Chapter 61: First Drive

When I opened the front door and looked outside, there stood a man in a neat shirt and a black windbreaker.

He was holding a business card wallet in his left hand and a slim bag in his right, smiling brightly as he waited.

"Hello. I'm a reporter from Ilgan Newspaper's Culture Section. Are you perhaps Writer Yoo Seung-hyun?"

The man, introducing himself as a reporter, bowed his head slightly and asked about my identity.

I stood at the threshold, looking at the face of the man who called himself a reporter.

"How did you find me?"

I watched his face carefully through the open door.

"Ah, well. Finding someone isn't that difficult. If you've ever watched ‘Finding Love on TV,’ you'd know how they track people down. These days, there are plenty of companies that find people for you. It only takes a few days, that's all."

The reporter shrugged, speaking as if finding someone was nothing at all.

He wasn't wrong.

We live in a world where, if you have the money, anyone can be found.

Of course, the program he mentioned eventually changed its method due to tightening privacy laws, and was ultimately canceled in 2010.

But now, it's 2002.

This is still an era where awareness and systems regarding personal information protection are quite lax.

I clicked my tongue bitterly and looked down at the reporter, who was a bit shorter than me.

"These days, ‘You Are the Star Within Me’ is a hot topic. I wanted to meet you for an interview in person. Even though your work didn’t win a prize in the contest, it’s selling much better than the grand prize winner. If I let this pass, I wouldn’t be doing my job as a reporter. I think I have plenty of reason to track you down."

The reporter smiled slyly, trying to coax me into conversation.

His intentions behind that smile were blatantly obvious.

"You could have contacted the publishing house and asked for my permission, couldn’t you?"

Usually, that was the process. I should revise that—this is the correct process.

The structure is that interview requests go through my contact person, and only if I accept does the interview happen.

But the reporter had skipped all those steps and tracked me down personally.

"I did contact the publishing house, but they said you’re avoiding interviews, so I was out of options."

After the TV and radio appearances, I had told the publisher not to schedule anything else since I was busy.

"If that were the case, you should have left it at that. If you really wanted to see me, I mean. This is no better than thievery—digging through my information and showing up without permission."

"Aren’t you curious why your work didn’t win at the contest? If you agree to an interview, I might be able to tell you."

Now he was even trying to bargain with me using strange topics.

"I’m not curious. I’ve gained something even better than the grand prize, so I’m not interested."

By now, the contest had long since faded from my mind.

A bestseller, strong sales.

That was enough for me.

"You should leave now."

I thought about bringing up the privacy laws floating in my head, but since I wasn’t sure if they were relevant in this era, I left it unsaid and decided to end things here.

"This is a good opportunity for you as well, you know? Especially at a time when all eyes are on you."

"When and how I make my position known is up to me. It’ll never be to someone who barges in unannounced like this."

I retorted immediately.

Everything is decided and set in motion by me.

I had no intention of letting anyone else pull my strings.

"So go back. If I need you, I’ll call."

This was the best response I could give.

"Well, this is refreshing. I never thought you’d respond like this."

The reporter's expression changed.

His smile vanished, and his jaw tightened.

"If something like today happens again, I’ll lodge a formal complaint with your office."

"Heh... fine. I’ll leave for today. But, at least I gained something good from this. I’ll be sure to make amends for coming unannounced. That’s all, then."

With those words, the reporter turned his back and left.

I waited silently until he disappeared from sight, and only after some time did I finally go back inside.

---

[Writer Yoo Seung-hyun, a story written while thinking of his younger sibling, hoping his sibling becomes the star within him.]

[Ilgan Newspaper, Culture Section: “There was a time when we used to look at each other and smile. I hope we never forget those times……”]

[‘You Are the Star Within Me’—the rookie writer Yoo Seung-hyun who moved readers to tears.

Reading this writer’s work, which places family at the center of emotion, brings back memories of the pure days we’ve long forgotten.]

From that day on, articles about me were published daily in newspapers and online media.

"I wondered if they’d write some nasty article about me. Is this the compensation he mentioned?"

Contrary to my expectations, the articles painted me in a positive light, leaving me feeling oddly bewildered.

I started to wonder what was going on in that reporter’s mind.

Are all reporters so selfish, arbitrary, and self-centered?

It’s hard to figure out.

Since there were no bad articles, I decided to leave it at that.

1st place: Harry Truck

2nd place: Yoo Seung-hyun

3rd place: You Are the Star Within Me

Thanks to the articles, my work and my name started trending in real-time online search rankings.

It felt completely different from when I appeared on TV and radio.

"Still, it’s such a strange feeling. Things are going so well—almost too well. It’s amazing."

I decided to put away the memories of my encounter with the reporter and move on.

Originally, life should have been about struggling again and again, scoring a small success every once in a while, but this life was so different.

Every piece I wrote drew a reaction from readers, and my works were often mentioned here and there.

"Should I be happy about this? Sometimes, it even scares me."

It was the greatest honor of my writing career, but at the same time, I couldn’t help feeling anxious.

The scariest thing for a writer is not failure, but rather when a once-successful ship suddenly sinks and vanishes without a trace. I’d seen many writers who let go of writing in such silence. I believed I was different from them, but anxiety always lingered somewhere in my heart.

"Let’s stop thinking here. Time to focus on the license."

No point in overthinking—just gives me a headache.

I put aside my tangled thoughts and decided to focus on the driving test.

Not long ago, I’d finally had my birthday and was now old enough, by law, to get a driver’s license.

I put on comfortable sportswear and headed to the driving test center.

─ You’ve passed.

I breezed through the written test, and also passed the practical test without any issues.

My hands handled the stick shift smoothly. It was a rare chance to show off the manual driving skills I’d picked up at my old job.

All that was left was the road test.

Since they said I could take it right away at 4 p.m., I signed up for the road test on the spot.

I sat in the waiting room, sipping a drink as I waited for my turn.

"I’m getting nervous for no reason."

Even though I was confident in my driving, my heart started pounding just thinking of it as a test.

Whenever you’re waiting for a test, time seems to move so slowly.

"Yoo Seung-hyun, you’re next. Please get ready."

An announcement rang out, and the examiner let me know it was my turn.

I followed the examiner and got into the car I’d be using.

"We’ll begin the road test now."

With the examiner’s words, I buckled my seatbelt, checked the side and rear-view mirrors, operated the gear, and slowly drove out of the test center.

"Is this really your first time driving?"

The examiner, who’d been quietly watching me drive, asked.

"My parents taught me well, that’s all."

I answered with an easy smile.

"You’re quite skilled. You must have practiced a lot."

The examiner looked at me from across the steering wheel for a moment, then spoke.

"Ha ha, well, something like that."

I smiled gently and arrived at the destination without a hitch.

"Yoo Seung-hyun, you’ve passed."

I hadn’t passed on my first try in my previous life, but in this one, I got my license in a single day. I picked it up right away and headed home.

"Dad, I got my license!"

I placed my new license gently on the table.

"Already?"

Mom asked in surprise.

"You’re better than your mom. She had to take it three times before she passed, you know."

Dad gave a proud but slightly exasperated smile.

"So, I wanted to ask... is it okay if I buy a car?"

I was still a minor under my parents’ protection. Even when I turned twenty, buying a car on my own without their input would be disrespectful.

I wanted to go through the proper steps and get their permission for the purchase.

"Tell me why you need a car."

"I want to reward myself for working so hard without a break all this time."

I told them honestly how I felt.

"And, since I plan to get a job next year at a company with the military service exemption, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to buy a car in advance."

While my friends prepared for the college entrance exam, I was preparing for alternative military service.

Most companies that offered the military service exemption weren’t easily accessible by public transport, so having a car was a must.

It was the best pitch and the most honest reason I could offer to my parents, who already knew I had no plans for college.

"Alright. If you’re earning the money yourself, I won’t stop you. But you have to drive carefully and safely."

The two of them looked at each other in silence. After a moment, they exchanged glances and nodded, giving their consent for me to buy the car.

"Yes! Thank you. I’ll be careful."

The next afternoon, I went around the used car lot with my dad and decided to buy a 2001 BMW 5 Series. Its white body shimmered softly in the light, reflecting my face.

"You picked something more modest than I expected."

Dad smiled, clearly satisfied with my choice.

"Of course. What would a student do with a sports car? It’s just dangerous and not cost-effective."

There was a time I’d been infatuated with sports cars, but now, I had no interest in them.

"That’s good enough, then. Let’s go."

Dad gave a small laugh and got into the Rexton. At Mom’s suggestion—"Let’s ride in our son’s imported car at least once"—she got into the passenger seat of my car.

"Mom, buckle up tight. Here we go."

Vroom!

At my signal, the car pulled out of the parking lot and hit the road with a burst of energy.

"Seung-hyun, slow down! Go easy!"

Mom’s voice came from the passenger seat.

Even though I was only going 80 km/h, it must have felt way too fast and nerve-wracking to her.

I rolled down the window, feeling the wind, and enjoyed a moment of happiness as I thought about all the places I’d go in this car.