WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 554: Episode 1: The World After the Ending (1)

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「This is a story about despair that went unread.」

* * *

It all began around lunchtime that day, with Ji Eunyeu's sudden visit.

"Author, let's go somewhere together."

I was grabbed by the nape and shoved into a taxi, and we arrived at our destination in less than an hour.

It was a theater in Chungmuro, a place that had once been used as the setting for 『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』.

I stared at the banner hanging by the entrance. Judging by its name, this was clearly an event related to 『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』.

I suddenly remembered the note I'd received from Kim Dokja Representative yesterday.

―There will be a small fan event tomorrow at 7 p.m. We'd be happy if you could come and enjoy it if you have the time.

Could this be what that was about?

"How did you find out about this place?" I asked Eunyeu.

"The event organizer contacted us. They wanted permission to hold a paid event, saying they'd donate the entire price of the Entry Tickets to an orphanage under Kim Dokja's name. I came to keep an eye on things, just in case."

So that was what it meant for the Entry Ticket to be paid.

I nodded exaggeratedly. "That's a good thing. But why did you bring me..."

"You asked where the readers were."

Only then did I remember the phone call I'd had with Eunyeu yesterday. She'd said there were readers waiting for my novel, and I'd asked where they were.

We turned back toward the theater.

"They're in there."

Blood rushed to my head, and my heart began to pound.

"But is it really okay for me to go in there?"

Eunyeu tilted her head at my hesitation.

"Why?"

"I'm the author."

"I thought Han Suyeong wrote it."

Eunyeu answered playfully, and I found myself smiling, too.

"That's right."

Just for today, I wanted to shove every burden onto Han Suyeong, whom I'd never even seen.

The reason I couldn't write the side stories was because Han Suyeong hadn't written the manuscript in some distant universe, and Yu Junghyeok hadn't delivered it.

That was what I wanted to believe.

"Author, look at this."

Life-size standees of the 『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』 characters were displayed near the theater entrance.

Judging by the designs, they seemed to have been drawn with reference to the art style of the webtoon adaptation that had once been serialized. The skill was incredible enough to make me gasp.

I admired the drawings as I recalled each character's name.

Demon King of Salvation Kim Dokja, Supreme King Yu Junghyeok, Black Flame Demon Emperor Han Suyeong, Moonlight Sage Emperor Yu Sangah, Judge of Destruction Jeong Huiwon, Steel Sword Emperor Lee Hyeongseong, Beast Lord Shin Yuseong, Insect Lord Lee Gilyeong. Even minor supporting characters such as Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon, bald Pildu Gong, Medicine Sage Lee Seolhwa, and the fake protagonist Jang Hayoung were there...

"Honestly, these are better than the ones we made."

Eunyeu sounded almost wistful.

The quality was one thing, but the care that had gone into them was moving in itself.

I smiled bitterly. "I'd believe it if you told me actual webtoon artists had drawn these."

"What if they did?"

"No way. Everyone left after that happened."

『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』 had once been adapted into a webtoon.

It had started well. Outstanding artists had handled the composition and artwork.

Unfortunately, lightning struck the studio before ten episodes had even been serialized, causing a massive fire. The company couldn't withstand the aftermath and went bankrupt. Management's financial troubles piled on top of that, and the 『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』 webtoon vanished from the world after ending at episode eleven.

"You never know, Author. If the side stories do well, it could get a webtoon reboot."

Only Eunyeu could still say something so optimistic.

"I gave up on that hope a long time ago."

Ever since the webtoon failed, as though some curse had settled over it, strange things happened to every type of secondary work related to 『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』. If we signed a movie deal, the production company went bankrupt. If we made figures or merchandise, the Factory collapsed.

After that happened several times, no one even made offers anymore.

"Still, there must be a worldline somewhere where 『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』 didn't fail."

The webtoon must have succeeded in that worldline. It must have become a movie, a drama, maybe even an animation.

Not in this worldline, but sometimes I dreamed of such a place.

"We haven't failed yet."

I walked past the remaining standees with Eunyeu as she grumbled. The line was quite long, displaying everyone from Uriel and Great Sage Equaling Heaven to comparatively obscure characters like Han Myeongoh.

Then, at the very end, stood one unfamiliar figure.

Who was that?

He was a man with narrowed eyes, but I couldn't begin to guess who he was.

Had there ever been a character with narrowed eyes in 『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』?

I might've known if there had been a name displayed. I considered asking Eunyeu, then decided against it.

I still had my pride as an author.

"Two people."

"Please write your nicknames on these name tags and attach them to the left side of your chest."

We received our name tags from the attendant and entered the theater.

No one recognized me as the author of 『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』. Naturally. It wasn't as if my name tag said I was the author.

I looked at Eunyeu's.

[Genius Editor]

"Ms. Ji Eunyeu."

Eunyeu pretended not to hear me, and we took seats toward the back. I could see the neat little backs of fans' heads scattered across the rows ahead.

It struck me again how amazing this was. All of them were our readers. Could Eunyeu have paid them to come?

Beside me, Eunyeu's eyes had gone wide.

"There are more than thirty people, even by a rough count."

Thirty people. It sounded like a small number, but that meant there were thirty core fans willing to take time out of their day to come here.

I nodded, forcing down the emotion swelling inside me.

Well done, Dokja. You did it, you bastard.

The event hadn't started yet, so I could hear the readers in front chatting among themselves.

"Do you have Shinpae? It's really hard to get one now."

"Ah, I have it."

"No way. What about Blae?"

"I bought it right away."

"Then don't tell me you have Dokpi, too?"

"I do, but... for some reason, Dokpi's head has slowly started turning."

I had no idea what they were talking about. They seemed to be exchanging jargon that only longtime fans understood.

Eunyeu and I sat side by side, eavesdropping on the veterans' conversation.

"This makes twelve already."

"The organizer said today would be the last one, right?"

"Yes."

"There used to be so many people before. There are a lot fewer now."

"I know. Everyone disappeared one by one."

From what I heard, this mysterious Kim Dokja's Banquet had already been held twelve times. There had apparently been even more people in the past.

I thought plenty of people had gathered even now...

"Excuse me, can I sit here?"

I turned at the sudden voice. A large man built like Lee Hyeongseong stood beside me, shyly pointing to the seat next to mine.

I nodded. "Ah, yes. Please sit."

"Thank you..."

As he bowed, the name tag on his chest swayed.

[Judge Huiwon]

He was probably a fan of Jeong Huiwon.

It had been so long since a stranger sat beside me that I felt oddly tense.

Noticing the awkwardness, Eunyeu spoke first.

"You must be a Jeong Huiwon fan."

Judge Huiwon nodded lightly.

"Y-yes..."

Silence followed.

Eunyeu poked my arm as if telling me to say something. What did people usually talk about in times like this? It had been so long since I'd spoken to someone I didn't know that I couldn't think of an opening line.

I thought about what Dokja would say here, then opened my mouth.

"Huiwon is great."

"Y-yes!"

It was nothing special, but seeing the man smile so brightly made me feel as if we'd already formed an important bond.

We nodded over and over, exchanging smiles of mutual understanding like men who had sworn brotherhood.

Jeong Huiwon. I wrote her, but she really was a cool character.

Maybe the ice had been broken, because Judge Huiwon, who had been examining my name tag, asked, "Y-your nickname is interesting."

"Thank you."

"Is your favorite character..."

"Well, mine..."

I thought about it for a moment, but it was hard to choose just one.

As the silence grew longer, Judge Huiwon seemed to think he'd made a mistake and hurriedly added, "Ah, you might be an all-character fan. I'm sorry, I..."

"I like everyone except bastards like Inho Cheon."

In case everyone had forgotten, Inho Cheon was the name of an extra villain who died early in 『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』.

Judge Huiwon seemed to know Inho Cheon too, because his expression darkened as he lowered his voice.

"Inho Cheon. That bastard."

"He's a bastard."

"A bastard who deserves to be torn apart and killed."

"Uh... right?"

"A bastard who deserves to be burned to death in hellfire inferno."

That was where our conversation ended.

A host appeared on the theater stage. He wore a black suit beneath a white coat.

"Hello. I'm Kim Dokja, your host for today."

A small cheer rose from the audience. His eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, but his outfit was quite similar to Dokja's.

This was impressive quality.

Light soon spread across the theater screen, and the event began.

Soft background music played, followed by the words [The Fourth Wall].

「And the Fourth Wall recorded all of it.」

Then comments left by readers began appearing on the screen.

Comments readers had personally written, from the prologue through chapter 551.

A young fan seated in the front row whispered, "Oh my god, I wrote that!"

There were comments with lots of likes, comments that were funny or original. There were also comments filled with fond memories.

"That was when Dokja died for the first time, right?"

"Ah! Don't look at my comment! Take it down already!"

"My embarrassing past is permanently recorded."

My heart tickled as I read the old comments, too.

『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』 had been serialized for two years, and another three years had passed since it ended.

The story built by this world's readers over five years was there.

It felt like a tale from some distant myth, told by someone else.

Photos from fan-planned exhibitions, subway advertisements celebrating the characters' birthdays. Someone muttered softly while looking at an illustration of Dokja standing in the snow.

"It was Dokja's birthday."

"It really snowed in Seoul that day, too."

The readers' words piled softly across the white screen. Between the lines of those words lay the footprints of the path they and I had walked together.

"You're glad you came, right?"

I nodded without realizing it at Eunyeu's words.

「Maybe I had written all those sentences just to see this sight.」

My heart felt as if it had begun beating again.

If I had the right, I wanted to tell these people something. I wanted to write sentences for them without running away or giving up.

I wanted to challenge this story again.

「But could I do it?」

That was when the host's voice rang out.

"Now, next we have a few words from the author who joined us for this event!"

The readers in the audience looked at one another and began murmuring.

I sat there blankly for a moment before snapping back to my senses.

"Author?"

Eunyeu whispered to me in surprise.

My thoughts became tangled in an instant.

Had Eunyeu secretly planned a fan meeting?

But Eunyeu looked just as confused.

When I looked toward the stage, the host was smiling in my direction.

Should I get up for now?

I cleared my throat and rose as if I had no choice, when a face suddenly appeared on the screen.

―Ah, ah.

A beauty mark on pale skin. A short black bob tied tightly behind her head.

No one here needed an explanation of who she was.

The real author of 『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』 was there.

Footnotes:

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