The Worst Novel of My Life
Is it okay for someone nobly raised like me to read trash like this?
I prided myself on having enough web novel experience that no plot twist could shake my mental fortitude. Yet even I couldn't hold back the curses after reading this one. It turned the comment sections into a warzone—a hunter academy story packed with clichéd tropes that felt utterly out of place.
Clichéd? Sure. But clichés exist for a reason. In academy stories like this, there's a franchise charm you won't find in those artisanal, home-cooked gourmet novels. Customers walk into a chain restaurant without overthinking it. Even if it's their first time, the familiar menu and affordable prices put them at ease. That's why they don't demand much from the owner: ingredients supplied by HQ, proven recipes, decent cleanliness, passable service... Stick to the basics, and normal patrons won't trash the place.
Of course, self-employed folks have endless headaches you can't put into words, but on the surface, that's how it looks. Viewed that way, writing a clichéd novel is a cakewalk for the author. Proven plot beats, likable heroines, a non-frustrating protagonist, regular updates... Nail the obvious stuff, and while gathering readers might be tough, you won't drive them away.
This novel nailed its duty on those terms. The plot was a certified crowd-pleaser, familiar even to newbies who'd read fewer than five web novels. The heroines were honestly top-tier—except for that one bitch. The protagonist lacked standout personality but never dragged things down, and the author churned out chapters at a blistering pace that half-jokingly earned him the nickname "AI."
True rookies griped "this ain't it" at every predictable turn, but it was a solid commercial hit. If not for that childhood friend heroine no one even wanted to name—Jeong Ga-eun—it never would've become a forbidden term on the forums.
Jeong Ga-eun fit the concubine role to a T, backed by her childhood friend title. She starts in the bottom class alongside the protagonist, mocked for her low potential. Unlike the dazzling, rainbow-haired national beauties, she's a black-haired, black-eyed girl with a realistic kind of prettiness. Back in their rural school of just over 200 students, everyone knew her as the campus beauty.
As the protagonist grows and hangs with increasingly strong, gorgeous main heroines, she feels a twinge of resentment and impatience. No matter what the author chose here, Jeong Ga-eun could've appealed to readers. Awakening late, getting even prettier, and joining the wife wars on equal footing would've flowed naturally. Or staying as-is, growing inwardly to become his emotional anchor in tough times—a best friend moonlighting as concubine would've made her plenty popular.
But here's where the novel made its worst call. The author slapped on a "jealousy bait" cliché that didn't suit her at all—and was getting flak as forced plotting anyway. Worse, her jealousy target was Heo Jin-woo, the rival the protagonist himself acknowledged.
Even picking a clearly inferior guy would've drawn hate, but the author went with Heo Jin-woo—still portrayed as superior in looks, wealth, and talent. The comments were already ablaze by then.
This trope works if you keep it cute, like puppy love with some bland nice guy—readers stay entertained, no WWE main event. But pair her with a guy objectively better than the protagonist? That's the author declaring "UFC, let's go."
Astonishingly, the author then slit the novel's throat: he hooked them up for good, sacrificing one heroine. That NTR hammer blow landed it straight into forum blacklist territory. The author's mentality shattered, and he kept picking disasters after.
Hate for the NTR? He spun it like the protagonist thought they suited each other and "sold her off." Readers calling Jeong Ga-eun a slut every appearance? He accelerated her into "true love" for Heo Jin-woo by knocking her up. With barely any readers left, he floored the gas for aggro: turned Heo Jin-woo into a deadbeat who knocked her up and bailed, and Jeong Ga-eun into a real slut—pawned to loan sharks as a single mom.
If he'd ended it with a mercy brain fart, I'd have forgotten this trash. But rage I couldn't suppress led me to break my golden rule: messaging the author for the first time ever. Then I possessed the heroine turned single mom with a cute daughter.