Chapter 64
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Familiar Faces
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"Hello."
Familiar faces had started to appear. Teaching others is incredibly challenging. I wasn't sure if I was qualified, but I'd learned a great deal from that team leader over the past ten years, and I could offer advice based on my experience. If they could just avoid the trial-and-error I'd gone through, I could shorten their path to success considerably.
I pulled up Ye-jin's PPT and focused the lecture on "direction" and "characters."
To briefly explain web novel direction: every plot device, world-building element, and setting should be thought of as laying the groundwork solely for the protagonist.
It's not about anything else—it's the stage where the protagonist shines brightest. Thinking of it as theater might make it easier.
They won't get it yet, even if they think they do.
Their eyes sparkled as they watched me, but even if it seemed doable in the moment, they'd struggle once they started writing.
I'd been there myself, and countless authors were probably grappling with the same issues right now.
Characters are even trickier.
No matter how simply I tried to explain it, characters boil down to how you unravel their flaws and backstory—and without a special talent for it, the only way is to read a ton and write a ton.
So I focused on igniting their drive to write.
For some, just that spark of "I can do this!" would be a huge boost.
"See you all next week, then."
It was once a week, but even these short visits to lecture were proving valuable for me.
Talking about web novels with others reminded me of things I'd overlooked, pulling me back to basics and making me reflect on what truly mattered.
I was just stepping out of the classroom when a group followed me.
"Author!"
His name tag read Hwang Geon, and beside him was Nam Joo-yeon.
"Yes?"
"Any chance you're free for dinner? We're thinking casual beers."
"Ah, sorry. I've got plans."
I'd have gone if I could, but I was genuinely swamped. I had to contribute to planning that dating variety show for regular folks, and unofficially help select idols for the public auditions.
"......"
"......"
Something felt off as I passed Hwang Geon and Nam Joo-yeon, but I headed to the parking lot for my next schedule.
Shin Do-rim was thrilled. Her novel was about to launch soon, and she was hooked on that grandma-gangster's youngest son drama airing on Monday-Tuesday slots.
Watching it, she dreamed of one day writing something as famous as Memento Mori.
But she didn't get ahead of herself. She knew she was still a total newbie who hadn't even debuted yet.
"Do-rim!"
Her boyfriend waved from across the way as he jogged over.
Since it was her first relationship, seeing him still sent her heart fluttering half with excitement, half with awkwardness.
"Sorry, am I late?"
"I just got here too."
"Let's head in."
Their dates were usually just dinner, coffee, and a movie, but that alone made her cheeks burn.
"Finished your novel before coming out?"
"Yeah, of course."
They grabbed food, then moved to a café for some chatter. Having a boyfriend who was a writer created such strong common ground that their conversations never lulled. It was nice.
"Gotta start prepping my next work soon, but I have no clue what to write."
His debut had been a huge hit. It lacked stamina and dropped out of the top twenty eventually, but that kind of success would make any rookie envious.
Deep down, she thought matching that would be plenty.
"Weren't you doing fantasy?"
"I was, but after that gangster drama, I've got ideas swirling."
Lately, every web novel author was talking about that show.
"Who else but Memento Mori could pull off something like that? Just stick to what you're good at."
She advised objectively. Even as lovers, it was best to be brutally honest about work.
"I know. But I feel like I could do a strong fantasy like Mountain Elf."
Memento Mori had this power to inspire countless authors and spark new ideas.
Maybe she'd try a modern romance next time? She'd thought about it before.
But everyone has their strengths.
"Give it a shot. I'll check if it's fun."
"Heh... no ripping it apart?"
"If it's really bad, maybe."
"Haha! It won't be that awful."
Mid-conversation, a melody chimed from Shin Do-rim's phone.
"Huh? It's the executive director."
"For real? Pick up!"
She nodded and answered.
-This is Go Ye-jin.
"Hello."
Thanks to her boyfriend, her personality had brightened up a lot. No more forcing herself to deal with bullies, just peaceful writing at home.
-How have you been?
She felt a twinge, figuring the company didn't know about her dating, but it wasn't wrong, right?
-We're planning a romance fantasy webtoon mainly with students from the webtoon class at Memento Mori Academy. I was wondering about your work.
"My work? Really?"
-They're still raw, but hardworking with real potential. That's why I'm recommending it.
"I'm in!"
-Could you stop by the company? We need to draw up the secondary creation contract.
"Yes! I'll do that! Thank you! Seriously, thank you!"
She hung up beaming, and her boyfriend jumped in.
"Webtoon?"
"Yeah!"
"Whoa! Congrats! Not even launched yet and already a webtoon!"
Seeing him genuinely happy made her proud too. But then his phone buzzed too.
"Whoa, executive director?"
The same news for him.
After calling the original authors, Ye-jin closed her eyes for a brief rest. Barely a minute, but enough to ease her eye strain before the next task.
We need more people.
The company was expanding daily, and with the academy launch, she felt like ten of her wouldn't be enough.
Especially whenever she spotted talented academy students, she had to quickly connect them to good projects.
But she didn't complain. She knew someone far busier than her.
He should be back soon.
Waiting for the Company President from his lecture, she wrapped up her remaining work swiftly.
Drafting documents for his signature, checking in with affiliated authors, peeking at webtoons daily.
"Ah!"
Spotting a taxi nearing the goshiwon, she stepped outside.
"Welcome back. You must be tired."
"It's cold out—why are you here?"
"Just getting some air."
She loved how consistent he always was. Even with his drama's massive hit, nothing had changed.
"Remember the dinner meeting?"
"Of course."
It might seem trivial compared to their recent big projects, but she believed nothing could be neglected, no matter how small.
Some things she could handle; others needed the president.
As they walked into the goshiwon, he asked,
"What do you think?"
"Good vibes. We'll know more tonight, but they don't seem like the type to half-ass it."
"Here's hoping."
Watching him enter his room, Ye-jin suddenly thought,
Is he uncomfortable here?
He'd outgrown being cooped up in a goshiwon room.
That evening,
the Talent Market platform was complete. Time for beta testing, but all features were in place, design finalized.
The president requested a few tweaks, but nothing major—they settled on a full launch March 1st.
Now they were truly a platform company.
After the long meeting, the president returned to his room, but she stayed in the DM practice room/office to keep working.
DM had so many events lately; they often slept out or came back late to the dorm and left early.
In the quiet space, only her breathing echoed.
Starting with academy students' works is great, but to draw readers, we need more content... What to do?
A platform alone wouldn't attract users. They needed entertainment to pull them in.
Discuss this with the president tomorrow too.
She noted it and moved on.
Academy end-of-month evaluations too...
As she burned the midnight oil, Team Leader Cha Do-hyun opened the door.
"Huh? Didn't you head home?"
"Grabbed dinner and came back. Still some work left."
The publishing side didn't run itself—proofing, editing, events, distribution. All those details ticked along smoothly thanks to him.
"Not heading out, Executive Director?"
"Couple more hours, probably."
"In that case, got a minute?"
"Sure."
He sat across from her.
"We need more staff."
"Exactly what I was thinking."
"Good."
"Time to officially expand, right?"
"Prioritizing academy students, but we need at least five."
"Minimum?"
"Yes, minimum."
"I'll pull budget for extra payroll."
Five meant another ten million won monthly. To cover that, affiliated authors needed to generate matching revenue. Shin Do-rim's launch was promising, but they required steady influx of more works.
Not many breakout hits yet.
The president often called it an investment phase, inevitable. But she had no intention of running deficits.
Then it hit her.
"Team Leader, what if we run a contest?"
"Contest? How so?"
"To promote Talent Market and snag more authors—a big web novel and webtoon contest."
"Hm, scale?"
"Might as well go huge with prizes big enough to make waves."
"We might not recoup the prize money."
"Advance royalties."
"Ah...?"
"Grand prize: 100 million won. Three excellence awards: 30 million each. Ten runners-up: 10 million each. Think the market would react?"
"Can we recover 300 million in advances? 600 million with webtoons?"
"Tough short-term, but long-term post-exclusivity, distributing across platforms? Feels doable."
"That scale would be unprecedented, sure."
"I'll pitch it to the president tomorrow."
Who shells out hundreds of millions for a web novel contest? She felt it was bold, but maybe the president would go for it.
After hashing out details, a brief silence fell. Cha smiled warmly.
"Whew... The world's changed a lot. Genre novels turning into dramas."
Having toiled in this industry for years, it must feel especially poignant to him.
"Mountain Elf's production starts soon too."
"Double blessings."
The wrinkles around his eyes held all the hardships genre fiction had endured.
"What do you think of Talent Market?"
He answered honestly.
"Hard to say. Platforms aren't easy business. But..."
He smiled.
"Since the president's behind it, somehow I doubt it'll flop."