Chapter 109: Chapter 109

「Han Ye-won’s parents were against our union. Their main argument was that a health teacher, being a public education officer, was not on the same level as a PhD student.

I tried to convince them that the social gap was not significant, citing the wealth I inherited from my parents, but such class distinctions based on profession seemed to depend not only on wealth and income but also on social perception.

Thus, Han Ye-won’s parents took great pride in their daughter’s social status as a health teacher.

Then, how far had Han Ye-won’s class fallen after she suffered brain damage and lost her job?

It was a difficult question to answer, but from the moment her own family refused to care for her during her illness, it seemed that Han Ye-won had completely lost her social status.

The slow observation of humans being abandoned by their families when they can no longer function economically was evident.

From here, I confirmed that social status is indeed a component of being human, and I found another reason to assert that Health Teacher Han Ye-won and Incompetent Han Ye-won were not the same person.

But this was not enough.

That’s because Park Chang-woon recognized Gu Hak-jun as the greatest pure literature novelist he knew, a sentiment widely shared by many others.

People often focus on Gu Hak-jun’s political achievements during bleak times, but literary figures highly value his literary accomplishments.

He fused Western and Eastern literatures, introducing a new type of pure literature to Korea.

This was precisely why Gu Hak-jun won the Goncourt Prize.

Like all pioneers, Gu Hak-jun might have become part of the cliché today, but in his time, he brought about striking innovations.

The basis of these innovations was ‘philosophy.’

Unlike Easterners who often regard philosophy as inherently complex, Westerners consider philosophy a part of everyday life.

Ancient Greek philosophy is the foundation of Western civilization, central to Christian and Islamic philosophies, and the driving force behind all they have achieved.

(Of course, the reason Easterners find philosophy difficult is not due to a lack of intelligence but because Westerners have obliterated all philosophies except those they created.)

Thus, Westerners have always treated philosophy as part of their daily lives, and naturally, France was no exception.

Gu Hak-jun, who grew up in a country where people sit in a cafe near the library with a book, engage in a heated debate with a stranger next to them about the book, fight, reconcile over a glass of wine, and then part ways, was naturally greatly influenced.

It is an undeniable fact that the Korean pure literature world, which used to think of beautiful nature and the happiness of a simple life when it came to pure literature due to the influence of Confucianism and the scholarly influences, was greatly shocked by Gu Hak-jun’s intellectual play that freely controlled Western philosophy.

(It was the opposite in France)

In Gu Hak-jun’s writings, philosophy was an inseparable theme, and Park Chang-woon saw such hues in Moon In’s work too.

This was why Park Chang-woon, the great senior of the literary circle, gasped in amazement with his eyes wide open.

Park Chang-woon paused mid-reading, gasping as he looked up at the ceiling.

The dim fluorescent light on the ceiling seemed like the sun that would illuminate the future of the Korean literary world.

Although Gu Yu-na looked at him as if seeing a peculiar person, Park Chang-woon, unfazed by the gaze of others, muttered his astonishments for a while, calming his excitement.

To pull in philosophical dilemmas not just as a part of literature but as the central theme, and to unfold the story based solely on that?

“A bold attempt. And it’s a very challenging piece of writing…”

Especially knowing that Moon In had never formally received teachings from Gu Hak-jun, Park Chang-woon seemed to have his eyes opened once again to Moon In’s peculiar genius.

How does this young man write such things?

With no way to solve that mystery,

All he could do was admire.

And Park Chang-woon, the novelist.

He wasn’t one to hide his admiration.

“Hey. Did you guys read it?”

Park Chang-woon expressed his admiration in front of the classroom students.

“Ah, teachers, have you read it?”

“If you mention it, I’ll look at it right away.”

“Uh huh, you can’t read it immediately, but it’s called ‘Isomer’…”

Park Chang-woon expressed his admiration in front of the teachers in the staff room.

“Hey, Lee Hyun-ah. Have you read it?”

“The official letter from the National Tax Service? Of course I saw it.”

“No, not that! Isomer!”

Park Chang-woon expressed his admiration in front of the director at the Teacher Training Institute.

“Honey, have you read it?”

“I’ve been into ‘Isomer’ lately…”

Park Chang-woon expressed his admiration in front of his wife.

[Guys, have you read it?]

[Is it a new book? Where is it from?]

[It hasn’t been published yet]

[Then how the hell are we supposed to read it, you bastard]

Park Chang-woon expressed his admiration in front of his group chat.

In fact, that was the most decisive thing.

Criticism of the literary power structure often invokes a vast, shadowy force purportedly controlling the literary world from behind the scenes, but in reality, no such thing exists.

(The evil dark corporate Baekhak Publishing is strictly speaking not part of the literary world but the publishing industry, and power doesn’t actually reside there.)

Primarily because the revenue structure of writers resembles that of independent contractors, where organization is not crucial, and because writers stereotypically lack sociability.

Therefore, ‘authors,’ generally a profession of friendless outsiders, tend to gather with like-minded individuals rather than forming large organizations.

Park Chang-woon was no exception.

He primarily engaged in social activities within a small group chat that included Gu Hak-jun.

For the record, Seo Woon-pil isn’t there. Seo Woon-pil is an unusual case of a writer who owns a large organization.

However, Park Chang-woon and Gu Hak-jun’s ‘group chat’ also exaggeratedly had an influence comparable to Seo Woon-pil’s literary magazine, because the members of that group chat were people of considerable renown.

One of them was Cheong In-ha.

“The old man is talking nonsense again….”

The poet and novelist Cheong In-ha checked the chat and frowned in displeasure.

Anyway, Park Chang-woon that guy never knows how to have fun quietly.

Just as in every organization, from the kindergarten class to the Blue House cabinet, there were cliques within the group chat as well.

Cheong In-ha is a traditionalist.

She participated in offline gatherings where they would recite poetry, drink tea, send sparkling mobile GIFs during holidays, and enjoy the mainstream culture of her peers by sending Bible verses to the group chat every morning—a typical person in her 60s.

However, even within the group chat, Park Chang-woon was considered an eccentric.

What kind of old man plays Battle Royale games?

Every evening when a message popped up asking, , Cheong In-ha would sigh heavily before anything else.

Moreover, as far as she knew, he didn’t even play the game properly. Four of them would gather in the game world for a walk and just chat over voice, but among them, only Gu Hak-jun actually played properly, leading to frequent quarrels in the group chat.

If it became known that esteemed literary figures were doing this, many literature enthusiasts would be dumbfounded.

Anyway, Park Chang-woon was someone who lived a bit too youthfully for his age, always causing a stir in the group chat with what the young people these days call .

Cheong In-ha, fueled by anger, furiously typed on her phone using the ‘doksuri tapping’ method. (TL: See image below)

[Listen, Minister Park,, when a person gets old, one should show behavior befitting their age to set a good example and cultivate dignity,, please demonstrate decorum in your actions and words,,,]

The reply came quickly.

[ㅇㅉㅌㅂ] (TL: Korean slang which means ‘So what? go watch TV’. )

Cheong In-ha, not sure what it meant but sensing deep malice in the response, was infuriated.

Her furious ‘doksuri tapping’ continued on her phone screen.

[Bringing up an unpublished novel, boasting as if you have read it—how is this different from a child showing off? Please exercise restraint,,,]

[In-ha, right now our Moon In is working on a new piece, do you think I have the luxury to hold back???]

Then the story is a bit different.

Cheong In-ha, slightly suppressing her fiery temper, gently prodded Park Chang-woon.

[Send it to me once. I’ve always been interested in that young friend’s writing,,]

[I could give it a review if needed,,,]

If Cheong In-ha’s students saw this, they would be wide-eyed and jaw-dropped to hear their teacher speak so softly and amiably, but Park Chang-woon didn’t care.

[I can’t send it to you ㅅㄱ] (TL: another slang which in here means ‘nice try’)

Veins throbbed on Cheong In-ha’s forehead.

Just as she was about to continue her furious typing, Park Chang-woon added another comment.