The Illustrator, Part 1
A studio apartment filled only with the bare essentials for survival.
It was a tiny room, lacking even a common bed.
"Whew... Damn it... My numbers are terrible this time too..."
I lamented my life as I tapped away on the keyboard of a battered, secondhand laptop.
I was an author writing novels on a platform called Yutonovel.
My pen name was HyeonseongSia!
But... my performance was abysmal.
Lately, my editor had been giving me a lot of grief.
Especially about... the lack of character appeal.
The novel I was currently serializing was titled I Want a Happy Ending.
To give a brief synopsis...
The protagonist, Jeonghun, who absolutely loved books, gained a strange power to enter them.
Using this power, Jeonghun entered the world of books and succeeded in changing the ending of the famously tragic tale, The Little Mermaid.
The method Jeonghun used to change the ending was utterly ridiculous.
Aside from his ability to enter books, he possessed a magic that allowed him to summon characters from other books to alter the story.
A skill called 'Story Summon.'
In the tale where the Little Mermaid trades her voice to the sea witch for a pair of legs, he summoned Cinderella's Fairy Godmother to completely rewrite the narrative.
Thanks to the Fairy Godmother, the Little Mermaid obtained her legs through magic without paying any price.
Although the magic only lasted until midnight, it was more than enough time for her to convey her true feelings.
Because the Little Mermaid was able to clearly express her truth and her heart to the prince with her own voice...
They confirmed their love for each other and lived happily ever after.
Wasn't that beautiful?
At first, the novel generated a lot of buzz due to its novel premise, successfully making it onto the 'Today's Best' list.
But that was short-lived.
As the chapters piled up, the view count steadily declined.
It was a fresh concept, but one that was difficult to sustain in the long run.
The plot easily fell into a repetitive pattern.
Furthermore, there weren't actually that many famous stories that ended in tragedy.
To keep the serialization going, I eventually...
Had to write my own tragic stories.
Even though Jeonghun would eventually turn them into happy endings, I absolutely hated writing tragedies with my own hands.
But...
To make money...
To marry Sia...
To achieve my dream...
I had no choice.
Forcing myself to write stories I despised gradually drained my soul.
If I had just given up writing and obediently done as my father wished...
If I had become the heir to the Saseong Group, I wouldn't be going through this, right?
"Yeah, Hyunseong. I know you'll become a great novelist."
What am I thinking? This is the path I chose.
I am not the heir to the Saseong Group. I am just a web novel author who loves stories. I am HyeonseongSia.
For Sia, who always cheers me on, I won't give up.
I love you, Sia.
*Ka-talk!*
It sounded like someone had sent me a message.
My smartphone, which I had been using for five years, was still intact.
It was a miracle the thing even turned on.
I tried to check the message immediately, but...
The loading screen took forever.
"Piece of shit phone, damn it!"
I wanted to replace it right away, but just paying the monthly bill was a struggle.
Sigh... Five years ago, I was born with a diamond spoon in my mouth... and now I'm dirt poor?!
This isn't a novel... Why is my life so pathetic? Sob...
While I was wallowing in my miserable reality, the agonizingly long loading screen finally finished.
Putting my self-pity aside, I opened the chat.
Yes!
Contrary to my anxieties, it was incredibly good news.
I was an established author, after all. It felt empty to publish a novel without a cover.
My debut work, which first put my name out there, was My Childhood Friend is Not Honest.
It had barely scraped by to win a minor prize in Yutonovel's 8th Sseojwo contest.
Thanks to that, I was assigned an editor and was supposed to receive a cover... but because my editor was lazy as hell, the novel ended up finishing its run without ever getting one.
But this time seemed different.
Haha! With a beautiful cover, hitting the big time wouldn't just be a dream!
This would be my very first cover.
To see the characters I had only imagined brought to life in an illustration...
The sheer anticipation made my lips curl up to the heavens.
How peculiar.
Wanting to meet me in person.
Well, it didn't really matter to me, but...
An illustrator drawing my cover is a high school classmate...?
I didn't keep in touch with anyone from high school besides Jeongho, so I had no idea.
Was there anyone in my class who drew?
And how did they know I was the author?
My face had been shown once in an interview... Did they recognize me from that?
I'd better get ready to head out.
I arrived at the cafe my editor had specified.
The illustrator was supposed to be sitting alone at a table, drawing on a tablet PC...
Looking around, I spotted the back of an illustrator sitting alone and drawing.
Judging by the dark, short bob and the outfit, was it a woman?
"Hello. I'm the web novel author HyeonseongSia. Nice to meet you."
I approached her and greeted her politely.
Hearing my greeting, the illustrator turned her head.
"Yes, nice to meet you. Actually... since we're classmates, I can speak casually, right? Ryu. Hyun. Seong?"
"It was... you? Shin Jiwu..."
The high school classmate my editor had mentioned was none other than Shin Jiwu, the person I loathed the most.
Shin Jiwu smiled gently at me.
On the outside, she looked like a cute, puppy-faced girl, but on the inside, she was a petty, pitch-black snake.
"Hyunseong, what's with that look? Just forget about what happened in the past. Let's keep this strictly professional."
"I'd rather serialize my novel without a cover for the rest of my life than get one from you."
I turned on my heel, preparing to walk right out of the cafe.
"I've already signed the contract with your editor. He even asked me to do illustrations in addition to the cover, just for you."
Jiwu's single sentence had the power to freeze me in my tracks.
I immediately spun back toward her.
"Ill... illustrations too?"
"Yep. Apparently, he felt really guilty about not getting you a cover for your last work. He even paid out of his own pocket. It's almost foolish for an editor to spend his own money on an author."
Shin Jiwu insulted my editor with a look of pity on her innocent face.
Even though my lazy editor annoyed me sometimes...
"My editor might be lazy as hell, but he's not someone to be insulted by the likes of you. I feel bad for him, but I still don't want you drawing my cover."
I glared at her, my voice laced with anger.
"Well, it doesn't matter to me, but... are you sure? I was going to give you a classmate discount. Your editor was absolutely thrilled. Pfft."
"...How much?"
"Hehe... Let me tell you..."
With a smirk, Jiwu named her commission fee... and it was ridiculously cheap.
It... it must be cheap because the quality is garbage. Right. You get what you pay for.
"Hmm... You're not doubting my skills, are you?"
"Well, I haven't seen your art yet..."
"I actually finished one character design. Let me show you."
Jiwu showed me the drawing on her tablet.
The quality... was a work of art.
Clean coloring, smooth lines, perfect anatomy.
And those sparkling eyes.
This was by no means cheap art.
Shin Jiwu... her artistic talent was undeniable.
If she drew the cover and illustrations for my novel, I would definitely be able to make it back onto the Today's Best list.
"So...? Will you trust me with your novel?"
Jiwu gave me a smug look.
I can never entrust my novel to her.
That was what my heart was screaming.
"...Fine. We are business partners, nothing more, nothing less."
But my pride had long since been crushed.
For the sake of my novel's success, I would hold hands with this detestable girl.
"Right, we're just business partners. Hehe... I look forward to working with you, then."
Jiwu's creepy giggle made me uncomfortable, but I had no choice.
I couldn't throw away this chance to save my novel.
I was going to succeed as an author and propose to Sia properly.
This girl was just a business partner.
Yet, my heart felt heavy.
Was this the right decision?
I truly detested Shin Jiwu.
If it weren't for her...
If she had just stayed quiet...
If only she hadn't existed...
Sia would never have been bullied in school.