2
ch 2## There Are No Secrets in the World
If even a single reader enjoys my story...
Then I want to keep writing.
Every writer has dreamed that dream at least once.
And...
I have that one reader.
My daughter, Yoon Siwoo.
I write for Siwoo, and Siwoo alone.
---
People say children take after their parents.
Every time I look at Siwoo, I'm reminded that's true.
"Daaad."
"Yeah?"
"Tell me a story!"
When she was still very young, she'd grab my index finger with her tiny hand and ask that.
Every night before bed, she'd ask me to read her a fairy tale.
Most children supposedly fall asleep after one book.
Not Siwoo.
"Another one! Tell me another story!"
Instead of getting sleepy, her eyes would only shine brighter.
She barely cared about the pictures.
She simply loved listening to the stories in my voice.
She'd always loved stories.
Maybe she inherited that from me.
But eventually...
It became difficult.
"How about The Little Mermaid again tonight?"
"No! I've already heard that one! Tell me something new!"
Fairy tale books weren't cheap.
Maybe it was because of the illustrations and the quality of the paper.
They cost much more than ordinary novels.
Raising Siwoo by myself wasn't exactly easy, so buying new books again and again became a burden.
Of course, I could borrow books from the library.
But there was a limit to how many I could check out.
It was nowhere near enough for Siwoo.
Honestly...
She devoured stories.
I loved stories too.
Back in middle school, I practically lived in the library.
Watching Siwoo reminded me of myself.
Though sometimes I couldn't help thinking...
"I wasn't that obsessed."
So in the end...
I came up with another solution.
"Then tonight, Daddy will tell you a brand-new story."
One I'd write myself.
"You?"
"Yep. A fairy tale Daddy made."
"Wow! Hurry! Tell me!"
"Not yet. Give me a little time. I'll tell it to you before bed tonight."
"Okay! I can't wait!"
And so...
I sat down in front of a blank page once again.
I hadn't seriously written anything since middle school.
Sure, I'd had chances.
School assignments.
Writing as a hobby.
Just like my old teacher had suggested.
But I avoided it on purpose.
I was afraid that if I picked up the pen again...
The lingering regret I'd buried would return.
My dream had been brief.
But nothing in my life had ever burned as brightly.
Now, though, things were different.
I had a daughter to raise.
I'd already made peace with giving up my dream.
Now I could write without hesitation.
More than anything...
I was writing for Siwoo.
That alone filled me with excitement.
"All right... where do I begin?"
I'd never written a fairy tale before.
But thanks to Siwoo, I'd read countless ones aloud.
And somewhere along the way...
I'd begun noticing their patterns.
How they opened.
How independent the protagonists were.
What children could easily understand.
What lesson the story wanted to leave behind.
One by one, I organized those thoughts.
"First... I need to decide the theme."
What did I want to tell my reader?
The theme had to be something both Siwoo and I could understand together.
Since it was a children's story...
It also needed to be simple and meaningful.
Which meant...
It wasn't much different from the advice I wanted to give my daughter.
"I want Siwoo to live without worrying about what others think."
That became the story's theme.
I spent most of my life searching for what I wanted.
By the time I found it...
It was already too late.
I didn't want Siwoo to live the same way.
I wanted her to dream freely.
To challenge every dream she found.
And as her father...
I wanted to support every one of them.
"Now... what kind of story can carry that message?"
Siwoo preferred talking animals over human characters.
Fables always caught her attention.
"So..."
"The protagonist will be a moth who admires butterflies."
A moth and a butterfly looked similar.
Yet one was considered ugly.
The other beautiful.
Even Siwoo hated moths but loved butterflies.
The protagonist and the goal came together instantly.
Then the story followed naturally.
Ideas poured into my head one after another.
I picked the most interesting ones and pieced them together.
"Now let's turn it into a logline."
A single sentence.
One line that captured the entire story.
The sentence that flashed through my mind was—
"A moth that longs to become a butterfly eventually realizes that being true to itself is the most beautiful thing of all."
The moment I finished that sentence...
My pen moved on its own.
Even though it had been years...
There wasn't a trace of awkwardness.
Instead...
It felt as though this was the moment I'd been waiting for all along.
My mind.
My hands.
My heart.
Everything burned with excitement.
Scratch.
Scratch.
The only sound in the room was my pen moving across the paper.
A world completely different from mathematics.
A world of uncertainty.
And once again...
I became the omniscient author.
---
"Wow...!"
Thankfully...
My analysis had been right.
I still vividly remember Siwoo's expression when I told her my first fairy tale.
She was completely absorbed.
At first, she frowned when I said the hero was a moth.
But once I explained that the moth dreamed of becoming a butterfly—
"A moth? A butterfly? How? Tell me!"
She was hooked.
Could the moth really become a butterfly?
That single question pulled her into the story.
As the tale unfolded...
Her expressions changed with every scene.
"M-Mr. Moth, you can do it!"
Whenever the hero struggled, she cheered him on.
"Hahaha! He looks so funny!"
When the moth covered himself in colorful paint trying to imitate butterflies...
She laughed until her sides hurt.
And at the ending...
When the moth finally realized he didn't need to imitate anyone...
That he was beautiful just as he was...
"Wow..."
"I'm not scared of moths anymore."
She looked genuinely moved.
I'd read her famous fairy tales from all over the world.
None of them had ever drawn that kind of reaction.
"Daddy's stories are the best! I only want Daddy's stories now!"
After finishing...
She hugged me tightly.
Personally, I thought my story had plenty of flaws.
Compared to the classics...
It wasn't anything special.
So I assumed Siwoo was simply saying what children often said in the moment.
But...
"So, which fairy tale should I read tonight?"
"Books are boring!"
"I bought a new one today."
"I don't want books! Daddy, tell me a story!"
"All right... let's see what story I'll tell tonight."
She meant every word.
From that day on...
She wanted my stories instead of fairy tale books.
The moment I realized that...
My heart began pounding.
The immediate response to something I'd created.
The joy of a reader.
The greatest praise a writer could ever receive.
"And then? What happened next?"
"I want to hear more!"
At that moment...
Something I'd forgotten began stirring inside me.
The emptiness I'd carried for years.
It slowly filled with every reaction Siwoo gave me.
Every writer dreams of having a reader like that.
Someone who longs for their next story more than anyone else.
For me...
That reader was my daughter.
"All right."
"It only gets better from here."
"Look forward to it, Siwoo."
"Yay! Daddy's the best!"
That was when I decided.
From then on...
I would become a writer for Siwoo alone.
---
The lunch bell echoed through the school.
Groups of middle school students gathered in the cafeteria, chatting excitedly.
Each group had its own topic.
"Did you watch Faker yesterday?"
"He's seriously the GOAT."
"The fact that he's stayed at the top for so long is insane."
One group talked about last night's esports match.
Another group chatted excitedly about the hottest boy group.
And nearby...
Another conversation was taking place.
"Did anyone read The Villainess's Success Begins with Death yesterday?"
"What's that?"
"It just launched on Mayver Web Novel! It's so good."
"Really? I already spent all my cash following The Villains Are Obsessed with Me."
"Ask your mom to recharge your account."
"The latest chapter was incredible. The second male lead finally regretted everything!"
Typical conversations for middle school girls.
Especially discussions about romance fantasy web novels.
Only one girl remained silent.
Yoon Siwoo.
It wasn't because she didn't read web novels.
Quite the opposite.
She probably read more than anyone else her age.
Ever since she learned to read...
She'd read everything she could get her hands on.
Then smartphones became common.
Web novels exploded in popularity.
And Siwoo happily dove into them.
The novels her classmates mentioned?
She'd already read them.
The latest releases?
She wasn't interested.
Why?
Because...
"My dad's novels are way better."
Recently, her father had been writing an idol-themed web novel just for her.
At her age, it was impossible not to like idols.
And Siwoo was no exception.
"He wrote it specifically because he knows what I like."
Its title was...
Only 10 Seconds as a Genius Idol.
One day, the protagonist watched handsome idols perform on television before winning Album of the Year.
Watching them shine, he thought—
"I wish I could become an idol too."
"Even if only for ten seconds."
The next morning...
He woke up inside the body of a struggling idol.
He'd never trained.
Never danced.
Never sung professionally.
So he struggled endlessly with choreography and vocal practice.
But...
For exactly ten seconds...
He could become a genius idol.
Watching how he used those precious ten seconds to overcome impossible situations...
That was the novel's greatest charm.
Recently...
Siwoo had become completely addicted to it.
More importantly...
"I'm the only one who gets to read something this amazing."
Her father.
The first writer who wrote solely for her.
And herself.
His very first reader.
His biggest fan.
That thought always filled her with pride.
Almost like she was the heroine of a novel herself.
But then...
"I love talking about the things I'm obsessed with."
"Right? Discussing our favorite scenes is half the fun!"
Fangirling.
Sharing why something is amazing.
Talking endlessly about favorite moments.
That was part of the joy.
And in that regard...
Siwoo was lonely.
Because her favorite novels...
Only existed for her.
She wished she could discuss Only 10 Seconds as a Genius Idol with someone.
But she couldn't.
"Dad says spoilers are forbidden..."
"And he's busy with work, so we barely have time to talk."
After lunch...
As she walked back toward class—
"Siwoo."
"You've been reading something lately, haven't you?"
Someone whispered beside her.
She jumped.
"Oh... Harim."
It was her classmate, Choi Harim.
"You read web novels all the time."
"So why don't you ever join our conversations?"
Whenever she wasn't in class or talking with friends...
Siwoo was always reading novels on her phone.
Yet she never joined discussions.
Harim had always found that strange.
"...Because none of you would know it."
"What do you mean?"
"The novel I'm reading... is special."
"Special?"
Harim's curiosity instantly grew.
"What is it? Tell me!"
Siwoo hesitated.
On one side...
She loved being the only person reading such an incredible story.
On the other...
She desperately wanted someone to fangirl with.
After a long moment...
One feeling won.
"...Actually..."
"My dad writes web novels just for me."
"What? Your dad's an author?"
"Not exactly. But they're better than any web novel I've ever read."
"Seriously?"
"Do you want to read it?"
"But you absolutely can't show anyone else."
Harim puffed out her chest confidently.
"Come on."
"You know my aunt, right?"
"She's a web novel producer."
"I'll tell you honestly how good it is."
That was enough.
Trusting her...
Siwoo sent the novel file through CocoaTalk.
That...
Was the beginning.
The moment Yoon Seongjun's novels finally began making their way into the world.