The Damn Family Is Back Again

A Belated Epilogue

Originally, I should have written this yesterday, but (?) I’m belatedly posting a review today.

My body was in truly terrible shape, but I was determined to finish the ending and then collapse! So, I forced myself to write on March 11th, and then I ran completely out of energy and just keeled over.

Ugh. I’m starting to ramble. Let’s cut the chatter and get to the main point.

Hmm. How should I begin?

Now that I’ve actually finished, it doesn’t quite feel real, but at the same time, it truly feels like the end.

The first thing that strikes me is the time.

It was a long journey, over a year. Walking this great trek of 412 chapters, I really feel how much time has passed.

It started on December 20th, 2023, and grinding away at it, the turn of the year has already passed twice.

So, wondering how I even wrote this, I looked back through the original settings, and I see the flesh on the bones of the story I wanted to tell.

The reason for the regret tag, the reason why the target had to be family, the connection to reality using the system and memorial, and the protagonist who kept collapsing at the center of it all, and the heroine who held him together.

Looking at these pieces, slowly attached based on the initial framework, I think so many things have changed from back then.

There are quite a few plot points that were revised along the way, and some threads that vanished completely. I even broke some with my own hands, and I took some risks to advance the story.

Notably, the plots related to Belian and Karn were like that. Belian became the final enemy in the novel, but originally, Karn was supposed to take that role. That’s why I gave the carriage doll memorial early on.

I wanted to give Karn the psychopath trait by releasing an additional memorial with the behind-the-scenes story: ‘How many people would die if the carriage doll used gigantification magic?’

Also, the justification for Karsein saving the Duke’s family in the later part was supposed to be connected to that.

The awkwardness of the Claire part is also because of that. I wanted to continually reveal Karn’s robotic and emotionless side, indifferent to killing people, with: ‘How many people would die if the crops they had been cherishing so much in the territory grew and turned into monsters?’

Likewise, the training grounds were meant to show that Radiel was in trouble because the entire knight order had been completely corrupted by Karn’s hand.

Since it’s an overlap with reality, the real culprit who killed Kim Min-hyuk was also meant to be the missing third child of the family, rather than Seo Joo-hwan.

Why, you ask? Because, from the very beginning, I positioned Karsein and Karn as opposing forces.

One, stripped bare, abandoned even by his own family, feeling nothing, slowly freezing into a machine. Versus the other, possessing everything, bathed in the warm affection of his kin, yet feeling nothing at all, transforming into a psychopath of an ultimate boss.

Yes. That’s how I envisioned them. Sharing a common thread, perhaps, but destined to walk utterly divergent paths.

But all of these seeds, these plot threads…well, they’ve all withered away.

Next…my impressions after re-reading my own work from start to finish.

The first thought that springs to mind is, I need to grow more.

I couldn’t shake the feeling of inadequacy. Looking back at certain chapters, I realized, “Ah, I should have gone this way.” I even felt like lecturing my past self, “Even if you changed the plot, you should have changed it in *this* direction!” *Ahem.*

The advice from those seasoned hands—that you slowly improve as you write—resonates deeply now. Of course, I’m still a mere novice, so I need to study harder if I want to smooth out these rough edges, even just a little.

And…hm. I suppose I’m only human; the comments still linger.

Comments asking if I’d grown up unloved by my family,

Or even performing rituals to curse the novel to fail! To be discontinued!

I even saw comments setting up signs saying, “Don’t read this novel!”

There were those who confidently predicted I’d abandon it within days, dripping with sarcasm.

Well…yes. Even if I tried not to care, I remembered them. I couldn’t help it.

But wouldn’t it be even more unjust if I let them dictate things and couldn’t even finish the ending?

I deliberately blocked them and wrote on, determined to reach the finale! My mind is still sound! My body, though, is a bit…broken down…

Ah. Now that health has come up, I can finally mention that in the initial stages, my enthusiasm was boundless. I filled pages every day and could outline tomorrow’s synopsis however I pleased, writing flowing effortlessly.

But, unlike those zeal-filled days, as time went on, my enthusiasm began to wane.

The reason for this, in all likelihood, was my health.

Back then, I held the arrogant belief that even if my body deteriorated to some extent, as long as I could flick my fingers, I could still write.

But, in reality, it wasn’t like that at all.

As my body broke down, I naturally lost the will to write. Never mind flicking my fingers; even a simple cold and a fever were enough to make me forget story ideas.

Furthermore, the cigarette smoke rising from downstairs and the noise from the floor above that constantly disrupted my sleep and morning routine shattered my concentration, completely derailing my entire day.

They acted like they were blameless, applying double standards, to the point that I even called the police. It was a miracle I didn’t utter a single curse word.

For the record, I still can’t open my windows carelessly.

Yes. It hasn’t been resolved. This has been the biggest stressor. This is what drained the most strength from my writing.

Even if my body ached, “No, I absolutely have to write at least one chapter today!” gradually became, “Ugh…I should rest for a day…” And then, it escalated to, “Ah, I really can’t write today! Isn’t it okay to rest about twice a week?”

Once the cigarette smoke wafted up from downstairs, that day was truly ruined.

The reason the serializations began to be delayed by hours at a certain point was also because of this. The period when the release schedule completely fell apart was right around then. How can the cigarette smell not disappear even when I spray Listerine on the front door…

I need to find some kind of solution… Ha. I don’t know. Sigh. If I keep thinking about it, I’ll just get stressed, so I’ll forcibly move on to another topic!

Right, so I never even mentioned the side stories! How could I forget something this important, aaagh!

Actually, I was going to start writing the side stories today, but I wanted to refine the narrative a bit and add some extra bits.

I know you readers want… *ahem*… those scenes, and I will write them, but I want to add at least one more thing. It’s something I specifically wanted to include since I first started conceptualizing the story, and I think it will amplify the feels. And, that could lead to even more scenes of *ahem* variety, perhaps (?)

Ah. I’ve seen quite a few comments about real-life matters, so I originally thought about writing about Minhyuk finding happiness in his reality as well, but I’m not sure about that.

For now, I’ll focus on weaving the sweet tale of Karsein and Harnie as a newly formed family, and decide then.

Therefore, the side stories will start being uploaded next week! I also kind of want to rest this week…

I’m not sure if anyone will have any, but(?) If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments.

That’s all from Harmiz.

I sincerely thank all the readers who stayed with me until the very end of the main story!!