Chapter 368: An Author’s Greed, and an Unexpected Offer (3)
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
“Where is he?”
Juho wandered around the quiet house. Hyun Do was nowhere to be found, even when he checked the study, or peeked his head out through the living room or the patio window. Then, seeing that the watering pot and the hose were wet, Juho walked out to the front yard and smelled the wet grass. However, Hyun Do was still nowhere to be found. He had to have gone out somewhere.
“He’s really quiet.”
Coming back inside, Juho wandered around the kitchen for no apparent reason, left alone yet again. Then, he walked toward the innermost room on the first floor, slowly and cautiously. It was Hyun Do’s writing space. The door was cracked open slightly. Although the young author was tempted to go in, he simply couldn’t dare to set foot in the room. Instead, he looked through the crack. Aside, were a floor chair, a large desk, a laptop, and well-organized research data. There was nothing in the room. It was so tidy that the desk almost looked lonely.
“Just like its owner,” Juho said, wondering if writing in a room like that would help an author focus more. Comparing it to his own writing space, Juho tilted his head, thinking that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give it a try himself. There was definitely nothing distracting in the room. At that moment, something underneath the floor chair caught Juho’s eyes.
“What’s that?”
It was a sheet of paper. Squatting, Juho stretched out his neck as much as possible in order to get a better look at the writing on it. Upon reading it, Juho realized that it was a story about a teacher and their pupil. ‘Is it the plot for the new book? Maybe it’s an old idea that he decided not to use,’ Juho thought. There were traces of Hyun Do having wrestled with his thoughts. Then, before Juho realized it, he leaned forward and reached for the sheet of paper under the floor chair. A dust particle floating around sparkled brightly with the sunlight.
“Is this…?” Juho let out, realizing why Hyun Do’s description of his new work-in-progress had sounded so familiar. Backing away from the room, Juho rushed to the second floor, nearly tripping on his way.
“I’ve read that book!”
It was a story Juho had read in his past life as a homeless man, when he had wandered with nothing in his possession. After acquiring the book through desperate means, Juho had read it over and over again. Hyun Do had been just as competent as when the younger author had been on the rise. Hyun Do had never stopped writing. His books had never become stagnant. In fact, they had always been new and original, which had also made him one of the most respected authors in the literary world. The very book that had placed the literary great at the top was in front of Juho’s eyes.
“Why now, though?”
The book wouldn’t be released until much later, when Juho also was much older. ‘Maybe this is when he starts writing it? Or did something change? Did Mr. Lim improve his writing even further somehow?’ A wave of thoughts rushed into Juho’s mind. Then, the young author looked at the painting in one of the rooms upstairs. Upon realizing that he could read the book once again, a smile grew on Juho’s face. The fact that he could be part of the birth of such a legendary book blew Juho’s mind. Then, hearing Hyun Do coming into the house, Juho straightened himself and went downstairs to greet him.
“You’re back.”
Staring intently at Juho’s face, he asked, “Did something good happen?”
“Why do you ask?” Juho asked, playing coy. Raising an eyebrow, Hyun Do said, “You’re smiling.”
At which point, Juho decided to tell the truth, “Well… Maybe,” smiling. Even while Hyun Do talked about the cloudy weather, Juho was in high spirits.
“Aren’t you going to write? I’ve never seen you write,” Juho asked the next day.
“There’s no rush,” Hyun Do replied.
“Right.”
Juho was well aware that not all authors wrote as fast as he did. Rubbing his hands together anxiously, Juho asked, “Do you think I could borrow some manuscript paper, Mr. Lim?” itching to write. Hyun Do nodded affirmatively.
“Take as many as you’d like,” he said, pointing to a corner in his writing space, where the stack of manuscript paper was being kept. Taking the sheet of manuscript paper at the very top, Juho hurried out of the room.
“Going somewhere?”
“I’m sorry?”
Hyun Do pointed in a certain direction. As Juho stared at Hyun Do’s fingertip, he felt his back growing damp with cold sweat.
“You mean here?”
“Do you not want to?”
Juho didn’t know what to say. He didn’t really have a reason not to stay in the house either. He still remembered why he had come to Hyun Do’s house in the first place. On the other hand, Hyun Do had a mischievous smile on his face. Juho glanced at the sheet of manuscript paper under the floor chair, which was still at the same place. ‘I guess that’s where it belongs,’ Juho thought.
“I figured that it’d be more convenient for you.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Juho said, sitting on the floor chair. Since there was nothing on the desk, there was plenty of space. Juho grabbed a pen. ‘I didn’t think I’d be writing in front of him,” Juho thought. He wasn’t expecting that he’d be writing in the presence of the literary great before seeing his writing process.
“You don’t mind me sticking around, do you?”
“Not at all,” Juho said. However, he was actually quite nervous. Wavering and unsure. After brushing his hand down the manuscript paper, Juho said, “Here goes nothing.”
“All right.”
Unlike his usual posture, Juho buried his head, almost as if diving into the paper. He moved his hand without thinking of a story to write. ‘I have to think about this.’ However, he couldn’t stop his hand from moving for some reason. Hyun Do remained silent amid the sound of the friction between pen and paper reverberating through the room. For the first time, the silence felt heavy and uncomfortable to Juho. As Hyun Do watched every single word the young author was writing, Juho’s hand started to grow ice cold. Idle thoughts started taking over his mind. By the time the young author had started to have a bad feeling, it was too late. In the end, for the first time in a long time, he had made a rookie mistake.
“Is it about a crow?” Hyun Do asked as Juho put the pen down and looked up.
“Yes,” Juho replied, feeling pricked in the heart. The story was about the crow he had seen at the beach the day before, cawing frivolously. Believe it or not, crows were intelligent animals.
“Do you think you did well?”
Looking down at his writing, Juho replied, “I think it’s a failure.”
“Is that so?” Hyun Do asked calmly, which made it even more painful to hear.
Clasping his head, Juho let out, “A crow turning into a squid? Seriously?”
It was completely incoherent, even in Juho’s eyes. There was no substance or meaning. Juho observed the expression on Hyun Do’s face, which seemed calm and unfazed. Despite having read Juho’s manuscript, the literary great remained silent.
“I’m surprised that you’re not saying anything.”
As Hyun Do gave him a puzzled look, Juho explained using an example he knew well, “Mr. Moon would laugh, get mad at me, or beg me to do better.”
“I don’t know if any of those things would help in this case.”
Juho looked at him, unsure of what he meant. At which point, Hyun Do opened his mouth and said, “If I said that I didn’t like it, would you change it?”
Juho rubbed the back of his neck, reluctant to do so. However, there was only one reason why he would make changes to his writing.
“I would because I’m not satisfied with it.”
Then, Juho grabbed the pen and started writing again. ‘So, is this a lesson?’ he asked himself. However, writing with such a mindset was bound to yield poor results. ‘This might take a while.’
“Mind if I take a look?”
“Of course.”
It had been a week since Juho had started getting his writing checked by Hyun Do. The young author was quite used to the process by that point. Upon finishing his last sentence, Juho handed the paper over to Hyun Do, who read the sentences unhurriedly. However, that moment was still just as nerve-racking as the first time, even more so than when an editor was reading through his manuscript. Trying to remain calm, Juho waited anxiously.
“Hm.”
Considering how anxiety-provoking the wait was, Hyun Do’s response was far from informative or intuitive. At which point, Juho took the manuscript from Hyun Do with an awkward smile. That time, it was a story about a narrator who thinks of different ways to drive the crow away.
“How is it?”
“How is what?”
“Should I work on it some more?”
“That’s entirely up to you,” Hyun Do replied, looking as if Juho were stating the obvious.
So far, Hyun Do hadn’t offered a single piece of advice to the young author. He had never taught anything explicitly either. Instead, he seemed to be focused entirely on finishing his daily tasks, so Juho had no choice but to play along tactfully. Thinking about his observation of Hyun Do’s lifestyle up to that point, Juho said, “You seem to follow a very strict routine, Mr. Lim.”
“It seems like you’ve been going to bed quite late.”
Caught off guard, Juho remained silent. ‘How does he know?’
“Is there a secret to your lifestyle?”
“I make an effort to maintain it.”
“So, that’s the secret, huh?”
“Does it look easy?”
“You make it look easy, though.”
“There are days when I feel like going to bed late and sleeping in the next day. Actually, I’m forced to do that sometimes.”
“And what do you do in those cases?”
“I either resist it or accept it.”
During his stay, Juho had never seen him failing to go into his room at the appointed time. As Hyun Do took a sip of his tea, Juho did the same. It still tasted astringent.
“I want to work on this story some more.”
“Your reason being?”
“… Just because.”
Hyun Do stared intently at the young author for a while. Then, as he looked away, Juho murmured the words that he had barely managed to swallow internally, ‘Because it’s the polar opposite of your story.’ Hyun Do’s story was about a teacher who was fading away. The teacher left their pupil, all without giving them time to prepare to say goodbye. On the other hand, Juho’s story was about a person who tried to drive away a crow that had made itself at home. While Hyun Do’s story was about pursuit, Juho’s story was about expulsion.
“I’ll do my best to finish it during my stay.”
“Suit yourself,” Hyun Do said with a brief nod. Although Juho had said it confidently, the story wasn’t making much progress. It had to be greed. The fact that he was writing it to show Hyun Do made him tense up. Hoping that he could see the literary great’s writing process, Juho let out a quick sigh.
“No, not yet,” Juho said, sighing at Geun Woo’s delighted voice, who seemed to get a kick out of the young author’s misery.
“You don’t wanna be a burden, do you? You gotta make yourself useful!”
“I don’t know.”
“C’mon, now. It’s not like you to be so timid,” Geun Woo said, clearly delighted by Juho’s struggle.
“It doesn’t help that Mr. Lim doesn’t make it explicit,” Juho said, sounding slightly disgusted.
“That sounds about right. You’re quick to catch on, though, aren’t you? Do you really not know what he wants?”
“Unfortunately, no.”
Hyun Do hadn’t made any complaints or demands, which made it hard for Juho to discern if he was doing well or poorly. On top of that, not only was the young author in a rut with his story, but he still hadn’t seen Hyun Do’s writing process.
“You’d be an idiot to come back empty-handed from there.”
“Isn’t that a bit excessive? I’m still learning, you know.”
“Yeah, right.”
Then, Juho heard some noise in the background. Joon Soo must have gotten back. Upon the author’s arrival, Geun Woo busied himself with trying to defend himself.
“So, did you keep your deadline this time?”
“Shut up.”
After hanging up, Juho leaned back, checking the time. Hyun Do had to be asleep by now. Hoping for a change of pace, Juho tried writing in his room, but it didn’t seem to help. In the end, he walked downstairs and stretched. The cloudy night sky became visible through the window. It had been cloudy the last several days. Feeling a decline in mood for no apparent reason, Juho guzzled down on some cold water. The coldness cooled his stomach. At that moment…
“Hm?” Juho let out upon hearing a sound, which sounded like a person moving.
Wiping his mouth, Juho walked toward where the sound had come from. There was nobody in the study. Then, Juho slowly made his way to the innermost room, giving his eyes some time to adjust to the dark. Then, he heard the sound yet again. Although subtle, it was clearly audible. Realizing that it was coming from Hyun Do’s writing space, Juho walked toward it. A light shone through the door crack, which gave it a completely different feel from how it looked during the day. The moon was the only light source in the achromatic house. Standing in front of the door crack, Juho peeked through it and saw Hyun Do’s white hair. At that moment, a light flashed out of nowhere, followed by an explosive sound shortly after. As the thunder roared, Juho felt his shoulders tense up.