Publication – Part Two
Having to face the results of your own efforts is always a tense affair.
I stared at the hundreds of copies of Dangga Pungun stacked and displayed across the first floor. For some reason it reminded me of those doujinshi creators who got way too hyped, ordered hundreds of copies, and then spent months drowning in unsold stock.
Back in the real world I was a writer with a bit of seasoning under my belt. Here, though, I was the rookie author Hopil. On top of that, the book wasn’t pure smut—it was erotic wuxia, a blend of martial arts and sex. If I’d been just any ordinary writer I would have been panicking that every last copy was going to rot into dead inventory.
But I’m the author and the bookstore manager. So who cares?
Customers would come face-to-face with my book the second they walked through the door. Even if they ignored it and went looking for something else, no problem—I’d already planted more copies along every major walking path. I even put a pile right in front of the last display table.
This was advertising concentration at its finest!
If this had been a real-world web-novel platform, people would’ve accused me of blackmailing the CEO with a secret sex tape for this level of aggressive push.
“Aren’t you going upstairs to Daseogak?”
Dang Hwarin finished setting the last of the Dangga Pungun volumes in place and walked over to me.
“I want to watch at least one copy sell first.”
I had to see the first sale with my own eyes. After coming to this world, I wanted to burn the image of my book actually selling properly into my memory.
“Do you really think Dangga Pungun will sell?”
Hwarin eyed the mountain of books with open anxiety.
“We made it together. It’s going to sell.”
I’d written it using content that had already been proven popular in the modern world. Even if it was my own writing, I’d mixed wuxia and erotica into a genuinely fun story. I was confident.
“We… made it together… Yeah. Okay. You’re right.”
My words must have landed. The worry left her eyes and she looked at the stacked copies of Dangga Pungun with a soft, quietly pleased smile.
She really did have a huge stake in the book. Hwarin had proofread all the Dang Clan martial arts techniques and made them feel authentic. And it wasn’t some random swaying flowers that had inspired me either—it was her own overwhelming sway that had sent my desire surging straight into the pages of Dangga Pungun.
The books were finished. The display was done. Now it was time for the secret weapon.
“Hwarin. Help me with this before we open the doors.”
I pulled the bag containing my secret weapon out into the open.
“What the hell is that?”
She stared at it, startled.
“The secret weapon that’s going to make Dangga Pungun sell like crazy.”
“Is something like this actually going to help?”
“Of course it is.”
Together with Hwarin I set the secret weapon in place, then finished every last preparation to welcome customers.
“Welcome!”
Scholar Hwang came to the newly opened bookstore first thing in the morning, just as he always did.
The old, stuffy shop once run by the Baek Family had been completely transformed after the rumor that their granddaughter had cleaned house and inherited it. Gone was the chaotic jumble of books you found in every other bookstore. Everything was carefully arranged by theme, current trends, or practical use. Best of all, you could freely browse and buy without begging a clerk for permission.
Today is the day the Manager’s Recommendation of the Week changes.
That was why Scholar Hwang had come so early. The novels the manager recommended matched his taste perfectly. How the man managed to dig up such buried treasures from the wilderness of forgotten books, Scholar Hwang could never guess. He himself loved hunting for gems among yellowed pages so much that his friends had nicknamed him Yellow Dog—and even he had to admit the manager was a level above him.
He wasn’t the only one who thought so. Arrive too late and the most entertaining recommendation of the week would already be sold out.
What would this week’s pick be? Heart pounding with anticipation, Scholar Hwang stepped inside.
“Are those… advertising signs?”
He walked closer to examine the new placards hanging all over the store.
Done already? Get the hell out. Done with what? To find out, read this book. Dangga Pungun.
This novel is incredible! The hit of the year!
This month’s Manager’s Recommendation! I stake my name on it!
How a Martial Hero Devours a Young Lady as Easily as Cake.
A brand-new genre that will leave the Central Plains gasping and the Wa trembling in fear. Erotic Wuxia!
“Wh-what in the world is all this…?”
Scholar Hwang stood there, mouth hanging open, staring at the placards covering every corner of the shop.
“Scholar Hwang! A monumental new novel has just been released, so we’re promoting it hard.”
The black-haired manager approached with a bright smile.
“How monumental could it possibly be to warrant this kind of circus?”
“It’s erotic wuxia. A genre that’s absolutely exploding in Joseon. The moment word spreads that a book like this exists, bookstores turn into packed markets. And we managed to publish it exclusively here. How could we not promote it?”
“Erotic wuxia? You mean… smut?”
“There’s erotic content, sure, but it also has full-blown murim stories. It’s pure entertainment, the kind of novel people in Joseon can’t get enough of.”
“Hmm… Hopil. Never heard that pen name before.”
Scholar Hwang eyed the name printed on the corner of a volume with open suspicion.
“Scholar Hwang. When has a novel I recommended ever failed you?”
“Well… that’s true. But the title is Dangga Pungun? Wait—does that mean it’s about the Dang Clan?!”
He lifted a copy with wide eyes and turned to me.
“Haha. The protagonist is from the Dang Clan, yes.”
“Good heavens—an erotic novel starring the Sichuan Dang Clan?! I trust you enough to buy it without even opening the pages.”
A brand-new genre. Erotic wuxia. Under normal circumstances Scholar Hwang would have hesitated. But with this level of extravagant promotion the content couldn’t possibly be trash. And it was the Sichuan Dang Clan, after all.
“Thank you so much!”
Heart racing, Scholar Hwang purchased Dangga Pungun along with the other books he had originally planned to buy, then left the store under the manager’s beaming farewell.
“Novels again first thing in the morning?”
Scholar Hwang’s friend jabbed a finger at the books during lunch.
“A scholar reading books is nothing to mock—”
“That’s for study books. What you read is pure smut. You burn every coin you make on books—does that make you happy? Spend the money on a brothel instead, you idiot.”
“You simply don’t understand the charm of novels, my friend. A brothel costs a fortune and you only get one night. How can that compare to a book? A novel is like a dish you can chew a hundred times and never get tired of the flavor.”
“Not a flavor you never get tired of chewing—more like something you never get tired of stroking a hundred times.”
“Ahem. Must you always be so crude?”
Scholar Hwang cleared his throat awkwardly and glanced around at the nearby tables.
“Look at this guy. Doesn’t even deny it. If you like dirty stuff so much, go to a brothel. Squeeze a gisaeng’s breasts instead of squeezing a bunch of paper pages.”
His friend stared at him like he was a hopeless case.
“I’m telling you it’s better than a brothel. More fun. More enjoyable.”
“They call you Yellow Dog and now you’re spouting pure dogshit too? That smut you claimed was so great last time did nothing for me.”
“Ahem. You truly don’t understand the allure of novels.”
Scholar Hwang gazed at his friend with genuine pity. The last book he had recommended was one of the most entertaining he’d read in recent years, and even that hadn’t moved the man. It would be wonderful if a friend who already understood him so well could share the same hobby…
Just as regret began to settle in, he remembered the book he had bought that morning.
“Friend. Take a look at this one.”
“Dangga Pungun? What’s this?”
“A novel recommended by the hottest bookstore right now. They say it’s about the Sichuan Dang Clan. And it has erotic parts, so if my usual taste isn’t your thing, try this instead.”
“Fine. I’ll read it. But if it’s boring, you’re coming with me to a brothel next time.”
Seeing Scholar Hwang’s confident expression, his friend gave a reluctant nod and accepted the book.
“I should have given him a different book…”
Evening. After finishing his day’s work, Scholar Hwang finished skimming through everything he had bought that morning and clutched his head. Boring. Stale. Even the spice was lacking.
Dangga Pungun. I should have read it first.
He was already regretting it and wondering whether any of his remaining books were worth a second read when—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The frantic pounding on the door sent him hurrying over.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me!”
His friend’s voice. Scholar Hwang opened the door and found the man standing there.
“What brings you at this hour?”
“Huff… huff…!”
“Did you run all the way here? Sit down. I’ll pour you some water.”
“Huff… Never mind that! This! This!”
His friend gasped for air and jabbed a finger at the object in his hands.
It was the very copy of Dangga Pungun Scholar Hwang had given him at lunch.
“Dangga Pungun? What about it?”
“This book! Earlier! You bought several copies, right?!”
“Catch your breath first—”
“The next volume! Give me the next volume!”
“What?”
“I need volume two! Right now!”