That was not all.
[Excuse me, young man. If I add some Merit of my own, could you arrange an opportunity for me?]
There were even some who tried approaching him discreetly.
[Now just where do you think you’re cutting in? Did you not hear what that admirable youngster said? Opportunities should be fair to everyone! At your age, how can you have so little sense of fair dealing?!]
Of course, that one was soon driven off by another competitor who appeared.
This must all be because our boy is simply too outstanding.
Until only a short while ago, Cheonghwa had been secretly trying to arrange a fourth request without Rowoon knowing.
Now, however, she was merely standing there with her shoulders squared in confidence.
Incidentally, thanks to this request, Cheonghwa had finally opened her eyes!
Truthfully, not having eyes had never interfered with her ability to see in the slightest.
But that was beside the point.
It was a matter of how it felt!
I’m finally becoming more and more complete!
And was that not all thanks to their admirable boy?
She was somewhat worried that he was a little too softhearted, but fortunately, that fox had not forgotten the favor Rowoon had done by giving up the bead and had granted him exactly the ability he needed.
Well, Jeonghye survived thanks to him, so you could say he saved that fellow’s life too. Of course Iho ought to be grateful. Still, what a hopelessly doting fool.
Seeing how Iho behaved around Lee Jeonghye, one had to wonder how he had ever intended to stay away from her.
There was no end to how devoted he was.
Cheonghwa had no idea where he had gone and sold off the pride of a Heavenly Fox who had lived for more than a thousand years.
Thinking of Iho fussing over Lee Jeonghye as though she were the most precious thing in the world, Cheonghwa clicked her tongue.
Tsk, tsk. Sure, our boy accomplished a legendary feat, made even the Heavenly Emperor aware of his name, possesses an upright and proper character, has sound judgment, and understands how the world works, so naturally I’m proud of him! But I must make sure I never behave like that!
Using Iho as a cautionary example, Cheonghwa resolved to conduct herself with greater dignity.
Of course, since she was in every respect yet another magnificent doting fool herself, that resolution was entirely useless.
Several days passed after the request that had brought both an unexpected feat and some very satisfying additional rewards.
<Can you talk?>
Iho contacted him.
“Yes, I’m free. Oh, how is Jeonghye doing?”
<She’s better thanks to you. Considering what you gave her, it’d be stranger if she wasn’t better!>
Unlike a few days ago, he had contacted Rowoon first instead of barging in without warning.
It seemed he had regained some sense.
Iho gave an awkward little laugh, sounding slightly embarrassed.
But only for a moment.
<There does seem to be a slight side effect, though.>
“What?”
Rowoon asked in alarm, only for the man on the other end of the call to let out a light laugh that did not sound especially worried.
<See, the thing is… our Jeonghye went and got younger!>
“…What?”
Rejuvenation?
That was certainly not a word Rowoon had expected to hear.
<We couldn’t exactly keep staying at the hospital anyway. How were we supposed to explain terminal cancer suddenly going poof and disappearing? We’d be lucky if they didn’t turn her into a research subject. And then imagine if she suddenly started getting younger on top of that. You know how greed-ridden humans can be. They really might come after her to study her. So we got out of there before any of that could happen.>
Iho cheerfully rattled on, and Rowoon could not tell whether this was a situation report or simply bragging.
Now that I’m hearing it, this somehow sounds more like bragging…
<Fortunately, Jeonghye wasn’t the type to do much public activity. She’s famous, but almost nobody knows her face. Maybe a few people in publishing? I can cover that much easily enough with my abilities.>
Iho added that all he needed to do was give them a slight suggestion.
After a very long bout of bragging, he finally got to the point.
<Anyway, Jeonghye says she wants to thank you in person. I feel the same. Last time, I think I behaved pretty rudely, so this time I’d like to give you a proper thank-you…>
“No, no, really, no.”
Rowoon, who had been listening quietly, hurriedly cut him off.
<Why not? It’s all thanks to you. Hey, Jeonghye and I aren’t such shameless animals that we’d receive a favor like this and then pretend it never happened. Of course we should thank you.>
“You already gave me the reward for the request. And you even gave me that separate skill too. What was it again, Intuition?”
<I’ve thought this since last time, but you get surprisingly embarrassed about things like this, don’t you? Fine. If that’s how you feel, I won’t push it. I can’t exactly force you when I’m the one trying to thank you.>
That was a relief.
Just imagining Lee Jeonghye thanking him in person was enough to awaken the Confucian gentleman sleeping inside Rowoon and send him leaping to his feet to protest.
<Still, we do need to meet once.>
“What? No, really, it’s fine.”
<That’s not what I mean. You know Jeonghye is a famous writer, right?>
He placed noticeable emphasis on the word famous.
He truly was a doting fool worthy of Cheonghwa’s recognition.
“Yes, I know. I watched her write every morning as part of her routine. How could I not know? But why bring that up all of a sudden?”
<Now that Jeonghye’s better, she’s started writing seriously again.>
“Oh, that’s great. Congratulations.”
<Heh, it’s thanks to you. Thanks. Anyway, to celebrate, she signed a contract recently.>
Lee Jeonghye had mentioned something during one of their earlier conversations.
One of the regrets she still carried.
She had hated the thought of leaving without ever seeing the end of her work.
She said she’d at least finished planning everything through the ending whenever she had time. I guess she’s started writing again.
That was wonderful.
All the more so because Rowoon had spent several weeks watching just how sincerely Lee Jeonghye devoted herself to writing.
It might feel as though all he had done was listen to Iho brag.
But this kind of bragging is welcome.
Especially when it was good news like this.
<It was an offer she’d received related to the work. Publication kept getting delayed, so she’d only kept the proposal on hold. But things are different now, right? So she decided to sign. When I heard the details, it sounded pretty good to me too. Oh, right. It’s the television adaptation rights. Apparently Jeonghye is going to participate directly in the production as well.>
But then.
<So, that brings me to something. Are you interested in acting in a drama?>
The subject of his bragging suddenly veered off somewhere completely unexpected.
“What?”
This suddenly?
Hadn’t he called just to brag?
While Rowoon froze at the unexpected proposal,
Iho, whose insane ability to push things forward had already been apparent when he forced the request on Rowoon, smoothly moved things along.
<Come over first. I’ll explain the details in person.>
Hwanse Biwonrok.
It was such a famous bestseller that even people who did not read books had probably heard its name at least once.
More than ten years had passed since its initial publication, yet it still consistently ranked among the bestsellers.
Among Korean novels, it held the record for the highest number of reprints and remained the undisputed number one in overseas publishing-rights exports.
It was also famously coveted for screen adaptations by Hollywood and numerous other countries.
-The most Korean fantasy novel.
One critic had described Hwanse Biwonrok that way.
There were also those who said it was difficult to regard Hwanse Biwonrok as merely a novel, praising its extraordinary completeness because it handled historical records and historical research with remarkable care.
There was also a famous incident involving a folklorist.
No matter how fictional it may be, this is far too absurd! The author of Hwanse Biwonrok must stop feeding readers cleverly fabricated knowledge!
Why had criticism that bordered less on literary critique and more on a personal attack become famous?
The reason was simple.
Not long afterward, historical records were discovered that supported the very contents of the novel the scholar had so aggressively attacked.
Naturally, the academic world was turned upside down.
And naturally, Hwanse Biwonrok became even more popular and widely known afterward.
Once that entire incident became public knowledge, the work’s readership and fame only grew further.
Still, there had been a period when Hwanse Biwonrok stumbled.
The president of the publishing company responsible for the series had committed embezzlement.
A work selling like hotcakes across countless countries and considered a strong contender for both the Booker Prize and the Hans Christian Andersen Award had been defrauded?
-That fucking publisher CEO is insane. Even cutting open the goose that lays golden eggs has limits, for fuck’s sake.
The incident enraged the public, and despite the drawn-out legal battle that followed, the series continued to receive endless support from its fans.
However, the writing and publication schedule was gradually delayed because of all those adult complications.
Lee Jeonghye’s steadily worsening health probably played a part too.
The series had already been on an unintended hiatus for several years.
Even now, searching for Hwanse Biwonrok produced plenty of readers wailing all over the internet.
They had reached the point of practically praying to the heavens, saying they did not care how late it was as long as they eventually got the ending.
And after looking all of this up, Rowoon was currently…
“So… what you’re saying is that you want me to appear in this…?”
He was sitting face-to-face with Iho and Lee Jeonghye.
How in the world did things end up like this?
Rowoon had already known that Lee Jeonghye was a famous author.
Of course he had.
That hopelessly doting Iho had bragged about her until his mouth practically wore out.
But I didn’t know she was this famous…!
Even Rowoon had heard the title Hwanse Biwonrok before.
He had already thought she was impressive simply from watching her maintain her writing routine every single day.
I had no idea she was even more amazing than I thought.
Rowoon disliked the shallow practice of judging people by their fame, so he had never paid attention to it.
Perhaps he should have.
How openly had Iho been bragging about her like a lovestruck fool all this time?
And all that had leaked was the news that a contract was supposedly imminent, yet articles were already pouring out one after another.
The reaction was explosive.
-HOLY SHIT, is this real? Hwanbirok is becoming a drama??
-Author-nim, what about the next volume?ㅠ
↳ They’re saying the next book releases when the drama airs!!!!!
↳ Holy shit, I fucking love thisㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-HOLDING OUT FINALLY PAYS OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The readers were already going wild over the news.
-Any casting info yet??
↳ Not yet.
-But couldn’t this go even worse if they mess it up?ㅠ So many great works have been ruined by adaptations. I can’t watch that happen to this oneㅠ
↳ It’s fine, it’s fine. Apparently the author herself is doing the adaptation and participating in the script.
↳ Holy shit, then this might actually be amazing.
↳ I’ll hold my breath until it comes out.
The reaction became even hotter once it was revealed that the original author, Lee Jeonghye, would personally handle the adaptation and script work.
And she wants me to play one of the main characters in that?
Why?
“I believe you are the perfect person for this role, Rowoon.”
The role Lee Jeonghye offered him was none other than the protagonist’s master and greatest supporter.
Not the protagonist, but a supporting role with nearly as much narrative weight.
“If you’re offering this because you’re grateful to me, you really don’t need to.”
“I am grateful to you, Rowoon. But gratitude alone would never make me offer you a role in a work that is like a child to Iho and me.”
Lee Jeonghye smiled gently, but there was an unmistakable firmness beneath it.
The composure she had shown even when facing death remained unchanged.
“I want you to take this role.”
This was strange.
All he had done was complete a request.
And somehow, an acting role had fallen straight into his lap.
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