Chapter 159

This person was not acting out of ignorance. It was more like, “Why should I help you without any compensation?”

After a somewhat pointless scripted dialogue exchanged between us, I finally managed to get a proper response from Senior Su-Young.

[I understand. I will ask around, but don’t get your hopes up.]

[Thank you.]

[Don’t forget that you need to set up an appointment with Hwa-won.]

[If the results are good.]

[You really can’t hold a conversation, can you? For now, you should just pass it off as a yes or no.]

[It’s not like there’s someone who wouldn’t know better.]

[If someone knows better, there are things you don’t have to say.]

[I’ll take that into consideration. I’ll hang up first.]

[Yeah, it’s nice to have some courtesy.]

Hah, I’m sweating here. It’s always like this when I talk to her. Acting like some strange character out of a comic, trying to squeeze out every benefit for herself, I always feel like I’m losing something in these conversations.

Even when I was a man, she was the only one who would talk to me even though she clearly knew I didn’t like her that much. Of course, it wasn’t because she liked me. Most of our conversations revolved around Hwa-won or were just her mocking me.

From that point on, I didn’t think we had a very good chemistry. She was a superficial woman anyway, and neither of us really liked each other.

However, if it was useful, we could hold hands at any time.

Fundamentally, my ego was inflated, and I was confident in my writing. My two novels, “The Boy’s Uterus” and “The Womb,” were all stories based on my life, so I understood that people might question my abilities. But even considering that, I had definitely produced results with the short stories I had written excluding that, and critics had overwhelmingly positive reviews for those. They didn’t sell much, though.

Anyway, because of that, I didn’t much like people who wrote worse than me. And Senior Su-Young was one of the rare exceptions outside of that category.

Before Muk Ha-neul, there was Han Su-young. She was also a writer who could be called a star in her own right, and it was uncomfortable to say it honestly, but she wrote better than I did.

Her critiques were favorable from both critics and the public. Senior Su-Young was good at scratching where others itched, showing what others wanted to see. Normally, writings like this would get lower reviews from critics, but Senior Su-Young wrote what critics wanted to see.

Although her fame has waned a bit now, there was no denying that Han Su-young was a talented author.

And that’s why I disliked her.

I once said that a girl who writes better than me is my ideal type, but that was obviously a lie.

I hated people who wrote better than me.

~

Han-bom began to bring Park Chan-wook over a little more often. Just like at first, I had no intention of intruding on their cozy couple’s home date by taking a seat next to them.

However, I couldn’t understand why Park Chan-wook came barging into my house. No matter how much I tried to make space for them to spend time together, it was still my house; they should have been the ones to leave.

“There’s only a TV out here. And it’s more fun with two than alone, and even more fun with three than with two, right?”

“Why don’t you just say you don’t want to suffer alone through the pain of finishing this game?”

Well said, Park Chan-wook.

“Today’s quota ends here, so we can stop now.”

“She just said quota. Isn’t this a game? It’s labor.”

“I agree.”

Anyway, since the game came to an end today, the three of us put down the game console.

I wasn’t the only one who thought this game was garbage; Park Chan-wook was also disgusted with it. I thought he would pour out everything since he confessed first, but he wasn’t as devoted as I expected.

It felt quite like, “You two are already like a couple who’ve been dating for years.”

“Even if it’s not been years, we’ve met a few times before and have known each other for a while. Honestly, I’ve talked more over text than in person.”

“I can’t set a mood around noona. She’s just this type of girl.”

“That’s too much!”

Seeing them playfully banter like that made it seem like they really got along well.

“What kind of things did you talk about over text?”

“Just work stuff. How to write, how to develop the story. What kind of material is good. I guess it’s not common for an editor to offer this kind of advice. Since noona left and I wrapped up my last story, I took my manuscript elsewhere, and that editor doesn’t do anything. Still, he sends me a lot of gifts since I sell well.”

“So, you fell for that?”

Park Chan-wook, who was drinking water, seemed to choke a bit at the question. I didn’t think it was that weird.

“Did you fall for her?”

“No, I don’t think I’d hear such things from someone like you.”

“What are you talking about?”

After coughing for a while and finally catching his breath, Park Chan-wook looked like he had a headache and tapped his temple. Then he sighed and said,

“I’d prefer to hear those stories from noona. I wouldn’t want to hear them from a complete stranger.”

“I stole your first experience, huh. Sorry about that.”

“Are you doing that on purpose?”

“Wow~ I’m jealous.”

This guy is even more fun to tease than I thought. Han-bom, next to him, chimed in joyfully, clapping.

“So, you didn’t fall for her?”

“Rather, it was annoying. I mean, she kept telling me what’s better, what’s not, and was too meddlesome. What kind of editor does that?”

“Still, you succeeded because of me, right?”

“…That much is true.”

“Was that for real?”

“It’s true!”

According to what Han-bom previously claimed, Park Chan-wook’s success was due to her advice. At that time, I thought it was nonsense and brushed it off, but seeing Park Chan-wook’s reaction, it seemed like it wasn’t a complete lie after all. But I wondered, if he had the ability to hit it big, why did his own story fail?

“Why doesn’t that kind of person succeed with his own work?”

“I just don’t understand the human heart.”

He is certainly saying something a writer should never say. Though it didn’t seem weird coming from a girl who pours kimchi soup into someone else’s breakfast soup. In fact, it sounded quite persuasive. Han-bom had no understanding of the human heart.

“Are you going to keep dating a girl like this?”

“Why not if I like her?”

“Oooh, I’m touched, Chan-wook.”

*Ahem.*

No, still, do that lovey-dovey stuff at your own home.

“Anyway, that’s not why I fell for her.”

“Then is it because of her body?”

“Ah, seriously.”

Park Chan-wook seemed like he wanted to punch me and clenched his fist, while Han-bom just giggled to the side.

“To be honest, if you say it, I’ll forgive you. My friend couldn’t take his eyes off this woman…, no, Han-bom’s body.”

“That’s serious advice, so break up with that friend.”

Commands aren’t advice.

“Who is this scoundrel, that person?”

Well, both of them looked disgusted. It’s only natural, given he just stared at his girlfriend’s body. Han-bom also had a terrible first impression of Hwa-won, so I should consider this a slip of the tongue. After calming both of them down, I tried to bring the conversation back to its original topic.

“… I think it just flopped because my grades were terrible, but at one time, due to a contract, I had to force myself to write.”

“That happens often in genre fiction. In cases where you receive money upfront? Rookie authors tend to go through that a lot.”

“That’s something that happens in the literary world too.”

So, what happened then?

“At that time, noona suddenly started sending me a poem every day. Over text. Honestly, at first, I thought she was crazy.”

That sentence felt utterly out of place coming from Han-bom. And she was saying that while having a girlfriend.

“Honestly, do you think that way even now?”

“… No. Don’t interrupt me.”

“You hesitated! That’s too much!”

I would hesitate too. Anyway, telling Han-bom to be quiet, I listened again.

“Those strange poems, I honestly didn’t understand them, but they somehow comforted me. In the end, that writing flopped completely. But still, I managed to… hang in there.”

“That’s more romantic than I expected, which is a bit surprising.”

When I looked at Han-bom, she was smiling with a blank expression. Even in this state, she looked pretty. If only she could keep her mouth shut, it would’ve really been the perfect anecdote.

Of course, since she was a published poet, it wasn’t strange for her to show her poems, but sending a poem to a guy she’s crushing on every single day? That was so out of character for her. Just as I was contemplating whether I had to look at Han-bom differently, the story continued.

“So, I thought, does this girl like me? But then…”

“… Huh? Isn’t that the end?”

“In fact, that poem was sent to other people as well, not just me.”

… Han-bom was right; this checks out.

In just two sentences, all my previous impressions were flipped—it was quite the typical Han-bom story.

“Knowing that shocked me so much that I went quiet for a few days.”

“That’s really trashy.”

“No! Strictly speaking, I’m the victim here! I just wanted to show the poem to people around me! The misunderstanding was something Chan-wook made up! And look at us, we’re dating now!”

“A shameless person playing with a boy’s pure heart.”

“Argh!”

Han-bom dramatically screamed and fell over as if acting.

Then, seeing Park Chan-wook ready to catch her, I suddenly felt… annoyed.

“Can’t you do the lovey-dovey stuff at home?”

“Are you jealous?”

This guy Park Chan-wook seems to be trying to make me angry on purpose.

“Shut up.”

“Why not get a girlfriend too? Exclude that friend of yours from the running.”

“Don’t subtly change my name.”

“By the way, I’m also on the list of potentials.”

“Don’t you have a boyfriend next to you?”

They are really leading this conversation well.

But still, this daily life isn’t too bad. Spending time like this, I looked outside and saw it was already night. To my surprise, there was a star in the night sky.

The star was falling rapidly.

“Wow, a shooting star! Make a wish! Quick!”

I don’t believe in silly superstitions, but still, I closed my eyes. However, when suddenly asked to speak, nothing came to mind in this short time, and in the end, I wished for something meaningless like winning the lottery.

I didn’t even know why we make wishes when a star falls.

In “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” a star falling meant someone died.

“What wish did you make?”

“Winning the lottery.”

“That normally wins you a fifth prize.”

“….”

“You didn’t say which prize, though~”

Eventually, I slapped Han-bom, who was being a pain.

And the next day, the lottery ticket I bought out of hope turned out to be even worse than fifth prize; it was just a bust.

~

A few days later, I received a call from Jin Seo-hye.

[I found her.]

[Really?]

[Actually, it’s nothing special. She just stays holed up at home. No idea what she’s doing. I got her contact information. Is that enough? Or do you want me to arrange something?]

[That’s enough. I’ll ask for an arrangement if it’s not going well.]

[I hope you keep your promise. And I need to tell you one thing.]

I received Jin Seo-hye’s contact information like that and engraved the message Senior Su-Young conveyed.

I took a moment to breathe. Suddenly being in this situation, I wouldn’t have engaged Jin Seo-hye if it weren’t for this situation. I could call her immediately, but I felt a bit nervous.

Even if Jin Seo-hye had become a hikikomori, it wasn’t particularly my fault. And I had no intention of apologizing for either side. I knew it wasn’t a good choice to approach Jin Seo-hye in such a situation.

But still, I wondered what my reason was for making this call. To settle the past? Concerns about Muk Ha-neul? Anger if Jin Seo-hye is the culprit behind the interview? The answer is,

[… Hello.]

[Have you been well?]

[Who is this?]

I would have to solve this directly.