Author’s Note

This might be a little long, please bear with me.

TPC was created over the course of the last two years and a half, as some of you might be aware of since you were here from the beginning. I have been writing almost uninterruptedly, for better and worse – and on many different platforms, for many different fandoms – since 2010, but I think I can honestly say that although I like most of my stories, this one is the most significant to me. I usually stray from angst and aim to keep it light; yes, I am that kind of author. As many of you know, real life is hard enough as it is and I personally do not want to read stories ending in tragedy, no matter how fantastically written they are. As a writer, these kinds of stories pose an additional challenge because I cannot help but become invested in the action on a whole different level. When I write, I think about certain difficult scenes for days on end, I juggle in my head all the possible scenarios and imagine how I would react or what I would do if I were my character. It means that sometimes the headache and the tears the story gives me are not only proverbial but real.

I think TPC has become so important to me not because it is my longest and most complex yet – although undoubtedly, the length gave many opportunities to explore my characters in depth – but because it has taught me how powerful writing can be. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to sound self-involved and I also still love light hearted humorous pieces because they often effectively lift up the mood. But TPC has showed me that sometimes angst is necessary because it is also part of life, and that when you go through something heavy with a character only to see them triumph, whatever that triumph can be for them, it can comfort and motivate you in a much more significant way than simple humour ever would.

All my readers are the heart of the story, and you are part of the reason behind my realisation as well as growth as a writer and a person. I read all your comments (I apologise for being so rubbish with my replies) and I appreciate them all. They have all contributed to how I developed the story and my changing perception of it. I wish some comments did not have to exist because it is always a heartache to read about somebody’s pain and struggles but I am also thankful that you trusted me enough to share them, and I am glad that many of you have or are in the process of healing. Just like this story was important to you, you all continue to be important to me. Your words are something that I will definitely go back to time and time again when I have a worse day. They really mean the world to me. Please hang on and always remember that you are not alone. There are people who love you, want to see you every day and cannot wait to hear from you. For a long time, I have been one of them too.

As for the characters, well. I think you all have your favourite ones, I do too. It probably shows but what the heck, I can tell you anyway. TPC was born in a spur of a moment, and I do not lie when I say that I never imagined it would escalate to this degree – none of my other works ever did. I could also never imagine that it would take so long to write, with so many chapters. Exo and Red Velvet are among my favourite Korean groups, and I’ve written about them before so I found it comfortable to put them here together. My dearest friend showed me the many charms of Wendy and Irene, so it was natural to centre the story on them – curiously enough, Wendy is my favourite so I intended to give her perspective priority but as I was writing, I found myself drawn to my fictional Irene more and more. I think many of you will agree that her character development, in many respects, have been tremendous.

I know that many readers left because of my inclusion of Exo members and giving attention to their characters too, which is fine. Thankfully, there are many stories out there for everyone to be able to pick what they want to read. I completely understand because I’m the same, nothing can make me read something that I am simply not feeling. As a writer, however, I only really have one philosophy and that is to write what I personally would like to read. I think you can all agree that when one has no passion for something, they cannot do a good job on it. I feel this is true with fan fiction as well. Admittedly, I have written a lot of stories per request, but never against my own feelings for the pairing / prompt. I am glad that so many of you stayed and we could share this together.

Neither Sehun nor Chanyeol are my favourites in Exo – Yixing is. But paradoxically, I find it very hard to write him, maybe because of my attachment. Chanyeol was majorly based on my male best friend from adolescence, Sehun and Joohyun’s relationship is what I wish I could have with my younger brother. I think I still have a long way to go, but I have taken my own advice and began making small steps towards improving our relationship.

I also have to apologise for not developing some of the other characters better, ones that you would have perhaps liked to know more of. First of all, Yeri is simply not present because like many other authors, I have a hard time writing her. She debuted so young that for many years, she just felt untouchable to me. I also know the least about her. Ultimately, I focused on Wendy and Irene, and kept Seulgi and Joy as secondary characters. There are also some “plot holes” – like Joy’s journey and some things that she said which were never explained. The way I see it, this story ends at chapter 34 and I consider it open-ended. There is a reason why I finished it the way I did, and that is because I ultimately consider it part of an on-going time line of my characters’ lives. Not everything that was important to the storyline happened in the duration of the narrative, either. I will sound pompous but life is an on-going journey, and it is always open-ended because the next day brings potential for further discoveries and developments. As the story focused on my four lead characters, there are times when the reader does not understand or know about certain things because they don’t know or understand them. In Joy’s case, none of the characters are really close with her and her personality does not invite fast friendships. I like to think that in the next months and years, Wendy will have become much closer to her and then her story becomes something that they are aware of.

(If you want my take, Joy Park was bullied in her previous school for her outstanding intellect and snarky mouth to go with it. Yerim Kim is not shy around her, though, as was pointed out in some chapters, so perhaps she was able to penetrate Joy’s defence mechanism.)

Also, the epilogue was just a self-indulgent cute little something, as well as the “many years later” part towards the end. But do not let that deter you from your own interpretation of what could have happened.

Lastly, about myself. I just really enjoyed writing a piece that incorporated so many familiar places and situations. I consider Nottingham, UK my second home and although it has been some time since I moved away, my university years there are among the happiest memories that I have. All the places mentioned do exist but naturally, liberties were taken with them. I used to live on Eaton Close and go to raves at Oceana. I saw Trent College only from afar though, but Y5 is the bus that would pass it by on the way to Darby.

York’s Chocolate Factory is one of my favourite places, too, and Chanyeol’s reaction to frequently vising it is a reflection of my local friend’s torture when she was being dragged there for the umpteenth time.

This story is not perfect, and there are things I would have written a little differently had I been aware of its full trajectory at the time, but it is and will remain one of my proudest achievement. Perhaps in the future, there will be an opportunity for me to write another long story, a novel even – but I think that I have already done that. Although it is not commercially published, it seems to have touched many of you and additionally helped me deal with some of my own demons. I also like to think that some of you might come back to re-read it one day. For all that, I will always be thankful to you because there is no greater achievement to me.

Perhaps we will meet in another story some time but for now I will have to concentrate on my impending graduation. I’m also aiming to graduate my PhD soon, heh. An interesting parallel to my characters.

Thank you, though. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. Words cannot describe how happy I was to be with you all here. For the last time, I will ask you all to comment and upvote if you liked The Purity Club.

Thank you. Please, always stay safe.

Agata