Novelist Running Through Time

TL: KSD

I woke up suddenly to find that it was dawn.

The gradually brightening twilight seeped through the gap in the curtains.

Thousands of threads of light spilled into the air.

I woke up from my sleep at the sight of that radiance.

Murakami Haruki says he writes as soon as he wakes up in the morning. I wanted to be like him, so I tried imitating him, but all I managed to do was grope for the notebook I left by my bedside and jot down a few keywords that came to mind.

When I lived in the orphanage, I would wake up sharply at 6 AM. I would make my bed, go to the dining hall for breakfast, and then head to school. And at school, I endured painful times. None of it included my own will.

Maybe as a compensation for those painful times, even if I woke up automatically at 6 AM, I would roll around in my blanket for hours. Despite sitting on a mountain of debt to secure my rent, I finally secured a nest of my own……

But today, I can’t afford such luxury. Because it’s the day of Professor Gu Hak-jun’s class. He’s the person who even paid for my tuition to let someone like me attend school, so I mustn’t miss even a single letter of his teachings.

Thus, I threw off the blanket wrapped around me like a cocoon and got up, limping.

But the room I knew wasn’t the same. It was just as devoid of furniture, but felt much wider and cleaner.

What. Have I ever lived in a house like this……

“Ah.”

Only then did my self, wandering through the gaps of time, return to reality.

And I realized. The place I had to go wasn’t university, but middle school.

I left the house still not used to wearing my school uniform. It was a 5-minute walk to school.

Even though it was a short walk, various thoughts crossed my mind. Naturally, about what had just happened.

I still get confused from time to time about which period I am living in. My physical body exists in the present, of course. Then what about my self? My memories? My soul?

I still can’t let go of the things I left in the past, and I am burning my present for a future that will someday come.

Then where do I exist? Does time converge or diverge? Is the future something to be reached or something that approaches? Is the past something that has passed or something that has accumulated?

I was still walking through the dizzying flow of time.

Thinking such thoughts, I reached the school gate.

“Uh…?”

Numerous reporters were looking at me, their eyes shining.

EP 4-Red Hunter

“Teacher! In-seop hasn’t come!”

“In-seop has an interview, so he’ll be a bit late~”

The homeroom teacher smiled brightly, even though a student was absent from the morning assembly due to personal reasons. The success of Author Moon was naturally the teacher’s success.

A private school teacher is not a civil servant but an employee.

Without performance, one could be fired or not have their contract extended, and with sufficient performance, one could receive a better salary or transfer to a better school.

This trickle-down effect also poured over to the students. As the reputation of Baekhak Arts Middle School’s creative writing department increased, so did the future prospects of the students who would graduate from there.

After the teacher left, cheers erupted among the students.

“Yay!”

“No more shrinking in front of idols, Youth World Cup participants, and international competition winners…….”

“Our creative writing department is finally getting media attention!”

“Teacher Park Chang-woon once invited a presidential candidate, right?”

“Shut your mouth.”

“You……. Never mention that incident again…….”

The kids were happy about Moon In-seop’s success as if it were their own. Because it was partly their business.

However, jealousy is an emotion that everyone experiences, and middle school first years find it hard to hide their feelings.

“So what. He became famous not for his s but for variety shows. Right, trash?”

“Honestly, isn’t it just selling sentimentality? All I think about Moon In-seop is how hard he sells his books.”

“Do you guys believe that? The stories on variety shows are all written by the scriptwriters. That too is all scripted. Ew.”

Opinions were divided, but no conflict arose.

Just as everyone today only looks at media that suits their taste, all the kids talked only with friends who shared their opinions.

However, there was someone who was not afraid of conflict.

Among the rebels, Gu Yu-na was the most rebellious and approached the students who were making cutting remarks.

“Do you feel special by insulting Moon In-seop?”

“What, what are you talking about…”

“Do you feel stronger by mocking someone’s sad family history?”

Gu Yu-na was born early, making her physically a year younger. And regardless of age, she is very small in stature.

However, the other kids didn’t even think to intimidate Gu Yu-na by bumping shoulders with her.

Just as one wouldn’t run from a Chihuahua dripping with saliva because of its size…

‘This kid… There’s something eerie about her eyes!’

Gu Yu-na’s gaze emitted a cold murderous intent.

As Gu Yu-na, who had proven her ‘combat power’ on numerous occasions, silently roamed the classroom like a shark searching for prey, the critical public opinion towards Moon In-seop magically ceased.

Even the big bullies closed their mouths and became obedient when Gu Yu-na, with crazy eyes, approached them like a ghost.

Thus, with Gu Yu-na establishing discipline, Moon In-seop finally entered the classroom, half-dead.

“Phew…”

Gu Yu-na, who had turned the classroom genre from a school story to a horror story, stopped roaming the classroom and took her seat when she saw Moon In-seop.

The kids cheered with emotion.

“Welcome, In-seop!”

“You’ve done well!”

“You’re a hero! Moon In-seop!”

“…?”

Moon In-seop could only tilt his head with a question mark amidst the excessive cheers.

* * *

The kids gathered in the Pop Culture and Arts Research Club room had strange expressions.

“Long time no see. Did everyone have a good weekend?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Yeah, it was good.”

“…”

They had seen the broadcast but felt awkward to congratulate him for becoming famous, and it was also awkward to suddenly ask if he had been through a lot and offer comfort.

Of course, Gu Yu-na immediately listed the flaws of Red Hunter to me as soon as we met in class. (It can be interpreted that she liked everything else except for that.)

To break the awkward atmosphere, I brought out a gift. The gift was a piece of paper.

“Kim Sunbae. Here, take this.”

“Huh? What is thisssssssk-!”

[To Actress Kim Byul. I look forward to your continued great performances. From Director So Tae-woong.]

-As soon as Kim Byul received the paper scribbled with these words, she shrieked with joy like a dolphin.

The high-pitched sound of a famous child actor (though it’s becoming slightly awkward to say) was different.

The accurately emitted high frequency vibrated the eardrums. Gu Yu-na calmly covered her ears, and Min Hyo-chan looked a bit disenchanted.

Kim Byul, too excited to notice how others were looking at her, gasped for air and hugged the paper.

“This…! It’s real, right?! It’s really Director So Tae-woong’s signature, right? Really? Really? Genuine, right? Huh?!”

“Yes.”

“Kyaaaaaaaak-!”

Kim Byul’s dolphin show resumed for a moment. After bouncing her feet on the sofa, Kim Byul finally calmed down and spoke like a human, not a dolphin.

“How was Director So Tae-woong?! How is he in person? The passion for creation! Genius! Do you feel it? Huh?!”

Well.

What kind of person is Director So Tae-woong…?

“Somewhat… mentally peculiar…?”

Kim Byul looked serious.

“What did you say, just now.”

I changed my words.

“A great director. He’s polite, and on the outside, he looks perfectly fine.”

“Exactly! Director So Tae-woong is famous for treating his staff fairly!”

“Yes.”

“When Director So Tae-woong was shooting ‘Hwahwa’, there was this incident…”

There was a moment of So Tae-woong praise. After a while, as Kim Byul was testifying about his goodness, she suddenly came to her senses.

Realizing that her juniors were looking at her with ‘strange’ eyes, Kim Byul elegantly coughed and managed her image. To not lose her dignity as a senior.

Of course, it was already too late.

“Cough, cough! Anyway, I thought it’d be good for you guys to know what kind of person Director So Tae-woong is, so I got a bit carried away. Just consider it advice from a sunbae, and take it to heart.”

“Is the praise for So Tae-woong over?”

“It, it’s not praise!”

“Okay, okay, let’s work on the plot for ‘Demonic Sward~nim’ and head home. How’s ‘Demonic Sward~nim’ going, Yu-na?”

‘Demonic Sward~nim, Please Control Me!’ is currently being handled by Gu Yu-na. A proficient Harry Potter fanfic writer, Gu Yu-na has been smoothly continuing the series based on her experience.

Even though it was a biweekly serial, the schedule was relaxed.

Of course, the comment section was ablaze like hellfire, but Gu Yu-na didn’t bother to explain what biweekly serialization meant in the web world.

It’s not uncommon for pure literature to be published once every few years. Only Min Hyo-chan was sweating, wondering if this was okay. Gu Yu-na sent an unhesitant okay sign.

“It’s going smoothly.”

If the loyal readers following ‘Demonic Sward~nim’, the ‘Sword Followers’, had heard this, their acupoints would have twisted, and they might have coughed up blood, but Moon In-seop took her words at face value.

“Good. Then let’s start the story meeting.”

* * *

Naturally, when the club activities ended, it was time to go home.

The meeting went a bit long, so dusk had fallen.

The evening sunset was crossing the dark horizon.

While admiring that beautiful scenery, Kim Byul, yawning, entered my field of view.

“Ah~ What should I do when I get home…”

I ended up walking home with Kim Byul for the first time in a while. Since our homes were in the same direction, we naturally ended up walking together.

However, this wasn’t a common occurrence, usually because Kim Byul would go to work before school ended, or her manager would come to pick her up right after school.

“Why didn’t your manager come to pick you up?”

“Because my schedule is completely empty!”

“Weren’t you shooting a drama?”

“Hey! You don’t even know your sunbae’s drama has finished?”

“I don’t have a TV at home…”

“Oh, because you haven’t been at your new place for long?”

“No, I just never felt the need for one.”

“…?”

“…?”

While engaging in such frivolous talk, we soon arrived near my rental room.

“I’ll be going in.”

“Okay! See you tomorrow~”

Just as we were naturally saying goodbye, a middle-aged woman approached us.

“Mom…?”

Kim Byul called her mother with a voice mixed with a little joy, a little bewilderment, and a little fear.

Kim Byul’s mother, smiling gently, quickly approached and grabbed my hand first, not her daughter’s.

“Oh, aren’t you Author Moon?”

“Yes. Hello.”

“I’m Byul’s mom. I came to pick up my daughter, but I didn’t expect to run into you here. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too.”

“I’m such a fan of your books! I couldn’t believe it when I heard you were my daughter’s friend, but meeting you like this is really surprising and pleasant!”

Kim Byul’s mother looked very sociable and sophisticated. It could be felt from her manner of speaking and fashion.

She naturally led the conversation, tying Kim Byul and me together according to her intentions.

“Oh, our school doesn’t serve dinner. You both haven’t eaten dinner yet, right? Since we’ve met like this, it must be fate. I’ll treat you to something. You like sushi, right? I was just about to take my daughter to our favorite sushi restaurant…”

“Ah, that’s…”

“Ha ha, don’t be too burdened. A friend’s mom can treat you to a meal. Especially after my daughter filmed the movie ‘Cause of Death’, I watched that film and promised myself I must meet the author one day. How did you manage to write such a masterpiece…!”

Throughout her talk, Kim Byul couldn’t say a word, trapped like a butterfly in a spider web.

Eventually, we headed to a nearby sushi restaurant, as she intended. From the outside, it looked indistinguishable from a residential house.

Even as the chef prepared each piece of sushi and placed it in front of us, and the absence of a menu with prices indicated, it was clear this was no ordinary restaurant.

And her intention in bringing me to such a restaurant didn’t seem to be for an ordinary reason either.

After lavishing me with compliments for a while, Kim Byul’s mother brought up what seemed to be her main agenda towards the end of the meal.

“…Ah. By the way, I heard your ‘Red Hunter’ is being adapted into a movie. Is that right?”

“Yes.”

She seemed to already know and asked as if she just remembered, clapping her hands in feigned surprise.

“That’s right. That’s right. Director So Tae-woong! Byul has been a fan of Director So Tae-woong since she was young!”

I could have mentioned something that happened at school and made a joke, but glancing at Kim Byul’s expression, I couldn’t bring myself to joke.

Kim Byul had her head slightly bowed, biting her lip tightly.

Noticing my gaze, Kim Byul changed her expression as if nothing was wrong.

And she blinked innocently, as if asking why I was looking at her.

That skilled act could make an average person think, ‘Did I just see something wrong?’ However, the expression Kim Byul just had was vividly imprinted in my mind, as observing people is a hobby of mine.

It was ‘humiliation’.

She was feeling distressed in this situation.

Kim Byul’s mother was about to continue speaking.

“Maybe to Director So Tae-woong…”

I took out all the bills from my wallet and placed them on the table.

“The meal was delicious.”

Then, calmly, I got up from my seat and left the restaurant.

As I stepped outside, the world was pitch dark. The cool night wind swept through the dimly lit city.

The sun had already disappeared beyond the horizon, and the autumn air seemed to signal the approach of winter.

The year was coming to an end.

*****

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