Chapter 13
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Scene 13. The Man with the Axe
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Scene 13. The Man with the Axe.
"Hah!"
Kim Seong-hui gasped, waking from her sleep.
Frantically looking around, she let out a sigh of relief.
"I'm going crazy. Now I'm even dreaming about it..."
Her obsession with writing had reached its peak, and now she couldn't even sleep peacefully.
The press conference announcing her retirement, her figure fleeing the scene as if being chased. The questions from the pack of reporters were all the same.
-You're retiring for being a human clone. How do you feel? Please give us a statement!
A dream about retiring as a human clone, not even for being a formulaic writer. It was the worst kind of nightmare.
Wiping her face, Kim Seong-hui looked out the window. The sun was rising in the distance, gradually brightening the dark blue surroundings.
Seong-hui slowly got up and picked up the smartphone she had kept off.
She hesitated, wondering whether to turn it on, then tossed it aside again. The moment she checked the internet, she felt she would cross a river of no return.
If she fell any deeper into self-pity, she felt she would truly go insane.
Slapping her cheeks to wake herself up, Seong-hui threw on some clothes and left the room.
The crushing frustration made her feel like she needed to get some fresh air to survive.
The chilly dawn air brushed against her face, chasing away the last remnants of sleep.
As she passed the pension's garden and walked toward the farm entrance, she heard a "Thwack! Thwack!" sound from somewhere.
'What's that sound?'
Curiosity piqued, Seong-hui walked toward the source of the noise.
'It's coming from the main building.'
Arriving in front of the main building, Seong-hui listened again.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
It didn't seem to be coming from inside, but from the courtyard connecting to the restaurant on the other side.
Thwack! Thwack!
The sound came again.
If I want to stick around here at Camu, shouldn't I try to get a little closer to the owner?
'It wouldn't be a bad idea to say good morning while I'm at it. If he's working, I can at least pretend to help.'
Steeling her resolve, Seong-hui walked along the wall toward the inner courtyard.
As she rounded the corner and entered the yard, she saw a man she'd never seen before, shirtless, chopping wood with an axe.
'Huh? Who's that?'
Seong-hui subtly took a step back, ducking behind the corner again. Then, she peeked out to observe the man.
'Wow! What a body...'
His back was turned, so she couldn't see his face, but no, even before she could look at his face, her eyes were glued to his broad shoulders and back.
Every time he raised the axe, his tightly woven muscles rippled like waves. The deep valley of his spine and the erector spinae muscles running straight alongside it looked like steel rebar.
And the large beads of sweat trickling between them, the thin wisps of steam rising from his body!
'Wow... what a sight.'
Just watching him made her hands tense up.
It felt like hitting the jackpot this early in the morning.
"Hoo!"
The man took a deep breath and resumed chopping.
*Swoosh! Thwack!*
The axe swung down, splitting a thick log cleanly in two.
He moved the split log to the side and placed a new one on the block. Veins bulged on his forearms.
*Gulp.*
Seong-hui swallowed dryly without realizing it.
'You're crazy, Kim Seong-hui. What are you doing here?'
Secretly watching a strange man, and on top of that, gulping like this.
She felt like a widow secretly peeping at the bachelor next door.
The axe came down again!
*Swoosh! Thwack!*
Once again, the log was split in half without fail.
The man set the axe down for a moment and wiped his body with a towel tucked into his waistband. It was just a casual gesture of wiping away sweat, but she couldn't take her eyes off him.
'Ah...'
Seong-hui almost let out a sound, quickly covering her mouth.
She felt that the moment she was discovered, she would no longer be able to watch these fluid, vibrant movements.
'I'm not the weird one. This is natural for anyone, for any woman.'
Though no one was questioning her, she found herself making excuses to continue watching the man.
As if his long hair was bothering him, he took a band from his wrist and tied it up.
The long hair that had been scattered to his shoulders was now wound into a topknot.
As she caught glimpses of his profile, Seong-hui couldn't resist and took a small step out from behind the corner.
But unfortunately, the man turned his head away from her. Just then, she saw his neck, his trapezius muscles flexing.
People sometimes praise a woman's neckline, comparing it to a deer's, but compared to this man's neck, it all seemed like child's play.
Like a great lion galloping across the plains, its long mane flying. The primal masculinity emanating from the man instantly captivated Seong-hui's mind.
Just as the man picked up his axe again, someone walked out from the restaurant.
"Yu... Huh? Writer-nim?"
He was about to tell him to chop a reasonable amount and come in for breakfast, but then he spotted Kim Seong-hui.
Belatedly noticing Kang Man-dong, Kim Seong-hui's eyes filled with panic.
'Uh... what do I do?'
She frantically searched for an excuse, but couldn't think of a good one. As she stood there, flustered and stammering, the axe-wielding man who had completely stolen her heart turned his head toward her.
"Who are you?"
At the sound of his deep, resonant voice, Seong-hui turned to face the man. And she almost swore without realizing it.
'In... insane! What... why is he so handsome?'
A well-defined forehead and thick, clear eyebrows. A straight nose and lips that were thin yet lustrous. Beads of sweat trickling down a jawline so sharp it could cut... and the firmly swollen chest muscles leading down to a six... no! An eight-pack!
Was it the force of habit? She found herself appraising the man before her as if she were evaluating an actor.
"She's the writer who's been staying here since last week."
The question was directed at Seong-hui, but Kang Man-dong answered for her.
"Ah, so you're that writer."
The pleasant resonance of his voice stimulated her eardrums once again.
*That writer? Does he know me? How? I've never seen him before.*
"Yesterday, my father..."
"You brat. Did you come back with your manners all messed up? You should be calling me Dad or Papa, one of the two."
Kang Man-dong immediately took issue with the use of "father."
Yu-hyeon looked at his father as if to say, *Do we really have to do this right now?* Kang Man-dong crossed his arms, his gaze unwavering.
Yu-hyeon took a light breath and spoke again.
"I heard about you. That you're a drama writer."
"Ah... yes. Yes."
Kim Seong-hui nodded, her eyes still fixed on Yu-hyeon. Kang Man-dong sighed at the sight, went into the restaurant, and came back out with Yu-hyeon's shirt.
"Have some decency. You can't just stand there completely bare-chested. You're making the writer uncomfortable."
At Kang Man-dong's words, Yu-hyeon said, "Ah, my apologies," and immediately put on the shirt.
'No! Please, just be rude!'
She was in the middle of a feast for the eyes, and she resented Kang Man-dong for interrupting, but she couldn't very well act like a madwoman and say, "Please! Just stay shirtless!"
"You usually don't stir until the sun is high in the sky. What brings you out so early in the morning?"
Kang Man-dong looked at Kim Seong-hui with a puzzled expression.
'Mr... Mr. Owner. That's too harsh! You could have just asked what I was doing up so early. Why add the extra jab!'
She shot him a resentful look, as if to ask if he really needed to add that part about her not moving until noon, but given her behavior over the past week, she couldn't say anything and just fumed inwardly.
Seeing Seong-hui's silence, Kang Man-dong spoke again.
"Sigh, I believe I told you it wouldn't be possible."
"Please don't be so quick to dismiss me. Please consider my situation."
"It's a problem even when I'm here alone, but as you can see, my son is back."
He repeated that it would be uncomfortable for a grown woman, not a child, to move into a house with two adult men.
"That's why I should be here."
".....?"
"Think about it. A house with only men has problems with laundry. And cleaning. And the food is lacking."
Laundry? Cleaning? You? Kang Man-dong looked at her with an expression of disbelief, as if she were talking nonsense.
Yu-hyeon, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
"That is a sexist remark."
"Pardon?"
"To define professional roles primarily by gender is, in many ways, problematic."
"......Uh. I mean. What I said wasn't about gender discrimination or anything like that..."
"I heard you wish to stay here to write."
"Yes..."
"Instead of pleading, prove yourself."
"What? Prove myself?"
"I've heard the gist of your situation."
"Then all the more reason..."
"No. As I said, proving yourself comes first. It's more important to show that you are a writer, someone who writes, than to offer to do laundry and cleaning in a house of two men."
"....."
"Your actions right now don't look like someone who wants to stay here to write, but rather like someone looking for a place to hide because you're scared and uncomfortable about leaving here and returning to Korea."
*What's with this guy? He said he only heard the gist of it.*
*Did he spend the night searching the internet or something?*
"There's no way that's true!"
"Is that so? Then please vacate the room. Today is your last day."
*Why is he so blunt?*
*Does he think he's made of stone?*
*Just because he can swing an axe, he thinks he can just chop people down with his words.*
"Th-that's..."
"This is a place where various people come and go. And everyone who comes and goes does so through a 'promise' called a reservation. If that promise is broken for someone's sake..."
"...."
"To whom should the people who made a promise with us complain?"
"I... I can compensate them for the money!"
In her haste, Kim Seong-hui said something she shouldn't have. She seemed to realize it herself and tried to take her words back, but Yu-hyeon's expression was as cold as ice.
"Do you think the people who come here do so simply because they have nowhere else to sleep? I heard you're a rather famous writer in Korea. You are quite rude."
"I'm sorry. It was a slip of the tongue."
"A slip of the tongue reveals the life a person has lived. I have nothing more to say, so please leave."
Shocked by Yu-hyeon's cold critique, Kim Seong-hui could only open and close her mouth like a goldfish.
"Father. Let's go inside."
"Oh? Oh. Right."
Once inside the restaurant, Kang Man-dong slapped Yu-hyeon's shoulder.
"Hey. Still, how could you talk to her so mercilessly? She seems to be going through a lot."
"That hardship is for her own success. Not for anyone else."
"Who doesn't know that? But there's a thing called moderation. Moderation."
"Perhaps you're... interested?"
"What? Are you crazy? How old do you think I am! Why would I be interested in a spring chicken like her?"
"If not, then fine. Why are you getting angry?"
Yu-hyeon paid no mind to his father's scolding and sat down at the table.
"Food, please. Food!"
"Tsk! You heartless bastard. You tear a woman's heart to shreds and then have the nerve to ask for food."
"She's not my woman."
"So! When exactly are you going to bring home your woman? Are you waiting until your old man is dead and in his coffin!"
"A man's word is his bond!"
"What's that all of a sudden?"
"A new stepmother comes before a daughter-in-law."
"...Wow."
"Yes. My thoughts exactly."
"If I get married at my age, people will curse me!"
"They won't be cursing you; they'll be green with envy."
"Aish. You and your words."
"Let's eat."
"Listen to you talk about eating. You have perfectly good hands and feet, get it yourself!"