224 Embellished 2 (1/2)
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
The three authors conversed candidly, and the atmosphere repeated the pattern of gradually building up and subsiding as the subject changed through the course of their meal. By the time Yun Seo had had her third gla.s.s of wine, Hyun Do two gla.s.ses of water, and Juho two cups of soda, the conversation took a turn and put the spotlight on the young author.
”That ending was superb,” Yun Seo said, looking like she was drunk from the atmosphere rather than the wine. As she looked at Juho, there was not a tinge of red on her face.
”Some of the older authors I know were all astonished,” she said, moving on to telling him about the conversations that had taken place at official events or at offices about 'Sublimation.' Although they had been mostly positive, there had been those who were doubtful of the young author. Then, bursting into laughter out of nowhere, Yun Seo said, ”Boy, the look on this man's face right here. He looked so bored! Your name came up during my book release event, and he was the only person sitting there quietly, not saying a word. If anything, he stood out.”
At Yun Seo poking fun at him, Hyun Do added indifferently, ”Everyone was talking about the ending of the book. I was bored, that's all.”
”But it was worth getting that much attention.”
”Which is why I sat there quietly.”
Then, as if she had been reminded of that image of Hyun Do, Yun s...o...b..rst into laughter again. Juho turned to the literary great, who was enjoying his meal quietly. Unlike all the other authors he had met, Hyun Do didn't ask questions about his writings style, let alone doubt him.
”Why aren't you asking me?”
”Asking you what?”
”About my writing style.”
Hyun Do brushed his gray hair back. Although Juho's writing had been causing a ruckus, it seemed to have had no impact on the literary great. If anything, Hyun Do seemed like he had silenced it as gracefully as ever. Yun Seo was the same way. No matter how many of her pupils abandoned her, she kept her place There was an undeniable gap between the young author and the two, significantly older authors. Juho knew that he was far from reaching their level, and Hyun Do's calm voice was only further proof of that.
”What for?”
”Well…”
Just like Hyun Do had said, nothing was going to change, even if the literary great were to ask the young author about his controversial writing style. Hyun Do had already established a world of his own, which was like a tightly-shut gate that couldn't be opened from the outside.
”... Aren't you curious?”
”I'm old enough to not let my curiosity get the best of me.”
”That sounds like you are curious.”
At that, a corner of Hyun Do's mouth turned up, and what seemed like dimples appeared on his face.
”At the end of the day, I'm an author myself.”
At his answer, the faces of some of the most aggressive writers rushed past Juho's mind. They were willing to do just about anything in order to acquire what they wanted. Some never left their rooms for years on end, while others put themselves through the trouble of making lists about themselves in order to understand themselves better. Some acted out the scenes they were writing, even at the cost of making fools of themselves, while others went as far as digging deep into some of the most gruesome data for the sake of understanding their topics better. Likewise, the older gentleman sitting before Juho's eyes couldn't be any different.
Then, catching on to what Juho was thinking, Hyun Do said, ”You know, I've never killed a person.”
”I'm sure you haven't.”
”But I do have experience writing about it.”
Juho understood what Hyun Do was saying from that sentence alone.
”I know that I can't do everything. There are foods that I can't eat, as well as foods that I hate.”
”Do you ever force yourself to eat them?”
”No, there's no reason.”
Children often found certain foods repulsive, even without having tasted them before. It was possible to imagine what the food was going to taste like. It was possible to predict the taste, fear it, and even grow fond of it.
”I, personally, ask questions after I write. For example, a homeless man. I ask him if they find what I wrote about them offensive.”
Then, Juho put himself in the position of the homeless man Hyun Do was talking about. Having first-hand experience with being homeless, it wasn't all that difficult to do so. As far as he could tell, he would have burst out laughing or crying. Either way, he wouldn't have been able to keep his calm. He would have murmured, 'Here's yet another wretched life,' and gone to the bookstore to fetch a book without anyone knowing afterwards.
”If I were to write about you, it wouldn't be until I'd written however I saw fit that I would ask you any questions.”
”And I'm sure I'd be taken aback after seeing how little difference there would be between your writing and reality.”
Despite Juho's answer, there was no change in the expression on Hyun Do's face.
”I'm much more interested in what kind of piece you'll come up with than how you go about writing it. And even more so, what kind of piece I'll come up with.”
At that, Juho felt like he'd gotten a glimpse of desire hidden deep within the literary great and his bottomless, serene eyes. It was the desire to write better than anyone else. Upon that realization, the elements that made the literary great who he was began to waver, including his grey hair and his straight posture.
”You've been working on something.”
”I sure have.”
Hyun Do was also an author, after all. He wasn't in the habit of wandering and he was different from those who couldn't write a single word after reading Juho's writing. No matter what he read, including 'River,' 'Sublimation,' and all of the articles on the Nebula and Hugo Awards, Hyun Do simply wrote away. Juho looked at him attentively, feeling a faint desire to write, and thinking, secretly, that he wanted to see his own writing cause more of a ruckus. Juho's singing was boisterous, and he imagined the literary great humming along with his tune.
---
”Hey, wake up.”
Upon feeling a blow to his back, Juho heard a voice waking him up. Then, rubbing his back, he opened his eyes and saw Sun Hwa in front of him.
”What?”
”Club activities.”
Still half asleep, Juho brushed his face, and as he packed his bag in a daze, Sun Hwa, who had already packed up, stared intently at him.
”Is there something you wanna say?”
”Have you been writing?”
”I write every day.”
”No, no. C'mon, you know what I mean.”
”It can't hurt to be elaborate. That way, there's nothing to misunderstand.”
At Juho's response, Sun Hwa's distinctively confident eyes turned up. As of late, her eyes had been downcast with worry. Therefore, the fact that there was a change in her appearance meant that she had made a breakthrough, somehow.
”Whenever you stay up writing, you always come out with a new book. So, I'm just asking if that's what you're doing lately.”
Exactly like Sun Hwa was thinking, Juho had written the night before.
”I wanted to get the one that's due out of the way.”
”We have an a.s.signment due?”