Chapter 34

Chapter 34

TL: KSD

Books are a peculiar commodity.

Even if produced at the same cost, the volume of sales can vary dramatically depending on how the ink inside is arranged.

Even if the content is good, if it goes against the trend or the flow of time, sales plummet. Thus, creating books is a battle with uncertainty.

Therefore, Kim Sang-guk, the head of Baekhak Publishings publishing division, was someone who dealt with the invisible.

And through the recent meeting, he was certain. He recognized the intangible aura surrounding the boy, and the level of knowledge and talent embedded in his way of speaking.

A gem.

Not a raw stone that needs someones cutting but a gem that is already shining, complete. That was Author Moon, in the eyes of Director Kim Sang-guk.

Selling a stone as a fake gem is difficult. Turning a raw stone into a gem is also hard. But selling a gem is very easy.

And in this field, performance is indeed a weapon.

Lim Yang-wook, that bastard, has got a weapon out of his league.

A stray dog has already bitten its owner.

So, what is there to do? A dog that bites its owner must be boiled.

Of course, after carefully securing the pearl necklace around the dogs neck.

How shall I cook this

A seemingly kind smile fluttered around the lips of Director Kim Sang-guk as he walked down the dark corridor.

EP 3- Magic Sword~nim, please control me!

When I woke up, it was still dawn.

Lately, Ive been waking up unusually early.

Its not that my sleeping place is uncomfortable.

Its my heart that is uncomfortable.

Ugh

New Light Spring Orphanage houses four people per room. Besides me, there are three other kids in this room. I quietly left the dormitory so as not to wake my roommates.

Checking the wall clock, its around 5:30 AM. Wearing slippers with holes, I went out to the yard. The dawn dew collected on the grass tickled my feet through the holes in my slippers.

The sky was full of the light of dawn. Its difficult to lump the color of the dawn sky into one. The dark blue night sky is gradually pushed away by the crimson glow of dawn. At that boundary, a radiant dawn light crosses the sky. Its something that can only be described as the light of dawn.

All my senses were dyed with the dawn. The scent of a light rain that fell at dawn tickled the tip of my nose, and what touched my skin was the cool air of dawn, the sensation that tickled my feet was also the dawn dew on the grass, and what reached my ears was the sound of the city slowly waking up to the dawn.

This is why people become sentimental at dawn.

And such sentimentality was the greatest asset of a novelist.

Unlike usual, I sat on the stump in the orphanage yard, lost in thought.

Ah, life

Those were thoughts about me, about Gu Yubin, about my past or even my future.

Meeting Gu Yubin at the broadcasting station gave me a realization. The surge of emotion that overflowed the moment I saw her was the biggest evidence.

I am trapped in the past.

The reason I do not favor public attention is not because of pure art or popular art as Kim Byul mentioned.

I was harboring resentment without even knowing it. Resentment towards people who turned their backs on me when I was most in agony, and now worship me simply because I am young.

Life is

I thought I had left everything behind.

Maybe not.

Everything that meant something to me lies beyond the reaches of time.

Love, friendship, sorrow, grief.

Everything I had earnestly confronted lies beyond.

Now, all that remains is writing.

The only thing I truly own is my writing.

That thought occurs to me.

Then, am I nothing but a writing machine?

Are you feeling full of yourself?

Isnt that too harsh? Ma hyung?

The response I got from Ma Ki-hoon when I casually shared my concerns over breakfast at the New Light Spring Orphanage cafeteria was ridiculous.

Of course, I didnt speak of my concerns directly. It would have been treated as a fictional story. Since I couldnt explain the distortion of time, the question was slightly altered.

Ironically, by turning the real question into a fake one, I was able to distill the essence of my worries. To get the answer to the real question through a fake one, the core of the question had to be the same.

The point is this:

How can I fully own my life?

Ma Ki-hoon looked straight at me.

Then he opened his mouth.

Hey, Moon~ssi.

Yes?

Stop the nonsense and just eat your food.

* * *

Thats a difficult question

Baek Seol was sitting in the drivers seat because she was taking me to Baekhak Arts Middle School.

She volunteered to be my driver, not as a road manager of Baekhak Entertainment, but because she believed that someone close needed to take care of my mental health.

I wont tell anyone.

But it seems like everyone secretly knows!

Baek Seol nudged my back, pushing me out of the car.

And she returned to her usual cheerful demeanor and smiled.

Have a good day at school, Author~nim!

And then I remembered.

Wasnt the CEO of Baekhak Publishing, when Lim Yang-wook was an executive, a young woman?

* * *

Owning ones life

That thought stayed with me all the way to the classroom. A question once posed had ignited a creative desire.

Looking back, the web novel I wrote in a past life or past time was probably about that.

The title was Demon Sword.

It was a traditional fantasy novel that dealt with the life and inner world of a swordsman who gradually loses control of his life to the demon sword.

Back then, I was a bit short on money, so I remember trying to write it as commercially as possible, referencing Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings.

It was a failure, though.

Ah

Just thinking about it made me shudder.

As a pure literary writer, I had ventured into a tricky path, but even that was ignored by the readers, leaving me with no pride to speak of.

Writing, in any form, was indeed a difficult thing.

Good morning, Kim sunbae.

I met Kim Byul in the corridor.

But Kim Byul doesnt respond to my greeting and flinched away from me.

It seems the aftereffects of the last variety show appearance are still lingering.

I told you Im sorry for what happened last time

What are you talking about? Im not bothered by it at all.

Ill be more careful with my words next time

The incident at the shooting site had been resolved then and there. I had apologized to Kim Byul and Gu Yubin before we parted ways.

Once I showed humility, Kim Byul accepted my greeting with a confident expression.

Hmm! If youre sincerely apologizing like that Ill let it slide this time. But next time, show some respect towards your seniors on air too. Anyway, how was your weekend?

It was okay.

Did you get any messages from Author Gu Yubin? Though you and I are from different industries, shes truly a senior in the same field as you. You did grill her quite mercilessly

Wont the more serious stuff be edited out?

Dont think so. Do you trust those TV station guys? And watching from the sidelines, it was pretty entertaining.

I still feel a bit guilty towards Gu Yubin. Its exactly like the paradox of whether to kill baby Hitler or not.

Having analyzed the delicate inner workings of Gu Yubin, who is just a high school student, in front of the camera, it wouldnt be strange if she harbored some resentment towards me.

So, a few days after the shooting, I sent her a text apologizing, and a strange reply came back.

She said its okay and to please take care of her in the future?

Really? Then it ended well? Thats a relief.

Im not sure what she means by asking to be taken care of, though.

Its just a formality, why bother about it?

People who act might not understand, but those of us who write are sensitive to words.

Yeah, yeah, youre great. Im off!

Yeah.

And so, we finished our brief exchange in the corridor and went our separate ways.

She headed to the third year acting class, and I went to the first year creative writing class.

Just as the morning roll call for the first year creative writing class was about to start.

I understood what Gu Yubin meant by asking me to please take care of her in the future.

Everyone! We have a new transfer student in our class!

The moment the homeroom teacher entered the classroom with the transfer student, I froze like ice.

Would you like to introduce yourself?

I already knew the name of that stoic girl.

Gu Yuna.

Gu Yuna.

Not Yoon-ah.

Its not Gu Yoon-ah, but Gu Yuna.

Gu Yuna.

The old lover I met again appeared as a child.

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TL: As explained in this chapter, its a demonic sword, not a magic sword. Anyway, Ill be keeping it as magic sword in the title.

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