Novelist Running Through Time - Chapter 64

TL: KSD

The Korean publishing industry is doomed.

It’s all because of Netflix.

– If we refine this statement to make it sound more sophisticated, it can be said that the old media has been driven out by the new media.

In an era where all kinds of stimulating visual content, including dramas and movies, are distributed through smartphones, it is indeed difficult for printed texts to survive.

However, interpreting the downfall of the Korean publishing industry, or rather the medium of ‘books’, solely from a financial perspective as “Publishing houses went bankrupt because of Netflix!” is a mistake.

After all…

Authors have always been poor!

It’s not like a poor person becomes ultra-poor by getting robbed. This is a truth that anyone who can do math would agree with!

Originally, authors were not respected because they earned a lot of money.

In other words, the decline of literature did not occur because it was robbed of money by thugs like movies, dramas, Netflix, and YouTube.

What the so-called ‘new media’ has stolen from literature is something far more important than money.

That is the ‘invisible’.

Some call it ‘image’,

Some call it ‘authority’,

And some call it ‘influence’.

But whatever the nature of ‘that thing’, it was the greatest asset of literature.

Now, literature can no longer be vaguely admired by those who are unaware of it, nor can its mere name excite the blood of the youth and lead the agenda of the next generation.

That role has now been taken over by idol groups that drive crowds in American stadiums wild, dance singers whose 7-second dance videos are imitated by the entire nation, and film directors who make the public cry out for joy whenever they sweep international film festivals.

The invisible power.

Soft power.

Or, in another term, soft authority.

Baekhak Entertainment, and by extension, Baekhak Media Group, was a conglomerate structured to create soft power, exchange it for capital, and then use that capital to generate even more soft power.

Naturally, Baekhak Group headquarters had analysts who closely monitored the trends of such soft power.

And they discovered a phenomenon that was swimming upstream against the strong current of the times.

Moon In.

The novelist, a representative of old media, had returned to the mainstream of the cultural industry.

Those who pride themselves on understanding the flow of modern culture were shocked by the meteoric rise of Moon In as a rising star.

It was as if time was flowing backward, with the old pushing out the new.

“This is no ordinary matter.”

A top-tier elite analyst who was born to a executive director of Baekhak Finance, completed all his education in the USA, crowned it with a Harvard MBA, and successfully entrenched himself in the corporate strategy department of a major Korean conglomerate through direct lineage and networking within Baekhak bloodlines, advised seriously and politely.

“Of course, it wasn’t through books that Author Moon first made a name for himself but through broadcasting and extrinsic issues. However, having been nominated for the Booker International Prize, it’s difficult to view him simply as a celebrity. Particularly noteworthy is that heavyweights like Gu Hak-jun, Park Chang-woon, and others are making efforts to integrate this young man into the mainstream literary world, which means that the Author Moon has already been recognized for his potential to increase the entire industry’s pie…”

“No, no.”

The deputy director of the strategic planning office interrupted.

“Put it in simple terms.”

“The value of Author Moon as a human resource has reached a level where it can be directly controlled by our company. Just considering the promotional effect that Baekhak Group has gained from a pure Booker International Prize nomination, we can’t afford to let him drift between Baekhak Publishing and Baekhak Entertainment due to internal competition.”

Subsequently, a plan was proposed to invest funds to rewrite history, claiming that Baekhak saved the tragic young man, and then to use advertising expenses to improve the group’s image.

At the same time, plans for lobbying to increase the chances of winning the Booker International Prize, plans to resolve the subtle conflicts between Baekhak Publishing and Baekhak Entertainment, and so on were proposed.

And all of them were rejected at the deputy director level.

They were deemed not important enough to be directly handled by the headquarters’ strategic planning office.

“Hey. Instead of rolling around a kid who writes well to make money, why don’t you look into the financial side of things? The scale is completely different. Do you have too much free time these days?”

“Still, from the perspective of soft power…”

“That’s just a bunch of has-been writers patting each other on the back and loafing around. Isn’t it too small? Even though we are fundamentally a media group, can’t you see it’s losing its flavor? The chairman also said to focus on finance. The Booker Prize, even that is actually just a local thing where the British talk among themselves-

Oh, what’s this? The translator is the honorary vice chairman’s granddaughter.”

Ironically, the reason why the headquarters paid attention to Moon In was not because of soft power but simply because of power.

EP 5-A Love Story

Ma Ki-hoon is attending a regular high school. Although his neighborhood is notorious, the school itself is not. It’s just average.

That means the administration is haphazard. The system is computerized, but ultimately, humans do the inputting.

Ma Ki-hoon, a skilled dictator ruling New Light Spring Orphanage for a long time, used his political acumen to melt his homeroom teacher.

Thanks to that, he was able to leave school early around the fourth period, take a bus to the neighborhood where Moon In-seop’s studio was, finish cleaning the studio, prepare a simple meal, go out to meet Moon In-seop coming back from school, feed the kid, and then leave for the gym around 6 PM before returning to the orphanage—a neat routine was established.

Lim Yang-wook, who acquired a human CCTV at a cheap price, was quite satisfied with Ma Ki-hoon, and Ma Ki-hoon was happy seeing his girlfriend’s college tuition piling up day by day.

Moreover, there were often luxuries that came with Moon In-seop being tossed around as a manager, which was one of the factors that increased Ma Ki-hoon’s job satisfaction.

But today, the luxury was too much.

Ma Ki-hoon learned that people could get stressed from suddenly receiving too good of a treatment.

First-class on a flight to the UK was a luxury too great for Ma Ki-hoon to enjoy.

“Is, is, is this okay…? Huh? In-seop, is it okay for me to be here too…?”

He shouldn’t have looked up how much a first-class ticket costs. It feels like all the blood is draining from his body.

However, Moon In-seop seemed to be a person who could calmly enjoy such treatment, as he didn’t respond much to Ma Ki-hoon’s question.

Ma Ki-hoon glanced at him with a slightly admiring look, wondering if he was taking a nap amidst all this.

But Moon In-seop’s eyes were open.

“In-seop…?”

His eyes were unfocused. He seemed slightly off.

“…”

Swish, swish. Ma Ki-hoon waved his hand in front of Moon In-seop’s face to check his consciousness.

No response. It seems he has fallen into a coma with his eyes open.

Baek Seol chuckled at the sight of the two boys (though Ma Ki-hoon didn’t really look like a boy) who were extremely nervous about their first time in first-class.

“Don’t be too nervous. We’re flying on the company’s dime. When else would you get to enjoy such luxury?”

“Deputy Head, maybe I should switch to economy even now?”

“Where do you think that’s possible! Our company isn’t some small shop. Moreover, the headquarters specifically booked this ticket to take good care of Author Moon, so there’s absolutely no need for you to feel burdened. Ma intern!”

Ma intern…!

Hearing this title for the first time, Ma Ki-hoon felt a thrill.

It wasn’t about betraying his girlfriend for a charming workplace supervisor, but escaping from being kicked out of the orphanage and worrying about what to eat and live on, and blending into society as an ‘intern’ brought him a wave of emotion.

As Ma Ki-hoon remained silent with complicated feelings and Moon In-seop stared blankly into space,

Baek Seol, with a peculiar smile, speculated why the headquarters suddenly sent support funds.

Baek Seol’s guess was half right.

Half of it was the intention to get a piece of the pie from Author Moon’s nomination for the Booker International Prize,

And the other half was a gesture of goodwill towards Baek Seol’s family, which had cooperated with the chairman’s coup and became part of the group’s leadership.

In either case, Baek Seol did not believe she contributed in the slightest.

Moon In’s achievement was not a victory of translation but a testament to Moon In’s talent, and during the bloody succession dispute within the group, Baek Seol did nothing. It was her grandfather and uncle who had blood on their hands…

Despite feeling uneasy, Baek Seol lay back in the first-class seat on the flight to London, feeling as though she was wearing an ill-fitting suit.

The same was true when they arrived at a famous hotel in London. The headquarters had arranged not only the flight tickets but also the hotel for Moon In and Baek Seol, who were heading to the Booker International Prize reading.

Fortunately, by this time, Moon In was a bit less intimidated than he was in first-class, thanks to the Baekhak Entertainment headquarters’ lobby having a hotel feel, which made it somewhat familiar.

[This way, please.]

[Thank you!]

[You’re welcome.]

Baek Seol, who had earned a degree in English literature from Oxford, spoke perfect British English.

Thanks to this, the group was able to enjoy their first day in London without any significant obstacles.

They checked into the hotel with the help of hoteliers who provided meticulously trained service,

Baek Seol, cheered up, ordered steak at the hotel restaurant with her corporate card, only to turn pale at the unexpectedly high price,

And Baek Seol, excited to be back in England after a long time, took Moon In and Ma Ki-hoon around London, introducing them to tourist attractions…

Then, the incident happened on the morning of the second day.

After breakfast, while admiring the splendid hotel lobby, Moon In’s group encountered a group of East Asians.

Westerners might think they all look the same, but Koreans can distinguish Japanese people by their appearance.

Similarly, Japanese people can recognize Koreans by their facial features (not because their ancestors enjoyed identifying Koreans, but due to a sense Asians generally possess).

In a hotel lobby in London, UK, Koreans and Japanese recognized each other’s presence and nationality, even from a distance.

Amid a strange atmosphere, both sides vaguely sensed who the others were.

Without anyone taking the lead, both groups slowly approached each other with business smiles fixed on their faces.

The Japanese were a group of about 12 businessmen, all neatly dressed in suits, creating a slight sense of pressure from their number.

On the other hand, only Baek Seol was dressed in a suit on this side, Ma Ki-hoon wore casual and active clothes, and Moon In, unfortunately, was wrapped in a character blanket featuring a yellow furry creature (which Gu Yu-na adores) rather than a respectable blanket, which felt slightly ridiculous.

Baek Seol felt like she was at a slight disadvantage from the first impression and was about to politely greet them.

Then, someone from the Japanese group greeted them first. Surprisingly, it was in Korean.

“Hello?”

Although slightly awkward, it was proficient Korean, enough to be understood without any issues.

Baek Seol was slightly startled and responded with a twitch of her shoulder.

“Ah, yes! Hello.”

For a moment, Baek Seol noticed the man who spoke on behalf of the Japanese group looking her up and down.

She felt a bit embarrassed. Her hair was disheveled, she wore glasses instead of lenses, and, to make matters worse, she was wearing sneakers instead of formal shoes because she had planned to tour London and had changed into more comfortable footwear.

After scanning Baek Seol, the Japanese man then scanned Ma Ki-hoon and Moon In-seop. He couldn’t hide his surprise when scanning Moon In-seop.

“Ah, by any chance, are you part of Author Moon’s group?”

“Ah, yes. And you are…?”

“Ha ha, yes. We are the entourage accompanying Author Eisaku Shidehara. There’s his personal secretary and people from the publishing side here as well.”

Although it was like meeting an enemy on a narrow bridge, there was no tense atmosphere. Rather, a cordial self-introduction followed.

Surprisingly, the man who spoke to Baek Seol was the translator who worked on Eisaku Shidehara’s Booker International Prize-nominated work.

And while exchanging business cards, Baek Seol recalled the dubious knowledge she had seen in the Netflix drama ‘Pachinko’.

It seemed that depending on how one handed over their business card, it could be interpreted as disrespecting the other party…?

The exchange of business cards continued in a confusing situation, and since Baek Seol wasn’t sure about the knowledge, she tried to ignore the unsettling feeling.

However, since the translator treated Baek Seol warmly, any negative feelings quickly dissipated.

“Ah… I’ve only seen Author Moon in photos, but seeing you in person, you really are kawaii.”

“Ka, kawaii…?”

“Oh, I’m sorry if that was rude. I heard that the word ‘kawaii’ is popular in Korea these days…”

“No, no, I know what it means. It means cute, right?”

“Yes, yes. If it were a private occasion, I would really like to ask for a photo, but it’s a pity I can’t show a poor figure in front of others. Ha ha.”

This time, Baek Seol asked,

“By any chance, where is Author Shidehara? Now that we’ve met, I think we should at least greet him…”

“Ah, Author Shidehara is taking a rest in his room, exhausted from his work.”

“Ah…”

“Hopefully, it won’t be difficult to greet him if the opportunity arises.”

The Japanese translator said, smiling warmly.

Baek Seol thought the interaction was surprisingly friendly for a business confrontation and continued the conversation for a while.

And both parties ended their conversation without losing courtesy and parted ways.

Baek Seol, who had been tense throughout the conversation, breathed a sigh of relief as the Japanese group left.

“Phew. They seem to be nicer than I thought.”

“…Ah, yes.”

Moon In-seop doesn’t know Japanese. However, he is well-versed in Japanese literature. In fact, being rigorously trained under Gu Hak-jun makes one well-versed in all national literatures.

And knowing the literature of a country means understanding its culture.

Thanks to that, Moon In-seop had a basic-level Japanese translator in his head.

“Hmm.”

‘I’ve only seen Author Moon in photos’

-> I haven’t read your books

‘You are kawaii’

-> You’re cute?

‘I would really like to ask for a photo, but I can’t show a poor figure in front of others’

-> You are our enemy, so associating with you in a public setting would be disgraceful, wouldn’t it?

Moon In-seop shared his interpretation from the basic Japanese translator with Baek Seol, but she was skeptical, though she tried to deny it.

“Aye, that’s going a bit too far…”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

“Everyone seems nicer than expected, maybe we can greet Author Shidehara if we meet again at the hotel? What do you think of Author Shidehara, Author Moon?”

“I generally have a positive view of anyone who writes well.”

Baek Seol believed that a business confrontation could be resolved through personal interaction and ended the day’s meeting on a positive note.

The next day, Baek Seol found out that the Japanese group had moved to another hotel.

Even the hotel where Baek Seol was staying was considered one tier lower than the hotel the Japanese group had moved to.

“……”

Crack.

A fissure formed in Baek Seol’s humanity.

Baek Seol is fundamentally a warm and affectionate person. However, that’s not because she’s naturally kind-hearted, but because she has seen too many negative examples throughout her life.

The most notable negative example would be the former chairman who tried to manipulate Baek Seol’s life, but the decisive reason Baek Seol vowed to become a ‘kind person’ was thanks to the experiences she had while studying abroad.

-Did you also pay to get into university?

-Really? But why didn’t you go to college in your country?

-Hmm. You wanted to study in the UK. That makes sense. But it doesn’t seem like the best season. How about taking a break? If you feel even a little guilty about your country being the start of COVID.

“Sigh……”

Graduating from a university in the UK as an Asian was no easy feat.

And Baek Seol’s diploma was proof that she had triumphed in numerous bloody battles.

‘That era’s’ Baek Seol was, even by her own admission, a formidable person.

However, after graduating and returning home to start working, she decided to shed her old personality and live kindly, erasing all traces of her past…

It seemed, however, that she might need to revive her old self for a moment.

Baek Seol quietly inhaled and exhaled.

“Ah…”

The air was nostalgic. The mix of smog and the fishy smell of the Thames was the air of London, blending perfectly.

Memories of dealing with unscrupulous racists by every means possible came flooding back.

Baek Seol closed her eyes for a moment.

And when Baek Seol opened her eyes again.

The usually slightly dopey, soft, and innocent look was gone.

A beast had awakened.

*****

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