Chapter 14
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Please!!!
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Scene 14. Please!!!
They say you should part on beautiful terms.
Thinking of the next guest, she felt it was a relief she had at least cleaned up a bit yesterday.
The pension would handle the cleaning themselves, but it was comforting enough not to have her own mess seen by others.
Pulling her suitcase, Kim Seong-hui came outside and looked at the pension and the farm with a wistful gaze.
“I should at least apologize before I go.”
She could just leave, but if she did, she would forever remain a strange woman in their memories.
“Excuse me. Is anyone home?”
The wooden door, which bore the clear marks of time, opened smoothly without a single sound.
The man she had been staring at, completely mesmerized that morning, appeared.
“Writer-nim?”
Yu-hyeon noticed Seong-hui and her suitcase, then spoke again.
“Are you leaving?”
“Yes…”
“Check-out isn’t here, it’s at the pension…”
“I’ve already checked out.”
As Yu-hyeon tilted his head, Seong-hui quickly continued.
“There was the incident this morning, and… I came because I wanted to apologize.”
Yu-hyeon gazed at Seong-hui. Their eyes met, and Seong-hui, with an awkward expression, spoke again.
“My feelings… I think I might have burdened you, President-nim. I’ll just say my goodbyes and leave.”
Yu-hyeon stepped back slightly from the doorway.
“Please, come in for a moment.”
Entering the house, Seong-hui looked around for Kang Man-dong.
“Ah, Writer-nim, you’re here.”
Kang Man-dong emerged from the direction of the dining room.
“Yes. I wanted to say goodbye before I left. And I felt I should apologize for being so stubborn.”
“Oh, my. There’s no need to apologize for something like that. It’s quite all right. Come this way.”
“No, I should get going before I impose any further.”
“Have you booked a boat or a flight?”
Seong-hui shook her head.
“No. I have to do that when I get there.”
“Then you have time for a cup of coffee.”
“Well… I suppose so.”
“You’ve stayed for over a week. If you just leave like this, I’ll be the one who’s disappointed. This way.”
Kang Man-dong guided Seong-hui toward the dining room.
As Seong-hui hesitated, Yu-hyeon spoke up.
“A cup of coffee should be fine. Have some before you go.”
The memory of being so thoroughly embarrassed by Yu-hyeon was still vivid, making her slightly reluctant. But turning and leaving now seemed just as rude, so she meekly followed him.
“Yu-hyeon. Brew some coffee.”
“Yes.”
As Yu-hyeon went into the kitchen, Kang Man-dong gestured to Kim Seong-hui.
“Have a seat. We’ll have it ready for you in a moment.”
“Okay…”
With a whir, the espresso machine started up. A moment later, as the coffee began to extract, its distinct, rich aroma, different from drip coffee, filled the air.
“I heard people in Korea enjoy iced coffee. Should I add some ice for you?”
*My throat was parched. This is perfect.*
Whether in France or Italy, the pride in coffee in this part of the world was so immense that they didn’t serve Americanos, and there was no culture of adding ice, so she hadn’t tasted iced coffee in a while.
At Kang Man-dong’s question, Seong-hui simply nodded.
“Yu-hyeon. Make it iced coffee. And one for me, too.”
“Do you take syrup or sugar?”
“No. Just black is fine.”
“Yu-hyeon. Black.”
“Yes, yes. Preparing it black.”
A moment later, a tall glass filled with iced coffee was brought out.
“If you smoke, you can go out to the garden. Ah, silly me. You said you didn’t smoke.”
At Kang Man-dong’s words, Seong-hui offered a gentle smile.
“When I drink coffee, I always get a craving for this. I’ll be back after a quick smoke.”
“Yes, of course.”
As Kang Man-dong stepped out into the garden, Yu-hyeon, who had brought his own rich coffee in an espresso cup, spoke.
“Most writers I know are heavy smokers. You must have another way of relieving stress, Writer-nim.”
“No, not really.”
With a simple, “I see,” Yu-hyeon quietly enjoyed his coffee.
*What? Is that it? Aren’t you going to ask anything else?*
Seong-hui sipped her coffee, sneaking glances at Yu-hyeon.
*It’s amazing. How can a person look like that? He’s truly sculpted.*
Having worked in broadcasting, Seong-hui had seen her fair share of top-tier actors and even idols. But none of them could compare to the man before her.
She never imagined she would use the phrase “carved from marble” to describe someone in real life, not just in her writing. And that wasn't all. There were also those fantastic muscles she’d seen when he was chopping wood.
*And what about that low, resonant voice?*
The so-called cavernous voice!
If overdone, it could often sound burdensome, but this man’s voice was also perfect.
*I’m leaving anyway. I might as well listen to that voice to my heart’s content.*
Seong-hui subtly checked his expression, then spoke to Yu-hyeon.
“So, what is it that you do?”
“I attend a school.”
*I thought he looked young, so he was a student after all.*
Yu-hyeon looked to be twenty-three or twenty-four at most.
After saying he attended school, Yu-hyeon focused on his coffee again. The conversation died once more.
*If you receive a question, you should return one. What kind of man is this?*
She was disappointed the conversation had ended, but her eyes were having a feast, so she consoled herself with that.
“Have you given up on proving yourself?”
He struck without warning.
“……”
“When you insisted on this place, I thought you must have had your reasons.”
“……”
“Is it patience? Or determination?”
“Pardon?”
“The thing you lack, Writer-nim. From what I see, it’s not that you can’t write. It’s that you won’t write. And that’s probably because of fear.”
“Fear?”
“Self-replication.”
“…!”
Seong-hui’s mind went blank. For about three seconds? Then, as she came to her senses, something hot surged up from deep within her chest.
*This man, from the very beginning! Did he major in hitting people where it hurts with his words?*
Seong-hui’s expression hardened as she glared at Yu-hyeon.
“Just because it’s someone else’s story, you can’t just say things so carelessly…”
As Seong-hui was about to retort in a sharp voice, Kang Man-dong’s hand flew faster.
SMACK!
A sound like a firecracker exploding came from Yu-hyeon’s back.
“Ack!”
“You brat. Didn’t I tell you not to do that! Even if it’s true, if you say it so bluntly, do you think the writer will feel good or not!”
The father’s attempt to smooth things over was somehow worse.
*Sir, your words are even more grating!*
Were this father and son duo tag-teaming her?
“I could see she was struggling, so I just asked to try and help…”
“Ahem!”
“……”
“Stop getting on people’s nerves and go pick up the groceries.”
“But…”
“Now!”
“Yes.”
Yu-hyeon gulped down the rest of his coffee and left.
“Oh dear, I’m so sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. Thinking about it, he wasn’t exactly wrong.”
Seeing Seong-hui’s crestfallen expression, Kang Man-dong quickly continued.
“He’s not in the drama field like you, Writer-nim, but since he also carries the title of writer, I suppose he was concerned. So please, be understanding.”
“Your son writes too?”
“Well, he says he just scribbles, but—and I’m not just saying this because I’m his father—he writes quite well. Others say so too.”
“Ah. I see…”
Seong-hui inwardly scoffed at Kang Man-dong’s words.
*A writer? Don’t make me laugh. At his age, how much could he have written? He’s just a student!*
“But didn’t he say he was a student earlier?”
At Seong-hui’s question, Kang Man-dong tilted his head.
“A student? Who?”
“He said he attends a school.”
“Ah, there must have been a misunderstanding. He’s not a student, he’s a professor.”
“A pro… Huh? A professor?”
Seong-hui looked at Kang Man-dong as if he had said something utterly ridiculous.
“You have a strange sense of humor. No matter how you look at it, a professor at his age…”
“Hmm. I suppose his age does cause misunderstandings.”
Misunderstandings because of his age? Seong-hui’s expression turned incredulous.
“At most, he looks twenty-three, twenty-four? Fine, let’s be generous. Let’s say five. Twenty-five.”
Seong-hui mentioned Yu-hyeon’s age and continued as if stating a fact.
“After graduating high school, four years of university, then grad school, and even if he passed his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate all at once, they say becoming a professor these days is like plucking stars from the sky. And if you factor in military service…”
Kang Man-dong’s amiable expression hardened slightly.
“He’s twenty-eight.”
“What?”
“Not twenty-three, four, or five. Twen-ty. Eight.”
Twenty-eight? With that face? It was only a four or five-year difference, but the early twenties and the late twenties were entirely different realms.
*No way!*
Kang Man-dong looked at Seong-hui without a word.
“For… real?”
“Yes. For real.”
“Wow… He… he looks young for his age.”
“And my son is a professor.”
“Even so, I can’t believe that. Can you prove it?”
“Hmm. Proof, you say. Well, it’s not impossible.”
Kang Man-dong rose from his seat and gestured for Seong-hui to follow.
“….?”
“Let’s go prove it. Follow me.”
“Where are we going?”
“To the study on the second floor.”
“You have a study here?”
“Let’s go.”
Following Kang Man-dong to the second floor, Seong-hui was speechless for a while.
Unlike the first floor, which was divided into separate spaces, the second floor was a wide, open structure like a gallery. The walls were lined with all sorts of books.
In the center, a reading lamp, a wooden desk, and an antique sofa and furniture that looked incredibly luxurious and expensive at a glance filled the space.
It felt like stepping into a nobleman’s library straight out of a movie.
“This way, please.”
Staring blankly at the study, Seong-hui followed Kang Man-dong’s gesture and stood before a glass display case.
The display case was enormous, easily over five meters long.
Inside, all sorts of trophies, certificates, and various books were arranged.
“This is…”
“A hobby.”
“Your son’s hobby?”
“No. My hobby.”
Sensing a certain edge to Kang Man-dong’s tone, which was different from usual, Seong-hui quickly adjusted her posture. It seemed she had touched a nerve, something akin to his pride.
“You can think of it as a study and a personal archive. I collect everything related to my son here.”
Kang Man-dong opened the display case and took out a document that looked like a certificate.
“This is his university diploma. And this is his letter of appointment.”
Her skills weren’t fluent, but she could piece together words well enough to examine the documents Kang Man-dong presented.
“2015? What is this! He became a professor in 2015?”
Going by the appointment date, that would mean he became a professor at twenty-one. It seemed impossible.
“And these are the books my son wrote.”
“Not books you bought, but…”
“The books my son wrote! Didn’t I tell you he was a writer?”
Seong-hui stared into the display case with disbelief. A rough count suggested there were easily dozens of books.
It was baffling enough that he became a professor at such a young age, but he wrote all these books by himself?
Was this something a human could even do?
To write this much…
*Even if he did nothing but write, forgoing food and sleep, it seems impossible…*
Seong-hui asked for permission to touch the books.
“Be careful. I’ve collected only the first editions.”
“Yes. I’ll be careful. By the way, are these arranged in order of publication?”
“That’s right. In perfect order! So they’re easy to see.”
Seong-hui pulled out the book at the very front.
*The title… what does it say?*
She blinked, unable to make sense of the long title with the words she knew.
“The title. Shall I read it for you?”
“Ah, yes.”
As Seong-hui nodded, Kang Man-dong proudly recited the book’s title.
“Qubit Design Applying Quantum Coexistence and Spacetime Blinking.”
“Huh?”
Seong-hui blinked again, as if asking what on earth that meant.
“And this one. The Era’s Demand for an Energy Paradigm, and Its Solution.”
“What?”
“A Future Case Study on Salinity Gradient Power.”
“Sal… what?”
“A Hypothesis on the Neutral Particle Beam Heating Method.”
“Umm…”
“Efficient Design for ELM Control.”
“Uh…”
Kim Seong-hui’s expression was one of complete bewilderment.
Kang Man-dong continued reading titles, but she couldn’t grasp what they meant or what they were even about.
*It’s not an alien language… It sounds like Korean, but why can’t I understand a single thing?*
Just then, a title that sounded like something a human would say finally came up.
“Ah, this one he wrote for fun, as a change of pace. The title is *The Urus Murder Case*. It’s a mystery novel. Was it the year before last? A production company bought the rights and made it into a drama.”
“Huh? Ah! U… *Urus Club*! The one that aired on MangoPlex…”
“The drama’s title was changed slightly… Oh? It seems you know it, Writer-nim.”
*Ho-holy crap! Where am I right now? Who did I just meet?!*
That chiseled, muscular axe-wielding man.
That prickly man whose every word was a mercilessly sharp blow!
He was the original author of the Emmy-nominated *Urus Club*?
“Sir. Sir!!!”
“Whoa. Why are you shouting!”
“I can’t.”
“What is this all of a sudden…”
“I can’t leave this place.”
“That again? I told you it’s not possible.”
“It doesn’t have to be the main house. There was a storage shed next to the farm. I’ll stay there if I have to. Please, just let me stay here. Sir. Please!!”