7
ch 7 ## Having Your Worth Recognized
"I'm home."
Yoon Siwoo stepped into the house.
"Ah, Dad. Can I have a glass of water? I sang five songs in a row, and my voice is..."
She naturally assumed her father would greet her.
But...
"Huh?"
"Dad?"
The entire house was dark.
As if no one was home.
She turned on the lights and searched everywhere—from her father's bedroom to the storage room he used as his study.
He wasn't anywhere.
Only then did she check the front entrance.
His dress shoes were gone.
"So he hasn't come home yet."
Siwoo checked the time.
It was already past 9 p.m.
Normally, her father would've been home long ago.
"Maybe he's working overtime? But he didn't say anything."
She looked at her phone.
There wasn't a single message from him.
Whenever he had overtime or a company dinner, he always let her know beforehand.
She was about to call him when...
"...No."
"I shouldn't bother him."
After all, she'd been the one who'd declared today a hiatus.
Maybe he was having a drink with coworkers or friends.
She didn't want to interrupt.
"But Dad's been acting strange lately."
Her father had always lived like clockwork.
Sleeping and waking at the exact same time every day.
Yet recently...
He'd overslept.
And now he was home late without saying anything.
"...Is it because I asked for that mass release?"
Thinking back...
Everything seemed to have changed because of the novel.
She had asked for extra chapters.
But she'd never expected him to write ten.
"I honestly thought he'd write three at most."
Even authors whose novels had gone premium rarely released ten chapters at once.
That was why she'd insisted he rest today.
His novel had become the thing she was most obsessed with lately.
But...
Her father's health mattered far more.
He might seem reserved.
But he was gentle.
Kind.
Ever since her mother passed away...
He'd lived only for her.
'The one who filled Mom's empty place... was Dad's fairy tales.'
Sometimes she missed her mother terribly.
Sometimes she felt lonely.
But every night...
When she lost herself in the brand-new fairy tales her father created...
Those sad feelings disappeared.
She felt as though she were embarking on wonderful adventures.
Those memories remained precious to her.
A father who wrote stories just for his daughter.
Even while busy with work...
He had never broken a single promise he'd made to her.
Where else in the world could she find a father like that?
So...
'I just don't want Dad to get sick.'
She had no one left except him.
More than anything...
She wanted to stay happy with her father for a very long time.
"Guess I'll reread Only 10 Seconds until he gets home."
She took out her phone.
Opened the manuscript her father had sent.
And before thirty seconds had passed...
She was completely absorbed again.
'Ah... I need the next chapter!'
She'd just read ten chapters.
Yet she already wanted more.
Still...
She was the one who'd ordered the hiatus.
She worried about her father's health.
But at the same time...
She desperately wanted the next chapter.
'It's just too good!'
It was all her father's fault.
For writing such an addictive novel.
---
When I finally got home—
"Dad!"
Siwoo immediately ran over and hugged me tightly.
Like an oversized puppy.
I gently patted her head.
"Hey, sweetheart."
"Did you have fun singing with your friends?"
"Yep!"
"I sang as much as I wanted!"
Her voice sounded slightly hoarse.
She must've gone all out.
"I was messaging you on CocoaTalk, but they caught me, so they kept making me sing."
"I showed them my ultimate high notes."
"I totally established dominance."
"I see."
"Our little dolphin singer."
She was at the age where idols fascinated her.
There probably wasn't anywhere more fun than a coin karaoke room.
The world really had changed.
Back in my day...
Going to karaoke alone would've been unthinkable.
"But why are you so late?"
Sniff.
Sniff.
Like a puppy...
She began sniffing around me.
"Doesn't smell like alcohol."
"Dad doesn't like drinking."
"So where were you?"
"Working overtime?"
"No."
"I went to a café."
"A café?"
"I just had a cup of coffee."
She stared at me carefully.
As if trying to determine whether I was lying.
In truth...
I'd been writing in the café.
When I finally came to my senses...
It was already after ten.
I'd planned to get home before nine.
But...
Time had slipped away again.
Lately...
Whenever I wrote...
I completely lost track of time.
"Hmm..."
She still looked suspicious.
As her father...
I didn't want to lie.
But if I admitted I'd been writing...
She'd only worry again.
So...
I simply chose not to say everything.
I had gone to a café.
I had drunk coffee.
Neither of those statements was false.
"Good."
"You deserved a break after writing ten chapters."
"You should relax with coffee once in a while."
"You worked hard, Dad."
She stood on tiptoe.
Then gently patted my head.
I couldn't help smiling.
"Still..."
"You should've called."
"I was worried."
"...I didn't?"
"No!"
"No message."
"No call."
"Nothing."
I quickly checked my phone.
She was right.
I hadn't contacted her at all.
No wonder she'd been worried.
"...I'm sorry."
How strange.
Whenever I had overtime or a company dinner...
Telling Siwoo had become second nature.
Yet...
I broke my routine to write ten chapters.
Spent all day plotting at work.
Went to a café afterward without telling her.
Secretly wrote on my laptop.
This version of myself...
Felt unfamiliar.
"Dad."
"You've been acting really weird lately."
"You're different from your usual self."
If Siwoo thought that...
Then it really must've been serious.
I sighed.
"I'm sorry."
"I'll get back to my usual self soon..."
"Huh?"
"No."
"You don't have to."
"I actually like this version of you better."
Her answer caught me completely off guard.
"When you walked in earlier..."
"You looked really happy."
"It's because you finally had some time for yourself, isn't it?"
...I looked happy?
'When you were typing earlier...'
'You looked completely different.'
'What kind of expression?'
'You looked happy.'
Yongsu's words came back to me.
Apparently...
Whenever I wrote...
Or after I'd finished writing...
I genuinely looked happy.
"And when you overslept too."
"You looked so refreshed."
"Usually you're always expressionless."
Could writing really be the reason?
It wasn't as though I'd only started writing for Siwoo yesterday.
I'd been doing it for years.
But...
Ever since she'd shown my novel to someone else...
Something had changed.
The world of literature...
So different from the predictable world of numbers.
It felt as though I'd stepped back into it.
"You don't have to force yourself to follow your routine."
"Just do what you want."
Even though I'd come home late.
Without calling.
She wasn't upset.
She was simply happy...
Because I looked happy.
"...Dad?"
"Why are you opening the camera?"
"Come here."
"Let's take a picture."
"A picture?"
"What's the occasion?"
"Oh, come on."
"You're getting sentimental again."
How could I not?
With a daughter like this.
"Oh, right!"
"Dad!"
"I have a favor."
"What is it?"
"Another mass release?"
"No."
"Not that."
"One of my school assignments is writing a review after watching a play or musical."
"So I have to go see one."
"Will you come with me?"
"Shouldn't you go with your friends?"
"I want to go with you."
People always said middle schoolers preferred friends over family.
As her father...
That answer made me incredibly happy.
"Of course."
"It's your request."
"Can I pick what we watch?"
"Absolutely."
"If you like it..."
"I'm sure I will too."
"Yessss!"
"I'll find something really fun!"
A play...
When was the last time I'd seen one?
Probably back when I was dating my wife.
We'd gone to Daehangno together a few times.
Honestly...
I barely remembered the plays themselves.
Watching the woman sitting beside me had been far more interesting.
"Let's see..."
"Recommended plays..."
Siwoo hummed happily while searching on her phone.
Then...
Her phone vibrated.
She answered immediately.
"Hi, Harim!"
It sounded like Harim.
The girl who'd read my novel.
The one who'd given me such positive feedback.
Without realizing it...
I found myself listening.
"Calling to talk about Only 10 Seconds?"
"Huh?"
"Really?"
"Why all of a sudden?"
"You don't know either?"
"Okay."
"I'll ask my dad first."
"I'll call you back."
She ended the call with a puzzled look.
Then turned toward me.
"Dad?"
"What is it?"
"You know..."
"Harim's aunt."
"Yes?"
"What about her?"
"...She wants to meet you."
"...What?"
"Harim's aunt..."
"The web novel editor..."
"Wants to meet me?"
---
The Mango Music Awards.
Ethereal had been given a ten-minute stage.
Out of those ten minutes...
Kwon Jinwoo—
The group's most popular member—
Had only one minute of lines.
Ethereal was a five-member boy group.
Simple math suggested each member should get about two minutes.
Yet...
The most popular member received only one.
It was highly unusual.
Especially considering Kwon Jinwoo's nickname.
"The Killer."
Every killing part belonged to him.
His performances exploded across short-form videos.
Even fans complained.
Please give Kwon Jinwoo more lines.
Seriously, what is the agency thinking?
Why are they hiding their strongest weapon?
Are they reducing his parts just to push the other members?
Without Kwon Jinwoo, nobody would've known Ethereal.
Wasn't he the one who made them go viral?
Please...
Give Jinwoo Oppa more lines!
But...
For Jinwoo himself...
It was a challenge.
'I can only use my ability... for ten seconds.'
That left fifty seconds...
He had to carry through his own effort alone.
But...
He wasn't afraid anymore.
His steps toward the stage contained no hesitation.
...
...
Finally...
Kwon Jinwoo's part arrived.
At this moment...
He wasn't using his ability.
Even so—
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"
The audience erupted.
For his performance.
For Ethereal's performance.
Kwon Jinwoo had once known nothing about idols.
But...
Every dance practice.
Every vocal lesson.
Every rehearsal alongside his members.
Had transformed him into the Kwon Jinwoo of Ethereal.
Then...
The final ten seconds.
As the stage reached its climax...
He activated his ability.
His singing.
His dancing.
His expressions.
His gestures.
Every movement.
It was as though the god of idols had descended upon him.
The perfect finishing touch.
...
...
...
"Wow..."
Han Gyeongseon reread the latest manuscript of Only 10 Seconds as a Genius Idol.
He couldn't help exclaiming in admiration.
His heart pounded...
As though he'd just witnessed the performance live.
"No matter how many times I read this..."
"It's incredible."
"Right?!"
"It really is!"
Beside him...
Shin Mijeong proudly puffed out her chest.
As though she were the author herself.
"...He really wrote this in a single day?"
"Yes."
"Harim confirmed it."
That meant...
Over fifty thousand characters.
No...
Judging by the length...
More than seventy thousand.
The highlight chapters were longer than usual.
"...He's a monster."
Gyeongseon examined the seventy thousand characters repeatedly.
Searching for flaws.
But...
There weren't any.
Nothing unnecessary.
Nothing lacking.
"This is the climax."
"If he wrote too little..."
"It would've felt unsatisfying."
"If he'd written too much..."
"It would've become excessive."
"But..."
"Everything is perfectly balanced."
"Exactly!"
"This scene was the biggest payoff in the novel."
"And it delivered completely!"
Mijeong practically bounced with excitement.
"The protagonist could only use his ability for ten seconds."
"But he had an entire minute on stage."
"I kept wondering..."
"How would he fill the other fifty seconds?"
"What trick would he use?"
"But instead..."
"It became the moment where all his hard work paid off."
"It showed us that Kwon Jinwoo had become a real idol."
Gyeongseon nodded.
"And it doesn't feel forced."
"The novel constantly showed his training."
"Exactly."
"And those training scenes never became boring."
"Because of the chemistry with the Ethereal members."
"And Jinwoo's clumsy personality."
"Even while entertaining readers..."
"The story kept reminding us how hard he'd worked."
"Right."
"So when he reached this new level..."
"The catharsis was overwhelming."
Anyone who'd followed Kwon Jinwoo's journey...
Would feel proud during these ten chapters.
Almost like watching their own child grow up.
"But after a climax like this..."
"Most novels lose momentum."
"Readers feel like the protagonist has already accomplished everything."
"That's what's so amazing."
"This isn't the ending."
"It creates brand-new anticipation."
Until now...
Jinwoo had used his ability simply to survive.
From this point onward...
He would use those ten seconds...
Not just to survive.
But to become the greatest idol.
As a result...
Instead of losing momentum...
The novel gained even more.
It became impossible not to wonder...
Where would the story go next?
That meant...
Every beat of this climax...
Had been meticulously calculated by the author.
"He knows exactly where to apply pressure."
"And his writing explodes when it needs to."
"Could Siwoo's father actually be an established author?"
"I don't know."
"But if he were..."
"There's no way either of us wouldn't recognize him."
"...That's true."
The two of them had read countless web novels.
If an established author debuted under a new pen name...
They'd recognize the style almost immediately.
But...
The writing in Only 10 Seconds as a Genius Idol...
Was unlike anything they'd ever seen.
"It's too polished to be a rookie."
Which meant...
Neither of them could figure out who the author really was.
One thing, however, was certain.
"To think..."
"A novel written solely for his daughter..."
"Could be this good."
Keeping a novel like this hidden from the world...
Would be an enormous loss to the web novel industry.
"Anyway."
"We have to sign him."
"No matter what."
"We can't let another platform take him."
"Of course."
"That's why I asked Harim to arrange this meeting."
"Honestly, Sunbae..."
"You didn't have to come."
Normally...
Two editors didn't attend the same contract meeting.
But Gyeongseon had insisted.
"What can I do?"
"I want to meet the person who wrote something this amazing."
And so...
The two of them waited in a café.
They'd even arrived far earlier than the scheduled time.
Exactly on time...
The café door opened.
A man walked toward them.
"Are you Harim's aunt?"
"Y-Yes!"
"That's me."
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
"I'm Yoon Seongjun."
"Siwoo's father."
Both editors immediately stood up.
The exact same thought echoed through their minds.
'We have to sign him today.'
But...
The very first words out of Yoon Seongjun's mouth were—
"I'm sorry."
A firm.
Unequivocal rejection.