5
ch 5 ## Mass Releases Are Always the Right Answer (2)
Beep, beep, beep—
"Mmm..."
Yoon Siwoo woke up to the sound of her phone alarm.
After turning it off and sitting up, she immediately felt that something was wrong.
"...Huh?"
She walked into the living room for a glass of water and looked around.
"Dad?"
It was strange.
Normally, she never woke up because of her alarm.
Her father always woke her first.
"Come on, get up. Breakfast's ready."
That was his routine.
By the time she rubbed her sleepy eyes and stepped into the living room, he'd already prepared a hearty breakfast.
But today...
He hadn't woken her.
There wasn't any breakfast waiting either.
"Yawn... Good thing I set an alarm."
One of Siwoo's rules was never relying entirely on her dad.
Well... except when it came to novels.
Still, even though he always woke her every morning, she'd kept the alarm on just in case.
And today, it finally came in handy.
"See? Better safe than sorry."
She headed straight for her father's room.
But...
He wasn't there.
"Huh? Did Dad leave early?"
Whenever he had to go to work earlier than usual, he always told her beforehand.
He'd also prepare breakfast before leaving.
A bad feeling suddenly crept into her heart.
"D-Dad?"
Her voice began to tremble.
Then—
"Hm?"
She heard a faint sound of breathing.
It was coming from the tiny storage room.
The room where random things were piled up.
The room where her father always wrote.
She carefully opened the door.
"...Dad?"
There he was.
Fast asleep with his head resting on the desk.
The laptop screen was still on, packed with lines of text.
"...Because I asked for a mass release?"
The tiny room barely had enough space for a desk and chair.
Looking at her father sleeping there after writing all night...
Her chest tightened.
"..."
She quietly closed the door.
Then checked the time.
"Good."
"There's still plenty of time."
She tied on an apron.
Opened the refrigerator.
"Looks like it's time to show off my cooking skills."
---
I couldn't remember the last time waking up actually felt refreshing.
Then again...
Most office workers probably felt the same.
But today...
I felt unusually well rested.
I wasn't sure why.
It felt like I'd gone to bed very late.
Yet I felt completely refreshed.
Honestly...
I didn't even remember falling asleep.
I'd probably passed out while writing.
My neck and back ached from sleeping hunched over the desk.
Even so...
It had been a long time since I'd slept this deeply.
Maybe it was because I'd completely immersed myself in writing yesterday.
"...Wait."
"I slept well?"
My eyes flew open.
Checking the time...
I realized it wasn't terribly late.
But—
It was already time to have breakfast prepared.
More importantly—
"Siwoo."
"I need to wake Siwoo."
It was already past the time I normally woke her.
If I started making breakfast now...
Both of us would end up late.
I hated the idea of feeding her nothing but bread.
"Huh?"
As I stood up...
Something slid onto the floor.
"...A blanket?"
It was still warm.
Apparently someone had covered me while I slept.
But I'd fallen asleep so suddenly...
There was no way I'd gotten a blanket myself.
"Forget that."
"I need to check on Siwoo first."
I hurried into the living room.
Immediately...
The smell of freshly cooked rice reached me.
"Oh?"
"Dad, you're awake."
"I was just about to wake you."
At the same time...
I saw Siwoo.
Already dressed in her school uniform.
Still wearing an apron.
Holding a frying pan in one hand and a spatula in the other.
She was transferring freshly cooked sausages onto a plate.
"...Siwoo?"
"Hurry and sit down."
"You have work."
"I've already served the rice."
Still dazed...
I quietly sat at the table.
Apparently...
While I'd overslept...
Siwoo had prepared breakfast.
"Siwoo."
"Did you cook the rice?"
"Yep."
"I searched for it on Tube."
"I think I added too much water though..."
She pouted.
She wasn't wrong.
The rice contained so much water it had practically become rice cake.
"I saw you sleeping."
"So I made breakfast."
"What do you think?"
"My first meal!"
It was Siwoo's very first attempt at cooking rice.
The sausages she'd just fried weren't exactly successful either.
If I had to describe them...
They looked more like sweet potatoes dug straight out of the ground.
Dark and unevenly browned.
Everything else on the table was made from side dishes I'd prepared earlier.
Clumsy.
But full of sincerity.
It was undoubtedly the first breakfast my daughter had ever made.
I placed a sausage on top of the rice.
Then took a bite.
"It's delicious."
"...Dad."
"If you're going to lie, at least put some feeling into it."
"...Sorry."
"I'm just terrible at lying."
"Haha!"
"You admitted it immediately!"
The two of us burst into laughter.
Well...
Love and effort didn't always translate into good cooking.
"You really take after your mom in this."
"Huh?"
"Mom was this bad at cooking too?"
"Why do you think Dad became such a good cook?"
"I had to survive."
"So what?"
"I'll be eating your cooking forever anyway."
"Mom probably thought the same thing."
"Right, Mom?"
She smiled at the framed photograph of my late wife hanging in the living room.
Sometimes...
Genetics really were amazing.
Even though Siwoo had spent so little time with her mother...
She'd inherited so many of her little traits.
Just as we were finishing breakfast—
"Just leave the dishes in the sink."
"I'll wash them after work."
"Dad."
Suddenly...
Siwoo put down her chopsticks.
Her face became unusually serious.
"What did I tell you yesterday?"
She looked genuinely angry.
My heart skipped a beat.
Had I done something wrong?
"...You told me to do a mass release."
"No."
"Not that."
"...Serialization comes before health?"
"It's the opposite!"
"Health comes first!"
"Were you writing so late that you overslept?"
I'd tried to joke my way out of it.
But...
She wasn't smiling.
"...You didn't push yourself because I asked for extra chapters, did you?"
A shadow crossed her face.
Only then did I realize what she'd been worried about.
"It wasn't like that."
"I've never seen you oversleep before."
"And I've never seen you asleep at your desk."
"You always go to bed exactly at midnight."
She wasn't wrong.
I always slept at midnight.
Yesterday...
I'd become completely absorbed in writing.
Before I knew it...
I'd fallen asleep.
"If you get sick..."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"I'm sorry."
"I won't overdo it anymore."
I wrote for Siwoo.
But yesterday...
I'd gotten carried away.
It was probably because I was writing such an important scene.
I lost myself in it.
I didn't even know how many words I'd written.
But...
A writer couldn't afford to get drunk on their own work.
Readers should lose themselves in the story.
The writer had to stay calm.
Control everything.
That was what it meant to be an omniscient author.
Otherwise...
The emotions became excessive.
The direction became excessive.
Editing was just as important.
In fact...
I threw away nearly thirty percent of what I'd written yesterday and rewrote it.
That editing continued until dawn.
No wonder I'd overslept.
"...No."
"You were doing it for me."
"I should be the one apologizing."
Siwoo lowered her head like a guilty puppy.
"I shouldn't have asked for a mass release."
"No."
"I'm writing for you."
"But writing also brings me genuine happiness."
I meant every word.
Everything I'd written...
Had been for Siwoo.
But it had also been for myself.
Through my one precious reader...
I was finally fulfilling the dream I'd failed to achieve years ago.
And that gave me tremendous satisfaction.
"I simply got carried away yesterday."
"It won't happen again."
If I were being honest...
I'd love to quit my job and write all day.
Then Siwoo wouldn't have to worry.
And I could keep writing forever.
But...
People had to earn a living.
That wasn't possible.
"Still..."
"Look forward to tonight."
"Dad's giving you that mass release."
At those words...
Siwoo looked at me from the corner of her eye.
"...Exactly how many chapters did you write?"
She looked so adorable that I couldn't help smiling.
Instead of answering...
I simply held up my fingers.
The moment she saw the number—
"Huh?!"
"No way!"
Her eyes grew as round as a rabbit's.
I gently ruffled her hair.
"Want to bet whether I'm telling the truth?"
---
Choi Harim.
Siwoo's classmate.
And recently...
Her closest friend.
The moment she got home from school...
She tossed her bag aside.
Then immediately grabbed her phone.
Normally she'd open Tube or a web novel app.
Today...
She opened CocoaTalk instead.
Specifically...
Her chat with Yoon Siwoo.
Even though Siwoo hadn't sent anything new.
"Let's see..."
She scrolled through the conversation.
Searching for something.
The manuscript of Only 10 Seconds as a Genius Idol.
"I wish I could read two chapters a day."
Harim had become completely addicted to the novel.
Because of it...
She'd stopped following every other web novel she'd been reading.
Nothing else could hold her attention anymore.
"Eight o'clock..."
According to Siwoo...
Her father always finished writing at eight.
But because Siwoo read the chapters first...
Harim received them later.
Since she never knew exactly when they'd arrive...
She spent every evening after eight doing nothing but waiting for Siwoo's message.
"Guess I'll reread it until then."
Just then—
The front door unlocked.
Someone had come home.
Hurried footsteps approached her room.
"...Aunt?"
It was Shin Mijeong.
"Aunt?"
"What are you doing here?"
"Harim!"
To Harim's surprise...
Mijeong grabbed her shoulders with a desperate expression.
"Where is this being serialized?"
"What's the author's name?"
"Does the author have social media?"
"Tell me!"
Harim stared blankly.
"Aunt!"
"Calm down!"
"What's gotten into you?"
"The novel you sent me!"
"I searched everywhere."
"I couldn't find it."
"Where did you get it?"
"Is it a foreign novel?"
A few days earlier...
Harim had sent her the first twenty chapters of Only 10 Seconds as a Genius Idol.
Afterward...
At her aunt's request...
She'd sent all 150-plus chapters.
With Siwoo's permission.
"I wanted to know what a real web novel editor would think of Dad's novel."
That had been Siwoo's reason for agreeing.
"W-Why?"
"Is there something wrong with it?"
"I'm in a hurry."
"Just answer me."
"Where did this come from?"
Harim hesitated.
"...I'm not supposed to tell anyone."
"Siwoo and I promised."
She had permission to share the novel.
But not to reveal that the author was Siwoo's father.
"Siwoo?"
"Siwoo sent it?"
Mijeong refused to back down.
Eventually...
Harim squeezed her eyes shut.
"...Siwoo's dad wrote it."
"...What?"
"Siwoo's father?"
Mijeong's jaw dropped.
She knew who Yoon Siwoo was.
Harim's close friend.
As far as she'd heard...
Her father was an ordinary office worker.
She'd never once heard he wrote web novels.
"If I had..."
"There's no way I'd have forgotten."
And yet...
The author of this novel...
Was Siwoo's father.
"So?"
"Why?"
"Is there a problem?"
Mijeong shook her head.
"No."
"Actually..."
"Maybe there is."
"The problem is that it's too good."
"I finished the whole thing yesterday."
The mysterious novel her niece had sent.
It had been unbelievably entertaining.
So much so that it completely shattered the burnout she'd been feeling.
"You finished it too?!"
"So?"
"What did you think?"
"It was amazing."
"Especially the characters."
In idol novels...
The chemistry between members was incredibly important.
Ethereal...
The protagonist's group...
Overflowed with personality.
Their banter with Kwon Jinwoo was endlessly entertaining.
And above all—
"Kwon Jinwoo is such an incredible protagonist."
"Right?!"
"He's my favorite too!"
"He's so cute."
"But whenever he's performing, he's unbelievably cool!"
Kwon Jinwoo knew almost nothing about idols.
So after possessing the body...
He constantly made awkward mistakes.
The other members' reactions were hilarious.
But...
For ten seconds...
He could become a genius idol.
On stage...
He transformed into someone completely different.
"More than anything..."
"I love how hard he keeps working."
The fun wasn't simply watching him use those ten seconds.
He refused to rely on them alone.
For his teammates.
To become a real idol.
He worked harder than anyone.
Watching him grow naturally made readers root for him.
"Exactly."
"He's the kind of protagonist you can't help cheering for."
That was the essence of a web novel.
Making readers completely immerse themselves in the protagonist.
Only then could they fully enjoy the growth and success.
If readers found themselves sincerely cheering...
There was no stronger proof of immersion.
Whenever Kwon Jinwoo cleverly turned a crisis into an opportunity...
You laughed.
You admired him.
And you couldn't stop supporting him.
He was...
The perfect web novel protagonist.
"The music festival arc starts next."
"I'm already nervous."
"Me too."
"Festival performances are much bigger than normal stages."
"They perform several songs in a row."
"Exactly!"
"But Jinwoo can only use his ability for ten seconds."
"I can't wait to see how he overcomes that."
The two of them spent a long time discussing Only 10 Seconds as a Genius Idol.
Eventually...
They reached the same conclusion.
"I want the next chapter already."
Both of them were starving for more.
After binge-reading over 150 chapters...
Waiting for only one chapter a day felt unbearable.
"It's been so long..."
"Since I felt this excited waiting for updates."
Mijeong let out a long breath.
"When your hobby becomes your job..."
"Everything eventually starts feeling mechanical."
"But this novel..."
"It completely refreshed me."
Then...
Another question occurred to her.
"Harim."
"If it's this good..."
"Why isn't Siwoo's father publishing it?"
Why...
Instead of being uploaded to a web novel platform...
Was this masterpiece only being shared through middle school girls' CocoaTalk?
"Well..."
Just then—
CocoaTalk!
Harim's phone buzzed.
It was already nine o'clock.
Only then did they realize...
They'd completely forgotten about dinner while discussing the novel.
"Wait!"
"It's from Siwoo!"
"She said eight o'clock!"
"Why's she sending it now?"
Then—
CocoaTalk!
CocoaTalk!
CocoaTalk!
CocoaTalk!
The notifications kept coming.
Mijeong blinked.
"Why are there so many?"
"Group chat?"
"No."
"They're all from Siwoo."
"All of them?"
"What did she send?"
Harim opened the messages.
A moment later—
"...What?!"
"Is he crazy?!"
Her voice shot up.
Startled, Mijeong leaned over.
"What happened?"
Harim stared at the screen in disbelief.
"...She sent..."
"...Ten chapters."
A ten-chapter mass release of Only 10 Seconds as a Genius Idol.