Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Riding the Momentum of Victory
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This is a work of fiction and has no relation whatsoever to any real names, events, organizations, place names, people, etc.
Chapter 15. Riding the Momentum of Victory (乘勝長驅).
Woo Ji-hyun looked around the house with eyes full of emotion.
Only after finishing the long and arduous move-in cleanup did the home of his dreams finally come into view.
Of course, since it was a jeonse house that matched the money he currently had on hand, it wasn't 100% satisfactory.
But at least 80% of it pleased him.
“First jeonse at 24. That's pretty impressive. In my past life, it wasn't until I was 29 that I managed to get a proper jeonse. So I've shaved off about five years.”
A faint smile formed at the corners of Woo Ji-hyun's mouth.
He was so satisfied with having advanced that five-year timeline.
And the important part was that this was only the real beginning.
“It's a 45 million won jeonse, so I'm basically broke right now, but I'll scrape by somehow. Plus, Asura Sword Emperor royalties are coming in next week.”
He had turned in the manuscript for volume 14, but Asura Sword Emperor's final volume hadn't been published yet.
On top of that, Solar Chronicle royalties would start rolling in from June next week, so while things might be tight right now, that wouldn't last.
That was why Woo Ji-hyun wasn't too worried about money.
“The vibes are good. And if not now, there might not be another chance.”
He just needed to hit the peak once.
After that, even if the quality of his works dipped a bit, sales wouldn't plummet.
That was because he'd have built a name for himself, and rental shops would at least stock him.
“Of course, no one can say for sure how New Wind Machine Alliance will do.”
New Wind Machine Alliance had received some criticism—though not outright harsh reviews—but its performance wasn't bad.
It only seemed that way compared to his previous work, Solar Chronicle.
And now, with his experience, he could produce entirely different results from his past life.
“Let's see.”
After finishing the move, Woo Ji-hyun sat down at his desk for the first time.
In the spacious room that couldn't even compare to his cramped old one-room, a smile naturally spread across his face.
What he liked most was having the bedroom and workspace separated.
“It maximizes efficiency too. When you see a bed, you naturally want to lie down.”
He had spent a ton on the bed, TV, washer, fridge, gas stove, vacuum, and more, but Woo Ji-hyun didn't regret it one bit.
That was because the fixed costs of monthly rent and jeonse were on completely different levels.
If he wanted to save money, jeonse was the way over monthly rent, no question.
“I'll use this desk and chair for just two more years, then buy new ones. Might as well put a new desk in a new house, right? I'll grab a sub laptop too. And when the time comes, pass on the netbook.”
Woo Ji-hyun muttered while glancing at his 10-inch mini netbook.
Yet his eyes were brimming with affection.
Even during vacations, up until he went independent, that netbook had been his main work computer.
“Man, I used you for so long. So let's make it last this time too.”
In his past life, he'd kept that netbook even past thirty.
Despite having sub and sub-sub laptops, he'd never tossed it, so it held a special place for him.
“Let's see.”
He carefully stowed the netbook in its dedicated case, then opened a portal site.
He searched for Asura Sword Emperor.
The finale was close, but he wanted to check reviews, impressions, and after-action reports.
Readers often caught details that even the author missed, and in genre fiction, working solo meant mistakes happened, so Woo Ji-hyun always searched for his books upon release.
“People aren't perfect. No matter how good your memory, there's a limit.”
Woo Ji-hyun never got complacent.
He was acutely aware of his own imperfections.
Sure, he'd received the unbelievable gift of regression, but he was just an ordinary human who knew the future.
And only up to right before his death, at that.
“The butterfly effect is already starting to alter the future bit by bit. I need to keep preparing and predicting for that.”
He didn't know much about stocks or Bitcoin, but the reason he steered clear entirely was simple.
The future was changing because of him, so nothing was guaranteed.
Especially stocks, which could skyrocket or crash at any moment depending on time, so Woo Ji-hyun didn't even glance at them.
If he were an expert, he'd dive in, but unfortunately, that was a field he knew nothing about.
Plus, when it came to money, Woo Ji-hyun was extremely conservative.
“Gambling needs odds in your favor. Hmm.”
As he muttered to himself, he searched for Asura Sword Emperor on the portal site and grinned in satisfaction at the flood of reviews and impressions.
Reviews and impressions were basically a measure of popularity.
No one critiques what they haven't read.
“Overall, not bad at all.”
Compared to megahit authors, it was nothing to brag about, but it wasn't zero, so Woo Ji-hyun was content.
Sure, there were some negative posts that weren't quite reviews but outright complaints, but they didn't shake him.
No piece satisfied every reader anyway.
And what mattered was recognition.
“Next up, Solar Chronicle.”
Story-wise, Asura Sword Emperor had no major issues.
He'd written it so quickly and seamlessly that he'd barely missed anything.
Plus, Yoo Mi-rae had provided solid support.
So Woo Ji-hyun skimmed the new Asura Sword Emperor reviews he hadn't seen before and moved on to Solar Chronicle.
“Oh, quite a few?”
Even with just volumes 1 and 2 out, Solar Chronicle had a decent number of reviews.
And the reactions weren't bad.
“Huhuhu!”
If Asura Sword Emperor's negative-to-positive ratio was about 7:3, Solar Chronicle was nearly 9:1.
Of course, Asura Sword Emperor was nearing its finale while Solar Chronicle was just starting publication, so comparing raw ratios wasn't fair.
But clearly, plenty of readers found Solar Chronicle fun.
“With trends heading toward snack culture, fun is king in the end. No fun, no readers. Genre lit started as light, exhilarating stuff focused on vicarious thrills and catharsis, after all.”
Woo Ji-hyun believed that was the key difference between genre and pure literature.
Their shared point: no fun, no audience.
“Stop fighting and just accept we're different fields. No one's better or worse—go your own ways.”
Muttering words no one in particular could hear, Woo Ji-hyun closed the portal site.
Now it was time to work on Solar Chronicle again.
As he did, he dreamed.
Of one day succeeding as a genre author and holding a fan signing like a bestseller.
“Me too, someday…”
Eyes sparkling, Woo Ji-hyun hammered away at the keyboard.
Black letters piled up steadily on the pristine white monitor.
* * *
The royalty scam scandal that had terrorized the genre publishing world eventually died down with time.
In the end, Rubin Media and Focus Media aside, no one else had messed around with royalties.
Everyone figured the involved parties got what they deserved.
Even though they'd pinned it on a few mid-level managers, everyone knew the chain likely reached the presidents.
“Thinking back to that time…”
It had quieted, but recalling a few months ago still made hearts race.
The incident had been that serious.
Especially when the market was already struggling to hold on.
“But the upside is we pulled in some solid authors.”
With the bad-reputation Rubin Media and Focus Media, a flood of contracted authors—newbies and veterans alike—canceled and jumped ship.
Even those with full-rights guarantees bailed, doubting their publishers, so Future Books easily scooped up good talent.
“But the real shame is Woo Ji-hyun.”
Seo Hee-jin let out a deep sigh.
Thicker author roster was great, sure.
But what counted was results.
And authors who could deliver those weren't plentiful.
“What're you muttering about?”
“It's a waste.”
Ki Ji-seok approached her desk with a mug, having heard the consecutive sighs.
Seo Hee-jin sighed deeply again, like a lament.
“What is?”
“Woo Ji-hyun. The market shrinks every year, but his new works keep killing it. People said printing 2,700 copies for volumes 1 and 2 was too much, that it was a 100% loss, but look now. Up to volume 8, and it's still at 2,600. Just a 100-copy drop from the start.”
“Mm.”
Ki Ji-seok's smiling face hardened.
Even he thought it was absurd performance.
Even so-called hit authors barely cleared 2,500 at Future Books these days.
Yet Woo Ji-hyun, a nobody just three years ago, was devouring the whole market.
Having surpassed "Most Anticipated 2010" on volumes 1 and 2 to become the top hit.
“Not on the level of Solar Sculptor or Yak, of course, but top-tier in the current market.”
“That's impressive enough.”
“If we'd landed this…”
Seo Hee-jin trailed off.
The more she thought, the more it stung.
Future Books had a shot too.
“Wasn't it right before the Linus contract when Woo Ji-hyun came to us?”
“Yeah, the section chief and I said we'd think it over.”
“Whew.”
This time, Ki Ji-seok sighed deeply.
If they'd accepted Woo Ji-hyun's terms back then and stamped the contract, Solar Chronicle's success would be Future Books', not Linus Publishing's.
And it would've boosted his own performance.
“We should've grabbed him then. At this level, even a 5,000-copy full-rights guarantee wouldn't hurt.”
“…Yeah.”
Ki Ji-seok couldn't deny it.
Even with Future Books' stable of top authors, few met deadlines reliably.
And performance-wise, Woo Ji-hyun was edging them out slightly.
‘The real kicker is how much cheaper Woo Ji-hyun's rates are.’
Cost-performance? Woo Ji-hyun, hands down.
Plus, like with Heavenly Thunder Sword Hero and Asura Sword Emperor, he was pumping out a volume every three weeks for Solar Chronicle—a terrifying pace.
Any planner or editor would pick him over top-tier talent.
“No word yet on a next-work contract with Linus Publishing?”
“You think Jo Section Chief will let him go? I'd cling like mad. Solar Chronicle had tons of skepticism at launch. Not just us, but you too.”
“……”