Became an American Retro Novelist - Chapter 171



Only Noblemtl

171.

The broadcasting industry was originally a very rigid place.

The hierarchy was clear, even the slightest mistake would be met with shouting, and it was even common for physical sanctions to be imposed.

There are many reasons why the industry culture was formed that way, but the biggest reason is that a single person’s ‘mistake’ can have a fatal effect.

In a normal industry, it would be easy to just say, “Okay, the youngest can make mistakes,” but in a broadcasting station that is always pressed for time, it was not easy to accept it due to filming costs, schedules, etc. In a live broadcast format where filming and broadcasting are done simultaneously, mistakes and accidents could not be tolerated any longer.

Just like the military.

Right or wrong, the military committed violence because ‘you have to be on your toes on the battlefield because people’s lives are at stake. One mistake can be fatal.’ The culture of the broadcasting station was similar.

[Can you take responsibility for all of this?! Time! Money! Manpower! Can you take responsibility for all of this?]

That kind of swearing often came out.

For similar reasons, places like newspapers also tend to have a rigid culture, but compared to broadcasting stations, they are a smaller industry, so they are less pressured.

Television broadcasting, which first began in 1939, was a medium that began to lead the American cultural industry in earnest after the end of World War II.

The capital invested increased day by day, and each broadcasting station competitively increased its investment costs. In conjunction with the film industry that had grown earlier, stars such as John Wayne and Humphrey Bogart were born, and as the public became enthusiastic about it, it developed into a business with astronomical amounts of money.

Because of this, the number of people who can commit so-called ‘bullying’ has increased.

Broadcasting station presidents, investors, actors with ticket power, CPs, PDs, cinematographers, writers, original creators of works, etc.

The industrial workplace, where each person had to have their own power and try to please others, was bound to be difficult in many ways.

Given those circumstances, it was absurd that Alexa Flair would achieve the same ‘everyone loves’ position in the broadcast production environment as she did in high school, and that’s exactly what happened.

Of course, people’s affection for Alexa Flair was built up only because she was an ‘extra’.

If Alexa’s role had been a little more substantial, or if her agency had been able to exert influence on the broadcasting scene, she wouldn’t have received as much attention as she does now. If there was even the slightest sign of favoritism, there would have been some form of restraint.

Alexa wasn’t unaware of that either.

However, having met so many people so far, she quickly understood the rules of such society, and was grateful for the attention she was fortunate to receive, and thought she would work as hard as she could to achieve great results.

Still, sometimes, when I finished my work for the day and went back home, I would feel a sense of emptiness in my heart.

Just like today.

After filming was over and she came out to the parking lot, she smiled bitterly.

‘High school was great.’

I miss those days when we just laughed and chatted innocently, without any vested interests or expectations.

Although I was able to get along comfortably with people at my agency, it wasn’t as comfortable as it was in high school. This was because the more successful I became, the more I had to be careful about what others thought of me before I acted.

A model who had joined the agency earlier than Alexa was unable to get steady work and was working part-time as a waitress. On top of that, I heard that she was having a hard time because she couldn’t rely on support from her family like Alexa.

It wasn’t Alexa’s ‘fault’, but I couldn’t help but care.

What didn’t end there, and became a bigger problem, was that even Alexa, who was ‘lucky’ to get the job, was not respected at all in the broadcast filming environment.

Coming out into society and facing my seemingly shabby self was not easy. However, I knew that I had no choice but to accept this reality calmly, so I just endured it and swallowed it.

‘First, let’s go home and eat something······ I have filming tomorrow too, so I should go to bed early······.’

That was the moment when he walked towards his car, absentmindedly thinking about the things he had to do when he got back.

A figure emerged from the darkness.

“huh?”

Alexa looked up, her blue eyes widening more than usual.

“Hello. It’s later than I thought.”

The first boyfriend she ever had was Shin.

Looking at him with his clean-cut face, tall stature, slightly slender build, broad shoulders, and something hidden behind his leather jacket-clad upper body, Alexa felt her sagging heart start to beat faster.

On a day like today, the timing was truly perfect.

Alexa beamed and ran up to God, who was standing beyond her car, and hugged him tightly.

And then his face turned red and he shouted.

“poet······!”

“Are you done with the work?”

“Huh! What’s going on here······?!”

“There was something going on nearby. Here, a present.”

“flower······?”

“I picked it up here.”

“Where from?”

“Somewhere in the fields over there.”

God smiles playfully and points to the other side of the parking lot.

Both the person who told the story and Alexa, who heard the story, couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

And Alexa came to her senses as she smelled the gorgeous fragrance of the flowers that God had given her, and spoke with all her heart.

“Thank you for coming.”

“How was your day?”

“It was perfect. You even filmed the explosion scene?”

“······Real?”

“It’s real. Should we just go out? The parking fee will be higher if we’re late.”

Alexa smiled and opened the door to find her car.

God didn’t arrive in a separate car, so he got in the passenger seat, and the two left the studio with Alexa Flair driving and started driving down the Hollywood road.

Late at night, scarlet streetlights illuminated the streets.

Originally, she had planned to go home early, but Alexa was in a good mood after seeing her boyfriend for the first time in a long time, so it was natural for her to change her plans.

“Shall we go for a drive?”

“Okay.”

Boohoo-.

Alexa drove the car at a fast speed.

Shin thought as he glanced at her profile, focused solely on driving.

‘Your expression didn’t look so good, did it?’

To be precise, I should say that it was a face that seemed to be thinking deeply about something.

It might not be a big deal, but of course I was nervous, so I thought about it for a moment and then opened my mouth.

“You said the weight has increased?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah! Because the author looked at me favorably.”

“That’s good. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Huh? I told you. Last time on the phone.”

“······.”

“poet?”

“I was reckless.”

“What the hell?”

“Ah, Alexa! In front!! In front!!”

God looked at Alexa who was staring at him and cried out in surprise.

Alexa smiled broadly, thinking it was cute to see him shouting with a face she didn’t usually see, and naturally drove towards Griffith Observatory.

Shin let out a sigh of relief as he watched her drive in the direction she wanted with ease, as her driving skills had become more proficient(?).

“How was the filming?”

“I’m having fun. I’m learning hard and doing my best every day.”

“Aren’t you stressed?”

“Hmm~. Well.”

Little by little, the waters began to open.

“Still, I’m lucky.”

“Are you lucky?”

“There are many models who entered the office before me but struggled because they couldn’t get any work. On the other hand, I started modeling shortly after I entered the office and got a role in a drama. I guess you could say I was really lucky.”

“Alexa, that’s not luck. It’s your skill.”

“······.”

Alexa looked back with her eyes wide open, as if greatly comforted by God’s words.

“In front!! In front!!”

But the problem was that she was driving.

Thanks to that, the mood was restored.

“Oh, no. It was just luck. Otherwise, how would a rookie like me have been cast?”

“Because you did well.”

“What about other people?”

“I couldn’t do it.”

“······Isn’t it not such a simple problem?”

“Don’t overthink it. And ‘the ability to act well’ and ‘the ability to be cast well’ aren’t necessarily the same thing. Maybe the casting directors noticed that you read my work more impressively than others.”

“Hmm~.”

Alexa frowned slightly, but soon burst into laughter.

“Yeah, in that case······ I’m confident that I won’t lose to anyone.”

Because it is none other than God’s novel.

God suddenly stepped in, taking advantage of Alexa’s slightly relaxed mind.

“What were you worried about today?”

“Hmm, somehow the old days were better······ How did you know?!”

“Because your expression was stiff when you came out.”

She was always smiling brightly and running around, even when she was alone.

Alexa looked back at Shin as if she had seen a ghost, and again her shout of ‘Ahead, ahead!’ filled the car with commotion.

Meanwhile, Alexa’s car arrived at the observatory in Griffith Park.

After parking the car appropriately and getting out, the two slowly walked toward the observatory, checking for security guards patrolling the area.

“It’s like ‘About T’.”

“But I can’t go in.”

“Why? Just go in.”

“······Won’t I get caught by the police?”

A god who gives practical advice on Alexa’s suggestions.

Alexa spoke as she looked around the observatory, the door firmly shut.

“If I were in high school, would I have been able to get in?”

“Well, even then······ no.”

God chuckled and joked lightly.

“It must have been no joke back then.”

Adding Doofi and Jiwoo, they would have entered Griffith Observatory with the mindset that it would be okay to cause some trouble. Just like when they played TRPG, they would have been Claire, Jaina, Lord Doofus, and their master Shin, running wild and making a mess.

Alexa burst into laughter when she heard that story.

“Right, right! Or maybe all four of them try to get in and then say, ‘This isn’t quite right,’ and then go to a nearby 24-hour donut shop and eat a donut each before parting ways. ······Oh, that seems more likely.”

“But that alone would have been fun.”

“That’s right. I really miss those days.”

“Aren’t you happy now?”

“That’s not it. Um, I don’t know. Why do I miss those days these days?”

Alexa tilted her head, momentarily unable to understand her own feelings.

And in front of it, God felt a momentary sense of awkwardness.

‘what?’

Somehow, I felt like I had felt a similar situation before.

And then I realized.

Alexa’s words now are no different from the regret she had in her last moments of her past life.

The old days were good.

It was better back then than now.

That’s how I missed the past.

Naturally, something I wanted to say to her came to mind.

That’s what I would like to say to my past life self.

“There was a then, so there is a now, right?”

So, even though he felt a bit of a disconnect with himself saying those words, God calmly and carefully collected his thoughts in his mind, for Alexa’s sake.

There’s Michael Jackson, there’s Bruno Mars.

There’s Tupac, there’s Jay-Z.

Because there’s the Beach Boys, there’s Maroon 5.

Because there is Michael Jordan, there is LeBron James.

Marlon Brando’s performance inspired Leonardo DiCaprio.

And because there was Stone Cold Steve Austin, there was John Cena.

Yet the reason why humans always miss the past is······.

‘And the reason why I hated the past so much.’

Because the reality right in front of me feels so complicated and like a difficult homework problem to solve.

Just as humans in the future will suffer from the flood of too much information.

Through the topic he brought up to comfort Alexa, Shin felt as if his past and his novel, which he was currently preparing for publication, were connected.

With that, it became clear why I had such thoughts at that time and why I wanted to write such a novel now.

And after much thought, this is what he said to Alexa.

“It’s okay. You’re doing well now.”

Even though it may seem like a list of insignificant words, it is a word that is needed by everyone, at all times.

A word of comfort to help you move forward into a future that seems bleak.

That is why God described the entity called ‘The Book’ in the novel he wrote in a negative way.

Because the tool for the happiness of all mankind denies the free will of human beings.

Because it makes me doubt my own intentions in offering comforting words to Alexa.

In fact, there was a small, indelible sense of anxiety inside God, created by the writer’s imagination.

There is no denying that the reason I can navigate the world without fear now is because I know to some extent what will happen in the future.

Even now, it’s creepy and scary to think that some great will was added to cause the regression, but in fact, it was all because of being controlled by a being like ‘The Book’.

but······.

‘It hasn’t been proven yet.’

So I decided to keep this secret to myself from now on.

And instead, there was a firm resolution.

Let’s live by sharing the benefits we gain from regression with many people around us, including ourselves.

Alexa in front of me, and my mother.

Scalp, Jiwoo, and the nerd guys at the comic book store.

Colleagues in the industry, people I met at Stanford University.

And furthermore, to the many readers who have read his books.

“So don’t worry too much, Alexa.”

In front of Griffith Observatory, under the streetlights.

Alexa bowed her head, feeling God comforting her.

I heard the words I most wanted to hear from the person I most wanted to hear them from.

“······Can I hug you?”

“Okay~.”

As God opened his arms wide, Alexa came closer with quick steps and was hugged tightly into his arms.

Alexa calmed down for a while, holding God’s chest and smelling the unique scent mixed with fabric softener, then rubbed her cheek like a child throwing a tantrum.

God also comforted her by patting her head, and then······ a huge problem occurred.

‘Oh, shit.’

I completely forgot that my body was 19 years old!

It was something that could naturally happen during a relationship.

Yes, it is not a dirty reaction at all. It is something that can happen quite commonly between a man and a woman, especially when they are sharing their feelings sincerely.

Besides, no matter how old my mind is, my body is still a boy!

But the man named Shin, who overlooked that undeniable fact, tried to hide the uncomfortable truth by using his ‘spirit’ as if he were afraid that something would be ‘discovered’.

The god slightly pulled his waist back. But Alexa, who didn’t know anything, wrapped her arms around the squirming god’s waist more tightly and held him close. As if trying to keep him from leaving her.

Still, as God twisted his waist from side to side, Alexa raised her head.

“······? what’s the matter?”

Large eyes looked at the god.

It smelled like perfume, starting with citrus, then floral, then vanilla. When I think about it, perfume is a really strange substance. How does it achieve such harmony and make people intoxicated?

Yeah, I felt drunk.

The conversation did not continue any further.

Alexa also froze as if possessed by something when she made eye contact with God.

At that moment, an inner voice was heard in the god’s head.

‘Oh, the timing is perfect.’

But soon even that thought flew away.

Even though my mind was old, my body was still a boy, and in front of her, even my heart became a boy.

The orange light on the streetlight blinked once.

Alexa lifted her toes slightly, and the god’s head bowed.

End

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