Became an American Retro Novelist - Chapter 158



Only Noblemtl

158.

Having a great time with friends and family before heading back to school.

It’s been a really long time since I’ve been in charge of ‘Han’s store’ alone.

Alexa went to a photoshoot for modeling work today, Doopi went to work, and Jiwoo went to school, of course. My mother also forced me to stay home and rest, so I was completely alone.

Whenever customers who occasionally came into the store asked, “Where is Mom?”, I would give them a short answer, “Home,” and sell them snacks or soda.

Then, occasionally, some people recognized that I was ‘God’ and gave me their autographs.

I revealed my name at the graduation ceremony, but I thought no one would recognize me since it wasn’t completely official, but it’s been a while.

“God! I’m really enjoying your novel!”

“Cheer up~! Man!”

“I’m looking forward to your next work!”

It felt good to see people of different races with sparkling eyes.

And as I watched all kinds of people come in that way, I also realized that my mother, like me, was doing her best in her own place.

After our father passed away, we, mother and son, were left in a harsh world, and we continued to live our lives, forgetting the wounds of the past little by little.

······In addition, I grew a lot more through the big event called Regression.

‘How relaxed.’

I thought about work as I sipped from a can of coffee with a special opener attached and took a sip.

It was about time I started hearing from Simon.

It was a fact that I didn’t mention when I heard his thoughts on the work, but I actually expected him to set up a ‘publishing company’ of some kind and work with me in earnest.

I had even asked Julia separately to lead it.

‘If I tell him directly, he’ll stop without thinking twice.’

I didn’t want it that way.

If it goes downhill all of a sudden, it’ll all be my fault… That’s only half a joke.

When he had carefully analyzed his own situation and thought about it, and came to the idea that he might start a publishing company, if he had told me so directly, I would have gladly agreed to do so.

The current American publishing market, especially the genre market, is very regional.

Each state had a different publisher that dominated the market, and they desperately tried to block outside companies from entering the market through various regulations and laws. In the 1980s, this type of business was quite common.

‘Well, if you go beyond the genre, those cases decrease a lot.’

General publishers such as Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Macmillan were companies that published books on a nationwide basis. However, this was possible because they were traditional publishers established in the early 20th century, and the genres were very different in form.

The reason was simple.

‘Because until recently, genres were just cheap things that you read and throw away.’

That was Pulp Fiction.

But now things are different.

With the emergence of large corporations like ‘Noir Publishing’ and the success of various works that became media franchises, people began to buy and collect works as fans of the genre.

The era in which the genre was recognized as a culture had finally arrived.

Yet genre fiction publishers still operate in an old-fashioned way, as mentioned above.

And I didn’t want to put out ‘Country of Losers’, which I think exists somewhere between genre and purity, with a typical genre publisher.

That doesn’t mean I wanted to go completely into pure literature. If I did, I’d have a new manager and wouldn’t be able to work with Simon or Julia.

After all, I was a writer who wrote genre fiction.

If so, there is only one way.

‘I’m starting a new publisher.’

And on a very small scale, through individual publishers.

This has many benefits.

In short, if Simon starts a publishing company and says, “Wow! I’m the boss now! I’m on the same level as Remy Martin!”, who would be wary of that and try to push him away? No one would.

Because that publisher only has one work, ‘Country of Losers’.

But what if the piece is fun?

So what if you want to sell it on your own and make a profit?

As an individual publisher, it wouldn’t be a threat, so I’m sure there would be publishers in any state who would be interested in approaching me. No, I expected there would be quite a few.

‘Finally, there is also the issue of profit distribution.’

In the past, I had been receiving royalties from serialization and publishing later, so when I published a book in the future, I had to split the profits into several branches, not only with the publisher but also with the serial publisher, such as a newspaper or magazine.

But it was clear that my share of the profits would increase if I published the book through a personal publisher.

Above all, isn’t it human nature to want to work with someone who is comfortable and good for you?

‘Simon would take good care of me in many ways.’

So I waited for Simon to make the expected choice.

Ring ring ring-.

After that, I sent off a few guests and got a phone call.

I picked up the phone and all of a sudden I heard this:

[Author, I quit my job.]

“······huh?”

suddenly?

***

It was when I was busy with the publication of the ‘About T’ series.

Even though I thought I had done my job as a reporter well, it seemed that even that was not to the liking of my editor, Hugo Irving, who would always find something he did not like.

So, I pecked at him like an angry bird, telling him to earn a moderate amount of pocket money. It’s not that I didn’t do all the work I was given, but I was mentally very distressed because I knew that my actions were overstepping the bounds.

It had been quite some time since Simon had discovered God and caught the eye of his boss, Remy Martin, but he still seemed to remember it. He would go crazy whenever he had a little excuse like this. And then there was Remy Martin, who was shouting to bring in a new writer.

To be honest, I was constantly exhausted while working at Torrance New Media.

In that situation, Julia’s proposal was actually very attractive.

I immediately refused the offer because of the reality of the salary, but looking at it another way, it was because it was that harsh.

‘I’m a publisher.’

A manufacturing industry that allows you to read your favorite texts to your heart’s content and turn them into books.

If I had gone into that industry from the beginning, I might not have had to go through the same hardships as I do now.

Obviously, the work of the culture section of a newspaper was a bit far from that.

But even though there were some rough edges, I thought that a life with a steady salary was better.

After meeting the new writer, the life of a man named Simon Carver changed a lot, but in any case, it suited his nature to just live moderately and do what he learned from others.

But lately, Simon has been overcome with emotions he’s never felt before.

My life, which I had taken for granted, now felt strange.

It was because of ‘Country of Losers’ that I read a while ago.

The novel showed humanity suffering and tormented by information overload. People were floundering in the misery of their own choosing.

It was the same for Simon now. He had to save up for the house mortgage, for marriage, for retirement, and so on. All he could think about was that retirement was a long way off.

So, it is a life where you have no choice but to bring misfortune upon yourself.

······It seemed like the pint was off somewhere, but that was the general feeling.

What’s important is what happened after I read this book.

This novel presents ‘The Book’, a tool that can make people’s lives happier through such information bias.

At first glance, it didn’t sound like a bad life.

‘But······ Oh, is that so.’

After much thought, Simon came to a realization.

Why is it that I can never affirm such a life, and the people who have become like that?

‘Because they took away my right to be unhappy.’

Human beings should be able to choose their own choices and take responsibility for those choices.

Even if your life is a bit of a mess and you end up on the streets, there has to be a possibility of taking that risk.

But what about a world with more northers?

Either they will show you interesting ways to live in society so that you will never make any irrational choices, or they will manipulate all possibilities so that you will only succeed.

Simon didn’t want that.

I felt like I wanted to fail in order to live my life.

At that moment, a thrill ran through my body.

Simon realized the full value of a novel.

And the joy and adrenaline of those times often made him a different person.

“Cyman-!!”

“Remi!!”

“······?!”

Remy’s body froze for a moment as he entered the office, eagerly pursuing Simon.

“S, Simon?! Are you crazy?!”

Hugo Irving, who was standing behind him like a duckling following its mother, shouted at Simon, who had so carelessly called him the president of the company, as if he was dumbfounded.

Normally, ‘Boss’ or ‘Sir’, or at best ‘Mr. Martin’ was the limit.

But now Simon didn’t care about any of that.

Because he will become a retiree.

I’m going to quit this job and go ruin my life.

“I’m quitting this company as of today!”

“what?”

“······What does that mean?”

“Oh, I guess I’ll have to stay until they pick a successor… No, the rich CEO and the editor-in-chief who knows everything will take care of that! No more retirement parties! I have work to do!”

Simon packed his bags with ridiculous speed.

Everyone was dumbfounded and looked at him, and before he left the company, he told the company’s accountant, Miss Brown, one last thing he had never been able to tell her.

“Miss Brown. Maybe a date later······.”

“Oh, sorry.”

It was tea.

But it was okay.

Even that would be an act that falls outside the calculations of ‘The North’!

Simon Carver, who had walked out bravely, hiding his tears, immediately called the new writer from a public phone in front of the company.

“Author, I quit my job.”

A series of explanations follows.

How did you end up quitting your job? And why did you decide to quit?

“Would you be able to entrust me with your work?”

[No, it was like that from the beginning······.]

“I’m going to start a company! A really great company!”

After hearing the explanation full of excitement, Shin spoke very calmly.

It wasn’t easy to pretend not to know even though I had a rough idea of ​​the situation.

[······Then go back immediately.]

“Huh? Why?!”

[You’ll see these people’s faces later.]

“I’m not going to watch it!”

Simon, who had never been ‘blind’ to another person in his life, was so excited that he ended up doing something he shouldn’t have done. Hearing the story of him asking Miss Brown out on a date, the god on the other end of the phone had to suppress a sigh of regret welling up from deep within his heart.

“Hey, Simon?”

Han’s in Koreatown, Los Angeles.

Shin calmly explained while sitting at the counter.

After all, business is about selling something.

And Mr. Simon Carver, who is planning to sell books in the future, must have as good a relationship as possible with people in the same industry. Especially with people he already knows. In case they talk about him behind his back… Yes, that would certainly be the case, considering the personality of that annoying guy named Remy Martin.

“Maybe we can advertise our novel in Torrance New Media later?”

[······That, that’s right. What should I do? More north?]

“Why am I more north? Do as you wish.”

God hung up the phone coldly.

‘I wonder if this guy is okay.’

It was fortunate that there was someone I could turn to for help at a time like this.

***

“Phu, puhahahahahahaha-!!”

Julia Chandler couldn’t help but laugh.

Beside him, Simon Carver could not bring himself to raise his head.

I sent an urgent message saying it was an ’emergency’, so she came over here as soon as she got off work. And when she heard about the crazy incident that had happened today from Simon, who arrived almost at the same time, she burst out laughing with her mouth wide open, which was not befitting of her usual intellectual and cool-headed image.

······That makes sense. She has a grudge against Torrance New Media.

“Simon, you’re the best! I’ll buy the beer today!”

“It doesn’t help.”

Deep night.

The three of us arrived at a nearby beach, each holding two beers and a cola.

The waves were rolling in the distance.

I picked up a pebble from the ground, threw it aside, turned around, and muttered something to myself as I sat on the hood of the car, drinking beer, two ‘real adults’ who were different from me.

“I’ll have some beer too.”

“No.”

“You’re not old enough to drink yet, sir.”

Julia didn’t know that Simon would do this either.

“······They drink in college.”

“So, everyone grows up to become a yuppie.”

Julia took a sip of her beer and smiled, feeling relieved.

“Oh, well, that was a fun story. I can’t help but imagine the faces of Remy Martin, that crazy Susan, and Hugo Irving, that sexually harassing piece of trash. So what happened next?”

“Well, I just went back and apologized. I was so stressed that I went crazy for a moment.”

“Did you accept it?”

“I got hit by Remy.”

“That’s barbaric.”

“That’s right.”

I couldn’t help but take a sip of my cola.

Well, Pepsi is the best cola.

And then a question to Simon.

“So, have you decided to resign?”

“They told me to get out right away once they chose a successor. They said they’d give me a severance pay, but I shouldn’t come back again.”

“But I guess it ended like this because the image he built up was good. In fact, considering how he was treated there, it should have been like that. Hugo probably won’t be able to complain anymore. One good employee is leaving because of him.”

“Whew, I’m sorry, author. You suddenly quit on your own and that’s why······.”

“Oh, that’s fine. If Simon wants to take charge of publishing my work professionally, then that’s great.”

“Simon. Why did you suddenly think of that?”

“That······ I came to my own conclusion while thinking about the new writer’s novel.”

Simon took another sip of his beer and smiled bitterly.

Now that I look at him, he’s actually quite weak to alcohol. His face is already red. How is he going to get home?

“It’s okay if I fail. I am a human being with the right to fail.”

“······You’re already thinking about failure.”

Julia glares at Simon as if he can’t believe it.

But I thought that was quite interesting.

“I do that too when I write.”

As I slightly shook my head, the two people looked back at me.

“I always try my best when I write, and when I present it to the world, I have the mindset that I am the best. But there is always the possibility of failure.”

“Huh? Aren’t your works always successful?”

“Shut up, Simon.”

Simon becomes Malfoy.

Julia, who had become a Weasley, passed the microphone back to me.

“Simon and Julia.”

With these two people’s one-two punch, I don’t think it will fail easily.

But still, I wanted to say this.

“It’s okay to fail, because that’s the path that leads us to happiness.”

“······.”

“······.”

Two people were dumbfounded by my words.

But soon, when I held out a bottle of cola, they snickered and clinked their beer bottles against me.

Cheers.

End

(158)