Chapter 342 – Fifty Is Too Much (2)
After leaving Jeong Ha-yeon’s house, Seo Joo-hwan headed to the meeting place. The person I promised to meet today is a writer introduced to me through Choi Mi-hwa.
‘Fortunately. I won’t be late.’
Normally, it would have taken 30 minutes to come out quickly, but playing around with Jung Ha-yeon made the time really tight. Still, the place wasn’t far, so it didn’t seem like it would be too late.
‘I want to see you soon.’
Seo Joo-hwan glanced at the book inside the eco-bag. It is a novel called ‘The Dream of Old Age’ that I finished re-reading a while ago. Coincidentally, the person I decided to meet today was writer Kim Hyun-young, who wrote this novel.
‘I didn’t expect it to be the writer Kim Hyun-young.’
He doesn’t know how surprised he was to learn the other person’s real name. It was a moment when Choi Mi-hwa’s words about being reluctant to be known to others were understood at once.
Author Kim Hyun-young is a great authority on Korean literature. Her old age dream of her is justified by winning the Man Booker Prize, one of the best in England.
However, such a great senior in the literary world is writing a web novel? The moment the fact was revealed, all kinds of words would come out among the readers as well as the writers. It was clear that he would receive attention incomparable to the article he had recently interviewed.
Seo Joo-hwan hurried his steps with half expectation and half worry.
‘I hope the illusion doesn’t break.’
It is said that a work and an author should be viewed separately, but as a reader, as a reader, his affection for a work grows, he often becomes interested in the author who wrote it. To Seo Joo-hwan, Kim Hyun-young was that kind of person.
That’s why I hoped that Kim Hyun-young was a person who looked at the writing without prejudice. If it was a web novel, it seemed like it would be a big disappointment.
Of course, he says he is writing a web novel himself, so the odds of that happening are low.
In no time, we arrived at the appointed place. Seo Joo-hwan, who entered the cafe, tried to find a seat on one side, but suddenly turned his head. He saw an unfamiliar face. Inside the eco bag, it was the face of author Kim Hyun-young, who appeared in the old age’s dream belt.
Seo Joo-hwan approached with quick steps and started talking.
“Am I, writer Hyunyoung Kim?”
A middle-aged woman drinking her coffee raised her head. Unlike the photo her in her book her, Bidji, where she had black straight hair, she had short, curly hair, but I could tell she was the author Kim Hyun-young.
Kim Hyun-young looked at her with a slight frown on her eyes, and she smiled softly.
“Yes, I am Hyunyoung Kim. Writer Seohwan.”
“Hello, author. This is Seo Joo-hwan. I made you wait.”
“No. I came out quickly. Never mind.”
After saying that, writer Kim Hyun-young reached out her hand to her and asked for her handshake her.
“It is so nice to meet you. I am a fan of author Seohwan.”
“Writer Kim Hyun-young?”
“Ho Ho. I really enjoyed the life of a regressor in the barracks. Of course, I also saw other works.”
“Oh, thank you. I also really enjoyed all the works written by the author.”
Seo Joo-hwan held his hand with a bewildered expression. Come to think of it, Choi Mi-hwa said that even though he gave a book as a gift, he said that he bought a separate collection. I knew that he looked at me favorably thanks to that, but hearing that he was a fan directly from writer Kim Hyun-young made me feel different.
Hyunyoung Kim pointed towards the entrance and said.
“Then, as I said, can we move places?”
“Yes, of course. I also like a quiet place.”
“Thanks. It’s not far, so I’ll be there soon.”
Seo Ju-hwan nodded coldly and followed Kim Hyun-young.
When she arrived at the house, Kim Hyun-young escorted her to her studio, and she asked.
“Writer Seo, what do you like, coffee or tea?”
“Ah, I’d like the car, please.”
“Then I’ll drop you off with the car.”
“Thank you. But sir, before that……”
Seo Joo-hwan held out the paper bag he had brought beforehand.
Kim Hyun-young accepted him and asked again.
“What it this?”
“The day after tomorrow is New Year’s Day. I brought dried persimmons and some good things for the body.”
“You can come empty-handed, but all these things…….”
“I’m giving you a bribe because I want you to teach me a lot today.”
As she spoke with a sly wink, Kim Hyun-young let go of her burden and smiled.
“Ho Ho. Is it like that? Then, since I have a lot to learn, I should take out some tea leaves that I have hidden to eat alone. Because there are good things.”
Soon the door closed and Kim Hyun-young left.
Seo Joo-hwan sat in a chair and looked around.
‘You are writing here. He’s not much different from me than I thought.’
I thought that there would be something special because I was a great writer, but it was a surprisingly simple environment. A wooden desk, a computer that looks a bit old, and a lot of books on a large bookshelf.
Seo Joo-hwan found a familiar title among the books on the bookshelf.
Master of Ice is a Moorim achievement, a regressor’s barracks life.
It was the title of a novel he wrote. Above, below and to the side, there were several books of fantasy, martial arts, and romance novels with different titles on display.
‘You read a lot of genre novels.’
Surprisingly, among writers, there are often people who write web novels themselves but do not actually read them. I thought Kim Hyun-young might be that type too, but she seemed to have a wider spectrum than I thought.
Seo Joo-hwan finished the tour briefly and opened Kim Hyun-young’s status window.
〈 Hyunyoung Kim 〉
Gender: Female
Age: 55
Height: 160cm
Likeability: C
Current sexual desire: E
Weight: 53kg
Fetish: –
Retained Talents: Writing (A+/B+), Perseverance (A/B), Contemplation (B+/B+), Drawing (E+/A), Athletics (F+/A)
Seo Ju-hwan’s eyes widened in surprise when he confirmed his talent.
‘What are these deformed talents?’
Your writing ability (A+/B+) and perseverance (A/B) talents have exceeded their potential level limits. That’s two steps. On the other hand, drawing (E/A) and athletic (F+/A) talents with the highest potential were at the bottom.
‘Even though I’ve seen them surpass their potential a few times…….’
It was the first time such an extreme case had occurred.
For some reason, Seo Joo-hwan got goosebumps. Looking at the deformed talent rating, it seemed that I could vaguely feel the trajectory of life that a person named Kim Hyun-young had walked.
‘How long will it take to raise the rating this much without a system? Will it be like this if I spend my whole life crazy about writing?’
It seemed like he knew why the grades of patience and contemplation displayed on the status window were so high. He must have endured all kinds of temptations and spent days thinking about only one article. Even before we had a proper conversation, respect arose in our hearts.
“Writer Seo?”
Kim Hyun-young, who had brought her car to her, found him sitting there looking rather dazed and gave a puzzled voice. Seo Joo-hwan, who came to his senses her, accepted the tea with a more tidy gesture and said.
“Sir, can you give me one autograph?”
“A sign?”
“Yes. You said you were my fan earlier, right? In fact, I am also a huge fan of the teacher. Please sign here.”
Seo Joo-hwan took out the ‘Dream of Old Age’ he had brought in an eco-bag. Seeing him, Hyunyoung Kim’s eyes widened and drew an arc.
*
Good times always pass quickly.
Seo Joo-hwan and Kim Hyeon-young talked nonstop about writing. Kim Hyun-young asked him about her web novel her, and Seo Ju-hwan asked her for her advice on pure literature.
Although there is a difference, they are two people who have proven their ability in the field of ‘writing’. The conversations from different perspectives were a pleasant time that benefited both parties.
Seo Joo-hwan suddenly asked a question.
“Since when did you become interested in web novels?”
“Ugh. It hasn’t been that long.”
Is it because we talked a lot?
Both of them became comfortable talking to each other.
Kim Hyun-young let out a small sigh and told her story her.
“Actually, I haven’t written anything in the past few years. So, as a change of mood, I started to touch things. Then, these days, young people came to read web novels thinking about what kind of articles they would read more.”
“Then you didn’t get a recommendation from someone, but did you look for it yourself?”
“Yes. By the way, the first novel I read was The Life of a Regressor in the Barracks.”
“Ah…”
Somehow, I wanted to express my affection for Hoe Byeong-saeng, but there was a reason. No matter what genre, the first work you encounter is the way to stay in your memory longer.
Kim Hyun-young took out a book about life in the barracks of a regressor from her bookshelf and turned the page.
“Thinking about it now, I’m glad I came across a web novel through this book. If I had seen other things first, I would not have easily accepted web novels with my stiff head.”
I could see what Kim Hyun-young meant.
‘Barracks Life of a Regressor’ is a work with a light fantasy color except for one subject called ‘return’. It was written in the format of a web novel, but it was not a work with a strong taste unique to web novels.
Hyunyoung Kim said.
“In a way, it was similar to what we write. It reflects the phases of the times and contains social issues and people’s stories, so what’s different?”
“The evaluation is good. Thank you.”
“Ho Ho. It’s not just words. I learned a lot from writer Seo today.”
“Oh, it’s embarrassing when the teacher says that. I learned, I learned. I couldn’t even get a feel for it, but thanks to you, I learned a lot.”
“Oh, so you mean you’ve got your senses now?”
“Haha. A little bit.”
Seo Joo-hwan smiled slyly rather than modestly.
He also really learned a lot. After confirming Kim Hyun-young’s talent her, in order to absorb at least one more in a short period of time, she increased her concentration and thinking ability with ‘Blessing of Concentration’ and raised her skill level efficiency to the maximum possible with ‘Blessing of the Dream God’. Thanks to that, the road that was blocked seemed to be a little visible.
But it’s still not enough.
Seo Joo-hwan looked into Kim Hyun-young’s eyes with a clear gaze and said.
“Teacher, can I visit you often from now on? I don’t mind, but I want to learn more.”
Kim Hyun-young admired her eyes full of passion. At the same time, she laughed inwardly. It was a mockery directed at the old men of the literary world, not Seo Joo-hwan.
‘This young man is much more like a writer than you guys.’
Stagnant water tends to rot. And the current literary world is too stagnant for her to see. In the end, the age should be led by young people, so how can they ignore it and trample on it even though they can’t raise it?
Kim Hyun-young nodded as if she had nothing to think about and held Seo Ju-hwan’s hand her.
“You are welcome anytime.”
“Ah, thank you, sir.”
“As I said before, I have a lot to learn, so don’t feel pressured and come visit me.”
That benevolent smile somehow reminded me of Kang Pil-chun. As a result, he has great seniors in both the comics and literature worlds.
It was time to raise the corner of my mouth, thinking that I had a new person.
[Powerful luck on sex intervenes.]
Startle. After checking the message, Seo Ju-hwan’s smile hardened her. For a moment, what Jeong Ha-yeon was teasing passed through her mind.
– Thirty years old? Then you’re in your fifties. Hey, can you?!
Crazy. Isn’t it?
Seo Joo-hwan checked Kim Hyun-young’s status window again with trembling eyes.
