Became an American Retro Novelist - Chapter 163
Only Noblemtl
163.
Make friends with whom you can be open.
Kate Moore didn’t quite understand what God was seriously saying.
‘Why on earth?’
What’s the point of sharing our hearts with each other?
Since humans are alone anyway, what difference does it make if we share our hearts?
In the first place, isn’t the act of sharing one’s feelings something that consumes emotion and time?
I didn’t necessarily want to live like that. At a time when every day was filled with tasks and there was a lot of work to be done, talking to someone and sharing feelings honestly felt like unnecessary things to Kate right now.
So Kate Moore has never really opened up to anyone until now.
That was convenient. People just had to be together to the extent that they could achieve their goal of rising higher and not be considered socially strange. The reason I joined the broadcasting club in high school was to earn points through extracurricular activities, and in the university I’m attending now, I only do activities of that kind.
As a result, there are a total of six people she hangs out with within the sociology department.
Regardless of gender, I only kept friends by my side who were either excellent in their own fields or had personality traits that made them able to maintain a proper distance.
Also, when I came to college, I felt the importance of my appearance, so I started dressing up appropriately.
During that time, Kate Moore and her classmates quickly became the central group of the first-year sociology students. Relationships woven and spread out in a concentric circle around them, and Kate, who did not particularly stand out, became someone loved and respected by everyone.
It was the same in the clubs I was involved in, or in other groups.
This is just about right for now.
I want to be on top someday, but I don’t think it’s time yet.
Like a hawk stalking its prey, she planned to naturally take over the sociology department and, by extension, Stanford as a whole, by revealing herself when she wanted to.
Kate had a natural talent for holding her own, being loved and not hated, and eventually reaching the highest position. She had been like that since childhood, even though she couldn’t remember it. So she couldn’t help but understand what God was saying.
Because the definition of friend was different from the beginning.
Because she thought her friends were unnecessary.
However, there were two main reasons why she pondered deeply what God had said.
One was that he was the author of ‘About T’, the novel that had been the most interesting to read since high school, and the other was that he was the person with whom Kate had a very special, practically unique, relationship among the many relationships surrounding her.
Until then, they had only known each other’s existence, but they started interacting in earnest when preparing for the third-year homecoming day.
God was a man who brought out some very deep emotions within Kate.
A very complicated emotion that even Kate herself is not fully aware of at the moment.
That was exactly ‘anger’.
It was clear that God knew the inner thoughts of Kate, who was the only one who deliberately acted more irritable and spoke without thinking about the consequences in front of Kate Moore. At first, Kate tried to smile and accept it as she would any other person, but at some point, she completely relaxed.
So I deliberately showed more emotion in front of him.
As I was thinking deeply about the occasion, an idea suddenly occurred to me.
‘Was it when I found out he was a writer?’
So, is that why you two started bickering with each other from then on?
“Okay.”
Kate frowned.
That’s all for now.
First of all, it was time to do what had to be done today.
Late that evening, she returned to her dormitory and went out to the lobby again briefly before getting back to her homework.
This was because she had her own ‘routine’ of calling her parents at a set time every night.
I put two coins into the public phone and made a call. The person on the other end answered the phone right away.
[Kate~!]
“······If it weren’t for me, why would you do that as soon as you receive it?”
[Hahaha! Who else would call at this exact time but you! My pretty daughter!]
“Dad, my ear hurts. Keep your voice down when you talk. Where’s Mom?”
[Your lovely mom went to play bingo!]
“Oh, today was Thursday, right.”
My mom used to go play bingo on Thursdays.
“Is Jimmy studying hard? And Fred?”
[Your two younger siblings are doing well too!]
“Watch the kids’ grades carefully. Jimmy is taking the college entrance exam next year, so be especially careful. And speak quietly.”
[Okay, okay. How was your day?]
“······.”
Just then, someone came up to the public phone next door.
Kate’s voice pitch changed from alto to soprano in an instant.
“I had fun studying today too. How about you, Dad?”
[Who’s next to you?]
“yes?”
Kate pretended not to hear and gave her father a look while asking back.
My beloved daughter is hiding her claws(?) from anyone outside her family.
The father, who knew that fact better than anyone else, did not touch that part any more and just let his daughter adjust.
The family’s exchange of greetings soon ended, and Kate hung up the phone when she suddenly realized something.
The way he behaved in front of his family was somewhat similar to the way he behaved in front of God.
“······Tsk.”
After realizing this fact, she felt a strange sense of discomfort, and returned to her room, trying to shake off the indescribable feeling. Then, being careful not to wake her sleeping roommate, she sat down at her desk and began writing the assignment she had been given for the day.
Square, square.
The sound of the fountain pen leaving its mark on the paper was somehow soothing.
After finishing her homework and falling asleep until dawn, she woke up three hours later.
“······.”
It’s a fact that many people don’t know, but Kate Moore, who is still half-asleep, has become somewhat gentler.
That’s why I couldn’t help but think about my relationship with God like this while doing my homework all night long.
‘Is he my friend?’
Then, as my mind flashed, anger set in.
That can’t be true.
No way.
Never.
In front of it, you can talk about ‘About T’ with ease.
Sometimes, I talk about my worries in a subtle way that I would never reveal to others.
······Come to think of it, isn’t this a completely dependent relationship?
I absolutely hated that. The mere thought of relying on a god-like guy sent shivers down my spine.
‘What the hell is that guy?!’
Even though there was no God before her eyes, a storm raged in Kate Moore’s mind.
***
As Kate Moore was giving counseling(?), something strange started happening.
Every time I attended a class he would hand me a can of coffee.
“······what’s this?”
“Drink it. I picked it up here.”
What the heck? Did you get poisoned?
I had two choices.
One can either take the risk and drink it, or the other can pretend to drink it and then just throw it away.
And then I took out a third option.
‘You drink first.’
It was really impressive to see Kate Moore looking at me with an expression as if she was going to kill me when I held it out.
Kate continued to give each student a drink before every class.
I didn’t refuse the drink and drank it, knowing that he wouldn’t do anything bad in front of everyone, but I still felt suspicious.
‘Why on earth? Why bother?’
Do you feel any gratitude?
What changes in your mind have occurred since then?
When I asked in passing whether he had made a secret friend, this was the reply I got.
“no.”
“······.”
This guy won’t do. We have to do something about it.
Just as I was thinking that, some good news came.
It was an autograph signing offer from a large bookstore in Los Angeles.
An event that includes a talk with the author along with autographs.
This event was planned to promote the sales of the ‘About T’ single volume, and if you pre-ordered the sequel, ‘About T: Homecoming’, which would be published soon, you would get a signed copy of ‘About T: Viewfinder’ or a signed sheet.
I cautiously suggested it in the next audit class, thinking that Kate Moore might meet the secret friend she needed right now. She said she would think about it for a moment, but then nodded, saying that it would be okay since it was after midterms.
Time passed like that, and it was mid-February.
As usual, I had done very well on the test and on Friday night the week after my exams were over, I drove back to Los Angeles with Kate.
I had arranged to meet him at the autograph session, and after dropping him off in front of my house, I returned home where my mother and Jiwoo, who had been waiting until late at night, welcomed me.
After spending some quality time with my family and getting a good night’s sleep, I headed straight to downtown Los Angeles the next day.
In downtown, which is located about a mile east of Koreatown, there were several large bookstores in addition to Kitten’s Comic Book Store. In this era when paper books were selling well and the reading rate was quite high, there were bookstores that specialized in books and boasted a size similar to that of department stores.
One of them was the ‘Logan & Cathy Book Store’.
Started by a couple in the early 20th century, it has expanded and now occupies an entire three-story building, making it a very large bookstore.
As I was about to park my car in the dedicated parking lot and get out without thinking much about it, I was momentarily shocked by the crowd that was larger than I had expected and ended up closing my mouth.
‘Why are there so many?’
There were about three hours left until the autograph session started, but there was already a long line outside the bookstore.
Julia asked me to call her before we left in case something confusing happened, and I thought it was unusual, but I agreed to do so for now.
I thought that the judgment of a professional(?) was different.
If someone recognized us, something dangerous could happen, so we waited quietly in the car. Soon, Julia Chandler, who came out through the back of the building just in time, came into view.
I grabbed the handle, rolled down the window slightly, and then reached out slightly.
“Author, you bought a car?”
“······Why are there so many people?”
“I thought it would be like this? Here it is.”
A pair of sunglasses came in through the window.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to understand this way?”
“It’s okay. People tend to just ignore it if they’re suspicious. Not many people know the author’s face, and most people only see him from afar, so they probably won’t recognize him easily.”
“I will believe you······.”
So I got out of the car with my sunglasses on and went into the building with Julia.
‘I’m sure I’ve done autograph sessions many times in the past.’
Why am I shaking so much?
It’s the 80s now? I’m a college student?
Or is it because this novel, ‘About T’, captures what I imagine my high school days to be like?
As I thought about those things, my mind gradually calmed down.
‘Yeah, that’s what it was.’
Unlike ‘Dead Man’s Heaven’, which I felt wasn’t my work, ‘About T’ was a work that expressed my thoughts without holding back.
It was natural to tremble, and it was also natural to accept it naturally.
The autograph session was more formal than I expected.
Julia handed me a questionnaire to use during the interview, telling me to think about my answers in advance, and while I was reading it, my hair and makeup were done.
Thinking that preparing before standing in front of people like this is the same whether it is in the future or now, I prepared for the autograph session with the help of several experts who helped me.
By the way, did Kate Moore get here on time?
‘There are a lot of people, but will it be okay?’
I had already called the right people, so I thought there wouldn’t be any problems.
***
1pm.
The first signing event for the author of ‘SEEN’ has begun at Logan & Cathy Bookstore.
Kate Moore, who arrived at the scene on time, was shocked by the huge crowd that stretched all the way to the store and completely blocked the street.
‘Was it this much?!’
In fact, it was very difficult for writers to truly feel their popularity.
No matter how well the book sells or how famous the work becomes and how many people around you talk about it, it is still just rumors.
Even though it was made into a drama, Kate, the reader, only felt that it was ‘popular, I guess’, but had no idea how popular it was.
But all of those people were gathered here.
This is the type of person who reads a new writer’s work, finds it very entertaining or moving, and at the end, wants to take the time to get the writer’s autograph.
The number of people who gathered was approximately 5,000, but even that was a small number overall because it was not properly promoted.
Kate, who had gone into the store wondering if it was a different line, found Shin at the end of the line in the open-plan bookstore that stretched up to the fourth floor.
And Kate somehow felt like he was from another world.
He was sitting under a stage with a banner that read, “SEEN Autograph Session by Author ‘About T’ Hosted by Logan & Cathy Bookstore,” and was busy signing autographs.
The pop-up store lined up in front of it sold copies of Shin’s novel ‘About T: Viewfinder’ and vouchers for ‘About T: Homecoming’. Everyone bought one from there and went inside to get it signed.
“······.”
In front of him, Kate was overcome with emotions that she couldn’t express in words.
Unlike myself, who was struggling to live each day while hiding my true nature, looking at God shining more brilliantly than anyone else on that stage, the feelings I had felt before became even stronger.
‘Oh, yeah.’
It was an emotion that had been welling up in me every time I saw God since my high school days.
She feels like Cinderella, working hard to make a pumpkin carriage all by herself, but looking at the ball already starting at the palace far away.
It was just at that moment when the gloom was about to surge back in.
“Frrrrrrrrr······.”
The sound of lips cracking can be heard from somewhere.
Kate looked back, wondering what was going on, and her eyes were filled with genuine shock.
“I’m a little late.”
Kate knew him well, but he wasn’t the man she knew.
Blonde pomaded hair, red jumper with jeans. White t-shirt. Red sneakers.
But black.
It was Anthony Miles, but it was Doofy Kingston.
It was Doofy Kingston, but it was Anthony Miles.
······It was difficult to explain, but it meant that Doofy was ‘costume playing’ Anthony.
He said, pushing up his glasses.
“This body, appears.”
End
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