The Underated Author Part I

A tall, raven-haired male happily entered the premise of L Publishing House with the hope that one of his works would be published again. Sirius Kim, a twenty-four-year-old writer, had been writing novels since he was in high school and decided to take a creative writing course in college, although his parents were against it. He still pursued his dreams and was determined to prove to them that his choices were right.

"Good morning," he greeted the lady who was on duty at the reception" Good morning, Mr. Kim, do you have an appointment today?" The lady asked; she knows him because Sirius often comes here. The male nodded his head. "To the Head Editor," he answered. The lady told Sirius to go up to the second floor, and he would call the head editor's secretary to let him know that he was here. The young man immediately went to the second floor and sat in the waiting area.

A few minutes later, his name was called by the secretary, Sirius immediately stood up and went to the head editor's office. He gently knocked on the mahogany door and he heard a small voice from the inside telling him to come in, he turned the doorknob then opened it and went inside, "Have a seat, Mr. Kim," ordered the head editor, Sirius sat on a vacant chair next to HE's table.

"What are we going to talk about?" The young man asked curiously while smiling, and the head editor sighed before speaking again. "I won't care about you anymore, Mr. Kim." Sirius felt like he knew what was going to happen: "The director decided to drop down your novel." "  His whole world crumbles; this must be the fifth time they've rejected or removed his novels, and it's not new to him; he seems to be used to it. "Why?" Even though his novel was not accepted, he still wanted to know the reason. "Don't feel bad for me because your work is good, but the boss said it was lacking and the genre you use is not popular with the masses anymore so we don't make any money." explained the head editor.

Sirius just smiled, "I understand," he said goodbye to the head editor then left his office sadly as he was leaving he witnessed the removal of the promotional poster of his novel and replaced it with another poster, the janitor should have thrown it away in the trash when he suddenly stopped, "Brother, Can I have that?" he said, the janitor immediately gave him some memorabilia of his novel before it ended up in the archives of the publishing house.

He quietly left the building and sighed; he had lost his income again now, and it seems like he will lose hope in writing. He can no longer swallow his pride and go home to his family only to hear bad words from his parents. In fact, he has many jobs, but he just can't do them. His thoughts were cut off as he felt a hand placed on his shoulders. "How are you?" Julius asked him, only then did he remember that the publishing house is close to L News Center where his best friend works as a reporter. "It was rejected again." he answered, Julius gasped then softly massaged Sirius' shoulder because the tone of his voice sounded like the young man was about to cry.

"Let there be a next time, god, don't give up right away. You too? You were Sirius Kim, so you were the best in essay in high school." the reporter jokingly said to ease the friend's feelings even though he made the other smile. "Thank you." Sirius said softly, feeling a little better, "It's nothing, anyway, we're friends so we should work together." the reporter stated letting go of the writer. "So cheer up, there are many more opportunities," he added, Sirius didn't know what to do if Julius doesn't exist in his life, he was happy to know there was someone who supports him.

"Come on, Edward was waiting for us." before Sirius could even react, the reporter pulled him towards a diner that was familiar to him because it was where they used to hang out in high school and college. "Hey! You're here." shouted Edward then waved at the two of them to see him, Julius smiled then let go of Sirius's hand to go ahead of their other friend while Sirius stopped because something suddenly came to his memory. "Sirius? Are you alright?" he came back to his senses when he heard Julius's voice, he just shook his head for a moment before answering his friend. "I'm fine," he said and smiled as he approached the two and sat in the empty seat. "Oh, the 3D is here!" The waiter happily greeted them as he approached them. "What is your order? Is it still the same?" Edward nodded and suddenly answered, "You already know that, man, increase the amount of soup." he replied jokingly, then the waiter just gave an okay sign.

After they had lunch Edward returned to their headquarters especially because he is a detective while Sirius had nothing to do so he decided to return back on his apartment. Since he disobeyed his parents' wishes, he left their house, he sat on his swivel chair and stared blankly at his computer screen. He had to write a new novel but nothing came up on his mind no matter how hard he thought, if he could just smash his head on his table so that he could think of a plot. He remembered that he had posted on his sns that he was open for commission so now he is waiting for a client, he leaned on his swivel chair thinking some possible ways so that he won't have to borrow money from his friends especially close ones that the rent is to be paid, he is also ashamed of every time they help him.

Suddenly his stomach rumbled due to hunger; only now did he notice the time, and it was night. He stood up and went to the kitchen to see if there was anything he could eat, but to his dismay, his refrigerator was empty. He forgot to go grocery shopping today because of what's happening; he doesn't have a choice anymore, even though he doesn't want to lose money now and he also doesn't want to die of hunger. Sirius entered the room again to get a hoodie and wallet. Then, leaving his apartment, making sure the door was locked before finally leaving and heading to the nearby 24/7 store, he realized he was going to pass through the alley rumored to have many more hold-ups. It was still early, so he probably wouldn't get hurt, so he sped up. He was thankful that nothing bad happened, and he arrived safely at the store. He immediately bought a cup of noodles and was taken to the counter to pay. "Are you going to eat here, sir?" the cashier asked, he nodding his head in response.

The cashier opened his cup of noodles and filled them with hot water. "Here it is, sir," he said, taking what he ordered before heading to the seat near the window. Sirius was busy rethinking his life decisions when something caught his eye. A man seemed to be in a hurry; he quickly finished up his food and ran out of the store to follow the man. He arrives back again in the same dark alley where he passed earlier. He followed the man in until he heard a shout. Sirius stopped in his tracks as he witnessed something he wouldn't forget.