Character Appeal (2)

I received the finished cover from Shin Jiwu.

The quality turned out much better than I expected.

Clean lines, a well-proportioned body, a cute face, and sparkling eyes.

Overjoyed, I uploaded it immediately.

The reaction was explosive, just as expected.

My bookmarks and views rose much faster than usual!

Is this the legendary "cover buff" I've only heard about?!

At this rate... returning to the Today's Best board isn't just a dream.

My editor was wrong.

With this, I can bask in the glory of Today's Best once again.

...Or so I thought.

The cover buff was only temporary.

Only the views on the early chapters spiked, while my retention rate had long since shattered.

The readers who had been drawn in by the cover gradually drifted away.

Of course... the situation was better than before...

But making it onto Today's Best was out of the question.

Character appeal... An attractive character...

Could I really create a character charming enough to surpass "Lee Sua"?

I lacked the confidence.

Last weekend, my date with Sia at the neighborhood park.

It was supposed to be for getting inspiration for a new character.

But... I didn't have the luxury to think about such things during our date.

With my incredibly lovely girlfriend, Lee Sia—who could give even Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, a run for her money—sitting right next to me, how could I think about anything else?

Absolutely impossible!

Well... the date itself was really fun... and Sia seemed to enjoy it too...

So it's fine!

Katalk!

It seemed I had received a KakaoTalk message at this hour.

It was currently 11:20 PM.

What kind of message could it be to arrive at this time of night?

...Holy shit, this actually worked?

The moment I checked the message, I couldn't hide my sheer shock.

I had felt a bit guilty, thinking I'd done something terrible to Jeongho...

But they're actually dating?!

So Jeongho's type was older women.

Well, since it turned out well, I can borrow money from Jeongho without feeling guilty.

What a win.

They already slept together?

That progress is way too fast.

Sia and I didn't have our first time until almost eight years after we started dating...

The genre of my new work.

I hadn't designed the characters yet, but I had definitely decided on the genre.

I let out a hollow laugh at my editor's brutal honesty.

Well... I suppose being honest is better than deceiving someone.

It was late. Time to get some sleep.

A studio apartment without a bed...

Lying down directly on the hard floor.

I closed my eyes, resting my head on the cushion Sia had gifted me, which featured a fierce-looking cat character.

A chilling cold seeped from the floor, spreading through ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my entire body.

It wasn't even winter, yet it was freezing.

Since it was a cheap studio apartment, the heating didn't seem to work well.

I shivered from the cold that accompanied ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my poverty, but I was soon able to drift off to sleep.

After all... I had... adapted...

Late at night, in the Yutonovel office.

To be of even a little ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠help to the author, I was reading through his information registered in the database.

Because I'm Author HyeonseongSia's editor! I need to know him better!

But... why was the information on Author HyeonseongSia uniquely detailed?

"Hmm... Senior, is it really okay to have the author's personal details registered in such depth?"

"I don't know either. Maybe the CEO wanted to stay on the good side of the Saseong Group chairman's son."

I asked my senior of four years, who was pouring hot water from a kettle into a cup, but he didn't seem to know much either.

"Is that so...? It's a bit strange. I don't understand why an author born with a golden spoon—no, a diamond spoon—would debut as a web novel writer."

"Well... how would we know the circumstances of a diamond spoon? Let's just do our work."

"Yes, sir. Understood."

As soon as he finished speaking, my senior returned to his seat.

Saseong Group...

I spun around in my office chair, lost in thought.

I knew they were an incredibly influential conglomerate, but...

Author HyeonseongSia seemed to live a rather impoverished life.

Why would someone born with a diamond spoon live like that?

Is he doing some kind of commoner experience...?

I sat in my chair, quietly clutching my head.

Not just for the new work...

I wanted to make the characters in my current novel as appealing as possible.

What should I do?

My editor's sharp criticism kept echoing in my mind.

My current novel, I Want a Happy Ending.

It was a story about a protagonist and two heroines working together to change sad endings into happy ones.

The heroines were Cathy, a cool-headed girl with a massive chest, and Miu, a cheeky girl with a flat chest.

Both harbored feelings for the protagonist, Jeonghun, and frequently fought over him.

Is this what they call a "catfight"?

Apparently, harems sold incredibly well at the top of Today's Best.

In particular, catfights where the heroines fought over the protagonist were excellent for boosting reader immersion.

But!

Why did the catfights I wrote feel so bland?

Cathy and Miu fought over Jeonghun like this, but...

Something was missing.

What if I imagined Cathy and Miu as two different versions of Sia...?

A neighborhood park where the fountain's spray glowed softly in the sunset.

Sia 1 and Sia 2 were fighting over me.

"Hyunseong is mine! Hands off!"

"What? Hyunseong likes me more! You get lost!"

The two glared fiercely at each other.

"No, I love Hyunseong more!"

"I love him way, way more!"

"I love him wayyyyyy more!"

"Then I love him enough to give him my everything!!"

It had already devolved into a childish squabble.

Yet, it didn't bother me at all; in fact, it made me smile.

Two Sias fighting to have me.

Even their childish ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bickering looked adorable in my eyes.

I want them to fight over me even more!

Wait...?

A brilliant idea flashed through my mind.

If I thought of both Cathy and Miu as Sia...

Wouldn't I be able to create the most appealing heroines possible?

A cool Sia and a cheeky Sia.

I felt like I could pour infinite affection into both of them.

To me, the only heroine was Sia.

That was why I couldn't give any affection to my characters before.

Because I could only love Sia.

I felt pathetic for not realizing the answer was so close.

Why was Lee Sua a successful character?

There was only one reason: I had treated her like Sia.

It was so simple.

I just had to think of all my heroines as Sia.

Inspiration surged within me.

I was going to write as many chapters as I could right now!

Let's go!

I burned the midnight oil for nearly half a day.

I felt like I was going to pass out.

I had already written ten chapters.

Since the unwritten rule on Yutonovel was one chapter a day...

I could comfortably focus on planning my new work for a while.

Haha... I should rest a bit first.

My strength was draining away.

I collapsed onto my desk, completely limp.

Just you wait, readers...

I'll show you character appeal at full power, unlike anything you've ever experienced...

Just wait a little longer...

Comments filled with praise, unlike the usual.

It was nothing but positive reviews.

The corners of my mouth slowly curled upward.

As expected... Sia was right!

Katalk!

It seemed my editor had sent a KakaoTalk message.

My editor seemed extremely excited.

Even I thought I wrote this chapter incredibly well, but still.

I had ruined the story so much recently that there was no way it would suddenly blow up like this, right?

Because I had only checked the comments right after waking up, I hadn't checked the views and bookmarks yet.

Skeptical of my editor's words, I checked the numbers...

"W-What the hell...?"

I couldn't close my mouth at the absurdly high views and bookmarks.

This was easily enough to land me in the middle ranks of Today's Best.

It was still a far cry from Yutonovel's flagship works, but...

If I could push it just a bit more... I could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them.

The path to success was finally opening up!

But why did it suddenly blow up like this?

As a nagging doubt crept over me, I couldn't bring myself to celebrate blindly.