Years passed. The initial panic faded into a stable, if unconventional, arrangement. Kim Minji (YMB) thrived as the renowned baker, unburdened by financial worries or external drama. Yoon Minji (YMS) and Jungkook continued their quiet life, focused on their global ethics initiatives.
The partnership remained strong, defined by their weekly "Plot Check" meetings—a ritual where YMS and Jungkook would visit YMB at the bakery. It was part strategy, part therapy, and always involved exceptionally good cookies.
One snowy afternoon, during their ritual, YMS had a thought that shook her. She looked at the fresh snow falling outside the bakery window, realizing how far they had traveled from the suffocating drama of the novel.
"The golden light," YMS murmured, stirring her tea, her gaze distant. "When it struck me, I gained the character's life and the ability to act. When it struck YMB, she gained the reader's knowledge—the memory of the novel itself. Why the difference? We both received the same magical transference."
Jungkook and YMB looked at her, sensing the gravity of the theoretical leap she was making.
"The knowledge was the key to my survival," YMB said quietly, placing a plate of warm cookies down. "I knew the pitfalls. I knew who to trust and what to avoid."
"But I knew the plot just as well," YMS countered. "Yet I came over with the drive to live his life, while you came over with the drive to rewrite your life. It's the difference between possession and omniscience."
"The golden light wasn't just transference," YMS continued, a theory forming rapidly, her eyes fixed on Jungkook. "It was an infusion of desire. I, the reader, desperately wanted the Second Hero's life to be real and happy, to escape the predictable tragedy. That was my core desire."
She turned to YMB. "And you, the side character, desperately wanted your life to be better and safe, to escape the author's tragic pen. You wanted freedom from the script."
"The magic fulfilled the deepest desire of each person it touched," Jungkook concluded, his eyes widening as he grasped the implication. "It's a wish-fulfillment mechanism, not a strict narrative device."
"Exactly! If it were just the plot, the magic would have made us follow the script perfectly," YMS exclaimed, setting her spoon down with a small clink. "But it gave me the agency (the power to act) and her the foresight (the knowledge to plan). The magic mirrored our most intense desires for reality change."
"But that means the original author—the one who wrote the terrible plot—didn't control the magic," YMS said, her eyes shining with sudden, liberating certainty. "The author's intent was simply the canvas. The power was always driven by the desire of the reader. My passion, my frustration, my will to change the story—that was the true, ultimate force."
"So you are the ultimate protagonist," YMB summarized, a peaceful smile replacing her earlier apprehension. "The reader who became the author of the new timeline."
This revelation was the final, definitive step in YMS's transformation. She was no longer running from the plot; she realized she was the origin of the new reality. She was not the protagonist of the new plot; she was the Author of Reality.
Minji, the strategist, finally shed the last of the fear that had clung to her since Chapter 1. The original author's intent was irrelevant. The rules of this world were now hers and Jungkook's, bound by their mutual will and love.
"We thought we were hostages of the book," YMS said, standing up and walking to the window, watching the snow. "But the book was just the catalyst. We are the creators. Everything—Min-Joon's redemption, your freedom, our partnership—is an act of conscious will, not destiny."
"Then what about the small remaining plot points? Are they still threats?" Jungkook asked, taking a sip of tea.
"No," YMS declared, turning back, her expression radiant with pure authority. "They are just fading memories. We have successfully replaced the script with true, lived life. The plot has nothing left to latch onto."
"The plot is dead," Minji (YMS) announced, a final, victorious statement. "The sequel we feared will never come, because the sequel is already being written by us, every single day."
Jungkook smiled, reaching for a perfect ginger cookie YMB had just presented. "A self-written sequel is the best kind of ending."
"Then let's make sure the next chapter tastes this good."