My one and only web novel, which I wrote in my seven-year-long career, was a story about a never-ending dream—"Desired End." This web novel faced every rise and decline over these seven years.
From getting 150,000 views, 70,000 likes, and 3,000 comments on its 5th chapter to getting 1 view, 0 likes, and 0 comments on its 126th chapter, this endless dream faced everything. An endless dream... it's a great idea for a novel, but it wasn't the case for me.
I was an author who never listened to his readers. I never took the advice my readers gave me; I always wrote what I wanted, killed whoever I wanted, and did what I wanted... which resulted in:
[ Chapter 47 - 40 views ]
[ Chapter 97 - 10 views ]
[ Chapter 117 - 3 views ]
[ Chapter 126 - 1 view ]
My readers left the story slowly but surely. There was hate in their comments.
Duck23 - Noooo, he was my favorite character! You didn't need to kill him. STUPID!!!!!
Meow - Bro... this writer sucks. He doesn't know how to write a story. I'm dropping this... I had hope in "Desired End."
Kaneki - I loved this web novel, but now I hate it so much. The author should die by now. Dropping this boring shit.
Every single reader abandoned the story at chapter 125... every single one of them. I uploaded chapter 126, staring at my screen the whole time after uploading it.
[ Chapter 126 - 0 views ]
"It's the end, I guess. This is as far as I could go."
That was my first thought after seeing 0 views.
[ Chapter 126 - 1 view ]
My eyes widened. I rechecked multiple times to confirm that it was actually 1 view... and it was.
I met Glogus235, my sole reader who continued reading my novel even after everyone else abandoned it. He never commented on my chapters but was always reading the latest ones. He gave me the motivation to continue this story. I kept writing in my usual way—killing characters, making everything a bloodbath. Even after all this, Glogus235 never dropped the story. Maybe he liked it.
I got new ideas, implemented them into new chapters, uploaded them, then slept... it was my usual routine. I never saw Glogus235 commenting. Maybe he wasn't interested in giving reviews, or maybe he already knew that I'd ignore his comments. Whatever the case, I wanted my sole reader to leave his reviews too.
At chapter 289, I saw something in my notification bar.
[ You have received a new comment ]
It was Glogus235's comment. He actually commented. It made me happy... I was happy that my sole reader finally spoke up. I opened his comment.
Glogus235 - Hyung!!! This chapter was awesome! Han Seeyoung really went wild in this one. Can't wait for the next chapter.
I felt relieved. I had an inner thought that maybe he was criticizing the story, but he wasn't. I went back to writing like always.
He started commenting on every chapter. Sometimes I replied with "Thx for supporting" or "Thx for your acknowledgment."
It was the best time of my day when I got acknowledged by him, and I replied with a thanks. It was our own way of conversing with each other.
I continued writing... wrote a lot.
[ Chapter 476 - 1 view - 1 comment - 1 like ]
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.
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[ Chapter 547 - 1 view - 1 comment ]
At chapter 547, there wasn't a like, which I always got.
Glogus235 - Wait... fr? You killed him. Whyyyy Hyung, it's not fair...
At chapter 547, I ended up killing Glogus235's favorite character. It was important for the plot I was planning.
KH25 - It was necessary for the plot... I can't do anything about it.
I was the type of author who would do anything for the plot, even if it meant killing fan's favorite characters.
I didn't regret killing my fan's favorite character. I liked making my characters suffer. I killed them a lot because it was the only fun I was able to get in my seven-year-long career.
I continued uploading my chapters like usual until chapter 551.
Glogus235 - Hyung... I wanted to say this for a while, but your story is getting boring, and I don't feel it's worth reading anymore. So I wanted to say that I, your sole reader, will be dropping this story. I'll follow you and will wait for you to write a new web novel. I'll fully support the new one, but I can't support this one anymore. I hope you'll realize that this novel isn't worth writing anymore ^_^
My hands froze. My eyes were stuck on Glogus235's comment.
Did he really think that I'd stop writing just because I've been abandoned by my sole reader? He's wrong. I won't stop. I don't care if I've been abandoned. But why..? Why did you leave me? I thought we were friends. I... I... wanted you to see the plot I was planning.
I didn't stop writing my chapters. I continued writing.
I had been abandoned by my sole reader... The feeling of loneliness crept into me. I stopped going out, only focusing on my chapters. My novel was far from being revived because of too many chapters.
[ Chapter 1478 - 0 views ]
Every day, I checked my chapter's comment section to see if Glogus235 had returned, but the answer was always no.
A feeling of guilt crept into me. "Desired End" was my true perfection, which was supposed to reach new heights, but it only became worse and worse because of one thing—me, Kang Hong, the author of "Desired End." I was the one who ruined this perfection. I could never forgive myself for this.
I still remember... I used to cry at my desk because of the guilt. Left alone by parents, friends, siblings, relatives... and now, my sole reader. I was truly alone. But I had one friend who never left me, no matter how badly I treated him.
That friend was "Desired End." My web novel was my true friend, one that never left me, no matter what. My guilt vanished whenever I wrote a new chapter. I killed my characters, made them suffer, but "Desired End" never left me. I wanted to write forever, but soon I realized...
I needed to end this.
Every novel can't go on forever. There needs to be an end, no matter how much we don't want it. As a novelist, I took this responsibility and started making preparations for the final chapter.
[ Chapter 1855 has been uploaded ]
「This is the tale of an endless dream」
「No one can survive the end of this endless dream」
「Not even the reader of this dream」
「The fate of this dream has been realized」
Chapter 1855 was the final chapter. I ended my novel, gave it a goodbye. It wasn't the ending I wanted to write. I wanted a somewhat happy ending, but in the end, I wrote a traumatic one. I can never forgive myself for this.
I hate myself. Desired End wanted a happy ending, but I failed to give it one.
Just like always...
[ Chapter 1855 - 0 views ]
I went to sleep, just like my usual routine.
[ Chapter 1855 - 1 view - 1 comment ]
@#$#2$ - Thanks for this wonderful end! You've been selected ;)