Chapter 53: The Night I Met a Legend

The pen name "Geumseong" was engraved in my ears like a brand.  

A name that, in my previous life, was so far out of reach now stood before my eyes.  

There had once been controversy over the unauthorized translation of Chinese wuxia novels, but the path Author Geumseong had walked and the achievements he’d made were undeniably both history and the future itself.  

Thanks to him, the web novel market could grow, and the barriers to becoming an author were lowered.  

  
"Author, congratulations on your award today. I really enjoyed your work."  

  
Author Geumseong smiled warmly as he congratulated me.  

  
"If it’s all right, could I get your contact information?"  
"Ah, yes. Of course."  

  
There was no reason to refuse.  

Rather, I was pleased by Author Geumseong’s request.  

  
"I was nervous you might decline, since it’s such a sudden thing. Thank you."  

  
Author Geumseong expressed his thanks politely as we exchanged numbers.  

  
"Me? Not at all. If anything, I should have been the one coming to you first with a request. Thank you for taking an interest in me."  

  
I bent at the waist to express my gratitude to someone much my senior.  

Since an industry giant had approached me first, it was only right to show due respect and courtesy.  

  
"Haha, well, let’s meet again next time then."  

  
With those words, Author Geumseong disappeared into the crowd.  

  
"Wow, Yoo Seunghyun... I’ve really come a long way. To connect with a master like that, and win an award, too."  

  
I stood there for a while, dazed.  

This moment made my heart race even more than becoming a billionaire.  

The murmuring crowd, the banquet hall still holding onto the ceremony’s afterglow, and Da-hye waving at me from afar—all of it felt dreamlike.  

  
"Wow, our oppa’s really popular with men tonight."  

  
Da-hye’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.  

She was standing with a slouch, a strange look on her face and a crooked smile.  

  
"Popular with men?! What’s that supposed to mean, pretty little sister?"  
"Look over there. That guy’s laughing it up surrounded by women, but my award-winning brother is hanging around with old men."  
"……"  

  
That was definitely not said with good intentions.  

I had now been branded as a brother unpopular with women.  

Even in my past life, I had no luck with women, but could it really be the same in this life?!  

Da-hye had managed to summon a memory I’d almost forgotten.  

  
"Oppa, it happens. But you won an award, didn’t you?"  

  
Somehow, Da-hye’s words made me even sadder.  

I wanted to retort, "It’s not that I can’t meet women, I just don’t," but reality wouldn’t let me argue.  

  
When the event was over, we left the banquet hall and headed to the hotel lobby.  

Once we got out of the crowded space, everything felt a bit more relaxed.  

Mom held my hand tightly, smiling as she said, "You did well today," and Dad silently patted my shoulder from behind.  

  
"Oppa, so when’s the drama coming out?"  
"Hmm. Probably filming starts next year."  
"I want to brag to my friends! How can I not brag about something this cool? Such a shame. If I could, I’d get so many introductions and all that."  

  
Da-hye looked up at me with a truly regretful expression.  

It was like the sequel to our earlier conversation was starting up again.  

  
"Yeah, but this oppa wants to meet someone who loves me for me, not because of my achievements."  

  
I laughed and ruffled Da-hye’s hair.  

Unlike back in elementary school, her face now twisted every time I did, but whenever that happened, I just mentioned her allowance and the frown disappeared.  

Money was a great way to lift my sister’s mood.  

  
"Wow, so pretty! Oppa, look over there. Isn’t it pretty?"  

  
Late at night, when white breath drifted into the sky, the sparkling Christmas decorations on the street caught our eyes.  

Da-hye’s gaze was fixed on the Christmas lights, her eyes sparkling brightly.  

  
"Yeah, it really is pretty."  

  
A meeting with a world both strange and special.  

That’s how I’d describe today.  

I leaned my head back and looked up at the sky.  

Watching the quiet winter night settle down, I let the afterglow of the day sink deep into my heart.  

  
---  

  
On my desk, paper and pen and a few sheets of storyboard were scattered.  

Under the white glow of the desk lamp, my fingers danced tirelessly across the paper.  

  
"This angle needs to be more dynamic."  

  
Go Dae-sik drew lines with a ruler, refining the composition of the first cut.  

He had read and analyzed the original work dozens of times, always thinking about how to draw readers into the story as quickly as possible.  

  
"The scene where he opens his eyes to the territory. That’s the core."  

  
Go Dae-sik’s eyes fell on the barren estate drawn on the page.  

The roads were full of filth, and the faces of the people of the impoverished barony, weighed down by debt, showed no sign of hope.  

In the midst of it all stood a boy, a smartphone in his hand.  

On the screen, the bankrupt state of the estate was rendered in digital form.  

  
[Accessing Estate Management Panel. Please complete the following tasks.]  

  
1. Check overdue taxes.  
2. Inspect sanitation conditions in the estate.  
3. Inventory warehouse supplies.  

  
["Truly hopeless."]  

  
Go Dae-sik captured both resignation and determination in the protagonist’s eyes.  

He wanted to show a toughness that stared reality in the face but refused to give up.  

The tone of the drawing started off murky and dark, but he planned for it to transition to warmer light as the story went on.  

Dialogue was kept minimal, conveying content through expression and situation.  

  
"This isn’t an action story, it’s a survival tale. So, the start needs to show what kind of person the protagonist is. Readers have to understand him to look forward to his next steps."  

  
The early storyboard showed houses of mud brick, a collapsed stable, and a mother struggling down the road with a child on her back, painting the overall atmosphere of the territory.  

He included a scene where the protagonist looks at these people, feeling the weight of his responsibility as lord.  

  
"Next cut: digging in the clearing with his own shovel. Not just commanding, but leading by example."  

  
Page 1: The estate’s reality—despair.  
Page 2: Awareness of the problem—anger and resolve.  
Page 3: First action—a spark of hope.  

  
Go Dae-sik added simple notes to connect the scenes.  

  
"Make the drawing style a bit more realistic. This isn’t a fairy tale."  

  
Next to the sketchbook, dozens of character drafts and architectural references were piled up.  

Flipping through the storyboard, Go Dae-sik smiled.  

  
"Respect the original, but bring it to life with my own hands. Seunghyun said so himself—it doesn’t have to be a perfect replica."  

  
He grabbed the soda on his desk, chugged it, and immersed himself in his work.  

As the night deepened, so did Go Dae-sik’s focus.  

  
---  

  
The December air was cold, but our bodies were burning with energy.  

At 7 a.m., the sound of our steps matched our breaths as we walked up the trail behind the mountain.  

We kept our knees bent, climbing at a steady pace.  

  
"Oppa, let’s just rest for a bit. Please!!"  

  
I heard Da-hye’s dying voice from behind me.  

She was forcing out each breath as she called out to me, but I kept my pace and shouted back with a broad smile.  

  
"I’ve still got plenty of energy. Inhale, two, three, exhale. Inhale."  
"Ha!! Seriously!! I don’t even have the strength to talk. I’m dying here!!"  
"I told you, control your breathing. Save your voice and it won’t be so hard."  

  
Da-hye was a first-year in middle school.  

Since making an allowance contract with me, she’d faithfully joined me for exercise.  

We ran 5 kilometers in 30 minutes every day, did squats, lunges, push-ups, sit-ups—the whole routine.  

Our stamina was improving every day, but Da-hye’s complaints never decreased.  

If anything, as she got older, her voice just got louder.  

  
"But oppa, how come you’re not even out of breath? Are you even human? Can’t we take a break? This isn’t the army!"  
"Think of it as running out of guilt for eating ramen last night."  

  
Last night, feeling peckish, I made some ramen, but my sister, asking for ‘just one bite,’ ended up eating it all.  

All I got were a few floating bits of egg and some ramen scraps.  

Unbelievable.  

I never imagined she’d eat the whole thing.  

So today, out of spite, I raised the difficulty of our workout.  

  
"You’re punishing me just for eating a little!"  

  
Da-hye grumbled from behind, chasing after me as if to pounce.  

She was gasping and heavy-footed, but determined to get revenge for today.  

Of course, there’s no way she’d ever catch me.  

I ran even harder, widening the gap between us.  

  
"So mean!!"  

  
That shout from my sister marked the morning.  

  
After running hard, I gradually slowed down to match Da-hye’s pace.  

  
Huff, huff.  

  
I heard Da-hye’s ragged breaths.  

  
"We’re going downhill now. Take it slow so your knees don’t get hurt."  

  
After reaching our goal, we turned around and went back down the hill.  

I made sure Da-hye stayed safe.  

  
"……Why am I even doing this?"  
"For your health and your allowance."  
"……I want to sue my past self."  

  
A regret-filled confession spilled out from Da-hye.  

  
"Come on, it’s not that bad. We’re almost there. Hehe."  

  
Before I knew it, we’d reached the last stretch.  

On the flat part, Da-hye staggered and then stopped.  

I checked my stopwatch and nodded.  

  
"Thirty minutes. Exactly on target. Well done."  
"……Shouldn’t you raise my allowance for this?"  
"I don’t remember that being in the contract?"  
"Oppaaaaang."  

  
At my immediate reply, Da-hye switched to her most cutesy voice.  

The feisty sister from a moment ago was gone without a trace.  

  
"Just from what Mom and I give you, it’s over 200,000 won."  
"Not enough, not enough! Just raise it by 100,000 won. Or no, just 50,000. Actually, 100,000! I’ll work out even harder. I’m in second year now!"  

  
For the first time, real desperation poured from Da-hye’s mouth.  

  
‘Looks like we’ve reached this stage.’  

  
Adults often say things like,  

  
‘What does a student need money for, anyway?’  

  
But that line of thinking is flawed from the start.  

By that logic, unless it’s for entertainment, even working adults don’t need much money.  

We were all students once.  

If we went back to those days, maybe we’d understand better.  

I remember working part-time because my allowance was short, buying what I needed with the money I earned, and hanging out with friends.  

It’s not that students need less or have fewer desires.  

The problem is they don’t have enough money to do what they want.  

Up to now, Da-hye’s learned the value of money.  

Now it’s time for her to learn how to use it herself.  

In ten days, Da-hye would be a second-year middle schooler, fifteen years old.  

She looks like an ordinary student, but in truth, she’s my little sister with assets in the billions of won.  

Of course, she doesn’t know that, living off her 200,000 won a month.  

But what if, one day,  

  
‘Actually, you’re worth billions.’  

  
Someone told her that—how would she react?  

It’s hard to guess, since it hasn’t happened yet, but she’d probably need time to adjust.  

  
‘Well, it’ll be fine. Best to let her learn firsthand how to manage money, starting now.’  

  
I’d planned to give her a bigger allowance in high school, but I decided to bump it up a bit early, just to fill the gap.  

  
"All right, I’ll raise it."  
"Wow! Really?!"  
"Yeah, but there’s a condition."  
"……Blood. Again."  
"You don’t want to?"  
"No! Who said that?!"  
"Anyway, since you’ve been keeping your promises with me, as a reward, I’ll raise it by not just ten, but fifty. But you have to keep an expense ledger."  
"Huh? W-what did you just say, oppa?!"  
"You don’t want to keep a ledger?"  
"No, before that. Did you just say fifty thousand more?"  
"Yeah, fifty. Why, too much?"  
"No, no! Of course not!! I love it! I can keep a ledger."  
"You’ll have to show it to me every month, you know."  
"So what! It’s fifty thousand more!"  
"Hehe, all right. Let’s head home."  

  
Oh yeah!! Yes!!  

  
Now, Da-hye’s allowance was 700,000 won a month.  

That’s probably excessive for a middle schooler, but she’d be handling even more in the future.  

This was just the prologue.  

Unaware of my thoughts, Da-hye danced into the bathroom, swaying her shoulders.  

  
Brrr.  

  
Just as I was getting ready to shower after arriving home, my phone vibrated.  

  
[Go Dae-sik.]  

  
Go Dae-sik’s name flashed on the screen.  

What could he want so early in the morning?  

I opened my phone and answered the call.