Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Is the Writer Omnipotent?
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The hit drama *Her of the Black Knight*, which wrapped up to rave reviews, has sold its rights to five countries, including China and Japan. An MBY representative commented that numerous other countries are expressing interest in purchasing the rights beyond the five already contracted.
Meanwhile, *Her of the Black Knight* achieved a final viewership rating of 33.4% and a peak of 38%, earning it the title of this year's most popular drama.
The original novel *Her of the Black Knight* has also surged in online popularity, breaking through 100,000 offline copies sold and continuing its whirlwind success.
News about *Her of the Black Knight* was popping up everywhere.
It wasn't just Korea.
Articles followed one after another in Japan and China, reigniting interest in the series.
Japanese articles even included this note:
[*Her of the Black Knight* was penned by Korea's popular author Jeong Tae-seong, drawing massive acclaim.
Meanwhile, Jeong Tae-seong, who handled the artwork himself, will begin serializing *Return of the SSS-Class Hunter* through Japan's Grape Books.]
It was an article released by Grape Books.
Perfect groundwork.
'Just one week until the Japan serialization.'
All the hard work was finally bearing fruit, one piece at a time.
* * *
-Author! It's Kwon, the rep!
"Yes, Representative Kwon. I hope you've been well?"
-Thanks to you, I'm doing great as always! Anyway, starting today, we've launched pre-orders for *Return of the SSS-Class Hunter* figures alongside a banner for the *Her of the Black Knight* webtoon serialization event through Grape Books.
"Ah, got it. Thanks for the heads-up. I'll check it out right away."
-Roger! If anything comes up, give me a call anytime!
"Will do."
He hung up and logged into Grape Books.
A banner for the *Her of the Black Knight* webtoon serialization dominated the main page.
"They've even got an event going."
It included a giveaway for limited and standard edition novel copies, drawn from reviews left by readers, redeemable with Grape Books cash. The top-voted review even won a tablet PC.
He clicked the event page to read the anticipation reviews.
[*Her of the Black Knight* as a webtoon at last!! Can't wait!]
[Getting to see my all-time favorite novel as a webtoon! The best!]
[The drama ended, and I was bummed, but now a webtoon? Awesome!]
Reading the fans' comments, Tae-seong fell in love with this job all over again.
'Hurry up and launch.'
He was waiting too.
For D-day to arrive even a day sooner.
* * *
D-2
Grape Books Japan had also rolled out an event banner for *Return of the SSS-Class Hunter*.
The prize was a set of *Return of the SSS-Class Hunter* figures, given to five winners, with an announcement that they'd go on sale later.
Detailed figure images were attached.
The finished products were top-quality.
Even the local Japanese staff were blown away.
'It won't turn much profit even if they sell...'
The base cost per figure was sky-high.
Even one sale barely left anything after the partners took their cut.
Practically nothing.
'Doesn't matter.'
Tae-seong had run several companies in the past.
He'd even been CEO of one big enough to qualify as a group.
He knew better than to obsess over immediate profits—instead, invest wisely.
'This stage is about investing in the company. For even greater growth ahead.'
He hadn't started the company just to write novels and draw webtoons.
He wanted more people to read his stories.
That took money.
Invest boldly when the time was right.
That was the lesson from all his lives on how to run a company.
'This is just the beginning.'
He clenched his fist.
* * *
D-day
Midnight.
Three episodes of *Her of the Black Knight* webtoon dropped at once.
Readers dove in with high hopes.
"Whoa... check out that art style."
Yang Hye-young was a diehard fan of *Her of the Black Knight*.
She'd even snagged a limited edition novel.
Watched every episode of the drama too.
So her expectations for the webtoon were sky-high.
'*Return of the SSS-Class Hunter* had killer art, and it fits romance perfectly too.'
She knew Jeong Tae-seong was handling the artwork himself.
Some had worried about it.
His style in *Return of the SSS-Class Hunter* leaned shonen manga.
Not a fit for romance, most said.
But the actual *Her of the Black Knight* webtoon? The art meshed beautifully.
She wasn't alone.
Most readers were stunned at how well Jeong Tae-seong's style worked for romance.
Reactions poured in hot and heavy.
The result of all-out marketing and the Jeong Tae-seong brand.
"Whew! This is historic performance."
Team Leader Kang Min-woo gawked at the real-time data.
He'd expected big numbers.
But seeing it firsthand showed just how massive the author's draw was.
"TS Media, huh..."
Kang Min-woo thought to himself.
TS Media wouldn't stay small.
* * *
One week after *Her of the Black Knight* launched.
Tae-seong visited Grape Books with Representative Kwon.
"Long time no see, Author!"
"Hope you've been well?"
"Hello."
Team Leader Kang Min-woo and Deputy Manager Im Byeong-cheol greeted him.
The four settled in the conference room and dove into the meeting.
"*Her of the Black Knight* webtoon is currently #2 in Monday slots and #5 overall. #1 in romance, of course."
Incredible results.
In just one week, it had overtaken established titles.
The power of the Jeong Tae-seong name.
"Readers can't wait for updates—they're paying for previews. Preview sales have hit about 300 million won so far. Expect it to climb faster as time goes."
Over 300 million won in a week.
Popularity played a role, but so did the stockpile.
Thirteen preview episodes were out.
Few webtoons serialized with that much buffer.
Plus five more near-complete manuscripts.
"Next, figures."
Deputy Manager Im Byeong-cheol took over.
"We put up the *Return of the SSS-Class Hunter* figure sales banner this week. First time selling, so we went reservation-only for stable supply and inventory. 312 reservations in two days."
"Not bad."
"Yeah, so we'll need more stock."
"We'll coordinate with the manufacturer."
"Got it."
"How about Japan?"
"Reservations just started—112 so far. Final count after the period ends."
"Okay."
Team Leader Kang Min-woo jumped back in.
"The Japanese version of *Return of the SSS-Class Hunter* is off to a smooth start. Ranked #11 overall—good early buzz."
"Really?"
"Yeah, detailed data via email."
"Please do."
"Man! Everything's cruising. Was a bit worried juggling so many projects."
"Agreed."
The three nodded.
But Tae-seong kept his guard up.
Teams meant weak links.
One snag, and the gears grind to a halt.
"No major issues so far—lucky. But since it's just starting, TS Media's prepped for any curveballs."
He said TS Media on purpose.
We're ready.
No one in the room missed the point.
* * *
Back at the office, Tae-seong got Kang Min-woo's email.
Data on *Return of the SSS-Class Hunter* from Grape Books Japan.
"Nicely organized."
It was in Korean, not Japanese.
Team Leader Kang Min-woo's touch, translated.
A small gesture, but appreciated.
"Hmm."
Tae-seong stroked his chin as he read.
"Solid on its own merits, but..."
Grape Books Japan ran Korean and Japanese works.
Mostly Korean, though.
Japan hadn't embraced webtoons like Korea.
Readers still preferred manga books.
Japan's manga market was the world's biggest, strongest.
Huge market, huge users.
People stick to the familiar.
Even with platforms galore, many stuck to one.
Same for markets.
Offline diehards resisted online.
Smartphone penetration played a role too.
"Japan's smartphone adoption is just over 60%."
Korea: over 90%.
Japan: barely half.
"And Wi-Fi lags behind ours."
Free Wi-Fi everywhere in Korea.
Not Japan.
That gap kept smartphone platforms like Grape Books Japan from dominating.
"Didn't expect miracles from the jump... still a bit disappointing."
He wanted more eyes on his stories.
Hence Japan.
Market research must've been off.
"Wait till Season 1 ends. Then push manga book sales to reignite."
Tae-seong eyed the next step.
No reason to despair over early results.
Then his phone rang.
Kim PD.
-Author! How've you been?
Her voice as chipper as ever.
"Yes. You too, PD?"
-Of course! Calling about this: our *Her of the Black Knight* team is heading to Japan.
"Japan?"
-Yeah, for promo. Japanese side requested you join.
"Hmm... Need to check the dates... But didn't you say you were quitting...?"
-Last gig. Gotta wrap what I started!
"Got it."
-Schedule via email! Old address okay?
"Yes."
-Check and reply!
"Will do."
He hung up, lost in thought.
'Japan promo...'
No real need to go.
No more incentives from Japan sales anyway.
One author wouldn't sway results.
'But if it boosts promo a bit...'
Especially for *Return of the SSS-Class Hunter*.
'If the schedule works, I should go.'
Low expectations.
Just hoping for a small lift to the work.