Became an American Retro Novelist - Chapter 222



Only Noblemtl

222.

In the end, I ended up staying up all night.

“Hwaaam······.”

Alexa yawns deeply while sitting in the passenger seat of the car.

Karl Hobbs, who was driving, gave a quick warning.

“Alexa, wake up.”

“Oh, yes. I’m sorry.”

“Did you not sleep well last night?”

“Ah, that······.”

“That makes sense.”

At the moment when I was wondering what to say in excuse, Karl Hobbes nodded in understanding.

“Today’s meeting is the biggest event not only for you but also for our KH Agency. You couldn’t sleep because you were so nervous, right?”

“Ah, ah! Of course! I was so nervous that I couldn’t sleep······! Hahaha!”

Alexa smiles awkwardly.

As expected, she was not good at lying.

The palm trees stretching out on both sides of the road passed slowly.

After driving a short distance, Karl Hobbs’ car entered the underground parking lot of the building that housed the offices of California Pictures, a film and TV production company. Alexa felt her nerves start to grow and she came to her senses at the thought that work would soon begin.

The reason the two came to California Pictures today was to attend a production meeting for a film starring actress Alexa Flair.

As she got out of her smoothly parked car and followed behind Karl Hobbes, Alexa recalled the events of that day, which still left her dumbfounded when she thought about them.

It was such a sudden casting offer.

‘Why on earth?’

Alexa Flair was an actress who had become somewhat known through her work called ‘About T’, her magazine modeling work, and her past activities as a cheerleader.

But it was literally at the level of a face I had known, where I had seen it before.

To be honest, it was a situation where even I, who was like that, was suddenly given the ‘leading role’ and I couldn’t really accept it.

That’s California Pictures, which produced ‘About T’ and greatly increased its stock price.

‘It’s a burden.’

But that didn’t mean she could say, ‘Oh, I’m just going to turn it down because it’s nothing.’ Everyone else was congratulating her, and Karl Hobbs was also happy, saying it was the biggest deal for our agency, so Alexa was dragged in, saying, ‘Oh, oh?’

‘I asked God separately, thinking he might have hinted at something, but he said no.’

Why on earth is this?

Why would you want to make a movie starring Alexa Flair?

The two entered California Pictures without even fully understanding the reason.

An office with a huge plaque depicting palm trees and the Hollywood Hills. There was something about the magnificent interior that made anyone in that position nervous just by looking at it.

‘This won’t do.’

Alexa thought of something encouraging in her head.

And of course, I thought of ‘Kung-fury: Novel’, which I finished reading last night and fell asleep. To be exact, the story of ‘Sodapop’, a character that Alexa couldn’t help but get deeply immersed in.

Sodapop was portrayed as a materialistic person who only cared about money.

She avoided taking part in dangerous operations as much as possible, and made a name for herself by mainly working as a patrolman under the pretext of protecting the safety of citizens. She was a walking billboard and a product. However, Sodapop, who had suffered from poverty all her life, did not know what other life to choose.

But the more she did hero activities, the more she became overcome by a deep sense of futility.

Every time he saw the people he had saved being truly grateful, a painful feeling would stir inside him. He felt uncomfortable with the fact that he was receiving gratitude when he was just a superhero working for money under the cute name of ‘Sodapop’.

Alexa felt like that was her current self.

It was the same when I had a minor role in ‘About T’ or when I appeared as a model in a magazine.

In many situations, Alexa felt like she was being treated more than she deserved, just like Sodapop felt uncomfortable when she was appreciated for more than she deserved.

The more this happens, the more Sodapop tightly locks the door to his heart and tries to focus only on things that make more money.

However, as she watches Kung-Fury silently continue his superhero activities, her heart begins to waver little by little, and she eventually begins to think about what she truly wants.

Star Chaser, Sodapop, and Kung Fury.

All three of them grew in their own lives as shown in the work.

‘Just like I did.’

Alexa took courage.

I decided to accept this burdensome situation rather than avoid it.

So she met with the people from California Pictures, and she felt a little bit relieved that she had a familiar face.

It was none other than Jeremy Thompson, the executive producer of ‘About T: TV series’.

First, there was an exchange of greetings between the adults.

“This is Karl Hobbes from KH Agency.”

“This is Glen Jayce of California Pictures.”

“I’m Jeremy Thompson. We’re old friends, right?”

“Haha, yeah. How have you been?”

“Thanks to actress Alexa, ‘About T: TV series’ is a hit and I’m doing well these days.”

“I would be honored if our agency’s actors were of any help, even if only in a small way.”

“Hehe, seriously. I just came here because I thought it might be helpful to introduce you two briefly. Mr. Glen Jayce here is the film producer for this movie, and after seeing Alexa’s mask, he said he really wanted to cast her as the lead role.”

“I see. This friend here is Alexa Flair.”

That was the timing.

“Oh, hello!”

“Oh my~ Our actress. She’s even more beautiful in person!”

Glen Jayce was a film producer at California Pictures with a shabby appearance.

Although he doesn’t have any huge hits, he mainly plans family films that are not divisive, so he has been a producer who has consistently worked with California Pictures.

He approached Alexa and began to closely examine the ‘goods’ in front of him.

In front of him, Alexa tried to stand as straight as possible.

He did not avoid the tests given to him, but tried to overcome them.

And after a while, a question came in.

“How tall is the actor?”

“It’s 160 centimeters.”

“Oh, it’s a lot smaller than I thought.”

“······.”

“Well, it would be okay if you wore heels. Your face is small and your visuals are perfect for our movie.”

“Glen. First, tell me what the movie is.”

“Oh, my, I should do that. I’m sorry. I’m not in my right mind right now. Let’s just sit down.”

Glenn chuckled at Jeremy Thompson’s comment, then sat down and showed us his prepared plan.

Before hearing the explanation, my eyes naturally went to the title written in large letters.

And Alexa’s eyes widened as she read that.

‘School Nanny’.

I already felt dizzy.

***

Since the release of ‘Kung-fury: novel’, ‘Kung-fury: comics’ has been consistently releasing issues every Wednesday.

The story, which seems similar but develops into different content, was worth reading even for readers who had already read the novel, and in some ways, it even made it more interesting to read.

In writing this novel, Shin tried to depict the racial discrimination experienced by Asians in the most humorous way possible.

As he lived another life, he came to realize that he was not the only complete victim, that we all have pain and suffering in our own lives, and that he could also be a perpetrator to someone.

In reality, this happens quite often.

There were even cheap kung fu gyms that were popular because they were named after Bruce Lee, who could be seen as an icon for Asians in America.

As has happened in the United States, where immigrants of all kinds have gathered, even Asians have formed towns by grouping together and ostracizing other races.

Although they are considered a minority and weak because of their small numbers, there is evil within Asians as well.

God thought racism was a form of othering. That’s why the Asians depicted in ‘Kung-fury’ were portrayed as extremely ordinary, evil-looking people.

And that felt incredibly fresh in this day and age.

No matter how much time has passed, there was a time when it was natural for an ‘Oriental villain’ to show off martial arts skills that were close to being artistic without a single proper line of dialogue, like ‘Odd Job’ in the 007 series.

‘Kung Fury’ proudly displayed that look while also using it in a thoroughly ‘American’ way.

And the ‘coolness’ that such a character can have garnered an incredible response from unexpected classes.

One day in August, when the novel was published and the manga was released up to issue #9.

While organizing short story manuscripts for various magazines at home at Simon’s request, Shin happened to hear a story about ‘Kung-fury’ on a local radio station that he had turned on as white noise.

And that broadcast had a completely unexpected reaction.

[It is said that Vermouth Middle School has adopted ‘Kung-fury: novel’ as a reading assignment.]

[Really? When you say ‘Kung-fury’, isn’t that a recently published genre novel by a new writer? It’s pulp fiction.]

[That’s right. But this seems to be getting a much hotter response from a certain class than you might think. Kung fu schools in Los Angeles are overflowing with kids who want to learn martial arts, and it’s even been adopted as a book to use in reading comprehension classes at some public schools.]

[Oh, I honestly think it’s ridiculous. Of course, the new author has written good novels like the ‘Losers’ series, and I’ve read ‘Kung-Fury’, and it’s somewhat impressive, but isn’t it basically a superhero novel that’s released along with comics? What can children learn from reading such novels?]

[Haha, I’m going to get a lot of criticism from the new writer’s fans.]

[What can they say? They are supposed to be reading superhero novels in the field where children are supposed to be educated! I wonder if that is the right thing to do!]

‘What kind of show is this?’

Shin, who was slightly concerned about the tone of criticism, flipped through the newspaper next to him and checked the program schedule.

‘Afternoon Bullshit: Jay and Jimmy’. It was a B-movie-oriented radio show dealing with gossip.

They argued that while ‘Kung-fury’ was indeed a good novel, it was not good enough to be used in school book reports.

God thought that it was a completely possible reaction. Even the author himself wanted to say, ‘Huh? Why did you see that at school?’

‘What on earth is going on?’

Feeling embarrassed by the sudden information, Shin immediately went down to the first floor and called Hardboiled Publishers as soon as the radio broadcast changed its topic.

The ringing stopped for a moment, and the person answering the phone was, of course, Miss Brown.

[Yes, we are a hardboiled publisher.]

“Hello. I’m a newbie.”

[Oh, God. I’ll connect you right away.]

The switchboard tone rang, replaced by Simon’s voice.

[Oh, author, why are you calling?]

“Did you just listen to the radio?”

[What radio is it?]

“······Afternoon nonsense.”

[Do you hear that?]

“I didn’t really mean to hear it. I just happened to turn on the radio and heard it talking about ‘Kung-fury.’”

[Did the praise continue?]

“No. Rather, I was criticized.”

[······Huh? That’s strange. That can’t be.]

For some reason, Simon’s face, tilting his head as if to say that it obviously couldn’t be, seemed to come to mind clearly.

God felt a little different, but similar, and explained the situation in detail.

A middle school used ‘Kung-fury: novel’ in a school book report class.

Simon was momentarily dumbfounded when he heard what God had to say, but then he burst into laughter and answered like this.

“Hey, no way!”

Today, too, it’s a quiet day in the office of a hard-boiled publisher.

As the scent of Miss Brown’s Marlboro cigarettes wafted in the air, I thought it was just too absurd.

Simon thought ‘Kung-fury’ was a really good piece of writing, but using it as a book report assignment at ‘School’ was a completely different matter.

“Is that a private school?”

[Wouldn’t it have been more chaotic if it had been a private school? The parents’ protests would have been no joke.]

“······That’s right. This is true. I’ll check to see if it’s true.”

[I have a favor to ask.]

Even God seemed unable to believe what was happening.

But, it was actually happening.

The popularity of the ‘Kung-fury’ series among ‘black’ middle school students in the United States was truly enormous.

It was a time when black people were showing considerable interest in ‘kung fu’, influenced by ‘blaxploitation films’, a subgenre of ‘exploitation films’ that were filled with violence and sex and only sought to stimulate people.

In such a situation, the existence of characters like ‘Star Chaser’, who represented their pain, gradually became famous, and black middle school students who normally would not read novels ‘like that’, no matter what, started reading the book. It was precisely because of this influence that it was selected as a reading assignment at Vermouth Middle School.

Likewise, the novel ‘Kung-fury: novel’, which has already become easily available nationwide through DC Comics distribution, has created an unusual trend.

Hampden Middle School, located in Hampden, Connecticut, almost exactly the opposite side of Los Angeles.

The friends who usually played basketball in the classroom were completely absorbed in a small novel today, as if they were wondering what was going on. The boy who saw them tilted his head and approached them and asked.

“Hey, what are you looking at so intently?”

“······Uh, uh. You’re here?”

“What are you looking at? Did Mr. Dylan tell you to do it?”

“No, no. Go and take care of business······.”

Did the sun rise in the west?

The boy raised one eyebrow and quickly snatched the book his friend was reading and checked the title.

“Hey! Give it back!”

‘Kung-fury : novel’.

He saw a man wearing a kung fu suit and a mask destroying his enemies with his fists and asked with a smirk:

“Do you think these kids are playing some kind of prank?”

“Give it back to me, Dwayne!”

“It looks fun.”

Dwayne Johnson, a boy twice as big as his friends, looked at the book cover with interest.