NOVPUB
Chapter 291 - 291: May You Also Find Someone You Love
[By the time she entered her first year of university, you had already advanced from your second year to your third.]
[It was only after she entered Tokyo University that she truly realized just how dazzling you had always been.]
[Every single course—aced with the highest scores.]
[With your handsome appearance and natural charisma, you had built a solid network of connections on campus.]
[On top of that, as a student, you had already published highly acclaimed literary works widely accepted by the public. Even the university's faculty and administrators held you in high regard.]
[Underclassmen looked up to you as a guiding star. After all, despite being so young, your serialized works had already accumulated over 400,000 copies in sales, with your total literary sales surpassing a million.]
[Every time you released a new book, it quickly trended on Japanese Twitter and secured a spot on the Oricon charts.]
[Without a doubt, these were achievements far beyond the reach of an ordinary student.] 𝖓𝔬𝖛𝔭𝔲𝖇.𝔠𝔬𝖒
[Even the esteemed professors of Tokyo University's literature department described you as a rare literary prodigy.]
[Your pen name occasionally flashed across weekly literary magazines, and your name was constantly buzzing among students.]
[Seeing just how radiant you were in university, Satou Matsuzaka realized—
catching up to you, standing proudly at your side... was an incredibly difficult challenge.]
[Yet, despite this, she felt no discouragement.]
[She had already traveled through so many places with you... witnessed so many breathtaking sights by your side...]
[As long as she kept moving forward, one day, she would reach where you stood.]
[Her expression was firm—completely serious, without the slightest hint of hesitation.]
[Seeing this, you had to make a decision—]
[1. Writing novels is a dead-end. Convince her not to take this path.]
[2. Support her dream and walk this journey with her.]
[3. She wants to learn? Sure, I'll teach her—but first, shouldn't she show some sincerity? Maybe, let's say... in 18 different ways?]
[4. Direct simulation.]
—
"There's still a choice at this point?"
Minami raised an eyebrow at the sudden prompt.
He had already made all the key choices earlier.
This seemed more like a finishing touch—an extra detail that wouldn't change the outcome too drastically, though it might affect the final evaluation.
Understanding this, he carefully analyzed the options.
"It really is a tough road, huh?"
Looking at the determined expression of Satou Matsuzaka in the simulation, Minami couldn't help but shake his head.
Reaching his level was nearly impossible for the average person.
After all, he possessed Level 4 Writing (Romance) proficiency, allowing him to rise rapidly in the literary world.
Simply put, in the field of literature, he was practically cheating.
For normal people, even just debuting as an author took years of effort—let alone catching up to him.
That was nearly impossible.
Because Level 4 Writing wasn't just above average—it was already industry-leading.
Even if Satou Matsuzaka had talent, reaching his level would be an extremely difficult feat.
To be blunt—"Writing novels is a dead-end" wasn't entirely wrong.
But—
Minami shook his head again.
Even if he didn't hold high expectations for her writing, as her boyfriend, he still had to support her.
After all, this was her dream.
"Since that's the case... no need to consider options 1 and 3."
Without hesitation, he ignored those two choices and selected option 2—
[Support her dream and walk this journey with her.]
—
[You understood that the path of writing was a thorny one, filled with countless challenges.]
[But this was her wish—her chosen path—and so, you didn't stop her. Instead, you decided to quietly support her from the sidelines.]
[Whenever she wrote, you would be there to guide her, offering suggestions and advice.]
[You told her—]
"If you want to focus on literary fiction, then start by refining your writing skills."
"If you want to write commercial novels, then start by focusing on plot structure."
[She accepted your guidance, but instead of choosing between literary fiction or entertainment novels, she decided to take a more balanced approach—
writing mainstream fiction that blended both elements.]
[It was a solid choice—one that could maintain literary value while still delivering an engaging plot, appealing to a broad range of readers.]
[Naturally, you fully supported her decision.]
[You didn't have her dive straight into writing. Instead, you recommended that she start by reading various novels.]
[Because before one could write well, they had to first absorb knowledge—to learn from the techniques of past authors, study character interactions, and understand plot structures.]
[Following your recommendations, she diligently read through world classics and notable commercial fiction from different countries.]
[And in the blink of an eye, months had passed...]
[On the desk, stacks of books from various genres lay open.]
[Many of them were marked with her bookmarks, tucked between pages thick with dense paragraphs.]
[Some were books you had already read, while others were ones she had bought to expand her literary knowledge.]
[The pink-haired girl gently flipped through the pages of a heavy hardcover novel, then reached up to rub her tired eyes.]
[And just at that moment, you approached her, shaking the coffee pot in your hand with a smile.]
[She murmured a soft "thank you," but you only waved it off, kneeling beside her to massage her shoulders while keeping your voice low to avoid disturbing the other girls in the house.]
[When you asked how things were going, she brightened up, excitement filling her voice.]
[She told you that after days of studying, she had accumulated a solid understanding of storytelling, making countless notes on different narrative techniques.]
[You only shook your head at her words.]
[You knew that simply imitating the techniques of past authors would only produce dull, uninspired writing.]
[A truly good novel required more than that—it needed an author's own insight and understanding to breathe life into the story.]
[You didn't tell her this.]
[Because this was something she had to learn on her own.]
[Only through firsthand experience could she truly understand it.]
—
[With your encouragement, she finally began writing.]
[Since it was her first attempt at storytelling, you suggested she start with a short story or a travelogue.]
[Thanks to her months of reading, she wrote fluently at first.]
[However, as she reached the halfway point, her pen began to slow.]
[Eventually, she found herself completely stuck—
a frustrating, inescapable wall standing between her thoughts and her words.]
[She could feel it.]
[The grand, breathtaking scenes she envisioned in her mind—
were utterly lost in her clumsy, unsatisfying descriptions on paper.]
[Even looking at the parts she had already written, she noticed too many traces of other books—echoes of borrowed ideas, lacking originality.]
[She didn't even need an editor's critique.
She already knew—this wasn't good enough.]
[When she voiced her frustration to you, you finally told her what you had withheld before.]
[That to truly write something great, she needed to infuse her own voice into it—
not just replicate what others had done.]
[Your words sent her into deep thought.]
[It was at that moment she realized—
writing was far harder than she had imagined.]
[But she didn't let it discourage her.]
[She took a deep breath, adjusted her mindset, and wrote another short story.]
[This time, she based it on her own travel experiences with you.]
[Though her prose was still rough, and the plot lacked polish—
it was leagues beyond her first attempt.]
[Because for the first time—
her story carried something uniquely hers.]
[A glimpse of her own perspective and emotions—the budding signs of her literary voice.]
[That was what truly mattered.]
[Recognizing her potential, you began formally mentoring her.]
—
[Of course, "mentoring" was a bit of an exaggeration.]
[More often than not, you simply sat beside her as she wrote, offering feedback and pointing out areas for improvement.]
[As the widely recognized author "Nami", you had more than enough expertise to guide her work.]
[And in the process, you couldn't help but be charmed by the way she expressed herself—
the occasional flashes of shyness, the adorable determination in her eyes...
Moments that made your heart stir.]
[The more time you spent together, the more you felt your hearts drawing closer.]
—
[And so, time passed.]
[You moved from your third year to your fourth.]
[She moved from her first year to her second.]
[With your help, she spent months refining her first full manuscript.]
[Finally, at the end of March, she secured a meeting with Editor Yamashita from Kodansha.]
[You sat with her at a café, watching as Yamashita flipped through her manuscript, his expression unreadable.]
[She was clearly nervous.]
[Her breathing was uneven, and if one looked closely, her gaze trembled slightly.]
[Beneath the table, you reached out and took her hand.]
[She glanced at you, smiling softly—her tension easing, even if just a little.]
—
[But no matter how sweet your interactions were, the editor wasn't going to approve her novel just because of you.]
[After carefully reviewing the manuscript, Editor Yamashita finally spoke.]
"It's a solid piece of work, but... it's not ready for publication yet."
[You could tell—he was trying to soften the blow.]
[And you also knew—the phrase "not ready yet" had crushed the dreams of countless aspiring writers.]
[Still, in a rare courtesy, perhaps because of his respect for you, Yamashita took the time to analyze the issues in her manuscript.]
"As far as prose goes, it's already at a publishable level."
"But the issue lies in the story itself."
"The writing is fine, but the plot lacks emotional weight—it doesn't feel real."
[It reads too much like a constructed narrative, something carefully pieced together rather than something lived."
[His critique was precise.]
[In truth, Satou Matsuzaka had sensed this issue while writing.]
[But she still didn't understand—how to bring that "realness" into her work.]
[It was a difficult hurdle, and even Yamashita had no clear solution for her.]
—
[After seeing him off, Satou Matsuzaka turned to you with a small, sheepish smile.]
[She apologized, as if she had let you down.]
[A year ago, she might have burst into tears, dwelling endlessly on her failure.]
[But walking this journey with you had changed her.]
[She had outgrown her childish fears—and now, she could face setbacks with courage.]
"It's all thanks to you, Minami-senpai."
"Thank you... for always staying by my side."
[Though there was still a trace of disappointment in her voice, the pink-haired girl carefully tucked away her manuscript, then turned to face you—smiling.]
—
[Because she knew—]
[More than anything—]
[You loved seeing her smile.]
Matsuzaka Sato never cried again, nor did she ever show sadness in front of Minami.
On the other hand, Minami simply shook his head with a smile. "It's fine. Just one failure."
A simple reassurance.
A silent smile between them.
That alone was enough to erase the frustration of failure.
[But the problem still stood before you.]
['Authenticity' and the fundamental flaws in the plot—these were the very things your pink-haired girlfriend lacked.]
[If she wanted to publish her work and make her debut as an author, she had to overcome these two challenges.]
[No matter how much she thought about it, even after combing through the hundreds of literary classics she had read, she couldn't come up with an exceptional story that truly suited her writing.]
[You pondered for a long time before finally telling her—why not turn her own experiences into a novel?]
[A girl with an emotional deficiency, growing up in the shadow cast by her aunt, drifting aimlessly through life, hesitant and lost, like a walking corpse.]
[These were all things she had experienced herself.]
[As someone who had suffered from emotional detachment, she was perhaps the most qualified person to write such a story.]
[Your words filled her with inspiration.]
[She straightened up and began writing, drawing from the life she had lived.]
[It was a medium-length novel, telling the story of a girl's dull, lifeless days, her journey of growing up like a ghost of a person. The writing was so raw and unembellished that the moment one laid eyes on it, they would be drawn in without realizing it.]
[But unlike reality, Matsuzaka Sato added an artistic touch.]
[In the story, the girl never met the young man meant for her. She drifted through life, searching endlessly for true love but never finding it. In the end, she succumbed to her depression. As she lay dying, she gazed up at the stars in the sky... Having never once experienced emotions, at that moment, she finally felt a profound loneliness.]
[The novel was soon completed.]
[After consulting with you, she left a message on the title page: "This is a novel I wrote together with the person I love. May you also find someone you love."]
