165 You Who Live within a Book 5 (2/2)
”Nah. Just sit still. Looking good.”
”Thanks,” Juho answered light-heartedly to the light-hearted compliment, and…
'Click.'
… the dull sound of the camera filled the void between Juho and Mideum.
”How much do you think I can sell this picture for?”
”Who would buy a picture of an average-Joe high school student?”
”I guess that's true,” Mideum said as she put her camera down, smacking her lips.
'So much for trust,' Juho thought as he chuckled at Mideum's exaggerated response.
”I read your book.”
”The new one?”
”Yes. Like you said, it was a really brief appearance.”
Juho was referring to Dr. Dong's friend who sent a letter to him after he had solved a case toward the very end of the book. The book didn't even clarify the character's gender, and Mideum didn't intend on making the character play a leading role in the novel.
”So, what am I like in the novel?”
”I'm not sure yet. I haven't started writing the manuscript. I'm not in the habit of writing out the plot, and I mostly prefer to work with the bare bones. It allows me to have the flexibility to change things down the line. Of course, the downside is that I have to do more research and spend more time on revisions.”
”Really?”
There were other authors who approached writing in a similar manner to Mideum. Every author was different in the way they wrote, and there were no rules like those in competitions. If an author wanted to, they had the freedom to kick the ball from the audience.
”You have your own studio, right?”
”Yep. Dae Soo found me one. It's a small office space, but it's actually pretty nice.”
As the name, Dae Soo came up in the conversation, Mideum brought up something that she remembered.
”Oh, yeah! Dae Soo's been staying in a hotel room somewhere.”
”A hotel room? Where?”
”Don't know. All I know is that it's somewhere in Gangwon-do. Whenever she's struggling to make progress, she stays at a random hotel room.”
Dae Soo's purpose for staying at a hotel was quite unusual, and it was as if the goal of her trip was to be in the hotel room.
”Isn't she odd? Once she finds a room, she disappears with her laptop and research data, and then comes back with amazing results. Whenever I read her work, I'm tempted to try writing at a hotel room myself,” Mideum said, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. Even though she was still talking about Dae Soo, her eyes were fixed on Juho.
”What about you? Do you do anything weird when you're stuck?”
Then, she blatantly changed the subject. It was obvious that her sole interest was Yun Woo. After a brief time thinking, Juho answered, ”Not really. I don't get stuck all that often.”
At Juho's answer, a dissatisfied look appeared on Mideum's face. She wasn't afraid to show her feelings.
”I wasn't expecting to write about such an arrogant character. This changes things a little bit.”
”That's a little harsh, isn't it?”
”There's really nothing? Even when you're making good progress?”
”Nothing out of the ordinary. I just pick up a pen and write.”
”Ordinary people don't see ghosts, you know.”
”Of course they can, if they're writers.”
”Are you saying that I'm not a writer, punk?”
”Well, it puts me in an awkward position if you put it that way.”
The ghosts she was referring to were Juho's creative process of interacting with the characters within the novels. In other words, they were the interaction between the young author and writing that had no shape to it yet. If he didn't write, he wouldn't be seeing ghosts in the first place. After Juho explained, Mideum nodded affirmingly, adding, ”You know, you're kinda like a ghost at times.”
Although it had been a rather unexpected remark, Juho felt uncomfortable internally. He felt pricked in the heart.
”Why is that?”
”A ghost wouldn't be taken aback by seeing other ghosts.”
Then, a gust of wind blew all of a sudden, and the streams of water from the fountain splashed sideways.
”You don't get fazed by ghosts.”
She checked the picture in her camera.
”I see it in the picture.”
”Because it's alive.”
”Kind of a letdown, ain't it?”
Her disappointment seemed genuine, and it was only natural. If Juho were a ghost, he wouldn't have to rely on the power of alcohol for the experience Mideum had been yearning desperately for.
”Well, I might be a half ghost.”
”What's that mean?”
Since he couldn't tell her that he had come back from the dead, Juho had to answer her ambiguously.
”According to this one famous scientist, there's a high probability that this world is one giant hologram. There are a lot of things about this planet that humanity doesn't know about.”
”What, are we going the sci-fi route now?”
As Juho took a sip of the beverage from his can and the liquid flowed into his mouth, he saw tall streams of water shooting up from the fountain.The wind gave them ghost-like appearance, and the drops of water plummeted toward the ground, never to rise back up.
”What the?! Why's that thing stopping already? The announcement said the show would end at 9:00 a.m.!”
The children who had been running around the fountain stood confused, and the crowd who had been watching the fountain show began to leave one by one.
”It stopped,” a child said to its father as if it were telling a truth that was known only to it. Soon, they, too, left the fountain and headed toward the playground. Most people responded in such ways when the fountain stopped working. Then, feeling a piercing gaze beside him, Juho said, ”It's empty now.”
”Yep. Nobody's interested in finding out the truth. Seems like we don't have any detectives around here.”
”Maybe they left because they already found out the truth. Also, I think the weather has a lot to do with their behavior.”
The wind was strong, and the weather was not suitable for a fountain show. However, the detective writer was yet to be satisfied by what she had found.
”Let's think about it some more.”
So, Juho played along willingly.
”Do you think this was a homicide case, then? Maybe the detective already smelled the blood and tragedy of the custodian's death.”
At that, Mideum presented an argument as if she had been waiting for him, ”The detective might not be all that good at what he does. No curiosity, reasoning skills, or an assistant.”
”Well, lucky for the culprit then. They have it easy with an incompetent detective like that.”
”No. The culprits always reveal themselves in my novel, so that I make sure they pay for their crimes in the most unfortunate ways.”
”Oh, man. I guess the culprit's not so lucky, after all.”
Mideum wasn't afraid to use the word 'always,' and insisting on the same ending was a big burden for writers as it could very well be their weakness. After all, there were bad people who lived prosperously while the good lived in poverty. However, Mideum had made her choice to show no mercy to the culprits in her novels, and Juho made no comment about her decision.