387 Repeating the Past Mistakes 3 (1/2)
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
”I guess this is it,” Juho said, putting the pen down, brushing his hair up, and massaging his wrist. Despite spending his entire morning on it, Juho had only written four sentences in total, which brought him a sense of crisis. The situation was a lot worse than he had thought. Realizing how restless and uneasy he was becoming, Juho chuckled.
”Was it this bad back then too?”
Juho rose from his seat and stretched. He hadn't been able to write in his past life either, and when he had been around his current age, holding a pen had been the only thing he had been able to do. The author looked toward the window, which was blocked by the stacks of manuscripts. He recalled being able to see a tree from his room, where the crow would rest while looking down at Juho.
”Hindered by my own legacy,” Juho murmured, tapping against one of the stacks of paper, which looked as if it would topple over at any moment.
”I don't like the sound of that.”
Rubbing his face, Juho picked up his pen, erased everything and started over. The room was anything but peaceful, making it impossible for the author to concentrate. To make matters worse, Juho was feeling very uneasy. He wanted to be able to concentrate on his work. He desperately wanted something so tangible that he could almost touch it, something that would make him forget all about his current struggle. However, the room was filled by a cruel silence. The battle against the unseen tended to feel empty and futile. Then, checking the time, Juho rose from his seat.
”They should be here any minute now.”
Closing the door on the way out of his room, Juho went to the kitchen and took some meat out of the refrigerator in order to cook it before his guests arrived. Then, a series of knocking sounds came from the front door just in the nick of time.
”Hey,” Juho said, greeting his guest.
”Mm, I smell meat,” Seo Kwang murmured as he took his shoes off. ”I need to lose weight, though...”
”More for me, then.”
”Well, I can't let you eat alone,” Seo Kwang said, putting his bag down and sitting down. At the sight of the books peaking through the opening in his bag, Juho chuckled.
”Isn't it heavy?” Juho asked.
”Not at all.”
”You've been working with Coin, right? How's that been?”
As if he had been waiting for Juho to ask, Seo Kwang unfastened the top button of his shirt.
”I am DYING. I just can't seem to figure out a way to preserve the unique feel in his writing. I've been using your old work as reference, but I don't know. How the heck did you do it?! Let alone twenty years ago?!”
”Maybe you're stuck because you're using my work as reference,” Juho said, trying to laugh it off.
”You translated six of his books! Help me out here!”
When Juho brought out the meat, Seo Kwang started eating voraciously and unhesitantly.
”Did you forget to eat?” Juho asked.
”I did today.”
”But you still have plenty of time until your deadline, don't you?”
”I have two projects stacked on top of each other, so there's barely enough time. I'm telling you, having a successful career is exhausting.”
”Are you gonna be OK?”
”It's nothing I can't handle.”
Looking at Seo Kwang, who was busy eating with his head down, Juho said, ”You're getting old.”
”Are you tryin' to start a fight?”
”Your hair's thinning.”
To that, Seo Kwang replied defensively, ”Hey man, I don't need you to remind me of any of that! My dad's already been bugging me about getting married!”
Then, waving his chopsticks, the translator added, ”He just will NOT give up! I've already dedicated my life to books. I'm gonna live the rest of my life surrounded by them. I don't know why he keeps pestering me so much when he already knows all that.”
”Reminds me of your first love,” Juho said.
”... Bring out some sauce, will ya? I need something to cut through the grease.”
At that moment, even more guests arrived: Sun Hwa, Bom and Baron. With her nostrils flaring, Sun Hwa walked in unhesitantly and said, ”You started without us!?”
While Bom greeted Juho and Seo Kwang gladly, Baron handed Juho a gift.
”What is this?”
”It's a painting. It came out nicely this time, and I figured it would suit your taste.”
When Juho tore the wrapping paper, he saw the painting. From time to time, Baron would send Juho a painting as a gift. After looking at the oil painting for a little while, Juho put it in his room.
”I don't get it. These kids are terrified of me.”
”Well, it's probably because you're in charge of an entire grade. Remember how scared we were of those teachers?”
”I thought the Chinese teacher was the scariest,” Sun Hwa said, chewing her food. Then, she proceeded to grumble about her work, ”I tried to get some advice from Mr. Moon, but he's anything but helpful. He keeps telling me things like how to write a good resignation letter… ”
”Mr. Moon... I thought he'd retired from teaching.”
”He did look a lot happier after he stopped teaching.”
Juho nodded in agreement. After years of reluctantly continuing his teaching career, Mr. Moon had finally called it quits, and among the number of jobs he had tried after that, writing had been one of them. In the end, the teacher had debuted as an author fairly late.
”His debut title was pretty good. Though, I wasn't all that impressed after that.”
”I guess he was the talented type after all,” Seo Kwang said nonchalantly, drinking the beer Bom had brought. If Mr. Moon had been there, the translator would've quickly found himself in trouble. As Juho stared intently at him, Seo Kwang asked, ”Are you gonna have some?”
At that moment, silence took over the room.
”No thanks. It tastes terrible,” Juho replied, shaking his head.”
”Right. That's the Juho Woo I know.”
”I thought you had lost your mind back then.”
At one point, Juho had taken up alcohol, smoking, and gambling, and all of that had started with a thought: '... Maybe I'll be able to come up with something after a drink or two.”
”It's just a drink. What's the big deal?”
”The fact that you were acting like you were still a teenager.”
”Seriously! Do you know what it means to do things in moderation?”
”There was definitely a lot going on for all of us back then. That's the year you got divorced, right Sun Hwa?” Seo Kwang asked Sun Hwa, pointing toward her.
At which point, she bent his finger and replied proudly, ”Single life is the way to go,” guzzling down on her beer.
”You don't say,” Baron replied.
”I wasn't talking to you, you know,” Sun Hwa replied to the father of two, who was drinking quietly. There was a gold ring on his left ring finger.
”How's your younger child doing?” Juho asked.
”He's doing well. Too well if you ask me. I'm telling you, nothing makes me prouder than looking at him.”