Chapter 56
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Jirisan Elf
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Here's how it went.
Two civil servants were climbing Jirisan Mountain. Their feet sank deep into the snow. It was a trek through remote, pathless terrain, but they pushed through as a team and finally spotted a hut.
"There's a young elf here, right?"
The motif was actually the fairy and the woodcutter, but he'd swapped the fairy for an elf, and the father was pining for his departed wife.
-Child welfare investigation report.
The kid was grubby, but he had the makings of stunning beauty. Not quite Caucasian due to the mixed heritage, which only made him more appealing.
-You need to send him to school. Got it?
The father took his son's hand and returned home after a decade away.
Now, this little one steps up as the novel's protagonist, unleashing all sorts of talents.
Because he's an elf!
He sings beautifully, communes with animals, and occasionally reads people's true thoughts.
That was supposed to be it originally, but it flopped last time, so this round, beef it up with one more setting.
"No! Young master!"
Turns out, the father was the youngest son of a chaebol family. Bullied by his brothers and sick of the cutthroat family rivalry, he'd vanished into Jirisan and met the child's mother there.
"Oh, nice. That's fun."
Let the father succeed in the chaebol world too, with the protagonist helping out—run it on dual tracks. Focusing solely on the kid leaves little for male readers to latch onto.
"The core hook for the early arcs is how the wastrel who returns home looking like a beggar—and his wastrel son—earn recognition and carve out their place."
Plotting a novel is easy when you drop a special protagonist into an ordinary world.
That's why powerful fantasies like regression, possession, and reincarnation draw so much attention.
Elves are a dime a dozen in fantasy worlds—often sold into slavery—but in the modern day, their options are endless.
Just their looks alone could propel them to the top of a looks-obsessed society. They could excel at archery, make waves in fashion...
"Enter an idol world cup and shoot some archery."
Show off some animal bonding on a variety show like Our Pet's Changed, and fame spreads fast.
"Burn through the school days up to volume 2."
If reactions are good, stretch it out a bit, but assuming it hits secondary creations, the main draw has to be peak-beauty mode.
"Elves should have killer reflexes too."
Make him ace fights and put bullies in their place.
"Heh heh heh..."
It was an old story he'd written before, so fleshing it out and continuing wasn't hard. The gaps from back then slotted in perfectly, which felt both satisfying and frustrating.
'That bastard was right about everything.'
The more this happened, the more convinced he became. Team Leader was bound to bite on this one.
Jirisan Elf wore the mask of male-oriented appeal, but visualized or adapted, women would love it too. Since his works were already priming for webtoon adaptation, anyone in the know would drool over it.
"Whew... That should do it."
He had his main job; he couldn't cling to this forever. Still, after about three hours, he'd finished up to chapter 2.
He fixed typos, checked spelling, then uploaded straight to the Opera Urong account he'd created earlier.
"Now..."
Wait. True fishing is a test of patience—how long you can hold out.
"The hunt's mine."
Ye-jin was swamped.
Living as Executive Director Ye-jin, Article Ye-jin, Team Leader Ye-jin, Manager Ye-jin—she occasionally reverted to plain reader Ye-jin.
Other work brought joy, but nothing beat lying in bed with a novel.
Lately, though, even that fell short. Thanks to Memento Mori, her standards had skyrocketed; ordinary novels just didn't cut it.
She'd rewatched old favorites, nagged the author during meets for consistent updates—an unspoken pressure—but she knew this was the limit.
"Nothing to read. Boo."
Dressed to kill outside in suits, maintaining a poker face, she could throw tantrums in bed.
"Maybe hit up the novel world for a bit?"
Since Memento Mori serialized on Pages, she'd stuck to Pages mostly, but she'd burned through the bestsellers.
"Lots of new stuff."
Half excitement, half dread. Even top bestsellers might miss her tastes.
And sure enough.
No. 1 martial arts was too old-school; dropped at chapter 3.
No. 2 fantasy felt too fluffy for teens; bailed at 5.
"Ugh... Strikeout?"
Not even midnight yet—bedtime already? Waste her precious daily healing slot like this?
No. 3 was baseball-themed, not her vibe, so straight to No. 4.
'Only 9 chapters.'
Knowing she'd quit if it sucked, she clicked chapter 1 out of habit.
"...!?"
Clicked 1, suddenly at 3.
What?
She checked the author's name instead of advancing to 4.
'Opera Urong?'
No clue what it meant. But she knew.
'Genius or pro!'
The cliffhangers were no joke. Fun or not, she had to click next. Pacing nailed it—blazing when fast, teasing when slow.
"Wha... read? No more? Why?"
There were 9 earlier? Just hitting stride?
"Huh?"
Confirmed: 9 chapters. Nothing had pulled her in like this since Memento Mori.
She tapped the profile. Joined 4 days ago. No prior works. Details private.
"Ha...?"
The young protagonist descending from Jirisan shines up at the chaebol estate, revealing otherworldly beauty.
But the family's gaze is cold. Wastrel widower, mixed-blood kid to boot.
Yet the more you see of this little one, the more endearing. Servants drop their biases, smiling warmly; even Dad strives to change.
And now—the day he meets the family power pinnacle, Grandpa!
To be continued.
"Aaaagh! More!"
She was hooked. That night, Ye-jin dreamed of elves and barely slept.
The next morning.
"...Pulled an all-nighter?"
Jin-seong spotted her at the cafeteria and asked right away.
"If you're timing another confession ambush, turn it off."
"No damage?"
"None. And I'm not secretly dating an idol."
"...Tch. Sit. Eat."
He served stew and rice, sneaking glances.
"What?"
"Novels."
"You're hopeless. That good?"
"Yeah, but weird."
"How?"
"Found one yesterday, and no matter what... "
"What?"
"Feels like I've seen it before."
"Webnovels all blur together."
"Not the plot."
He scooped food halfheartedly, eyes glued to his phone.
"The prose? "
"What's that?"
"...Hard to explain."
Fun, sure, but eerily familiar. Not mature technique or character work. The dialogue, expressions...
"Feels like I've seen it..."
As he muttered, someone entered the cafeteria.
Debut was a hit.
DM's fanbase grew steadily; every event appearance spiked fan cafe memberships meaningfully.
Rare free morning—no schedule—so Team Leader Min was in the office too.
No slacking on days off for her. She lounged on the sofa, flipping resumes.
"...No good ones."
She'd handled DM solo till now, but a manager was essential. Schedules tightened, driving ramped up. Once fans recognized DM, security too.
"Ahh, gotta hire right."
Resumes incoming for 3 weeks, still undecided.
Skills mattered, but chemistry and mental/physical care for the kids? Crucial.
"This one's green. That the troublemaker from before?"
Her network ran deep; rumors flew fast.
As she sat there, two entered.
Jin-guk and Hae-jin.
"Up early?"
Min welcomed them; Jin-guk looked exasperated.
"It's barely 8... Why're you here, Teacher?"
"Because it's 8."
"That's why... why..."
"Just sit."
Jin-guk approached the sofa. Hae-jin hit the bathroom.
"Eaten?"
"Stuffed; lunch instead. Practicing fasted is good."
"Don't starve—banana at least."
Handed him the resume stack mid-sentence.
"Wanna look?"
"Manager?"
"Yeah."
"What do I know?"
"Photos attached—go by vibe."
"Hm."
Jin-guk skimmed three, frowned.
"No clue."
"..."
Zero effort. She knew his personality, but it irked her.
Smack!
"Ow! Hurts!"
"Meant to. Half-assing?"
"Ow! Told you, no idea!"
Debating another whack, she sighed long, gathered resumes, stood.
Jin-guk asked.
"Where to?"
"Find help. Go practice."
Everyone should be at the cafeteria by now?
"Yeah, me."
"...!?"
Here for breakfast, Ye-jin spots me, asks if I know Jirisan Elf.
No point hiding.
"What? President's Opera Urong?"
"Bro, what's Opera Urong?"
I chuckled at Ye-jin's ghost-struck face.
Explaining the pen name hid revenge bait? They'd call me crazy. Dodge.
"Testing from scratch. Experimental. Hits, great; flops, drop."
Ye-jin's hurt look—'Why hide a new work from me?!'—melted live.
"Ah..."
I added.
"Lacked confidence. Wanted pre-check."
"It's fun?"
Damn right. That's how we hook him.
"Too girly."
Ye-jin nodded instantly.
"Not prime male-lead material."
Earth's fairest elf. Beauty as weapon; pretty face sells the hero. Undeniably female-favored.
I'll hook both, but ease her misunderstanding now.
"Knew it! Felt so familiar!"
"Haha! That fast? Didn't expect."
Truth: Didn't predict No. 4 in 9 chapters. Thought 2 weeks for buzz. Then a reader rec post yesterday—rocketed.
'Odds that bastard sees it just went up.'
Ye-jin asked.
"You okay? Strongest idol just launched; now a new series?"
"Dual works fine, but Jirisan Elf's iffy—watching more."
"It'll work!"
Her shout made Jin-seong yelp.
"Ears hurt."
Views: ch.1 9,200; ch.9 6,341. Trajectory screamed No.1 in a week.
Metrics stellar—exposed to tons.
'Time to check DMs and comments?'
He might've messaged.