Chapter 394 (1/2)
Published
at 15th of August 2019 04:11:49 PM
Chapter 394
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
Right as the crow opened its beak, Juho felt a strong impact against his head . When the wall burst, the water started flooding the area from all directions . Drowning, Juho closed his eyes tightly . When he felt his body float, he realized that he was completely submerged in water . Frozen by ice-cold water, Juho couldn't move a muscle . No matter how hard he tried to move his limbs, he kept sinking to the bottom . Juho felt a burning sensation in his nose as water entered it . It wasn't until the water calmed down that Juho barely managed to open his eyes . Although It was quite dark in the water, Juho was still able to see that the pair of black eyes in front of him wasn't a fish's . The bird looked at the author as if blaming him . Everything was black, and there was no emotion on the face with no eyes and nose . At that moment, Juho was on the verge of death .
“This water exists so that we can cross it . ”
Juho reminisced to his past . A list of books that he hadn't been able to read flashed across his mind . Then, he heard a voice . The crow had its beaks open .
“You see, I have really good hearing . ”
It was a line from a character in one of Juho's novels .
“Don't write about me . ”
Juho tried desperately to remember as many things from his life as possible .
“Once, when I was very young…”
“Uh, a bug went into your camera…”
“I killed a man…”
“Would you like a picture?”
“There's a fire!”
“The f.u.c.k!?”
Then, Juho's ears started to ring, and his eyes burned . His head was starting to hurt, and he couldn't move his limbs . Meanwhile, the crow kept looking at the author with bitter, resentful eyes . It was a mirror, reflecting the very look on the author's face .
“f.u.c.k!”
At that moment, the crow asked, “Would you like to know how you can stay afloat?”
When Juho nodded, the bird said, “… Loosen up . ”
At that, Juho clenched his teeth tightly . He tried to remember the plot of the story he had been working on before he fell in the water . However, as Juho's body started to reach its limit, he simply couldn't . Death was at hand, and his senses started to return . Before he realized it, Juho was overwhelmed with terror .
“I can't believe this is how I die! I can't die like this!”
The more he spoke, the harder it was to breathe . As he ran out of oxygen, his voice started to shake . At that moment…
“I don't have to write . ”
… Juho's mouth started to move on its own . There was no time to think .
“I don't care if I get my hands cut off, if I become mute, or completely forget about the ending of my own story . h.e.l.l, I don't even care if I become an alcoholic all over again . I'll let the crow follow me around for the rest of my life . Money . Fame . You can take it all . I don't have to be great . Just… let me live . ”
At that moment, Juho realized the true desire within his heart . The unfinished story was the least of his concerns . The only thing Juho wanted at that moment was to live . He wanted to live even more than being a novelist .
“As long as I'm alive, I can go anywhere . ”
At that moment, upon finding the prey it had been waiting for, the crow opened its wings and flew toward Juho . At which point, Juho realized why the crow hadn't flown until then . The bird had nowhere to land . Then, he felt an impact against his back, followed by a dull pain and a sound of wailing . It felt like he was bleeding . Juho was crying, and his body went limp inadvertently . Juho felt hazy . Although his vision was fuzzy, everything seemed quite bright, which told the author that it was morning . Then, Juho felt somebody pulling him up by the ankle . As the black sky came into view, Juho heard the waves of voices from those who came together to rescue him .
“Haha . ”
As Juho took his first breath, tears started to flow from his eyes . From then on, everything felt hazy . When the author opened his eyes, he found himself in a room . It wasn't until he saw a man sniffling by his side that he was able to adjust to his surroundings . Juho remembered having met the man before, and he still remembered the voice that had cared for him in the distance . When they had first met, neither of them had had the luxury of introducing themselves to each other .
“Baek Han,” Juho called to the aspiring writer .
“Yes, Mr . Woo?”
“You said you're broke, right? I think I'm gonna need a helping hand . ”
At that, Baek broke down and said, “I thought I'd never see you again! I was starting to think that I wouldn't forgive you for scaring me like that!”
Looking down at his head, Juho said, “Compliment me . ”
“I'm sorry?”
“I said compliment me . ”
Although caught off guard by Juho's seemingly random request, Baek answered wholeheartedly, “You're a genius, Mr . Woo . ”
“No, I'm not,” Juho said emphatically . “From now on, I want you to address me as the Great Storyteller . ”
“I'm sorry?”
“A genius just won't do . ”
Blinking awkwardly in confusion, Baek asked, “How… are they different?”
At that, a sense of emptiness washed over Juho . 'Maybe I talked this guy up too much to the bird,' Juho thought . The crow was a much cleverer creature . Juho grabbed Baek by the hair, and as the aspiring writer moaned in pain, the author said, “You'll find out . ”
With that, Juho closed his eyes, and for the first time in a long time, he fell sound asleep .
“Mr . Woo?”
“What?”
“What would you like for lunch?”
“Anything's fine,” Juho said from his bed .
Several weeks had pa.s.sed since Juho had returned home .
“Why am I not surprised? I'll make sure to bring something you'd like,” Baek said . As an affirmative gesture, Juho waved his hand .
“You like the book, Mr . Woo?”
“Yes,” Juho said as he turned the page . While recovering on bedrest, Juho had been spending most of his time reading .
“You must really like reading your own books,” Baek said, intrigued, and Juho nodded .
“They're good books . ”
“Do you get impressed by your own writing?”
“If you read my books, you know . I'm the Great Storyteller . ”
Unable to think of a response, Baek smacked his lips .
“Do you ever come across anything you wish you could change?”
“Of course . ”
“Yet, you still like reading them? That doesn't bother you?”
“Being able to see something that you were blind to at one point is a wonderful thing . ”
Impressed, Baek let out a long exclamation . Checking the t.i.tle of the book in Juho's hands, the aspiring writer asked, “Oh! 'Treasure Trove!' You released it five years ago! That's a good one . ”
“That's right,” Juho replied
“Didn't you say that one of the characters was based on a real person? Who was it…”
“Somebody from my old school . ”
“Ah, yes! You said you named the book after her, right?” Baek asked . Then, scratching his head, he added, “Honestly, once I put myself in her shoes and I thought I would've been offended by the t.i.tle . ”
“Why?”
“Because it's such a depressing book . A trove storing the treasures of the dead . I've always thought that gems were meant to s.h.i.+ne . I didn't realize there was a way to make one seem like that much of a depressing object . ”
Smiling, Juho nodded . When he had visited Bo Suk in order to ask for her permission to name the book after her name, she had asked, “… Did I do something wrong?”