*Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint* Side Story
Everyone, thank you for waiting for so long.
At last, the side story of *Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint* begins.
Although I'm starting it, to be honest, I have no idea what to write. After all, this was never a story written with side stories in mind.
While I was on break, I read through the feedback and comments you all left on the main story, and honestly, I was amazed.
You readers are geniuses. Meanwhile, I have no thoughts at all. To the point where... I haven't even decided on the main character yet.
When I was writing the main story of *Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint*, the words flowed easily. But now, it's like someone hit me hard on the back of the head, and my mind is completely blank.
Still, the fact that I'm typing up this announcement means...
.
.
.
At that point, I stopped typing and held down the backspace key.
Damn, what am I even doing? No matter how tough things are, this is not something a professional writer should say.
Biting my nails, I began typing a new sentence.
.
.
.
Come to think of it, I've never really introduced myself, have I? My identity does come up in Chapter 549 of *Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint*, but I'm sure most of you have forgotten by now.
To put it in Kim Dokja's style, this is the kind of person I am.
*Lee Hak-hyun.*
My father gave me this name after paying 300,000 won at a fortune-teller's shop, saying I would soar like a noble crane.
*Hak* (鶴) means 'crane,' and *Hyun* (翾) means 'to soar.'
A few months after naming me, the fortune-teller's shop went out of business. It was only then that my father discovered the hidden meaning in *Hyun* (翾) – the parentheses that came before the definition.
翾: to fly (lightly)
In short, I am this kind of person.
*Lee Hak-hyun*, 33 years old.
1. A (lightly) successful web novel writer.
For reference, my only hit novel is as follows:
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*Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint* – 551 chapters in total.
―Written by Lee Hak-hyun
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This 551-chapter-long fantasy novel is *Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint*.
Or 'ORV' for short.
I spent two years of my late 20s and early 30s serializing this story...
I stopped there and pressed backspace again.
This just turned into a self-introduction. And a terrible one at that. Why am I introducing myself when I'm not even the protagonist of this side story?
*Zzzzzt.*
That wasn't the sound of a spark of inspiration; it was the ringtone of my phone.
With a serious expression, like Kim Dokja preparing for the backlash of causality, I pressed the call button. It was the voice of my editor goblin.
―Writer-nim.
These days, this is the second scariest thing I can hear.
"Yes?"
―You're writing the side story, right?
And this is the first.
"No."
The person sighing on the other end was my dedicated editor, Ji Eun-yoo.
Ji Eun-yoo was a seasoned PD in the industry, and in a way, it was because of her that I got pulled into this field after writing literary fiction. So in a sense, she was my lifesaver.
―What are you planning to do?
I answered in a gloomy voice.
"That's what I'm asking. What should I do?"
―You're not playing that new game that just came out, are you?
"I only installed it."
―Then why are you logged into Steam? It just sent a notification that you started playing.
As I closed the game I had been loading, I said, "Do you think I'm really playing games to play games? I'm trying to get ideas."
―There was a time when I used to believe that.
Ji Eun-yoo had learned a hard truth over six years as an editor: writers who play games for ideas end up just playing games.
And honestly, I agree with her.
―What happened to the idea you mentioned before?
"It didn't work out when I tried to write it."
―You said you'd do a collaboration with your previous works. We talked about it briefly.
I began recalling the names of my previous works.
*The Orc Philosopher*, *The Infinite Warden*, *System Breaker*, *The Mage of the Unending World*, *Method Master*, *How to Become a Star Author*...
No matter how I thought about it, there was no natural way to merge those novels with *ORV*.
Besides, *How to Become a Star Author* was a ridiculous story where a character named Lee Hak-hyun (yes, my name) gets reincarnated into his own novel and becomes a star author. There was no way I could use that as a crossover work.
And most importantly,
"Why would I collaborate with failed works?"
Most of those novels didn't even get a paid release before their serialization was cut short.
―I thought they were all fun.
"That doesn't make me feel any better."
―Didn't you once say you had a great idea after drinking and going up to the rooftop? Maybe try that again?
"I've already tried it."
―Is there no lingering sense that someone smacked you on the back of the head? Like Han Su-young appearing in your dreams?
I let out a sigh, caught between laughing and crying.
In my novel, Yoo Joong-hyuk had struck me on the head, Han Su-young had sent me the story, and I had written it all so easily... I honestly wonder sometimes if it wouldn't be better if that were true.
―Sigh, I'm sorry.
I know. Ji Eun-yoo must be just as frustrated.
With the constant news of the market slump, I'd heard that Ji Eun-yoo's management was also going through financial difficulties. The large number of staff they had recruited were leaving, and many of the authors were either switching management companies or leaving the market entirely.
Given that, I wondered if writing this side story would really help.
―There are still a lot of readers waiting for your story, Writer-nim.
"Where are they?"
It's embarrassing to admit, but *ORV* was once the #1 free bestseller on its platform and was doing quite well.
I had fans who loved my story, and there were active discussions on various communities.
After finishing the series, I would secretly search for *ORV* to see the readers' reactions and feel satisfied.
But all of that was in the past.
Now, no one remembers my novel.
―Don't argue about the details. They're out there.
Where? I swallowed my rising doubts.
"I'll try my best."
I gloomily hung up the phone and thought about grabbing a drink for the evening.
I closed my laptop, headed to a nearby convenience store, and picked out a can of beer and some snacks. At first, I grabbed some chips, but then I put them back and chose protein biscuits instead.
Have I really reached an age where I have to start worrying about these things?
After paying, I opened the beer and began drinking. Ji Eun-yoo's words echoed in my mind.
"*There are still a lot of readers waiting for your story, Writer-nim.*"
By the way, the single quotation marks (' ') I used above are what I use when I'm having a special thought.
I'm having one of those special thoughts right now.
Are there really still readers waiting for my story?
As I finished my beer, I logged back into the web novel platform.
There were a ton of notifications waiting for me. System messages asking me to resume serialization and notifications about my fellow authors starting new series.
And then there were...
―Thank you for the great story, Writer-nim.
Messages left by readers.
―I'm a 14-year-old middle school student. This was the first web novel I've ever read…
Some messages were cute, while others were sincere.
―This story has been my saving grace during my military service…
All of these were fragments of the story, left behind by the readers for me.
And now, three years have passed.
That middle schooler has probably become a high school student by now. The high schooler must have become a college student, and the soldier probably finished their service. As for the job seeker, hopefully, they found a job...
Anyway, my readers had moved on and become something new, leaving the story behind. Meanwhile, I was still here, this boring person who now picks protein biscuits instead of chips.
―It was a great read, Writer-nim.
At that moment, I choked on my beer and spilled some.
It turned out that this message had just arrived. To think that, three years after the story ended, there was still someone sending me messages.
―Sender: Kim Dokja Representative.
When I saw the sender's ID, I immediately remembered.
Kim Dokja Representative.
Back when I was serializing, there was a reader with that username.
―It's already been three years since *ORV* ended. Every year around this time, I re-read the story, and this year was no different. It's fascinating how it feels like a new story every time I read it.
Reading that brought back memories from three years ago. It was so much fun reading the series back then.
This was exactly how I felt.
This reader had left comments every day
and sent me feedback regularly.
In short, the username 'Kim Dokja Representative' suited them well.
―I'm not sure if you'll remember me.
Of course, I remember. I still look at those messages from time to time.
I remember the days when I'd write relentlessly until the deadline, then, completely exhausted, I'd read the messages and comments left by the readers before going to bed.
Without the people who endured those moments with me, I wouldn't have been able to withstand the loneliness or finish that final sentence.
I hesitated, then picked up the keyboard. This time, I wanted to reply not as an author, but in my own words.
But then…
―There's a small fan event tomorrow at 7 PM. If you're free, I'd love for you to join. I've prepared a special gift to thank you, Writer-nim.
A gift?
―Sorry, but the event tickets are paid. I still need to make a living, you know.
Suddenly, I remembered *ORV*'s prologue.
In the prologue, Kim Dokja receives a message from the author tls123.
The message says the epilogue will be released as paid content.
In other words, this message was a little joke from a long-time reader.
I started typing a reply.
―Thank you so much, dear reader. But I'll just take your kind thoughts as the gift. And if the tickets are paid... doesn't that mean it's not a gift? (Haha)
Surely they hadn't actually prepared a gift, right?
Even if they had, there was no way I could shamelessly accept it. How could I, a writer who hadn't even managed to write a side story in three years, take a gift?
By the way, should I take out the 'Haha'? Do people not use stuff like that these days?
Naively, that's what I was thinking as I sipped my beer.
Completely unaware of what was going to happen the next day in my life.
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**Author's Note:**
This story may be a side story for *Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint*, but it is not separate from the main plot.
This is still the story of Kim Dokja, but it is not just for one Kim Dokja.
Thank you so much for waiting.
Once again, we begin *Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint*.
February 2023
Sing Shong