Chapter 21
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Holes Riddled Through My Heart
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The characters, events, places, etc., appearing in this story are fictional and may differ from reality.
Scene.21
Holes Riddled Through My Heart
Seong-hui stood behind Yu-hyeon, her posture as stiff as a new recruit just assigned to his unit.
Unlike the tense Seong-hui, Yu-hyeon simply stared at the laptop screen without a word.
With every page of the script that turned, Seong-hui swallowed dryly.
Then came the scene she absolutely couldn't let him see. The problematic Ax-man appeared.
His fingertip, which had been pressing the arrow key to turn the pages, stopped dead.
“Hmm.”
A strange, inscrutable sound escaped Yu-hyeon's lips.
‘What should I do? Should I just say it’s a coincidence?’
She had no idea how to explain the birth of the Ax-man character. She was at a complete loss.
Yu-hyeon's finger, which had paused as if pressing a stop button, touched the arrow key again. The scene where the Ax-man appeared amidst the sunset over the vineyard passed, and now the problematic wood-chopping scene appeared.
‘Uh… No matter how I try to explain it, there’s no excuse.’
Seong-hui couldn't bear to watch any longer and squeezed her eyes shut.
With every click of the keyboard, Seong-hui unconsciously clenched and unclenched her fists.
‘What do I say if he asks why I did this? If he asks whose permission I got to write the Ax-man…’
“Writer Kim.”
“Your father gave me permission! It’s true. I was going to ask for your permission, Professor, but he said I could just write it. I’m sorry!”
Seong-hui rattled off a non-excuse of an excuse, then bowed her head as if begging for her life.
“Two things are missing.”
“Two… two things? Is it about copyright or portrait rights…”
At Yu-hyeon's critique, Seong-hui started babbling nonsense.
“The female lead, Eun Seol-ah, is naturally talented.”
“What? Ah. Yes.”
“It seems like you've projected yourself onto her. Am I right?”
“Well…”
At Yu-hyeon's suggestion that the protagonist was modeled after her, Seong-hui's face turned red.
“It must have been because of what I said, about looking back at yourself.”
Seong-hui didn't answer, but Yu-hyeon nodded as if he fully understood, as if it was to be expected.
More than projecting herself, Seong-hui was more worried about having written the Ax-man based on Yu-hyeon.
“Well, about modeling him after you, Professor……”
“Ah, the Ax-man.”
“Yes…”
“Well, it doesn't matter. Whether you modeled him after me or thought of someone else. The audience will only see him as a character created by you for the drama.”
“Does that mean… I can keep the Ax-man as he is?”
When Yu-hyeon turned to look at her, Seong-hui quickly swallowed the words ‘Is that okay?’
“That's not the problem right now.”
“.....What?”
“As I said, this script is missing two things.”
Seong-hui blinked, as if asking what he meant.
“Healing, travel, romance. Well, it's not bad. Your signature quirky atmosphere is well and alive.”
“.....”
“But there's no reconciliation.”
“Reconciliation?”
"I mean a resolution for the protagonist Eun Seol-ah's emotional pain."
Seong-hui tilted her head, as if she didn't understand.
“The character Eun Seol-ah. It's your story, isn't it?”
“Well, I did draw from it while writing, but to say it's pointedly me is a bit…”
“Is that so? To me, it looked like you wrote down your feelings exactly as they are.”
“Why would you think that…”
Yu-hyeon gazed at Seong-hui.
“An unexpected debut, success without going through the same process as others. The envy and jealousy of those around you. It's no different from what you've experienced. Are you sure it's not you?”
At Yu-hyeon's repeated question, Seong-hui just fidgeted with her fingers.
“As a fellow writer, I'd like to offer my opinion. Is that all right?”
“Yes. Well. The idea came from you anyway, Professor.”
“Try to put yourself in their shoes.”
“Their shoes?”
“Imagine someone who went through the formal process to become a drama writer, lived as an apprentice, worked as an assistant writer, and finally, after much hardship, seized an opportunity. Then one day, a complete nobody shows up and snatches even that small chance away. How do you think they would feel?”
“What's this all of a sudden…”
Seong-hui was about to ask why he was asking such a question when she remembered him saying the character Eun Seol-ah was a reflection of her.
‘Don’t tell me… is he talking about that bitch Park Yu-mi?’
“Eun Seol-ah… she probably wouldn't know. She never risked her life for that chance. She never ground herself down to enter that world.”
“.....”
“But for someone who ran and raced for a single opportunity, for whom a day felt like a year and a year like a day… I think they would truly hate the sudden appearance of someone like Eun Seol-ah.”
“.....”
“If you truly want to tell a story of healing with this drama, I hope it doesn't end with just your own grievances.”
At Yu-hyeon's words, Seong-hui's expression hardened. Her voice turned cold as well.
“Are you… telling me to put someone like Park Yu-mi in my drama?”
“The choice is yours, Writer Kim.”
“....”
“I hope you don't misunderstand. I'm not defending this Park Yu-mi who tormented you, nor am I saying you should understand her feelings.”
“But what you're saying right now, Professor.”
“There's no competitor. Even though it's a romance.”
“What?”
“The Ax-man. Honestly, I'm not a fan of the character, but if you want to capture both healing and romance, there needs to be a part that resolves, at least partially, the reason Eun Seol-ah left Korea. A friendship angle would be fitting.”
“Friendship? Me and Writer Park Yu-mi?”
At Seong-hui's prickly response, Yu-hyeon paused for a moment before continuing.
“For example, Eun Seol-ah isn't the only one who's hurt; someone else was hurt even more. Of course, their way of expressing it was rough, rude, and mean. But if you can brilliantly resolve the conflict between them, it will create a much greater synergy.”
"...."
“From enemies to allies. The friendship angle is a story that works anywhere, so it will help with the ratings too.”
Seong-hui, who had been preparing a rebuttal, found her expression turning intrigued despite herself.
“Otherwise, it's just another run-of-the-mill story where she runs away, meets the Ax-man, and falls in love, leaving all the social and personal problems unresolved.”
“Run-of-the… mill?”
This man, really! After I’ve been so patient!
I worked so hard to break away from my usual style for this project!
“You did try to change from your previous work, but if you look beneath the surface, it's still the same.”
“What on earth is the same!”
“I thought you were moving away from a Cinderella story, but you ended up back at a Snow White story, didn't you? A princess who runs away from her stepmother, meets seven dwarves who help her, and gains love and a kingdom with a prince's kiss.”
“....”
Seong-hui was once again struck dumb.
Because now that she heard it, her story did bear a striking resemblance to that one.
“The story structure, for one. I don't see where the 'healing' is in this script. Frankly, I'm disappointed.”
When the word 'disappointed' came from Yu-hyeon's lips, Seong-hui felt her heart drop.
She had secretly thought that even Yu-hyeon would find it interesting, that he might say it was good.
“It's just a technical opinion on the story. No need to look so serious.”
Just a technical opinion?
How can you say that!
Her heart, which had plummeted at the word 'disappointed,' now shot back up with a thump at his cynical remark that it was just an opinion and she shouldn't be so serious.
“What's the other one? You said two things were missing.”
“It's nothing special.”
“I'll decide whether it's special or not!”
“It's just about the pension owner.”
“The pension owner? You mean the owner character? What about him?”
“He has no charm. Just a generic pension owner you could find anywhere? For the Ax-man's father, his 'level' is too low, so to speak.”
“Level…”
“You tell me, Writer Kim.”
“Tell you what?”
“My father. Is he really that uncharismatic?”
“What? Why is the owner…”
“To me, he doesn't seem to have the inner strength to have raised the Ax-man.”
First 'level,' and now 'inner strength.'
“You're using Camu as the setting. He's an Asian character, one who immigrated and became successful. And he succeeded in Europe, where discrimination is rampant.”
“That… right.”
She hadn't thought that deeply about that part, but she agreed for now.
“I'm saying this because you seem to know nothing about the life of an Asian immigrant. A vague character like this could never have built Camu. He could never have endured the hardships of immigration.”
The life of an immigrant? Seong-hui could only blink, caught off guard by the unexpected topic.
“It's a rough comparison, but if the head of Camu is a legion commander, the owner in this script feels like a new recruit who just enlisted. In my opinion, he's an unrealistic character. This flimsy presence raised the Ax-man, built Camu, and earned the respect of the local community? What do you think, Writer Kim? Is he really a believable character?”
“Uh…… well. I didn't think that deeply about that part.”
Seong-hui couldn't come up with a proper answer. She had only focused on the character reflecting herself and the Ax-man reflecting Yu-hyeon. She had considered the rest to be mere side branches to their romance.
“That's why your work lacks depth. It's just a string of casually thrown-in characters and events.”
“Uh… how could you say something so harsh.”
The heart that had shot up in defiance was now riddled with holes.
“I apologize if my words were too harsh. However, with a script of such low quality, I cannot permit filming.”
“But the owner already gave permission…”
“That permission. The person who can overturn it at any time is standing right in front of you.”
“....”
“Do you not know, or are you pretending not to know?”
“.....”
“My father probably told you. Don't get caught until it's a done deal.”
“....!”
“‘It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.’ He probably said that, too.”
“How… How did you know?”
‘Absolutely! Don't let my son find out. Or else everything will be for nothing.’
When she heard that, she thought it was because of the blind date the owner had arranged. But… now she saw.
‘It was because of my script?’
Seong-hui felt dizzy.
There was ruining a sure thing, and then there was this.
How could this happen!
Seong-hui stumbled and sank onto the bed.
Seong-hui looked up at Yu-hyeon with a pleading gaze.
This man, after piercing her with such sharp words, was looking down at her with a completely unfazed expression.
An expression that simply said he'd done what needed to be done?
“Professor. If this happens…… I'm ruined.”
“I think that would be better than being humiliated again with a flimsy story.”
“You… You're too cruel! How could you say that.”
“So, are you going to give up?”