Novelist Running Through Time - Chapter 211



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The Novelist Who Leapt Through Time Episode 211

I don’t know which stocks will rise or fall, but I know literature-related news by heart.

I didn’t memorize it in advance in preparation for time travel, it’s just because that’s my life itself.

Ahn Joo-hee was like that too.

Her life also had a glimpse of my own turbulent yet short youth.

EP 13 – Cheonbun Comics

“Would you like to have a drink?”

“what?”

It was around the time when I had somewhat adapted to college life that Joohee Ahn came to see me.

If I say adaptation here, it means adapting to the dullness of college students who didn’t make any progress in ‘Elele Inseop has no love.’

At that time, I had been given a date to leave the orphanage and was lamenting about my uncertain future. Then, I was picked up by Professor Hakjun Koo and entered the literary world for the first time.

For example, ‘Hello, world!’

But the outside world I first encountered was less remarkable than I thought.

The people were generally dull, the literary world was already in decline, and the beauty I was looking for was not there.

And while the joy of being recognized by Koo Hak-jun was short-lived, people always criticized my writing, saying it was riddled with paranoia.

So, while I felt victimized by those people, I continued to worry about whether I was really suffering from paranoia.

After all, Gu Yuna was winning all kinds of literary awards at the time and was making a fuss at the award ceremony, so I was both mentally and physically busy.

At the same time, the two villains Gu Yu-bin and Min Chae-won started harassing the child, so it could be said that the level of difficulty was too much for a weak newcomer to society to face.

But all the hardships eventually become memories.

Looking back now, it was a fun and exciting time when I came out of the well of orphanage and school and experienced the world of literature for the first time.

Of course, back then, it was just a hectic day when I was running only looking ahead.

Ahn Joo-hee suddenly intervened in such a restless daily life.

“Let’s have a drink.”

“uh… ”

“no?”

As usual, I was studying, writing, eating, writing, taking classes, writing, dating, writing, being hungry, writing, and working part-time at the library when Ahn Joo-hee came to visit.

Drink alcohol.

My brain was paralyzed.

In fact, anyone would do that if they met an unexpected person again in an unexpected situation.

For me, Ahn Joo-hee was like that.

I never thought we’d meet again.

There was no friendship.

Usually, no matter how bad the relationship between people was when they were students, when they meet after graduation, they tend to harbor some feelings of hatred.

However, no matter how well I treated Ahn Joo-hee, it was difficult to see her as my ‘friend’.

That’s right, because the only conversation I had with Ahn Joo-hee was harsh gossip.

Moon Inseop? Is he in first place again?

I can’t admit it!

It’s a shame that there wasn’t even a notice… !

How can you feel friendly with a girl who angrily pointed at you and asked why you were first place every time you met at a literary award or a hundred days?

Rather, I even felt a slightly twisted sense of superiority towards Ahn Joo-hee, who always criticized me for not being a graduate of an arts high school.

Now, take a look.

I, who was not a graduate of an arts high school but an orphanage, was recognized for my writing by Professor Hakjun Koo and became his student. Where are you and what are you doing, Joohee Ahn?

Sometimes, whenever Ahn Joo-hee’s vicious tone and face came to mind, I would feel a dark pleasure in asking such questions.

However, such questions did not come up in front of Ahn Joo-hee when we met in person.

“ah… … ”

Of all the people I know, Ahn Joo-hee was the person who looked the most like a ‘rich girl.’

Of course, the really rich girl was always by my side, but Gu Yuna was a bit of a Gu Yuna…

In that sense, Ahn Joo-hee always wore a pretty art school uniform, her cell phone was always the latest iPhone model, and, except for her slightly wild eyes, she was always neat and tidy.

Home, clothes, money, school, parents, care…

The reason why I felt particularly uneasy about An Joo-hee was probably because I knew that Ahn Joo-hee was the person who had everything that I did not have.

However, when we met again, Ahn Joo-hee was nowhere to be seen.

Tangled hair, broken cell phone screen, tattered clothes, dark circles and depression on the face,

And, on the wrist… Even dirty scars.

“why?”

Now, the question ‘Where are you and what are you doing?’ never occurred to me.

What comes to mind instead is…

Where on earth and what did you do?

* * *

“I worked for a short time for a writer I know.”

Unable to overcome my curiosity, I had a drink with Ahn Joo-hee.

She took off the cap of the soju bottle, smoking a cigarette all too familiarly.

Ahn Joo-hee, who became drunk even before the snacks were served, vomited out her story like everyone who is drunk with sadness does.

Before Ahn Joo-hee even graduated from high school, she started working as an assistant writer for a drama writer.

This was thanks to a combination of his history of being noticed as a genius since his student days and his introduction through his parents’ personal connections.

Ahn Joo-hee, who was a promising literary figure, quickly rose to prominence and even succeeded in writing the youngest pilot short drama at a broadcasting station.

He even had his name listed in the newspaper.

And her success ended there.

It was not a complicated tragedy.

Envy, jealousy, bullying.

In the end, Ahn Joo-hee went through a messy fight involving a messy expose and sexual harassment, and was kicked out of the studio with all her ideas stolen.

It was at this point that she came to me.

If I had been a little more mature, I would have been able to understand who people who are pushed to the edge usually turn to, and why I was so anxious that Ahn Joo-hee couldn’t bully me every time she ran into me during my school days.

But at that time, I just thought that if Ahn Joo-hee was having such a hard time, she would come looking for people she wasn’t even close with.

That alone was embarrassing, but I was shocked to hear this.

“If time permits, would you like to have another drink at my house?”

However, it wasn’t to the point where I didn’t know what this meant.

I knew there was a goalkeeper, but I turned my back on the striker who wanted to kick the ball at least once.

“Sorry, I don’t have time.”

“ah.”

I didn’t even make obvious excuses as to why I didn’t have time. It was a pretty rude answer.

However, to me at the time, Ahn Joo-hee was a somewhat slutty woman who offered drinks to men she had never met, so I did not feel much remorse even though she spoke mercilessly.

“I see… ”

“… … ”

“Yeah, I understand, I’m sorry… ”

When I saw An Joo-hee lowering her head, I paid for the drinks and left.

But now, looking back, I feel a little sad about how Ahn Joo-hee must have felt.

At the bottom of my messy, twisted life, I was kicked out and treated like a crazy person, even by my first love from my school days, who I had abandoned everything and everything to find.

What on earth was I thinking, lying face down on the grease-slicked metal table of the bar?

I will never know the answer.

That’s how Ahn Joo-hee left my life.

However, he did not retreat from the path of literature.

I had forgotten Ahn Joo-hee from my memory, but she came before my eyes again.

“virus”

A 14-episode Netflix drama set against the backdrop of a large-scale pandemic.

Literature students’ unique delicate aesthetic sense, modern and smooth storytelling, and a somewhat Korean sense of familiar mulberry and sinpa, and the dark and squishy shadows of modern society disguised as a virus response…

Ahn Joo-hee came to me again with the name engraved on the credits of that drama.

Even after losing everything and falling into the abyss, he started over from the bottom of the theater industry, succeeded in making a comeback as a monodrama writer, and eventually achieved global success by winning investment from an overseas OTT service company.

Is it really pain that trains artists?

The drama that Ahn Joo-hee put her all into was very entertaining.

In the end, although he left the literary world, he ended up becoming a writer who achieved the greatest commercial success of our generation.

Of course, commercial success and artistic success are two different things. I still think Gu Yu-na is a much better artist than Ahn Joo-hee.

However, when life fell into the abyss of hardship, Ahn Joo-hee rose up on her own and achieved success again…

It still leaves a deep impression in my memory.

I believe in Ahn Joo-hee’s very talent.

“So, honestly… I don’t think he was a drug shock boss from episode 1… ”

“Juhee, what do you mean by that?”

I saw An Joo-hee, who, even when she was scared, steadfastly expressed her convictions in front of Gu Yu-na and Im Song-i.

That’s what I thought.

* * *

Songi Lim is a writer specializing in suspense thrillers.

And in Korea, suspense thriller is another term for mystery/crime drama.

Therefore, it is inevitable that Lim Song-i’s writing style is also close to that of detectives and criminals.

When she remade the novel ‘Guitar’, right from the start she thought, ‘Should I add drugs?’ and poured drugs into the script, which means that there was room for some extenuating circumstances.

However, after listening to the story of a female student named Ahn Joo-hee, I couldn’t help but feel distraught.

“Why drugs?”

“hmm?”

“Why on earth does the character Ha Do-kyung have three, three, sex… !”

‘Sex’ is a word that is too embarrassing for a high school girl to say.

It’s strange that Gu Yuna mumbles so casually.

Of course, among the writers, Gu Yu-na, and Lim Song-i, there was no one who could sympathize with Ahn Joo-hee’s emotions.

“Why don’t you just say it.”

“Are you crazy?!”

“I’m writing.”

“Ah, anyway! The character Ha Do-kyung is, uh… “I don’t know why people use drugs during relationships.”

Lim Song-i still did not understand Ahn Joo-hee’s problem.

“Umm… ”

This is an inevitable limitation of a veteran drama writer.

This is because if you spend a long time in the drama world, a few ‘formulas’ become established.

Daldongne is a romantic space, and reunions should be held at a pork cutlet restaurant.

A cup is not a drinking utensil, but a watering can, and kimchi is not food, but a beating knife is a weapon.

Of course, the couple must divorce, and the female protagonist’s illness is indefinite.

This doesn’t need explanation; it’s like a mathematical formula.

The beauty of the drama is completed in this mathematical worldview.

Therefore, ‘chaebols’ naturally have to do ‘drugs’.

Chaebol = drugs.

Isn’t that obvious ‘common sense’?

Therefore, when Ahn Joo-hee brought up the next argument, Lim Song-i felt the shock of the mathematical worldview surrounding her being shattered.

“Why the chaebol character… Are you doing drugs?”

“… … !!!”

“Isn’t ‘Ha Do-kyung’ a well-intentioned villain? Why on earth does such a character turn to drugs that destroy himself? ”

Lim Song-i sighed like a flat-earther who first learned that the Earth is round.

“okay… ! that’s right! Is it really necessary for a chaebol villain to use drugs? ?”

Joohee Ahn went one step further.

“It’s true that I’m tired of drug-dealing conglomerate villains, but… You can just dismiss it as a cliche and move on. However, I think it is an attribute that is a bit at odds with the character ‘Ha Do-kyung’, who calls himself a perfectionist. Maybe it’s because he can’t overcome the stress that comes from his perfectionistic compulsion to protect himself, and sometimes shows an impulsive side by taking drugs… ?”

“Yeah, that’s it… That’s okay… ”

Lim Song-i had not yet recovered from the shock of learning that the Earth was not flat.

An Joo-hee, who gained confidence from Lim Song-i’s approval, gained a little more courage.

“And drugs… I’m talking about the character ‘Kim Chae-yeon’ who loses her life through sexual intercourse. If you spend too much on the character starting from episode 1, public opinion may be slightly critical, so why not slightly increase the proportion… ?”

“In what way?”

“I love the villain Ha Do-kyung so much… I allow my body to do drugs every time… It’s a bit like Lana Del Rey’s girl crush… A bit of an old-fashioned image of a woman?”

In Im Song-i’s head, another formula broke down: .

Looking at Lim Song-i, who had a slightly dazed expression, Ahn Joo-hee added.

“that… ! So, even if something goes wrong with Kim Chae-yeon later, wouldn’t Ha Do-kyung be able to show moments of regret, devastation, and obsession?”

“ah… … !!!”

“Because bad men who reform late have always been in demand… !”

Ahn Joo-hee continued her argument in great excitement, not even noticing that the topic of her conversation was entering a slightly more detailed area than the words she was embarrassed to say earlier.

Every time Ahn Joo-hee expressed her dark desires, Lim Song-i kept nodding her head in admiration for the creativity of ‘kids these days.’

“stop.”

It was Gu Yuna who cut off the increasingly lewd conversation.

Gu Yu-na showed off the power of the head of the disciplinary committee and chased away the demon of obscenity that resided in the sacred script.

“It is right to kill Kim Chae-yeon. Even for the sake of plot brevity.”

As Gu Yuna spoke clearly, An Joo-hee, whose opinion was ignored, did not remain still.

Ahn Joo-hee threw away the ‘-yo’ font that she used to show off in front of writer Lim Song-i and showed her anger at Gu Yu-na.

“What? Don’t you know the truth that the more love lines there are in a drama, the better?”

“Excessive coupling hurts the progress of the story. Was Kim Chae-yeon the lead role? Or is she a supporting character who has a relationship with the main character? It’s just a one-time scapegoat that makes the main villain stand out. “If you give weight to those extras, the story will unfold in a third place, and that’s not ideal storytelling.”

“under! “It’s the 3rd zone and I’m nabal. Can you put up with a regretful, obsessed chaebol man?”

“I don’t feel like an attractive character.”

Ahn Joo-hee scoffed.

“Ah, yes. “What does a guy like you who sells old classics from hundreds of years ago know about the latest genre?”

The pride of 21st century fanfiction master Gu Yuna also did not remain still.

“… “I should know better than you, right?”

Like a dragon and a tiger colliding, Gu Yuna and An Joo-hee collided head-on.

Im Song-i, an ugly adult, stood by and did not stop the fight in order to get an idea, and the writer, an even uglier adult, smiled happily at the success of the plan, as he had brought Ahn Joo-hee in to start a fight in the first place.

“hey! “Regret-ridden, obsessed chaebol man, are you really going to give up?”

“If you give extras too much backstory, they will lose attention from the mainstream.”

“Hey, why are you using English? Are you showing off that you can buy a good house? “Is it because your dad is Gu Hak-jun?”

“It won an award in the US.”

“Profit… ! Hugo Award, that one? They said it was a piece of shit and a scandal broke out? “I knew it would happen.”

“I didn’t write it to win a prize, so it doesn’t matter.”

“therefore! Whether it’s an award or something, don’t you have to pick the viewer ratings first! When it comes to couplings, more is more! I don’t know?”

“You said to break away from cliches, but now you’re saying that you have to follow cliches to protect viewership ratings.”

“What… !”

“okay. In the end, for kids like you, breaking away from clichés is nothing more than an empty strong-will that they push to make it look good for a while. They say they have no interest in the consistency of the story. “In the end, it’s cheap storytelling with provocative themes and MSG sprinkles.”

“Are you stupid? Isn’t MSG bad? Do you really not care about the public’s reaction? Who leads the drama with whom? “You can use this on the Internet and in real life with your friends – this is how you enjoy it!”

“I have no intention of flattering my readers.”

“Wow, this guy is really funny. I fucking love flattery! To put it bluntly, in today’s world, does it make sense to send a female character into a drug addiction from the first episode of a drama? No, even if it makes sense, do you think viewers will sit still after seeing that? “Then you shouldn’t use it!”

“What’s wrong with placing people in the right places?”

“therefore! “I’m not saying you should think about the feelings of the viewer!”

“You can’t write a good story if you think about all those things.”

Gu Yuna glanced at the writer.

And Ahn Joo-hee glanced at Im Song-i.

Just as the argument was momentarily lulling, the writer glanced at Im Song-i and passed the judge’s baton.

“hmm… ”

Then Im Song-i thought for a moment and then…

“Of course, we have to keep the viewership ratings, right?”

Ahn Joo-hee’s hand was raised.

* * *

If we remove the trivial personal attacks, the debate between Gu Yuna and Ahn Joo-hee was close to an exemplary debate between authorism and commercialism.

And just like the fact that auteurism and commercialism are not polar opposite concepts, but one of many perspectives from which to look at a story.

The relationship between Gu Yuna and An Joo-hee also became like that.

In the end, neither of them were high school students with universal sensibilities.

Although they fought and argued so much, it was ultimately a kind of proof that both of them could be so serious about literature.

Therefore, it can be summarized that Gu Yuna and An Juhee have more similarities than differences.

They both seemed to have realized that fact deep down, as they ate the numerous delicacies that Im Song-i had ordered from a steak restaurant, bickered for a while, and ended up sitting next to each other and talking nonsense.

“Hey, Gu Yuna, have you seen ‘E-Eol’?”

“what is that.”

“Don’t you know ‘E-E-OL’? You must watch this. Or later together… ”

The writer, looking at the two children who were ‘crashing’ and making a fuss, smiled happily and stood up for a moment.

The second house, which was neither Lim Songi’s house nor her studio, had a veranda.

Looking at the veranda, which was quite large and could even be called a ‘terrace’, the writer had a brief idea of ​​Im Song-i’s wealth.

However, when I remembered that Lim Song-i was unable to enter the home where her family was or the studio where the assistant artists were, and ended up living in her second home, I erased the slight feeling of envy.

In the end, I felt that Lim Song-i, too, was just a writer who couldn’t escape the pain of creation and was thrown around here and there.

So there is no need to be upset about the difference in treatment between novelists and drama writers.

Because in the end, everyone was walking the same path.

“ah… ”

The writer, casually draped on the veranda, was embarrassed to discover that he had no cigarettes in his pocket.

And then he remembered that he was a teenager, not in his 20s, and laughed at himself, wondering if he still couldn’t get used to this body.

Since I couldn’t smoke, my mind focused on better stimulation than cigarettes.

It was a world unfolding before my eyes.

It was already evening, and the sky was coloring the clouds with a scarlet sunset.

The small town on the outskirts of Seoul, where Lim Song-i’s second home is located, boasted a quiet scenery.

Despite the enormous housing prices, trees lined up between buildings that were not densely packed.

A dark part of the writer’s heart that could never be erased since he was born poor rejected and hated the wealth oozing out of such scenes…

If you put aside that darkness and focus on what is in front of you, you can witness art that is more beautiful than anything else.

Yes. The world is beautiful in itself.

The sunset colors the clouds, the wind tickles the trees, the angular buildings cast shadows, the smell of moist wood lingers at the tip of your nose, and countless colors that cannot be expressed in words such as scarlet, navy blue, blue green, light brown, etc. Decorate the world.

What color are the clouds between scarlet at sunset and ultramarine blue at night?

What is the shape of a tree that sways in the wind and turns tens of thousands of times per second?

And what is in the smiles of that family leisurely strolling through this beautiful world?

This kind of beauty can be enjoyed equally by those born rich and those born poor, and it can also be enjoyed equally by children with and without parents.

So the writer loved this kind of beauty.

However, the beauty cannot be expressed in a single line even when it is right in front of your eyes.

So the question comes back to the beginning: What is beauty?

Even after running backwards in time, the writer still could not find the correct answer.

Therefore, when you turn back and leave the scenery behind,

The writer was able to understand the feelings of writer Lim Song-i, who was looking at him with embarrassment.

“Thank you.”

“… … “What part are you talking about?”

“The fact that you didn’t say a bad word to the screenwriter who ruined your novel, and the fact that you came and introduced me to good friends, everything.”

Drama writer Im Song-i sat on a chair on the veranda with a sad smile.

It seemed like he wanted to talk, so the writer sat on the other side.

Lim Song-i sighed and asked in a voice that seemed to have put down something.

“Did you ever feel a little ugly?”

“In what part?”

“Well, that’s right. A veteran writer called the children and asked them one by one… ”

Lim Song-i brought up a story that she could not tell in front of her family and assistant writers.

“But it can’t be helped. Now I don’t even know if my writing is interesting… ”

“… … ”

“I have no choice but to hang on like this.”

Im Song-i looked up at the sky where the sunset and night were fighting, with a relieved expression typical of someone who had revealed a secret.

“Ah, I wonder if I should just retire. I feel like I’ve run out of talent… ”

“… … ”

“I think I would have cooked a lot by this age… ”

“… … ”

“Now that I’ve earned what I deserve, I wonder if it would be useless to just wash my hands… ”

“… … ”

“Even though those thoughts come to mind dozens of times a day, I can’t give up. “This is what I did.”

For the first time, the writer agreed with Im Song-i’s words.

“Yes.”

“haha.”

Im Song-i found it funny to hear such words from a child wearing a school uniform, but for some reason, she couldn’t dismiss the writer’s words as childish nonsense.

The writer seemed to sincerely sympathize with Lim Song-i’s words.

That was why Lim Song continued the story.

“So what should I do? “Even if it looks ugly, you have to struggle.”

“… … ”

“What should I do if I gather kids younger than me and take a peek at their talents and try to use them somehow…?” ”

“… … ”

“Obviously, I was a princess when I was young, but now I feel like I’ve become a devilish old woman who preys on children… … ”

Munin said nothing as he watched Lim Songi reminisce about the past decades.

Because I was in the same position.

I still can’t find the answer to what beauty is, so I live as a parasite by spying on other people’s talents.

The act of Lim Song-i asking Gu Yu-na and An Ju-hee for advice and the writer’s act of gathering Im Song-i, Gu Yu-na, and An Ju-hee in one place are essentially the same.

It is a cowardly act to spy on another artist’s talent.

A petty foul that only desperate artists with depleted creativity and dry hearts would make.

But beauty is something worth pursuing, even to that extent.

I can’t stop doing this at all.

“But what can I do?”

The writer, who had been choosing his words for a while, answered Lim Song-i.

“We have to keep going.”

“… … ”

There was no continuation of the conversation between the two writers.

Even when the sun had set, a dark night covered the sky, a cold wind blew, and the scenery had its own beauty, they sat still.

Then both of them stood up,

“Okay, we should keep going.”

Once you hold the pen, you will eventually be unable to let go of it.

So, the two cowards went into the house again to take a peek at the young people’s talents.