What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 604

The Sub-Male Lead Goes on Strike – Episode 604

#604

The Interpreter and the Tracker (2)

My friends, who had been listening quietly, began to stir.

“Are you saying your brother isn’t the Main God?”

“But he did write the novel, so he can’t be completely *not* the Main God, right? Or is he? Is it definite that there’s only one god?”

“I’m not sure. Let me ask him.”

As I turned to Hyunseo Jung, flustered, new letters slowly appeared.

They all seemed to lack energy.

【…I’ll try, but there’s a limit to what I can answer.】

【There were even quite a few conflicting settings. I already have a novel in serialization, so on really busy days, PD [Production Director] Kwon Hyun-joo had a hard time finding solutions. We had to organize things somehow without messing up the main plot. There were quite a few sentences that couldn’t be interpreted…】

【Ah. PD Hyun-joo is the romance fantasy PD.】

It felt like I could hear my brother’s tired voice in my ear.

I squeezed my eyes shut once, then opened them, trying my best to calm down.

*What kind of novel is that? Is it even possible to serialize over 200 chapters like that?*

My mouth kept getting dry, and I couldn’t figure out where to start or how to dig in.

I felt like there were so many things I wanted to talk about with my brother when he came back.

Hundreds, thousands of questions burst out like hot spring water, then scattered like steam.

Even when I tried to grab them, they all slipped through my fingers, and I felt a sense of crisis, as if the ground beneath my feet had suddenly collapsed.

I had felt reassured for a while because my brother was there…

-Squeak.

“Oh, I’ll pull myself together. Jung Hyunseo is trying hard, so I need to try too.”

Slap. Demi’s slap attack made my vision feel a little clearer.

I quickly washed my face and took a deep breath.

I need to stay calm no matter what. First, what Gain was curious about. So…

“Hyung [term of endearment for older brother or male friend], I’ll ask again. Are you the Main God?”

【…】

“Thinking about it, when I asked you before, your answer was ambiguous too. You said, ‘You could see it that way.’ Why weren’t you sure? The Main God is the creator and only god here, an omniscient being, so it doesn’t make sense that you wouldn’t know that yourself.”

Hyunseo Jung didn’t answer for a long time.

However, this felt more like a delay based on ‘difficulty’ rather than ‘hesitation’.

Just as we were starting to feel a little frustrated—

【…I don’t know the Main God’s settings either.】

A shocking answer came back. I felt the blood drain from my face.

“What did you just say…?”

【I have no idea what kind of god the Main God is. I haven’t heard how the original author set it up.】

【The Main God is female and has the background of being an omnipotent creator, as you said. It’s also a major topic when discussing the Sacred Covenant or Aether settings. Usually, the more attention and love you receive from the Main God, the better your life is. But the information I know ends there.】

“…”

【…It sounds absurd, but it’s all true.】

*No, a novel isn’t some personal diary…*

“Um, so to summarize. Because the original author didn’t reveal the Main God’s settings in detail, even the ghostwriter brother doesn’t know if he’s the Main God or not? Is that what you’re saying?”

Gain made a face and waved her fingers at my translation.

Letters immediately appeared in the status window.

【That’s right.】

【I looked at the rough framework, character settings, and relationship charts provided by the original author and came up with the most plausible story.】

【Of course, most of the early events were in the original author’s notebook, and the PD and I fleshed them out. The story had to roll forward smoothly somehow. But as we went on, the amount of information decreased… So my creative input increased.】

“Then it’s hard to see Hyung as the Main God… If we had to pick, wouldn’t the original author be closer to the Main God? Since they laid all the groundwork.”

“Yes…”

Undoubtedly, Gain was responding the most calmly and maturely out of all of us.

That’s because I was in shock that my brother wasn’t the original author.

The Crown Prince didn’t seem to want to talk to him from the start, and Sir Johan wouldn’t care even if Tete was our brother, to put it a bit dramatically.

So, the only one left to speak up firmly was our protagonist.

*Ha… Seriously, this is driving me crazy in so many ways.* Then let me ask one too.

“Hyung, why did you start serializing two novels at once? How did you end up accepting that person’s request?”

【…】

“You were already busy with a 7-day-a-week serialization, and recently there was talk of publishing a book and developing character merchandise. I remember it all. But since last year, you’ve even started writing in a different genre… Honestly, it doesn’t feel like you. You’re not the type to rush into things like that. Was there some reason?”

If you couldn’t refuse the original author’s request, you could have finished writing and started anew.

Even if I didn’t know the exact amount, my brother’s income was already considerable.

He was taking care of all three of our family’s food and living expenses and still saving a lot of money every month. The Jung Hyunseo who only digs one well to the core… How did he end up participating in this project? I couldn’t even imagine.

I couldn’t figure out why my brother was cutting into his own flesh to serialize two novels at the same time.

It must have affected the writing of ‘Fallen Blossom’ too.

【…That’s also a secret. This is related to the original author’s personal circumstances, so I can’t reveal it without their permission. Sorry.】

“Then… Then…”

I rolled my eyes, trying to come up with the next question.

When people face a situation that’s too shocking, their minds go blank like this.

The documents that Prince Orelly and Herrit brought from the Temple of Boundaries floated around in my head like clouds.

More precisely, the sentences that child had copied crookedly with their small hands.

Part of the setting for …