Became an American Retro Novelist - Chapter 198



Only Noblemtl

198.

In the minds of many Americans, and even in the minds of people around the world who have encountered America through media such as movies, there are several images that naturally come to mind when you think of ‘California.’

Palm trees, relaxed people with bronzed skin, surfing, beaches, bikinis, blazing sun, desert roads.

A drunken old man wearing sunglasses and trunks is leisurely sipping a beer with a hot dog without even using sunscreen or tanning oil, saying that he will die from high cholesterol first, so he does not need to worry about skin cancer.

The long land stretching from north to south borders Mexico and has been greatly influenced by that culture.

That’s why many pubs near the beach had a Mexican style concept, and had interiors made mainly of wood, starting with bar tables that looked like they were roughly made from scrap boats that had been abandoned on the beach.

Julia Chandler loved that kind of bar.

Rather than a bar that was too fancy, I liked a bar where I could drink comfortably. A bar that had a different feel from a sports pub, with mariachi-style music, and then late at night, the music was turned off and only a few neon lights were on, allowing me to enjoy the night sea.

In such a place, sipping beer, margaritas, and tequila, it was almost as if Hemingway was sitting next to you, sipping the same drink and muttering, “Fucking FBI.” Hemingway suffered in his later years from the anxiety that the FBI was watching him, and this was revealed to be true after his death.

In such a place, sipping a margarita like Hemingway, Julia said this.

“sincerely.”

“Ah, hahaha.”

Simon, who was drinking a mango margarita with a straw next to him, laughed awkwardly.

The Mango Margarita was a mango-flavored, yellow, and slightly sweeter version of the regular margarita. It was a menu item for women, in a way, with an umbrella as a garnish.

“Why did you end up working with that guy? He caused trouble at work too.”

“Well, ‘Never say never.’ The new writer said that since he gave Piper a chance for Part 1, he wanted to work with Martin for Part 2······.”

“It was a wolf or a tiger. But I would rather choose Archibald Pfeiffer, the cold wolf. After talking to Remy Martin, I felt a strange sense of relief.”

“That’s possible. Julia has a bad relationship with you. ······But it wasn’t as bad as you thought, was it? I felt like today’s meeting went pretty well.”

“That’s right. I didn’t know Remy Martin was so interested in this novel.”

“I heard that you’ve read it all.”

Julia’s eyes widened.

“Are you kidding? I’d rather believe that the Soviet Union is collapsing.”

“Given the current situation, that doesn’t seem like an impossible story. Could McDonald’s open a store in the Soviet Union and give everyone a taste of capitalism?”

“Even so, Remy Martin read the novel?”

“Part 1 and Part 2, both.”

“A gentleman who didn’t read a single line of my article properly?”

“I see. It’s amazing. And he seems quite impressed.”

“······sincerity?”

Although she said that, it was only then that Julia felt the puzzle pieces in her head start to fall into place.

Whenever the ‘Universe of Losers’ story came up, Remy would add a comment as if he knew something or snicker as if he sympathized, but isn’t that something that can only be done by actually reading the novel?

At the time, I thought I had heard a rough summary from someone, but that wasn’t the case.

Julia felt ashamed of herself.

The truth was that I laughed inwardly whenever Remy talked about the ‘Universe of Losers’.

Suddenly, she remembered something she had heard a long time ago.

‘Novels change the world.’

Although he couldn’t tell exactly what process took place, Shin’s novel changed Remy Martin.

It was amazing.

And she couldn’t admit it honestly.

“hmm.”

Julia took a big sip of her margarita, let out a soft breath, and changed the subject.

“Simon, do you think that’s the only intention of the writer? Our writer is not the kind of person to show favor to someone he’s not even close to.”

Simon smiles without saying anything.

He paused for a moment, lightly adjusting his disheveled suit tie.

Instead of pressing for an answer, Julia finished her margarita and ordered a tequila shot for her next drink.

The heat of the night sea provided a pleasant rest for office workers who had been working in the office all day.

People who work in suits tend to get drenched in sweat in the evenings, even if they don’t do any moving work. Julia also had sweat dripping down her neckline, under her lightly tied hair.

Julia, who was trying to talk a little, eventually spoke first when Simon didn’t answer.

“Somehow, I feel like the author is looking at the big picture.”

“It doesn’t seem like an impossible story.”

Simon just accepts the words as if he’s brushing it off lightly.

Julia snickered at that attitude.

“Simon, you’ve changed too. You know how to hide your feelings from me.”

“Rather than that, I just wanted to set the mood before talking in earnest.”

“What, why don’t you speak up quickly? My child, I raised you with all my heart, and now you’re repaying my kindness with enmity?”

“Okay, okay. But, I’m not sure either. I just feel it when I listen to what the writer says. I don’t want to make a choice that’s too tied down to one thing.”

“okay?”

“That’s why you actively supported me when I said I was starting a company, and even invested directly in it. In fact, about half of the hard-boiled publishers are currently owned by new writers.”

“Hmm······. She’s definitely a writer with some surprising aspects. Usually, writers are so focused on writing that they don’t really care about the business side of things······ No, to be frank, there are many who are just ignorant. That’s why they sometimes suffer losses in contracts. But Shin is different. I felt it from the moment I first met her on the beach in Los Angeles. She’s definitely not ordinary.”

When the tequila shot came out, Julia licked the salt that came with it, then downed it, then bit into a lime to quench the hot flame that remained in her mouth. It was a classic tequila drinking method.

“I thought so too. And, dare I say, I think it was the right choice.”

“In the long run, that is. The new writer definitely has power. The power called ‘work’.”

Although media content was intangible, it was clearly an industry with enormous added value.

People have always wanted an entertaining story, and writers who can satisfy that thirst clearly have special powers.

But in the current industry, writers are not treated that well.

Julia thought there were two main reasons for this.

“I think it’s because writers aren’t used to dealing with people.”

“That’s right. Even if they have a separate job, there are many people who sign contracts with conditions that are too low because they don’t know the industry trends well.”

“I think there’s another reason for that. The excitement that comes from the proposal to show my work, or in other words, the imaginary world that I had enjoyed alone until recently, to other people. There are many people who decide to publish a book based on the emotional high of being able to do so rather than the money.”

“I’ve heard that even if you’ve shed some of the burden of being a rookie, unless your previous work was quite a hit, publishers often feel intimidated when they hear that you’ve suffered losses because of your work. Is that true?”

“That’s right. And in fact, it’s not easy for writers to know the exact details. After all, the publishing company pays all the production costs for making books, distributing them, and advertising them. Since ‘works’ are invisible, no matter how proud writers are of their works, they can’t help but lose in the world of capital.”

“But he wasn’t a new writer.”

“That’s why······. After my first work went well, I immediately negotiated with Remy Martin and got the amount of money I was sure I would get. It’s amazing. I can’t believe I kept doing business with ‘that’ Remy Martin. I feel once again that he’s an amazing person.”

Accomplishing something completely on one’s own.

In a capitalist world, the greatest power one can have as a non-capitalist.

In that way, the writer named Shin has come this far with only the power of imagination. And he will continue to prosper in the future.

Julia ordered another shot of tequila and smiled bitterly.

“I never managed to get over that wall, you know.”

Simon remains silent in front of him.

Could it be because I met Remy Martin, who I have a long-time feud with?

And maybe it’s because I realized he had changed.

Julia continued talking, still slightly drunk.

“It was the worst. When Torrance New Media came out. To be honest, I saw a gas station in front of me and I thought about buying a gallon of gas, burning the building, and running away.”

“You must have had a hard time back then.”

“That’s right. I’m glad you noticed, Simon.”

Julia lightly pinched Simon’s cheek.

Her lips, smiling, were as red as ever.

Heavy makeup. It was the ‘war makeup’ that Julia Chandler used to remind herself of how serious she was whenever rude people called her a ‘spinster’ in front of her or behind her back.

31 years old this year.

Considering the era of the 80s, marriage was a distant dream, and she herself was aware of this.

Although she had been offered several good positions over the years, Julia continued to turn them down and continued to work in the industry.

Because I couldn’t figure out what kind of life I would lead after leaving this industry.

It was a truly ambiguous reason, but that was the life I lived.

The average age for women to marry during this period was 23.

After getting married like that, I had to get pregnant and give birth soon after, and then I couldn’t dream of a working life like I do now. No matter how much women’s social advancement was active, it was almost impossible for a woman with a child to return to her life as a newspaper reporter.

‘No, it might not be completely impossible.’

Actually, I heard that a senior I know said that.

But the reason she couldn’t do that was actually ‘fear’.

This feeling of ambiguity made it impossible for Julia to make excuses. She had no responsibility for blaming society, and she did not have the courage to do so.

In the end, the biggest problem were the people who talked about spinsters without even knowing the situation, but Julia was the type of person who would rather examine herself than worry about them.

So sometimes, on drunken nights, stories like this would come up.

“That time.”

“Yes, Julia.”

“If I had done better back then, I wouldn’t have felt this shitty.”

“······.”

Simon patted Julia’s back lightly.

The fundamental reason for Julia’s resignation was Hugo Irving’s political activities.

And the deciding factor was provided by Remy Martin.

Julia was an ambitious person.

During her time at Torrance New Media, she actively thought about and suggested ways to make the newspaper better and write better articles in the culture section.

The problem was that it was too close to Hugo Irving’s eyes.

He blatantly isolated Julia. Julia wanted to make him lose his temper by showing proper results in his trickery, and she seemed to be slowly reaching that moment, but Remy Martin, who had heard of the conflict between the two, taunted Julia by suggesting that she quit her job and get married.

Discrimination that has taken root somewhere in our social perception, such as racism.

Then, finally, Julia couldn’t stand it anymore and decided to resign.

Simon, who had been watching the whole process from the side, thought that Julia had been treated unfairly, but at the time, he was a rookie and was afraid of everything, so he couldn’t bring himself to confront the injustice.

Memories of that time came back to me again at this moment, and I could taste the bitter taste of regret in the sweet drink I had taken a sip of without realizing it.

“Sorry. I think I spoke out of turn.”

Julia, who had been silent for a while, apologized with an embarrassed smile.

To Simon, who consoled her by saying that it was okay, there was something she couldn’t bring herself to tell him.

It was such an ugly feeling that even she felt ashamed just thinking about it.

Today, Julia Chandler felt ‘helpless’ over her work with Remy Martin.

In the meeting during the day, Remy Martin showed a positive attitude towards this matter to the point where it seemed like he had changed. He was not like his usual, easy-going, ‘I don’t know, I’ll check later, so you guys figure it out.’

And when she found out that the reason was that he had read the new writer’s novel and had become a fan, Julia couldn’t help but feel ‘helpless.’

Even when he was working at Torrance New Media, Remy Martin was proud of the fact that he didn’t read the newspaper, even though he was the president of the newspaper.

‘Yes, Remy Martin was that kind of person.’

And I know.

It’s not that my ability is lacking, but that the new writer is outstanding.

He was clearly a genius novelist, and he would go on to have a major impact on the industry as a whole, as he has done so far.

‘That’s actually happening.’

‘Country of Losers’ was like that outside of California, and ‘Universe of Losers’ will be like that after that.

Both works were sure to change the world, not just for Remy Martin, but for many others.

That was the ‘novelist’.

Julia loved her job helping others do what they couldn’t do.

But sometimes this thought crossed my mind.

‘As an editor, do you ultimately have limits?’

No matter how hard you try to pursue your ideals, if you are working under the logic of capital, are you just a dog for the company?

“Phuhu.”

Julia Chandler sighs in a miserable feeling that feels faint.

She has a complicated blood relationship with America’s most famous novelist, Raymond Chandler, and upon learning of the existence of another grandfather who had suffered a miserable later life, she entered this industry with one dream in mind.

[I want writers to be treated fairly and to be able to write happily.]

It was a truly tangled web of wind that had continued until now.

That is why I chose the path of an office worker called editor.

But, seeing the change in Remy Martin that occurred because of one work, I couldn’t help but think about how meaningful the work I had devoted my life to had been to myself.

Because she was an editor, not a writer.