The Savior of the Villainess in a Romance Novel



1 – A Man Reading Romance Fantasy Web Novels

Name: Kim Geundae

Age: 26

Hobbies: Working out and reading web novels.

His face was rough with unevenly distributed muscles, so his nickname since school days has been “Muscle Pig.”

Also known as a “macho man.”

There were women he liked, but they were frightened by his overly rugged looks and rejected him more than once.

Even to those who liked the “bear” type, his face elicited psychological rejection.

…But that’s not important, so I’ll put these sad stories aside for now.

I have one secret I can’t tell others.

My taste in web novels.

Friends and acquaintances who read web novels liked genres like action and traditional fantasy.

But I was different.

You think it’s wuxia? No.

My taste was in romance fantasy aimed at women…

A friend said, “Lots of guys read romance fantasy these days!”

So I told that friend, I like romance fiction aimed at women.

The reply I got was, “You? How creepy.”

I was so embarrassed.

Can’t a machoman with rugged muscles like me also enjoy romance fantasy?

I didn’t want to feel ashamed.

I wanted to be honest about my tastes.

I wanted to join in talking about web novels.

But…

I decided to keep my taste for romance fantasy a secret.

I still couldn’t forget those scornful, disgusted looks…

But there were several reasons why I stubbornly persisted in enjoying romance fantasy.

I liked the hardworking female protagonist.

It was charming.

The male lead and support characters falling for her charm unconsciously.

I fell for the protagonist too.

The downtrodden protagonist who bears all misfortune in the world.

Sometimes I cried feeling sorry for her.

But above all…

I loved the villainess characters.

The villainesses who all the characters call crazy or evil, are actually the most tender-hearted and pitiful if you look closer.

Assigned the villain’s role, shunned and longing for love and attention – I found them so heartbreakingly sad.

Their villainy was mostly due to princes and dukes who dumped them after being enthralled by the protagonist, or parents who used them for political gain.

I think it’s a kind of empathy.

Of course there were also pure crazy villainesses. But they aren’t villainesses.

They’re just mentally ill.

I was lost in thought about this.

***

Today after work I’m reading romance fantasy web novels in secret as usual.

The time is 7pm, rush hour.

In the crowded subway full of people, I’ve turned down the screen brightness so no one can see.

“Ah, this one was interesting too.”

Lately I’m not just reading one or two romance fantasies.

I browse multiple platforms, paying per chapter, subscriptions, donations. Starting from the most popular and going deep into niche ones.

For niche works I like, I’ve even sent messages begging the authors not to discontinue and that I’ll donate.

My salary after taxes is 2.56 million won.

Half of that money goes into paying for these novels, needless to say.

I have to tighten my belt, but as long as I can eat chicken breasts and supplements, it’s no problem.

I can exercise at home and fill plastic bottles with water instead of paying for the gym.

…None of that really matters anyway.

As I was wandering through the niche novels on the subway as usual, I came across an interesting work.

“Surviving in a Romance Fantasy Ruled by Villainesses”

“Ruled by villainesses?”

My masterpiece sensor in my head started reacting.

This is it! Just what I wanted!

I immediately tapped to enter, and saw it had 78 chapters so far.

The latest chapter had 0 views.

The first chapter seemed to have a decent number, but…

Well, none of that matters anyway. I trust my masterpiece sensor.

Believing in my sensor, I started closely reading from Chapter 1.

The content…

I could see why it had no views.

The pacing was so fast it was dizzying.

The hapless protagonist gets pushed around without any allies.

The so-called male leads can’t protect her, only kidnap and imprison her without hesitation.

And they were all useless scumbags.

But above all…

The content was so clichéd.

It felt like an old Japanese romance fantasy. Usually things like reincarnation, spirit possession, arranged marriage, avoiding death flags, rebirth from ruin. Stuff like that, right? And on top of the fantasy tropes it crammed in everything.

Here is my attempt at translating the excerpt:

Swords and magic and stuff…

My mind was dizzy, but on the other hand, I was curious how the hapless protagonist would survive, so I kept reading the latest chapters without stopping. I didn’t shower or eat muscle preservation ‘high intensity full body ripper exercises’ or supplements after getting home.

I was absorbed in a web novel not even B-grade, that no one had seen.

From 7pm after work until 2am.

I read through Chapter 78, the latest update.

My eyes were too tired.

It wasn’t a story with a beginning, development, twist and conclusion, just repetition of ending after ending after ending.

I was also breathless.

With events swirling and pounding down each time, the protagonist faces a crisis every time.

There were some rewards too, but they became meaningless as it approached the devastated, maddened ending.

Still, for me it was good enough. Because there were charming villainesses.

And I even marked characters I liked, so I’ve said it all.

After reading the latest chapter, the views were at 1.

Me.

Honestly, I couldn’t understand why the author wrote up to Chapter 78 like this. Was it just practice?

But I hoped they wouldn’t discontinue.

With that thought, I targeted the author’s delicate heart.

Comment from Bear-Reading-Romance:

– I enjoyed reading it. There are a lot of charming characters. I really liked this good work. I look forward to the next chapter!

I left the comment sincerely…

Just in case, I carefully left a comment.

To imprint in this author that there was a reader for their novel written while staring at the wall.

Plus a 1000 coin donation.

I shot it generously.

Because I knew authors couldn’t block these kinds of things and couldn’t abandon their work.

No matter if it was practice, I knew they loved their own work more than anyone.

And serializing 78 chapters with no readers, such dedication and perseverance.

I really liked that.

I regret I can’t donate more this time because my wallet is empty, but next payday I’ll donate 5000 coins for sure.

***

7:30am.

I’m preparing for another day same as always.

Shower, get dressed, convenience store salad for breakfast. I make supplements ahead of time. Gotta eat them at lunch.

I’m tired. Must be because I was up reading the novel until 2am last night.

I somehow moved my heavy body and headed for the subway. As expected, there were no seats.

Sandwiched among the crowd of commuters, I looked at my smartphone.

The first place I entered was RomanceFantasyPlaza. The platform for the novel I read yesterday.

It said daily updates, so I went in to check the latest chapter from the beginning.

[You have a new notification]

There’s a notification. I wonder if it’s an event or promotion for some work, just checked it lightly.

‘Hmm?’

I saw the notification was from the author of “Surviving in a Romance Fantasy Ruled by Villainesses.”

They must have replied to the sincere comment I left. I followed the notification to the author’s work.

Author’s note: Bear-Reading-Romance, thank you for enjoying my work. Unfortunately, I was planning to discontinue it at Chapter 78. I’m truly sorry.

“Huh?”

My voice echoed through the subway and people’s eyes focused on me.

“Ahem…”

I cleared my throat and people looked back at their phones as if to say what’s going on?

But that’s not the problem right now. I left a donation and comment, but they say they’re discontinuing it?

Then why serialize up to Chapter 78? If they had done 15 chapters or 25 chapters, I wouldn’t have left a donation or comment.

Because I felt the author’s sincerity and love for their work in serializing 78 chapters, I also responded in kind.

I was very disappointed. My heart ached that another romance fantasy would die.

That’s how much I loved romance fantasy…

But I couldn’t help that the author’s motivation was gone. Forcing them to continue an unloved work would just make the story deteriorate.

Disappointed but wanting to respond responsibly to the author who left me a message, I left a reply comment.

[Bear-Reading-Romance]’s comment:

– It’s really too bad you’re discontinuing it. I look forward to seeing your grown writing in the future.

“Phew…”

I let out a sigh.

But it’s okay. The world is full of romance fantasy and charming villainesses.

Pushing aside my regret, I passed the day reading updated romance fantasy on other platforms.

But while working and eating, one work kept floating through my mind.

“Surviving in a Romance Fantasy Ruled by Villainesses”

I really loved the villainesses. Especially Mikaris, she was my favorite.

‘How nice it would be to enter that story…’

To be honest, the worldbuilding was a mess, but if I could see her, I’d want to enter the story to that extent. She was that close to my preferences.

Grasping my half-dazed mind plagued by romance fantasy withdrawal, I somehow finished the day and got on the subway.

‘Let’s go into RomanceFantasyPlaza first.’

The moment I entered RomanceFantasyPlaza.

Thud!

“Wah!”

“What the?”

Murmuring.

The people riding the subway were thrown into confusion. Me too.

From noble mtl dot com

All the lights started flickering then cut out entirely, the subway lost power and stopped.

Luckily, after waiting a bit, a guidance announcement came on.

– We sincerely apologize for the disruption in service. It will be restored soon, so please wait patiently and rest assured.

I thought it was some big accident again. Since an announcement came on, it should be fine.

But…

The WiFi and data won’t connect either.

I didn’t mind that going home was delayed, or that it was dark and lowering the screen brightness was meaningless.

But not being able to read romance fantasy…

‘This changes things.’

I turned my head to look around.

To check if others were having internet issues too.

Everyone seemed focused on their own phones, sending messages and using communities.

Looks like it’s just me.

“Hmm…”

Right as I furrowed my brows at the sudden internet problem.

-Jeeeng!

Suddenly, my phone started vibrating so intensely it was hard to even hold.

With the subway lights out and dark, my phone screen kept blinking.

It hurt my eyes.

At the same time, my head throbbed.

I thought it was a headache from lack of sleep.

But this pain was not something I could brush off as just a headache.

It felt like my skull would crack.

Plus a crushing pressure on my chest, making it hard to breathe. My vision blurred.

“Huh, hah. Why is this…”

Noticing my condition, some people approached.

“Are you okay?”

“Do you feel unwell anywhere?”

Murmuring.

Everyone in the train car was focused on me now.

“My heart…”

“I contacted the conductor with the emergency call device! Hey!”

“……”

The world spun around me.

I couldn’t even keep my balance now.

I felt my consciousness fading further and further.

Thud.

Finally, I collapsed face down on the floor.

***

“Ow…”

Clutching my throbbing head, I looked around.

“What?”

This isn’t a hospital.

An interior I’ve never seen before. A room full of handcrafted furniture like something out of a medieval drama.

My body felt oddly light.

I wanted to check my appearance but there were no mirrors around. I had no choice but to look down at myself.

My muscular body was gone, only a frail form left. I wasn’t completely without muscles but compared to my body, this was like a anchovy.

‘How did I build up those muscles…’

But muscles aren’t important right now.

With my experience as a hardcore romance fantasy reader, I knew this familiar development.

I had no choice but to realize.

That this was spirit possession.