Became an American Retro Novelist - Chapter 126



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126.

What Makes a Good Romance Novel?

Julia Chandler believed that a proper ‘surprise’ was important, and to bring it out well, the build-up up to the moment and the way it was used were of the utmost importance.

The character’s psychology is appropriately built up, and then exploded a beat earlier than the readers’ expectations, or, if twisted, half a beat later.

It was an important technique for general fiction, but it was essential for a good romance novel.

Julia thought it was because of the genre characteristics of romance novels.

Romance, after all, is a work that deals with the ’emotional exchange’ between characters.

Just as a mystery novel must satisfy the reader by meticulously unfolding the story from the beginning to the end, a romance novel must satisfy the reader by presenting a convincing conclusion through emotional exchanges between characters.

And in some ways, the reason why romance is harder to write than mystery is because there are no right answers when it comes to emotions.

Even if tens of thousands of readers read the same article, each of them can come to different conclusions.

Therefore, in order to make the reader’s conclusion converge as much as possible in line with the author’s intention, it was important to draw the situation into a universal emotion.

The pursuit of the technique of ‘unexpectedness’ was an arrangement for just that.

When you love someone, you feel like your stomach is spinning and you feel like you’re going between heaven and hell. The goal is to make you feel that same feeling in a novel.

‘Of course, this is not an extreme example.’

A good novel knows how to do both appropriately.

The story unfolds in an interesting way, and the emotional exchanges within the story are not missed.

The point was which part to focus on more.

And Julia thought that the ‘About T’ series had different aims in parts 1 and 2.

If Part 1 mainly built up the plot through the development of events, Part 2 greatly touched on the emotional aspects by fully revealing the romantic mood.

Tony showed his love and concern for Alice throughout Part 2. He clearly had the appearance of a boy in love. However, the fact that it was portrayed from Alice’s perspective made it feel a bit ambiguous.

Then, when Tony couldn’t hold it in any longer and suddenly said, “I wanted to show you a cool side of me,” the resulting “surprise” caught the readers off guard.

Ultimately, readers were excited by the build-up, and after the publication of episode 11, which included Tony’s confession, fan letters poured in like crazy to the Los Angeles Times.

Then, episodes 12 and 13 depict the final preparations and hosting of Homecoming Day in the original way, creating a sense of tension like the calm before a storm, and episode 14, which features an American football game, returns to Tony’s perspective and shows how he thinks about Alice.

Early in the game, Tony didn’t play well.

A game between Team A and Team B within an American football club. The starting linemen, receivers, and running backs of the team all went to Tony’s opposing team. In such a situation, Tony, the starting quarterback, lost his senses, and his team was helplessly pushed back.

In that frustrating situation, Tony becomes more and more discouraged, his vision narrows, and he continues to make mistakes.

Although he said it as if it was nothing in front of Alice, Tony still couldn’t get over the memories from last year. He remembered the moment when his father criticized him in the car on the way home.

Just then, someone’s voice suddenly came clearly to Tony’s ears.

“Cheer up, Tony!!”

An outdoor stadium filled with the cheers and support of the crowd and the shouts and cheers of the players.

The few seconds it takes for the line to break and the defenders to rush towards you.

Strangely enough, the voice was heard clearly.

The pupils rolled to the side.

Even within the helmet-obscured field of vision, it was found accurately.

The only person in the crowd who looks straight at you and cheers you on.

The clock has widened again.

The situation on the field was clear at a glance.

A receiver sprinting into the open space between opposing defenses.

Tony threw the ball.

The oval-shaped ball flew in a parabolic arc and was sucked into the receiver’s arms.

Touchdown.』

A description that is cut off abruptly to describe a situation that is flowing dramatically in an urgent moment.

Tony’s team has a thrilling comeback victory, and after celebrating the victory with his teammates, he immediately runs to Alice, who is standing among the crowd applauding, and tells her thank you, regardless of what others say. Alice is embarrassed, but soon smiles brightly and says congratulations.

“That’s the true essence of youth.”

Julia smiled as she read the last part of Chapter 14.

It was such a great novel that it was a shame it ended in a trilogy.

***

May 4, 1984.

The long-awaited 15th episode of ‘About T: homecoming’ has been serialized.

Kate Moore woke up early in the morning and began reading the Los Angeles Times with a pounding heart and a hint of regret.

The last chapter of the novel she read while eating the bread and salad her mother prepared for her for breakfast······ made it impossible for her to concentrate on the story.

‘Shin was SEEN?’

My head was still filled with such questions.

That’s why I couldn’t really focus on the novel when I first started reading it. But the content that followed was really good, and after reading a few lines, I was naturally drawn into it like before. It was the same with episode 14.

Episode 15, which unfolds in an epilogue-like format just like Part 1, shows how Alice’s life has changed after Homecoming Day.

To cut to the chase, Alice became an overnight celebrity at school.

Many people from all walks of life on campus, including student council member Hannah Anderson and club band troublemaker Mae Jo, looked up to her and wanted to get closer to her during the remaining years of her junior year.

For Alice, who had always been quiet, it felt good to have so many people recognize her and talk to her wherever she went, but it was also a bit burdensome on the inside.

Hannah said let’s study together after work. May said let’s go see a band performance together after work. In the end, I couldn’t refuse their offers, so I accepted them one by one and made plans.

Kate felt a strong sense of vicarious satisfaction as she read that scene.

But immediately afterwards, the thought occurred to me that the person who wrote this novel was God, and I was again shaken.

‘So, this gloomy idiot wrote such an interesting novel?’

A wonderful piece of writing that shakes people’s hearts like this?

Kate, unable to express her confused emotions through expression or words, put down the newspaper and, as usual, pushed up her glasses with both hands.

Pulling herself together with reason, she read the last part of the novel again, one by one.

“Tony looked dumbfounded after hearing Alice’s grumbling.

“Are you stupid?”

“Ugh······.”

“Just refuse!”

“Uh, sorry.”

“Oh, no. I’m the one who’s sorry for raising my voice.”

Tony, who had blurted out the words as the emotion came to his mind, came to his senses when he saw Alice apologizing with her shoulders shrugged. Why did he do that? The boy felt ‘jealousy’ when he saw the girl who had many plans with her friends, but he continued talking without properly realizing it.

“Time is limited. Even if you tackle what you want, it won’t be enough, and the problems just keep piling up. If you keep making promises like that, it’ll all get tangled up in the end. Can you handle that kind of schedule and keep hanging out with me? ······We’re going to the art gallery this week too.”

Time, Tackle, Trouble, Twist, Together, This week.

Similar to Part 1, Tony rhymes with words made up of the letter ‘T’ and laments.

In front of him, Alice speaks with a shy smile.

『“Even if you don’t say so, there is a ‘T’ that I consider most important.”』

A smile spread across Kate’s lips as she read those lines.

‘Is the ‘T’ that Alice is talking about the ‘Time’ that Tony mentioned at first? It must be ‘Tony’, right?’

He desperately hoped that his guess was correct.

‘······Whoaaaaa-!!’

After being immersed in the afterglow of the ending for a moment, her brain, having finished accepting the words, once again recalled the identity of the author, and Kate let out a loud scream in her heart.

But unlike his complicated thoughts, he simply spread out both palms and calmly pushed up his glasses.

The only boy in his grade who is better at studying than him.

Kate worked hard to keep up with him. Eventually, at the end of her freshman year, she realized that she could never win through studying, so she tried to differentiate herself through extracurricular activities such as the broadcasting club, and it seemed like she had succeeded in doing so as she was about to graduate.

But, the person I thought was only good at studying was actually a novelist who had been writing such great novels since he was in the first grade?

‘This is a scam!’

Even the person responsible acted as if he didn’t think much of it, which was so annoying. What made me even more angry was that he really didn’t care, even though he should have been embarrassed if his identity was revealed.

“Yeah, right?” “So what can you do?” Kate felt a strange sense of defeat along with an inexplicable sense of competition when she heard words like that. If she didn’t see Shin flustered, she would feel so wronged that she wouldn’t be able to eat and even sleep well.

Even more so because I really enjoyed reading this novel till the end.

‘Yeah, that just won’t work.’

Overwhelmed with emotion and anger, and not even realizing that she had made a mess of a decision, Kate decided to talk to God again.

***

I looked at Kate Moore, who was blocking my path, and let out a sigh.

‘Yeah, I didn’t think it would end there.’

On the way out of school after class was over.

I submitted all my admission documents and ‘About T: homecoming’ ended, but I couldn’t find the person I was looking for, so I thought I’d go home early and rest for a day to gather my thoughts, but then something came up again.

Kate Moore, who had been standing there with a very angry expression, spoke first.

“What, what is it? Why do you sigh as soon as you see someone?”

“I see a future where you blackmail me with my secrets.”

“S, s …

“So, what’s going on?”

“uh······.”

“You came here to threaten me, right?”

“It’s not a threat! It’s, it’s just! I know! You’re a writer!”

“So? What can you do? Now, if you say, ‘I’m going to tell people!’ here, that’s a threat.”

“Uh, uh uh······!”

Kate is momentarily speechless.

She’s really a kid, kid.

“Then goodbye.”

“for a moment!”

“What is it now?”

“Ha, I have something to say.”

“Okay, do it.”

“Cow, cow······.”

“cow?”

“The novel was fun! You idiot!”

“If it’s fun, then it’s fun. Why add insult to injury?”

“This benefit······.”

Kate, who is at a loss for words at the calm remark.

“Anyway, thank you. Now that I’m done talking, I’ll be leaving.”

“You, you!”

“huh?”

“Sign······ Where are you going to college?!”

“I’m thinking about it. I’ll tell you when I decide. I’ll sign it then.”

“Okay, okay! Got it! See you later!”

“bye.”

I answered briefly and turned around.

Even after letting go of my old feelings, I felt a little bewildered by the fact that my relationship with Kate, which I thought would end appropriately, continued for some strange reason.

‘She’s the one who found out first. Even the great Kate has read all the novels.’

Although I didn’t really show my feelings about it, I was secretly confused and wondered why things had turned out this way.

‘Well, I guess I’ll just drop out after I graduate.’

As I walked a few steps with that thought in mind, my eyes met with someone who was standing at the end of the hallway with his head sticking out.

“······.”

“······.”

It was Alexa Flair.

Our eyes met briefly, and then her head disappeared like a mole game. I quickly turned the corner after her, but she was already burrowing into the crowd of students.

I blankly watched her back for a moment, then let out a long sigh at the thought that this might deepen an unwanted misunderstanding.

“ha.”

Yeah, he’s been obviously avoiding me lately.

Since cell phones were not yet widespread, it was a time when it was really difficult to meet someone if one side started doing it.

Anyway, I had a rough idea of ​​what the reason was, and that made the situation even more frustrating.

“This side also needs preparation······.”

Still, I didn’t want to leave the misunderstanding alive.

I started running, thinking about where the Alexa I knew would have gone.

***

Alexa Flair paced the classroom, her mind wandering with all sorts of thoughts running through her head.

‘What the heck? What the heck is going on?’

As she was heading to watch her juniors practice as the captain of the team who was about to retire after class, she suddenly felt her heart pounding. It was because she found Shin and Kate Moore standing in the hallway talking.

And then, as if he had committed some sin, he hid around the corner of the hallway and watched the scene.

Alexa knew God well, so it wasn’t hard for her to notice how ‘comfortable’ he was acting around Kate.

And I knew about Kate, the leader of the broadcasting club, and I realized a beat later that she, too, treated God without pretense.

A god who is never pushed around while lightly ticking, and Kate who keeps getting angry after being teased in front of him.

Yes, the two of them are comfortable with each other. It seems like they have some kind of connection in an unknown place.

And my heart began to pound as I imagined what that might mean.

The two best model students in school.

It was a very fitting picture.

‘Where are you going to college? Oh, you both went to college, right? Are you going to the same one?’

As I was absentmindedly thinking that, my eyes met with the god’s as he turned around after finishing his story.

And Alexa had no choice but to run away when faced with a situation where she exceeded her allowance.

‘Ah, ahhh. Right, right? Nothing in this world can go my way, can it?’

Even at a young age, Alexa came to realize the harsh truths of the world.

The problem comes from the gap between awareness and acceptance.

How long did I run after leaving the building?

At this rate, I won’t be able to go meet my juniors who are waiting for me at the gym.

Alexa looked around with blank eyes, then turned her feet that wouldn’t move and headed toward the gym. She walked with a shaky gait, then squatted down with a “whoosh.”

I felt a sense of loss that I had to accept because I loved someone, and I felt completely drained of strength.

‘Right now… I have some cheerleading club work to do.’

She lightly patted her cheek, trying to put that damp feeling away for a moment.

The transition was not very fast, but somehow it happened gradually.

“Choo-aah······.”

Let’s go back to the original Alexa Flare.

That was the moment when I finally pulled myself together.

“Whew, Alexa.”

“Gyah-!!”

Alexa screamed and turned around suddenly at the sound of a familiar voice behind her.

Our eyes met at the same height as the god, who was catching his breath while resting his head on his knees.

“Huh, why are you running away like that?”

“Uh, uh, uh. Hello?”

“Haa······. Why did you just leave when you saw me earlier?”

“Well, did you? Why is that? Then I’ll go!”

God grabbed Alexa’s wrist as she was about to turn away.

“You’ve been avoiding me lately.”

“············.”

Alexa felt as if the heat was burning in that place. The heat started at her wrists and traveled up her arms, shoulders, neck, and then to her face, turning her cheeks red.

Of course, since he knew why that reaction was happening, Shin let out a long sigh again.

“Okay, okay.”

“······.”

“I have something to say.”

“Uh, yeah.”

“I’m going to propose to you.”

“······yes?”

“I was going to keep it a secret until I did it, but… Damn, I don’t want to be misunderstood in such an obvious way that it’s not even funny.”

“yes?”

“Why do you keep whining?”

Shin tilts his head in front of her, who is broken and unable to react properly.

But Alexa’s brain, overloaded with excessive data input, had no choice but to instruct her body, which was waiting for commands, to perform the simplest actions necessary for survival.

Alexa blushes, pulls his hand away without saying anything, and runs away.

It was an escape.

“······I don’t know how many times I’ve seen that today.”

When it’s visible, it disappears, and when it’s possible to catch it, it runs away.

God thought as he watched Alexa’s back as she ran like a busy white rabbit.

‘What is this ‘About T’?’

It was one spring day.

End

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