Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Is the Writer Omnipotent?
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Contact from Choi Hyeong-su came right around the time when Black Knight's Her was about to air its sixth episode in Japan.
“Writer-nim, I’m sorry for getting back to you so late.”
“No, it’s fine. How did it go?”
Grape Books was an affiliate of a major corporation.
Reports had to go up the chain of command, which naturally slowed things down.
Even so, getting back to him in just two weeks meant they’d handled the matter with unusual speed.
More importantly, even though it was his own suggestion, it still required thorough review.
Taking that into account, it had only taken about a week to get approval from the higher-ups.
“The approval from above has come through. As soon as the translated version is ready, we can start serializing right away. We’ve also sorted things out with the Japan branch so they can launch promotions immediately.”
The processing speed was impressive.
“The issue is the translation. We’ve found someone on our end to handle it, but it’ll take at least two weeks…”
“The translation is already done.”
“Pardon?”
“I know a bit of Japanese, so I’ve been working on translating the manuscript in the meantime. It’s fully complete up to the final chapter, so we can start serializing immediately.”
“R-Really…?”
“Yes. I’ll send it over by email right now. You can do a review if you’d like, but from a marketing standpoint, I think it’d be better to get the novel out there as soon as possible, even if it’s just one day sooner.”
“Ah… Understood. We’ll process it as quickly as we can.”
After hanging up, Tae-seong immediately emailed the translated version to Choi Hyeong-su.
He’d known Grape Books would approve it.
They weren’t idiots.
Once they had enough internal data, they’d realize serializing the original novel was the right move.
He’d just stepped up and shown them that fact a little faster.
“Big corporations are convenient sometimes, but they can be a hassle when you need to move quickly.”
There were so many places to report to, and departmental interests were tangled up in complicated ways.
That’s why things took so long.
Knowing that, Tae-seong had prepared the translation in advance, before approval even came.
And that choice proved to be spot-on.
* * *
The translated version was sent straight to Japan.
They could have had their own translator review it, but it made more sense to get feedback from locals for accuracy.
And the verdict was a green light.
“This is better than most professional translators. It covers pretty much all the Japanese terminology used there. Did you study abroad in Japan, Writer-nim?”
“Who knows. I haven’t heard that story.”
“Anyway, this is good enough to start serializing right away. The chapters are already divided up properly, so we can jump in as soon as the cover art is done.”
“Then let’s start serializing as soon as preparations are complete.”
“Got it. We’ll get ready accordingly.”
After hanging up, Choi Hyeong-su stared at his monitor.
On it was the translated version of Black Knight's Her that Tae-seong had sent.
“Isn’t it about time I stopped being surprised?”
He’d been working with the writer Jeong Tae-seong for several years now.
He’d been shocked plenty of times during that period.
He thought he was past the point of being surprised…
But here he was, shaking his head at yet another astonishment.
* * *
“Looks like they’re starting to warm things up.”
He received a few links from Choi Hyeong-su.
They were articles from Japanese media announcing the serialization of the Black Knight's Her novel.
Serializing the original novel without any special marketing just because the drama was a hit?
That would be like walking to your own execution.
Without sufficient promotion, most people wouldn’t even know it was happening.
Marketing was that crucial.
“I guess I should spread the word a bit too.”
Tae-seong had recently created an SNS account.
He hadn’t bothered with one before, but as his projects piled up, he’d felt the need.
Especially for marketing purposes.
Until now, he’d been posting daily life photos and updates to connect with readers.
His follower count had already surpassed 70,000.
Tae-seong uploaded the Japanese cover of Black Knight's Her and added a short caption.
[Black Knight's Her has been translated into Japanese and will begin serialization soon.]
The power of SNS was incredible.
Even a single post spread like wildfire with a large follower base.
Best of all, borders didn’t exist there.
Tae-seong’s post quickly racked up likes and shares.
* * *
“Huh? Looks like this friend’s novel is getting serialized in Japan.”
Head Chef Kayamoto smiled as he saw Tae-seong’s update on SNS.
Ever since the samgyetang incident, he’d developed a curiosity about Tae-seong.
He’d started following him and became a die-hard fan, catching Black Knight's Her every week.
“Not sure if it’ll help, but I’ll share it too! Uhahaha!”
With his signature laugh, he liked and shared the post.
The ripple effect was massive.
Chef Kayamoto was the head chef at a top-tier hotel and one of Japan’s most famous cooks.
His follower count stood at 320,000, making him an SNS superstar.
A novel cover popping up amid his usual parade of dish photos actually stood out.
* * *
Ads went live, and Grape Books Japan’s user numbers started climbing steadily.
“Wow… Is this the power of Black Knight's Her?”
Tetsu stuck out his tongue as he watched the user count surge.
There was no other reason for the recent spike besides Black Knight's Her.
Naturally, the Japan branch staff chalked it up to that.
“I never dreamed it’d grow this fast.”
Compared to before the Black Knight's Her ads, user numbers had jumped about 11%.
Over that timeframe, it matched the growth from when Grape Books Japan launched with massive promotions.
“The power of a single work is this huge…?”
SSS-Class Hunter’s Return had definitely brought in users too.
But not to this extent.
It was the synergy between the drama and the novel.
Clear as day.
“At this rate, it’ll boost the other works too.”
Tetsu’s prediction hit the nail on the head.
Readers had come for Black Knight's Her, which wasn’t even fully available yet.
Of course they’d check out other content in the meantime.
“You gotta row when the tide comes in.”
Tetsu rolled up his sleeves and dove into work.
* * *
Black Knight's Her went public on Grape Books Japan.
Tae-seong had installed the app on his smartphone ahead of time.
The moment he woke up in the morning, he checked if his work was up.
By noon, it had already been released, and the viewer count had broken 100,000.
Comments had surpassed 500 and were climbing fast.
He read through them one by one, checking for any errors in the story or translation.
Fortunately, none pointed out mistakes.
Most were raves about how fun it was, or how they’d loved the drama and were thrilled to read the novel too.
Some left lengthy impressions.
Time flew as he read.
“I’ll end up spending the whole day like this.”
Reading comments was fun, but it was time to start his routine.
Before closing the app, Tae-seong left a thank-you on one.
[This is writer Jeong Tae-seong. Thank you all for coming to read my work. Your love made this serialization possible. If you spot any shortcomings or errors, please let me know anytime, and I’ll fix them right away. Enjoy the read!]
He poured his sincerity into the message, then closed the app.
It was the lightest start to a day he’d had in ages.
* * *
Black Knight's Her kept soaring.
The drama was hitting peak ratings day after day.
If it continued like this, it could surpass the 38% it achieved in Korea and climb even higher.
In Japan, a drama breaking 30% was rare.
Several factors aligned for it.
For one, the drama was just that good.
High production values, solid dubbing—it kept viewers immersed.
Lee Sang-woo’s fame played a role too.
Before Black Knight's Her aired, a variety show he’d starred in had been exported to Japan and started broadcasting.
His popularity was already rising when his lead role in Black Knight's Her hit the air.
Plus, the series had already gained traction online among many Japanese viewers.
All these elements amplified the buzz.
The novel was no different.
Grape Books Japan aggressively leveraged the drama in its marketing.
They promoted it across media as the bestselling original novel from Korea.
Viewers who loved the drama naturally sought out the book.
In Japan, there was only one place to read the original novel.
Grape Books Japan.
Visitors fell into two camps: those who only read Black Knight's Her, and those who explored more.
Out of every 100 downloads, 30 checked out other content.
And that number was growing rapidly.
Word of mouth.
Online communities buzzed about Grape Books Japan, drawing in crowds.
“It’s insane.”
Tetsu shook his head at the skyrocketing users.
“We poured so much money into ads and got nowhere.”
When a big corporation entered a foreign market, marketing was the top priority.
Hence the massive ad budgets.
Grape Books Japan was no exception.
But results were lackluster.
With minimal returns despite huge spends, support naturally tapered off.
Now, a single work was driving growth where nothing else had.
“This is the true power of content.”
Awed by it anew, Tetsu refocused on work.
* * *
Back in Korea, Tae-seong had been focusing on the webtoon version of Otherworld Chef and serializing Return of the Immortal Master.
“The food illustrations here lack a bit of detail. I’ll send over some reference materials—please revise them with those in mind.”
“Got it.”
Otherworld Chef was a story where the chef protagonist unleashed his full abilities.
Cooking sat at its core.
In writing, he could flex his prose to spark readers’ imaginations.
But visuals demanded a different approach.
It wasn’t enough to leave it to the imagination—you had to show it.
That’s why Tae-seong poured extra care into the food art.
“Representative-nim! I’ve uploaded the revisions.”
“Alright, let me check.”
This chapter centered on a hamburger.
He’d sketched the roughs himself, so the composition and angles were just as he wanted.
The issue was the coloring.
‘Still not quite right.’