Side Story; Episode 1 - Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

**Episode 1. The World After the Conclusion (1)** **「This is a story about a despair unread.」** * After receiving that intriguing note yesterday, something astonishing occurred to me. I wrote the first sentence of the epilogue. I can't tell you what that first sentence is. It's not because of spoilers, but because it's not particularly groundbreaking. However, it might one day hold some meaningful significance, just like when I wrote the first sentence of 'Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.' The entire story begins today around noon, with the sudden visit from Jieun Yoo. "Author, come with me somewhere." It took less than an hour from the moment she abruptly grabbed me by the nape and dragged me into a taxi to arrive at the destination. We finally reached the front of a theater in Chungmuro—a place previously used as a setting in 'Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.' <The Banquet of Kim Dokja> I glared at the banner hanging at the theater's entrance. Judging by the name, it was clear it was an event related to 'Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.' Suddenly, I recalled the note I received from 'Kim Dokja's Representative' yesterday. ―There will be a small fan event tomorrow at 7 PM. If you have time, it would be nice if you could come and enjoy it. Could this possibly be what yesterday's note meant? I turned to Jieun Yoo and asked, "How did you know about this place?" "The event organizer contacted us. They want to hold a paid event and asked for our permission. In return, they said they'd donate all the entrance fees to an orphanage in Kim Dokja's name. Just in case, I came here to monitor things." So, that's what they meant by a ticketed event. I nodded exaggeratedly and said, "That's a good cause. But why am I—" "You asked where the readers are, didn't you?" I suddenly remembered yesterday's phone call with Jieun Yoo. She mentioned there were readers waiting for my novel, and I asked where they were. I turned again to gaze at the theater. Inside, the readers Jieun Yoo spoke of were waiting. I felt the blood rush to my head, and my heart pounded. "But is it okay for me to go in?" At my hesitance, Jieun Yoo tilted her head in confusion. "Why?" "I'm the author." "It's okay. Didn't Han Sooyoung write that?" Jieun Yoo responded playfully, making me chuckle bitterly in return. "Right." After all, a writer who hasn't written anything for three years hardly counts as one. Just for today, I wanted to dump all the burdens onto Han Sooyoung, whom I've never met. I wanted to believe the reason I wasn't writing the epilogue was because, somewhere in the vast universe, Han Sooyoung hadn't written the manuscript, and Yoo Joonghyuk hadn't delivered it. That’s the belief I clung to. At the theater entrance, life-sized standees of 'Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint' characters were on display. Judging by the design, they seemed to use the art style from the once-serialized webtoon version. The quality was impressive enough to earn admiration. I appreciated the illustrations while recalling each character's name. The Demon King of Salvation, Kim Dokja; the Overlord, Yoo Joonghyuk; Black Flame Demon King, Han Sooyoung; Moonlight Emperor, Yoo Sangah; the Judge of Destruction, Jung Heewon; the Steel Sword, Lee Hyunsung; Beast Lord, Shin Yoosung; Insect Lord, Lee Gilyoung, and the Otaku, Kim Namwoon... Even minor roles like Bald Gong Pildu and Medical Doctor Yi Seolhwa; and the pseudo protagonist, Jang Hayoung... "Honestly, these are better than what we've made." Even Jieun Yoo admitted it. The quality, the dedication—it was all deeply touching. I added with a dry smile, "It’s believable these were drawn by actual webtoon artists." "Weren't they really drawn by them?" "Impossible. After that incident, they all left." Once, 'Omniscient Reader's Perspective' was adapted as a webtoon. The beginning was promising, with remarkable authors handling the structure and artwork. However, unfortunately, before the 10th episode could fully serialize, lightning struck the studio, causing a major fire that the company couldn’t recover from. Coupled with management’s financial woes, the 'Omniscient Reader's Perspective' webtoon disappeared from the world after only 11 episodes. "You never know, author. If the epilogue does well, maybe the webtoon will get a reboot." Being optimistic, that was so typically Jieun Yoo. "I gave up on such hopes long ago." After the webtoon’s downfall, as if a curse followed it, strange things befell all secondary creations related to 'Omniscient Reader's Perspective.' Production companies went bankrupt when a movie was contracted, and factories closed when producing figures or merchandise. Such occurrences repeated several times until no offers came anymore. After a pause, I spoke again. "Somewhere, there’s a worldline where 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' didn’t fail." Surely in that worldline, the webtoon thrived, became a movie, a drama, maybe even an animation. Not in this worldline, but sometimes, I still dream of it. "We aren’t bankrupt yet." I strolled with Jieun Yoo alongside the standees. The lineup was quite long, displaying characters from Uriel and the Great Sage Equal to Heaven to lesser-known figures like Han Myungoh. But at the end of the line was an unfamiliar figure. Who is this? A man with narrow eyes, whose identity I couldn't easily guess. Were there characters with narrow eyes in 'Omniscient Reader'? If only there was a nameplate, I'd know... I considered asking Jieun Yoo but decided against it. I have an author's pride, after all. "Two people." "Please write your nickname on this name tag and attach it to your left chest." We received entrance name tags through an usher and entered the theater. Fortunately, no one recognized me as the author of 'Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.' Naturally, my name tag didn’t say I was the author. I glanced at Jieun Yoo’s name tag. [Genius Editor] “Jieun Yoo.” Jieun ignored my call as we settled into a seat towards the back. I could see the adorable, scattered back of fans’ heads occupying the front seats. --- **Explanation of Translations:** - **전독시 (Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint):** Translated directly as "Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint," retaining its original meaning and relevance as a title. - **김독자의 연회 (The Banquet of Kim Dokja):** Translated as "The Banquet of Kim Dokja" to preserve the formality and sense of special occasion, intrinsic to the word "연회." - **악운 (curse):** Translated as "curse" to denote the misfortune perceived to follow the series. - **세계선 (worldline):** Conceptually translated as "worldline" to convey parallel universes or alternate realities, common in speculative fiction. Alternate translations or literal interpretations were considered to ensure the narrative's flow and meaning were kept intact. Engaging puns or specific wordplays were not present in these sections. I was suddenly struck by awe. All these people were truly our readers. For a moment, I even wondered if they were really here thanks to Jieun Yoo's doing. Beside me, Jieun Yoo's eyes widened with surprise. "When you count them roughly, there are over thirty." Thirty. It might sound like a small number, but it meant that there were at least thirty core fans who took time out of their day to be here. I tried to hold back the overwhelming emotion I felt and nodded. Well done, Kim Dokja. Since the event hadn't started yet, I could hear the murmuring of readers exchanging casual chatter at the front. "Do you have the 'Shinpa'? It's really hard to find now." "Oh, I have it." "Wow. What about 'Ble'?" "I bought it right away." "Then do you also have the 'Dokpi'?" "I do have it... but my 'Dokpi' seems to be spinning its wheels." I had no clue what they were discussing. It seemed like an old-timers' jargon exchange. Together, we eavesdropped on their veteran talk. "This is already the twelfth time." "The host said today would be the last, right?" "Yes." "There used to be so many people. The numbers have really dwindled." "That's true. People disappeared one by one." It appeared that this mysterious 'Banquet of Kim Dokja' had already happened twelve times. And apparently, there were more people in the past. I thought there were plenty gathered even now... "Excuse me, is it okay if I sit here?" A voice suddenly broke my thoughts, and I turned my head. A man as big as Lee Hyunsung was pointing to the seat next to mine, looking a bit bashful. I nodded. "Ah, yes. Please, have a seat." "Thank you..." The man bowed his head slightly, and hanging on his chest was, as expected, a name tag. [Judge Heewon] It seemed he was a fan of Jung Heewon, the Judge of Destruction. Having a stranger sit beside me after a long time made me oddly nervous. Noticing the awkward atmosphere, Jieun Yoo spoke up first. "You must be a fan of Jung Heewon." Judge Heewon nodded lightly. "Yes..." And then a long silence followed. Jieun Yoo nudged my arm, hinting I should start a conversation. But it had been so long since I'd spoken to someone new that I couldn’t think of how to start. Pondering how Kim Dokja might handle it, I spoke up. "Heewon is great." "Yes, she is!" Though it wasn't much, seeing the man smile brightly made me feel like we had formed an important bond. We nodded in agreement, like comrades who swore brotherhood, thinking jointly about Jung Heewon. Jung Heewon. A good character. One I crafted myself. Judge Heewon, who had been staring intently at my name tag, spoke. "Your nickname is quite interesting." "Thank you." "By any chance, is your favorite character...?" "Well, I..." I paused to think, but choosing just one was tough. When the silence extended, Judge Heewon, perhaps thinking he made a mistake, quickly added. "Oh, you might be an 'All-Character' fan, and I made an error..." I didn't know precisely what 'All-Character' meant, but I had a rough idea. I nodded slightly and responded, "Excluding someone like Cheon In Ho, I do like them all." For those who might have forgotten, Cheon In Ho is an extra villain who dies in the early part of 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint.' Judge Heewon seemed to know Cheon In Ho too; his expression darkened as he lowered his voice. "Cheon In Ho, that bad guy." "A really bad guy." "A bastard to tear apart." "Uh... right?" "A scoundrel to burn in hellfire." And thus ended our conversation. The host appeared on stage at the front of the viewing room. He was wearing a black suit paired with a white trench coat. "Hello, I'm Kim Dokja, your host for today." A wave of light applause came from the audience. Although his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, he wore an outfit that strongly resembled Kim Dokja’s style. Was it custom-made? Even his outfit was impressive. Then, light flickered on the theater screen, signaling the start of the event. A gentle background melody played, and soon, the font for [The Fourth Wall] appeared. 「And all those things were recorded on The Fourth Wall.」 Gradually, the comments left by readers began to emerge on the screen. From the prologue to episode 551, these were the comments readers had painstakingly left. "Gasp, that's what I wrote!" A girl sitting in the front row exclaimed softly. Everyone in the theater watched the comments unfold together. There were comments that received a lot of 'likes,' comments that were amusing or innovative. Some even held sentimental reflections. "Wasn't that when Kim Dokja died for the first time?" "Ahh, don't look at my comment! Quickly, scroll down!" "What an embarrassment, preserved for history." Reading these old comments, my heart fluttered with nostalgia. For two years 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' was serialized, and three years passed since its conclusion. In those five years, readers in this world have built a history. For a long while, I remained silent, merely watching that story unfold. It felt like witnessing a distant myth narrated by someone else. Photos from exhibitions carefully planned by fans, subway ads celebrating the characters’ birthdays appeared one after another. Looking at an illustration of Kim Dokja in the snow, someone murmured quietly. "It was Kim Dokja's birthday." "Snow fell in Seoul on that day too." On the pure white screen, readers' words accumulated gently. Between the lines of those words were the footsteps I and they took together. "You're glad you came, right?" At Jieun Yoo's words, I found myself nodding unconsciously. 「Perhaps I’ve been writing all those sentences just to witness this scene.」 I felt my heart race once more. If I deserved it, I wanted to say something to these people. I didn’t want to run away; I wanted to write sentences for them, not give up. I wanted to challenge this story again. 「But I wonder if I'm up to it.」 It was then that the host's voice filled the room. "Now, we have a few words from the author who joined us for this event!" --- **Explanation of Translations:** - **코어 팬 (core fan):** Translated directly to convey the idea of dedicated and loyal fans. - **고인물 (old-timers):** Literally translates to "stagnant water," a slang term used to depict veteran or long-time fans within a fandom, adapted as "old-timers." - **도원결의 (swearing brotherhood):** This refers to the ancient Chinese tale of the Oath of the Peach Garden, adapted here as "swore brotherhood" to preserve cultural resonance. - **심판자희원 (Judge Heewon):** Directly translated, maintaining character identity by associating the name with the character Jung Heewon. - **올캐러 (All-Character):** Likely implies a fan who loves all characters equally, translated in context. - **천인호 (Cheon In Ho):** Retained as is, being a character’s name. - **지옥염화 (hellfire):** Translated as "hellfire," maintaining the fiery imagery and sense of extreme punishment. Alternate translations or literal wording were considered to maintain the narrative's essence and smooth reading. The puns and wordplay, particularly in the character references and fan jargon, were translated to fit culturally relevant expressions. The readers in the audience murmured among themselves, stealing glances at each other. I found myself momentarily stupefied, before snapping back to reality. “Author?” whispered a surprised Jieun Yoo to me. For a moment, my mind was in turmoil. Could it be that Jieun Yoo secretly organized this fan meeting? Yet Jieun Yoo’s eyes were full of genuine confusion, indicating she knew nothing of it either. As I glanced toward the stage, the host gave a small smile, looking in my direction. Should I stand up then? Just as I cleared my throat, pretending as if I had no choice but to rise, suddenly a face appeared on the screen. ―Ah, ah. A beauty mark on her pale skin, and her dark hair tied back in a neat bob. Without needing any introduction, there wasn’t a single person here who did not recognize her. The true author of 『Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint』 stood there, at the center of attention. Author's Note: Hello, this is Sing Shong. I’m delighted to greet you again. --- **Explanation of Translations:** - **싱숑 (Sing Shong):** Retained as is for the author's pen name. - **작가의 말 (Author's Note):** Translated directly as "Author's Note," common in novels to address the readers directly. In translation, it’s important to maintain the individuality and identity of established figures, like the author here. The murmur and surprise reflect the engaging and slightly surreal experiences of fan events. The translation has preserved the immediacy and emotional sincerity of the scenes, capturing the nuances of fan interaction and the author's presence.