Chapter 49: Fame?
It had been one day since his discharge.
Seo Juhwan's face crumpled as he glanced at the clock.
06:30
"...Why am I waking up at this hour?"
Even if he had just been discharged yesterday, this was too much. Moreover, since he had regressed, the time he actually spent in the military was only about two weeks.
"Did my body adapt?"
His mind had only experienced two weeks, but his body had endured 21 months. Now that he thought about it, that made sense. He threw off his blanket and got out of bed.
Seo Juhwan stepped outside his house, smoked a morning cigarette, and checked his phone. He wanted to see the reactions to the post he had uploaded yesterday.
- (MartialArtsLover): Ah, ah... You were in the military? But did you do closed-door training in the barracks or something? Your writing seems to have improved. Anyway, congratulations on your discharge.
└ (FunNovelReader): I really agree. I wondered if it was really the same author because your writing suddenly got so much better.
└ (ThreeGenerationsBald): For real.
└ (MilitaryDumplingVendor): I want to lock you up and make you write while feeding you military dumplings.
└ (JuJisNim): Real talk, with this writing quality, I'd read even if there was NTR.
└ (NoNTROrIQuit): Monk, shut up and recite the scriptures.
- (ThreeGenerationsBald): Bro, you were military? Congrats on discharge. Was the military really tough?
└ (StrongestPublicService'Agent'): Lmaooo not enlisted
- (NoNTROrIQuit): Oh, it was a site error earlier lol sorry for cursing.
└ (DentureClatter): This site's upload errors have been consistent even before I got my dentures. Doesn't seem like they're even trying to fix it.
- (MilitaryDumplingVendor): So do you like military dumplings?
- (FunNovelReader): Oh, you were military. You must have worked hard protecting the country all this time. Congratulations on your discharge!
- (CursingSeniorAndRiceInn): Hmph. Grandma curses because of love. You get it? Here, take this and feel better. I'm leaving a donation.
- (GiveNextChapter): So when's the next chapter?
└ (ThreeGenerationsBald): Bro, five chapters should be enough, why are you already asking for the next one lololol
└ (GiveNextChapter): Can't help it if it's entertaining. Write it entertainingly or don't—
└ (AuthorPlease): Real talk lol
The comments were mostly positive. The explanation about his military service and the site's notice about the error had worked.
Despite this, there were still haters, but there was no need to pay attention to them. Such people didn't criticize for valid reasons—they just wanted to bite someone.
[Achievement obtained: "First to Break 10,000 Favorites!" You have been awarded 5,000LP.]
While he slept, one achievement had been unlocked, and over time, the ranking that had fallen to the lower-middle tier had reclaimed first place. It was the effect of the five consecutive chapters he had completed without sparing points.
[It must also be thanks to your writing talent increasing in grade.]
"Writing really did get a lot of compliments."
He had received compliments on his writing even before the regression. Because of his terrible bad luck, he wasn't a writer whose novels sold well, but a small group of loyal fans would always leave encouraging comments wondering why it wasn't getting more attention.
But now he had improved even further, so in a way, the reaction was natural. Of course, it also helped that the average writing quality of web novels wasn't that high.
"Writing feels good."
A happy smile appeared on Seo Juhwan's face.
Like all creators, writers need to receive attention from readers to survive. Beyond just the financial aspect, reader interest was one of the important driving forces for writing.
*
Seo Juhwan decided to go exercise in the morning since he had woken up early.
'Should I start going to the gym in the morning from now on?'
It seemed like he would continue waking up early for a while anyway. And after writing while using the blessing, he would be too exhausted to exercise. It would be better to exercise in the morning and write in the afternoon instead. He should coordinate the time with trainer Lim Soo-hee.
'But is the gym even open at this hour?'
It seemed like it did open pretty early, but he couldn't remember the exact time. He changed into workout clothes and left the house anyway.
'If it's not open, I'll just go jogging.'
Fortunately, the gym was already open. It opened from five in the morning, probably for people who came to work out early.
Beep.
As he scanned his membership card and entered, despite the early hour, there were quite a few people. Judging by their age range, they seemed to be office workers who exercised in the morning.
"Are you a member Seo Juhwan?"
A woman's voice. His head naturally turned.
A woman wearing workout clothes that clung tightly to her body appeared.
"Oh, Trainer Soo-hee. Hello."
"My. So it really is you, Juhwan. You've been discharged?"
"Yes. I was just discharged yesterday."
"Hoho. Is that why you came so early?"
"That's right."
He had previously told Soo-hee that he was military personnel when he returned to the barracks and wouldn't be able to come for a while.
Soo-hee said congratulations on his discharge and then called to him in a subtle tone.
"But Juhwan."
"Yes?"
"You know..."
Why was she dragging it out like this?
She whispered, "You're the soldier from the news, aren't you?"
"What? The news?"
"You know. That one about beating up a serial killer."
"Ah, that..."
When he went to Army Headquarters, he had done a separate interview with reporters. So he knew it had come out in the news and articles, but since he had been cooped up in the barracks until then, he hadn't really felt it.
At Seo Juhwan's reaction, Lim Soo-hee widened her eyes and clapped her hands.
"It really is you! The timing of your return to the barracks and your face—no matter how I look at it, it's definitely you!"
At Soo-hee's fuss, people's eyes turned toward him. Or had they already been watching him? As if they had been waiting, they approached and started throwing comments at him.
"I thought you looked familiar, but were you really someone from our gym?"
"Wow~you're quite brave. The last time I saw you, you worked out hard, and now you've beaten up a killer too. That's amazing."
"I think I heard the killer had a knife—weren't you scared?"
"It doesn't seem like you've been lifting long, but did you learn martial arts or something separately?"
A swarm of muscular giants surrounded Seo Juhwan. Under the pressure of their massive muscles, he shrank his neck.
Meanwhile, Lim Soo-hee was chattering away like an ajumma who had heard some juicy gossip.
"Haha..."
Seo Juhwan could only let out an awkward laugh. As a seasoned 32-year-old introvert, the sudden attention from people was burdensome.
Actually, that was secondary—these muscle monsters were just too scary.
'Someone please get me out of here!'
Please, just stop flexing those pectoral muscles...
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