“Who’s calling?”

“It’s the publishing company. My story just hit the top rankings in the contest.”

“Really?! Congrats!”

Clap clap clap!

Kang Bada beamed and clapped happily. She already knew—he’d checked before stepping away—but she played along like it was news to her.

‘He still has no idea I’m the princess.’

She’d been a little worried he might figure it out. Luckily, it looked like he was still clueless.

“A reader called ‘Princess’ sent me a huge donation. Well… it might not sound like much, like maybe 100 won or something…”

Ha-neul bragged like a proud kid. Bada had to bite her lip hard to keep from laughing out loud.

‘…Nanny, thank you!’

She hadn’t known how much to send at first—seriously considered a million won.

“How about 100,000 won?”

“Isn’t that too little? I regretted sending 10,000 last time… What if he thinks I’m brushing him off?”

“I don’t think he’d feel that way. The amount isn’t the most important part. He hasn’t even used the card you gave him yet, right?”

“…That’s true.”

“I found out 10,000 won is actually pretty rare. 100,000 won gets your feelings across without making it feel heavy.”

“Really?!”

Thanks to Nanny’s advice on the right amount, she could relax and send it smoothly. Who knew giving a gift could be this stressful?

‘Anything business-related can go through the publishing company now.’

Once she learned about Daehan Media’s situation, she immediately started preparing to acquire it. She wanted Ha-neul to write without pressure.

From what she checked, the CEO had a decent reputation. With proper backing, they could really shine and become a true “Daehan.”

‘Even the company name is Daehan… Is this the fate people talk about?!’

She’d approached the buyout pretty casually at first, but once “Daehan” was involved, she couldn’t half-ass it. She needed to set them up to stand on their own.

Ha-neul’s support naturally fit into the process. She hadn’t even mentioned it, but the CEO was already stepping up on his own—perfect.

‘He’s gonna be so shocked when he finds out later, right?’

Finding out she’d been cheering him on from the shadows might actually move him. A long, solid buildup leading to an emotional payoff—how exciting!

Hehehe…

Bada grinned to herself over her flawless plan while watching him. Ha-neul caught her staring and gave an awkward smile.

“Getting into the rankings isn’t that big a deal. It doesn’t automatically mean a huge jump in readers.”

“But still—thousands of stories, and you made top 200. Keep writing and you’ll definitely climb even higher.”

“When you say it like that, I actually feel motivated.”

“Good! The more successful you get, the easier it’ll be for my family to accept our marriage. So work hard!”

Truthfully, whether the story succeeded or not didn’t matter to her. Family approval or disapproval—she had zero intention of letting go of Ha-neul.

But if she pushed too openly, he might get suspicious. So she needed a “surface-level” reason.

“Yeah… you’re right. Right now I don’t really have much to show for myself. Not exactly a glamorous job.”

“What’s wrong with being a writer?”

“More specifically, a web novel writer. It’s not exactly respected, and especially to our parents’ generation… they don’t see it kindly.”

Ha-neul gave a slightly bitter smile. All those tough years were showing on his face, and it tugged at Bada’s heart.

‘Dad probably wouldn’t care that much.’

Sure—if the son-in-law was a successful CEO or came from a prestigious family, they’d love it. But that was seeing her as a “family asset,” not a daughter.

As long as there was enough generational wealth and the guy wasn’t a gambler or deadbeat, they’d generally approve. In that sense, Ha-neul was actually a bonus.

‘He treats family well, works hard, doesn’t chase women.’

Especially that last part.

People say a man’s true character shows when he has everything. The fact that he sent every won of the 5 million straight to his parents? More than trustworthy.

‘Confidence can grow fast.’

Maybe because he hadn’t had a real breakout hit despite all his effort, Ha-neul seemed down on himself lately. But that would fix itself soon.

‘This story really feels right.’

His past works were decent, but was genuinely enjoyable—even without her personal feelings in the mix.

She’d never left traces online before. But she got so into it she accidentally dropped a comment.

‘If it’s Ha-neul, he can do it without any tricks.’

With so many contestants, some people fake their way into rankings with bought views. She’d briefly considered it.

Pumping views with money and posting recommendations isn’t hard. But would rankings gained that way actually mean anything to him?

‘No.’

That would be an insult to him. If she truly believed in him, all she had to do was quietly support and wait.

Success earned purely with his own hands. She knew better than anyone—there’s a value there that money can’t touch.

“Ha-neul-ssi.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s definitely going to work out. And even if it doesn’t, that’s okay. You can use the failure as fuel to climb even higher.”

“……”

“Fighting! Got it!?”

Heh—

Bada raised her fist in a goofy fighting pose. Ha-neul burst out laughing like she was ridiculous. She instantly felt embarrassed.

“Yeah—fighting. Together.”

Tap.

Their fists lightly bumped. It was tiny, but the softness of her hand sent a small ripple through Bada’s heart—like someone dropped a pebble in a pond.

‘…I felt that.’

She’d held hands and linked arms in public before. So why did this simple fist bump make her heart race?

Bada couldn’t figure it out, so she went quiet for a second.

* * *

‘It’s confirmed.’

Kang Bada is the “Princess.”

He’d bet his entire savings on it.

No wonder the nickname and support felt so unusual. When his suspicion turned real, his stomach twisted.

‘I had a feeling…’

The first real doubt hit when the Princess left a comment. The username in her profile?

‘Sea0707.’

Even the word “Sea” screamed Kang Bada. Who puts “Sea” in their username? And the numbers after it…

“Bada-ssi, when’s your birthday, by the way?”

“July 7th.”

“Wow—same as mine.”

“Oh really?”

He’d brushed it off, but inside he was panicking. How long had she been reading his novel?

‘Well… she already knows everything about me anyway.’

Finding out his pen name would’ve been child’s play for her.

One phone call would do it.

Anyway—her reading his story wasn’t the biggest issue. The real point was that she wanted to keep the fact that she was the “Princess” hidden.

[It’s fun.]

Her comment flashed through his mind again. It was clearly about the heroine kidnapping and locking up the protagonist.

‘She exposed her username on purpose, didn’t she?’

She’d been on the web novel site for a long time, yet he’d never once heard of the “Princess” leaving a comment.

Even with that one-of-a-kind username. She was famous for silently donating and vanishing—never leaving a trace.

At first he wondered if she had some setting so only authors could see her comments.

‘If that was the case, word would’ve spread ages ago.’

Meaning—this might actually be the first time the Princess ever commented. Too many suspicious details to chalk it up to a simple mistake.

She planned everything down to the tiniest detail. The chance of her slipping up was almost zero. And it just happened to be his story?

‘…Basically impossible.’

She really is terrifying.

A quiet warning: I’m watching you, always. And if I need to, I could kidnap you and make it look mysterious.

Ha-neul had two choices. Confront her head-on, or play along with her rhythm.

‘For now, I’ll play along.’

The gap between him and Kang Bada was laughably huge—“hopeless” didn’t even cover it. Not time to stir the pot yet.

‘Just make the most of it.’

Whatever her goal was—she was reading . That meant he could turn the situation around.

Keep reminding himself that an author’s thoughts bleed into the story. Slip subtle messages into the novel.

‘The direction matches the story anyway.’

The big picture of was basically their current relationship. She had to feel it vaguely too.

So keep showing an active heroine and a protagonist slowly influenced by her. That alone could mess with her head.

‘…Okay, enough calculating for now.’

As an author, he owed her proper thanks. After all, she’d read his work all the way through as one of his readers.

Hard to believe someone who looked like a pure science type had been reading web novels for ages—but seeing this different side of her was actually nice.

‘Also thankful she didn’t mess with the story herself.’

After learning she was the Princess, he’d worried she might pull strings “for his sake.” Luckily, no signs of that.

No mentions on recommendation boards or communities. Views didn’t suddenly spike. Just a higher percentage of new readers sticking around.

Of course—if she wanted to, she could manipulate everything without leaving a trace. But after talking with her just now, he was sure.

“Fighting! Got it!?”

Raising her fist in that silly fighting pose. If even that was acting, he’d never trust anyone again—so pure and earnest.

He felt ashamed of all his earlier suspicion and constant scheming. For a moment, he just let it go.

“Yeah—fighting. Together.”

Tap.

Their fists touched lightly. Just a second, but the warmth of her hand brushed his skin. A soft, pleasant jolt.

The unfamiliar feeling made him pause. He bit his tongue lightly to snap out of it, then pulled out the gift he’d prepared.

“Here—take this.”

“…What is it?”

“You’ve been giving me clothes, accessories, everything. I wanted to do something for you too.”

This part was 100% sincere.

Whether she’d used him as a tool for her comfortable life or not—she’d still pulled him out of the gutter.

‘Took forever to figure out what to get you.’

What in the world couldn’t Kang Bada buy if she wanted it? He’d agonized for ages because nothing felt right.

“…Can I really take it?”

“Of course. I brought it for you. Don’t get your hopes too high—it’s nothing fancy.”

She clearly hadn’t expected a gift at all. Looking surprised and a little hesitant, she slowly opened the box.

“…This is?”

Her eyes went wide when she saw what was inside.