Novelist Running Through Time

Chapter 135

TL: KSD

“…….”

I woke up early in the morning.

I had a bad dream.

My bangs were drenched with cold sweat. I roughly wiped them off with my forearm, got up, and pulled back the blanket.

The blanket was a mess on the floor, but I didn’t bother to tidy it up. After all, this was a house I lived in alone.

Staggering, I washed my face and brushed my teeth in the bathroom, then made some coffee to wake up my still sleep-deprived body.

The world has really improved. With just the press of a button, the water boils. Bubble, bubble.

I poured the boiling water into a paper cup and added instant coffee mix. Then, I stirred it with the packet instead of a spoon.

I took the coffee and went out to the balcony. In the old days, I would have brought a cigarette too, but unfortunately, one hand was empty.

The spring breeze was still cold, and my body shivered. I had just moved my workspace recently, so the outside scenery still felt a bit unfamiliar.

But the slowly rising morning sun was the same everywhere, so I stood there staring blankly at the sky, thinking about the dream I had earlier.

At this moment, I took a sip of coffee and let out a sigh.

“Phew…”

As is always the case with dreams, the moment you wake up, they become blurry.

The only clear thing was the memory that someone was tormenting me in the dream.

Reality was the same.

When and where doesn’t really matter.

Being born as someone with no parents is truly a wretched fate, as no matter where I go, I end up being bullied by someone.

I’ve been beaten countless times, cursed at, pointed at, stabbed here and there, and eventually, my heart got torn and scarred so much that I became accustomed to the pain.

But even decades later, even after dying once and coming back, those memories from that time still haven’t let go of me.

So, in the end, the world is a hell of demons tormenting others,

and to survive, one must become accustomed to tormenting others or being tormented by others…

That was the world I saw, and the reason I wrote the novel ‘Dark Adaptation.’

After finishing several months of writing, I feel like all the energy has been drained from my body.

And as always, I feel both proud and regretful.

It’s not a complicated thought. I’m proud of the parts I think I wrote well, and regretful of the parts I think I didn’t.

But outside of the novel, I did feel a bit sorry for department head Lim Yang-wook, whose situation has become a bit difficult because the book isn’t selling well.

But it was something worth doing, or rather, a story worth writing.

I think it was a good decision to take Gu Yu-na’s advice. I feel like a new kind of literature has started within me.

It feels like I’ve moved away from personal novels that cried out about pain and deficiency, for the first time, it feels like I’ve directly faced the world through my own eyes.

The next question naturally follows. Then, how should one live in such a world?

I already feel like writing the next novel. This too could be considered a gift from Gu Yu-na.

But I don’t think I can write it right away. It’s not a mental problem, but a physical one. This project was too exhausting. Maybe it’s because the writing wasn’t about expressing emotions but accepting them…

I’m not sure.

The path of literature is indeed thin yet deep, and the further I go, the more I realize my inadequacies.

“Haa…”

It would be nice to blow away this frustration with some smoke, but if a middle schooler smokes, things could get pretty messed up.

Yeah. It was time to play the role of a middle school student again today.

I resigned myself to reality and put on my school uniform.

It’s been a while since I’ve gone to school.

EP 8 – Dark Adaptation

If you were enrolled in Baekhak Arts Middle School’s Creative Writing Department, you could be considered a rare species among the ‘highly interested in literature’ group, even among the top 1%.

(In fact, the term ‘endangered species’ might be more appropriate than ‘rare species.’)

So, the students in the Creative Writing Department were keenly aware of how Moon In’s new work, ‘Dark Adaptation,’ was being received and what kind of results it was achieving.

This was why, as soon as Moon In arrived at school, he heard these words.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“About what?”

“No, never mind… Hang in there!”

A sudden wave of consolation washed over Moon In.

“Fighting!”

“Don’t pay too much attention to what people are saying.”

“Yeah. I really enjoyed reading it.”

It wasn’t that Moon In didn’t understand why they were acting this way. After all, ‘Dark Adaptation’ was receiving quite a problematic reception.

But was it to this extent?

-Moon In wondered, but to others, it was indeed ‘to this extent’.

It’s common for dark and tedious novels to be shunned by the public. However, facing harsh criticism from the critics was something particularly unusual.

That’s exactly what was happening now.

The novel Dark Adaptation was being met with harsh criticism from the literary community.

Even when the public would say, “This novel isn’t that great”, the literary world had a beautiful tradition of trying to cover for each other, shouting “We’re in this together”. But this time, something strange was happening.

Why was this happening?

The reason was that Moon In was an “outsider”.

Critics are literary critics. They make a living by critiquing literature. And their critiques are, of course, published in literary magazines.

And Moon In had a bit of a rocky relationship with the literary magazine industry. He had won quite a few literary awards in the past. About sixteen, to be precise…

Anyway, the veterans of the literary world remembered the grudge they held against the unscrupulous bald guy who barged into the Annual Spring Literary Contest and caused a mess.

The incident where they almost reconciled recently was also ruined when Moon In stormed out of the meeting, leaving the scene in chaos, causing them to lose face.

Of course, Moon In wasn’t the main culprit. The one who provoked Moon In was an unrecognized novelist. So, only the true culprit was ruined, while Moon In was left unscathed. That was the fair outcome.

But emotions don’t always follow logic.

The literary magazines, i.e., the award organizers who were humiliated in front of reporters and readers, couldn’t help but think, “If that bastard had just endured a little longer…”

And then, that bastard’s new novel flopped?

There couldn’t be a better opportunity.

The full-on assault began.

-Not everything dark is artistic.

-A cheap imitation of No Longer Human [2.0/5]

-I can’t help but think that the young author was under too much pressure. With all the fame from variety shows and TV, he probably felt the burden to produce a masterpiece…

Though it wasn’t widely known, this unusually harsh criticism also had the subtle hand of Baekhak Publishing’s Business Division involved.

Naturally, this was part of CEO Kim Sang-guk of Baekhak Publishing’s scheme to keep the Publishing Management Division in check.

Although the insidious plots within the company were blocked by some strange force coming down from the headquarters’ Strategic Planning Office, the literary world, which existed outside the company, was still within Kim Sang-guk’s reach.

Of course, Moon In wasn’t aware of any of this.

And he didn’t particularly care either.

This strange and twisted flow of time had already taught him that in literature, there’s something more important than sales numbers.

However, it seemed that Gu Yuna was a bit concerned.

“Dark Adaptation is a masterpiece.”

From behind the kids who were comforting Moon In with various emotions—sympathy, support, jealousy, schadenfreude—Gu Yuna, with her pitch-black eyes, slid in like a ghost.

The kids recoiled in shock, but Gu Yuna firmly grabbed the wrist of the nearest girl.

“The ugly nature of humans who must torment others to survive… that contradiction…”

“W-why are you doing this…! Let go of me…!”

“Are you unable to feel catharsis from the protagonist’s fall and salvation, who suffers from that contradiction while agonizing over the meaning of sin and judgment, and finally accepts the darkness? And you call yourself a literature student?”

“Kyaaaah!”

The poor girl trapped by Gu Yuna screamed, but the creative writing students quickly abandoned the victim, as they were used to doing.

Just like survivors in a zombie apocalypse quickly ditch a bitten comrade, the students had become adept at surviving the “Gu Yuna Apocalypse”.

Just like how a zombie virus spreads, Gu Yuna locked eyes with the captured victim as if shooting a hypnotic beam, beginning the brainwashing.

“The stories in the memoir is a metaphors for reality. There’s a reason this novel has a framed narrative structure. Every recent issue with bullying is depicted in the story, isn’t it? School violence, group bullying, malicious comments, teacher murders, rumors, ostracism, leniency, murder…”

“Ok, I get it! I get it, so…!”

“You’re a third-year in the Creative Writing Department, and you couldn’t understand that? Are you a reader? No, you’re not. You’re a writer. Are you one of the foolish masses addicted to sensationalist media, steeped in sexualism and capitalism? And you still call yourself a student of literature? Do you just skim through books?”

Gu Yuna’s grip wasn’t particularly strong. The victim could easily shake her off and run away.

But those pitch-black eyes, devoid of any light, seemed to paralyze her.

What was especially terrifying was that this girl could talk endlessly when it came to literature…

In the end, the poor victim caught in Gu Yuna’s merciless clutches could only escape after making a self-critique.

“Dark Adaptation is… a masterpiece…”

Only then did Gu Yuna release her with a satisfied expression.

Of course, to others, she still appeared emotionless. It was a horror show all by itself.

But Moon In, having seen Gu Yuna interacting warmly with a friend, could smile with satisfaction.

Anyway, today as well, the Creative Writing Department of Baekhak Arts Middle School was peaceful.

However, Baekhak Publishing was a bit less peaceful, and that was because Gu Yuna wasn’t there.

* * *

Since the return of Lim Yang-wook, Kim Sang-guk, the CEO of Baekhak Publishing, was living in hell.

Lim Yang-wook was like a devil, holding Moon In in his left hand and Baek Seol in his right.

It was obvious to everyone that his goal was to use Moon In’s success to make Baek Seol the puppet CEO of Baekhak Publishing, and it was precisely because it was so obvious that it was a threat.

This made CEO Kim Sang-guk look like someone who was soon to disappear.

Power is a matter of perception. When a king falls gravely ill, his power dissipates. Loyalty shifts to the new power holder. The same goes for the power of a CEO.

The very existence of Baek Seol, the “claimant to the throne”, was turning Kim Sang-guk into a half-CEO.

They didn’t even bother to hide their intention of seizing the CEO position, and from that moment on, Kim Sang-guk’s work life became a desperate struggle to maintain his position.

He had to persuade the restless board of directors, block the influence of Baek Do-hyun, the head of the Strategic Planning Office at headquarters, and keep Lim Yang-wook’s Publishing Management Division in check.

It was,

a very, very difficult task.

It’s absurd to think that a parachuted executive in their late twenties could take over the CEO position, even in a conglomerate.

But things are different if that person is a professional who was shortlisted for the Booker International Prize. With that credential alone, one could attract investors and start a publishing company.

Meanwhile, the enormous buzz “Guitar” stirred up in Japan—all of it credited to Baek Seol through Lim Yang-wook’s political maneuvering—made Kim Sang-guk feel as though the heavens had abandoned him.

And now, he felt like the heavens were smiling upon him.

‘That’s it! You bastards!’

But Kim Sang-guk wasn’t careless enough to say such thoughts out loud. Instead, he calmly advised the head of the publishing business division who was reporting to him.

“A business model that relies on individual stardom is inherently risky. It seems there are quite a few people within the company who don’t understand that. So, in this quarter, let’s focus on government-related educational publishing…”

Kim Sang-guk presented a specific vision to the excited head of the publishing business division and gracefully brushed off the mockery of the head of the book distribution division, who feigned politeness while deriding him.

Even when he was left alone, he didn’t let his joy show and instead began working on the next plan.

“Moon In… who would have thought that kid would turn out to be such a headache…”

The real cause of the reckless rampage by that madman Lim Yang-wook was none other than that young brat.

The Publishing Management Division still hadn’t brought in results through any authors other than Moon In. Only Moon In’s achievements served as the department’s weapon.

But that too was only a matter of time. Starting with Gu Yubin, a considerable number of authors had been recruited by the division , and once they started appearing in the media and generating real results, the game would be over.

That would mean that Lim Yang-wook’s approach was correct,

and it would prove that Kim Sang-guk, who had ousted Lim Yang-wook, was wrong.

This isn’t just about office politics. It’s an issue tied to the principles of a publisher. Whose ideas will save this industry from crisis? It’s a battle of beliefs.

Thus, Kim Sang-guk’s victory plan depended on bringing down Moon In and dismantling the Publishing Management Division before things reached a conclusion.

Fortunately, Moon In showed a weakness.

Using this, Kim Sang-guk began to implement his next plan.

How much time had passed as he was deep in thought?

Woo Ki-tae, the Department Head of Publishing Planning Department, rushed into the CEO’s office.

“C, CEO-nim…!”

“What’s the matter? You didn’t even knock….”

The urgent words burst from Woo Ki-tae’s mouth.

Once again, Kim Sang-guk felt as though the heavens had abandoned him.

The Chairman had summoned Moon In.

*****

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