Chapter 16
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: However, I Have One Condition
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Scene 16. However, I have one condition.
Seong-hui stared at the blinking cursor before tapping away at the keyboard.
Working Title: Lover in Malta
-South Korea's top actress, exhausted by her life. A desperate escape. In a vineyard in Malta, she finds love.
After writing the logline, Seong-hui immediately began writing the synopsis.
-She had never studied acting, nor had she ever dreamed of becoming an actress. Her entry into this world was a fluke, the result of a chance gig as a promotional model for her school.
Bursting onto the scene as if by a stroke of fate, she rose to superstardom in less than three years.
Her popularity soared endlessly, unstoppable, and she became an icon of the era.
But she wasn't happy, nor did she find any joy in it.
Her body grew weary, her spirit withered.
As an outsider who had stumbled into the industry, she was plagued by envy and jealousy, and even found herself targeted by shadowy figures. To make matters worse, misleading articles began to surface.
Cutting off all contact, she vanished…
“Through France, to Italy, and now here, to Malta.”
Based on this new idea, Seong-hui quickly drafted a synopsis.
“And here she met… a man with an axe…”
Flinch. Her typing stopped.
Hitting backspace to delete the line, Seong-hui started on the synopsis again.
“Her journey, which began with a single postcard she found by chance, leads her to a man with an axe… What the hell!”
Seong-hui pounded the keyboard in frustration.
“Why does the axe man keep showing up!”
She bit her nails like someone in the throes of an anxiety attack.
She’d lost count of how many times this had happened.
She rewrote the story, revised it, and reworked it.
But in the end, it was always the axe man.
“The axe man isn't Rome, so why does every path I write lead to him? Do all roads lead to the axe man?”
The absurdity of her own words made Seong-hui let out a hollow laugh.
“It’s because he’s so vivid. That back, those muscles, the line of his neck… It’s all so vivid. I can’t erase it.”
Seong-hui took several deep breaths to calm herself. Once again, she hit backspace, deleting the axe man's appearance.
“Don’t think about it. This isn't right. I have to create a man from my imagination. What am I doing, putting a real man into my story?”
God, Buddha, Allah.
I’m begging you!
Please, erase this lecherous demon from my mind.
After offering a desperate prayer, Seong-hui steeled herself and began writing the synopsis once more.
-A vineyard. Piercing through the scattered golden sunset, a long-haired man with a guitar on his back appeared…
“Ah, for fuck’s sake!”
She tore at her hair like a madwoman.
“Is this really all I’ve got? Is there no other way? Is this the best you can do, Kim Seong-hui! You’re a fiction writer, not a non-fiction writer! Why do you keep doing this!”
Exhausted, Seong-hui flopped onto the bed.
“Should I just pretend I don’t know and write it? Without overthinking it. Just… write.”
Staring blankly at the ceiling of her residence, Seong-hui suddenly shot up.
“That won’t work. There’s no way that prickly man would let this slide. Right, I’ll get his permission. I just need to get his permission, and then I can write!”
She immediately ran toward the main house.
She’d felt brave when she left her guesthouse, but now, standing in front of the door, her feet felt rooted to the spot.
As she dithered in front of the house, unable to move, someone tapped her on the shoulder.
“Writer…”
“Ah! You scared me!”
“…nim. Whoa! You scared me!”
Seong-hui whirled around to find Kang Man-dong recoiling in surprise.
“M-Mr. Owner?”
“Goodness. What a startle.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“No, no, it’s alright. I should have just called out to you. My mistake. Ahem. But why are you just standing out here instead of going in?”
“Ah, well…”
Seong-hui hesitated, unable to get the words out.
“It seems you came here with something to say. Let’s go inside first.”
“By any chance, is the professor here too?”
“Yu-hyeon? That rascal said he had something to do and went out earlier. Did you come to see Yu-hyeon?”
“Well, yes, but… Um, Mr. Owner.”
“Yes, Writer-nim.”
“I’m writing something.”
“Oh? So the words are flowing now, are they?”
“Yes. Thanks to the professor, the block has cleared up a bit.”
“That’s wonderful news. But?”
“It’s just that… I’m having a bit of a problem with the male protagonist.”
“The male protagonist?”
“Yes. The story I’m writing now is set here at Camu, and…”
“Yu-hyeon kept popping into your head, I gather.”
“……How did you know?”
“This morning, at dawn, your eyes were just… like this, and like this. Practically glued to him.”
Kang Man-dong even mimicked chopping with an axe, a grin on his face that said, *I know everything!*
Seong-hui’s face filled with alarm.
*Don’t tell me, when he gave Professor Kang his shirt…*
He had said, ‘Writer-nim, you’re making her uncomfortable, put on a shirt,’ but what he’d really meant was, ‘Stop letting her gawk at your body’… was that it?!
“But why is that a problem?”
“Ah. Well. It’s because… as I was creating the male lead, Professor Kang’s character kept coming to mind.”
“Ahh. Is it because of that copyright, or portrait rights, or whatever it’s called?”
That’s not quite it… No. In the end, is it basically the same thing?
Seong-hui glanced at Kang Man-dong and nodded.
“Just write it. Why do you need permission for something like that?”
To Kang Man-dong, it was a trivial concern, but for the writer, it was a very big deal.
“He’s not a character I created from my imagination. There’s a clear model, and I’m basically lifting him as is. The person himself might not like it…”
“I’ll give you permission.”
“Pardon?”
“Write whatever you want. His dad gave permission, so what’s that punk going to say about it? Don’t you worry and just write away.”
“Really… Is that okay?”
Seong-hui looked at Kang Man-dong, uncertain.
Even if his father gave permission, Professor Kang wasn’t a minor. In a way, it was his own right to decide, and she wondered if it was okay to infringe upon it like this.
“The story is set here at Camu, right?”
“Yes. When I came here, I was totally blown away. Ah, not blown away. I mean, the scenery was so beautiful, I fell in love with it.”
“‘Blown away’ sounds better than ‘fell in love with it.’ Why are you trying to use such pretty words? Just be comfortable. I know everything, so there’s no need to be so formal.”
You… know… what, exactly?
“I was worried about you, Writer-nim, so I kept checking in to see if you were dead or alive. I overheard bits and pieces of what you were saying back then. Your voice wasn’t exactly quiet.”
“Wha… What did I say?”
Seong-hui stared at Kang Man-dong, flustered.
“Do I really need to say it out loud…”
Kang Man-dong looked at Seong-hui with half-lidded, knowing eyes.
“No! No, you don’t. Please don’t.”
Seong-hui waved her hands frantically, rejecting the offer.
Memories of all the things she had shouted while staying at the pension came flooding back.
*You crazy bitch, if you can’t write, you should just go the hell to sleep. Why are you throwing such a fit!*
“Anyway. You’re saying you’re using this place as the setting, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then the drama will be filmed here, too.”
“What?”
Seong-hui looked at Kang Man-dong as if to ask what he meant, then let out a gasp of “Oh!”
“You… You’re giving permission for it to be a filming location? Really? For real!”
Although she had set the story at Camu, she had all but given up on getting permission to film here.
She’d had a hard enough time getting permission to stay in the dusty guesthouse; asking to bring cameras into the farm, the annex, and the main house? She thought it was a ridiculous notion.
“However.”
“Yes!”
“That, uh… you need to add more characters.”
“What? Why all of a sudden…”
“Ahem. While the drama is being filmed, I’d like for many young, earnest, and pretty women to come here.”
Seong-hui looked at Kang Man-dong, wondering why he would need such women.
“It’s, uh, not for me to look at.”
“…..?”
“My son.”
“Professor Kang?”
Seong-hui tilted her head, confused.
“That’s right. Let’s get my son a girlfriend. That damn kid is that old and still hasn’t thought about getting married. I mean, everyone gets married late these days, so I can understand that. But still, it would be nice if he brought a girlfriend home to introduce, have a meal together. But he won’t budge. It’s driving me crazy.”
What… is he talking about?
It felt like she’d heard something very strange.
Could it be…!
“So… you’re saying… you want to gather South Korea’s top actresses here and have them go on blind dates with Professor Kang.”
“Hey, now. Why do you have to put it so bluntly? What I mean is! If you just let handsome men and beautiful women come and go naturally, their eyes might meet. Something like that.”
Right. That’s exactly what it is.
That’s how the chaebol arrange their blind dates.
They make it seem like a natural encounter so they can avoid the public’s scrutiny.
But, Mr. Owner.
Professor Kang isn’t a chaebol.
Is that even possible?
Those arrogant women. Not just one or two, but a whole flock of them are going to come here for a blind date?
And not in Korea, but with the son of a farm owner in a faraway country?
“Ahem. Well, if it can’t be done, it can’t be done. I was just feeling frustrated, so I threw it out there.”
“What if… that’s not possible?”
“Then of course, there’s no filming location. Why would I go through all that trouble?”
Kang Man-dong turned his head away sharply as if asking if she really needed to ask.
Wow!
I get that you want to find your son a girlfriend, but still.
How could you think of lining up all of South Korea’s actresses here…
I misjudged this man. Now I see he’s on another level.
Listen here, Mr. Owner!
Even the matchmakers for the chaebol families don’t do business like this