The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel

What made a story attractive?

There was a time when I was a college student, surviving on tutoring. Even after applying all my tips to boost my students’ scores in Math, English, and Science, I often got fired after exams.

Why did I keep getting fired after raising their scores? Initially, I was always puzzled by this, until I finally asked a student’s mother outright why she was discontinuing the tutoring. I had raised her child’s scores, so why stop?

“Our child said it was boring. Too much focus on studies and it’s exhausting, she complained. Sorry, even though you raised her scores.”

I then realized that although parents paid, it was the students who evaluated my tutoring.

From that point on, I focused not only on their grades but also on their interests. Whether using these as examples in studies or sharing interesting stories during breaks, the students loved it. Thanks to this approach, I was able to make a living from tutoring until I joined the army.

In the end, an attractive story was one that aligned with the listener’s interests.

It was the same now. When surrounded by uncles, it was best to bring up a story that matched their interests.

“What can a barbarian know about interesting stories…”

“Does a barbarian even know shame?”

“Why is he even trying?”

My announcement that I would tell a story was met with less than enthusiastic responses. I could hear the grumbles of the uncles nearby.

“Let’s all be quiet.”

As the Master Carpenter spoke, the room fell silent.

“Kang Yun-ho, was it? Come here, in front of me.”

Following the Master Carpenter’s gesture, I carefully made my way through the uncles and sat in front of him. As soon as I sat down, the Master Carpenter couldn’t resist starting.

“The title was ‘Winning the Lottery After Divorce’, right? That’s a unique name.”

“Yes. Precisely, it’s about a man whose wife runs away, and then he wins the lottery. In Joseon, it’s also known as ‘Winning the Lottery After Divorce’.”

In this world, divorce was not just the end of a marital relationship but also seen as a failure of the husband to keep his wife, thus necessitating a different title.

“Winning the Lottery After Divorce?”

“What’s a lottery?”

“A country bumpkin. You don’t know what a lottery is? It’s where you put sticks in a jar and draw one.”

“Oh! You pay for a stick, put it in, and someone wins it all?”

Lotteries did exist in the Joseon era. Of course, this world had them too. They were not on a national scale like today’s lotteries, but they were conducted among groups ranging from tens to thousands of people.

“Just the title alone sounds interesting. Let’s all sit in a circle. Let’s hear this young man’s story.”

The Master Carpenter showed interest and gestured for the uncles to sit around. Right, if I was going to do it, I might as well make sure everyone could hear.

“If everyone sits in a circle, I’ll tell you an amazing story.”

Getting in the good graces of the Master Carpenter was important, but it was also crucial to be liked by the uncles I worked with.

For the ten days I would be working here, it was better to be seen as an immigrant who moonwalked incredibly well on the construction site than to be continuously treated as a barbarian.

“Why make us sit in a circle?”

“Hey! The Master Carpenter said to do it, why are you objecting?”

“Let’s listen to a foreign story for once.”

Murmuring among themselves, the uncles quickly began to sit in a circle.

I stepped into the center and scanned the crowd. Fatigue, distrust, anticipation – their faces were a mix of these expressions.

This was just like talent show time.

Suddenly, I remembered the depressing talent show from my freshman year.

‘I don’t have any talents, hyung. I’m a freshman but I still have to do it. I don’t have anything to do. Just go out there. No, I said I’m not going. Hello. I am a freshman, Kang Yun-ho. I will sing a song.’

Ugh. Suddenly, I remembered the cold reaction from back then.

To avoid killing the mood, I knew I had to perform well.

“Divorce material.”

Clichés abound of a husband who, betrayed by his wife, finds success after divorce. This wasn’t a lengthy novel but a midnight story, so brevity was key.

I needed to distill the essence and bring it to life.

I decided to condense the cast to just three characters.

Inhaling deeply, I began my performance.

“Honey! I’ve been toiling away for a week, and this is the scene I return to?”

Our protagonist: a kind and hardworking husband. Despite his anger, I pitched his voice slightly higher to convey his inherent goodness. Then, I contorted my body to the left, assuming the role of the wife.

“What’s the issue with the house? I merely stepped out for some enjoyment. Hand over some cash. Sigh. Is this the best you could earn?”

The malicious wife. Her opening remarks instantly branded her as shameless.

“Jeez! You sound just like my ex-wife.”

“Your wife left you.”

“That’s why I said, ‘my ex-wife’!!”

“Keep it down, will you! Just a notch!”

The uncles began to show interest, likely because the acting wasn’t half-bad.

“Honey. You’ve been going out quite often recently. I spotted you with a man near the market. Who is he?”

The husband’s voice was tinged with worry. He seemed reluctant to doubt, but couldn’t shake the suspicion.

“Huh? Just some guy I met. He’s been assisting me with some work.”

“What sort of work? I’m the one bringing home the paycheck.”

“Oh, a variety of things. Why? Are you getting pathetic and suspicious now?”

The wife’s provocative demeanor. The troubled husband. The situation was clear to any observer.

“Some scoundrel’s messing around with that fellow’s wife.”

A voice called out from the crowd.

As the narrative unfolded, the audience became riddled with doubt.

The diligent husband at the construction site.

Even when his foreman scolded him, he thought of his wife and worked, revealing his henpecked nature whenever he took a break. Despite a hurting back, he continued working to earn money.

“……”

Suddenly, the surroundings quieted down. It was exactly their situation—a scenario they could immerse themselves in.

Now it was time for the main scene.

With my right hand, I picked up a small pillow prepared for the uncles to sleep on in the dormitory.

“Work ended early today. I’ll have a delicious beef meal with my wife.”

Holding the pillow in my right hand as if it were a piece of beef, I pretended to walk excitedly.

“Honey, I’m home! Were you sleeping? Huh? Why are there four feet in the blanket?”

The protagonist, imagining a delightful beef meal with his wife, entered the room with a smile, only for his expression to harden and the beef to drop.

“Damn it.”

“I know that feeling. That damn guy!!”

“Did he actually experience this? Why does it feel so real?”

It seemed like someone here had actually experienced it. My apologies if this triggered your PTSD.

And so, the wife’s infidelity was exposed.

“You can’t even earn money properly. What makes you think you did well? Have you ever gifted me a ring like that man? You’re a rabbit in bed.”

The wife spoke defiantly, her head slightly raised.

“That! That! That bitch!”

“Hey, where does that woman live?”

The uncles were really into it.

And so, the wife ran off with another man, and the husband fell into despair.

“Brother. Why are you living like this?”

Then, a 14-year-old girl, whom the protagonist used to take care of, appeared. Her confident expression and voice announced a new character.

She briefly acted as if she were cleaning the protagonist’s messy house and then handed him something.

“It’s a lottery ticket. I bought one for you. You’ll get sick staying inside all the time, so go out and watch people.”

Persuaded by the younger girl, the protagonist went to a place where lottery tickets were drawn from a barrel.

“Here! The first prize is a whopping 1000 gold coins!”

Considering a family of four’s monthly living cost was one gold, this was enough to live on for a lifetime. The uncles’ eyes widened as the amount of money was revealed.

That’s right. You had to talk numbers in these situations. When they heard ‘a thousand gold coins’, the uncles’ heads jutted forward.

“My number is 54, but why are all the people in the city gathered here? How could I ever win this?”

The protagonist pretended to look at the number written on a tree with his left hand, while his empty right hand acted as if drawing a number.

“The coveted first prize, who could it be?! Number 54!!”

“No way! I won?!”

The protagonist, winning a thousand gold coins, tried to give some money to the younger girl, but she refused, saying it was repayment for the care she received from him when she was young.

“She’s much better wife material than the one who ran away, isn’t she?”

“Her heart is like a fairy’s.”

The man tried to give the girl money, and after some argument, they confirmed their love for each other and got married.

Now, I had induced vicarious satisfaction among the uncles with numerous flex scenes. The protagonist bought silk clothes for his wife, rode a fine horse, and even strengthened his vitality by eating expensive ginseng.

The uncles seemed satisfied with the ending, but it would have been too bland to end it there.

A little twist was about to happen.

“Honey, I’m back.”

The ex-wife appeared.

“That bitch! Why is she here!”

“Barbarian! Why is she appearing!”

“She should stay gone if she ran away! Why is she here!”

The reaction to the ex-wife’s return was the same here, but I continued the story regardless of the reactions.

“Honey. That man took the money you saved and ran away with a young woman. I was deceived. Honey, can you take me back?”

I acted as if I were kneeling and begging the husband, while subtly observing the uncles’ faces.

“Hmm… forgiving her would be a disaster for me.”

“Honey, you must have had a hard time…”

I stood up again, turned my body, and spoke to the imaginary wife in a gentle voice.

“That idiot! No way!”

“Hey!! Dump her!!”

The uncles, we’re not done yet.

Mr. Ju, don’t get ready to throw a pillow. Mr. Jang, why are you clenching your fist? Mr. Hwang, why was your face turning red?

I needed to advance the story quickly.

“But, I have no intention of taking you back. Keep suffering. Haha!”

I added a twist to the dialogue.

“Oppa! Let’s eat ginseng quickly and spend a cozy night. What? Who’s this old woman? Lady, go beg somewhere else.”

“Right. Right. It’s cold outside, let’s go in.”

I pretended to hold the waist of the new wife and turned my body to act like we were returning home. Then, I suddenly stepped back and knelt.

“Honey! Honey!!”

The wailing wife. The wife was eventually driven out, and the husband lived happily ever after with the young wife.

I gave a neat ending. The uncles seemed entertained, all with content and happy expressions.

How was it?

Great Uncles. No, Master Carpenter. You will reward me, right?

Then I realized I hadn’t checked the Master Carpenter’s reaction. When I looked at Mr. Master Carpenter, his mouth was slightly open, staring at me.

“You, lad.”

Mr. Master Carpenter said in a surprised voice.

“Were you a Storyteller?”

“Pardon?”

“Using various voices and skillful gestures to tell a story. Isn’t that something only famous storytellers in the market could do?”

I wondered what he was talking about.

Was he referring to that storyteller?

A storyteller seemed to be someone who entertainingly told the contents of a book or famous folk tales among people and got paid for it.

It was like a personal broadcast streamer nowadays.

“No, it’s not that. Back in Joseon, when I taught children and they couldn’t concentrate, I would tell them stories. I became accustomed to acting this way.”

You see, I tutored in college! Taught in study rooms and academies! I had done it all! Of course, this was the first time I had ever knelt like this.

“You were a teacher! Oh no, I failed to recognize someone important from another country.”

“I was just an assistant at a Seodang in Joseon, teaching children.”

There was a principal! Why this misunderstanding?

But there was no need to completely clear up the misunderstanding, so I simply humbled myself.

“I did think you were too young. Anyway, you taught children, so that was the educational method of Joseon schools?”

No, not really. Which academy taught you to divorce and then win the lottery?

“You were a teacher?”

“No wonder you didn’t quite fit in with the barbarians at the construction site. You seemed more refined.”

“Aren’t you a storyteller? I’ve seen many storytellers, but you seem much better than them.”

“Right. The storytellers weren’t very interesting, but your story just now was really fun.”

As soon as I mentioned being a teacher, the crowd around me started to murmur.

“Anyway, that was amazing. Was that a story from Joseon? It was really interesting.”

Clap, clap, clap.

Mr. Master Carpenter seemed to admire my story and clapped his hands.

“Barbarian!! It was much more interesting than I thought!”

“I should try this lottery thing after work!”

“Listening to that, I thought of my wife. It made me want to switch her out!”

If you’re happy with your wife, there’s no need to do that. The uncles all clapped too.

Mr. Master Carpenter wasn’t just flattering me because he liked me, right? It’s a bit embarrassing. But I was satisfied with the successful performance.

“Thank you. I will return to my seat now.”

The reward will be taken care of, I guess.

“Wait a moment.”

As I was about to return to my original corner, Mr. Master Carpenter stopped me.

“Yes?”

“I have never seen a storyteller who can speak like you. It’s late tonight, so sleep now, but could you possibly tell us such stories every night?”

I was not a storyteller.

“Ah, that’s…”

That was a bit troublesome.I turned my head to one side and made a troubled face.

“Is that so?”

“Mainly doing material transport, I get tired after work. I told a story as you seemed bored, Mr. Master Carpenter, but doing it every night would be difficult.”

Why would I have to keep volunteering for free at night?

People would start to take advantage if you kept obliging.

Absolutely not! Why would I do that annoying task!

“Hmm, I see.”

Mr. Master Carpenter stroked his beard, contemplating. Then, unexpectedly, he made a proposal.

“The story just now was interesting, so let me make you an offer. From tomorrow, stop the material transport and work as my assistant. The work will be very easy. I’ll even arrange for your salary to be raised. In return, keep telling such stories every night. How about it?”

Might as well give it a try.