Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: Once Again, Writer
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# 141
Once Again, Writer Chapter 141
Flash!
The moment Woo Ji-hyun opened the door, he felt a strange illusion of dazzling light pouring down on him.
Even though he was simply opening a door, he couldn’t keep his eyes fully open.
A moment later, as his vision gradually cleared, Woo Ji-hyun couldn’t help but freeze.
“Gaowu zao!”
“Hello!”
“Writer Woo Ji-hyun!”
No sooner had he stepped outside than Taiwan’s morning greeting mixed with familiar Korean phrases reached his ears.
In between, he heard his name called in Minnan and Hakka, the languages commonly spoken in Taiwan. Even though they were words he’d never heard before in his life, he instantly recognized them as his own name.
It felt strangely familiar.
Clap clap clap clap!
At the same time, applause that seemed to signify a welcome poured in from all directions.
Even at a rough glance, there were at least over a hundred people in view.
Smooth.
Seeing the fans who had given up their precious weekend morning for him, Woo Ji-hyun politely bowed at the waist.
When he gave the folder bow—something idols in Korea often did—the fans erupted in cheers once more.
The webtoon team that had come out with him, flustered by the Taiwanese crowd’s enthusiastic welcome, followed suit and did folder bows alongside him.
“Shall we get started with the fan signing event, then?”
“Yes.”
Under Chae Nam-hee’s lead, the fan signing finally began.
The first fan was a boy who looked to be in his mid-teens, holding a volume one of the *God of Martial Arts, Return* novel in one hand and a volume one of the webtoon in the other as he followed the guide line inside.
They passed through the webtoon team one by one before reaching Woo Ji-hyun last. The webtoon artists quickly signed the illustrations they had each drawn.
Since they had put their IDs or pen names in the corner of each illustration, the boy could tell who drew what, and he nodded vigorously with an ecstatic expression.
“I-I’m a fan. I really enjoyed reading it! I have the full first part at home, and I’m collecting the second part as it comes out!”
“Thank you.”
Woo Ji-hyun replied in simple Minnan to the first fan, who blushed through his acne-covered face but said everything he wanted to say.
It was the peculiar word “sìm-mông-îng-kì,” which was dialectical and tonal, making even that short phrase tricky to learn.
That was why Yeom Tae-seong had advised him before boarding the flight to Taiwan that it’d be better to keep basic responses in English.
Still, since he was in Taiwan, he wanted to try some simple conversation, so he’d practiced as much as he could using online pronunciations as his teacher—and now he was putting it to use.
“Oh.”
His effort paid off; surprise lit up the boy fan’s face.
His pronunciation wasn’t half bad, unexpectedly.
Plus, you could tell he’d put in the work.
“Have a great weekend.”
“You too, sir!”
No sooner had the first fan left than the second took his place.
But this fan set down something wrapped in red paper in front of Woo Ji-hyun.
“It’s a gift. Please accept it!”
“Huh?”
Woo Ji-hyun’s eyes widened at the clumsy but clear Korean.
But his surprise was short-lived.
Taiwan was ground zero for the Korean Wave, so it wasn’t strange for someone to speak a bit of Korean.
Especially since the person in front of him now was a girl in her late teens, which made it easy for him to accept.
“It’s nothing fancy—just bread I baked myself. I hope you enjoy it.”
“I’ll eat it gratefully.”
“Hehehe. Could you sign this too?”
Seeing him carefully pick up her thoughtfully prepared gift with both hands as he stood, the girl beamed and held out her book.
Woo Ji-hyun signed it with care, pouring his heart into every character.
He’d given signed copies to friends and acquaintances before, but actually meeting fans face-to-face like this and signing for them was a first.
So he filled each signature with gratitude and appreciation.
“Have a great weekend.”
“You have a happy weekend too, sir!”
“Thanks to you, I know I will.”
Woo Ji-hyun met the girl fan’s eyes as he replied.
Her face flushed red.
Not only was he younger than expected, but he was looking straight at her and speaking so gently—it made her heart race.
But she couldn’t savor the moment long.
There were others waiting in line behind her.
Bow.
So the girl hugged the signed book to her chest, bowed to Woo Ji-hyun, and headed out along the guide line.
Yet something felt lacking; she kept glancing back at where Woo Ji-hyun sat.
“The fan signing’s a huge hit.”
“Yeah. I was worried just in case, but it was needless concern.”
Woo Ji-hyun was topping Korea’s genre market, but his actual influence and recognition weren’t that high in the public eye.
Genre fiction had strong subculture vibes, after all.
But not in Taiwan.
Here, he was showing his bestseller author chops without holding back, and the event was proceeding smashingly.
“The line’s still getting longer.”
“One worry, though—they’re so enthusiastic. Hope they don’t hurt their arms or anything.”
At Min A-rang’s words, Jo Jin-gu looked at Woo Ji-hyun with concern-filled eyes.
For a writer, nothing was more vital than their fingers and arms.
“Oppa’s good at self-managing, so he’ll pace himself, right? I’m more worried about the webtoon team, honestly.”
Min A-rang’s gaze slid to the four webtoon artists sitting in a row next to Woo Ji-hyun.
It being their first fan signing ever, they were signing just as enthusiastically as he was.
Even exchanging awkward small talk in between.
Of course, the biggest MVP was Chae Nam-hee, flitting between the four and interpreting.
“We might need to give a heads-up if it looks dangerous while watching.”
“I think so too. But the scheduled time is two hours—can we wrap it up in that?”
Woo Ji-hyun’s fan signing was from 10 a.m. to noon.
That was the exact time they’d agreed on with the Dunhua branch of Eslite Bookstore.
Yet even if it wasn’t explosive, the line kept growing over time.
People who hadn’t known about the event had spotted the *God of Martial Arts, Return* author and webtoon team by chance and slyly joined the queue.
“We’ll do the best we can. Can’t tell them to half-ass their first-ever fan signing. And Manbai Publishing will coordinate things. It’s not some small press, after all.”
“No need for us to step in, then?”
“Probably not?”
No matter how hot Frontier Management was in Korea, it was still limited to domestic reach.
Here, they had no pull, so Jo Jin-gu could only trust Chae Nam-hee and Manbai Publishing.
“He looks so happy, though. Who knew Oppa could smile like that.”
“He must be that moved. Even I’m getting hit with tsunami-level emotions right now.”
“Me too. To think the work I handle is doing so well overseas, even holding a fan signing.”
“China and Japan next, I bet. Kakao Page is on fire.”
Jo Jin-gu grinned slyly.
Until just last year, Kakao Page had been the one in the driver’s seat.
But that dynamic was slowly shifting.
The scales were tipping, bit by bit, toward Frontier Management.
“They seem pretty interested in this new work too, at Manbai Publishing?”
“Good momentum. Perfect timing to ride the wave. Plus, webtoon serialization at the same time—how could they resist?”
Woo Ji-hyun had leveled up from reliable pick to must-watch author.
He downplayed it himself, saying he had far to go and needed to grow more, but Jo Jin-gu saw it differently.
Woo Ji-hyun was the one with the most visible overseas success, and that was sure to carry over domestically.
‘Some places are already reaching out.’
It wasn’t just Kakao Page and Naver anymore.
With the world in view, Jo Jin-gu was setting even higher targets.
“By the way, President.”
“Yeah. What is it, Deputy Min?”
“Are we really heading back this afternoon? It’s Sunday tomorrow—can’t we rest and go then?”
Min A-rang broached the topic cautiously.
Coming all the way to Taiwan just to work and leave felt a bit sad.
Plus, tomorrow being Sunday fanned her hopes.
“No big issue, but Monday might be rough? Taiwan’s close, but not no-jet-lag close. And with our tight schedule, I think a day’s rest is better. Tae-seong was thinking half-day or vacation time, but sadly, that’s tough to approve.”
Jo Jin-gu continued carefully.
Yeom Tae-seong and Min A-rang were the core of Frontier Management’s core.
They were founding pillars of the company.
So both being out at once weighed on him.
“As long as it’s not half-day or vacation time, it’s fine?”
“Of course. Today’s technically a holiday anyway.”
Jo Jin-gu’s voice lowered.
In a way, they were on a business trip on what should’ve been a day off.
Not that he’d forced it, of course.
“Got it.”
“Don’t push too hard.”
“Of course. I know my position and responsibilities well.”
Min A-rang replied in a reliably poised tone.
But Jo Jin-gu still felt oddly uneasy at the sight.
A strange anxiety washed over him.
“Free travel, huh. One day’s plenty, heh heh heh!”
Yeom Tae-seong chuckled from behind Woo Ji-hyun.
He’d been eavesdropping on their conversation ever since his name came up.
And yet, he didn’t slack on his interpreting duties.
That was the main reason he was here, after all.
‘Time for some fun after ages.’
While interpreting for Woo Ji-hyun, Yeom Tae-seong mentally mapped out his plans from this afternoon.
All the way to noon tomorrow, in a flash.
* * *
Having safely wrapped up his Taiwan trip, Woo Ji-hyun returned to his routine.
But even now, closing his eyes filled his heart and mind with that lingering emotion.
His very first fan signing had left that deep an impression on him.
“What’re you thinking about to wear such a happy look?”
“Oh, just something worth smiling about. But why’s there another meeting scheduled?”
“Well, you see...”
Manager Park Eun-su glanced at Woo Ji-hyun’s expression.
Unlike her, who had to follow orders from above, he wasn’t bound that way.
So Park Eun-su racked her brain on how to phrase it.
“Oppa!”
“We’re here!”
“Hanging with those fresh, green rookies really brightened up your face, huh?”
As Park Eun-su stared blankly at Woo Ji-hyun and gathered her thoughts, the meeting room door burst open and two people entered.
It was Ha Yu-seon and Yoon Mi-rae, who’d soon debut as the unit YU&MI.
They’d taken one character each from their names for the unit name—surprisingly simple and cool.
“Brightened my what? That day was pure hell.”