My Daughter is a Star Writer - Chapter 126

Episode 126: An unexpected relationship (2)

The first time I began to look back on memories from the past was when I encountered Seo Jin-hyuk at the first exhibition of Whale Pop.

“my… “Are you a fan?”

I linked arms with Yurina and tilted my head in confusion.

Seo Jin-hyuk, a star pop art artist whom I met for the first time, suddenly revealed that he was a long-time fan of mine.

“It’s been so long that I don’t even remember how many years ago, but I still have fond memories of seeing the author’s work.”

Seo Jin-hyuk looked at me with a bright smile and wide eyes.

I was embarrassed and made a blank expression.

‘I have a very old piece of work?’

The only personal work that is not an entertainment program is the webtoon.

The rest were only independent films that I co-wrote and a few poems that were posted on the journal.

“My work… “Which one?”

Since I had no idea, I asked honestly.

I was worried that it might just be something I said and that asking would make things awkward, but I couldn’t hold back my curiosity.

However, Seo Jin-hyuk did not really say this as a courtesy.

“< Online Hunter>. “That was my life’s work.”

“… !!”

I was startled and my eyes widened.

I never thought I would meet another person who knew that work.

And that twice in my life.

* * *

All I can say is that relationships are truly amazing.

There are relationships that arise when I meet strangers, but sometimes I also encounter characters I know very well, like in a drama.

To Seo Jin-hyuk, Seongwoon was that kind of person.

I knew him very well, but I never thought I would meet him in person and connect with him.

“Jinhyuk, do you want to go to the PC room after school?”

“Today, we will play against each other. You too, come and bet money. “It looks like class 3 will definitely win.”

Jinhyuk’s middle school classmates who were cleaning in the back of the classroom cooed and motioned for him to join them.

However, Jinhyuk slightly waved the hand that was holding the mop and refused.

“I have to cook a meal for my younger brother. Go by yourselves. “I’ll go see it next time.”

“Are you going to cook dinner for your younger brother again? “What kind of lunch lady are you?”

“therefore. Isn’t your brother in the 6th grade? At that point, it’s time to cook and eat alone. Don’t do that, let’s go together. huh?”

Despite his friends’ pouring criticism and gentle looks, Jinhyuk only let out a faint smile.

“Sorry, I’ll go next time.”

“Oh~! The real Seo Jinhyuk. “He’s always obsessed with himself.”

“That’s enough. Even if you want to come next time, I won’t call you! “Tsk!”

Jinhyuk seemed to be used to it and playfully passed the situation by tapping his friends’ buttocks and running away.

And a few hours later, Jinhyuk walked in the opposite direction from his friends heading toward the PC room after school.

The friends who glanced back looked at Jinhyuk’s back and said, “The problem is that he takes too much care of his younger brother,” and shook their heads.

But in fact, there was a smile on Jinhyeok’s face as he walked.

Because happiness was waiting for me on the way back home.

* * *

“hello!”

Tiring-! Jinhyuk opened the door to the book rental store, ringing a bell.

“Man, the 3rd volume of < Online Hunter> is out?!”

Jinhyuk’s voice was so loud that the rental store owner sitting at the counter was startled.

I could see how excited Jinhyuk was from his flushed expression.

“This guy has a nice voice. “I thought you might come already, so I set it aside over there.”

“thank you!”

The reason why Jinhyuk rejected his friends’ promise and came here a month later was because a new version of his favorite rental store fantasy genre novel, < Online Hunter>, was released.

‘Taehyuk, wait a moment. ‘I’ll just borrow a book and leave right away?’

It was an excuse to have to feed my younger brother Taehyuk.

Jinhyuk returned home today, cooked Taehyuk a meal, and planned to read Volume 3 of < Online Hunter>.

‘I’ve been waiting for this day for days, but I can’t ruin my plans because of a game against an opposing team.’

Jinhyeok ran excitedly to the corner outside the store pointed out by the owner.

“It’s around the corner at the end. “At the very bottom.”

The owner explained the position in a voice at the counter.

Volume 3 of < Online Hunter> was located in a corner that could not be seen, so much so that guidance was needed.

The president had set it aside for Jinhyeok, who was a regular reader of < Online Hunter>, but the place where < Online Hunter> was actually displayed was in a similar corner outside.

A fixed spot where works that are not popular with people are placed.

“Wow, it’s completely new.”

It was actually a good thing for Jinhyuk.

When renting and viewing famous works, you often experience various inconveniences, such as pages being torn in important scenes or gum or snot stuck between chapters.

However, < Online Hunter> was a very clean, truly new book.

“and… “In this episode, we finally fight a dragon?!”

Jinhyuk’s eyes lit up as he quickly skimmed through Volume 3 of < Online Hunter> while standing.

I couldn’t help but smile at the highly anticipated content of the new work.

“This author is a true genius. “Why on earth isn’t it showing up?”

Jinhyuk confirmed the author’s name with an expression that he could not understand at all.

“river… nebula? “I see you’re using your real name and not a pen name?”

Jinhyuk engraved his name in his mind.

While other children his age had singers and idols in mind, Jinhyuk had in mind authors of rental store novels.

‘I’m your fan. Please keep serializing it for a long time.’

The words [Author Seongwoon Kang] were written by hand on paper with a strong smell of ink.

To Jinhyuk, he was a famous singer and idol.

“Hello, uncle! “Thank you for setting it aside!”

“okay. “Don’t pay late and bring it back on time!”

“yes! of course!”

Jinhyuk opened the store door with three volumes of < Online Hunter> in his arms.

Jinhyuk, who was paying attention, opened the door and hit his forehead on the stomach of a man wearing sunglasses who was trying to come in at the same time.

“S-sorry.”

“Are you okay? “I think I hit it hard.”

“yes. are you okay.”

Jinhyuk sheepishly touched his forehead, bowed lightly, and walked past the man he bumped into.

The man who came in looked around awkwardly as if it was his first time at this rental store.

“welcome. “Is there a book you’re looking for?”

Be kind to first-time customers to become regulars.

The president asked the man wearing sunglasses in a friendly tone.

“Is Volume 3 of ‘Online Hunter’ available in this store?”

“yes. “Come in.”

“Oh my, I finally found it. “There were only a few rental stores that sold those works, so I searched for them for a long time.”

The man wearing sunglasses smiled broadly and let out a hearty laugh.

“But what about this? Volume 3 arrived… I just left. I’m not the type of kid who puts off paying late bills, so he’ll probably come home in 3 days. “Would you like to come back then?”

“Could it be that the kid who just left borrowed it?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

A man wearing sunglasses placed a large hand on his forehead as if he was one step too late.

“It can’t be helped. Then, I will just register as a member and leave.”

“all right. “What is your name?”

“This is Hwang In-wook.”

The president’s eyebrows trembled in surprise.

‘Hwang In-wook?’

The president slowly raised his head at the familiar name.

Just then, Hwang In-wook took off his sunglasses and wiped the frosted sunglasses with his sleeve.

The president’s eyes widened when he saw Hwang In-wook’s face.

‘Isn’t that really Hwang In-wook?!’

The president covered his mouth.

The man cleaning his sunglasses was Hwang In-wook, a star Korean film director.

‘That’s awesome… Should I at least get an autograph?’

The president picked up the paper and pen and quickly stopped.

‘No. A great person like that could become a regular at our store. ‘Okay, let’s just stay quiet and not burden ourselves by pretending to know.’

The president put on a sales smile and pretended not to know Hwang In-wook and proceeded with membership registration.

‘But why is someone like this looking for < Online Hunter>?’

I couldn’t help but think it was an unusual taste.

I go around rental stores looking for < Online Hunter>, an unknown work that is rarely rented except for Jinhyuk.

Even as the owner of the oldest book rental store in town, it was a puzzling experience.

‘Hey, what does a guy like me know? There must be something that only the star director’s eyes can see.’

The president smiled and completed Hwang In-wook’s membership registration.

* * *

“Ugh… “Let’s stop writing novels that don’t make any money.”

I let out a deep sigh as I looked at the third volume of < Online Hunter>, my first debut work as a writer and a work that briefly made me think about ending writing.

At that time, I was 21 years old.

Although I was young, a fantasy novel I accidentally posted on an online community became popular, and I received an offer to publish it, which led to my debut as a writer.

Of course, I was the writer in charge of a corner of a rental store that no one knew about.

“300,000 won for writing 3 books… . 100,000 won per book… . “Life is bitter.”

I didn’t know because I was young. Those were the perfect words.

When I first signed the contract, I was excited about the 100,000 won down payment, but after spending several months writing and publishing day and night, I realized that I couldn’t make a living like this.

“Genre novels are like this, but can I make a living by writing poetry?” .”

At that time, I was a college student majoring in creative writing.

Since I was in high school, I decided to live as a writer and out of curiosity, I enrolled in the Department of Creative Writing, but the barriers to reality were high.

“No matter what, I have to be able to make a living.”

At the time, it was a concern for all writers.

You can’t make money by writing. It was that kind of era.

“If you can’t make money by writing anyway… “Wouldn’t it be okay to do what you want?”

I looked up at the poster for director Hwang In-wook’s “Monsters” that was pasted on the wall of the desk in my semi-basement room.

It was the debut film of renowned director Hwang In-wook, who had attracted 10 million viewers since his debut.

“I wouldn’t have any other wish to work with someone like that… .”

I have been a movie fanatic ever since I was in elementary school.

However, I had no interest in filming or directing, so I chose writing as the career path that I enjoyed the most.

“I heard that these days, directors don’t write the entire script, but instead collaborate with the screenwriter.”

It was a story that touched my ears.

I like movies, but the only thing I’m good at is writing, so it was the best collaboration for me.

“Would you like to join Jooyoung’s movie study? “It’s a famous study, so I think I’ll learn a lot in many ways.”

After receiving a study offer from Jooyoung in the film department, I was seriously considering going into that field.

Jooyoung had read my writing in a major elective class, and although it was a genre novel, he highly regarded my achievement of debuting at a young age, so he invited me to his study group, which was said to be comprised of only the elite.

“okay. Why not give it a try? “You have to try all kinds of things before you graduate so that it will be helpful when you go out into society.”

Jooyoung was the first unexpected relationship in my life.

I never imagined that a student from another department, whom I became friends with during a school class, would lead me down the path of film.

“hello? Jooyoung, can I talk to you? It’s none other than the study you asked me to join last time… … .”

I began my career as a writer in earnest with that phone call.

It wasn’t until much later that I found out that he already had huge fans like Seo Jin-hyuk and Hwang In-wook.