★★★Chapter 15: Kids ★★★
‘Before the feeling fades away, let’s write quickly.’
I safely returned home in a car driven by a bodyguard. As soon as I got home, I sat in front of the computer and grabbed the keyboard.
I pondered on how to incorporate the conversation I had with Kang Taeyang earlier into the novel.
‘I’ve already laid the groundwork about the royal family.’
In the novel, the protagonist, ‘Mer’, is already established as the youngest member of the royal family. However, I didn’t mention how many people are above her in the hierarchy.
Thanks to that, even if a new prince inspired by Kang Taeyang appears, it won’t significantly distort the believability of the story.
‘It’s just a small tip that comes from my imagination.’
When writing web novels, authors often don’t plan out every detail of the world and its rules in advance.
Most of the time, they only establish the basic elements such as the setting, genre, and main characters. The rest is filled in gradually as the story unfolds.
‘But if you’re not careful, the believability can crumble.’
That’s why it’s helpful to not mention specific numbers, as it helps maintain believability.
For example, in an adventure story, they might casually skip mentioning the exact number of floors in a tower or avoid revealing the protagonist’s entire family structure. These are typical examples.
By doing this, it becomes easier to expand the world or introduce new characters later on.
‘Let’s think of it as a potential family tree for Daehan Group.’
Even if it’s not explicitly stated in the novel, having a rough estimate makes it easier to write. For now, I’ll assume the same number of family members as Kang Bada’s family.
This way, it naturally positions Kang Taeyang as the second prince. Since the protagonist, ‘Ciel’, is currently held captive in the palace by Mer, it won’t be difficult to create interactions between them.
──────────
“Are you Ciel?”
“Why are you asking when you already know?”
“You’re quite arrogant. I can’t let someone like you live.”
“That’s my wish, though.”
Heh-
Prince Ilios of the empire laughed as he looked at Ciel. The more he unraveled, the more interesting this person became.
The youngest prince, who had no enthusiasm for life, finally came out of his room, and everyone wondered what might have happened. Maybe he had fallen in love.
“Do you happen to know who I am?”
“Is there anyone who doesn’t recognize the face of Prince Ilios?”
“No, I mean my ‘real’ face.”
“······.”
“As I suspected, you do know. It’s quite fascinating, isn’t it? I can count the people who know this secret on one hand, so how did you come to know my true identity?”
Ciel remained expressionless.
Through countless iterations, Ciel had come to realize a few things. One of them was that whenever they became involved with Prince Ilios, bloodshed was inevitable.
Prince Ilios held the dark side of the empire in his grasp and was a madman who would do anything for the empire. Quite literally anything.
“Isn’t it fascinating? Every time the youngest prince is in danger, you appear. I would have inevitably fallen in love even if I were a woman.”
“It’s a coincidence.”
“When coincidences overlap, they become inevitabilities, and when inevitabilities repeat, they become fate. But that’s something you’d find in fairy tales, right?”
Swish-
Prince Ilios leaned towards Ciel and spoke in a low voice.
“I don’t believe in fate. Isn’t it more reasonable to say that you ‘knew that something would happen there’? Or perhaps you deliberately orchestrated the crisis for the youngest prince.”
Prince Ilios’ voice was as sharp as a well-forged dagger, sending a chill down Ciel’s spine.
However, Ciel’s body had endured countless deaths. The time engraved on their body was never light.
“You’re overestimating me too much.”
Swoosh-
Prince Ilios stepped back, looking at Ciel again. The two of them stared at each other without saying a word for a long time.
“Hahaha! Is that so? Well, I’m sorry. I tend to be suspicious. I thought there had to be at least one crazy person who wanted to get hold of the royal bloodline.”
“I understand.”
“Is there a secret behind your arrogant tone? It’s strange how you don’t seem to have any aversion at all. If you were a dragon, I would ask for your forgiveness for my rudeness.”
Prince Ilios laughed lightly, his expression relaxing. In an instant, he returned to being Prince Ilios, not the shadow of the empire.
“Well, let’s leave the jokes at that. Considering you didn’t tell Mer about my story, I’ll let it slide this time. But don’t do anything foolish.”
“As long as you don’t touch me first.”
“If someone saw you, they might think you’re a prince.”
Prince Ilios, who was about to shrug his shoulders and step back, suddenly glared at Ciel and grabbed their shoulder.
“I have one more question.”
“What is it?”
“Are you a virgin by any chance?”
“······.”
“Please continue to feel sympathy. If your sympathy ever wavers, even if you were a dragon, I would wipe away your scales.”
*thump, thump*
Prince Ilios tapped Ciel’s shoulder and turned away. Ciel watched his back, seemingly surprised and confused.
──────────
“It seems like a good choice.”
When characters are based on real people, they come to life more vividly. I’m already looking forward to the readers’ reactions.
Of course, in a web novel that revolves around the protagonist, it can be risky to make supporting characters too captivating.
But there’s something called ‘character appeal.’
There are works where the coherence collapses and the plot becomes a mess, but they still manage to keep the readers engaged.
It means that the story keeps people engaged through the conversations and everyday lives of several active characters.
‘I thought it would have nothing to do with me for the rest of my life…’
Plot armor is like walking on a tightrope throughout the entire process of publishing a work. Once it slips even a little, it can’t be fixed.
For example, if the characters lose their appeal or if the main character is overshadowed by the supporting characters. Once those scenes start to happen, the engagement with the story plummets endlessly.
‘It’s too difficult.’
But even so, I can attempt to have plot armor because even if the writing collapses, I still have a way to make a living. And another reason is that the reactions are better than expected.
[What about the princess?]
[When will the princess appear?]
[Please give us more about the princess.]
Look at these enthusiastic reactions.
More than half of the comments are about the princess. As an author, I don’t know if I should be happy or worried about this. But for now, I’ve decided to just enjoy it.
Most importantly.
It seems like the princess here is also satisfied.
[Title: The Princess Sent a donation.]
100,000 gold.
Now she sends donations with each chapter.
If you do a simple calculation, she has fulfilled the role of 1,000 readers, so I just accepted it. Of course, there were times when the sponsorship decreased.
“It’s 50,000 won today?”
When I checked, it was mostly during the episodes where the princess didn’t appear or when the portrayal of her character was incorrect.
[The princess seems too foolish.]
[The princess didn’t appear today.]
[Do you think the princess wouldn’t think like that?]
During those episodes, I repeatedly wrote and deleted comments so that only I could see them. Somehow, it felt like I was becoming a mean reader.
I thought it was too much to use the nickname ‘Princess’ and keep saying ‘the princess this, the princess that,’ but it turned out to be more helpful than I thought.
“You have quite a good sense.”
Surprisingly, Kang Bada’s suggestions were accurate, and it was interesting to see that improving the content based on her advice also improved the readers’ reactions.
Although I couldn’t make significant changes to what I had already posted on the website, the details came to life in the princess’s dialogues and small actions.
“…I guess it’s better for the readers to read it after the author makes some revisions.”
Thanks to that, my novel, which had a 90% male readership, gradually saw an increase in the proportion of female readers, reaching 30%.
Of course, it was an important point that there was no decrease in the male readership. It was truly a miraculous occurrence that only the female readership had increased.
‘Now it’s even on the official YouTube channel.’
My steadily climbing story had finally made it onto the official Tube. It was still at the bottom, but it was a remarkable change compared to the beginning.
‘Should I ask Kang Bada to be my editor?’
Kang Bada was such a capable talent that I even considered the anecdote of a writer who co-authored a book with their spouse. I thought about it seriously.
Of course, I stopped at the thought.
If I casually said, ‘Bada-ssi, are you the princess?’ and pretended to know, then I would have to write while actually being conscious of her from now on.
‘…Let’s just continue pretending not to know forever.’
If I succumbed to the readers’ demands, the work would eventually crumble. Unless I was writing a work solely for Kang Bada, the current distance was just right.
*Sigh*
After finishing my writing, I stretched and absentmindedly picked up my smartphone to check the notifications.
“Hmm?”
A message from an unfamiliar name appeared in the chat window. Kang Taeyang. What could this guy be contacting me for?
No, more importantly, I’ve never exchanged phone numbers with him. It’s a problem in itself that he’s contacting me using my number as if it’s obvious.
“Now, I probably won’t be surprised by ordinary things.”
I sighed and checked the message. However, contrary to my earlier determination, I couldn’t help but be surprised once again.
“…Rich people really have a different scale of madness.”
Hehe-
Suddenly, a headache struck, and I let out a hollow laugh as I lay down on the bed.
* * *
“Everyone, buckle up your seat belts.”
“Yes!”
“Since it will be difficult to stop by the restroom midway, those who are in a hurry should go now.”
“Oh!”
Several children quickly got off the car. They followed the guidance of the principal and headed towards the restroom. Kang Bada, looking intrigued, approached me and struck up a conversation.
“Have you ever driven a bus?”
“I drove it tirelessly when I was in the military. I usually drive a 25-seater minibus, but sometimes, when there’s a divisional support mission, I also drive a large bus.”
“Oh, I see. That’s impressive.”
Kang Bada nodded her head.
As I looked at her, I reminisced about how this unexpected situation unfolded. The culprit was none other than ‘Kang Taeyang.’
– I finished cleaning around the childcare center.
– But looking at the pictures, the facilities seemed inadequate. If they’re going to use our foundation’s money, they should do it properly.
– I’ll handle this on my own, so you go and have fun with the kids. The equipment officer will contact you.
Afterwards, a detailed 1-night, 2-day itinerary filled with the children’s travel plans flew in from the equipment officer. It mentioned completing the remodeling?
Although it was a schedule that completely disregarded my circumstances, it wasn’t a big issue for a web novel writer who had a flexible schedule as long as there were reserves.
“Well, the kids will enjoy it too.”
With a shortage of money for daily expenses, where would I find money for a trip? Meanwhile, my school friends boasted about going on outings with their parents, unknowingly making me feel bitter.
In the midst of that, they declared that they would provide a full-fledged trip, including transportation by bus. It was only natural that the childcare center was turned upside down.
It was originally something that happened because of me, and for the sake of the children’s memories, I decided to donate coolly for a few days. But the problem was…
“But why is Bada-ssi here?”
“…Are you dissatisfied?”
“No, of course not.”
Apparently, she was included in the ‘kids’ that Kang Taeyang was talking about.
