous writer isn't all good.

I can somewhat understand why he just disappeared, leaving everything behind.

—But even if he's missing, it's still someone else's work. If I write it, won't there be legal issues?

—There won't be any problems.

—How so?

—As you know, Yu ChanYoung was notoriously unreliable with his serialization schedule. So he signed a contract that if he stopped serializing for more than half a year, the rights would be transferred to us.

I knew web novel writers often had irregular schedules, but I didn't expect such a contract.

Well, it was a necessary precaution, given the number of writers who pause their series.

Anyway, it was good for me.

—Since we now hold the copyright, the royalty rate will change, but if you take on this work...

It's embarrassing, but the real reason I chose this job was for this:

—If it goes well, we could give you the copyright of the work.

The possibility of making good money right away.

And the chance to steal Yu ChanYoung's work.

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