Chapter 87 – A Long-Awaited Encounter (2) ###
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
In order to catch up with his transcription, Juho took out Hyun Do Lim's book and placed it gently onto the desk with his notebook. As usual, his effort was short-lived, but by now, he came to accept it.
Having opened the book, he had naturally started to read page after page. By the time he finished doing that, a significant amount of time had already passed. Though he couldn't think of a specific reason, the book was always a good read. Every time he read it, he always felt that it was a good book. After that, he revisited the scene that left a deep impression on him.
In the house once occupied by his wife and children, the old man was left all alone. He stood in front of a mirror and confessed his life. 'Where is it?' he asked. The mirror was the only place to whom he could ask that question. Of course, the old man in the mirror did not speak until he did. Yet, he waited for an answer. It was idiotic. The restrained atmosphere made the reading experience unpleasant, but Juho was drawn to it still. The book had a way of attracting its reader emotionally.
Hyun Do Lim. He was an author who wrote well into his late years, an author loved by authors. Calculating and insistent in his style, he had inspired many people. His books were filled with philosophical content that had been dressed in beautiful writing. Of course, he was still active to that day. Juho brushed his hand across the letters in his book. At times, that was enough to move a person to tears.
"Where is it?"
Juho read the line out loud. The stubborn old man asked that of the mirror upon realizing the death of his family. There was no one left in that world that would listen to him. An old man who had been secretly watching the three brothers next door. An old man who had been infuriated by the injustice between them. Because he couldn't tolerate the inexperience of children, he probably couldn't forgive himself either.
Suddenly, Juho was overcome by an urge to look into a mirror. 'There's a mirror in the bathroom.' After standing up from his chair, he headed for the bathroom. The mirror appeared as soon as he opened the door, and as he walked in, he saw himself in it. There were water stains on it that gave it a dirty look. He turned on the faucet in order to clean the mirror, wiping it with his wet hand. Although the stains disappeared, he still didn't get the impression that it was clean.
'Click.'
As his fingernail hit the surface of the mirror, it made a light yet dull sound. After ringing out for a brief moment, the sound soon dissipated into the air. In the mirror, Juho saw himself touching the mirror with the same face, expression, and skin. If it weren't for the boundary called mirror, there wouldn't be a way for him to distinguish himself.
For no apparent reason, he flicked his finger against the mirror twice. Then, thinking of an author whose favorite number was three, he gave it another flick. The author's books were still not doing well. Because the most recent had been published around the same time as Juho's second book, it was suffering more than usual. Though Joon Soo had complained to Juho as a joke, Juho didn't feel sorry for him. He knew Joon Soo would become successful one day in the near future. 'Should I be on my toes?' Juho thought, chuckling. Then, looking up, he looked into his eyes in the mirror and decided to explore his imagination a little bit.
'Caw!' A crow sat on his right shoulder. Black beak. Black eyes. Black feathers. 'How long has it been there?' Juho thought as he stared at it quietly. After bobbing its head a few times, it spread its wings annoyingly, as if it had been irritated with Juho for calling it for no apparent reason. Juho closed his eyes at the sight of the crow's frantic movement. By the time he opened them again, it had vanished into the shadow. As he chased after it, Juho picked up a cleaning brush from the corner of the bathroom.
"Where was that detergent?"
With that, he started to scrub away forcefully. After cleaning the bathroom thoroughly, he dried the moisture on his hand and made his way back to his room.
As he walked in, he saw a shiny object on his bed. It was his phone, illuminating rhythmically, meaning that there was a message or messages that he hadn't checked yet. Surprisingly, it was a text from Yun Seo, which he read through quickly.
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'Would you like to meet with Hyun Do Lim?'
"... Hyun Do Lim?"
Juho looked at the book he had been reading up to a moment ago. Standing still, he picked it up quietly and opened it to its first page, where the author's profile was. Dark and silver hair. Handsome appearance that gave off a calm disposition. That was the person Juho would have the opportunity to meet.
"Ha...!" Juho couldn't help but chuckle. 'Maybe I can get an autograph?'
Just like that, the meeting with Hyun Do Lim was arranged.
—
Time passed, and Juho was a day away from meeting Hyun Do Lim, and he had been absent-minded throughout the entire school day. To be precise, his attention was elsewhere. Although the only difference was that he was awake, the fact that he wasn't paying attention remained unchanged.
"Do you like someone?" Seo Kwang asked.
"Nope," answered Juho, lightheartedly.
"Then what are you daydreaming about?"
"Am I?"
"Yeah, you are, even as we speak."
"Yeah?"
"This is bad," said Seo Kwang, resting his chin on his hand. "Did something happen?"
"Yep, something good," said Juho, chuckling quietly.
"Something good? How good?"
Juho shared the reality that was too good to be true with Seo Kwang, "Hm, like meeting Hyun Do Lim in person good?"
"WHOA!"
Hyun Do Lim. At the sound of his name, Seo Kwang's eyes sparkled brightly.
"You're meeting Hyun Do Lim?? I wouldn't be able to sleep for at least a couple nights. I'd probably take a sedative the day of, and then clutch my chest an hour before as my heart tried to jump out of me."
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"That's oddly specific."
"If I were meeting Mr. Lim at four in the afternoon, I'd be on cloud nine an hour before," Seo Kwang said as he shook his own hands.
It wouldn't have been odd to think that he was a prince from an alien planet. With a chuckle, Juho turned his attention away from his friend and to the outside. 'One day away. Maybe I really need a sedative," he thought as he looked down at his heart, which was beating calmly like usual. It was almost boringly calm. Because it had been arranged in such a spontaneous manner, he felt like it could get cancelled just as suddenly. He looked up at the sky and saw the clouds that were floating away as calmly as his heartbeat. There wasn't a single bird in the sky. 'Is this really happening?' he asked himself. It all felt unreal.
The day finally came.
Juho woke up early that morning and checked his phone. There weren't any messages that said anything about the meeting being cancelled. It was really going to happen. There was still some time, but it was still the day Juho would meet an author with the fitting reputation of a literary colossus, but the day felt hardly any different. As usual, he spent his time reading after showering and eating, then writing, daydreaming, and brainstorming.
'Buzz.' At that moment, his phone rang. It was Seo Joong.
When Juho answered, the familiar voice sounded from the other end. "Mr. Woo. What are you up to this fine day?" Seo Joong asked light-heartedly, and Juho thought immediately of his untidy appearance.
"I was getting ready to go out."
"Oh!" he exclaimed. It was hard to tell whether he was surprised or disappointed. "Is that so? I wanted to treat you out to some food. Who are you seeing? A girlfriend?"
Juho answered his childish joke calmly, "Mr. Hyun Do Lim."
The line went silent, and Juho checked to see if the call had dropped, but the call was very much ongoing, and the receiver hadn't been muted. That meant that the silence had to be coming from the person on the other end.
Juho waited patiently for his response, and it didn't take long to hear shouting, "H, Hyun Do Lim?! As in THE Hyun Do Lim?! The Hyun Do Lim I'm thinking of?!"
"Yep."
At Juho's brief answer, Seo Joong grew all the more anxious.
"How? How did that happen?"
"Mrs. Baek asked if I wanted to meet him, so I said yes, and we scheduled it for today."
"... You know Mrs. Baek too?"
"Yes."
After Juho's brief answer, the silence returned once again. Just as he had done before, Juho waited quietly for Seo Joong.
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"Get an autograph for me, will ya?" he asked childishly.
"I'm not sure. I think I got my hands full as is with getting one for myself."
"Come on! I'll give you my autograph too."
"There's no need," said Juho with a chuckle.
"Where is it at??"
"Why? Are you planning on visiting?"
"I don't have the guts for that."
Juho shared the location of the meeting willingly. It was at a place he had never heard of in the past.
"I was told the meeting is going to be at Mrs. Song's restaurant?"
"Ah, I see." Seo Joong seemed to be familiar with the place.
"You sound like you've been there."
"Yep. That place is well-known among authors."
"Really?"
"The owner and chef, Mrs. Song, is an avid novel reader. Her food is amazing too. I don't know the details myself, but it's almost like a regular spot for writers. A friend of mine recommended the place, so I checked it out and met Joon Soo Bong. You might run into him too if you're lucky. Although, nobody there will know that you're Yun Woo."
Joon Soo Bong. Juho was well-acquainted with that name by now. 'So, Seo Joong and Joon Soo know each other, huh?' thought Juho.
"I wanted to take you there myself, but it seems like Mr. Lim beat me to it. You're one lucky guy."
At Juho's quiet chuckle, Seo Joong asked playfully, "Aren't you nervous? You're meeting one of the greats!"
"I'm not sure. Maybe it hasn't sunk in yet."
"Well, I can't imagine you getting nervous either. You know, for your age, you've got guts."
"You never know. I might get nervous when I meet him."
"To this day, I've never met anyone who said things like that when they were nervous."
When Juho checked the clock, he saw it was nearly time for him to leave the house.
"I think I need to get going."
"All right, I don't want you to be late either. Tell me more about it afterwards! Get me an autograph if you can."
He was rather insistent about getting Hyun Do's autograph. Juho hung up the phone with a half-hearted answer.
Chapter 88 – A Long-Awaited Encounter (3) ###
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
Madame Song's restaurant was in a rather secluded place.
Once Juho entered a dark alleyway, he was greeted by a neat row of flowerpots. According to Yun Seo, those flowerpots meant that the restaurant was near. Remembering what she had said, Juho kept on.
The ground was made of bricks that were somewhat uneven. Although Juho felt slightly uneasy at the thought of the bricks being loose, the ground seemed to be much sturdier than it looked.
After walking past the flowerpots, his eyes were met by a luxurious restaurant that came into stark contrast without its surroundings. It seemed more like an art gallery than a restaurant. 'I wonder why it's so secluded? It wouldn't have been weird to find a building like this at a major street.' The disparity in the visuals between the restaurant and its surrounding gave it a mysterious atmosphere. After looking around the building for a short time, Juho carefully stepped into the restaurant.
The gentle sound of the door made his presence known. In what seemed like a waiting room, there was a couch, a cash register and a rather large mirror in place of a wall. As he sat on the couch, he saw his reflection in the mirror in front of him. The wait couldn't have been long. Time tended to fly when one stared into their face in the mirror.
A woman was standing by the cash register. Though their eyes met, she didn't try to rush him to a table.
Juho stood in front of the mirror to straighten his clothes. Because it was a special occasion, one of meeting one of the literary greats, he was intentional about looking presentable. If Dong Gil had been there, he would have smiled proudly.
As Juho checked himself in the mirror, he thought of one of Hyun Do Lim's books.
His reflection in the mirror asked, "Where is it?"
"Madame Song's restaurant," Juho answered without hesitation. Unlike the atmosphere in Hyun Do's book, it had sounded more like a cheesy promotional video. At that moment, the door opened, signaling another potential customer. Juho looked at the mirror.
The first thing that stood out was the man's straight posture. While being impressed, Juho's eyes met his. To be precise, Juho's eyes met the reflection of the man in the mirror.
With his eyes fixated on the reflection of the man's black and silver hair, Juho greeted him, "Hello."
The man didn't respond. Juho turned around to see him in person. His still, motionless figure gave off a picturesque appearance.
"You must be Juho," the man said.
Juho felt relieved that the man called him by his real name. Then, he realized that he had been more nervous than he had been aware of. A sense of peace washed over him.
"Yes, sir," he answered, smiling.
"Hm. I see that your shoulders are quite relaxed."
'Was it a compliment?'
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"It's perfect for writing."
'A compliment. It was an honor.'
"Thank you."
"Shall we?"
Finally, they made their way into the restaurant. Although Hyun Do didn't say his name, they were lead to their table by the woman who had been standing quietly by the cash register. Walking past several tables, a room became visible. Much like the exterior, the interior was just as luxurious.
As they took their seats, a woman who seemed to be around Hyun Do's age walked into the room with a menu in her hands. Her generous appearance resembled that of a bear cub.
"Mister Hyun Do Lim. Been a while. You need to come more often. Help a friend out."
She seemed to be a friend of Hyun Do. Without changing his expression or attitude, Hyun Do answered, "My understanding was that you're here to give each of us a menu?"
"Thought I should see my friend's face too while I'm at it. I see that you have company unlike usual? He seems young," she said. The puzzled look on her face made her look even more like a bear cub. With a laugh, she introduced herself, "Madame Song. Pleased to meet you."
Indeed, she was Madame Song.
"Hello. Juho Woo."
"Right. So, how do you know Hyun Do? Are you a pupil of his?"
As she made the question with sparkling eyes, Hyun do stepped in before Juho even had the time to respond, "I'm here to eat, but I haven't gotten my menu yet."
"OK, OK. Can't hurt to hang out a little, you know," she said, putting the menus on the table.
Without even looking at them, Hyun Do handed one over to Juho and said, "Pick whatever you want."
"What about you?"
"He always gets the same thing, everytime," said Madame Song.
"Can I order the same thing?" Juho asked curiously.
"I suppose there's no reason you can't," said Hyun Do, smiling light-heartedly.
Juho had no clue as to what he had ordered, but it didn't bother him. As Madame Song observed the two entertainingly, she took their orders and left the room with an innocent, cub-like smile.
Soon, soup and bread made their way to the table as if trading places with her. Juho and Hyun Do ate quietly without saying anything. Sitting across from Juho, the literary great didn't seem to be put off by the silence. With a thin smile, the man's lips parted to ask, "Do you look at yourself in the mirror often?"
Instinctively, Juho thought of the moment he first saw Hyun Do in the mirror. After a brief time thinking, he answered, "Not exactly 'often,' no. However, I've been looking at myself in the mirror for a good long while as of late."
"Why is that?"
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"I've been transcribing your book, 'The Mirror.'"
Hyun Do asked his reason for transcribing that book.
"I'm part of the Literature Club at school, and we've been transcribing books as one of our assignments. I chose your work."
"Was there a reason behind choosing my book?"
"I followed my emotions more than rationality."
"So, out of impulse."
He was right, and Juho smiled and explained, "I found your book at the school library. The moment I saw it, my hand went right for it."
"Things are hard, aren't they?" he asked suddenly, and Juho thought of the transcription he had fallen behind on.
'How did he know?' he thought.
Seeing how Juho remained quiet, Hyun Do added, "I can tell from your writing."
"Have you read them?"
"I have."
"How were they?"
Though Juho had asked that light-heartedly, inside, he felt nervous. Though his emotions had been completely composed amid the reviews of his book so far, they wavered like the ocean before Hyun Do.
"I was a bit puzzled," answered Hyun Do without hesitation. Not good, or bad, but puzzled. Juho found himself puzzled by his evaluation.
"What was puzzling about it to you?"
"The very existence of it."
"Its existence?"
"That's right. The new book by Yun Woo, the genius author. I was puzzled by its existence itself. I wouldn't have expected it to come out so soon. It also turned out to be an excellent book. The emotions were potent to the point of feeling like they had been poured out. Where did you find the time to gather all that?"
'Gather? What does he mean by that? Is he talking about the subject?' Juho wandered. Though he was happy that he was being complimented by the great, he was also having a hard time understanding him.
With that, Hyun Do asked, "It was a pain transcribing 'The Winter,' wasn't it?"
The conversation was back on track.
"Yes. It left me with a deep impression when I've read it, so I didn't hesitate to choose that book, but transcribing it was a different story. I felt somewhat repulsed by it, like I was overeating."
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To be frank, it had been quite the drudgery. It had been exhausting. He had felt like he had been engorging, forcing food into his mouth when he was already full. It had been no different from torture, and it had been just as painful as starving. However, it had also been different from it. What he had felt was closer to being excess rather than deficiency. A corner of Hyun Do's mouth turned up as if he'd found Juho's analogy funny.
"I'm sure that book made it worse. I deliberately wrote it that way."
"Deliberately?"
"I wrote 'The Mirror' like I was being forced to."
Force to. It was similar to what Juho had experienced.
"It was a bit out of impulsivity and as an experiment, but hardly anybody seems to have caught on. Because the emotions are hidden, they are invisible at the surface, but like you said, transcribing it is a different story."
The process of transcribing involved following the steps of the author's emotions. It was different from interpreting the book as a reader. Juho was finally able to understand why transcribing 'The Winter' had been such a burden. The book had revealed his impulsive nature that had been hiding within. To be more precise, it had dug it out of him. Its emptiness had been filled by traces of Hyun Do's impulsivity.
"You're sensitive," said Hyun Do. Juho didn't deny him. "And you have skill."
Again, he was right. Juho knew better than anyone else when to turn away from something. It was one of his methods of survival.
"Did you learn that from reading my book?"
"I can see it now that I've met you in person. You can't learn things like that just by reading," Hyun Do said as he shook his head and went on to talk about Yun Woo. "As a young, sensitive author with skill, Yun Woo wrote a book at the age of sixteen. It was hard to believe that the book was written by an author that age. Not only did it have excellent plot and atmosphere, but it also had its author's distinct personality. People were shocked, and they started interpreting their experiences as either a gift or a miracle...
"... but, I have a different view," he added.
"What is your take?" Juho asked.
With that, Hyun Do looked down at his lukewarm soup and bread.
"A digestive process."
Juho followed Hyun Do's eyes to the bread and soup. It was hard to follow what Hyun Do was saying.
"You mean the one that starts as we put food into our mouths and start chewing?"
"That's right. Except, I'm not talking about food here."
"Then?"
"Emotions," said Hyun Do, meeting Juho's eyes. "I've been meaning to ask you something."
"Yes, anytime."
"What do you do when you're angry?"
Juho traced back to his memories of being angry. 'Angry. I'd probably just be angry,' he thought. Although it seemed obvious, he couldn't think of anything. In hindsight, he had never expressed his emotions directly to another person.
"I can barely remember anything about the last time I was angry."
"Which means, you've relieved it somehow, right? As long as you're a person, there's no way that you can live your life without having your feelings hurt in some way."
Just like he said, Juho too was a person. He had emotions and as long as he had them, there were bound to be times when he would be angry. He was well-acquainted with the sensation of something welling up from within. Emotions.
He looked down at his palm. Whenever he started to feel something, his palm started itching. It almost felt like it was receiving signals from something. 'What do I do whenever I feel that?'
"I write."
He wrote.