Genre Drift
From childhood, archer Shin Hyun-ah had been hearing she was a prodigy.
Ahead of the national team selection, a minor argument at the athlete village escalated into a violent incident, and she was unfairly blamed as the instigator, receiving disciplinary action.
With her tournament participation crushed and family discord piling on, Hyun-ah's mental state shattered, leading her to leave the village without permission.
She stormed out in desperation but had nowhere to go, so she wandered near her home and encountered a young man named Cha Seong-woo.
As if fated, the two were drawn to each other at first sight. Hyun-ah, who had known nothing but sports since childhood, fell for the ordinary office worker Seong-woo and dreamed of a truly normal romance.
"Hyun-ah, wanna date?"
The day he confessed to her in the park, the world was awash in pink. But the next day, Seong-woo's body was found.
He seemed murdered, but the motive and killer were a complete mystery.
Devastated by Seong-woo's death and losing all hope in life, Hyun-ah couldn't imagine staying in Korea without him, so she fled abroad on impulse.
Avoiding places popular with tourists to stay out of sight, she ended up kidnapped by rebels in a conflict zone.
During her indefinite captivity, a government raid turned the rebel stronghold into a bloodbath, giving Hyun-ah her chance to escape. Her athletic prowess stunned the rebels and local civilians as she boldly cleared a path out.
They turned out to be an armed coup force fighting a corrupt military regime. Learning this, Hyun-ah chose to stay and help overthrow the dictatorship even after shedding her hostage status.
Through grueling training, she transformed into an elite warrior. One day, for a high-paying external mission to fund their cause, she joined a VIP rescue op. Despite the odds, she annihilated the kidnappers in a dazzling display, securing the VIP's extraction.
The VIP was a high-ranking member of the Russian Red Mafia.
Having caught the executive's eye, Hyun-ah moved to Russia to become a hitman specializing in high-profile assassinations. With her newfound power and solid backing, she set a new goal: personally punishing Seong-woo's killer.
Back in Korea, after tracking down one of Seong-woo's old colleagues, she uncovered a shocking truth. The "ordinary" office worker had actually been a black ops agent for the National Intelligence Service, murdered while investigating a crime syndicate.
Pinpointing the organization's base in the Czech Republic—an old castle converted into a fortress—Hyun-ah stormed in alone, taking down mid-level bosses floor by floor.
After trials and tribulations, she defeated the Four Heavenly Kings, but the final boss at the top proved formidable. Pushed into a corner and facing death, the area around the castle lit up like midday as a massive spaceship descended from the sky.
A beam from the ship engulfed Hyun-ah, and moments later, thousands of lasers rained down, reducing the castle to rubble in seconds.
Hyun-ah awoke in an unknown space.
Spotting someone approaching, she tensed for battle. To her shock, it was her murdered lover, Seong-woo.
"Not bad for an Earthling. As expected from hyung's choice."
He was Seong-woo's twin brother, Fritz. From him, Hyun-ah learned astonishing secrets about Seong-woo.
"The 'Seong-woo' you knew is actually Zeke, heir to the throne of planet DC38. A rebellion forced us brothers into hiding. But hyung's ship crashed on Earth. He's been living incognito as a human ever since."
Seong-woo had been killed by an assassin sent by enemies blocking his claim. That assassin was the crime boss Hyun-ah had nearly beaten.
"If that's true, why was the assassin still on Earth after killing Seong-woo?"
"To retrieve the ring on your finger."
A uniquely shaped ring gleamed on Hyun-ah's hand—the one Seong-woo had given her the day he confessed.
"It holds proof of our planet's royal heir. Hyung must've planned to name you successor if needed."
Tears welled as Hyun-ah gazed at the ring, realizing its profound meaning.
"I'll honor hyung's will and make you queen. Everything's confusing now, but if you truly loved him, come with me to DC38 and start a new life."
Thus, Hyun-ah boarded the spaceship bound for her beloved's homeworld. With someone who looked just like him...
"……"
"……"
Yoon PD and I stared at each other in stunned silence after reading the synopsis.
"…Soi-ya. Did something happen at home while you were writing this?"
"W-well, um…"
"Even generously allowing revenge for a murdered lover, the genre jumps are insane. Starts as romance, then war, spy thriller, action, and ends with SF… What is this, an omnibus novel?"
"…I-I told you I wouldn't show it…"
She looked on the verge of tears. I'd pushed her to share, so time to soothe things.
"It's a bit chaotic, but the story's intriguing. And writer-nim, was there a reason for mixing genres like this?"
"Honestly, in web novels, heavy genre drift like this is a total buzzkill! Readers hate it."
Of course. Who'd read a sweet romance that suddenly turns into world-ending zombies midway?
"It was originally a romance with a sweet male lead who falls for the heartbroken heroine and helps her. But I wasn't happy with the plot after the confession…"
She'd rewritten the romance arc dozens of times over days, erasing and restarting, until she snapped.
"I tried adding fantasy where the male lead falls into a coma from an accident, his soul wandering to aid her in tough times."
But that didn't satisfy her either, so she killed him off. Why kill the guy?!
"Then I hit a wall. Gave up serializing and just practiced mixing genres randomly… and this happened."
Stream of consciousness, basically. Still, she didn't stutter talking about her work. True pro.
"Manager-nim mentioned the castle—it wasn't in the original plan. The finale was fighting the boss on a luxury cruise and encountering a kraken monster, but that felt too much, so I swapped to castle and spaceship."
I thought the spaceship was even more out there…
"I like SF too, so I left the ending open for a future story."
If this is the only one with a castle, it means the Sex Skill app picked it… But could we adapt this to video? Better to rewrite with the castle as backdrop?
"You didn't show me this to spite my nagging, right?"
"No! You said you were curious, so I brought it."
"Don't blame it on manager-nim. Who'd be curious about crap like this?"
"Hiiing, it's true…"
While they bickered, I sank into thought. Asmodeus only helps with sex-related stuff. The only hint for this conquest is from the app. Follow Sex Skill or not… time to choose.
"Hey, PD Yoon."
I spoke to her seriously.
"Can we make this into a video?"
"Yes. Into a video… W-what?!"
Yoon PD and Writer Moon gawked at me like I'd lost my mind.
* * *
"Web novels get flak for mid-story genre shifts, but web dramas are under 30 minutes per ep. As long as the content connects smoothly, changing genres per episode should be fine. It's intriguing anyway."
This kind of genre-hopping would get called cheesy nonsense. But if we pump billions into polished production? It'd be hailed as genius camp. Perfect for buzz.
"Morocco for the conflict zone, Poland or Czech for the rest. For the final boss castle, I've got one in mind. Hang on…"
I showed them the castle sales site I'd found yesterday. France and Germany had plenty like it.
"This one. Scroll down for video and pics."
Four stories made replicating each-floor bosses tough, but centering on the final boss fight would work. Runtime's limited anyway.
Best part: they seemed hooked. Writer Moon especially fidgeted with excitement, creative juices flowing.
"But can we rent it? This is a sales site, right?"
"Rent? We'll just buy it."
They stared at me like I'd lost my mind.