Novelist Running Through Time

“A primary school student… I find it hard to believe.”

Baekhak Entertainment CEO’s office.

CEO Baek Seung-won had summoned several advisors. Usually, these people who fought fiercely against each other agreed this time.

“It doesn’t make sense logically. How can an primary school student write at such a level?”

“I think the same. Lim Yang-wook, that person, he bet all his fortune on this matter, right? Then there is no way he can’t do it. We shouldn’t be deceived.”

“You’re right. If we get involved carelessly, we won’t be able to get out of this issue. Initially, publishing isn’t even our field of expertise. With the debut of our next boy group just around the corner, do we need to divert our manpower there?”

CEO Baek Seung-won frowned while puffing on his cigarette. There was no one with a sharp comment. It was obvious. These people just didn’t want to share their department resources with an outsider like Lim Yang-wook.

He tapped the cigarette he was holding into the ashtray.

“Don’t just answer off the top of your heads. Give me some evidence. So, how much attention is Author Moon currently receiving? Doesn’t anyone have the data?”

No one did. No one had prepared it.

Just before CEO Baek Seung-won was about to lose his temper, the head of the PR department stepped up and made an excuse.

“It’s somewhat an issue, but not big enough to concern you, sir. Initially, the nature of the issue is too negative anyway…”

“Oh, my goodness.”

CEO Baek finally lost his temper.

“Isn’t negative attention still attention? Then why do we have paid commenters in the PR department?”

Negative attention is still attention.

And attention turns into money. Because it attracts advertising fees.

Therefore, those who garner a lot of attention move capital, and in a capitalist society, capital is power, so fame is directly linked to power.

And Baekhak Entertainment is a company that creates fame to produce capital and power. That’s CEO Baek Seung-won’s philosophy.

So, no matter how small, he couldn’t give up on any fame.

For department heads, it might be a bothersome task, but for the CEO, it was something that needed to be done.

Today, CEO Baek Seung-won lamented the fact that he was the only one thinking about the company, driving the department heads.

“Let’s say no one knew what was happening in our company’s underground parking lot. I didn’t know either. But once the incident happened, shouldn’t we at least find out if this is shit or soybean paste?”

“I’m sorry, sir…”

“If what Lim Yang-wook said is even half true, then this is an opportunity we absolutely can’t miss.”

The employees nodded as if they had a great realization at CEO Baek Seung-won’s words. There was no one to argue, “Why did you seek our advice if you had already made up your mind?” Those who would say such a thing wouldn’t have been promoted in the first place. That’s how corporate life is. If you’re upset, you have to become the CEO.

Initially, CEO Baek Seung-won hadn’t gathered the employees for advice but as a formality to relieve some of the stress from his position.

He was a collateral relative of a chaebol family and was in a position to be ousted by the direct line if he couldn’t prove his abilities. The pressure he usually felt was extraordinary.

That’s why CEO Baek Seung-won had trouble trusting people and tended to handle even minor things himself, and the conclusion of today’s meeting ended up the same.

“Ah, forget it! I’ll go and check it myself.”

EP 2 – Other

Today, the New Light Spring Orphanage was peaceful as usual.

The birds chirped, the flowers bloomed, and there was chaos due to condoms being found during a sudden inspection of the high school section, but still, it was peaceful.

When I was young, I couldn’t adapt to this peace. Back then, I considered such peace as ‘surveillance’ and ‘discipline.’

And that was true.

Life in the orphanage was controlled by rules from beginning to end. Strict rules are necessary to handle dozens of children.

It’s not that the teachers at the orphanage lacked affection.

Loving even a single child can be difficult and sometimes fails; that is human nature. Love is that difficult.

Therefore, for people whose job is to take care of dozens of children who aren’t their own, they inevitably have to govern the children with strict standards and a system of rewards and punishments.

It may seem rigid, but once you get used to it, it’s nothing special.

However, for children in their prime, it’s no different from a prison. Moreover, a prison set right in the middle of the city. Just as prisoners gaze at the free world outside, longing for it, we too could see ‘ordinary’ children living freely whenever we went to school.

Furthermore, the fact that the head of the orphanage could send a child directly to court without going through investigative agencies meant that the oppression towards the orphans had some legal support.

That’s why orphans often deviate from the path.

And every time orphans cause trouble, society’s prejudices and control only intensify. It’s a chicken-and-egg problem.

But having experienced society a bit, I was quite satisfied with my current life. Another name for this oppression was ‘protection.’

There were too many children in worse situations than us orphans. Too many parents failed to love their children. Everyone’s life has its own set of challenges.

So, we just need to do our best in our respective situations.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Perhaps, it was too early for the young kids.

The child holding a ball asked me with a skeptical look.

“So, In-seop, you’re saying you don’t play soccer?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you should’ve said you don’t play from the start. What nonsense are you spouting!”

“You should study more during free time instead of just playing soccer. From what I see, you’re better suited for studying than soccer.”

“Yeah, screw that~ I’m going to play soccer~”

The child with the ball lightly dismissed my words and ran out to the yard with others who were as crazy about soccer as him. He played happily, kicking the ball around.

In the near future, that child would discover his talent in studying and get admitted to a pretty good university.

However, he wouldn’t make it to the top-tier universities. He was close to being accepted but narrowly missed out due to getting one math problem wrong in the college entrance exam.

Still, he was the one who got into the best university among our generation, and everyone congratulated him. But at that party, the child shed tears, saying:

He should have studied a bit more when he was younger.

It would have been nice if someone had told him that when he was young.

“This kid… wouldn’t listen even if I told him…”

I muttered quietly to myself and sighed deeply.

My hobby wasn’t going as well as I thought.

The hobby I was recently engrossed in was ‘Changing Fate.’

After somewhat adapting to life in the orphanage ten years ago, the people around me started to become clear. I could distinguish who was who.

And I knew their futures.

There was a child who would lose a finger in a factory accident, another who would become a single mother after meeting a terrible guy, and even one who, like me, would take their own life.

Regrettably, orphans had a slightly higher chance of ruining their lives compared to ordinary children because their starting line in life was different. Starting with myself… no, never mind.

Of course, many children had a good future, but more often, it was the children who ruined their lives.

The same was true for Ma Ki-hoon.

Thinking about it, I remembered that not long after graduating from the orphanage, one of the older kids had died in a motorcycle delivery accident.

The older kids in the higher grades cried as if their hearts were breaking, and the entire orphanage was engulfed in shock. Because the person involved in the accident was widely respected throughout the orphanage.

I vaguely remember that time when I was just entering middle school and suffering from school violence, but I’m sure the name of the deceased was Ma- something.

Thinking about it now, it was undoubtedly Ma Ki-hoon.

That’s why I was waiting for an opportunity to tell him not to ride motorcycles, but such an opportunity never came.

Ma Ki-hoon still hadn’t returned to the orphanage. How could I give him advice if I couldn’t meet him?

Instead, I visited the staff room today as well to ask about Ma Ki-hoon.

“Oh, In-seop, is that you?”

“Hello, Teacher Bang.”

I asked Teacher Bang Jeong-ah, who was smiling broadly and handing me a milk-flavored caramel, a question.

“Did Ki-hoon hyung come back?”

“Well… I haven’t heard anything, so I’m worried. I heard he’s mingling with a group of runaway teens, but I have no idea when he’ll return…”

Then one day, shocking news arrived at the orphanage.

Ma Ki-hoon had been assaulted and was hospitalized.

The perpetrators were gangsters.

* * *

This incident occurred due to three interlocking facts.

First, despite the worsening issue of school violence, including bullying, the response of public authorities was insufficient, leading to the prevalence of private sanctions. Specifically, the ‘uncle proxy service’ offered by errand centers. Tattooed men would pretend to be uncles and threaten school bullies.

Second, such actions were, of course, illegal. Therefore, those with a motive for illegal activities were involved in this work. This included local troublemakers and regional gangsters.

Third, the group of runaway youths that Ma Ki-hoon relied on, commonly known as the ‘runaway fam,’ often had connections with or were under the patronage of local violent organizations.

So, the full story of the incident is as follows:

The parents of primary school students who had been slapped by Ma Ki-hoon, unable to contain their fury, requested a rather aggressive ‘uncle proxy service’ from an errand company.

The errand company, also a local gangster organization, confirmed that their target, ‘Ma Ki-hoon,’ was staying with a runaway fam under their jurisdiction.

If they had been a somewhat cash-strapped security firm, they would have been happy to have an easy job, capturing Ma Ki-hoon, giving him a stern warning, and ending the matter…

But they were a criminal organization.

The organization informed the client, the parents, that they had secured Ma Ki-hoon.

They promised that if additional payment was made, they would deliver a ‘rougher’ service to the dreadful school bully.

The parent agreed and sent the money.

And so, Ma Ki-hoon was assaulted and ended up in the hospital.

That was the full extent of the incident as understood by the orphanage.

New Light Spring Orphanage was no longer peaceful.

The peace had been shattered.

“Ma Ki-hoon… he was our leader.”

An emergency committee was convened at the New Light Spring Orphanage. The chairwoman, a female student who was also the leader of the local girl gang community and had been dating Ma Ki-hoon for seven years.

They had playfully called each other boyfriend and girlfriend since they were little kids in primary school, and now they had become a real family. She was essentially his fiancée, a couple so well-known that even the children and teachers at the orphanage recognized them.

“You guys… are you just going to let this go?”

Therefore, when she declared revenge, no one took it as just kids pretending to be tough or playing around.

“No, noona!”

“How can we just sit still when Ki-hoon hyung has suffered like that?”

“Hey. Are there any of you who don’t owe Ma Ki-hoon oppa? No, right? Can you even swallow your food right now?”

In the world of martial arts, debts of gratitude must be repaid in blood.

The signs of a great blood feud were showing.

“At the very least, we can’t let those runaway fam bastards go. Ma Ki-hoon trusted and relied on them, and they betrayed him. At the very least, we should ensure they end up in casts.”

“I know where those bastards are. Should I text them?”

“Weren’t you close to them?”

“What does that matter now that Ki-hoon hyung has been hurt? I’d rather go and ask them directly. Why did they do it?”

The spirited youths argued who would lead the revenge, and the murderous intent of the warriors grew increasingly intense.

At that moment, the leader of the model student gang, which played the role of the main opposition in the New Light Spring Orphanage, stepped forward to quell the public opinion.

“Guys, calm down. This isn’t right. Let’s report this to the police.”

The backlash was fierce. It wasn’t just some ridiculous claim that government forces shouldn’t be involved in matters of the martial world; real, valid arguments emerged.

“Ah, damn it, don’t you know in this shitty neighborhood, if it’s not Prugio, even the snowplows won’t come? How many times have you experienced it? Do you think those damn cops will listen to us?” (TL: Prugio is a Korean apartment brand, implying that if there aren’t any of their apartments in the neighborhood, even snowplows don’t come in.)

“Damn, I know which gang’s bar that police station chief frequents, you moron. You’re talking nonsense, you damn model student…”

Despite the venomous words of the top-ranked school bullies, the leader of the model student gang didn’t back down. They had grown up eating from the same pot since childhood; there was nothing to fear.

“No, you idiots! What can you guys do? They’re called errand centers, but they’re gangsters, gangsters! If you mess with that runaway fam, what will you do when the real gangsters come?”

“What will we do?”

“Yes!”

At this, the girlfriend of Ma Ki-hoon, who was leading the current meeting, mentioned a name.

There was no one who didn’t know that name. Until a few years ago, he had been part of the same orphanage family.

And now, he was an active member of an organized crime group.

Regrettably, orphans have a different starting line in life. Therefore, it was very common for them to fall into the path of darkness.

And the name just mentioned belonged to one of those thugs, a seriously dangerous member of a criminal organization, to the extent that everyone fell silent the moment it was mentioned.

“Are you really going to call him?”

“If things go south, we might have to.”

The girl showed firm resolve. She was seriously contemplating revenge. And it seemed like the other children felt the same.

In the end, even the model student gave up.

“Aigh, I don’t know anymore.”

Finally, the decision to embark on a mission of retaliation was made.

Moon In-seop was also there.

As a key informant in the case.

“Hey, Moon In-seop. Tell us who bullied you.”

Identifying who ordered the assault on Ma Ki-hoon was simple. The three students who beat up Moon In-seop. Investigating their parents would do it.

After all, everything started from Moon In-seop’s school violence, and Ma Ki-hoon ended up like this after retaliating.

But Moon In-seop shook his head.

“I can’t tell you.”

“Stop joking and tell us quickly.”

“Whether I tell you or not, a little investigation will reveal it all. But I don’t want to say it myself.”

“What? Look at this guy. You’re acting like this even though Ki-hoon hyung got messed up because he was protecting you? Do you really want to die?”

“Hey. Why are you being so harsh to the kid? He might be scared.”

However, Moon In-seop persuaded the children without showing any fear. There was something scarier than getting beaten up.

It was the children’s lives being ruined.

“Seniors, please listen to me. If we do this, our lives will be completely ruined.”

“Hey, our lives are already screwed. We’re orphans, what do we have to fear?”

“People die easily. Just a push down the stairs can break a neck or skull. Can you guarantee that a major accident won’t happen if we get into a fight?”

“What are you talking about…”

“We won’t even get a proper police investigation. If we cause trouble, we’ll be sent straight to court. It’s hard to be acquitted as orphans. You know, in Kim Sung-mo’s comics, they joke about ‘Nam Gang Youth Detention Center’? If you really go to a juvenile detention center, that could happen to you. Please, come to your senses.”

Realizing that Moon In-seop wasn’t acting out of fear but was seriously trying to convince them, the high school students unwittingly got absorbed in his words.

“I know you seniors aren’t just putting on a show. But this is really the wrong way to do it.”

“The kid is talking nonsense…”

“Let’s do this instead. Find the errand center and the parents who ordered the assault on Ki-hoon hyung, and formally inform Principal Moon Chung-jae and ask for legal action.”

“Damn, the orphanage has no money, so who’s going to pay for the lawyer? Do you even know what a lawyer is?”

“This isn’t a civil lawsuit but a criminal case, so we just need to file a complaint with the prosecutor.”

“Why are you bringing up detectives? Detectives are people like those in major investigation squads, like Kang Cheol-jung, Seo Do-cheol-” (TL:  Kang Cheol-jung in K-film ‘Public Enemy Returns’ and Seo Do-cheol in K-film ‘Veteran’)

The leader of the model student gang jabbed the student who was interrupting Moon In-seop.

“Shut up.”

“Why?”

“Just shut up… it’s embarrassing…”

The model student signaled Moon In-seop with his eyes.

“In-seop, keep talking.”

“If just reporting it and waiting isn’t satisfying, we can take another approach. After filing the report, we start spreading rumors. Someone hired people to assault a minor. Like that.”

“Isn’t that illegal?”

“It’s illegal if you go to their workplace and cause a scene, but filing a complaint with the media and tipping them off isn’t illegal. In fact, even if it is, newspapers will publicize it more for the views, right? We can spread it on the internet, visit the offices of members of parliament, and inform the church that supports our orphanage…”

Moon In-seop concluded his opinion.

“Anyway, fighting is not an option. Ki-hoon hyung wouldn’t want that either.”

And that turned out to be true shortly afterward.

Ma Ki-hoon really returned and said so.

“What are you guys doing?”

Ma Ki-hoon was unharmed.

* * *

The ones who were hired by the parents were gangsters.

In other words, trusting them was foolish.

After informing the parents that they had secured Ma Ki-hoon and receiving additional payment to beat him up, the local gangsters chose the easy way out instead of the hard one.

“Are you Ma Ki-hoon? If you’re friends with our kids-”

“Who are you…?”

“Doesn’t matter. Just work with us for a bit. We’ll pay you.”

The gangsters explained the whole situation to Ma Ki-hoon.

And they gave him 100,000 won, saying:

“First, kneel down. Rub your palms together.”

“Yes!”

And then, the gangsters reportedly took out their smartphones.

I asked Ma Ki-hoon.

“So, what happened?”

“What happened? I pretended to be beaten up and groveled, making a video. I couldn’t cry, so I was wondering what to do, but then those runaway fam bastards brought out garlic sauce left over from chicken and applied it under my eyes.”

“Ah…”

“I’m sorryyy! I’m sorryyy! Like that, and I got 100,000 won. Isn’t that a win? I heard the parents paid the gangsters 2 million won. They must have had a lot of money.”

Myself and the other students, who had been seriously considering revenge, dispersed with a sense of futility.

Only his girlfriend, who had been genuinely worried about Ma Ki-hoon, furiously pulled his hair.

“If you weren’t hurt, you should have contacted us sooner! You idiot, moron, trash!”

“Ouch! Ouch! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! My bad!”

And that’s how the Ma Ki-hoon incident was resolved.

But the aftermath wasn’t so easily concluded.

It wasn’t that there was an actual disaster waiting to happen; it was just an issue in my mind.

The next day, feeling unsettled, I went to school for the first time in a while and continued to feel uneasy even while heading home.

“I was lucky…”

Fortunately, nothing happened, but it could have turned into a really serious incident.

Sometimes this world feels too cruel, especially towards the weak.

Suddenly, the numerous buildings I saw while walking on the street looked like a jungle.

A world where the strong prey on the weak, and no one listens to the screams of those being devoured…

That’s how it seemed.

With these thoughts, I walked along the street.

Then, a large van pulled up beside me.

As the driver’s side window rolled down, an adult I’d never seen before stared intently at me.

“Hmm.”

Before I could ask who he was, he spoke to me.

“Are you In-seop by any chance? Moon In-seop from the 6th grade of primary school?”

“…”

“It seems right. Looking at your face.”

A man in sunglasses and a suit got out of the van. He was a stylish person dressed in a white suit. Two men in black suits also got out, escorting him.

At that moment, a chilling sensation crawled up my spine.

Ma Ki-hoon.

Gangsters.

Errand center.

‘Uncle Proxy Service’.

Several words flashed through my mind.

I ran without looking back.

“Help meee-!”

“What, what!”

The voice of the man in the white suit came from behind.

“Hey! I’m not a weirdo!”

“Save meee-!”

“Uh, uh, uh, c-catch him!”

That day.

Baek Seung-won, CEO of Baekhak Entertainment, was locked up in a police station detention center for the first time in his life.

It was spring.