Became an American Retro Novelist - Chapter 151



Only Noblemtl

151.

I thought the biggest difference between college students and high school students came from the presence or absence of ‘autonomy’.

High school students had to follow a set schedule and routine for three years. School was strictly from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by club activities until 5 p.m., and then everyone was out of school by 7 p.m.

On the other hand, universities allowed students to plan their schedules however they wanted.

The first year is a time for students to adjust to university, so they are provided with a basic framework, but each student can study the field of study they are interested in as they wish. All they had to do was earn 180 credits before graduation and meet the requirements for each department.

But most students wanted to graduate as quickly as possible.

It was because of the enormous school tuition of up to $6,400 per year.

If you consider the additional costs of dormitory fees, campus service fees, textbooks, living expenses, dating expenses(?), and other miscellaneous expenses, it came to a ridiculous $10,000 a year while attending Stanford.

‘That’s a huge amount of money.’

The average income of an average middle-class family in the United States is said to be around $26,000, so college tuition could be a financial burden on the household.

Of course, given the country’s emphasis on education, most of it could be covered by scholarships. And I was in a position to benefit greatly from them.

‘Should we call this a loophole in the law?’

The university looked at my parents’ income a lot as a condition for receiving a scholarship, but what is this?

‘It’s a very good deal for me.’

Because I earned most of our family’s income.

Last year, the total income from ‘Han’s store’ was about $15,000. This was possible thanks to the help of the Korean community and the efforts of his mother who studied English hard to run a business.

And I made over $100,000 last year alone.

The ‘About T’ series will run for 65 episodes at $480 per episode.

That was $31,200, and he was already writing a new series after ‘About T: Coach.’ This time, it was going to be the opposite, a cheerleader girl and a nerd boy romance, with Tony and Alice as observers and supporting characters.

In addition, he received $50,000 as a contract fee for the drama adaptation of ‘About T’. If the pilot episode was well-received and a regular season was produced, he would receive more through an additional contract.

In addition, with the sales of other previously serialized works and royalties, the final profit was over $100,000.

The family debt had already been paid off, and now only the reasonable bank interest was left.

And now, following my mother’s words, “You don’t have to bring money home. It’s your own money, so use it however you want. If you have any concerns, just let me know,” I was managing the money I earned myself well.

While watching the stock market from time to time, I looked for good companies that I remembered and invested in them, but I still kept a considerable amount of my profits in bank deposits. At the time, the deposit interest was not bad, and I thought that I wanted to buy a good property in a good location before making a long-term investment.

‘It would be nice to have at least one office.’

For example, an office located in a busy area where you can meet whenever you need to.

Since there is no concept of commuting to and from work in the writer’s profession, day and night can easily change. So I heard somewhere that it is a good idea to set up an office and get into the habit of commuting to and from work.

If I were to create my own kingdom in that space by creating all kinds of comic books, genre novels, board games, and movie theaters, wouldn’t that be quite happy in its own right?

······Somehow, the more I think about it, the more I can’t help but feel like I’m a little off from work.

‘No, how did my thoughts end up here?’

I scratched my head and tilted my head.

When I think about money or investing, my thoughts tend to drift in different directions. It feels like a different channel from writing and creative work.

Anyway, once I started managing my money, I realized that I was now an adult and had more freedom.

And college life also felt like it encouraged that.

Outside of regular class hours, there were frequent club activities and social events, and I would sometimes go to those places after getting information from John Smith, who was in the same dormitory.

What I felt then was······.

‘He looks familiar.’

John Smith was like Alexa and her scalp were cut in half. He was a nerd, but he was also a popular kid, and he got along well with people. And when the initial ‘SEEN’ halo effect(?) started to fade, he would make suggestions to me in a way that was not burdensome, with his characteristically cheerful attitude.

I heard there’s a party going on somewhere. Let’s go together.

I heard there’s an exchange meeting going on somewhere. Let’s go together.

I heard there’s an event at some club. Let’s go together.

It was the same today.

“Oh, so this is how it is!”

I smiled as I arrived at the event site with John Smith, his eyes shining.

The scene of the exchange meeting between liberal arts and science colleges.

The exchange meeting held in a small park within the school was a place where everyone sat at their own table, drank snacks and drinks, and talked.

Already, several students could be seen sitting at tables, laughing and drinking non-alcoholic Hawaiian punch.

“God, where do you plan on going?”

“Well, you?”

“I’m over there. Over there where those rice cakes are gathered.”

“Then shall we meet later?”

“Okay! Okay! I’ll be back!”

John strides forward like an excited giraffe.

I couldn’t help but look at his back with a rude gaze mixed with concern that he might unknowingly be tearing up the grass on the ground.

I looked around slowly.

Students, brimming with enthusiasm for learning, sought to communicate with a variety of people in the form of exchange meetings outside of regular classes.

······Well, there are cases where they end up meeting each other because their eyes met, and in fact, that seems to be the mainstream, but anyway, that’s how it was.

‘I think that guy might have been here too.’

Just when I was thinking that way, I found it with good timing.

Kate Moore sitting at the table.

Today, she is wearing a neat shirt and a very social smile.

‘It’s completely different from what I know.’

With that thought in mind, I walked over and sat down directly across from Kate.

“Oh, hello!”

“It’s my first time seeing you!”

“······.”

Everyone greeted her warmly, but Kate’s face was frozen with a smile.

I greeted them with a smile like them.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Moon Chang and my freshman Shin Han.”

Within Stanford, ‘Creative Writing’ was not as well known as other popular departments, but since it was a representative department for ‘writing’ within the arts, everyone showed interest in it in one way or another.

There may also be a new wave coming into a place where the atmosphere is familiar.

“Ah, Moonchang! Please take good care of me.”

“How is school life?”

“I heard they write a novel for every class there? I think that’s really great.”

“I write a short story almost every week. What department are you all in?”

A handsome white guy sitting next to me on my right said he was a theater major, the girl sitting next to me on my left said math, the girl next to her said urban studies, and finally Kate said sociology.

Even after listening to the students’ self-introductions one after another, I continued the conversation normally with a social smile on my face.

“Oh, life in that department must be really hard. You have to run every morning?”

“Acting requires physical strength. But once you get used to it, the fresh morning air feels good. Oh, do you know that truck that sells soup every morning if you go to the school gate? It’s really delicious.”

“Oh, really?! I have to go next time······!”

Kate’s speech became a little awkward because she was in front of me.

Huh, you don’t really have to worry about that. It’s not like I said anything weird.

I think it might be because he himself feels that his current appearance is awkward.

As we were talking for a long time, something happened where I naturally became the center of the conversation.

“Sigh, schoolwork is really hard. What am I going to do if it keeps going like this?”

“That’s right. That’s right. The college entrance exams were so horrible that I thought things would get a little easier once I got into college, but instead, I suddenly had more to learn and I’m going crazy. It’s more than the rumors say.”

“So. Oh, how is it like with the literary department? I wonder what it’s like to learn how to write.”

“Hmm, I guess it’s similar to you guys. After all, all academics at university are the foundation for creation.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“We learn the writing methodology and practice based on it. The vast methodology and the practice that is not yet up to par certainly make me suffer, but the reward and satisfaction after overcoming it is… Isn’t it a wonderful feeling that I can feel because I came to this university, Stanford?”

I answered without thinking, and the room became quiet for a moment.

“······.”

“······.”

As I shrugged and looked on, a female math major expressed her determination.

“That’s right! I will win the Fields Medal in the future!”

“Me too! Me too!”

“Because we all came here to learn hard in our respective fields!”

The toast with non-alcoholic Hawaiian punch was lively. Then Kate Moore, who had been mostly silent until then and listening to the conversation, looked at me with a mischievous face and opened her mouth.

“It was a wonderful speech, worthy of a working writer. God.”

“Huh? A current writer?”

“What do you mean, God?”

It was clearly a deliberate remark.

But now that I had no reason to hide my identity, I proudly admitted it.

“Oh, it was serialized until recently. It was called ‘About T.’”

The room became quiet again.

Not only this table, but also the surrounding area.

‘no way.’

I felt a little uneasy, and then the girl in math class who was sitting leisurely next to me leaned in towards me.

“You’ve ‘SEEN’?! I heard a rumor that you came to our school!”

“This is crazy! I absolutely enjoyed ‘About T’!”

“My little brother is your biggest fan!”

“Please sign this!”

There was a huge uproar.

Everyone gathered around me, muttering. Rumors spread that ‘SEEN’ had entered Stanford and that he actually existed, but it was not clear who he was.

My new outing(?) that occurred in the meantime added fuel to the fire among the students who were already very excited.

“Uh, uh. Wait a minute······.”

“Sign for me! Sign for me! Hurry up!”

“Wait a minute! I’ll get your book! Just wait a minute!”

Buried in a sea of ​​excited students, I was out of breath when I spotted Kate Moore laughing bitterly across from them.

This kid was after me.

I ended up getting a complete and complete hit.

***

The exchange meeting completely degenerated into a fan signing event.

Most of the smart college students gathered here were my fans.

I had to draw countless scribbles on paper with a pen to get autographs from all over the place, and when I tried to sit at the table and talk about something else, the crowds were so crazy that I couldn’t do that.

The people at our table who had been enjoying the social gathering comfortably looked at me as if I was curious, and seemed to be enjoying this distorted form of social gathering.

It’s an interest that will fade away after a while, just like John Smith did.

‘I really can’t adapt.’

Maybe hiding my identity all this time was poisonous.

“Oh, please just shake my hand!”

“Wow, I really enjoyed reading ‘Mother’! I first bought Torrance New Media the day Reagan was elected, and I stumbled upon your novel! I thought it was fate······!”

For a moment, I felt like a Hollywood superstar.

Does the nameless senior student who was so excited in front of me know that he was involved in something I had planned after I found out about Reagan’s election as president?

Anyway, after greeting each and every one of them, the meeting was almost over.

“Phew.”

As I was finally able to rest on my own after losing everyone’s attention, I made eye contact with Kate, who was smiling brightly from a distance. The girl seemed to really enjoy the fact that I had hit her, as if telling her to look, and she was smiling wickedly, erasing her usually calm expression.

‘Just wait and see.’

Kate shrugged as I made that mouth shape and gesture.

‘What am I?’

Well, that’s roughly what it means.

The worst of bad relationships.

When I furrowed my brow slightly in a show of hostility, Kate burst out laughing.

······And that appearance was the most natural I saw of her today.

And that was when it happened.

“Hey, buddy.”

Someone put a hand on my shoulder.

As I turned around, I saw the theater student sitting next to me. He smiled as if he was from his major and spoke to me with his sinister feelings.

“Let’s stop playing Superstar today. Okay? I came here to try and seduce some girls, and I ended up getting completely screwed. But since all the girls here are pumpkins, I don’t really care… But it’s a bit gross that ‘Chink’ is getting all the attention.”

aha.

It was a very common racist situation.

This was something that happened often in my previous life at university.

Unlike high school, where you were outright ostracized if you didn’t fit in, college was a place where everyone pretended to be Kate Moore, so racial discrimination was done in a dark, private, behind-the-scenes way.

It was not because of the perception that racism was bad, but because it was considered ‘ignorant’ for intellectuals to openly do such things, and so it changed into this form.

Sometimes, when I’m alone, I’ll just tap you or make a ‘cheeky’ sound next to you. And then, when I see an opening, I’ll bite you.

However, in my previous life, I had just ignored it for fear of causing trouble, but now my mindset was different.

“Okay. I’ll be careful.”

I nodded and added.

“So please move your shoulders. Your armpit smells like shit.”

“······?”

A play and a young man looking at me with wide eyes.

How about this? This is the martial art of racist discrimination against Asians.

White people tend to have a lot of body odor, especially if they have bad lifestyle habits or are a little overweight.

To be honest, I have a lot of white friends and my girlfriend is also white, so I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel guilty about saying this out loud.

But I wanted to fix this guy’s bald head.

A play and a white young man who deliberately made rude remarks to Asians when they were alone because he thought they would not fight back against racism.

But little did he know that he too could hear the same thing.

“Wash up a bit. Okay? Your sebum secretion is no joke. Your breath also stink.”

“this person······!”

“You want to hit me? Hit me. I’ll call the police, you know. No matter how much trouble I get into, I can just change my pen name, but if our friend sells his face because of racial discrimination, it’ll be a problem for him to act. Is that okay? Oh, and the smell will be a problem too. No matter where you go, people will know your disgusting smell.”

“······Be careful. I’ll be watching you.”

“You don’t like it? What can you do if you watch? Isn’t it just going to come up to you quietly and make a ‘cheeky’ noise anyway?”

“This kid······.”

“Or maybe I should ask them? What you said to me, and how good you smell. Seems fair, right?”

The play that was about to counterattack let out a deep sigh and quietly backed away as soon as I finished speaking and stared at it.

In fact, even after I said it, my words and actions left a bitter aftertaste.

However, I made up my mind to speak out, thinking that if I just sit by and watch this problem, it will be no different from my previous life.

Even as I tried to overcome the trauma of discrimination after returning, these things continued to exist around me.

The prejudice that Asians, and Asian men in particular, are looked down on and central to American society and that they should not be given such roles.

There is a prejudice that Asians are quiet and obedient, so they don’t fight back when they hear such things and just keep their mouths shut.

And the more aggressive discrimination that results from it.

‘There’s no reason to go with that trend.’

Since he himself was also racist, he probably has nothing to say.

By the way, Shin Han. You’ve really changed a lot.

Perhaps because I had been through the future and returned, I was able to write skillfully about how to deal with racial discrimination as a college freshman, and I also knew very well that there would be no particular problems even if I used that method.

And more than anything, I felt that the anger and inferiority complex caused by discrimination had been greatly diluted.

I didn’t think discrimination had completely disappeared, but I didn’t feel any pain from it anymore either.

If there was a person like that, all I had to do was return it my way.

“uh.”

And then the thought comes back again.

A new ‘society’ called university and a ‘me’ who appears differently there.

In other words, the background and the main character.

‘Dystopia······?’

I stood there for a while, trying to get a clearer picture of the thoughts that were running through my head.

End

(151)