Novelist Running Through Time

The mornings at Baekhak Entertainment are chaotic.

It’s not because the employees are particularly lively. After all, a person who has just arrived at work is biologically indistinguishable from rice cakes, green onion kimchi, utterly exhausted, or zombies. (TL: If you don’t understand the part about the rice cake and green onion kimchi, it’s the author’s way of comparing office life as repetitive and lacking uniqueness. )

The noise in the mornings at Baekhak Entertainment is due to the crowd of people swarming around the building entrance.

Fandoms and entertainment reporters camp out from early morning, creating noise whenever a celebrity enters or leaves the building.

This has become so routine that the employees sitting in the lobby café, sipping their morning coffee, have started a small game of guessing who the visitor is based solely on the sounds coming from the entrance.

“-!”

“……!”

Today, as the commotion at the entrance erupted, the employees in the café chuckled and chatted in small groups.

“The decibel level is quite high; could it be a superstar?”

“Hey, Deputy Manager~nim. Don’t you know that idol fandoms are always intense? If they see their favorite, they scream without caring about anything else.”

“No, no. It sounds more like the voices of reporters asking questions than young people. Maybe it’s a top actor? Who was going into production recently…”

“Well, since I didn’t hear ‘Oppaah-’, it seems like it might be a woman?”

“It could be a young man.”

“The age doesn’t matter for the title ‘oppa’. It’s all about the face.”

“……?”

The employees around the table mentioned various celebrities’ names, even betting small amounts on their coffee bills.

But then, isn’t the noise getting louder?

The bustling murmur grew louder and nearer until it was evident inside the lobby.

“Why? Did the fandom break through the entrance?”

“Again? What are the security guards doing?”

“Ah, seriously. Can’t even enjoy coffee in peace in the morning.”

Idol fandoms breaching the entrance and invading the building is a serious incident. Fans excited to meet celebrities can act impulsively and unpredictably.

They might hide in bathrooms and then sneak out to explore Baekhak Entertainment, or they might enact a spy infiltration mission to meet their favorite actor, or deliver a gift box containing a dead mouse (one month post-mortem) to an idol they dislike, or seek bloody revenge on a producer who messed up their favorite girl group’s management…

Having ‘experienced’ such incidents, the employees of Baekhak Entertainment promptly began to evacuate in an orderly manner upon seeing signs of a fandom invasion on the first floor.

However, when they emerged from the lobby café, there was no sign of an idol fandom having invaded the first floor.

Instead, the employees of Baekhak Entertainment themselves had transformed into a fandom, surrounding someone.

“There…!”

“Just one picture…!”

“So cute…!”

The employees from the café frowned.

“What? How disgraceful. Getting excited over seeing a celebrity in an entertainment agency? And they call themselves proud employees of Baekhak Entertainment?”

“Let’s go see for ourselves.”

“Sure.”

And what the employees who arrived at the scene finally witnessed was:

The most controversial figure at present.

A character unlike any other in the Korean entertainment industry.

Baekhak Entertainment’s top earner for the first half of the year.

And the youngest genius author.

“It’s Moon In!”

“He’s so tiny.”

“Is that young kid really Author Moon? I really enjoyed his book.”

“Hey! Let me take a picture too!”

Author Moon In had visited Baekhak Entertainment.

EP 2 – OTHER

The first time I visited Baekhak Entertainment, I was stopped at the entrance, but the second time, I was stopped even before I could enter.

It wasn’t the security guards who stopped me, but the reporters.

“Are you really Author Moon In?”

“Yes.”

“What do you think about the recent school violence controversy that was exposed online?”

“I’ve been hit, but I never hit anyone.”

“Is it true that you’ve written 16 s?”

“Yes.”

“What are your future plans?”

“Go home, write, and sleep, I guess.”

“Not that, I mean like additional TV appearances-”

“Maybe? Not really sure?”

I wonder how long I was surrounded by reporters.

Fortunately, the security guards who had blocked me last time instead pulled me out from the crowd of reporters this time and guided me into the Baekhak Entertainment building.

But as soon as I entered the huge lobby, which I had only glimpsed before, adults who caught sight of my face widened their eyes in surprise and surrounded me like zombies.

“Can I take a picture here?”

“Author-nim! I was deeply moved by your book!”

“So small.”

“Is it him? Really? That kid?”

“Oh my, such baby skin!”

“Wow. Such a young kid wrote a book, seriously?”

“Who is this kid?”

“Could I possibly ask for an autograph here?”

“Hey, kid. Do you know VMT? They’re a boy group. Maybe you could do a YouTube channel together-”

“Hey, Team Leader Kim, don’t do business here.”

“I cried while reading your book.”

I was so overwhelmed that I almost lost my senses.

Just then, someone dispersed the crowd and issued a stern warning.

“Look here, folks. Don’t you have better things to do this early in the morning?”

In a white suit and black sunglasses, it was CEO Baek Seung-won.

“From upstairs, I saw the lobby has been noisy for almost 5 minutes, so I came down, and what do I see? Crowding around a child, what are you all doing?”

However, not many people paid attention to CEO Baek Seung-won’s words.

Most employees awkwardly avoided his gaze and fled as soon as he approached.

Only a few department heads and deputy managers, who couldn’t escape because they were high-ranking enough for CEO Baek Seung-won to match their names, faces, and positions, were caught and lectured.

But when they returned to their departments, they would probably exaggerate CEO Baek Seung-won’s lecture a hundredfold, a thousandfold to their subordinates, so in the end, didn’t he get his message across to everyone?

While I was thinking about this, CEO Baek Seung-won, having sent the employees back to their workplaces, reached out for a handshake with a sly smile.

“Hey, Author Moon. Long time no see. You’ve become a complete superstar since I last saw you.”

“It’s all thanks to you, CEO.”

“Hahaha! Look at you, even knowing how to socialize. All grown up. What brings you to our company? Looking for the publishing department?”

“Yes. Do you know where the Publishing Management Department is?”

“It’s on the 12th floor.”

“Thank you.”

“Sure.”

CEO Baek Seung-won waved his hand in response to my thanks and then strode off somewhere.

Is the 12th floor considered decent in a 15-story building? Anyway, it must be much better than the underground parking lot.

Riding the transparent elevator to the 12th floor, I could see downtown Seoul clearly.

“Nice.”

Although the person next to me gave me a strange look, I safely arrived at the 12th floor and set out to find the Publishing Management Department.

Let’s see. Here’s Management Team 2, here’s the storage room, here’s the Business Support Team, and here is.

Found it.

“Excuse me-”

As soon as I entered the office of the Publishing Management Department, the employees were startled and looked at me. It was somewhat fascinating to me that all these people were involved in work related to me.

After looking around the office for a moment,

Thankfully, I saw a familiar face.

“Editor Baek.”

“Oh my! Author Moon-nim!”

Baek Seol, who was chatting with someone near the utility room, was surprised and approached me. Her spiky hair was neatly arranged, making her look quite different.

“What brings you here, Author-nim? You didn’t even contact us!”

“I’m sorry for showing up unannounced.”

“It’s not about receiving an apology, I would have come to meet you if you had informed us! Surely, you didn’t come by subway?”

“I took a taxi. Recently, there are a lot of suspicious people targeting me.”

“Oh dear.”

“And that’s probably because of someone who’s now trying to escape the office hiding their face with a file folder.”

Startled!

Lim Yang-wook, who was trying to sneak out of the office with his face hidden behind a file folder, froze on the spot.

“Stop right there.”

“Ah, In-seop-ah.”

“Chief-nim.”

I looked up at Lim Yang-wook with a cold gaze.

Cold sweat trickled down Lim Yang-wook’s smooth scalp.

“What exactly is going on here?”

“I, I can explain everything.”

“Why are critics and literary elders fighting over me?”

* * *

The whole story of the incident was as follows.

Yang Sung-jun, the head of the publishing planning department at Baekhak Publishing, had obtained Moon In-seop’s school violence disciplinary record and planned to release it at the peak of Moon’s popularity, aiming to send Lim Yang-wook plummeting down.

However, the school violence record turned out to be completely fabricated, and Moon In-seop was not at fault. In fact, the information had been provided by Kim, an agent who had been swayed by Lim Yang-wook.

“These fucking bastards!”

Yang Sung-jun grinded his teeth while reading the official refutation posted by Lim Yang-wook’s side.

According to that statement, wasn’t Moon In-seop originally a victim of school violence?

It was the school that unfairly labeled Moon In-seop as a liar to side with the parents.

Naturally, the controversy stirred up by Yang Sung-jun fizzled out before it could even catch fire.

But that was okay. Since the fact that Baekhak Publishing was interfering with Baekhak Entertainment’s business could involve higher-ups,

Yang Sung-jun didn’t use Baekhak Publishing’s line but instead reached out through third-rate tabloid media using his personal connections to blow up the school violence issue.

The problem was that Lim Yang-wook, who received the information from Kim, reported it to the higher-ups.

Eventually, the fact that Yang Sung-jun attacked Baekhak Entertainment became known within the company.

Then, Kim Sang-guk, the head of the publishing business division, conveyed this message to Yang Sung-jun:

– Chief Yang. This incident went too far. I hear it was a project directly intervened by the ceo of the entertainment division. I think maybe you let personal feelings mess this up too much.

It meant that everything was going to be blamed on him.

“This! These fucking bastards!”

When was it ever right to leave Lim Yang-wook, who muddies the waters, alone?

And now they’re saying it’s all my responsibility?

That can’t be.

Yang Sung-jun hardened his resolve and began to figure out how to survive this situation.

Then, as if heaven was helping him, a troubling movement in public opinion was detected.

One of the rumors carelessly spread by the tabloid media under Yang Sung-jun’s orders became the catalyst.

[Literary awards bought for money, earning 1 billion? Elementary school author… “Earning money is too easy”]

Literature? Difficult.

Money? Easy.

Based on this simple logic, the rumor spread rapidly online. It was an unforeseen event.

Lim Yang-wook’s Publishing Management Department quickly issued a corrective report. It wasn’t that Author Moon earned 1 billion, but the combined sales of physical and electronic books were around 1 billion.

And that 1 billion was shared between the publishing house, bookstores, and the author.

Then netizens quickly came to this conclusion:

“The average royalty for an author is usually 10%…”

“An elementary student pulled in 1 billion?”

“In just one month?”

Moon In-seop. 13 years old.

6th grade in elementary school.

Salary.

1 billion.

“Hmm…”

It was a very powerful phrase.

* * *

It’s human nature to begrudge a little when someone on basic livelihood assistance eats expensive tonkatsu.

Let alone an orphan earning 1 billion in a month? There were certainly no few people who couldn’t accept that fact.

And there were not a few people who found it repugnant to begrudge such a person. In fact, even more so.

And so, the war began.

“People jealous that an orphanage resident is making a lot of money. Don’t you feel a bit shameful?”

└It’s not about begrudging an orphanage resident making money, but the issue is the reason behind Author Moon’s ’s success. Promoting that he won 16 literary awards and then turns out he bought those awards? Do you see that as normal?

└People bought it because it was written by an elementary student. What value is there in insincere literature? It’s just pointing out that earning 1 billion through loopholes is wrong.

Unexpectedly, in this public opinion battle, the side attacking Moon was more dominant.

The side defending Author Moon had no weapons, while the attackers did.

That weapon was ‘expertise’.

The logic to attack Author Moon was already in place, held by critics well-versed in literature.

Those who wanted to attack Moon simply had to use that logic as it was.

And several critics were now in a position where they could no longer coexist under the same sky with Author Moon In-seop.

This was all because of Baekhak Publishing.

“Why the hell isn’t Yang Sung-jun answering his phone?”

Oh Min-sang irritably tossed his phone onto a plush sofa.

Critic Oh Min-sang was a central figure in the recent controversy.

To be precise, he was forced into it. To understand why he was pushed into this battle, one must go back a bit.

Before it was revealed that Author Moon was a minor, Baekhak Publishing’s planning department had officially enlisted a number of critics to denigrate him.

Critic Oh Min-sang had been at the forefront of this.

He was the closest to Baekhak Publishing.

Thus, he attacked Author Moon using the pretext of purchasing literary awards even before it was revealed that Author Moon was a minor.

And after it was revealed, he continued to criticize him, claiming there was no authenticity in literature written by an elementary student.

He was also the most active in pushing the ghostwriting controversy.

But recently,

The true identity of Author Moon was revealed through a broadcast.

The result was disastrous.

Oh Min-sang had become the worst critic, seen as someone who envied and tried to undermine a ‘genius author from an unfortunate background.’

“Damn it. If it weren’t for that bastard Yang Sung-jun…”

Being a critic is an ironic profession.

Though known for educating the public, to succeed as a critic, one must align precisely with the public’s taste.

This is similar to a politician.

Instead of proposing policies and having voters choose their favorite, they only present policies that voters are most likely to favor.

Thus, while a critic must evaluate cultural content with expertise, different from the public, their conclusions must align exactly with the public’s thoughts.

This enables the public to read the critique and think, ‘Exactly my thoughts! I am so smart!’

Being a critic was about providing that satisfaction.

That was the truth Oh Min-sang had realized in this industry.

That’s why he became a loyal servant of Baekhak Publishing, which effectively controlled the industry.

But now, even mighty Baekhak Publishing was being outplayed by an elementary school author?

Caught in that fight, Oh Min-sang nearly got hit by the stray bullets and was close to being finished. The moment Moon In-seop’s identity was revealed, Oh Min-sang felt as if the sky was falling.

Now, he had to go all the way.

Either Moon In dies, or Oh Min-sang does. One of the two.

Since this was all due to Yang Sung-jun’s doing, Oh Min-sang, grinding his teeth, continued to cooperate with Yang Sung-jun, diligently producing reasons for the public to dislike Moon In-seop.

“Chief Yang! Why aren’t you answering your phone!”

– Ah, sorry. There’s a situation at the company. It’s quite chaotic here. How are things on your end?

“We’re still pushing the narrative that Author Moon succeeded through unfair means, but the response seems to be cooling off. Initially, the literary awards scandal was linked to literary magazines, and those are media people. Even third-rate tabloids seem reluctant to bite the hand of their own industry.”

– What about the books? Just criticize the books.

This fucking guy and his casual tone.

Even though thinking this, Oh Min-sang responded politely.

“There are sixteen books; how can we review and critique all of them? And if we just disparage all of them, how will people view us? It’s too blatant.”

– So, you’re just going to keep repeating the same thing like a parrot and whine? To catch these bastards, we need to land a big fish and finish them off for good!

Oh Min-sang wanted to retort, “Then why don’t you do it? Why are you giving me a hard time?” But he kept his mouth shut and listened to Yang Sung-jun attentively.

– These kids are basically whistleblowers, aren’t they? Exposing the debut fee scandal and then becoming popular by cannibalizing others in the same industry to make money.

“Yes. Yes, that’s right.”

– Sigh. I’ll try to make some calls. Sorry for raising my voice. I’m just out of my mind right now. Totally out of my mind.

“No, it’s understandable. You must be very tired. But about these calls you mentioned…?”

In response to Oh Min-sang’s question, Yang Sung-jun listed a few names.

They were the elders of the Korean literary circle.

“You, you’re really going to contact them?”

– They were already annoyed with me asking who the hell this Moon In is. If I ask them to add a bit to the conversation, they won’t refuse.

“Ha. Then things will really go smoothly.”

The moment the elders move, the literary world’s opinion will turn against Author Moon. Many ists have mentor-mentee relationships with these elders.

In other words, it declares Moon as the public enemy of the literary world.

Moreover, most of these elder ists also double as critics. To evaluate s, one must know about them more than anyone else.

If these elder ists, who have chaired various famous literary award committees multiple times, start criticizing Author Moon, many people will begin to suspect there’s no smoke without fire.

Even if a wave of sympathy arises and Author Moon continues his writing career, if the elders share the blame, Oh Min-sang will be much freer from criticism.

Oh Min-sang finally felt a sense of relief.

“Then I’ll trust in you, Chief Yang.”

– Uh-huh. Okay.

Indeed, though Yang Sung-jun might have an irritable character, his connections born from experience were undeniable. And in this narrow field, connections were everything.

A few hours later.

Oh Min-sang received a text from one of the elders. He checked his phone with a face full of joy, and then froze.

[Critic Oh. I dare offer you a piece of advice. Do not use too harsh criticisms.] (TL: critic Oh = Oh Min-sang)

* * *

Initially, when the sacred Annual Spring Literary Contest was tainted by a crazed egotist.

When some lunatic bought sixteen literary awards and boasted about it.

The entire literary world was united in anger.

– The dignity of our literary world has hit rock bottom!

– Drag out that heinous villain immediately!

However, since Moon In-seop turned out to be a young person not even of legal age yet.

And displayed his sixteen s skillfully in front of numerous people.

In the midst of widespread acclaim, the elders of the literary world also began to change their view.

– He seems to write quite profound and sincere s…

– Young in age, but a literary figure with considerable depth.

– How could such a young talent emerge from under the tutelage of such a rude and ignorant person?

For decades, the Korean literary world, which had preserved the country’s bright traditions amidst the tumultuous history, was being pushed back by OTT from the West and web s leading with sensationalism.

Finally, after decades, a true talent capable of standing against foreign influences had emerged in the orthodox literary world.

Initially flustered and angry, the elders of the literary world soon developed a different desire.

– If I could teach that child my martial arts, no, my literary skills?

However, hesitant to change their stance too obviously in front of others, they did not openly speak up. Just then, a master of a prestigious literary school, Mr. Gu, stepped forward among his peers.

– This child’s talent is real.

Mr. Gu, in his youth, had roamed the world as a knight-errant, making the Korean literary world known even in distant lands of the West. His reputation was so esteemed that he was often mentioned as a potential leader of the literary world.

Now, this highly respected figure admitted to being humbled by a mere child not even of age?

– That Moon In recognized the inner demon of my heart just from reading one of my books. They say a truly talented person can understand ten things from one. Then what should we call that child?

– A genius…

– Exactly. A true talent bestowed by heaven. I stake my name on that guarantee.

The literary world is a place where people dedicate their lives to upholding the meaning behind their names.

When someone so renowned stakes their name, who would dare question it?

Then suddenly, a bizarre letter arrived from Baekhak.

It was nothing other than a proposal to make Author Moon In the public enemy of the literary world.

* * *

“So now famous critics and ists are having a keyboard war on the internet because of me?”

“That’s what’s happening…”

“This is insane.”

A complete mess.

As I frowned and covered my face with my hands, Lim Yang-wook, unable to hide his regret, hesitantly spoke to me.

“Uh, sorry. The controversy on the internet must be hard on you. I didn’t expect things to turn out like this. I’ll try to sort it out as quickly as possible.”

“How do you plan to do that?”

“The more successful we are, the more disadvantages someone in Baekhak Publishing faces. Right now, that person is marked by the higher-ups of the group. They have a lot of bad karma, so they’ll be kicked out soon.”

“What kind of bad karma?”

“They buried me in the underground parking lot.”

“Oh dear.”

“What am I even talking about to you.”

Lim Yang-wook seemed a bit embarrassed that he had to bring up such sordid matters to me.

I diverted the topic of conversation for his sake.

“By the way, the internet keeps talking about money, money, money. How much am I supposed to receive that it’s causing such a fuss?”

“Didn’t you see the email I sent you?”

“No.”

Lim Yang-wook glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then whispered to me quietly.

“1.2 billion.”

“…”

My mind went blank. My mouth dropped open.

Lim Yang-wook, finding my reaction amusing, continued with a smirk.

“Authors usually get an average royalty of 10%. But you’re getting 15%, a bit more. Your star power contributes a lot to the book sales.”

“But still, that’s an enormous amount of money!”

“The e-books sold incredibly well. It’s a record-breaking success.”

Lim Yang-wook playfully poked me in the ribs.

“Congratulations. You’re rich now.”

I sat there in disbelief. This was more than all the wealth I had accumulated in my previous life.

And then it hit me.

What talent really is.

What public attention really means.

Why so many people are desperate to capture the public’s interest and become obsessed with talent.

It all seemed to finally make sense to me.

“…”

But I didn’t feel entirely good about it.

Thinking about how much suffering I had endured without this money, I couldn’t be completely happy that it was now in my hands.

Could this really be considered money earned through my efforts?

No.

Excluding my “autobiography,” the other fifteen books had already been published in a time that might be my past life. (TL: autobiography = Cause of Death)

And back then, Executive Director Lim Yang-wook incurred only losses for the company, earning a barrage of curses. As a result, my s were not individually published later on, but rather compiled into a single book with small print as a series of connected stories.

But one thing was clear,

It’s the same writing.

The same writing, but the response is different.

This was revealing an all-too-stark truth.

That all the love and attention I was receiving now was somewhat illusory.

Professor Gu Hak-jun’s changed attitude, the frenzy people showed, it’s all a mirage.

At least, that’s what I think.

Money earned with fake talent.

“…”

Then, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

“Excuse me, Chief.”

“Hmm?”

“…How much will I receive next month?”

“Well, the second printing hasn’t happened yet, so it won’t be as much. But probably close to 10 million won? Now that I think about it, that’s more than my salary. Damn.”

“…What if we do this?”

* * *

Critic Oh Min-sang hadn’t slept well for several days.

He was torn between the instructions from Yang Sung-jun to attack Moon In and the orders from a respected industry senior not to.

However, there was only one option available to him. Once you’re on the tiger’s back, you must hold on and not fall off.

If he hesitated now, he would be completely buried. He had already published numerous critiques attacking Moon In, and as long as Moon continued his writing career, those critiques would forever haunt him.

He couldn’t change his stance.

Ironically, this was when Oh Min-sang, as a critic, was receiving the most attention. Those who envied and disliked Moon In’s success were rallying around him. And attention translates into money.

Changing his stance now would only make him the next target.

He had to keep moving forward.

He had made up his mind.

And that resolve was shaken that afternoon.

It was because Moon In announced he would make a statement to the press.

‘What is this about?’

Oh Min-sang waited anxiously all day for the press conference at 4 PM.

At 4 PM, Moon In appeared in front of Baekhak Entertainment’s building.

Oh Min-sang watched the live broadcast on YouTube.

He had a very ominous premonition.

Moon In said on the screen:

– Hello, I am the ist Moon In.

The boy, bowing his head to the camera among adults, looked very small.

But his words were far from childish.

– First, I would like to express my gratitude for the overwhelming love showered upon me. Thank you. It’s all thanks to you that a helpless child from New Light Spring Orphanage could stand here as an author. It’s all your doing.

Oh Min-sang’s only encounter with Moon In had been through a special program aired on BMB. And there, Moon In-seop appeared as a precocious, world-weary child.

But now, speaking in a polite tone and neatly dressed, he truly seemed like an adult.

The difference in appearance and demeanor lent him an odd, almost mystical aura.

– However, I find it difficult to accept being called a genius. I am not a genius. I was just born with an intellect roughly equivalent to an adult’s. I think by the time I’m 20, I’ll be no different from others.

Moon In continued with his inexplicable speech.

And as the talk progressed, Oh Min-sang’s anxiety grew.

– When receiving such undue attention, I sometimes wonder what talent really is. It seems somewhat unfair that an innate factor, beyond one’s control, determines a person’s acquired life.

– Fortunately, thanks to God’s grace in bestowing me with talent, I’ve achieved great success at a young age, but I doubt whether this is entirely due to my effort.

Oh Min-sang was probably the person most focused on this press conference. His life depended on it.

Thus, he could anticipate what was going to be said next.

“…Not that. Please, not that.”

Moon In, of course, couldn’t hear Oh Min-sang.

The boy continued at his own pace.

– When I think about it, my upbringing at New Light Spring Orphanage, thanks to Director Moon Chung-jae and Teacher Bang Jeong-ah, and my brother Ki-hoon and numerous other brothers and sisters, made me who I am.

“No, please. Stop it.”

– And the environment I grew up in was possible thanks to the warm-hearted sponsors who supported New Light Spring Orphanage.

“Please, just stop.”

– So, I’ve decided…

The statement Oh Min-sang hoped would never be made was finally spoken.

– I intend to donate the book sales revenue of 125 million won to child care facilities nationwide.

“Ah.”

*****

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