13
ch 13 ## Letters and Messages
"Wow... Every single comment is asking for the next chapter."
Siwoo sat across from me, staring at her phone with sparkling eyes.
"Hehe. Jealous? I've already read over 160 chapters! Jealous? Aren't you jealous?"
It was obvious who she was talking to.
The comments under Only 10 Seconds as a Genius Idol.
"Siwoo. You're not teasing the readers in the comments, are you?"
"Come on, Dad. I know better than that! How could I tease the people who read your novel? Hehe... But I can't help
feeling a little proud. I'm the only one who gets to read the newest chapters before anyone else!"
She was so excited that she couldn't stop checking her phone, even while sitting at the dinner table.
She was clearly keeping an eye on the comments piling up beneath Dad's novel.
Sometimes it felt like she cared more about the comments than I, the author, did.
"Alright, alright. Put your phone down and eat."
"Okay!"
She obediently set it aside and took a huge bite of the grilled beef I'd placed over her rice.
Watching her eat the food I made with such delight was enough to warm my heart.
"This beef practically melts in my mouth! So this is why people eat premium Hanwoo."
"Good. Eat as much as you want."
Normally, even on payday, premium Korean beef would have been out of reach.
But today, I could afford it.
All thanks to the advance payment from Only 10 Seconds as a Genius Idol.
Who would've thought that one day I'd be able to buy my daughter expensive beef with money I earned from writing?
...No.
I wrote that novel for Siwoo.
I wrote it using her feedback.
In that sense...
Maybe it was Siwoo who had earned this money.
"Dad, open wide!"
She wrapped a huge lettuce wrap for me and held it out.
I accepted without hesitation.
Inside was...
An absurd amount of meat with no soybean paste at all.
"...Siwoo?"
"Hehe. I want Dad to eat lots of meat."
As I chewed through the wild-looking lettuce wrap, I checked the message Shin Mijeong had sent me.
Harim's Aunt:
This is an excellent start!
Harim's Aunt:
Honestly, I expected the numbers to be even better.
Harim's Aunt:
Idol novels really have it tough on our platform right now...
Harim's Aunt:
But despite that handicap, it's an incredibly strong start!
There's room for it to improve even more?
I could hardly believe it.
Thousands of people had already read my novel.
Dozens of comments had been left.
That alone was unbelievable.
Harim's Aunt:
More importantly, your retention rate is insane!
Harim's Aunt:
If this keeps up, the numbers should continue climbing!
I looked up at Siwoo.
"Siwoo. Is retention rate really that important?"
"Of course it is! Isn't that obvious?"
She answered while chewing another lettuce wrap.
"Retention rate is the biggest indicator of how entertaining a novel is."
According to Siwoo, web novels were part of a daily serialization market.
An ocean of countless stories competing every single day.
Keeping readers coming back was everything.
"Lots of novels explode at first but end quietly because their retention rate is terrible. So a high retention rate
means your story is solid and genuinely fun. It means you've got loyal readers."
"As expected of my daughter."
"You know more than your dad."
"Ahem. So if there's anything you don't know, just ask me."
"Sure."
"But wipe the rice off your lips first."
The important thing was...
Even in literature...
Numbers didn't lie.
That realization alone was valuable.
"So..."
"A 95% retention rate is really something."
After dinner, before washing the dishes, I opened the MoonStory app.
The moment I logged into my author account...
"Huh?"
"Why are there so many notifications?"
There were dozens of them.
I'd only recently created my author account after signing the contract.
Publisher Mir.
Web Novel Management.
If it's not too much trouble...
They were all messages from other publishers.
Every one of them wanted the same thing.
They hoped to manage Only 10 Seconds as a Genius Idol.
But the novel was already under contract.
When I asked PD Shin Mijeong about it...
Harim's Aunt:
Go into your novel settings.
Harim's Aunt:
Turn on "Do Not Accept Contract Offers."
Harim's Aunt:
Please do it right away, Author!!
Her reply came instantly.
Even through text, I could feel her urgency.
Well...
I was already signed with MoonStory.
I couldn't sign another management contract.
I'd already received the advance payment.
I'd even used part of it to buy today's Hanwoo.
"That beef was amazing."
Every parent wanted to feed their child the best.
But not every parent could.
No matter how hard they worked, there were limits.
"It's all thanks to Jinu Oppa that I finally got to eat Hanwoo."
"Hehe."
Siwoo happily patted her full stomach.
Jinu Oppa was the protagonist of Only 10 Seconds as a Genius Idol.
And also her favorite character.
Seeing her this happy made me smile.
On top of that...
The novel had been released to the world.
Thousands of readers were enjoying it.
A wave of gratitude washed over me.
Then a thought crossed my mind.
"I wonder if there's anything I can do."
Until recently, I hadn't cared what other people thought of the novel.
It existed for Siwoo.
As long as she enjoyed it, that was enough.
But now...
My thinking had changed.
Thanks to MoonStory.
Thanks to the thousands of readers supporting my work.
Siwoo looked happier than ever.
Could I do something for MoonStory?
Could I do something for the readers who believed in me?
When I shared those thoughts with Siwoo...
"Then release extra chapters."
She answered immediately.
"Extra chapters? Like the ten-chapter release before?"
"No! Not by overworking yourself again."
"You've already written them."
"Just publish them."
She was right.
I had already written over 170 chapters.
Readers had only seen around ten.
The gap was enormous.
"And the comments are full of people asking for mass releases. Your novel's so good! If you suddenly upload a bunch of
chapters, everyone will go crazy."
She had a point.
I nodded.
"You were pretty happy when I released ten chapters before."
"No, I wasn't!"
"I was worried about your health!"
"You stayed up writing that whole time!"
"You think I was only happy?"
"So... no more mass releases for Siwoo?"
"T-That's not what I meant!"
"Not ten chapters!"
"Maybe... two or three?"
"But your health comes first!"
"Still... I'd like more chapters if you can..."
She stumbled over her words in embarrassment.
It was so adorable that I couldn't help smiling.
Of course I knew.
She worried about my health.
But she also loved every chapter I wrote.
If the readers felt even a fraction of what Siwoo did...
"I'm just teasing."
"I won't stay up all night."
"But I'll release extra chapters."
"That's the spirit!"
In any case...
Readers wanted more.
And I had more than enough chapters in reserve.
A few bonus uploads wouldn't hurt.
"Thanks, Siwoo."
"You always end up helping Dad."
"Hehe."
"If you're thanking me..."
"There should be something in return."
"Dad."
"Dessert."
"Dessert?"
She made a finger gun.
"Bang!"
That was our special signal.
"So..."
"You want sweet potato candied bites?"
Her favorite snack.
"Didn't we just eat?"
"Dessert goes in a different stomach."
"And isn't that stomach already full of Hanwoo?"
"I like your sweet potato candy way more than Hanwoo."
Growing kids really were incredible.
Smiling to myself, I started picking through the sweet potatoes.
Which one would be the sweetest?
At the same time...
Another question crossed my mind.
"How many extra chapters should I release?"
---
Meanwhile...
Inside Romantic Theater's conference room.
The space was usually used for production meetings and script readings.
Today...
They were judging the dozens of plays submitted to their ambitious Keyword Project.
"More submissions than I expected."
"Yeah."
"We usually only receive around ten scripts even with open submissions."
Romantic Theater constantly accepted new plays.
But few writers submitted them.
They required full-length plays capable of running for at least an hour.
Established playwrights usually contacted theater companies directly instead of submitting.
New writers tended to aim for literary contests with much shorter length requirements.
Even though Romantic Theater was highly respected...
Those practical realities made attracting submissions difficult.
"More importantly..."
"Fewer people even want to write plays these days."
"Everyone writes TV dramas now."
"Or web novels."
"I hear those make a fortune."
Video content dominated the market now.
YouTube.
Streaming platforms.
People could even watch movies at home.
Theater had become something people only saw on special occasions.
Naturally...
The number of aspiring playwrights kept shrinking.
"Still, giving everyone a keyword definitely worked."
"And our opening production, Witnesses, did much better than expected."
That was the purpose of the Keyword Project.
Instead of waiting endlessly for random submissions...
They would announce a specific theme for each round.
Writers would submit scripts matching that keyword.
The opening production served as a concrete example.
Thankfully...
The strategy had worked.
Romantic Theater had gained both a hit production and a surge in submissions.
However...
"They're all the same."
A man tossed another script onto the desk with a sigh.
"How can every single one feel like a copy?"
He was Park Taehyung.
Resident playwright and director of Romantic Theater.
His thick beard and horn-rimmed glasses made him look stubborn.
Which he was.
"This is exactly why we shouldn't have used 'school' as the keyword."
"Everything's about bullying or school violence."
One of the staff laughed awkwardly.
"I guess Witnesses influenced everyone."
Park Taehyung had written Witnesses himself.
It was the very first production of the Keyword Project.
He had poured his heart into it.
The play exceeded expectations.
And many of the submitted scripts clearly reflected its influence.
"If Witnesses inspired them..."
"They should've written their own stories."
"Why imitate mine?"
He snapped.
"I made Witnesses as an example."
"Not something to copy."
Of course...
Not every script was a direct imitation.
But there was one common problem.
"Looking at these scripts..."
"You'd think schools were prisons."
Everyone interpreted the keyword "school" in the darkest possible way.
Theater reflected reality.
It always mirrored its era.
Student suicide.
Bullying.
Academic pressure.
Those social issues mattered.
But...
Were teenagers' lives really nothing but tragedy?
Could anyone say that with certainty?
"This has become a cliché."
"Does every school play have to be depressing?"
"No."
"Kids still laugh."
"They still enjoy life despite everything."
During Witnesses' run...
Park Taehyung had participated in several audience events.
One particular audience member remained vivid in his memory.
"I saw it."
"That middle school girl's eyes."
"They were shining."
Now in middle age...
He often wondered whether his depiction of school still resonated with today's students.
That girl had reassured him.
She'd watched the play several times.
Attended the talk with the playwright.
Even asked for his autograph.
He still remembered her name.
Yoon Siwoo.
"Teenagers should enjoy their youth."
"They should love what they love."
"They should experience innocent romance."
"So why doesn't anyone write about that?"
"Are these aspiring writers relying on social issues because it's easier?"
"If you're a newcomer..."
"Show me something fresh."
After passionately venting...
Park Taehyung grabbed his cigarettes and stood.
"I'll go get some air."
The person he spoke to was Romantic Theater's chief director.
Heo Seongman.
A playwright and director were inseparable in a theater company.
The two had worked together for years.
Close enough to share cigarette breaks.
But...
"..."
Heo Seongman didn't answer.
Not because he ignored him.
He simply hadn't heard.
He was completely absorbed in reading a script.
"Hey, Seongman."
"Read this."
A little later...
He suddenly handed the script over.
"I'll read it later."
"I need a cigarette first."
"I'm too irritated right now."
"Don't worry."
"Read this."
"It'll calm you down immediately."
"What are you talking about?"
He kept insisting.
Finally...
Park Taehyung accepted the script.
The title caught his eye.
Message.
A simple title.
Far more interesting than the pretentious ones he'd seen all day.
"I'm not expecting much."
After reading so many mediocre scripts...
His expectations were practically gone.
He only wanted his cigarette.
Then...
One stage direction stopped him cold.
The highlighted dialogue is not spoken by the actors.
Instead, it is projected onto the stage as text messages, like a CocoaTalk chat window.
"...The actors don't speak the dialogue?"
Dialogue was the heart of theater.
Unlike television or film...
Stage productions couldn't rely on CGI or flashy visual effects.
Budgets.
Set limitations.
Everything had constraints.
Dialogue carried the story.
It conveyed information.
Emotion.
Character.
Everything.
And yet...
This script projected the dialogue as text instead of having actors speak it.
"Did someone completely ignorant about theater write this?"
That curiosity kept him reading.
The farther he read...
The more he realized.
"No..."
"This is brilliant."
"The staging perfectly matches the story."
It boldly broke theatrical convention.
Yet the message remained crystal clear.
Immature communication.
A generation that increasingly communicated only through text.
Parents and children.
Teachers and students.
Friends.
First love.
Every relationship was presented with lively dialogue and creative staging.
Before he realized it...
He had completely forgotten about smoking.
He finished the script on the spot.
"This is it."
The anger vanished from his face.
At last.
"I finally found it."
"This is exactly the kind of play Romantic Theater needs."
A smile spread across his face.
Nothing like the furious expression he'd worn moments earlier.
It was the smile of an excited boy.