Venturing into the Broadcasting Station
"So, it's officially getting adapted into a drama, then?"
The Song of the Sword was confirmed for drama adaptation. Well, it was such a masterpiece that it would have been weirder if it hadn't happened. Other novels were getting adapted, so it didn't make sense for Song of the Sword not to.
"That's right..."
Kim Sung-ho, the section chief, looked at me and said. Seeing his reaction, I started typing on the keyboard again.
"Then I'll leave it in your hands... I'll keep writing my novels."
There was still so much left to write. Part of me wanted to spend every single one of the 24 hours in a day just writing. But first, I had to pay off the debt. Only after that could I take it easy. The remaining debt was enormous. For most people, it would be enough to file for bankruptcy. If an ordinary person had 700 million won in debt, they'd be socially dead. Plenty of folks never earned that much in a lifetime. It was entirely possible if you worked at a small or medium-sized company or one with low pay.
In my original era, a job at a semiconductor company would let you pay it off in a few years, but those weren't open to just anyone. And a kid like me could never get in. I'd have to be at least 20 to even think about employment. So, the only thing I could do was write novels and earn from publishing. I was too young for other jobs, and they didn't pay much anyway. Trying to pay off this debt with part-time work? I couldn't even imagine how long that would take. I might still be working at it even after I became a grandma.
As I hammered away at the computer, Kim Sung-ho looked at me and said,
"No, no! Sora, you have to come with us to the broadcasting station."
Go to the broadcasting station...? What did that mean? Curious, I asked,
"Me, go to the broadcasting station?"
"Yeah. The drama writer said they want to meet you, Sora."
If the drama writer wanted to see me, there was no choice. They probably couldn't believe the original author was an elementary school kid. I wouldn't believe it either. Especially not if they knew I had the skill to write Song of the Sword.
"Alright, then. Are we going now?"
"No, no! Tomorrow. Come to our office tomorrow, got it, Sora?"
"Got it."
It didn't sound bad— I'd get to tour the broadcasting station too. It was the place adapting my book, so skipping out might seem odd. Adaptations usually involved hearing from the original author anyway.
-------------------------------------------------------
"Sora, where are you going?"
It was the weekend, but they wanted to meet at the broadcasting station... Well, this era still saw six-day workweeks as normal. Officially, the five-day week had been introduced, but that was for civil servants and public corporations. Private companies were still used to six days.
Even Byeolbit Elementary School, where I went, had school on some Saturdays and days off on others. Schools ran six days a week back then! You went to school on Saturdays. Sure, the second and fourth Saturdays were holidays, called "play Saturdays," but that meant first and third Saturdays were mandatory. Skipping meant an absence.
Today was the second Saturday, a play day. Maybe that's why Mom was asking, looking like she wanted to hang out. She was still young herself. In her twenties, basically a chirping chick. In my era, people usually started working around 30. Even if early, it was mid-to-late twenties, factoring in military service, college, and job prep.
"Mom, I'm going to the broadcasting station."
"The broadcasting station...!?"
"Yeah. They want to adapt the novel I wrote into a drama."
"Aww... I wanted to play with you, Sora."
"Let's play tomorrow, Mom. It's Sunday."
"Hiiing..."
Watching Mom pout like that, I wanted to ditch the drama stuff and just play with her. Maybe it was my kid body, but playing with Mom was plenty fun. She worked weekdays, so if not now, there was no time. Dad had already left for work ages ago.
I needed to make money fast and pay off the debt. There were times I wanted to spend with Mom and Dad, but reality meant debt repayment over play. And their youthful selves were only here now. Time was an arrow— it flew forward relentlessly, never turning back. I'd see their young faces now, but as time passed, they'd age. Aging was natural. The only resistances were Botox or medical treatments, but wrinkles still crept in.
"Mom, I'll be back."
"Can't Mom come with you...? I'm a bit worried sending you alone."
"It's fine. It's just nearby, and I'll meet company staff there and go together."
"Hiiing..."
I wanted to bring Mom, but taking her to a work thing felt weird. Like bringing your mom to your office— who does that? It was just for the day, not a multi-day thing, so I decided to go alone. We could play tomorrow. Dad worked weekends, but Mom didn't.
I left the house. One bus ride got me to Songi Media. On the bus, I gazed at the distant scenery. Being the past era, it looked different from the Seoul I knew. People stood around on the streets, doing nothing, just blankly waiting. No smartphones were widespread like in my time. This was an era where gathering at a spot and zoning out while waiting for friends or people was normal.
Cell phones existed, but they weren't free like smartphones. At best, download a mobile game or listen to music? And it wasn't fun. No YouTube or endless entertainment. Looking back, smartphones were an insane invention, a total revolution. They upended lives completely. Probably one of the greatest inventions ever.
When I had money to spare, I'd buy one. Not a feature phone—a smartphone. But full rollout in Korea was still a ways off. Old smartphones back then would be ridiculously slow and underpowered anyway... The computer I used now was worse than the smartphone from my future. A 20-year tech gap was unavoidable. In the old days, 10-20 years wasn't much, but in modern times, that was earth-shaking change.
Lost in such thoughts, I arrived at Songi Media. Luckily, no need to go inside— Kim Sung-ho and Yoo Min-ah were waiting outside.
"Sora, you're here!"
"Sora, come on over~"
They were in high spirits. No wonder— the genre novel team was racking up huge successes since forming. They couldn't help but be thrilled. My current work, Sunlight Painter, was selling over 10,000 copies per volume. In a market where 3,000 was a success, three times that? Grinning ear-to-ear was inevitable. Massive performance, as they say.
Normally, when a department thrived, the chief was over the moon. And now Song of the Sword drama adaptation! Songi Media was probably too dazzled by our feats to look straight. I was a walking treasure chest. They even said they'd send more staff. Probably too much work for just two people now.
"Hello."
I bowed my head in greeting. Seeing that, the chief said,
"Alright, let's go."
Good thing— no subway. We rode in Kim Sung-ho's personal car straight to KBA Broadcasting Station. I'd probably never set foot in one before in my life. The massive KBA building welcomed us. Since it was arranged ahead, security didn't stop us.
And so, our group entered the broadcasting station.