Chapter 126

The realization of the truth did not bring about feelings of embarrassment. If it were merely the cute emotion of feeling embarrassed, how nice it would have been.

Beyond my current self, the things inside me, and the changed position I felt once again. At the same time, I realized that I was thinking the same way as those I despised the most and that I had ‘understood’ their situation.

The familiar self-hatred dominated me. For a brief moment, I had to stop right there. Soon, the desk employee called me.

“What brings you here?”

…I couldn’t stay here any longer. The man had already disappeared. Sighing, I walked to the desk and relayed my appointment with Editor Kang Jin-soo. I thanked the employee who had directed me to where I needed to go and headed for the elevator.

I pressed the floor he had mentioned and got off, searching for his office. When I knocked, I soon heard the editor’s voice telling me to come in. As soon as he saw me enter, he asked.

“Your complexion… Is something wrong?”

“Nothing much.”

Yeah, it was nothing much.

Really.

~

Fortunately, the conversation went smoothly without any issues. I read through the contract meticulously once again. After about an hour of talking, I felt drained. Still, since we had talked about work, the grim feeling from earlier had subsided a bit.

“How is the president doing?”

The editor smiled at my inquiry.

“He’s always doing well. He has quite a strong personality.”

“Strong? I’ve never gotten that impression.”

“Even if he is strong, he isn’t the type to look down on others.”

Right, he wasn’t flustered even when he saw me in such an embarrassing state. I suppose he was that sort of person from the beginning. Still, I didn’t feel like I wanted to meet him separately today. Something had happened earlier, and it wasn’t the right timing to meet someone.

“Have you eaten? Together?”

“Oh, I’m fine. I don’t have much of an appetite.”

“That’s too bad. Are you going back now?”

“Probably.”

After saying my goodbyes, I left the editor’s office. I relaxed a little, feeling the tension ease. Fortunately, it seemed like despite my insides being a mess, I had managed to end well. I leaned against the door for a moment and took a breath before walking toward the elevator to go down.

Suddenly, Han-bom came to mind. The poet woman I had spoken with here before. We had exchanged phone numbers then, but I hadn’t contacted her since. The sudden thought of Han-bom was naturally because this was the place I had talked to her before, and because the man I had just encountered had been searching for her.

Didn’t Han-bom say she worked in web novel management? In that case, was that man a web novel writer? Usually, in the web novel field, there wouldn’t be many face-to-face interactions.

“Oh, writer?”

When you talk about a tiger, it appears.

I wasn’t fond of using such a cliché expression, but I couldn’t think of an appropriate alternative. I ran into Han-bom in the hallway as she was walking towards me. The man from earlier was also next to her.

“Hello.”

“It’s been a while! What brings you here today…?”

“I had something to discuss regarding the contract. It’s all finished now.”

“Oh, so you’re on your way out? Can I see you off?”

“It seems you have another guest, so it’s fine.”

I glanced at the man. He had a nonchalant expression. Being this close, it was only natural that he could see my hair color. Yet, looking at his seemingly indifferent face, I could understand how much fuss I had made earlier.

“Oh, this is our writer here, and this is our writer here too.”

“Your explanations are the same.”

“Ah, right.”

Han-bom still looked dazed. It seems she wasn’t just like that with me. Neither the man nor I seemed inclined to introduce ourselves separately, but due to Han-bom’s silly introduction, we had no choice but to speak naturally.

“I’m Park Chan-wook.”

“I’m Seol-guk. Nice to meet you.”

A typical polite greeting. It wasn’t really pleasant at all, but I had the sense to show this level of courtesy. The face of the man introducing himself as Park Chan-wook still showed no interest in me.

“Since it’s fate that we’ve met like this, how about we have a meal together?”

What in the world is this woman saying, suggesting we eat with two guys she just met? Naturally, I was preparing to decline before even opening my mouth, but Han-bom continued.

“I’m about to resign soon, so you won’t see me here again. So let’s do this one last time!”

“You’re resigning?”

“Yes. I’ll be changing jobs. That’s the reason I met with the writer as well. This is the first time I’ve seen his face today.”

I wasn’t curious about that at all.

I had no appetite, and the very reason was right in front of me. But if Han-bom was going to change jobs, it was likely we wouldn’t meet again in the future. We weren’t that close.

Since I had received some help, should I concede just once more?

“Then let’s go together.”

“Yay! That’s great. You’re okay with it, right, writer?”

“I’m fine.”

By the way, does this girl not know that calling both me and this Park Chan-wook guy “writer” is confusing? I could have pointed that out, but I kept quiet still feeling uncomfortable.

With Han-bom talking away by herself, the three of us searched for a restaurant outside the company.

“What do you want to eat? Gamjatang? Galbitang? Gukbap?”

The menu choices seemed a bit one-sided.

“This is all they have here.”

“I’m fine with anything.”

“I’m fine with anything too.”

“That’s the hardest order to take, you know?”

It really doesn’t matter, so let’s just go.

In the end, Han-bom took us to a gukbap restaurant. I was a guy who didn’t particularly mind such a menu. In fact, I thought to myself, who hates gukbap anyway?

While Han-bom enthusiastically explained about the gukbap here, I ordered sundae gukbap without much thought, and Park Chan-wook ordered the same. Han-bom ordered pork gukbap. Do women eat those sorts of things too?

After that, there really wasn’t much talk. While waiting for the gukbap to arrive, Han-bom was suddenly talking about Japanese ramen for some reason, and both Park Chan-wook and I were half-listening.

Thinking back, the man’s gaze was completely elsewhere, not on Han-bom at all. It might sound strange, but a typical guy would find it hard not to focus his attention on Han-bom. Usually, on a certain part.

Even in my current state, I had initially been focused on Han-bom only, so a normal guy would have been desperately engaging with Han-bom’s conversation while keeping his gaze fixed on something. Yet this man was looking into the distance. To me, he seemed either gay or a pedophile.

Anyway, Han-bom’s rambling continued until the gukbap finally arrived. While everyone prepared to add their desired salt or seasoning to their gukbap, it happened.

Han-bom poured kimchi soup into my gukbap.

“Are you crazy?!”

“What are you doing?!”

“Huh? Oh, I thought the writer didn’t know how to eat gukbap… It tastes good this way!”

“Have you lost your mind?!”

No, are you nuts? Why on earth would you pour kimchi soup into someone else’s gukbap?

“Writer, I guarantee you. This is really delicious.”

“Whether it is or not, you don’t do that to someone else’s gukbap!”

I was so flabbergasted that I slipped into using informal speech. I couldn’t believe there was a person in reality who poured kimchi soup into someone else’s gukbap. Even Park Chan-wook, who had been indifferent, was staring at Han-bom as if he were looking at a crazy woman.

And in that moment, Han-bom poured kimchi soup into Park Chan-wook’s gukbap too.

“Seriously, fuck.”

Swearing escaped from Park Chan-wook’s mouth. I admit it. It was deserved.

Even worse, this woman hadn’t poured kimchi soup into her own gukbap.

“Why don’t you put it in yours?”

“Pork gukbap is better without it.”

Is she a psycho?

No, I can only say she’s crazy. I couldn’t find an appropriate expression to describe it. I had known it, but I had come to understand it even more.

Both Park Chan-wook and I were looking down at the gukbap with kimchi soup in it in shock, when Han-bom added while blowing on her pork gukbap.

“If you try it, you’ll really understand what I mean. It’s really delicious.”

“That’s not the problem, is it?!”

Unlike me who was trying to say something, Park Chan-wook was staring at the sundae gukbap with a truly bewildered expression.

“Isn’t it common sense not to add anything to someone else’s food without permission?!”

“Huh? But it’s common sense to add kimchi soup to sundae gukbap…”

She just wasn’t getting through to me, crazy girl.

“I didn’t know you were this kind of person.”

“Uh… did I make you angry?”

“Of course.”

“I’m sorry. I lack common sense.”

“It certainly seems that way.”

The last statement wasn’t from me but came from Park Chan-wook.

In any case, I couldn’t just throw away this precious gukbap, so both Park Chan-wook and I sighed and began eating. Soon, Park Chan-wook opened his mouth.

“…It’s delicious…”

“Right?”

No, why is it delicious? Even I was taken aback. Why… is this okay? How could pouring kimchi soup into gukbap possibly taste good?

“What do you think, writer?”

“…It’s okay.”

“I told you it’s delicious!”

But still, you should be reflecting on this. Han-bom, who had been sulking from my earlier comments, had regained her spirit and was beaming with a smile. It seemed she was quite pleased that her words had been proven right.

“But please don’t do that to other people’s food again. It’s really impolite.”

“Ugh… I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

How on earth did this person get hired, and now find a new job? I tried hard to ignore the intense question and took another spoonful of gukbap. It was embarrassingly delicious.

As we slowly continued eating, a bit of conversation continued.

“So you’re changing jobs?”

“Yes. I got a job offer from a company in Seoul. I received some good conditions, and the pay is good too.”

“Congratulations.”

“Hehe, thank you. What happened with the novel you showed me last time?”

“I’m still writing it. It’s not in the direction you suggested, though.”

“That’s a shame!”

Most of the conversation took place between Han-bom and me. Park Chan-wook had finished his gukbap twice as fast as Han-bom and was looking at his smartphone. However, perhaps he had developed some interest in the topic, as Park Chan-wook suddenly joined in the conversation.

“What kind of writing have you done?”

“Just… something I write as a hobby. It’s nothing special.”

“Is it a web novel?”

“I don’t plan on serializing it yet.”

“Hmm… If you’re entering this field thinking it’s a joke, I wouldn’t want to recommend you.”

“Huh?”

Why is he suddenly starting a fight? Momentarily shocked by Park Chan-wook’s sudden outburst, I asked back. But Park Chan-wook continued uninterrupted.

“Honestly, from the perspective of someone writing here, it’s unpleasant. Those who act all high and mighty talking about pure literature and then come in thinking web novels are a joke, only to fail miserably and make excuses about how the readers’ standards are low. Honestly, that’s pathetic.”

I understood his emotional state. I had had a similar conversation with Jae-Ah before. But why was he unloading this on me out of nowhere? He didn’t even know what I was writing.

“I think I mentioned that I’m not planning to serialize. And you don’t even know what I’m writing.”

“I think saying you’re not is just another way of saying you might.”

“I just said that casually. And is there any guarantee that I’ll fail just because I write in that genre? Have you even read what I’ve written?”

Sure, that was the most annoying part. His tone, implying that writing a web novel would inevitably lead to failure, was the most frustrating. I felt like I had just been told, “You write terribly,” to my face. Then I completely lost my cool at Park Chan-wook’s next words.

“I haven’t read it.”

“How old are you?”