4
ch 4
### The First Line of a Carelessly Scribbled Poem
“Yawn.”
I'm so sleepy.
For some reason, I always get drowsy whenever I ride in a car.
Apparently, that's a type of motion sickness too.
I just want to get home and sleep comfortably.
“Mom, Dad. I'm back.”
The car my father had rented.
As I walked toward it, I saw both of them flinch in surprise.
“Y-You're already done?”
“Yes.”
My parents checked the time.
From the moment I entered the exam hall to the moment I came back out, it couldn't have taken even ten minutes.
“What... what was the topic?”
“Blue Marble.”
“B-Blue Marble?”
“Yes. The board game where you roll dice, move around the board, buy land, and build houses.”
“I know that game. B-But that was really the exam topic?”
“Yes.”
Goyoung Arts High School was truly ruthless.
Who in the world gives something like that as the theme for a transfer exam?
Everyone still inside the exam hall was probably having a collective mental breakdown.
“What on earth did our son write?”
Unless they'd also regressed because they failed to win the Nobel Prize in Literature like I had...
“I wrote a poem.”
“A poem? I thought you said you wrote novels.”
“That's right. Weren't you serializing novels online, not poetry?”
“Yes. But I'm good at writing poetry too.”
Among my countless regressions...
There had even been a lifetime where I devoted myself entirely to poetry.
I debuted through a poetry contest, swept literary awards with my poems, and songs were even made based on my poetry.
'But the only thing I learned was that winning the Nobel Prize in Literature through poetry had the lowest probability.'
When poems are translated into foreign languages, much of their essence has to be sacrificed.
If you preserve the rhythm, the meaning becomes diluted.
If you preserve the meaning as much as possible, the beauty of the Korean language disappears.
That's why it's incredibly difficult for poetry to gain international recognition.
Even so, it's still one of my favorite genres.
“B-But even so, writing a poem instead of a novel for such an important exam...”
“Don't worry.”
Honestly, I only wrote a poem because I was too sleepy.
But that didn't mean I'd just thrown together any random piece.
“If those people have normal judgment, they'll obviously accept me.”
As it happened, I'd once written a poem using Blue Marble as its subject.
It had even won an award after my official literary debut.
“...Yunseong.”
“Yes?”
“You're really our son, right?”
“Did I do something bad enough to get removed from the family registry?”
“No, that's not it.”
The two of them exchanged bewildered looks.
“You just seem... incredibly confident. It's like our son's personality suddenly became so much wilder.”
“Well, confidence is a man's greatest asset. I understand.”
Well...
The Yunseong they remembered had always been extremely timid.
To them, I probably seemed like a completely different person.
“If nothing else, I'm extremely confident when it comes to writing.”
That was the only way I could explain it.
I couldn't exactly tell them their son was repeatedly regressing because he couldn't win the Nobel Prize in Literature and had nearly gone insane because of it.
“So I'll definitely pass.”
“All right.”
“We should trust our son.”
If it had been any other arts high school, maybe.
But this was Goyoung Arts High School.
The best in the country.
Naturally, the practical exam instructors were among the finest as well.
There was no way they wouldn't recognize the quality of my poem.
And because of that...
It was also a school attended by children from wealthy and influential families.
The girl sitting next to me earlier had been an incredibly rich heiress.
If I remembered correctly, she was the daughter of film director Lee Seokhyo and actress Cha Miju.
She would later work at a cultural foundation. Who would've guessed she'd once dreamed of becoming a writer?
'Was her name Lee Jueun? Come to think of it, I remember hearing she graduated from a regular high school. So she must've failed the transfer exam.'
Well.
It wasn't any of my concern.
Whether she passed or not.
“Still, this place is packed with luxury foreign cars. I guess that's only natural for an arts high school full of wealthy students.”
The parking lot was filled with imported luxury vehicles.
Compared to them, the car my father had stretched himself to rent probably felt rather shabby.
“Dad. Should I buy you a car?”
“Huh?”
“You've struggled without one all this time. Renting must cost a lot too.”
“No, no. A car? What kind of high school student buys his father a car?”
“I told you, I'm making a lot of money. Please let me be filial for once.”
Oh?
The corners of my father's mouth seemed to be lifting.
“I actually want a motorcycle more than a car...”
“You! Absolutely not! I'm already worried sick every time you go out making deliveries.”
A moment later, my mother's smack on his back brought him right back down.
“Ugh.”
“She's right. Motorcycles are dangerous. You should quit your delivery job too. Mom worries about you that much. Why not look for something else?”
“But... our living expenses.”
“Then keep working only until this month. I'll start earning money in two weeks once my novel becomes paid.”
“...Son. You're only buying something for your dad? What about your mom?”
“Do you really think I'd only take care of Dad? Let's talk over a meal first. I heard there's a great sundae soup restaurant nearby.”
“Sure, let's go.”
“Let's hurry!”
In this life...
I'd make money through writing, earn fame, and finally repay my parents for everything.
I wanted to let them hold their heads high with pride.
I'd spent so much time obsessing over that Nobel Prize that I hadn't properly taken care of them.
I felt sorry for that.
“Come to think of it, you really are our son. Only our kind Yunseong would be this thoughtful.”
“That's right. This is definitely Jeong Juntae and Lee Sukhee's son, Jeong Yunseong!”
Yeah.
At least this time...
---
A short while later.
Inside the Creative Writing Department office at Goyoung Arts High School...
“Then let's begin evaluating the transfer examination.”
Along with the department head...
Every practical writing instructor had gathered.
“Before we officially begin, I'd like to mention that we had a total of thirty-two applicants for this transfer examination.”
As soon as the announcement was made...
Everyone in the office let out quiet exclamations.
“The competition keeps getting tougher.”
“Just the applicants alone are enough to fill an entire classroom.”
This wasn't even the regular entrance examination.
Yet thirty-two students had applied for the transfer exam.
Only two would be accepted.
That meant the competition ratio was sixteen to one.
“It's wonderful to see more and more students becoming interested in literature.”
“I think interest has increased ever since our country produced a Nobel Prize in Literature winner a few years ago.”
“And these days, there are so many easy ways to get into writing, like web novels.”
Just as everyone was smiling at the steadily increasing competition...
“I believe the bigger reason is that our Creative Writing Department at Goyoung Arts High School has established itself as the very best.”
The department head, Chae Unggi, leaned forward as he spoke.
“Of course, it's true that young students are becoming more interested in literature and writing... but if you look at the entrance and transfer exam competition rates for other arts high schools, they've barely changed. Only our department's numbers keep rising.”
The implication was obvious.
Most students who dreamed of becoming writers wanted to attend Goyoung Arts High School.
The school itself was prestigious.
But its Creative Writing Department was especially famous.
“Our graduates are the ones bringing honor to Korea. Novelists, poets, playwrights... and beyond literature, they dominate documentaries, television dramas, films, and web novels. They're leading the entire cultural industry.”
Some even claimed its output surpassed that of university creative writing departments.
In fact, graduating from Goyoung Arts High School's Creative Writing Department was a major advantage for university admissions.
“And that's all thanks to everyone here—our practical instructors and all those who have dedicated themselves to this department.”
Everyone nodded and smiled at Chae Unggi's words.
They all took considerable pride in belonging to Goyoung Arts High School.
“Oh, before we begin, I heard something rather interesting.”
Chae Unggi spoke as though he'd just remembered.
“One of the proctors told me that someone finished writing and left only one minute after the exam started.”
At that, poetry instructor Jo Minyeong frowned.
“Personally, I think students like that should be filtered out. Literature isn't some kind of joke. Frankly, it's an insult to every other student.”
She spoke with obvious irritation.
The other instructors nodded in agreement.
“I agree. This isn't a mandatory school exam. They chose to apply and came here on their own.”
“No matter how accessible writing may be, that kind of attitude is fundamentally flawed.”
“I can't believe there are still students who think so lightly of Goyoung Arts High School. Do they really think writing is that easy?”
The atmosphere instantly turned tense.
Most of the instructors were active professional writers.
Over the years, they'd judged countless entrance and transfer exams, encountering every kind of mediocre applicant imaginable.
“Personally, I think we should permanently ban that student from applying for another transfer exam.”
Someone even voiced such an extreme opinion.
“Everyone, calm down. They're still just children.”
Chae Unggi barely managed to settle everyone down.
“In any case, we have no idea what that student actually wrote. As you all know, the evaluations are conducted anonymously.”
Because Goyoung Arts High School was so prestigious...
Families often tried to use connections to get their children admitted.
To prevent that, numerous safeguards had been established.
One of them was blind evaluation.
“Looking at it another way, perhaps this year's topic was simply too difficult.”
Chae Unggi's gaze shifted toward Jo Minyeong.
After all...
She was the one who had chosen this year's exam topic.
“Blue Marble is quite an unexpected theme. It may have felt too strange or difficult for the students. Some of them might have completely panicked.”
“I don't think so.”
Jo Minyeong firmly shook her head.
“I actually thought today's students would like this topic. They visit board game cafés all the time. Even if they haven't played the board game itself, they've probably experienced it through mobile games. Just using the imagery of Blue Marble alone offers limitless possibilities for stories and poetic imagination.”
It wasn't sophistry.
She genuinely believed it.
“I don't expect perfection from the students. I want them to see the topic, unleash their own imagination, and produce writing that sparkles, even if it's still immature.”
Ever since Goyoung Arts High School's Creative Writing Department became famous...
More and more parents had begun hiring writing tutors for their children from a young age.
They received systematic training early on.
Naturally, the students' technical skills kept improving.
But the individuality that real writers needed was slowly disappearing.
“That's exactly why I didn't choose an ordinary topic. I wanted to see genuine imagination.”
Which was why...
She found it even harder to accept the student who had left after only one minute.
If they'd given up just because the topic was Blue Marble...
That alone was disappointing.
“I understand your intentions perfectly.”
Chae Unggi nodded.
“We've talked long enough. Let's begin the evaluation.”
The evaluation process itself was simple.
The department head and the practical instructors gathered to review the submissions.
The novel instructor evaluated the novels.
The poetry instructor evaluated the poems.
Each instructor then selected the piece that had impressed them the most.
If there were no disagreements, the choices stood.
If opinions differed, they discussed the works until they decided on the final two successful applicants.
'All right. Let's see what we've got.'
Jo Minyeong.
An active poet and the poetry instructor at Goyoung Arts High School.
With sharp focus, she began reading through the anonymous submissions.
'Even though it's blind evaluation, you can tell immediately when someone has written carelessly.'
Writing was a strange thing.
Whether it was a novel or a poem...
As you read, you could clearly sense the heart with which the author had written it.
'Whether the department head was right and they panicked, or they simply took this transfer exam on a whim... either way, I can't accept it.'
Writing was her profession.
Naturally, she became angry whenever someone treated her life's work with disrespect.
So rather than searching for the best piece first...
She decided to eliminate the worst ones.
Only then would she be able to concentrate.
A short while later...
'This is it!'
Jo Minyeong finally found it.
The handwriting looked unmistakably rushed and carelessly scribbled.
There was no doubt.
This had to be the arrogant student who had finished in one minute.
'I knew it. They even wrote a poem. There's a limit to how much you can look down on this exam. Fine. I'll set this aside immediately... Hm?'
But then...
The very first line of that carelessly scribbled poem...
[Game Start
Every finger was pointing outside the house.]
Captured Jo Minyeong's attention.
Without realizing it, instead of setting it aside, she continued reading.
Then, a moment later...
“...!”
Jo Minyeong froze.
At the same time, shock filled her face.
'Did a high school student who came here for a transfer exam... really write this?'
Because the poem...
Had not been carelessly written at all.