Chapter 5: I'm Not A Pervert
There weren't many ways to turn drawings into money in 1974.
One was self-selling, but at this time it was not like in the 21st century, there was no anime expo where he could set up a stall for self-selling. So the risk of self-selling was very high. Moreover, he didn't have the money to print out his manga first.
He now ate cup noodles every day, and was even reluctant to buy dot papers. He had to totally ignore this way.
Next was to find a bookseller who was willing to publish his manga, but this was a relatively long process. Before obtaining the money, he had to wait several months, and there were also many variables. Moreover, booksellers will not publish books for unknown newbies like him.
Finally, of course, he had to contribute his manga to magazines.
The magazine that Shimizu Hakuseki aimed at was called "Taboo Paradise". Looking at its name, you could see that it was not a good magazine for children. It was a magazine for adults. The paper quality of the magazine was very general, and the typesetting was not good. But now, Shimizu Hakusekis had no room to pick and choose.
The first half of "Taboo Paradise" published erotic novels. Sometimes there would be realistic or cubist illustrations in the pages. To be honest, Shimizu Hakuseki thought that the magazine would look better if there weren't these illustrations. These women in the illustrations all looked like female gorillas with big muscles. Looking at these illustrations, people would immediately lose their interest of cum and enter the sage time.
After the novels, it was the photo column, where printed some half-exposed black-and-white photographs. This should be a rather brilliant section, but because of the poor level of printing, and the low level of female models, it was also very frustrating.
The last part was the manga section. Most painters learned from American comics, in their paintings, there were full of hairy muscular men and strong muscular women. It was more like watching "Animal World" rather than reading an adult manga.
This kind of crude stuff was expected to be complained to harm the reader's physical and mental health in the 21st century, but in this era, the painters could live happily by drawing these sh*t. It's really puzzling that who will buy this magazine.
At least, Shimizu Hakuseki thought that he was a hundred times better than them.
The building of the magazine was not difficult to find. According to the address in the magazine, he arrived at Shibuya in the afternoon. In a small five-story building, he saw the front desk of the magazine.
The receptionist was actually a beautiful girl!
"Hello, welcome to Hotan Club. Excuse me, are you here to find someone?"
"Oh, I'm here to look for the editorial office of Taboo Paradise. Is here the right place?"
"Yes, may I ask you what you want?"
"I'm here to contribute my manga. Can I meet any editors, please?"
"Yes, please sit down and I'll give you a glass of water."
"Thank you."
The beautiful receptionist gave him a glass of water and ran inside. After a while, she returned to the front of Shimizu Hakuseki.
"Sorry, our editors are having a meeting. You may need to wait a moment, about ten minutes."
"That's all right. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Oh, I didn't expect that you are so young and already embark on the road of creation."
"Yeah…"
"It's amazing, but there's still a chance to run away fast. Run!"
"Alas?"
"Young man, I don't know you, but I don't want to see you go astray in life. How old are you now? Seventeen or eighteen?"
"Sixteen."
"Well," sighed the beautiful receptionist, "I'm really guilty."
"Well, don't be frustrated. It's my choice."
"I feel like I'm a doorman in hell, watching ignorant teenagers go into the depths of hell, but I can't help any of them."
"That's not your fault."
"Of course, it's not my fault, it's the fault of society, the problem of the social system. This society is hopeless. Everyone just pursues money blindly. Even a young boy like you, who should have been in school, come to create something for adults!"
Is it okay for such a magazine to have such an honest, kind and socially responsible receptionist? Shimizu Hakuseki felt very embarrassed and he only hoped that he was a stone at this time.
Neither of them spoke after that. After sitting awkwardly for ten minutes, finally, a tall and thin middle-aged man with glasses walked to them, which let Shimizu Hakuseki let out a sigh of relief.
The man's hair was very messy, like a bird's nest. There were a few greases stain on the folds of his clothes, and he looked about forty years old.
The receptionist was also relieved and said, "Hello, Editor Ida, he is the contributor."
Editor Ida looked at Shimizu Hakuseki, grabbed his head and said, "Oh, what a young creator. Welcome. We welcome all contributors. Originally, I should invite you to the meeting room to let our editors or I see your work, and then we will discuss it carefully. But now I have something pressing, so, can you give me your manuscript and I will read it my home, then we could talk about it tomorrow. Sorry, but I am really in a hurry today."
What can Shimizu Hakuseki say about this? At this time, if he asked something carefully, it would be too impolite.
"That's all right. Then, I'll come here to see you tomorrow?"
"Yes, thank you very much. Is your manuscript a copy?"
"Yes, the original manuscript is in my home. Do you need it?"
"If you come to talk tomorrow, you'd better bring the original manuscript with you."
"Okay, then I'll come back tomorrow."
"Sorry, then we'll see you tomorrow."
Editor Ida took over the manuscripts, put it in his briefcase, and left in a hurry.
He was really in a hurry. Editor Ida had a blind date today. In the last date, Miss Sakai was also very fond of him, his slovenly appearance was an honest and true expression in Miss Sakai's eyes. So there was this second date after the last blind date.
This was undoubtedly a great victory for Ida, who was already forty years old and had countless unsuccessful blind dates.
Editor Ida hurried to the restaurant and looked at his watch. The time was just right and Miss Sakai had come yet. He called a glass of water and began to wait.
Arriving late in dating was the privilege of women, Editor Ida had no choice about it. After he had studied the decoration of the restaurant and the guests around him three times, he finally felt bored. Naturally, he remembered the manuscript in his briefcase.
What a damn society! Even such a young teenager came to sell his soul, no, come to create. Anyway, it is really pitiful.
Is it a novel? Well, it should be. Young people are always full of fantasies. Of course, the fantasies of the young people who have never seen the adult world are always simple and naive, making people laugh.
With that in mind, Ida took the manuscript out of the briefcase.
Ida was confused first, then had a shock. It's a manga! And he had never seen this style of painting before. Oh, holy smoke! The plot is too exciting!
Oh, oh, is the apartment manager a school girl? Aren't apartment managers in the real world all old aunts and uncles? How envious it is to have a young school girl to be the apartment manager!
Wait, this dress, this skirt is too short! A little bigger action will reveal the handle of the pants, plus the black stockings, isn't it the costume of the barmaids of Ginza Tokyo? How shameless it is! Are the students nowadays all wearing such clothes? What's wrong with these young people nowadays? Is Japan's future over?
Oh, it's really enviable. It's like going back to the past and re-studying. If there were all such girls in school, it would be like in paradise.
He continued to read. What the hell? They just get laid so simple? There is even no time to talk about love, and the two people already start to make love? Two bastards.
But this is good, this kind of direct and fast development isn't bad at all! The apartment manager is really good. Her legs, her foot, and her pure blushed expression. Oh, I really want to kneel down and lick her!
Ah ah ah, what a fierce "battle". This style of characters, this style of girls, they are too wonderful.
Editor Ida was completely immersed in the world of Shimizu Hakuseki's manga.
Then suddenly he heard someone knocking on the table, "Mr. Ida? Mr. Ida? " It was Miss Sakai's voice.
Ida's body shook. He quickly put away the manuscript and looked awkwardly at Miss Sakai, who was sitting opposite. "Oh, Miss Sakai, you're here. Sorry, I was just a little bored, so I worked for a while. I'm really sorry."
"It doesn't matter, it's my fault because I'm late," Miss Sakai said, "but luckily, I'm late."
"Ah? What do you mean?
"What's your job, Mr. Ida?"
"Work? This is just our second date, isn't it too faster to talk about this?"
"We both are not young now, so let's be efficient."
"That's right. Everyone's not young anymore. I'm a magazine's editor, and I've just been reviewing a manuscript."
"So what kind of magazine is it? Is it the same as Bungeishunju?"
Bungeishunju was the largest magazine in Japan's literary circle. It could be said that it was the authority of Japan's literary circle. The famous Akutagawa Prize and Naoki Prize were handled and financed by the magazine in the early stage.
How can the adult magazine he worked be compared with Bungeishunju? It's like catching a girl who wrote BL novel and asking her when she could get the Lu Xun Literary Prize. Do you really want to hear Lu Xun's angry howling in his coffin?
So it's like an attack rather than a question. Of course, if it was a layman who asked the question, it was pardonable.
And Miss Sakai indeed did not know about Mr. Ida's work. His work was not glorious, so he did not elaborate it carefully in their first blind date. He only said that he was an editor. As for the magazine he worked for, he naturally skipped it.
"Bungeishunju? Ha-ha, to some extent, a little similar to it. But our magazine is more inclined to explore the mystery of the origin of life, more scientific. It's really a headache topic, women should not like this kind of thing."
"Oh, yeah, it's really a headache. Ha-ha, I'm sorry, I said some headache words."
Then, suddenly, Miss Sakai said, "The so-called origin of life is two people holding together on the bed?"
Mr. Ida froze. "Ah?"
"Mr. Ida, I'm not too young, nor is an easy girl to be deceived. What you just saw is an adult manga. Am I right?"
"Ah? Ah!" Editor Ida was scared, "You, how do you know that?"
"When I came, you were all immersed in the manga. I called you several times and you didn't respond. Naturally, I went behind you to see what you were looking at. As a result, you were looking at an adult manga."
"Ah ah ah!" Mr. Ida was desperate. She must have treated me as a pervert.
"It's wrong for me to be late for a date, but when you were waiting, you actually went to read the adult manga, moreover, you were in the public! Is it appropriate to do this kind of thing in such a public place?" Miss Sakai asked mercilessly, "Mr. Ida, are you a pervert?"
Mr. Ida wanted to make a final effort, "I'm not a pervert! I'm just, I'm, I just love work…"
"Forgive me, but it's hard to believe, because haven't you found out yet? The table is still sloping." Miss Sakai glanced secretly at the lower part of Ida's body. Just to give a sign, of course, she could not see anything. "You don't feel it? You have pushed the table up so long."
Mr. Ida quickly squatted and his whole body bowed like a lobster. The table finally fell back to the ground.
At this time, his face looked like a cooked lobster, showing a bright red.
Seemingly feeling that she had said everything she could say, Miss Sakai finally asked, "So, what else do you want to say? Pervert Ida?"
"I think we can try to go on," Mr. Ida said with an embarrassed smile. "You see, at least now you know, I'm really 'big'. Many people can't do the thing I did just now. Ha ha ha."
"Pa!" Miss Sakai slapped his face.
"Hooligans!" She left angrily.
What a damn society!
With the palm prints on his face, Ida returned home, but at this time he was not too frustrated, on the contrary, he had an itch for a try in his heart.
Finally, I can relax and enjoy that masterpiece.
Ida first made himself a cup of tea, then sat down, began to read the manga again. After turning two pages, he ran to the toilet and get a roll of toilet paper.
Then, he returned to the world of manga with satisfaction.
Sure enough, the world of manga is better!