Chapter 48

After quite a long time, we finally arrived at the venue for the general assembly.

“Get up already, Seol-guk.”

Still drowsy, I couldn’t fully understand Senior Su-Young’s words, but I was able to wake up. As I opened my eyes and looked around, I saw that we were in a parking lot.

The host of this assembly was Ji Kang-jin, who was not only a writer but also the head of the publishing company, Ji Kang Cultural Affairs. I had met him in person when I received the Ji Kang Literary Prize, and he wasn’t particularly impressive. He was more of a businessman than a writer.

This assembly was taking place in a building owned by Ji Kang-jin, where we would meet first for the assembly and then go to a reserved restaurant afterwards.

Although the term “assembly” sounded grand, most of the writers in the association would not be able to attend. It was essentially just a social gathering that hardly qualified as an assembly, and most of the attendees were older, rather unremarkable writers; people from different factions were usually not even invited.

In the end, it was a position where one merely served as a sycophant for their backs. Of course, it wasn’t as if there weren’t any young people trying to gain something from this situation.

Thus, the assembly was essentially a gathering without alcohol, while the after-party was akin to the real deal.

I had attended once before. Back then, nothing special happened, and I remained quietly in the background without drawing any attention.

This time, I was in a strange situation where I was not technically attending the assembly but rather the after-party. However, since Lee Cheon, the writer, had personally asked me, there was no way to refuse. Truth be told, even if I did attend the assembly, nothing extraordinary would happen. The conversation at the assembly wouldn’t differ much from that at a gathering. The only difference was that a social gathering allowed for a bit more freedom to chat.

“They say there’s a lounge, so wait there. Well, it should wrap up in about three to four hours at the latest.”

“Don’t follow anyone even if they offer you candy.”

“What nonsense.”

With those words, Professor Seo and Senior Su-Young headed to the floor where the assembly was taking place. Left alone inside the building, I followed their instructions and made my way to the lounge.

As I opened the door and stepped inside, it felt oddly like a situation from the past.

The person who responded to the sound of the door opening was a boy lying on the couch inside.

“What’s up? Why are you here?”

It was Ji Kang-hyeon.

~

Naturally, I hadn’t met Ji Kang-hyeon since the last broadcasting appearance. He smoothly took the seat next to me upon my entrance.

By the way, that kid still talked down to me even though he knew I was really 28 years old.

“Hey, speak politely.”

“What?”

“Use honorifics. You and I are 12 years apart. Call me hyung.”

“I didn’t think you’d actually take issue with that. Alright, alright, got it, uncle.”

Of course, that annoying little brat didn’t follow my request and continued to call me “uncle,” which grated on my nerves. As long as it wasn’t outright disrespectful, I suppose it was a minor consolation.

“So, why are you here, uncle?”

“Ugh… I came to participate in the literary assembly. What about you? Why are you here?”

“The assembly is happening right now, isn’t it? This is my dad’s building, and he brought me to introduce me to some authors.”

…Dad?

Now that I thought about it, his name was Ji Kang-hyeon and the owner of this building was Ji Kang-jin, and the publisher was Ji Kang Cultural Affairs.

“By any chance, what’s your dad’s name?”

“Why are you suddenly speaking formally? My dad’s name? Ji Kang Jin, as in the character ‘Jin’ in Ji Kang.”

It was an unexpected connection. I slightly revised my opinion of him, elevating him from simply being annoying and irritating to someone who was at least worth maintaining a relationship with.

In this industry, getting roped into the publishing cartel and being seen negatively wouldn’t be good for me. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t survive in this industry solo.

“Anyway, the assembly is already underway. I already introduced myself and left. Why aren’t you going?”

“Why are you casually switching back to informal speech?”

“Still, how can I speak formally to that face? You look about the same age as my younger sister.”

“Damn it…”

I almost cursed back at Ji Kang-hyeon, who was spouting words that could incite a string of expletives. After all, he was the son of the publishing company’s president. There was no good to be gained from fighting. Plus, it just felt too childish to argue about something like this.

Fighting with a kid like him would only lower my level. It would actually be more mature for me to put up with it.

“Ugh, I’m not participating in the assembly. I’m only going to the after-party, so I’m just killing time here until then.”

“Why are you only going to the after-party? That’s strange.”

I didn’t bother responding to Ji Kang-hyeon’s question. To be precise, I didn’t fully understand it myself.

If I really thought about it, it was a bit of an odd situation. There shouldn’t be any major issue with just attending the assembly. Of course, I had caused quite a bit of controversy in Korea, but…

From the very start, Professor Seo hadn’t asked me if I would attend the assembly. He asked if I would not attend the assembly’s after-party.

At first, I thought it might be because the dates were different, but if the dates were the same, there shouldn’t be any reason to only attend the after-party. Had I not realized the oddity of this proposal because I was swept away by it? It was a blind spot I hadn’t noticed until now.

But despite considering it, I couldn’t come up with any plausible speculations. Just then, Ji Kang-hyeon spoke up.

“Oh, but are you really the writer of ‘The Boy’s Womb’?”

That was an unexpected question. After all, he was the son of a writer and the CEO of a publishing company. It wouldn’t be strange if he had some interest in literature.

“Yeah. Have you read it?”

“Yeah, it was really badly written.”

“What the hell, you little bastard?”

I immediately retaliated with the swear words I had held back before. I had heard a lot of criticism about my work. There were even harsher remarks online. However, in reality, it’s rare for someone to be so blunt.

Considering how often phrases like “it was well written” were said in the literature department, it was only natural.

Nevertheless, that was still a rather impulsive curse. Perhaps my nerves were still frayed because of the “womb” concept.

“Why are you cursing? Should I lie and say it was fun?”

“What specifically was boring?”

“I don’t really know much about novels. It just wasn’t interesting. I got curious after we met last time, but I think I’d rather just read web novels.”

Ah, I see. It turned out he was a typical and somewhat dull reader who only enjoyed genre fiction. Hence, he failed to grasp the depth of the fun in my novel, meaning he didn’t really understand the philosophy behind it. Considering he was still in middle school, that wasn’t so strange after all. This meant I had no choice but to guide him directly.

“Look, since you’re still young and don’t know much, novels like this will help you realize the philosophy and thought contained within once you grow up.”

“Dude, you sound really pretentious. Are you really 28? Seriously, though, if it was well written, it would have hit best-seller status and stayed there, right? But what place is it in now? You can’t even see it in the rankings, can you?”

…Ji Kang-hyeon’s words were true. My novel had definitely reached the number one best-seller spot for a short time, but as the incident quieted down, it disappeared from the best-seller list almost instantly. It was merely a best-seller for one week. Yet that didn’t change the reality.

“How hard it is to reach number one best-seller status…”

“In the end, it just climbed up for a week due to the hype and then fell off. You can’t prove the value of a novel based on that.”

“The value of a novel isn’t based on its best-seller status!”

“Weren’t you just trying to say how great it is that it reached number one best-seller?”

“Of course it’s a big deal! But you can’t use that to prove the value of the book! Just because it didn’t receive popular selection doesn’t mean it’s a bad piece, and just because everyone loves a work doesn’t make it a masterpiece!”

“No, if it has received a lot of popular selection, then it can be considered a masterpiece. A novel is ultimately for the public, isn’t it? Novels are written to be read, so they have no choice but to entrust everything to the public. If the public doesn’t choose a novel, no matter how great it is, no one will know, and thus no value remains.”

Our conversation, which had begun with Ji Kang-hyeon’s trash talk, quickly escalated into a debate over whether the value of a novel is determined by the public or not.

Ji Kang-hyeon’s words were not entirely wrong. But they weren’t entirely right either. No matter how many people read and liked it, a mere entertainment novel couldn’t be considered a greater masterpiece than Shakespeare or Cervantes.

“Do you know that sounds incredibly ethnocentric? Don Quixote was ultimately a kind of entertainment novel, wasn’t it? What used to be entertainment novels are now considered classics, so who knows if the same might happen in the future?”

“Don Quixote was written to satirize those entertainment novels. You must know that.”

“But it still came out in the format of an entertainment novel. You can’t deny the form. And the form continues to exist with just a different shape. Times change, and literature merely changes its face accordingly.”

“Well, do you seriously think that all those web novels currently being serialized online actually possess literary value?”

“Yeah.”

In that moment, I was at a loss for words. This was a matter that could not be negotiated from the outset.

I didn’t deny that web novels could have literary merit. However, those novels were truly a very small fraction, with most being mere kindling, and some bordering on drugs and pornography. Yet Ji Kang-hyeon stated his position very firmly.

“No matter how garbage they seem, there is literature in them. Even poorly written novels have their value, and even uninteresting novels have their own aesthetics. I don’t think philosophy and thought are everything in literature.”

“…I can’t agree with that.”

Our debate came to an end there. Both of us were somewhat tired, and we both realized that it’d be futile to continue discussing it any further. However, my perception of Ji Kang-hyeon had changed a bit.

“You know quite a bit more than I thought.”

“Because of my dad. Even a dog raised for three years learns a poem.”

“Don’t you have any schedules today?”

“Oh, I got kicked off the variety show. I’m unemployed now. I haven’t been cast in any drama lately. Even the great Ji Kang-hyeon has fallen out of favor.”

“Why were you kicked off the variety show?”

“I got caught dating Chae-eun noona, and we broke up. That’s why I was let go.”

“…What?”

Chae-eun, was she the idol from the talk show I was on before? I was sure her name was Kang Chae-eun.

“Ah, this is a secret, so don’t go telling anyone.”

“I don’t have a habit of spreading such gossip, but what about all that talk about you wanting to date me?”

“That… it was like creating a backup plan. If I were to break up with noona, I thought I’d try to date you. But I stopped once I realized you were an uncle.”

What a crazy guy.

“What a lunatic.”

My inner thoughts slipped right out.

“Oh, well. Anyway, you were originally a guy, right? Don’t worry about it~. Or are you jealous? I’m not gay, though.”

“If I had seen you in your original form, I would have really beaten you up.”

“Oh, sure, right now you’re a bit too short to hit me, though, heh.”