Chapter 76: An Unexpected Buzz

[PSYWorld - Yoo Dahye’s Mini Homepage]

Wearing sunlight, dressed in summer.

#SummerIsHere #FirstSponsoredShoot #YooDahye #PhotoHelpByDaesikOppa #AdCopyHelpByMyOppa

haein_song : So pretty!!

dear_pine : Wow, seriously, where is that dress from? It's exactly my style! Totally gives off that girlish vibeㅠㅠ

빙수요정: The shoes are so cute. Those sneakers are so fresh. Absolutely perfect for summer!

seoyoung_92: I saw this from Chaerin unni’s homepage! That photo was lovely, but this dress looks amazing on you.

Minsuni : Where did you take this? Which studio is it?

Jihyun_L : The styling is on point, but the copy is really nice too.

As Min Doyoon scrolled down, his finger paused in front of the post and his gaze fixed there.

"She’s a lot more creative than I thought, this kid."

He recalled the encounter at the hotel a few days ago.

Eyes far too mature for her age, and a poise that handled every situation with ease.

Those images lingered in his mind, so seeing the copy she wrote felt even more special.

"She’s got a good sense. The way she expresses herself is fresh—I like it."

Maybe anyone could write those words, but crafting a phrase that highlights the trend and the model, and draws people in, is no easy task.

"Wearing sunlight, dressed in summer. What a fun expression."

That softly muttered line lingered powerfully in his mind.

Using the words 'wearing' and 'dressed' in such a different way from their usual meaning—it kept catching his attention.

The sentence matched the model’s image perfectly.

"Just one line, and I’m this excited. She’s got real talent."

Min Doyoon let out a quiet chuckle.

To think that a single phrase could make a model shine even brighter.

He’d learned something today.

"Maybe I should give this a try."

He opened his desk drawer and pulled out an advertising proposal, spreading it out on his desk.

Inside were plans for various products.

He picked one out and placed it on the desk.

"This should do."

A playful grin tugged at Min Doyoon’s lips.

His face, full of mischief, brimmed with expectation.

---

The rain had stopped that afternoon, and a humid breeze slipped past the publishing house office window. Kim Hogwon set down his coffee cup and shuffled through the papers on his desk once more. He’d read and reread the proposal countless times.

‘Fantasy Life Platform Business Plan.’

"Ha, am I really going to do this?"

He let out a sound that was halfway between a sigh and admiration, then turned his eyes back to the papers.

Monthly fixed payment for writers posting 25+ serials: 800,000 won.

Additional bonus for diligent serialization: 500,000 won.

Top 5 popular writers bonus: 500,000 won.

Total possible: up to 1.8 million won.

All writers who meet requirements will receive full funding.

"...Wow, they really must have made a lot. Supporting all of this will take quite a bit of money."

At least several hundred million won?!

If the number of writers grew, even that might not be enough.

It was an unbelievably generous offer that ordinary business owners would never dare try.

He’d been in publishing for years, but this was his first time encountering something like this.

Companies always try to save every penny.

New businesses in particular try to keep things as cheap as possible.

But Yoo Seunghyun was different.

No matter how much he made from novels, he was going to spend that money on attracting writers to a business that didn’t even have a proven profit model yet.

All of Kim Hogwon’s common sense came crashing down.

fantasylife.co.kr

Official launch: end of August.

"I didn’t even get this excited when I started my own publishing house. Am I nervous because I think this could go south?"

It was predicted to require an enormous amount of capital, and his heart was pounding.

He was, quite literally, scared.

Kim Hogwon sipped his coffee, trying to calm his nerves.

"If money isn’t a problem and things go as planned, it’s a good thing. But will people actually read novels on the internet?"

Then another question cropped up.

Comics, sure—but would people really read just small-font novels online?

"All I can do is hope for the best."

No point worrying endlessly.

He forced himself to push aside lingering doubts and moved on to the next task.

Leaning back against his chair, he rolled his sore neck, wiped sweat from his brow with his sleeve, and tapped at the keyboard.

No contracts, no shackles, a free serialization environment.

Let’s live by our writing.

[www.fantasylife.co.kr]

"Hmm, is this a bit stiff? Still, there’s nothing better than this."

So what if it’s a little stiff?

This site is throwing around money anyway.

[You’re the coolest when you write!

Newbies, rookies, and all who are just starting out—gather here!]

He added a line full of energy.

Below that, he started listing the points he’d discussed with Seunghyun.

● One episode a day!

● Fixed monthly payment: 800,000 won.

● Diligent + popular writer bonuses up to 1 million won.

● Let’s get paid by writing!

● www.fantasylife.co.kr.

● Opening August 31, 2002!

"They won’t be able to resist. Even I would have to sign up for this."

Posting 25 serial episodes a month for a guaranteed 800,000 won—that’s about what a new office worker makes.

The current minimum hourly wage is 2,100 won.

Average take-home pay for office workers is between 1 and 1.5 million won after tax.

Even just looking at that, 800,000 won is a huge amount.

"But we can’t just hand it out to everyone. Better set some special conditions."

● Must write at least 100 episodes, any genre!

● Episodes 1–25 are just for serialization. From episode 26, episodes are counted, and payment starts from episode 50.

● ......

He filled the rest of the page with various other details.

[Let’s build our world.]

"Good. That’s it."

Kim Hogwon shut down his computer, got up from his chair, gathered the prepared documents, and headed outside.

---

Lately, the writers’ forum had been bustling with activity.

Today, especially, the buzz was even hotter than usual.

[Free Board.]

┗ Fantasy Life? They’re paying writers a salary? With no revenue at all?! How is that possible??

┗ Have you heard of this Fantasy Life platform? I heard they’re offering writer payments??

┗ What exactly does Pantheon Publishing do?

Pantheon Publishing filled the forums from top to bottom.

And most of the talk was about the monthly payments to writers.

I moved my cursor and clicked on one of the posts.

[Author: Blue Rain Sound

Date: 2002.07.XX.]

[Pantheon is apparently starting a fixed-wage site for writers.

The server isn’t open yet, but serialization is scheduled to start next month.

*Post at least one episode a day, get 800,000 won per month.

*Bonus 500,000 for consistent serialization.

*Bonus 500,000 for top popular writers.

Combined, that’s up to 1.8 million a month.

But is this even possible?]

It seemed Kim Hogwon had done a decent job with promotion—lots of people were posting the same thing in the forums.

"It’s possible. As long as you have money."

A faint smile appeared on my lips.

Those lines, those doubts, there was a cautious excitement that came through in the posts.

┗ Easier said than done. One episode a day isn’t a joke. Anyone who’s written a lot knows.

┗ Even if you only get paid from episode 50, this is still pretty enticing. There are tons of writers who can’t even make 500,000 won a month.

┗ Serializing daily without a publisher—can this really work??

Most of the comments were suspicious rather than positive.

Not that surprising.

No one had ever seen a system like this before.

"In the future, this kind of marketing will be everywhere."

Give it away for free at first to gather people, then when the market’s ripe, start charging.

It requires a huge initial investment, but there’s no surer way to grow the market.

For now, people will be cautious, but that day will come when readers will use the ‘internet,’ not ‘books,’ to read stories.

They’ll find more variety online than in bookstores or rental shops, and get to read their favorites for free at home—so fewer and fewer people will visit bookstores or rental shops.

When that time comes, you can switch from free to paid, and quickly recover your investment.

"In the meantime, I just need to keep piling up my own work."

Before long, the age of web novels will begin.

Until then, I’ll keep writing steadily, building up my catalogue.

[Consulting the Chaebol Family’s Black Sheep, Episode 53.]

I opened my folder and switched to Hangul.

With volume three, the world expanded dramatically.

Each character was alive, full of desire and conflict.

The protagonist, Ryu Kangjun, used people’s desires to provide consulting, gaining attention from Korea’s self-employed.

Through part-time jobs alone, he was making almost as much as the heads of small and medium-sized companies.

Kangjun never got to see money pile up in his account—every last won went straight into stocks.

"Knowing the future is the best. If you have money, making more is so easy."

My fingers picked up speed on the keyboard.

The rhythmic sound of typing filled the quiet room.

The deeper my focus, the more all outside noise faded away.

The cursor danced across the screen, my eyes moving as fast as the typing.

"Nice."

A small whisper, like talking to myself.

I hoped the story I was writing would find its way into someone’s heart, and continued on to the next chapter.

Brrr!

Just then, my phone, sitting on the desk, vibrated furiously.

Then the ringing stopped.

[13 missed calls.]

The number flashed on the screen.

"What the—? Who called this much?! Who could it be?"

There aren’t really any people who would call me this many times.

Dahye?

Or Daesik?

But they’re not the type.

I checked the phone to see who’d left so many missed calls.

Brrr!

Suddenly, it vibrated again, and a name appeared on the screen.

"Min Doyoon?! Why would Doyoon hyung call me? We’re not even that close. Hello? This is Yoo Seunghyun."

Puzzled, I answered the call.