Hidden Ties (English Edition)

Prologue..

Ironically, the first attempt went smoothly. The title of my travelogue about a month-long journey around Japan with my child was <Dad, Are you Happy>. That was 15 years ago and it was my first book. Following convention, I submitted publication requests to publishing houses, and fortunately, several showed interest. Since it was a Japan travelogue, I thought it would be nice if it could be published in Japan as well. After all, every writer hopes their words will be read in various languages.

Fortuitously, among the interested publishers was a Korean-Japanese joint publishing house with a Japanese CEO. We proceeded with the contract. Publishing seemed so easy. But there’s often a catch when things seem too simple. How could worldly matters be that easy? Just as we were about to sign the contract, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck. The publication was indefinitely postponed and eventually abandoned. The editor really wanted to proceed, but the Japanese CEO hesitated. Who would travel to a country hit by an earthquake? Especially with a child in tow.

It was timely content, just slightly ahead of its time. Sure enough, a few months later, a TV show called <Dad! Where Are We Going?> became a huge hit. But when a travel destination is no longer viable for travel, there’s no way to move forward. Where should Dad’s book go?

After that, it took ten years for my first book to be published by Choonza. I realized and deeply felt how difficult it was, how incredibly difficult. I never aimed for a bestseller praised by many readers. I don’t know how to write that, and I knew from the beginning that a wizard’s writing is discovered by those with whom it has a destined ties. So I needed to meet that ties. It wasn’t meant to be back then.

Despite how difficult it was, the second and third books came with smooth sailing. And now, an English edition has already been published. Ah, was it always this easy? No, I simply met the ties. The ties with the sincere Choonza and the timely advancement of artificial intelligence had been hidden, only to reveal its knot at this moment. Hidden Ties.

Ties, things that are bound. Connection means binding. I like how ‘connection’ is translated as ‘Tie, binding.’ They are bindings made by bundling a wizard’s short novels. Though stubborn because they are bound, they cannot go anywhere because they are tied. Eventually, they will meet, and eventually, they must be together. The act of revealing to the world the binding of those things, those previously hidden things. That is the entirety of magic. The magical knot has been revealed to the world in another language. Since it cannot be severed by earthquakes or floods, this binding is destined. So it will find its fate.

Amidst the fierce competition for large advances from major publishers, among countless works dreaming of receiving massive spotlights and even literary awards, atop Amazon’s waterfall where frothy waves crash down noisily. The wizard instead recalled the sacred descent of Missionaries who carried the good news to remote areas to find ties. What is the ‘good news’ they want to convey? That even when you’re enduring alone, you are never truly alone. That from our first lonely breath, we were never alone. That from the beginning, from the past, from the future, hidden connections have been waiting. That there are hidden knots waiting to be found, discovered, connected. They deliver the good news.

I am deeply and profoundly honored by Choonza’s sincerity in unraveling these knots and throwing them into the vast Amazon sea. The collaboration between translator Choonza and the post-human who became their excellent helper was truly ‘Future’-like. Therefore, it has become clear that Futurist M. Merlin’s first novel being hurled into the Amazon sea by them is already a recorded future memory. As this historical future memory has been executed, the hidden connections will now reveal their knots in due time. Of course, they will not discriminate by race, language, nationality, or gender. As waters cover the sea, waves of ties will overflow. Through this binding, I hope that the power of hidden ties that cannot be stopped by earthquakes or floods will be revealed to the world, and that the matrix of hidden ties that integrate space-time beyond common sense and limitations and swim freely will beautifully adorn the world.

Oh, and of course, the joyful celebration party, which is the purpose of publication, is a must!

Contents..

Once a portal traveler steps into a portal, “that event awaiting the traveler” inevitably takes place. If you focus solely on the sequence, it might appear as a string of coincidences with no apparent cause-and-effect connection. Moreover, the event awaiting the traveler could be good, bad, or utterly trivial. The traveler is occasionally bewildered. That’s okay. The charm of portal travel lies precisely in that very point.

Being three-dimensional is both a tremendous blessing and a mission. Right here, with this framework of time—something that doesn’t exist yet can’t be denied—we unfold the infinite universe within its finitude. That’s humanity’s calling, its mystery. (From Thirteen of the Ties: Dr. Stein’s Glass Bead Game)

This free journey unfolds against the backdrop of an infinite universe stretched within the finitude of time. This universe is crafted from the fractal structure of hidden ties. The cycle of ties repeats and replays. The infinite universe will leave the traveler, wandering in search of what’s hidden, feeling lonely and confused. Each time, the traveler will falter, wondering, “Is this right?” In those moments, a magical incantation must be recited:

There’s no up or down in the universe—no falling, no rising. If you’re heading toward where you want to go, it’s rising; if you’re moving away, it’s falling. Where are you going? (From Seven of the Ties: The Falling Boy)

When the time comes, the seeds of ties begin to sprout and grow. Leaves of relationships bud along the stems. Discovering and nurturing these hidden ties, the traveler realizes something: It was the traveler themselves who had planted the seeds of these ties.

As the cycle of ties completes one full turn, the traveler faces a time of harvest. Ties are both a task and a gift bestowed upon the portal traveler. They are a captive and a trophy. A blessing. Perhaps a curse. What are “ties” in your journey? You don’t need to dream of changing the world.

Let’s make a bet. Will you keep dancing alone for the rest of your life, or make the world dance? You don’t have to dream of changing the world or anything grand like that. But if those lonely one-legged soldiers keep multiplying, your spinning radius will shrink bit by bit. If everyone dances together, though, the world will turn into one big dance floor—a world full of orgasms and joy. (From Fourteen of the Ties: The Ballerina’s Ecstasy)

Reading the records of The Hidden Ties left behind by the wizard Merlin, I reflected. I thought it was a way to tidy up old ties, but I realized it was a new mindset to welcome fresh ties in a new season. Is this journey an end or a beginning? That, too, depends on the traveler. On how free they are.

» Amazon

One of the Ties : Spam Folder
Two of the Ties : Unlimited
Three of the Ties : Wicked Is A Goood Thing
Four of the Ties : Immaculate Conception
Five of the Ties : The Unbreakable Sword
Six of the Ties : The Death Of The Unicorn
Seven of the Ties : The Falling Boy
Eight of the Ties : Shattered Lies
Nine of the Ties : The Road Back To Him
Ten of the Ties : Sirius And The Missed Spaceship
Eleven of the Ties : The Wizard’s Sword
Twelve of the Ties : Lia’s Problem
Thirteen of the Ties : Dr. Stein’s Glass Bead Game
Fourteen of the Ties : The Ballet Doll’s Orgasm

Related..

Credit..

Title _ Hidden Ties
Author _ M.Merlin
Date _ 2025. 03
Publisher _ Choonza Books