Chapter 2: The Editor’s Intervention

“Why is the Tower Lord always such a lunatic? Are they even capable of daily life? It seems to me they need to learn some basic social skills before they can even think about dating.”

“A Tower Lord is meant to have that kind of personality. If everyone were merely polite, it would be far too stifling, wouldn’t it? There needs to be one character with a truly distinct personality to add some flavor.”

“That’s pushing it to call it ‘individuality,’ though.”

‘Weren’t the Tower Lords in Noona’s stories always deranged? I distinctly remember their personalities were beyond being merely ‘unique’; they couldn’t possibly be sugarcoated that way.’

‘Did they even have friends? No, had they possessed friends, their personalities wouldn’t have been so utterly ruined to begin with. In a modern context, they would have appeared to be prime candidates for becoming psychopaths or sociopaths.’

“Since there’s no romance anyway, just narrow it down to one male lead. Let’s focus on him. Noona’s stories already suffer from a lack of romance; dividing what little there is among three male leads only makes it even more scarce.”

“No, I can’t. I’ve already written more than half of it. All the potential male leads have already been introduced.”

‘So, that means incidents are already erupting, and she’s struggling to clean up the aftermath.’

“Noona, you know, your female protagonist is far too proactive.”

“Why? Are women not allowed to be proactive? Must only men always take the lead? Do women always have to be demure and reserved? This isn’t the Joseon Dynasty, after all.”

“Who said it’s not allowed? Being proactive is good, I said. It’s perfectly fine. But Noona’s female lead… while she is proactive, she proactively causes too much trouble. In the end, don’t the male leads always have to clean up her mess?”

“Still, she does clean up the messes she makes herself, doesn’t she?”

“With the male leads’ help, you mean?”

“That’s for the sake of romance, of course.”

‘That’s not romance; it’s more like a debt, isn’t it? It was a question on which no common ground could be found.’

“Make the prince the Crown Prince. Exclude any wars this time. Minor conspiracies or skirmishes are fine, but a full-blown war is absolutely out of the question.”

“Hey, the whole point is a prince who carries wounds from being persecuted in his youth. A man with scars, a man you long to comfort, a man who finds healing in my embrace!”

‘Noona’s entire concept was flawed. Now, I finally understood the core issue. It was Noona’s distinctive, indeed peculiar, ‘points’ that were the problem.’

“Wounds and healing are all well and good, but just cut out the war. Listen to me this time. Fill the two volumes that would be consumed by war with romance instead. You always say that common tropes are major. Things like festivals, going out disguised as commoners, getting into squabbles with ruffians, and small incidents erupting. Isn’t that good? Romance!”

“But I still need war scenes…”

“If that’s the case, you should have written fantasy, not romance. Just write Romance of the Three Kingdoms! If you want to make money with romance novels, then write romance. This isn’t just a hobby, is it? You have to write what others want to read for it to sell. Will an author’s personal desires sell books? If what Noona wants to write truly aligns with the mainstream, then perhaps it would sell. But I doubt anyone besides you wants to read two whole volumes of war scenes in a romance novel.”

‘Noona pressed her lips together, silenced by my relentless stream of criticism. While her slumped shoulders looked pitiable, I had no choice but to remain stern, especially since she claimed this time she truly intended to write something that would sell.’

‘It’s all for Noona’s sake. Please understand my heart, speaking these words as if holding back tears. Of course, there’s also a slight—a very slight—selfish desire to subtly release some of the accumulated resentment I’ve harbored toward Noona.’

“And you know that ‘cider’ narratives are popular these days, right? If a character is merely too kind, it becomes frustrating, and readers will drop it. Enduring things after being wronged isn’t kindness; it’s foolishness. And if they go around causing more problems in the midst of all that, well, that’s just a ‘sweet potato’ moment.”

“Then, should the male leads create the problems, and the female lead clean them up?”

“That’s going too far.”

‘Who would ever like such idiotic characters as male leads? I just wish she would grasp the key points correctly.’

“Is the current story a ‘possession’ theme? If so, while you’re at it, give the female lead an impressive ability. Something that allows her to sweep through challenges with ease.”

“No, wait, for the sake of romance, the male leads still need a role. So, an ability that helps the male leads, rather than raw power, would be good. Like a healing ability, or the power to break curses.”

“Resurrection? Is resurrection too much of a ‘munchkin’ ability? Perhaps an ability to resurrect someone just once? Something like that.”

“Alternatively, something more nature-friendly: animal affinity, the power to hear thoughts, seeing dreams, seeing ghosts, and so on.”

“Where would she even use such an ability?”

“First, give her the ability, and then create the incidents, author. I can practically hear the number of episodes increasing. You won’t have to worry about filling two volumes instead of war anymore.”

‘My own flexibility is truly astonishing, even to me. It’s incomparable to a certain author who dedicates two entire volumes to war scenes.’

‘Perhaps I should try writing a story myself this time?’

‘With my trend-setting sensibilities, my keen understanding of human psychology, and a flexibility that could smooth over even the most awkward face-to-face encounters, I feel I could write even better than Noona.’

“Still, it’s a relief. If you had asked what the problem was after writing the whole thing, I would have told you to rewrite it entirely. There’s still one last hope: avoiding war. If you just stick to that, it should be fine.”

“But that’s my greatest strength, isn’t it? Everyone says it’s good! It’s like finding uniqueness within the mainstream, you know?”

“No, it’s the worst landmine. Who are all these people who say it’s good? You seem to be mistaken because you received a few compliments early on, but it’s not a strength.”

‘Who on earth praised that? A conspiracy theory even crossed my mind, wondering if they weren’t fans but rather intelligent anti-fans.’

“From now on, don’t associate with anyone who praises your war scenes. They’re not your friends. Think of them as devils trying to ruin you. Didn’t your editor tell you this from the start?”

‘I hear that when you sign a contract, you get an editor at the publishing house, but I have no idea what they’re doing if they’re not telling her things like this.’

“I told them not to touch that part, as it’s my strength.”

‘Do these people not want to make money, or have they simply given up? If an author has such misguided values, they should have been corrected, even if it meant harsh truths.’

‘Hoo,’ I sighed, emphasizing my point once more.

“War is forbidden. Don’t include it. Don’t write it. Don’t even think about it. Rather, use poison. Or assassination. If that’s too heinous, then make it a natural death or an accidental one.”

‘Whatever the method, I firmly instructed her not to usurp the throne through war.’

“I think rebellion would be better than usurping the throne. But don’t make the rebellion lead to another war. Hmm… let’s say a powerful noble conspires to rebel, and the male and female leads stop it. They can stick together and have some cute, romantic moments. How about that?”

‘After confirming that Noona nodded with a reluctant expression, I handed her the synopsis back.’

“Good. Now go and write it straight through to completion, author. And don’t forget to deposit my part-time pay.”

‘Noona, staring at my refreshed expression, parted her lips as if she had much to say.’

“I really… I don’t want to pay you. I absolutely hate it. How can you be so annoying?”

“What are you talking about? I read all those novels, over two volumes each, with your absurd war scenes. I analyzed them as objectively as possible and even read other novels to tell you about current trends. Do you know how hard that was? My eyes felt like they were going to pop out after staring at computer and phone screens for over a week. Will you take responsibility if I get cataracts?”

‘Does she even comprehend my sorrow, stuck at home reading romance novels I had no interest in, instead of enjoying myself after the college entrance exam? My close hyungs tempted me, saying I didn’t need money, just to come and hang out, yet I sacrificed my time by staying home quietly to help Noona. She doesn’t understand that either.’

‘Anyway, they say you shouldn’t take in black-haired beasts.’

‘Tsk tsk,’ I clucked my tongue, then neatly sent my account number to Noona’s phone.

****

‘The area outside the door suddenly became noisy. From the childish babble and laughter, it seemed Noona had brought Yerini.’

‘As if confirming my suspicion, the door burst open.’

“Don’t you know how to knock, knock?”

“You brat. Why are you so sensitive?”

“It’s not about being sensitive; it’s about manners!”

‘I popped the last cucumber slice into my mouth and chewed, glaring at Noona.’

“Alright, get up.”

“No, I can’t. I’m doing something important right now.”

“Get up quickly before I shove that cucumber slice from your face into your mouth!”

‘Ugh, her temper truly was something else. I often wondered how Mom’s prenatal education had gone for such an arrogant person to be born. My older brother had an easygoing personality, and I considered myself a reasonably well-mannered individual, yet Noona was uniquely exceptional.’

‘Helplessly, I slowly lifted my body from the bed. My head was tilted back to prevent the cucumber slices from falling off my face.’

“Haeseung. Sit up straight, quickly, before I feed you those cucumber slices from your face for dinner!”

“Ugh, damn it. I can’t even do my face mask. Why! Why! Why do you come here just to bother me!”

‘I peeled off the cucumber slices from my face and angrily slapped them onto the plate, expressing my irritation.’

‘To celebrate the new year when I turned twenty, I needed my face to be in good condition for going to the club tomorrow. I just wanted them to leave me alone.’

“I finished it. I sent the file to your email, so read it and check for any plot holes.”

“You finished it? You said you had to write more than what you’d already written. It’s only been a month, and you finished it all? Didn’t you just rush through it?”

“No, I didn’t. I felt inspired, like a god possessed me, and I wrote it incredibly fast. My fingers weren’t my own. This must be a sign from heaven that it’s going to be a hit.”

“Yeah, no. Don’t make such a fuss over something that’s not important. I’ll look at it when I have time later.”

“Check your email right now, while I’m still being nice.”

‘She hadn’t exactly been nice, though.’

‘I grumbled softly, seeing Noona’s clenched fist, but there was no way my protest would be heard. I opened my laptop and checked my email.’

“Look at this file size.”

“If there are no major problems, I’ll send it straight to the editor, so read it diligently starting now. As quickly as possible. But don’t just skim it; be thorough. You understand, right?”

‘Quickly and thoroughly? What kind of warm iced americano nonsense was that? I picked my ear with my finger, telling her to say something that made sense.’