The Bored Empress
The Emperor's declaration of seclusion the moment he arrived in Danamo...!
In the end, it wasn't that big of a problem.
An emperor's work was mostly about showing his face anyway, and the only real winter event Danamo had to offer was the Danamo baseball playoffs.
So, to put it simply: the Emperor currently residing at the Danamo Winter Palace now had an environment where he could write for a full week without a single interruption.
— Canned Day 1 —
To readers still reeling from the Oppert Tomb Robbery Incident, he immediately served up the Byeongin Persecution and the French Campaign against Korea. Three full episodes, crammed into a single drop.
Naturally, the reaction burned hot.
Joseon is... Joseon is collapsing!!
— Canned Day 2 —
France's turn was over. Now it was America's. He rolled out the General Sherman Incident and the Shinmiyangyo at the same time. Once again, three tightly packed episodes went up.
Today is probably the readers' limit.
He was getting by on the sleight of hand that was consecutive updates, but from the Oppert Tomb Robbery all the way through the Shinmiyangyo, he had essentially been flinging sweet potato after sweet potato at them.
Sure enough, the reaction was still blazing.
IF WE DON'T OPEN THE COUNTRY WE'RE DONE FOR!!!!
AAAAAGH!!!!
Yi Ha-eung you crazy son of a bitchhhh!!!
— Canned Day 3 —
Today, no matter what, I have to post an episode that lets the readers breathe...!
The problem was: what positive thing was even happening in Joseon during this period? Of course, what he was writing was ultimately a novel, so he had freely rearranged the order of historical events whenever he felt like it — but even so, he didn't want to wreck the big picture.
It was a kind of stubbornness. If he'd been operating on a pure one-hundred-percent commercial mindset, he would have revised the plot. But given his current position, it wasn't as if he was desperate for royalties.
No choice, then. At this point, he had to resort to the last option...
The second his dad pulls a disaster like the Dangbaekjeon currency, he accepts the impeachment memorials that come flying in and ousts the Daewongun. What kind of political movement is that lmao
And the cabinet he builds is actually solid — he doesn't purge the entire Daewongun faction, keeps the competent ones. Then he brings in Daewongun opponents, centrists, the Andong Kim clan, even relatives.
Yi Hyeong <- drop a like if you're starting to see the makings of a wise king lmao
Yeah. There was no other way.
To relieve the readers' frustration, he had no choice but to buff King Gojong's abilities far beyond actual history... Then again, writing it as "an incompetent king ascended the throne and ruined the country" would have been weird too.
Better to write it as him trying hard but finding it difficult — that way he could at least harvest some tragic grandeur. For the rest of the canning period, he just needed to gradually unfold the face of "Gojong the Reformist Monarch" and keep the readers satisfied.
Mental fatigue was piling up, but if he set this up now, he could deliver an even bigger shock later.
Heh heh heh... he was looking forward to that moment.
I'm bored...
Sofiya, Empress of the Korean Empire, left alone in the lower half of the palace, had already had enough three days after arriving in Danamo.
Touring Daebuk, the most glamorous city in Danamo, only took a day. Looking at the strange rock formations of Yaryu (Yeliu) only took a day.
And through all of that, her cold-hearted husband hadn't even summoned her once in three days.
She considered going to him herself, but he was diligently uploading three novel episodes every single day, so it was hard to complain.
There were "schedules" involving exchanges with Danamo's political and business figures, but those were work — not a fun way to pass the time.
Besides, they all knew this Russian-born imperial consort knew absolutely nothing about the situation in Danamo, so they simply showed their faces and left.
"Ugh... I'm so bored... Tatyana. Aren't you bored?"
"I find time passes just fine watching Your Majesty throw a tantrum about dying of boredom right beside me."
"Ahem... Watch what you say to the Empress."
"Didn't Your Majesty always tell me to treat you the same as before? Shall I start observing proper etiquette now?"
Tatyana had been Sofiya's manager back when Sofiya was still active as a pianist, before the marriage. After the sudden wedding left her facing unemployment, she had successfully re-employed herself as a lady-in-waiting to the Empress of the Korean Empire — thanks to an offer from Sofiya and the Emperor.
"No. Tanya. I was just bored and trying something I saw in a drama. Aah~ so bored~"
"Are you that idle? Then why not practice the piano? In preparation for the recital, I mean."
"I already practiced a ton alone yesterday while you were on leave, that's why I'm like this. And a pianist of my caliber isn't simply learning pieces, it's more about..."
"Yes, yes. I understand. O great first-rate pianist."
"Anyway, I'm bored."
"Hmm... Then how about a micro-disguise outing? I went to a rather large department store yesterday, and there was a lot to see."
"No matter how much we cover up, there's no way we'd actually stay hidden. And shopping isn't even fun... Haa... I guess all I can do is chat with you like this and wait for that man inside to come out."
While killing time watching Nutube on her phone, Sofiya spotted a striking thumbnail.
Obviously fake news. But I'm curious.
Sure enough, the person captured shopping in the video wasn't her — it was someone else.
"Wait. Isn't this you, Tanya?"
"Huh. You're right. Someone must have filmed me while I was out for a bit yesterday."
"Heh. Spreading false information like this..."
"No. Looking closer, the title is just clickbait — the description actually explains it properly."
Just as Tanya said, a closer look at the description correctly identified her as "Her Majesty the Empress's lady-in-waiting."
"Urgh... Why does this feel even more annoying somehow..."
The comments under the video were mostly along the same lines as her own thoughts.
"Why go this far, Tanya?"
"Well. In this day and age, attention is money. Provocative information makes people release dopamine."
"Provocative information...?"
Not long after, a new account appeared on Nutube.
The channel name was Sofiya's Daily Life. The description boldly declared: "A channel posting the daily life of Sofiya, Empress of the Korean Empire!"
The thumbnail of the first video, designed to grab attention, was simply white text on a black background that said "Hello."
"Why!!! Can't they tell it's me just by looking at me? What exactly is the problem that they're reporting this!!!"
But the reaction to the ambitiously uploaded video was a flood of comments questioning her identity.
Before she could even upload a second video, the Sofiya's Daily Life channel was suspended as an impersonation account in just two days.
"This is ridiculous... That I... that I should suffer this kind of humiliation..."
"If you were going to do something like that, you should have asked me first. People are sensitive about impersonation accounts these days — if you're a public figure, you need identity verification."
And so, with Tanya's help, the proudly verification-badged channel Sofiya's Daily Life 2 was founded.
It was the fourth day of the Emperor's canning — something the Emperor, who had cut off all outside contact for a digital detox, had no way of knowing.