Chapter 9

#9. Y. R. H.

Sizzling sounds of pork belly grilling filled the air, and the four of them clinked their glasses of drinks.

“Cheers.”

As Seol said this, Nara, Hee-chan, and Dali followed suit.

“Cheers.”

“...Cheers.”

“Cheers!”

The three siblings looked at Dali with loving eyes.

“Dali, is it good?”

“It’s delicious!”

“What about you, Hee-chan and Nara?”

Hee-chan, who was fidgeting with his drink, and Nara, who was stuffing her cheeks with meat, were different.

“Mmm, it’s even more delicious because Oppa grilled it!”

“...Yeah. Eat a lot.”

Seol nodded, holding tongs and scissors.

Just seeing the food fill their stomachs made him feel full.

‘How did you guys live without me in the past?’

It was a painful thought, but it kept overwhelming his mind.

So, he suppressed his emotions and cut the pork belly into bite-sized pieces.

“...”

Hee-chan, on the other hand, seemed very awkward in this situation, constantly checking Seol’s reactions.

Glance, glance.

“!”

When Hee-chan’s eyes met Seol’s, he bowed his head deeply.

Nara, who had been watching, poked Hee-chan’s side.

“Hey, Yoo Hee-chan.”

“...What?”

Hee-chan looked at Nara. Both of them were usually quiet, but while Nara subtly spoke her mind, Hee-chan often held back. Knowing this, Nara whispered in Hee-chan’s ear.

“Is the pork belly delicious?”

“...”

Hee-chan adjusted his glasses with his finger and nodded half-heartedly.

Honestly, good things had been happening lately.

‘Oppa is changing, and we don’t have to eat only ramen anymore. The house is getting cleaner, and Unnie is becoming brighter. I even won an award in a math competition.’

Anyway.

Oppa Yoo Seol was a big and scary presence, but someone to look up to and emulate.

‘Besides, I know Oppa has been working hard lately.’

He couldn’t help but notice the actions Oppa was taking, which he never used to do.

Oppa, who had become so affectionate that it made him feel awkward...

It was awkward, but it was good.

‘But why is it so hard to say the pork belly is delicious?’

While pondering this, he glanced at Seol again.

Nara suddenly blurted out to Seol.

“Oppa! Hee-chan says the meat is delicious.”

“!!!!”

Hee-chan’s cheeks turned red, and he stammered.

“No, no, when did I...!”

“Huh? So it’s not delicious?”

Nara replied playfully, and Hee-chan, flustered, looked at Seol.

“W-well... it’s not...!”

“Eat more, Yoo Hee-chan.”

Cute kid.

Seol placed a few well-cooked pieces of meat on Hee-chan’s plate.

“Yeah...”

“Tell me if you want more. I bought a lot of meat. Okay?”

Hee-chan looked at Seol’s large hands holding the tongs and scissors.

‘...I’ll become like Oppa.’

Yes, that’s how it was. Every time he faced such moments, he wanted to grow up faster.

To grow up quickly and tell Oppa to share the heavy burdens on his shoulders.

—Damn, how long do I have to be the only one making sacrifices?!

Every time Oppa shouted like that, he was scared but not entirely resentful.

Because he vaguely understood the source of Oppa’s fear.

—Yoo Hee-chan, that kid always carries the same bag?

—Hey! Is your family poor?

So, when the kids in his class teased him about his old bag,

When someone bragged about going somewhere expensive with their parents,

When he was scolded for not having trendy items,

When he couldn’t even eat a cup of tteokbokki on his own.

‘Oppa, I don’t think those things matter.’

...I know how hard Oppa works for us.

‘So, I promise.’

Hee-chan chewed the meat in his mouth.

‘I’ll help our family become happy, just like Oppa.’

Even though he can’t do much right now, he remembers clearly the day Oppa smiled.

When he won the competition, and Oppa smiled widely, saying it was like a dragon rising from a stream.

‘I’ll become several times better than what Oppa expects.’

That day, Hee-chan made a huge promise in secret.

***

8:45 PM.

15 minutes before the paid release of [The Genius of the Slum] by Gu Huidong.

“The moon is so bright tonight.”

Seol, holding a laptop, shuffled in slippers and sat on the wooden platform.

It was a makeshift platform that had been there since they moved into this house in a hurry.

“...”

Seol swept the platform with his hand.

Since he started managing the house, he had also cleaned the yard, so there wasn’t much dust.

“Oppa.”

“Huh?”

Nara stood there with a cold coffee.

“Here, eat this.”

“Thanks.”

“Since you’re going out, have a coffee and rest. I’ll do the dishes.”

Nara winked and went inside, leaving Seol alone on the platform in the yard.

He read through the comments.

From encouragement to suspicion, readers with various thoughts had left their marks.

Seol looked up at the moon.

A large moon shone from the highest point of the slum, illuminating him.

‘The moon when I ran away and the moon now are the same moon.’

Unchanging things remain unchanged.

But changing things are endless.

First, the incredibly surprising facts he learned in his second life...

Nara is definitely good with her hands.

Hee-chan is exceptionally smart.

Dali, well, I’m not sure, but...

“Ahem.”

Not just because they are his siblings.

Really, they have some kind of talent.

Earlier, while preparing the vegetables and meat, he had seen Dali dancing like an idol in front of the TV, wearing a princess crown and wiggling her hips.

‘Well, even if not...’

He will fulfill all of Dali’s wishes.

If she wants to wear pretty clothes, he will buy them for her. If she wants to sing for hours, he will send her to a school. If she wants to learn acting, he will let her.

‘I’ll support her until she finds what she wants.’

Seol chuckled.

“Anyway, it’s funny... Oh, the time...!”

“!”

While lost in thought, the paid release had started.

Everyone except him seemed to be waiting for the countdown.

“Wow, damn.”

He refreshed the page several more times, but the notifications kept coming. The readers’ affection for the work could only be expressed through comments.

“But why are there so many notifications?”

It was abnormal.

“Oh.”

Seol then noticed the comments neatly stacked up to Chapter 10 and snapped his fingers.

“I did a 10-chapter release, didn’t I?”

He had forgotten.

The reason? Maybe because the cold coffee Nara made was too delicious?

“Dali, Dali.”

Seol looked at the bright moon and downed the coffee in one shot.

It was a sweet and cool autumn night.

***

13 hours after the paid release.

The next day, [Utopia].

“Wow, what is this?! Author Gu Huidong’s paid release is doing really well?”

PD Han Soo-jung hung onto PD Moon Yoo-bin’s chair, jumping around.

Even PD Moon, who usually had a stern and vague expression, was twice as lively today.

“Yes, it’s doing well. As expected.”

“Wow, it’s amazing. 24 hours haven’t passed yet, right?”

“It’s been exactly 12 hours.”

“Really, it’s so cool, really...!”

With the recent contest season and the increased prize money, both established and new authors were challenging, resulting in more participants than expected.

Yet, to be the top 1-2 in the contest and have a successful paid release!

‘Indeed... It’s surprising that he surpassed all the competitive works.’

Many excellent works were already on the paid ranking, and even while on the contest ranking, Gu Huidong had shown outstanding performance, surpassing many established authors.

‘He was on par with the [Silwon] author, after all.

The [Silwon] author is so famous and established, so even if not considered a direct competitor...

With the [Silwon] author’s paid release in three days, the current top spot on the paid ranking naturally belonged to Gu Huidong’s [The Genius of the Slum].

PD Moon Yoo-bin thought of Gu Huidong.

He had expected a certain level of skill from someone with such eyes.

‘Author, you did an amazing job.’

He didn’t know why, but he felt a deep admiration.

Had a 19-year-old new author ever shown such potential before?

“H...”

Hearing PD Moon Yoo-bin’s laughter, PD Han Soo-jung, who had been sitting in the chair, turned around.

‘Laughing out loud???’

The person who usually sat still like tofu?

‘...Oh, well.’

Just then, another PD entered the office and called for PD Moon.

“PD Moon, the [Silwon] author is here.”

“Oh, I’ll go out.”

PD Moon stood up.

In fact, the [Silwon] author, who maintained the top spot with unparalleled skill and potential, was also PD Moon’s responsibility.

‘Busy, busy.’

It felt strange to have the two authors he managed clash.

When he went to the lobby where the authors waited, a man sitting on one side stood up to greet him.

“PD Moon!”

“Author, thank you for the long journey.”

“No, it was good to take a drive.”

The [Silwon] author shook hands with PD Moon and smiled brightly.

“You look better.”

“Maybe... I moved to a good place, and this work is flowing smoothly.”

“Your works are always the best, aren’t they?”

The calm praise from PD Moon seemed to please the [Silwon] author, who smiled with one corner of his mouth.

He had come to discuss the paid release in three days with his responsible PD.

“Shall we go inside and talk?”

“Ah, yes.”

As the [Silwon] author walked alongside PD Moon, he brought up a topic.

He was curious.

“PD Moon.”

“Yes?”

“Have you seen Author Gu Huidong today? I heard he signed with Utopia.”

“Oh.”

He had thrown out a bait, so he had to see the reaction.

The [Silwon] author quickly scrutinized PD Moon’s face.

But it was impossible to tell. PD Moon’s poker face was always...

“His work is impressive, and I was surprised by the paid release metrics.”

“...”

He is impressive.

However, the [Silwon] author in front of him is also impressive.

PD Moon scratched his head awkwardly.

“Author Gu Huidong is under my management.”

“!...Really...?”

“Hmm... If both of you win the awards, you might meet at the ceremony.”

“...”

PD Moon Yoo-bin never gives anything away easily.

“Is that so?”

The [Silwon] author followed PD Moon, who was walking ahead.

‘I can’t let this go, I need to push.’

The [Silwon] author, who was taller than PD Moon, pouted uncharacteristically.

“Then, at least his age...?”

Did he really think this attitude would work?

PD Moon Yoo-bin was taken aback but decided to answer. This much was okay.

“He’s younger than you, [Silwon] author.”

“Whaaat?!”

The [Silwon] author, who had just turned 29, was surprised out of character.

‘Younger????’

He had never doubted his talent.

Although there were moments of dissatisfaction and regret, he had never doubted his rare talent.

But a strange thought suddenly came to him. It was because of Gu Huidong.

—What? He doesn’t have any previous works?

Without any previous works, the author who had risen to challenge him during the contest was intriguing.

‘Maybe Author Gu Huidong is a real genius.’

Whether he would become a rival, a source of inspiration, or nothing at all.

It naturally made him curious.

***

At the same time.

“Okay, Dali. You really read well. Congratulations on the paid release.”

“Paid release.”

“P-a-i-d r-e-l-e-a-s-e.”

“Paid release!”

Seol and Dali were reading comments together.

Actually, he hadn’t asked her to, but Dali had approached while he was reading the comments and showed interest in reading them.

“I’ve been waiting, Author. I’ll give you all my gold.”

“Okay, okay. Next comment.”

“The writing is so good. Damn, crazy author.”

“Ai, you don’t need to read that.”

Seol quickly took the laptop away.

The readers had expressed their intense love with profanity, and Dali had read it in a cheerful and loving tone.

13 hours after the paid release of [The Genius of the Slum] by Gu Huidong.

The first paid chapter of the 10-chapter release alone had achieved a conversion of 19,981.

Seol spoke to Dali, who was practicing pronunciation.

“Dali.”

“Hmm?”

“Shall we go buy a Korean writing practice book, toys, and clothes?”

Gu Huidong’s youngest, Dali!

Preparing for kindergarten, starting today.