Novelist Running Through Time
Chapter 40

The Baekhak Arts Middle School’s club presentation is not an event just for students.

Parents and acquaintances can visit the school to watch the performances prepared by the students, and some performances are streamed on YouTube and made available to the public.

Naturally, the departments of dance and music, where ‘performances’ are possible, are the most lively. Even the art department, where ‘exhibitions’ are possible, is relatively bustling.

However, the festival for the creative writing department always had the atmosphere of a funeral home.

Logically, if students in the next class are breakdancing, and here they’re reciting poetry, which place do you think people will visit?

But this year was different.

Celebrity novelist Gu Hak-jun appeared at the Baekhak Arts Middle School’s creative writing department booth.

Parents from other departments sneaked in to take pictures, and although they just snapped photos and then turned their backs on the creative writing department booth, the mere presence of people bustling about was festival enough for the creative writing department.

However, neither the students nor the teachers had time to enjoy the rare success.

Gu Hak-jun wasn’t there to enjoy the festival atmosphere either.

“What in the world is going on here. Kids.”

The angel-like university professor Gu Hak-jun was no more. Only the godfather of pure literature, Gu Hak-jun, with his dead fish-like eyes, was there, looking at the children.

Gu Yu-na, Kim Byul, and Min Hyo-chan sweated as they avoided Gu Hak-jun’s gaze. Moon In-seop had already fled. A mental age of 23 really is different in some way.

Upon hearing that Gu Hak-jun had arrived, Kim Byul, a 16-year-old middle school girl, ended up representing and explaining because Moon In-seop, with a mental age of 23, had skipped school and run away.

“Well… actually…”

EP 3-Magic Sword~nim, please control me!

Initially, it was all in jest.

“How about we upload this to the internet?”

“Weren’t we supposed to reveal it during the club presentation?”

“We were, but then we got curious about how others would react.”

“Let’s do it, it’s not like we’re making money off this.”

They half-jokingly decided on a pen name.

“What should we use for our pen name, guys?”

“Just write down our names?”

“The pen name needs to attract attention, so Moon In-seop’s name should come first.”

“Right. The rest of us can decide by rock-paper-scissors.”

“Rock, paper, scissors!”

In the end, they uploaded the story under the pen name “Moon In-seop Kim Byul Gu Yu-na Min Hyo-chan.”

Due to an 8-character limit for the pen name, it ended up as “MoonInseopKimByulGuYunaMin,” missing Hyo-chan, which was a minor mistake. (TL Note: 8 Korean character limit )

Min Hyo-chan was frothing at the mouth, but soon a more significant issue arose.

“Why are we ranked first?”

“It means we wrote it well-”

Being ranked first wasn’t the issue. It wasn’t even a perfect first place since the ranking fluctuated between first and fourth depending on the upload time.

Still, success was celebrated with cheers (non-alcoholic, bought from the canteen) as a success.

“Looks like we did write it well.”

“Yay!”

The problem started from here.

Monetizing web novels is done through ‘management’ companies.

It’s difficult for authors to contract directly with platforms.

Between authors and platforms, there’s management.

Therefore, management companies want to sign as many authors as possible to maximize revenue.

And their method of finding authors is through the site’s ‘best ranking’. They send contract proposals to novels that make it into the rankings.

Without needing to explain, you can imagine how many contract offers a ‘non-affiliated’ novel that ranked first received.

-Hello, this is Yang Chan-young PD from KB Management…

-This is SHEH. Not to bother you, but regarding your work…

-Hello, this is Jang Woo-hyung PD from JoEunGeul Management. I really enjoyed “Demonic Sword”…

-Hello, this is Yang Chan-young from KB Management again. I know it’s rude, but since there was no reply, I’m contacting you again…

Dozens of companies sent emails.

Each one was a burdensome praise and earnest proposal.

Only now did the children realize the seriousness of the situation and sought help from the nearest publishing industry professional.

That was Lim Yang-wook.

“What?! A web novel?”

Moon In-seop’s perplexed voice came through the phone.

-Yes… We four wrote a web novel that ranked first on the site, and now our inbox is exploding with contract offers…?

“Ah…”

-We’re just four minors, stomping our feet in frustration, unable to do much, so we’d like some advice. Plus, I can’t just make a contract with someone else without talking to our company.

That was the moment.

A rather rough idea struck Lim Yang-wook’s slick head.

As Lim Yang-wook was pondering a full-on battle with Baekhak Publishing, he chuckled evilly and said.

“That management thing… it’s essentially an eBook publisher, right?”

-Yes.

“I think I could do it?”

What followed was predictable.

After confirming that Lim Yang-wook had enticed the innocent Moon In-seop into this mess, Gu Hak-jun personally visited to protest, and in front of Gu Hak-jun, who was emitting a goblin-like aura, Lim Yang-wook pleaded like this.

* * *

-It’s unfair!

-You scoundrel! Speak the truth!

In front of the great author Gu Hak-jun, who exuded a demon-like presence, Lim Yang-wook defended himself as best as he could, roughly as follows.

-Baekhak Publishing’s villainy has crossed the line, and in seeking a desperate measure, how can you blame the victim instead of the perpetrator!

Lim Yang-wook’s argument was as follows:

Since Baekhak Publishing had used its influence to prevent them from publishing books due to old grudges, how could writing on the internet possibly be a crime?

Upon hearing this, the literary world’s elders were greatly infuriated.

It wasn’t the fact that Baekhak Publishing had used its influence to prevent books from being published that angered them. To survive in this field, one must not fall out of favor with Baekhak Publishing. Those who didn’t understand this died early.

Their anger was focused on a slightly different point.

-How could that name come up here!

-Has Moon In-seop also been tainted by the devil…

-We cannot stand idly by! Do we lack money, or do we lack power!

Web novels!

Just hearing it makes one’s chest tighten.

There are various reasons for the decline of the literary world: the flood of new media, the growth of the OTT market, the marginalization of literature due to the global success of dramas and movies, etc.

But there are those who are particularly loathsome.

Namely, web novels.

It’s a natural law to hate those who were once subservient to us but have now outshone us, especially since both the literary and web novel communities are ultimately categorized as writers.

The moment it became known on the internet that Moon In-seop’s new work was a “web novel,” more than a few elders started foaming at the mouth and tearing into columns.

-Discussing the future of Korean literature. Originally, web novels were but a derivative literature that grew by nibbling on the fertile soil cultivated by the Korean literary community…

ps. This opinion is that of the columnist alone and does not reflect the intentions of this literary magazine.

While such statements caused literary magazines to go pale and cut ties, there was a place that was in a festive mood, contrary to the literary community.

Namely, the web novel industry.

-Hahahahaha!

The web novel industry is not united like the literary community. Contrary to the literary community, despite its large market size, it almost lacks political power.

The cultural power in the web novel industry lies with the major corporate platforms that have direct contact with readers, while authors and management, being closer to the production side, are relatively powerless.

However, there is a subtle current shared among all authors and even some readers.

That is the anti-pure literature spirit.

-Ah, it has been a long time of humiliation and oppression…

Web novel authors and readers have suffered from long oppression.

It’s the oppression of the pure literature community, which lacks money but holds power.

Web novel authors were treated as second-rate writers in public, and their readers were demeaned as popcorn brains who sought stimulation without any literary cultivation.

-But this has proven it! There is no future for Korean pure literature! Eventually, everyone will kneel before web novels!

Everyone united in mocking the pure literature community.

The most promising figure in the pure literature community switching to web novels.

There could be no greater humiliation than that…

Of course, this was merely a joke within the world of the internet.

However, it was no joke for someone.

* * *

Novelist Park Chang-woon.

Former University professor and Former Minister of Culture.

(He was fired from the ministerial position after a week due to a swearing scandal)

He is currently the head of the creative writing department at Baekhak Arts Middle School.

And he was also the teacher in charge of the “Popular Culture and Arts Research Club.”

For him to accept the ‘web novel corruption’ of his beloved students Moon In-seop and Gu Yu-na, he had to go through five stages.

1st Stage. Denial.

“What? What the hell are you talking about? Don’t talk nonsense. Why would In-seop write a web novel? What kind of work is our In-seop’s? How could he? Didn’t my wife sob after reading his novel? She’s going through menopause and is as irritable as can be, but after reading that damn novel, she cried like a girl. Haha.”

2nd Stage. Anger.

“What the hell is this! Hey, you bastards! Did I tell you to run a club for this…! Eeek…! Aigo, aigo! How am I supposed to face our Hak-jun! Get rid of it right now! This club is over! It’s over!”

3rd Stage. Bargaining.

“Aigo- Our author Moon In-seop. I was a bit harsh last time, wasn’t I? If you’re upset, have this and cheer up. I’ve brought ice cream for everyone. Come and get one… Kids. It’s true that web novels can make good money. I admit it. But… there’s no real literary value there, kid. I’m not saying this out of ignorance. If you’re serious, you’re called a buzzkill, if your sentences are long, you’re a long-wind, and even people my age who tried web novels gave up after being insulted and beaten down. If you need pocket money, I’ll give it to you. How much do you need? I have a lot of money. How much do you need? Huh? No, really, don’t refuse. I’ll really give you pocket money. How much?”

4th Stage. Depression.

“Ah… I see… Then, I’ll write my resignation and go to England. There’s no future in this country, right? Don’t write the resignation? Why? Why should I educate sons in a country without Moon In-seop? Huh? Why should I teach kids in a world without him?”

And the 5th stage is acceptance.

This is known as the ‘five stages of grief,’ DABDA.

However, Park Chang-woon kept cycling back to the 2nd stage from the 4th stage.

“Actually, thinking about it again makes me angry?”

So, he still hasn’t accepted it.

He became violent, unable to accept the sudden change.

That was why Park Chang-woon kicked open the door to the Baekhak Publishing’s head office.

“Sang-guk, you out of money?”

“What?”

Sudden verbal violence overwhelmed Kim Sang-guk, the head of the publishing division.

“Like… are you doing this because you’re out of money, trying to feed off the kids’ money?”

“Haha… That’s quite out of place, Minister~nim.”

“I’ll give you money. How much do you need? How much for you to print author Moon In-seop’s book again?”

Director Kim Sang-guk could not have Park Chang-woon expelled from the company.

The fact that he was a former minister was not the main reason.

The biggest reason was, as always, that Kim Sang-guk was a person who dealt with ‘invisible things.’

Art, power, connections.

Such things dictate the literary world.

Money is secondary.

This aberrant form of the arts community had been tightly knit for decades, and therefore, relationships and connections took precedence over capitalist society’s logic.

Thus, every action needed a ‘just cause.’

So, Kim Sang-guk picked a fight with Baekhak Entertainment under the pretext of ‘normalizing the profit structure between affiliates,’ and it was very successful.

But that karma came back to bite him.

Park Chang-woon was confronting Kim Sang-guk with the justification of “protecting junior novelists from dirty industry power struggles.”

If Kim Sang-guk called security to throw Park Chang-woon out at this moment, he would become a laughingstock. Essentially, he would be screwed. All the juniors would call Kim Sang-guk a “fucking asshole.”

So, Kim Sang-guk only smiled outwardly and calmly replied.

“Ha ha… It seems there was some misunderstanding.”

“Right? It’s a misunderstanding?”

“…Yes. I will check again.”

Kim Sang-guk eventually stepped back, suggesting “this all stemmed from the ignorance of those below us.”

Lim Yang-wook vs. Baekhak Publishing round 2.

Victory for Park Chang-woon!

* * *

However, the showdown between the head of Baekhak Publishing’s publishing division and the head of book distribution ended in victory for the head of the publishing division.

(The head of book distribution, who was in cahoots with Lim Yang-wook and kept author Moon In-seop’s books in Baekhak Publishing’s stores because Kim Sang-guk was a fucking asshole, suddenly received disciplinary action.

The real reason was internal betrayal in the fight between Baekhak Publishing and Baekhak Entertainment.

And that was a punishment dropped from the CEO level. It meant to write a resignation letter and get out quickly.

“Kim Sang-guk, this goddamn bastard…”

The head of book distribution lamented with a belated expression of emptiness.

“Could it be… was he targeting me from the start?”

The head of book distribution, responsible for Baekhak Publishing’s distribution line, had watched Kim Sang-guk struggle in his fight with Lim Yang-wook and treated it as watching a fire from across the river.

Whether it was the Yang Sung-jun incident or being bitten by the mad dog Lim Yang-wook, he simply thought of it as Kim Sang-guk stepping on shit and laughed it off.

That was his mistake.

By just standing by in the fight between Baekhak Publishing and Baekhak Entertainment, he gave the Kim Sang-guk line a reason to attack him.

Thus, the CEO of Baekhak Publishing was promoted to an executive position at the headquarters, no longer having to deal with disloyal subordinates,

And Kim Sang-guk, the head of the publishing division, eliminated a rival competing for the position of CEO of Baekhak Publishing. Sᴇaʀᴄh the ɴøvᴇl_Firᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

In other words, Kim Sang-guk was designated as the next CEO of Baekhak Publishing.

In a private room of a Korean restaurant somewhere in Baekhak Publishing.

The soon-to-be-promoted CEO of Baekhak Publishing subtly smiled.

“It seems like the plan to take out Lim Yang-wook in one fell swoop didn’t go too well?”

“Ha ha…”

Kim Sang-guk awkwardly laughed in front of the CEO of Baekhak Publishing.

The CEO shrugged his shoulders leisurely.

“Well, since Professor Park Chang-woon stormed into the company, there was nothing that could be done. But I’ve supported you until I leave the company, so do well. How long do you plan to be pushed around by that demoted guy?”

“My apologies, CEO~nim.”

“Pretty soon, you’ll be a CEO and I’ll be a CEO too. Why are we, fellow CEOs, bowing our heads like this?”

“Ha ha, you joke too much…”

The clear hierarchical order between the subsidiary CEO and the headquarters CEO.

The CEO, having firmly imprinted this on Kim Sang-guk, left the place first.

“Well, I’ll be leaving now.”

“Yes, CEO~nim.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be able to attend your inauguration. But you know my intentions, right?”

“I will do my best to serve!”

Not long after, Lim Yang-wook heard the news that Kim Sang-guk, the director, had been appointed as the CEO of Baekhak Publishing.

And of course, Kim Sang-guk, now wielding overwhelmingly more power than before, sought revenge.

Just as the third round was about to start.

Baek Seol of Baekhak Entertainment’s publishing management division also received a certain notice.

* * *

On the way home, there aren’t many office workers who wouldn’t be startled if a limousine came for them and men in suits were looking for them.

However, Baek Seol was an exception. Not because she was fearless, but because she had experienced it a few times before.

“What’s the matter?”

“We’ve come to pick you up.”

The men in suits, who came to “pick up” Baek Seol, politely, and forcibly, put her into the limousine.

And before Baek Seol could even ask where they were going, they started the car and, likewise, informed her of the situation before she could ask what was happening.

“The chairman is on his deathbed.”

*****

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