Kidari Ajeossi.
This is the term used by the protagonist in the novel to refer to an anonymous benefactor who financially supports her.
As the novel became famous, it settled as a colloquial term worldwide for anonymous benefactors.
When I was a kid, I thought Kidari Ajeossi was about being a good adult who helps poor children, based on short comics and fairy tale books.
As I grew older, I realized Kidari Ajeossi was a romance novel between a benefactor who’s way older and the protagonist.
So much so that Kidari Ajeossi became a term representing one of the famous clichés in subculture, involving “waiting for the young heroine to grow up” as in kijap (the benefactor is younger), and later, the grown-up heroine actively engaging with the older protagonist, referred to as yeokijap (the benefactor is older).
I understood it only in terms of the beginning like in Les Misérables, but I was oblivious to the later parts.
Anyway, it can be said this work was ahead of its time in many ways.
“Let’s become the Kidari Ajeossi for the protagonist.”
I muttered my plan once again.
Of course, I have no intention of becoming a kijap to the protagonist or being subjected to yeokijap. What am I, a guy, doing with such terms? Just thinking about it gives me the chills.
The original protagonist should be dealing with the Demonic Cult or evil characters. My role is to be an anonymous benefactor for the original protagonist.
Forget nobility obligations; I’m in a position where I need to worry about the debt collectors coming tomorrow, but I can willingly support the original protagonist.
Supporting Somalian children won’t make me the Pirate King shooting fairy wands from Allah, but supporting the original protagonist could make me a legendary hero saving the world.
“There’s still time until the original story begins.”
There’s plenty of time to build a good relationship with the protagonist through sponsorship.
“The problem is I can’t move the protagonist with just financial support.”
I can’t just shout, “Go, Protagonist-mon! Fire! 1 million volts! Dragon snot!” and command them like I’m in a video game, just because I’m financially supporting them!
Of course, I’d be able to make a few requests if I supported them.
I remember writing testimonials for scholarships I received as a student, and sometimes attending events. But asking them to risk their life is another matter.
What I want is to make sure the original protagonist cannot refuse my requests.
It’s a tough problem. But there’s a way.
A method only I could use.
“No one knows the protagonist better than I do in this world.”
I smiled quietly while grinding ink with my brush.
I know everything about the protagonist. Past. Present. Future. I even periodically repeat other character settings, so imagine how much I know about the protagonist’s character setting.
The sick master is in a predicament with the Volcano Sect.
The protagonist is an orphan receiving no outside support, so they’re living a destitute life with their master.
Eventually, the protagonist only enters the world after their master dies.
“Let’s write the letters to be sent all at once, and ask them to deliver them at intervals.”
The distance from my place in Yichang to the location of the Volcano Sect in Shaanxi takes over a month by land.
It takes over two months just to receive news that the letters were successfully delivered. Rather, it’s better to assume the letters reached successfully and write out the letters I’ll send at intervals.
“Let’s start with a simple message of sponsorship and money.”
Mystique needs to be cultivated.
“Take care. Just pass on greetings.” But I’ll include the needed money in the envelope.
The money shouldn’t be too much or too little.
The first, second, and third letters all include greetings and money.
At first, they might be suspicious about what the money is for.
In a short period, upon seeing the money included in the second letter, they might think this is a steady sponsorship.
“I heard about the master’s illness. It’s not much, but please buy some medicine, and if there’s leftover, treat yourself to something delicious.”
From the third letter on, they’ll start questioning if this is money they’re allowed to spend.
“Once they start using the money, it’s hard to revert back to their old consumption habits.”
Just like how an unemployed person living on 50,000 won a month, when they start working and receiving a salary, becomes overly cautious about quitting out of fear of losing that income.
The original protagonist, at some point, will not be able to live without the money I provide.
And then comes the next step.
“I’ll cut off the sponsorship.”
Just suddenly stop the sponsorship.
Why isn’t the letter coming? What’s going on? Or was it just a temporary sponsorship?
Why did I spend the money I received randomly without managing it? When they start feeling remorse and self-blame,
“I’ll give them the money doubled.”
Sending the prepared letters and money. They will be even more grateful and cherish it as something they’ve always been enjoying. And they will be curious.
Who could it possibly be that is sponsoring me with such large amounts of money?
I’m just an orphan after all.
“At this timing, I’ll introduce some past connections.”
“I wish you good health. 15 years ago. The thread of our fateful connection.”
The original protagonist will surely think back.
To the one who saved them when they were young. The benefactor who had even donated money just so they could become an adopted disciple when they had nowhere to go.
“That must be them. Surely you’re mistaken.”
The benefactor from their childhood, the very reason they wish to become a hero. That benefactor hasn’t forgotten them and is sponsoring them again.
Let’s make the original protagonist think they’ve made a mistake.
“Anyway, it doesn’t matter since there won’t be a reunion with the benefactor before the story ends.”
Having to tell lies to others.
It might hurt the conscience of a person as honest as Kang Yoon-ho, but in the end isn’t it just doing good with more good?
Slowly touching on their past through letters. Agreeing and guiding them onto the right path.
With the destruction of two heroine routes, even if there’s no reason to go, when the benefactor and sponsor says to visit, there’s no reason not to go.
As long as I can place them in the location I want at the time I want, an event that was supposed to happen at that time will occur.
If the original protagonist’s personality hasn’t changed, they will move according to my intentions without me having to command them.
The protagonist will become strong following a similar story flow but different from the original, facing off against the Demonic Cult.
“I can have both justification and profit.”
The protagonist becomes stronger, beats the Demonic Cult, and I gain fame by writing.
Perfect.
I began drafting several letters for the sponsorship groundwork.
The problem is what to do when my identity gets exposed, but there’s a way for that too.
First, let’s just write the sponsorship letter.
—————————
“We have to leave today, or we’ll be late!”
“My goods are rotting away! Please, I beg you!”
The Seocheon Post Office was still bustling when I returned after writing the letters.
“Please deliver this letter to the Volcano Sect in Shaanxi.”
I said as I took out the bundle of letters handed to me by the section chief and presented them to the postman.
“All of these letters?”
The postman asked, surprised by the sizable amount of letters.
“There’s money too.”
I passed the paper that recorded how much I needed to give the original protagonist in order alongside the money.
My hands were trembling. While necessary spending, it’s a burden as a debtor who has to work hard to pay off debts when I go back to Yichang.
This amount could allow me to take a woman out for a nice meal, share a drink, and maybe, maybe engage in a little intimate touch.
But all the women I would have the courage to do that with are far away, so let them think I’m donating such a large sum to a guy.
“You’re giving money too? Do you perhaps have family in the Volcano Sect?”
“No, I have a friend.”
Let’s just say I have a friend since no one knows the original protagonist better than I do.
“Ah, a friend. What’s their name?”
“The name….”
“You don’t know your friend’s name?”
When I hesitated, the postman asked with a puzzled expression.
Of course I wouldn’t know.
When the game started, I thought maybe it had a default name like a quiet protagonist waiting at Silver Mountain while testing things out, but all I got was one response.
“Please enter the protagonist’s name in this game.”
There’s no way the protagonist’s name is Kang Yoon-ho.
I boldly wrote my name at the start, thinking, “It’s a visual novel, so it makes sense to use my name for immersion, right?”
“I remember the childhood name, but it might have changed by now.”
In some regions of the Central Plains, they believe if you give a child a pretty name, the child will die young.
I created a simple excuse that my childhood name could have changed and gave a nod of confusion.
“Then how should we deliver it? We must at least know the name to pass it over.”
“I heard that the person called Jin-mu from the Volcano Sect took in the protagonist as their only disciple.”
I don’t know the original protagonist’s name. But surely there’s been no change to the master’s name.
“Ah, as long as I know that much, it’s easy.”
“The sender isn’t written here. Should I write that it was sent by Kang Yoon-ho?”
“No, please send it under another name.”
“What name should we use?”
What name should I send this under?
Just in case; the original protagonist’s name could be Kang Yoon-ho.
Kang Yoon-ho sending a letter to Kang Yoon-ho could look like a prank or raise unnecessary suspicions.
Better to send it under a name closer to anonymity.
I called out the name I prepared for the postman.
“Paper Friend.”
“Huh?”
“Say it was sent by Ji-u.”
────────────────────────────────────
“The ship has arrived.”
The next day, I received word from the Seocheon Post Office that the ship had arrived.
Carrying the baggage with the group, I spotted a large ship docked that clearly belonged to the Seocheon Post Office.
“The ship is bigger than I thought.”
That looks like the size of a small cruise ship.
“This is a ship that Seocheon Post Office takes pride in. It’s good enough to escape safely even in the unexpected rapids of the Yangtze River.”
Pyo-du, who was assuming the role of captain, proudly boasted about the ship when he spotted us.
“If you wait, we will load all the cargo and give you space.”
Since there seemed to be plenty of cargo to be loaded from the Seocheon Post Office, the laborers were bustling, constantly moving baggage.
So, after boarding, would it be off to Yichang? It felt like the journey would be long.
“Everyone, stop! We have to check the cargo!”
As I stared blankly at the goods disappearing onto the ship, warriors armed with swords appeared from afar.
“Who are you to want to check the cargo?”
“We are looking for someone in our Sabommun. We received a tip that someone was trying to sneak onto this ship, so we need to check!”
“This cargo belongs to the Seocheon Post Office. No one can tamper with the seal of the entrusted cargo!”
That’s right. The package can only be opened by the sender and the recipient. Who do they think they are trying to open it in the middle?
I nodded my head in agreement as I observed Pyo-du’s commanding voice from a corner.
“The Seocheon Post Office? Isn’t that run by the Tang Family?”
“Hyung, …”
“Is this ship from the Seocheon Post Office?”
Hearing that this was a post office under the jurisdiction of the famed Sichuan Tang Family, the warriors’ spirits suddenly dampened.
This is why it’s good to work for a high-class family like that.
“That’s right! Do you dare to lay a finger on cargo run by the great Sichuan Tang Family?!”
Having seized the moment, Pyo-du claimed victory confidently.
“Hyung, we need to find them. We can’t let them escape like this.”
“If we anger the Sichuan Tang Family, then…”
“What’s so hard about just checking?”
The warriors kept chattering among themselves.
“If they were hiding a child, they would have broken the seal and hidden away. I just want to confirm if there’s any broken seals!”
“No one besides Seocheon Post Office can approach the cargo!”
“It’s just a check!”
The atmosphere between the Seocheon Post Office workers and the warriors began to grow treacherous.
Could it really end up in a fight?
Not wanting to end up caught in some needless violence since it didn’t seem like anything serious, I moved a little further back from the scene.
I settled into an area filled with huge wine barrels which couldn’t hold me in my arms.
Who were they searching for in such a commotion?
Package management should be thorough, and security on the ship shouldn’t be lax. What kind of person could have snuck on board…?
“Huh?”
Among the scattered wine barrels, I noticed one barrel whose seal was broken.
Could it be…?
Knock. Knock.
It was hollow inside. When I knocked on the barrel, I realized I didn’t hear the hearf of liquid but rather felt the sound echoing back.
Knock. Knock.
I knocked again on the barrel.
“There’s no one in there….”
Knock. Knock.
“I tell you there’s no one in there!”
Tock-tock-tock.
“I told you there’s no one!”
Without hesitation, I opened the lid of the barrel with the broken seal.
Inside, instead of fragrant wine, I saw a flustered woman’s face peeking out.
“There’s someone inside….”
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