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“I’m sorry.. Please, don’t do that..”

“No. I’ll sleep first because I’ll be late today.”

“Okay. But you owe me, alright?”

“Sure sure. Since I’ll buy the most delicious chicken.”

“Wow wow! Oppa, I want pizza!”

“Alright. Oppa, who just got paid yesterday, is invincible.”

“Please.. Please..”

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“Gasp!”

It feels like I had the worst dream ever. A worn-out, sweaty shirt sticks to my back as it drags me into the blanket.

December 24th

6:40 AM

“Working part-time even on a day like this. Ridiculous and absurd.”

Looking at the clock on the desk, it’s already time for the convenience store night shift job. Without a chance to recover from fatigue, I prepare to go out with my heavy body.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Yes, thank you~”

After exchanging meaningless greetings with the shift worker, I sit down. 55 minutes left.

“Should I start with the cash register check?”

***

“No, I want a refund for this!!”

“Customer, we can’t exchange or refund items purchased from another branch.”

“Oh, come on. It’s all the same convenience store. Just ask the store manager over there.”

“If you want, you do it. Endure it.”

“Haha. I’m sorry.”

“You’re so picky. I won’t come here again.”

“Don’t come then. Our store won’t go under without you.”

“Boss?”

“Good job, Guwon. I’ll handle the rest, so you can leave quickly.”

“..Thank you.”

Listening to the background noise of the argument between the difficult customer and the boss, I went back home. Surely if it continued, it would have turned into a big fight between them.

To put it nicely, it’s cozy. To put it coldly, it’s cramped in my room. I arrive at my tiny one-and-a-half room studio apartment and thaw my cold body.

Even though it’s -15 degrees outside, I can’t turn on the heater. I wrap myself tightly in the blanket, tear open a hot pack, and lie down on the bed.

*Ding!*

#2 [Surviving in a Martial Arts Novel] Congratulations on completion!!

“Oh, it’s up.”

The web novel I was reading climbed up the rankings step by step and eventually reached second place.

I wanted it to remain my own little secret, but I also wanted everyone to read it, so watching it climb the ranks filled me with warmth.

Although I didn’t reach first place.

#1 [Becoming the Villainess’s Younger Sister]

Views: 593,000

Recommendations: 2340,203

Introduction

In my past life, I suffered at the hands of family members who treated me like dirt, but in this life, I became the younger sister of the villainess from a novel I used to read. I thought things would be the same this time around, but…

The stoic fiancé from the North, the charismatic prince, the seemingly frail viscount, and the heroes of the warrior party are all kind to me?

“Spare my fiancé, I will handle everything.”

“If you want something, just say it. I’ll give you half the empire if you wish.”

“Wait here. Think of me. Everything will be resolved soon.”

“Leave everything to me. I will repay your trust.”

Sister, I won’t just stand by and take it this time.

—————————————

Not my cup of tea, a typical female-oriented romantic fantasy novel.

I never liked romance novels, but when I read the introduction to this one, I couldn’t resist.

The protagonist, who was bullied by her sister and family in real life, enters the novel she used to read and faces persecution again, but with the help of her fiancé and other men, she overcomes it.

It’s not about it being female-oriented or having a female protagonist; it’s just that a too passive and flat protagonist didn’t resonate with me.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason. Yeoji’s influence played a part too.

***

“Oppa, another weird novel, ‘pussy’?”

“Well, weird? Lord of the Rings is different from regular novels, right?”

“Oh, you’re such a nerd. Nowadays, there are great web novels and books too.”

‘Yeji… What do you mean by “nerd-like”? We’re only a year apart, you and I..’

“Anyway, enough of that. Read something fun.”

“This is fun enough… For example, what about a martial arts novel! If you’re a man, it’s martial arts! Ka! Swift swordplay! Legendary masters!”

“Yeji… You read them too, even though you’re a woman…”

“Anyway, this is my recommendation!”

“Haha, okay okay. I’ll finish this and then give it a read.”

“No, start with this one! It’s no joke! It’s the epitome of traditional martial arts!”

“How can you differentiate between authentic and non-authentic martial arts just by how much you’ve read?”

“Gal!!!! It’s not right to let emotions cloud your judgment! That’s not the attitude of a martial artist!”

“What is the attitude of a martial artist then?”

“Listen. ‘Mu’ and ‘hyup’ are one.”

“Each character in ‘martial arts’ has its own meaning?”

“Listen. Your older brother found a collapsed grandmother on the roadside. Could he just leave her there?”

“Of course, he would call 911 and help. Ah! So that’s ‘hyup.’”

“Wrong. This is ‘mu (武).’”

“So, what about the courage to stand up to save a student being beaten by thugs?”

In that moment, he answered with a slightly trembling voice, recalling the incident where he had helped a junior at the orphanage who was being harassed by thugs.

“‘Mu?’”

“Wrong. This is ‘hyup (俠).’”

“What’s the difference between the two?”

“Yeah. They’re not different. Without ‘mu,’ you can’t achieve ‘hyup,’ and even if you have ‘hyup’ alone, you can’t stand against ‘mu.’ Just like when your older brother stepped in yesterday.”

As he turned his head, thinking he had been caught.

“Oppa, sometimes it seems like you believe in repaying a blow with two or three more blows.”

The only way for the seven-year-old kid who used to wander the streets to survive was that.

“Oppa. Revenge isn’t ‘hyup.’ Making an effort for revenge isn’t ‘mu’ either. Just as ‘mu’ and ‘hyup’ act as constraints. Revenge is just another constraint. ‘Hyup’ nurtures ‘mu,’ and once ‘mu’ grows, it can gradually nurture ‘hyup,’ but revenge just inflates in an instant. Like our orphanage debt.”

“Yeji… Did you sneak into the principal’s office to look at the records again?”

“That’s not important! Anyway! If you want to understand that difference, read this!”

“Surviving in a martial arts novel..?”

***

Perhaps because of that incident, I became even more obsessed with surviving in martial arts novels, or maybe I was fixated on ‘mu.’

Thinking that with my beloved ‘mu,’ I could easily overcome such novels and immerse myself in them.

So, even though the martial arts novel ‘Musar’ ended today, perhaps there remains a somewhat regretful feeling,

ㄴ Author: Congratulations on completing the work today. The protagonist and the world you created made me immerse myself as if I had become a character in this world. Thanks to you, I could forget some of the pains of reality.

Although the work has come to an end today, ‘Musar’ will remain a part of my life. Even though I didn’t rank first, I think it’s a work several times better than mainstream novels.

Leaving a comment, just before falling asleep.

Ring!

Author: Thank you for being with my child from beginning to end. What parts of the work did not appeal to you?

Since the author never left a single word before, I found it strange,

But I left a reply with a slightly excited heart, wondering if it meant that they remembered me for being with them from the beginning.

ㄴ Well, even from the introduction of the work, I don’t feel that the world and the protagonist are vividly alive, and the fact that the protagonist becomes happy passively with the help of others rather than overcoming things on their own feels too flat. Simply having everyone gather around the protagonist doesn’t enhance the completeness of the story, in my opinion.

Author: …I see. Because it was my sore spot, I may have unknowingly gone along with others in the story.

As I pondered over what this meant.

Author: Yes, just like those children were painful fingers to you.

“What?”

What are you talking about? My painful finger?

I may have a painful finger, but the author shouldn’t know. No, they must not know.

Author: It’s about those children at the orphanage. Your juniors, family, siblings, and lovers.

“I thought it was suspicious, but now I think I can be sure. That bastard knows what happened that day.”

You might not know how you know that now. It’s better to stop there.

Author: Do you regret what happened that day?

Stop it. Stop it, you bastard!

My head is boiling. The fact that unauthorized person heard a story as personal as my own, and the reality of them acting like they know everything about me.

The only ones allowed to know this story are those children who were involved and me, the sinner who must never forget no matter what happens. There are only the two of us.

Author: If this world were one story. If that were the case, the desire to rewind the story. Have you never thought about it?

Of course, I’ve pondered it many times. If only I had arrived a little earlier that day. If only I hadn’t told the children to grow up first that day,

Author: I will give you a chance to change the story of this world.

Author: However, you must also change a story, dear reader.

Author: If you, the reader, who has watched over and raised my other child longer than anyone else, there may be hope to change that child. Please, this time, let everyone get the ending they want…

Suddenly, drowsiness overwhelms me, and my vision blurs.

Is it because I stayed up all night waiting for the conclusion? Is it because I neglected exercise and proper rest?

Gradually losing consciousness

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My third child. Save your sister.

A faint voice is heard, questioning, “Huh?”

Then darkness.