366 An Author’s Greed, and An Unexpected Offer 1 (1/2)
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
”What's the secret to becoming a better writer?”
”What's the secret to speaking better English?”
”How did you guys invest in yourselves to reach where you are?”
”What's it like to be popular?”
”How many cups of coffee does Kelley Coin drink in a day?”
”What are the award ceremonies like in the US?”
”Have you met a lot of celebrities? Were any of them Hollywood actors?”
”Tell us more about Jenkins!”
”How come you're not a fan of doing movie adaptations?”
”Did you really donate a billion dollars?”
Juho and Seo Kwang each answered an array of questions. As time passed and the students opened up more, the number of questions also started to grow. It was a rather comfortable atmosphere, and there was frequent laughter throughout the Q&A session.
”Was it fun being part of the Literature Club?”
At that, Seo Kwang answered without hesitation, ”It's what made school fun.”
Juho nodded in agreement. At which point, the students got even more excited and said, ”We saw Juho's short story in the literary magazine! Everyone else's were really good too!”
”Man, that was ages ago! I didn't know it was still being read,” Seo Kwang said.
”Do you guys keep in touch with your old clubmates?”
”Yep! We had a drink together not too long ago.”
”Were you ever jealous of Juho's writing?”
Rubbing his chin, Seo Kwang answered, ”You know, I used to wanna be a writer at one point.”
”Really!?”
”But I gave up because of Yun Woo, though.”
”Egh!”
Seo Kwang was clearly getting a kick out of the students' reactions. In order to remind him of that, Juho tapped him on the leg. However, the translator didn't let up.
”I mean, he was already a professional writer by that point, right? But he was still super serious, even against amateurs like me! I don't know about you guys, but no amateur in their right mind would wanna be up against Yun Woo.”
”All right, then. Suit yourself,” Juho murmured, taking a step back. Then, a shout came from the back.
”But Mr. Woo's a good translator too! Were you at all intimidated by that?”
At which, Seo Kwang put on a complacent smile and said, ”I'm not backing down twice.”
If Sun Hwa had been there, she wouldn't have hesitated to scold him for his pretentious attitude. At that moment, another student raised their hand, and Juho locked eyes with them. Their eyes were filled with curiosity.
”What is it like to achieve your dream?” the student asked, firmly believing that the two had achieved their respective dreams.
As Juho hesitated, Seo Kwang glanced over at the author and said, ”It's nice! It feels good. I also feel relieved.”
Juho chuckled, indicating that he agreed with Seo Kwang.
”I thought you didn't stop pursuing your dreams until you dropped dead.”
At that moment...
”Nope.”
… Mr. Moon interjected, rising from his chair. Although the students groaned, reluctant to part ways with Juho and Seo Kwang, they simply couldn't keep them any longer. After all, the two were the center of attention in their respective fields. In the end, Juho said goodbye to the students with Seo Kwang's remark still lingering in his head.
”Let's go,” Mr. Moon said. While waiting until the club activities period was over, Juho and Seo Kwang sat under the same tree they used to sit under, drinking coffee and taking pictures with the students, or signing autographs for them. Then, as the two got into Mr. Moon's car, the students in the schoolyard exclaimed, impressed.
”Where are we going?”
”To eat.”
Mr. Moon's car was filled with books. Scanning through them, Seo Kwang asked, ”Have you ever given your students a ride?”
”A few times when I was a homeroom teacher.”
”Why?”
”There was a student who just stopped showing up to school, so I had to visit their home with another teacher. Ha! I was seriously on the verge of quitting back then,” Mr. Moon said with a cheerful smile on his face.
Then, Juho asked as he opened the window, ”What are we eating?”
”Why don't we go for some barbecue? Call everyone else.”
”Already on it! Are you buying, Mr. Moon?”
”You little… You're both better off than I am.”
”Apparently, Yun Woo's dirt poor after making that billion-dollar donation.”
”Enough with the rumors already!”
Seo Kwang tapped on the screen of his phone busily as the car came out of the schoolyard and passed through the gate. Juho looked at the school building as it faded into the distance. Although a lot of things had changed, there were still traditions being upheld to that day. That evening, the entire group of former Literature Club members got together over barbecue.
---
”Eat more.”
”That was quite enough.”
”You're such a wimp sometimes,” Yun Seo said as Hyun Do rinsed his mouth with water. Looking at him putting his chopsticks down, Yun Seo stuffed her mouth with meat and vegetables. Since the weather had started to get warm, eating outside of the house was no longer an issue. Should the weather have been colder, it would've been unthinkable. A pleasantly warm breeze came along.
”Juho seems to be doing well. He was here with Song Hak not too long ago. Oh, have you met Song Hak?”
”He's one of your former pupils. He teaches at a high school, doesn't he? You wouldn't stop talking about him at one point,” Hyun Do said, and Yun Seo started giggling.
”Have you read Juho's English novel, yet?”
”I have.”
”I'm starting to think that he's actually afraid of water, not birds.”
As Hyun Do looked toward her, Yun Seo put on a mischievous look and said, ”Did you get that impression at all? I kept getting the same impression while reading 'River' too.”
A story of a person drowning and a story about a protagonist who suffocates to death, there were definitely commonalities between the two novels.
”Why don't you ask the author yourself?”
”Should I?” Then, remembering something all of a sudden, she changed the subject, ”Oh! Didn't you say you had started working on something? Any progress on that?”