Chapter 72: Betting on the Future

An invitation to a party arrived from Chaerin.

Inside the thick envelope was an invitation, printed with polite wording and engraved with the hotel's silver-embossed mark.

The event venue was a banquet hall in a five-star hotel in downtown Seoul. The date and time: Saturday evening, 7 PM, in the first week of July.

No wonder, since the host was a chaebol, the party is being held in such a pricey place.

"Her decisiveness is truly impressive. I didn’t expect her to send the invitation by courier as soon as she decided."

As soon as I accepted the party invitation on the day of, she texted, ‘Someone will arrive at your house in about an hour.’

Exactly an hour later, a person sent by Chaerin noona arrived at the house, handed over the invitation, and disappeared.

Throughout my past and present lives, I've met all sorts of people, but I've never seen anyone so quick to act.

A textbook example of matching words to actions.

When it comes to handling tasks, she'd be the ideal employee for any company.

[Can I bring my younger sister? She’s in middle school, and since she wants to be a model and an actress, I think it’d be good for her to come.]

I also asked if Dahye could attend the party with me.

[Oh! Really? Of course!! I’ll take good care of her. Bring her along.]

Her answer was an enthusiastic ‘YES’.

[Thank you. Then, I’ll see you that day.]

I ended the call with thanks, filled with gratitude.

"I hope this event becomes a good experience for Dahye."

I slid the invitation into one corner of my desk drawer, wishing it would be a great opportunity for Dahye.

"That’s all for this matter. Next..."

I opened my phone, searched a name, and pressed the call button.

"Hello, CEO Kim Hogwon? This is Yoo Seunghyun."

I called the CEO of Pantheon Publishing.

— Yes, author. I was just about to call to congratulate you. Congratulations on the huge viewer ratings.

The CEO offered his congratulations as soon as he answered.

"Haha, I was going to talk business, but I’m getting congratulated instead."

I smoothly added the reason for my call.

— Pardon? Business?

"Yes, it’s a long story for the phone. I’d prefer to discuss it in person. Are you free tomorrow? I only have morning classes tomorrow, so I think 2 PM should work."

Due to school construction, only morning classes are scheduled for tomorrow.

— Tomorrow at 2 PM? Of course, that works. Then, I’ll come to your school at 2.

"Please, just come to Daesik’s studio instead. You know the address, right?"

— If it’s Go Daesik’s studio, yes, I know it. I’ll be there by 2.

"Alright, then I’ll see you tomorrow at Daesik’s studio at 2 PM."

Inspired by Chaerin’s decisiveness, I immediately set an appointment with the CEO of Pantheon Publishing and intended to move forward with the platform business.

July’s classroom, just as summer was reaching its peak, was filled with a sweltering heat. Leaning on the four wall-mounted fans, we barely managed to survive the warmth.

Some kids, unable to stand the heat, drank partially melted bottles of frozen water, while others undid a few buttons and fanned themselves to cool off.

A few, seeking escape from the heat, surrendered to sleep, relying on the natural breeze blowing in from the window.

Watching them, I began to prepare for the homeroom session, when students started crowding around me with a barrage of questions.

"Hey, are you really not going to college?"

A friend sitting by the window leaned toward me and struck up a conversation.

When news spread that I wasn’t going to college, it became a big issue among the students.

The main reason for attending an academic high school is to get into university.

But since I wasn’t interested in college, it must have come as a fresh shock to them.

I wondered what kind of expression they'd make if I told them the real reason I came here was because it was close to home.

"Yeah. I’m not going."

Amused by various thoughts, I stopped spinning my pen on the desk and looked at the faces of the friends around me.

"What? That’s ridiculous. Your grades are good, aren’t they? Maybe not Seoul National, but you could get into some decent universities, right?"

Unlike my previous life, I’ve been living as a diligent student this time around.

Thanks to my improved concentration, my grades placed me in the upper ranks.

Naturally, the kids assumed I’d go to college, so my lack of interest came as a shock.

"Still not going."

"Are you serious? Why?! College is good for you, though. What do your parents say?"

"They respect my decision."

"Wow, you really have parents like that? I’m jealous. My parents talk like life is over if I don’t go to college."

"......"

I couldn't bring myself to say the next part. Hearing about our country’s flawed educational culture left me feeling bitter.

Instead of overemphasizing college, education that brings out individual talents would be better.

Still, it was too sensitive a topic to voice my thoughts to the others.

"So what are you going to do? If you don’t go to college, what else is there? What exactly are you planning?"

I truly hope for the day when college is no longer seen as the answer to life.

"Just... what I want to do."

"And what’s that?"

"Let’s just say... there’s something. Any more and you might get hurt. Haha."

I mixed in a little joke to keep the topic from getting too heavy, and shut my friend up with a moderate answer.

"Sheesh."

My friend tilted his head, but didn’t ask further.

"Whatever the reason, I’m kind of jealous of you. You seem more relaxed about things."

"Jealous? Everyone has their own path. I just don’t care about college, that’s all."

"I wish I could say that, too."

"You will someday. You’ll find your own path. Hey, the teacher’s here."

The classroom door opened, and the homeroom teacher walked in. I let my friends know and turned my eyes to the front.

The teacher reiterated that classes would end early due to school construction and then announced that all lessons were over before leaving the classroom.

We all packed our bags and left the classroom in a rush.

[Class is over. I’ll see you at 2.]

I texted the CEO of Pantheon Publishing and, avoiding the gaze of my classmates, headed to where my car was parked.

---

At 2 PM, right on time, the CEO of Pantheon Publishing arrived at the studio for our meeting.

The conversation began with small talk before moving to the main topic.

"I’m planning to run a community. A community centered on daily serializations, categorized by genres like modern fantasy, fantasy, and romance."

"It’s a good idea, but do you think writers will actually post? There’s no money in it, and managing it wouldn’t be easy."

CEO Kim Hogwon cautiously raised his concerns.

I understood what he meant. In 2002, online communities were still mostly information-focused, and creative serialization platforms were little more than bulletin boards. Naturally, it made sense to wonder who would write regularly for a platform that made no money.

But, knowing the future, I wasn’t too worried.

I gave a light laugh and continued with my thoughts.

"You don’t need to worry about that. I have a plan for it. I’m thinking of paying writers who serialize at least 25 chapters a month a guaranteed monthly sum of 800,000 won. Out of my own pocket, of course. And for those who serialize diligently, an extra 500,000 won. For those who make it into the rankings, another 500,000 won."

This applies to all writers.

"...Excuse me, what did you just say?"

CEO Kim’s eyes widened in shock.

"Writers need at least some motivation to write. At this level, it shouldn’t be hard to attract them."

In the current genre fiction market, it’s extremely rare for a writer to earn a million won a month.

Even in the 2020s, when the web novel market boomed, most writers couldn’t make even a million won per month.

Given that, offering a guaranteed 800,000 won plus extras, there wouldn’t be a writer who wasn’t interested.

"Are you serious? That’s a considerable expense."

"I have the funds, so there’s no need to worry."

I understood CEO Kim’s concern.

He was right to be worried.

But if there’s enough capital, there’s no reason for concern.

He was just worried because he didn’t know how much I actually had.

I didn't see any chance of this business failing, and even if it did, it wouldn't affect me.

"It might be a loss at first. But it won’t take more than a few years for this market to grow. The paper book market will gradually shrink. When that happens, publishers will be in serious trouble. Many will disappear. This is a way to prepare for that: I want to nurture online fiction."

I recalled memories from my previous life. When internet fiction was reborn as web novels and the market exploded into the hundreds of billions, reaching a trillion-won industry.

There may be no smartphones yet, but PC communication and the early internet bulletin boards are growing rapidly—2002 is the turning point for the internet market.

"CEO, if we start now, we can take the lead. This won’t be just another community, but a gateway for writers. A place where writers are treated as professionals. A space for direct interaction with readers, where works can grow, and publishing can be linked in the same system."

"......"

CEO Kim was silent for a while, but I continued to explain my vision for the platform market.

"It’ll cost money at first, but once the system is in place, Pantheon Publishing will be able to secure the best writers before anyone else. We can also design the distribution network ourselves. Every publisher will want to join our community, and we’ll use that to grow. When the time comes, we’ll be in a position to pick and choose publishers as we like."

With powerful promotions and ample capital, we could rise as the dominant force in the web platform market.

"Even with strong finances, the risks would still be high, don’t you think?"

Without knowledge of the future, CEO Kim was full of worries.

"I’ll take on that risk. Just focus on recruiting writers and operating the site. I’ll handle all the operating expenses, salaries, and other costs."

Someday, CEO Kim would realize what a huge opportunity I was giving him and be grateful.

A small business would grow overnight into a major company.

"If that’s your intention, I’ll secure the domain first. I’ll register the community under the name you decided: Fantasy Life."

After persistent persuasion, CEO Kim finally agreed to my plan.

Thus began my first business.

Under the name Fantasy Life.