Novelist Running Through Time

TL: KSD

A celebrity dating becomes a target of criticism.

To put it nicely, it’s because they are loved by everyone, so jealousy from everyone follows. To put it bluntly, it’s because they are seen as pseudo-romantic partners.

A large portion of the emotions fans dedicate to celebrities is composed of love. Even if it’s not love but admiration, underlying that feeling is the expectation for the idol to maintain a sense of ‘professionalism’.

Thus, a celebrity’s dating rumor is a business disaster, and the exposure of a dating rumor (without prior consultation) can be considered an attack on the company.

For this reason, entertainment agencies manage risks by controlling journalists through appropriate bribes, connections, and alcohol. The larger the company grows, the closer this becomes to a system.

In the case of Baekhak Entertainment, the department responsible for this task was the PR team.

And the PR team leader was swearing in the office for the first time in a while.

“Aren’t they fucking crazy? This?”

The team members remained silent. It wasn’t because they were scared of the team leader’s cursing, but because they all agreed with it.

Side EP – Complicated Feelings

This exposure was an abnormal occurrence.

It wasn’t just any entertainment agency- it was Baekhak, Baekhak.

The monster of the industry.

Baekhak ‘Media’ Group.

No entertainment media can stand tall before the largest media conglomerate in Korea. Entertainment journalists must obtain Baekhak’s approval to even write about their celebrities.

Could a small country dare challenge a great nation? This was common knowledge in the industry.

Thus, the PR team leader’s feelings weren’t much different from how the Emperor of Ming might have felt hearing that the Jurchens suddenly invaded Liaodong.

“How dare they!”

But no one raises a rebellion against a strong empire. Only against a crumbling one.

The hardships Baekhak Entertainment and CEO Baek Seung-won had suffered were known. Especially among journalists working in the same industry, this was even more evident.

The position Baekhak Entertainment held within the Baekhak Group was no longer what it used to be, and thus, the days when the BMB News Department would jump at even a simple cough from CEO Baek Seung-won were long gone.

That said, the BMB News Department didn’t see Baekhak Entertainment as part of the same family either. They rather resented CEO Baek Seung-won for stifling press freedom just to protect a few celebrities. If you asked them who they considered “family”, they would choose the entertainment journalists over Baekhak Entertainment.

And the entertainment journalists didn’t miss this subtle shift in the balance of power.

This led to the disaster of Kim Byul’s dating scandal being publicly revealed in an article without prior consultation with Baekhak Entertainment.

Baek Seung-won was furious.

[- !!! -! -!]

“Yes, CEO~nim, yes, yes….”

[- !!!]

“Yes, understood, CEO~nim….”

The head of Management Division 2 put down his phone with a weary expression.

Baek Seung-won’s anger was far from light. The fact that the incident occurred while he was staying in Cannes with Kim Byul hurt his pride even more.

The beast was wounded, but its wild instincts were not dead. Baek Seung-won immediately understood that the entertainment journalists saw him as something akin to a dog’s penis.

He contacted the headquarters in Korea, ordered some retaliatory actions to be taken, and simultaneously gave instructions to neutralize any slander against Kim Byul.

Of course, one might think that in this day and age, a celebrity’s dating life wouldn’t cause such a blemish. In fact, the public’s reaction wasn’t that bad. People just commented that it was cute to see young kids smiling brightly together.

But this is a country that, only 30 years ago, considered celebrity dating a sin. If caught dating, they were forced to retire, and if they resisted, they’d receive letters filled with dead mice and razor blades.

There’s no way it could have no negative impact.

“Sigh…”

The head of Management Division 2’s mind became increasingly complicated.

In cases like this, it’s extremely difficult to even assign blame.

How can you question someone for releasing a dating scandal the day after the actress won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival? The answer would be all too obvious.

-So what?

The article was already out, and spilled water cannot be scooped back up.

However, according to the principles of yin and yang and the five elements, there is never a one-sided flow in this world.

If those bastards use a checkmate move, we have a trump card too.

-That’s not true, though.

If they say it’s not true, what can you do? Are you going to insist that it is?

Go ahead and insist all you want. The more you do, the more pathetic you’ll look.

The head of Management Division 2 barely held onto his mental composure, summoned his energy, and got up from his seat.

Alright. If you solve things one by one, there’s nothing in this world you can’t handle.

He immediately called Kim Byul to ask if the scandal was groundless.

“Hey, Byul. It’s me, your manager. First off, huge congratulations on winning Best Actress….”

[Yes, yes, thank you, Manager.]

“I’d love to congratulate you more, but something urgent has come up, so I’ll get to the point. Something weird just broke out, so I’m calling about that.”

[Ah… you mean that?]

“You already know about it, huh? Well, anyway… it’s not true, right? There’s no truth to it, right?”

[…….]

Huh.

Kim Byul didn’t answer.

In that brief silence, the head of Management Division 2 had all kinds of thoughts running through his mind.

On the other end of the phone, Kim Byul’s mind was just as complicated.

“Ah…”

Groundless.

Is it?

* * *

The first time she met the boy was in the waiting room on a movie set.

And it came with a ridiculous little mishap.

-Who are you?

-Huh?

-Why aren’t you saying hello?

The boy, whom she initially thought was just an awkward junior child actor, turned out to be someone with genius that Kim Byul couldn’t quite grasp.

People marvel at Moon In’s age, but Kim Byul is amazed by Moon In’s artistic talent. She’s witnessed it up close more than anyone else.

But if asked whether that feeling is affection, the answer is ‘I don’t know’.

Kim Byul doesn’t have many friends.

She entered the entertainment world at a very young age, and has never shared common interests with kids her age.

She was forced apart from her father and younger sibling, and her mother gave her teaching instead of love. Her classmates didn’t want to be Kim Byul’s friends, but rather the friends of the celebrity they saw on TV. The occasional fellow child actors she met were not friends but competitors.

She lived in a world where, like stamping a grade on beef, people naturally assigned ranks to others.

In that pain, she stumbled upon a boy who became a precious friend more than anything else.

A boy sometimes more talented than her, a boy sometimes less talented to her, who called her sunbae but sometimes felt like a sunbae himself… a strange boy.

A boy who always lit the path ahead of her, who made people go mad with every book he wrote, who brought her to Cannes—a genius artist.

Arrogant, annoying, secretly lazy, only good at writing, always wearing that ragged blanket like some fashion terrorist.

Does she like that boy?

The answer is still ‘I don’t know’.

But Kim Byul studied literature. Literature refines the complex emotions of humans into precise language.

The world forced Kim Byul to look into her own heart, and for the first time, she realized what feelings she held toward the boy.

Sinclair is always saved by Demian. The relationship between the two is never equal. It can’t even be called friendship.

This is ‘dependence.’

Like a child who wasn’t cared for by their parents clinging to a teacher, or a woman without a father unconsciously idealizing older men—this is dependence.

So is that kind of dependence closer to affection or friendship?

Kim Byul was still far too young to seek that answer.

But even someone who’s grown up too fast has their own way of coping.

When adults say someone is “mature”, they mean that the child isn’t being troublesome, so they’re pleased.

Kim Byul knows how to behave in a way that pleases the adults.

And that’s by lying.

“Of course, it’s not true.”

It’s not that it isn’t.

“It’s completely baseless.”

I don’t know.

“Yes, please make sure to pass that on.”

Nothing is clear. Nothing is decided.

But Kim Byul lied.

It wasn’t a difficult thing to do.

Kim Byul had always lived by acting out a lie.

Even the name “Kim Byul” wasn’t her real name.

Then, what exactly was she?

“……”

In the corner of the hotel room, a glittering leaf caught her eye.

The golden hue of the palm leaf trophy exuded a seductive allure.

Moon In had told her that if she tried to bear the weight of that trophy, she’d end up a wreck and that she should put it down before that happened.

But Kim Byul stood up slowly and walked toward the palm leaf. She carefully lifted the trophy.

And with that, she quietly gazed at the golden leaf in her hands.

Moon In’s prediction was spot on.

She would end up a wreck trying to bear the weight of this trophy. And even knowing that, she would still cling to it and endure.

But Moon In’s advice had missed the mark.

She couldn’t put this trophy down.

If she gave up being applauded, being loved by everyone, and climbing higher to become a star, then Kim Byul would no longer be Kim Byul.

“Ah, I want to quit acting.”

But she couldn’t.

She had come too far to quit now.

So, she couldn’t stop lying. The show had to go on.

Even if complicated feelings crept in one day, she would quietly hide them and continue her performance.

That was Kim Byul’s lie.

It was Kim Byul’s art.

* * *

Gu Hak-jun’s daily life had changed. It wasn’t that something unusual happened at the university. As always, Gu Hak-jun continued teaching literature to his students.

The change had come from his wife, Min Chae-won. Min Chae-won’s business had broken into the overseas market. At some point, so much money began pouring in that it became overwhelming. And with it came an overwhelming amount of work as well. Min Chae-won now spent more time abroad than in Korea.

Thus, Gu Hak-jun had lost his wife but gained wealth, which led to the rule that the whole family should have dinner together every evening becoming virtually meaningless.

But Gu Hak-jun, the novelist, was a monstrous man who juggled art, humanity, social life, and family all at once.

Instead of hiring a housekeeper, Gu Hak-jun learned how to cook.

And he held onto his two daughters, who often tried to run off, saying things like, “Your old dad is cooking with his own hands.”

Thanks to that, even without Min Chae-won, the three remaining family members could always have dinner together.

The one most dissatisfied with this arrangement was, of course, Gu Yubin.

“I’m already in college, and it’s embarrassing to have to come home just for dinner….”

Gu Yu-na, who had been influenced by Moon In, teased her.

“Unnie, are you embarrassed of your family?”

Gu Yubin responded by flicking Gu Yu-na on the head. After being struck on her head, Gu Yu-na quietly focused on her chopsticks.

The negotiations between Gu Yubin and Gu Hak-jun continued.

“Can’t you ease up on the curfew?”

“When have I ever given you a curfew? I just said we should always have dinner together as a family.”

“That’s basically a 6 p.m. curfew!”

“You can go out after dinner.”

“But then you glare at me like I’ve got a boyfriend.”

“I haven’t glared at you.”

There’s no arguing when he’s stubborn. Gu Yubin wracked her brain in frustration.

“There’s a rumor going around campus, you know? That the famous novelist Gu Hak-jun is keeping his daughter under tight control like a mouse!”

“Well, you were born in the Year of the Rat, weren’t you?”

“Dad, seriously, are you going to keep this up?!”

“Our little Yubin is throwing a tantrum. Do you have a boyfriend or something? Oh my, now that you’ve got a man, Dad is….”

“Arghhh-!”

Gu Hak-jun, the novelist, was a monstrous man who juggled art, humanity, social life, and family all at once.

Even Gu Hak-jun couldn’t escape the common <I’m Worried Because My Daughter Is Too Pretty> syndrome that fathers sending their daughters to college for the first time all seem to suffer from.

While Gu Yubin, who was being controlled as if she had a boyfriend even though she didn’t, metaphorically coughed up blood in frustration, Gu Yu-na finished her meal, having picked out and eaten all the tastiest meat dishes for herself.

Then, she gave a firm evaluation of her dad’s cooking.

“Today’s a 4.”

“Thank you….”

For reference, it’s out of 10 points.

Gu Hak-jun was just grateful to have improved from a 1 to a 4, and he was genuinely pleased.

With that, Gu Yu-na trotted over to the sofa and sat down.

Then, she picked up the remote control.

She was feeling a bit good these days because our Byul unnie (a title she would absolutely never say out loud) won a big award in France.

Though she wasn’t someone who watched TV often, given that the broadcasts were full of Kim Byul praise all day long, TV had become somewhat enjoyable for her these days.

So, the TV turned on.

Kim Byul and Moon In appeared on the screen together.

It was a dating scandal.

“Huh?”

That May.

It wasn’t only Kim Byul who was dealing with complicated feelings.

It was spring.

*****

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