385 Repeating the Past Mistakes 1 (1/2)
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
”How much is it?”
On his way to Yun Seo's house, Juho made a stop at a fruit stand nearby in order to buy some fruit. In response, the vendor quietly pointed toward a wooden board that indicated the price. At which point, Juho took out his wallet in order to pay. Made of genuine, high quality leather, the wallet was a recently-given gift from San Jung, who had included a brief thought on the young author's new book in the form of a letter. It was clear that she had chosen it carefully. However, because Juho tended to pay no attention to his outer appearance, a genuine leather wallet stuck out like a sore thumb. After putting it in the back pocket of his pants, Juho started walking up the hill.
”Hey.”
”Hi.”
Geun Woo greeted Juho with a sullen look on his face. After looking up and down at the young author, he stepped aside to let Juho in.
”What?” Juho asked.
”Nothing.”
”You look like you have something to say. You've read my book, haven't you?”
”Wow,” Geun Woo let out ambiguously, as if chuckling. ”So, you're flat out saying that it's your book now instead of Mr. Kang's?”
”I wrote it, so…”
”I can't tell if you're just gutsy or confident,” Geun Woo said, rubbing his earlobe. Then, pointing toward the door to Yun Seo's room, he added, ”Mrs. Baek thinks you might have actually met Mr. Kang. She's waiting for you.”
When Geun Woo went out the door sniffling, Juho asked where he was going. To which, he replied, ”I'm goin' out for a walk,” waving his hand and walking down the hill. With that, Juho stood in front of Yun Seo's room, somewhere he had been in previously.
Upon knocking, Yun Seo's voice came from the inside, ”Come in.”
Juho opened the door. The air was noticeably different from the living room. When Juho saw Yun Seo, she had a book in her hands, more precisely, a book written by Wol Kang.
”I'm revisiting it,” she said.
”I can see that.”
”I found myself thinking about him after reading your book.”
”I'm glad to hear that, Mrs. Baek.”
With that, Yun Seo offered the young author a seat, and Juho sat on the exact same seat he used during his previous visit. Locking eyes with her, Juho started off by saying, ”I did it.”
Remaining silent, Yun Seo stared intently at him.
”I did something neither you nor Mr. Lim could.”
”It appears so.”
”What did you think?”
”What did I think…” Yun Seo said, smiling. Having prepared himself ahead of time, Juho looked intently at Yun Seo, ready to accept any kind of thought or feedback. ”What do you think?” she asked.
”About?”
”Did you like how it turned out?”
”No.”
”Then?”
Juho couldn't answer readily. Noticing that the room had become darker, he said, ”I think I did my best.”
”And?” Yun Seo asked.
”... And for what it's worth, I'm trying to be satisfied with it.”
”You're trying to be?”
”... As in, I'm very satisfied.”
Yun Seo rested her chin on her hand and stayed silent.
”I didn't write alone this time, and I'm confident that it was for the better.”
”Did my husband give you any insights at all?”
”No. Just a lot of trash talking.”
Then, a look of interest appeared on Yun Seo's face. Nodding, she said, ”I was very satisfied with the book. So much so, that I was glad that I wasn't able to write it myself. You did a wonderful job,” she said, gently grabbing Juho's hands. Then, smiling mischievously, she asked, ”You know, I wanted to compliment you publicly, but I've been holding myself back since I thought it'd be better to do that in person first. Now that we got that out of the way, you wouldn't mind me talking about you in interviews, would you?”
”Of course, Mrs. Baek. It would be an honor.”
”I'm sure Wol's thinking the same thing.”
Feeling relieved, Juho said, ”I don't know if you've heard, but there's a rumor circulating that Mr. Lim cried after reading my new book. Do you think it's true?”
”Who knows? I doubt he'll tell me though, even if I ask. Well, I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried,” Yun Seo said with a cheerful smile.
”You did?”
”That's right. I was constantly sniffling as I was reading.”
Upon hearing that his book had made another person tearful, Juho felt a strange sense of accomplishment. Then, rising from her seat, Yun Seo walked toward the bookshelf, which was filled with books, every single one of them written by Wol Kang, clearly old and worn out. At which point, Juho was reminded that Yun Seo was no longer as young as she had been in his dream. Giving into his impulses, Juho asked, ”How did you accept Mr. Kang's death?”
”I did nothing,” she said, staring at the name Wol Kang. ”And just like that, I got old.”
Time hadn't waited for her to move on from her husband's death. Rubbing her arm, Yun Seo said, ”When I came to my senses, I found myself trying to survive. When my husband died, I wanted to die with him. But you get hungry, so you gotta eat, and because you gotta eat, you gotta work. And naturally, you discover things that you want to do in the process, and come across things that you wanna write about. That's how I got to where I am now.”
At that moment, Juho sensed a presence behind him. When he looked back, there was a crow peeking its head through the door crack. Juho looked toward Yun Seo, who didn't seem to notice the crow.
”You said you see the crow too, right?”
Juho nodded quietly.
”Wol was like that too. Do you know what he told me just before he died? 'I'm sad to see the little guy go.'”
Wol and the crow had been one, and Wol's death had meant that the crow would also die. After a brief pause, Juho said, ”I'm not sure if I follow.”
”Me neither, but one day, I'm sure I will. After all, life is long,” Yun Seo said, walking past Juho. When the young author followed her with his eyes, he saw her open the door. A refreshing breeze followed.
”We buried him,” she said. Juho realized that the thought of visiting Wol's grave had never occurred to him. ”Would you like to come with?”
Juho nodded willingly. Then, rolling up her sleeves, she said, ”Well, we should eat first. Geun Woo went out to buy some meat, so he should be back any minute now.”
With that, Juho followed Yun Seo out of the room. When he looked back, he saw the crow sitting on the same spot he had been sitting on, nodding. After staring at it for a brief moment, Juho looked away.