Became an American Retro Novelist - Chapter 165



Only Noblemtl

165.

As soon as the god on stage began to tell his story as the host asked, the bookstore became quiet.

Starting with the reason he first started writing novels, and then going on to talk about the important aspects he considered while writing, Shin calmly and quietly shared his thoughts on the questions, and everyone listened to him.

And the second floor.

Jiwoo Jang, who was sitting on the railing with his feet stretched out, couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

“Oh······.”

A voice leaking out between the lips.

She became a senior in high school and grew a little taller, and her hair grew long enough to reach her shoulders. Still, she felt various emotions as she looked at God, who seemed much more mature than her.

Could I become like that too?

Can you get recognition from people for something you like like that?

Suddenly feeling like playing the bass, she whispered to Alexa, who was sitting next to her.

“I think Oppa Shin is really amazing.”

Hearing that, Alexa’s legs, which had been stretching between the railings like Jiwoo’s, shook even more. She looked at Shin, who was continuing the conversation with a calm face on the stage, with her face red from excitement as if it were her own, and opened her mouth softly.

“You’re really handsome······.”

“Yes?”

“Isn’t this really, really cool?”

“Yes······.”

Jiwoo, momentarily flustered, turned his gaze back to where it was.

Even when we were standing in line with Alexa to get her autograph, we had a hard time holding back laughter, so seeing her speak her mind on stage felt strange yet somewhat disjointed.

To Jiwoo, God is both a benefactor and an older brother.

Last night, we had a cup of tea together and talked about things we hadn’t been able to talk about before.

A person like that is now receiving a lot of love and attention from many people on stage.

The distance felt there.

But at the same time, there was a sense of awe at how great that opponent was.

Jiwoo continued to hear the voice of God, with all sorts of mixed emotions.

Kate, who was standing on the first floor and watching the conversation between the gods, was the same.

Although she couldn’t accept the other person as he was like Jiwoo, she had various thoughts in her head as she watched Shin continuing his conversation on stage.

Because I’ve been watching closely, I can feel that God is enjoying the current situation.

[Author, where do you usually get inspiration when writing your works?]

[Well, I guess I often integrate things that happen in my daily life or thoughts I get from reading various good works. Should I say that it’s more like melting minerals called information from various sources in a furnace and combining them into one?]

[Oh, that’s a great metaphor.]

He wasn’t nervous at all despite being on stage and spoke his mind calmly and composedly.

For some reason, that appearance reminded me of my current self.

It felt even more so in the part where God seemed free.

Kate has been hiding her inner self throughout her life. She has been strategically decorating herself and trying endlessly to get the results she wants. In her studies, relationships, extracurricular activities, and so on. In every area she can, she has gotten the answers she wants and has taken pride in that.

But then, an element called ‘About T’ entered my life and started growing in my mind, causing problems.

Kate Moore felt a void in her life that was not being filled. She thought that if she continued to live the way she was, success would come, but she did not know why it was so hard.

And based on the answer God gave her, “secret friend,” and the various experiences she had at the autograph session today, she had come to her own conclusion. She had a rough idea of ​​what she needed.

‘A friend I can be comfortable with without having to think about my social network.’

The idea that it was completely useless was erased.

Honestly, it was a fun experience. It was thanks to Doopi’s help, and it was also fun to talk a lot about my favorite novels with people whose names I didn’t know and didn’t really care about.

An act of exchanging opinions by expressing one’s true feelings and objecting to the other person’s opinion without calculating the pros and cons as usual.

It was as if it was kicking away the emptiness that had been suppressed in my heart.

‘About T’ had that kind of power.

To be precise, that’s how it worked for Kate Moore.

But is that really okay?

‘I don’t know.’

Kate looked at the god on stage and felt an inexplicable emotion.

What on earth is he trying to say?

***

The conversation went smoothly.

Most of the content was about writing, but the host occasionally asked personal questions to lighten the mood. I accepted them appropriately, and the readers who stayed in the bookstore to listen to the conversation were deeply engrossed in such trivial conversations.

I felt grateful there.

It is not easy to pay attention not only to a work that you found interesting, but also to the author who wrote it, unless you have a certain level of fandom.

I just hope that my final words will bring great joy to those who have taken the time to visit here.

“Okay, author.”

After all the scheduled questions were asked, the moderator checked the time and asked the last question.

“Is there anything you would like to say to the readers gathered here?”

“Of course I prepared in advance.”

I looked around the room with a grin.

Many people were looking at me from all over the bookstore, all the way up to the third floor.

Back in this era, my first autograph session as an author.

In fact, it is an undeniable fact that before I encountered these people, I had thought that I would just go with it since it was something I had experienced in my past life.

But through their reactions, I once again felt pride in each of my works, and the meaning of this event changed.

Because I was deeply impressed by the sight of these people who seemed to affirm the life I had lived.

Especially since it was the 80s.

“I will continue to work hard on my works, so please keep an eye on me. ······If I end it here, it might feel a bit boring, so let me explain in a little more detail. This year, I have some news that readers will like. And since this is my ‘first’ autograph session, I will tell you one of the biggest pieces of news.”

When I smiled slightly mischievously, people started laughing and the mood lightened up.

And I took advantage of that gap to talk.

“About T: College,” which follows two of your favorite characters, Tony and Alice, as they go off to college, will be serialized in the Los Angeles Times soon.”

At this moment, the fans inside the bookstore who heard the information being revealed for the first time began to buzz.

There were squeals and squeals here and there. But when I smiled without saying anything, bright smiles soon spread across most of their faces.

In other words, there are readers who are looking forward to other works besides ‘About T’.

This reaction made me feel like it was okay to be a little more open, so I just said it.

“And a little later on, a science fiction novel will be published.”

There was a roar of cheers from male fans, going ‘Woooooo!’

Everyone had different choices for what they thought was their best work, but everyone loved my work so much.

‘I guess I’ll be really busy from now on.’

To meet their expectations, and for the inspiration I received through them.

I wanted to keep writing novels.

***

My first autograph session ended successfully.

After thanking Julia and the others who came out to help me out despite it being the weekend, I left the bookstore when most of the fans had left and headed home.

The autograph session is over, but the main event of the day still remains.

‘I wonder if it’s started by now?’

It was a barbecue party taking place right at our house.

Since it was my first time back in Los Angeles in a while, I planned to go back and catch up with friends I hadn’t seen in a while, and fortunately, they all readily agreed to my request.

As I drove home, I could smell the grilling meat in the backyard and found friends I had been wanting to meet.

And the first thing that noticed my arrival was Alexa.

“Oh my god! You’re here!”

“Brother Shin! Come quickly!”

“god-!”

Then to Jiwoo and the scalp.

As I watched the three people standing on the lawn grilling meat, which was a long time since I had seen them together, I realized that someone was approaching me from behind.

“Has God come?”

“Oh, I just got here, Mom.”

It was my mother who took the lead and prepared today’s barbecue party.

“Ah, God. You’re here~.”

And standing next to her is Kate Moore.

Why are you out there······?

“Huh, Kate?”

“The autograph session today was really great. I even got to say hello to your mom.”

“You’re a friend from the same university? Haha, you made a good friend.”

“High school was the same, Mom.”

“Oh my, really? Please take good care of our god in the future too.”

“Of course. Leave it to me.”

“Okay, okay, okay, just a minute.”

I grabbed the back of Kate Moore’s neck as she walked with her mother, carrying barbecue ingredients.

“What? Why are you here?”

“You told me to come.”

“Me from another dimension?”

“······The scalp recommended it.”

“Do you have a scalp?”

“No, that’s not true. Why, if it’s uncomfortable, should I go?”

“That’s not it. I didn’t know you’d come. Is it okay for you to spend so much time with another person? Isn’t it hard to keep wearing that social mask?”

“······It seems like you think people have two personalities.”

Kate Moore slipped away from me.

And the guy who looked back let out a sigh, dropping his shoulders significantly.

“ha.”

what?

Why do they act like that? It makes people feel uneasy.

When I tilted my head for a moment, Kate hesitated for a moment and then turned around and asked.

“How do you feel?”

“what.”

“Being recognized by others for what you love to do.”

“Of course it’s good.”

“Yeah, I see.”

“······Do you have anything you want to say?”

“no.”

Kate turned her head again and walked towards the barbecue party, leaving a word for me.

“Thank you. God. ······I’ll read the next novel carefully.”

what.

What is it, what is it?

‘Did Kate Moore say thank you?!’

It felt like the most ridiculous thing that had happened today.

As I stood there dumbfounded, Alexa, who had been looking around, slowly approached me.

“What are you doing?”

“Uh, uh, no. It’s nothing.”

“You’ve become close with Kate?”

“······Uh, sorry?”

“Huh? What’s there to be sorry about? It’ll be good if you get along well with your high school friends even after you go to college.”

Alexa tilted her head as I half-instinctively apologized.

Even if we were friends in high school, it would be easy to feel complicated when you see her being close to another girl, but I was thankful that she trusted me without any doubts.

······Are you an angel?

As I watched Alexa’s back as she grabbed my arm and told me to hurry up and go eat some meat, I tried to find out where her wings were hidden.

***

Shortly after the signing, “About T: College” began serialization in the Los Angeles Times, just as Shin had announced.

Kate Moore, who had naturally signed up for a subscription, made it a routine to bring the Los Angeles Times delivered to her dorm every morning, read ‘About T: College’, and attend classes.

No, it wasn’t just her, most of the students in the College of Arts and Sciences were like that.

Since the television series aired, the popularity of the ‘About T’ series has soared even higher.

It was certainly a series that had been extremely popular before, but the influence of the medium called television was enormous. Even young students who usually did not read genre novels became interested in the images shown in the video and read this new series set in a university setting.

In fact, she didn’t really show it off in front of God, but when she heard that there was going to be a series called ‘About T’ set in a university, Kate Moore couldn’t help but be very excited. She was looking forward to what Alice, the person she half-entrusted her ego to, would experience when she went to university.

But as she read through the first half, Kate was overcome with a strange feeling.

‘This is completely······.’

It was a story that seemed to be based on myself now.

Alice, who entered college, was nervous and couldn’t find anyone she could really share her feelings with. As she began to dress up her appearance, everyone started talking to her and she even started hanging out with a group of people, but that was about it.

In that situation, a phone call with Tony was the only escape.

Likewise, Tony, who entered college, immediately began playing for the American football club.

And as he went through the amount of training required to face his superiors, who were much larger, more powerful, and had more sophisticated skills, his self-esteem as a player was greatly diminished.

In addition, the football club had a tendency to strictly discipline the underclassmen in the early stages, so Tony was always getting slapped in the face.

Alice’s existence was Tony’s only hope.

Two people whispering sweet nothings to each other over the phone.

The story unfolds by showing alternate scenes of a man and a woman, like Romeo and Juliet, who hope to meet again someday.

However, Kate felt extremely uncomfortable as she watched the two people supporting each other and working hard to endure their respective school lives.

For him, the only person he could lean on in that way was ‘About T’. However, when he saw Alice struggling with a huge amount of homework and studying in that work, he couldn’t do it.

It was as if this work was speaking of his own reality.

“······.”

However, Alice has been shown to behave differently in similar situations as Kate.

“Alice had a wonderful time creating with Tony.

It firmly rooted my heart. And, in fact, I knew. It was more fun with Tony, but it was entirely my own making of those memories. It had to be that way. Who else could have influenced my courage to go to the art museum or watch the football game?

Alice decided to believe in herself.

Then my mind felt at ease, and I was able to let go of the heavy pressure in my heart that felt like a deep lock had been placed on it.

That day, Alice forgot all about the mountain of homework and spent the day completely alone. She went out alone, talked to strangers, and spent the day playing to her heart’s content.

The feeling of being in a place where no one knew me was like being a princess in a fairy tale.

“······.”

It was a blunt message.

A message to ‘Alices’ across the country, including Kate Moore.

The problem was that Kate was so deeply immersed in the work called ‘About T’ that she was completely intoxicated by its explicit message.

‘Me too, me too.’

There was a hint of dew in his eyes.

‘I can do it too.’

A time of complete rest that you can have because you believe in yourself.

That day, Kate Moore decided to go out for the weekend.

End

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