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# Chapter 02. I Broke the Shackles
Regression.
Returning to the past.
A fantasy that only happens in novels.
It was unbelievable, but that fantasy had happened to him.
“Hey.”
At the familiar voice coming from beside him, Sim-rok instinctively turned his head.
Sitting one chair away was a student with a familiar face.
No, ‘familiar’ didn’t even begin to describe it.
“……Kim Min-jae.”
The man who had used him as a ghostwriter and exploited him for everything he was worth was right there.
Of course, since this was his face from fifteen years ago, he looked much younger.
The bastard glared at him, silently pressuring him.
‘Are you spacing out? Once the exam starts, write quickly. And don’t forget to submit it under my name.’
That was probably what he meant.
But Sim-rok didn’t shrink back at the sight of him.
Instead, Kim Min-jae’s face acted as a trigger, causing his old memories to replay in an orderly fashion inside his mind.
Several years after his father passed away, Sim-rok’s mother, Jin Se-yeong, remarried a chaebol.
Kim Jun-hwan.
He was the chairman of ‘GG Company,’ a famous domestic game developer, and a major conglomerate tycoon.
Sim-rok didn’t know why someone as powerful as a major conglomerate chairman had married Se-yeong, who was not well-off.
In any case, Sim-rok’s family had suddenly become part of a chaebol family.
They could immediately enjoy a more luxurious life than other people, but it wasn’t entirely comfortable.
Everyone around Kim Jun-hwan except Kim Jun-hwan himself looked upon Sim-rok’s family unfavorably.
After all, a woman with two children had suddenly become the wife at the center of their family.
On top of that, his mother’s beautiful appearance actually worked against her, and she had to endure sneering remarks calling her a fox who had seduced a man with her looks.
Sim-rok’s family instinctively kept an eye on them and bowed their heads.
Because in the worst-case scenario, it was obvious they would have to return to their old lives.
The house they had been left in after his father died and his mother was left alone.
The suspicious men in black suits with menacing faces who came by every single day.
He never wanted to go back to those days.
Still, as long as they stayed in the good graces of the Kim Jun-hwan family, they could lead relatively peaceful lives.
The problem was that an incident occurred when Sim-rok was twenty years old.
At Hyeon University’s Department of Korean Language and Literature, where Sim-rok and Kim Min-jae had enrolled, Sim-rok ghostwrote for Kim Min-jae during the literary contest held as the midterm exam for ‘Theory of Novel Writing.’
To Kim Min-jae, it was nothing more than giving the work to Sim-rok because he was too lazy to write it himself.
The problem was that it caused a butterfly effect beyond anyone’s imagination.
For this exam, the professor would select two outstanding pieces at his discretion and award them prize money.
But the piece Sim-rok submitted under Kim Min-jae’s name won second place.
Neither Kim Min-jae nor Sim-rok himself had ever dreamed that Sim-rok possessed a talent for writing.
He had never even had the time to discover what he was good at.
Before long, the news reached Kim Jun-hwan’s ears.
Naturally, he believed that Kim Min-jae had achieved an excellent result.
He was impressed by his biological son’s unexpected talent and showered him with praise.
Kim Min-jae, on the other hand, was troubled.
Because it wasn’t actually his achievement.
But he couldn’t let his father down, so he couldn’t tell him the truth, either.
And so, the method he came up with was to use Yoo Sim-rok’s talent instead.
Kim Min-jae promised Sim-rok appropriate compensation and pressured him into becoming his permanent ghostwriter.
Along with threats that if he mentioned it to anyone else, he would not leave Sim-rok’s mother or younger sister alone.
There was no way Sim-rok had a choice.
After that, Sim-rok wrote numerous works under Kim Min-jae’s name.
Sim-rok’s talent was beyond imagination.
Everyone who read his works showered them with praise.
Of course, all that praise was directed at Kim Min-jae.
As a result, Kim Min-jae was hailed as both a ‘genius author attracting attention in the literary world’ and ‘the son of GC (GG Company) chairman,’ earning him the nickname of an ‘overpowered character’ who had it all.
Even though his efforts and reputation had been stolen from him, Sim-rok had no voice with which to protest.
No, he chose not to speak up.
Perhaps he had grown so accustomed to this life after so many years that he had simply resigned himself to his circumstances.
Just like a ‘circus elephant.’
He had shackled himself and couldn’t even think of breaking free.
That was how he could protect his family.
He thought that would be enough.
But reality was cruel.
His mother died because the illness she had been suffering from was discovered far too late.
His younger sister cut ties with him and left.
What would have happened if he had broken the invisible shackles binding his feet?
There was no answer.
He simply couldn’t imagine what kind of future would have unfolded.
That was the real reason 『The Night of the Elephant』 had ended with an open ending when Shin Hae-eun asked him about it on the day of the Korean Literary Award ceremony.
‘But of all days, I had to return to that day?’
It took less than a few seconds to return from his memories of the past to the present.
At the same time, something flashed through his mind.
Could this perhaps be a ‘chance’?
The moment he regretted most in his life.
Fifteen years ago today.
A chance to make a new beginning.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime hope that he absolutely could not afford to let slip away.
“Student Yoo Sim-rok. Are you feeling unwell?”
At Professor Lee Hyo-seok’s question, Kim Min-jae, who had been glaring at Sim-rok, turned his head.
“No. I’m fine, Professor.”
“Hmm, really?”
When Sim-rok answered politely and calmly, Professor Lee Hyo-seok looked puzzled before returning to the lectern.
“……Right.”
Looking at his retreating back, Sim-rok became certain.
Many things would be different from now on.
And he would be at the center of it all.
He remembered what his mother had said to him.
‘I hope you do what you want to do.’
What I want to do.
Maybe it was possible.
“I’ll write it properly.”
Right now, at this very moment.
The elephant broke its shackles.
#
“Then, from now on, we’ll begin the midterm literary contest.”
At Lee Hyo-seok’s words, the teaching assistant took manuscript-style exam papers out of a document envelope and handed them to the students.
“I’ll announce the topic once the papers have been distributed. You’ll have ninety minutes. I hope everyone does their best.”
A short and concise explanation.
Most of the students in the classroom were visibly nervous about what topic would be given.
Lee Hyo-seok was famous for giving difficult topics whenever he held exams in the form of literary contests like this.
Moreover, this exam was unusual in that rankings were determined and prize money was awarded to the students.
Lee Hyo-seok himself also had a certain amount of influence in the literary world, so there were rumors that earning his recognition in the exam could give a student an advantage when making their literary debut.
Some of the students taking the class actually had literary debut as their goal, so they had no choice but to be nervous.
On the other hand, there was also a group that wasn’t particularly nervous.
They were either already confident about the exam or simply didn’t care whether they impressed the literary world or won prize money.
Kim Min-jae belonged to the latter group.
After all, he would eventually join his father’s company and be given a suitable position.
He had absolutely no intention of working hard on something as tedious and bothersome as writing.
So, as usual, he dumped the task on Yoo Sim-rok.
Since Sim-rok was sitting right beside him, Kim Min-jae planned to switch their papers whenever the professor or teaching assistant wasn’t looking.
‘What’s with him?’
When he had first met Yoo Sim-rok, the guy’s expression had been so unreadable that it had gotten on his nerves.
Still, after giving him a little ‘education’ a few times, Sim-rok had learned to crawl like a slave on his own, making him easy to order around.
Besides, he was fairly quick-witted, so he would probably fill out a decent amount.
Of course, Kim Min-jae would also pretend to write something himself so that he wouldn’t arouse suspicion by sitting completely still.
‘Something feels off.’
That brief incident from just moments ago.
Sim-rok hadn’t avoided Kim Min-jae’s glare.
‘Normally, he would have immediately lowered his eyes.’
Moreover, there had been something different about Sim-rok’s eyes when their gazes met for that brief moment.
They were still eyes that were difficult to read, but they weren’t the dull, lifeless eyes he was accustomed to seeing.
It was difficult to put into exact words, but they seemed to possess some kind of ‘unusual brilliance.’
Yes.
Perhaps it was best described as though they could see right through a person.
It was similar to when he had first met Yoo Sim-rok, yet somehow different.
‘……I’m probably imagining things.’
Kim Min-jae subtly shifted his eyes and glanced at Sim-rok.
Sim-rok was listening attentively to the professor as though Kim Min-jae didn’t even exist.
The atmosphere around him was definitely subtly different, but there didn’t seem to be any major change.
‘I’ve been drinking too much lately. I’m probably just tired.’
Even logically speaking, it was impossible for someone to suddenly become a completely different person.
He decided not to think much of it.
“Looks like everyone has received their papers. Then I’ll reveal the topic.”
At the professor’s announcement, Kim Min-jae concluded that his concerns had been nothing more than needless worry and lost interest in Sim-rok.
And then—
It didn’t take long for him to realize that it hadn’t been his imagination.
#
Meanwhile, Sim-rok was deep in thought.
‘Now…… what should I do?’
He was considering what course of action he should take on this exam.
At present, he had two choices.
The first was to submit the exam paper under Kim Min-jae’s name, just as he had before his regression.
Of course, this time he had no intention of displaying his full ability.
He would write something ‘ordinary,’ at a level that any Korean literature student could produce.
He would write only as well as the current Kim Min-jae expected him to and submit it.
It was a way of quietly getting through today and waiting for the right opportunity.
“……Hmph.”
As his thoughts reached that point, Sim-rok let out a small scoff.
‘Why should I?’
He had been exploited by Kim Min-jae for a full twenty years.
He had absolutely no desire to waste even a single second under the excuse of waiting for the right time.
Then the decision was made.
He would choose the other option.
He would still write to the best of his ability.
Just as he had fifteen years ago today.
But this time, the name of the person submitting the paper would not be Kim Min-jae.
It would be Yoo Sim-rok himself.
“The topic for this midterm exam is……”
Lee Hyo-seok wrote the words in large letters on the blackboard.
As soon as the topic was revealed, the students in the classroom began murmuring uneasily.
“‘I, as myself’? What does that even mean?”
“It’s way too vague……”
“Just like the seniors said. They said every year they give some weird topic that you can’t make heads or tails of.”
“Please don’t tell me I’ll have to retake this class.”
“All right. No chatting. Prepare quietly.”
Lee Hyo-seok tapped the lectern while the students wore perplexed expressions.
Amid all that, Sim-rok smiled inwardly.
Should he call it nostalgia?
Seeing that topic again after fifteen years felt strangely nostalgic and welcome.
Even though he had submitted it under someone else’s name, this was the first piece he had ever written.
If he wrote and submitted it exactly as he had back then, second place would be guaranteed.
Sim-rok placed the tip of his pen against the paper to write the first letter, but then stopped.
‘No.’
The piece from the past that he had just recalled in his mind.
He wasn’t satisfied with simply transcribing it as it was.
‘It’s far too clumsy.’
From that day onward, Sim-rok had spent fifteen years reading and writing all kinds of works.
He had voraciously devoured knowledge about writing.
That had naturally led to an improvement in his eye for literature and his writing ability.
Eventually, he became a bestselling author whose every work attracted enormous attention.
Of course, it was Kim Min-jae who gained the fame, while Sim-rok merely remained in his shadow.
Regardless.
From the perspective he possessed now, Sim-rok’s writing from fifteen years ago was ‘the writing of a twenty-year-old who still hadn’t completely outgrown his adolescence.’
It was a piece in which he had been unable to control his youthful emotions and had poured everything out recklessly.
Depending on the person, it might have looked decent, but it was clumsy and lacked depth.
It was practically no different from a child’s game.
‘My pride won’t allow me to submit it like this.’
In the end, Sim-rok slowly lowered his pen and closed his eyes.
‘I’m going to revise it from here.’
A limited amount of time.
The task of polishing and reconstructing a piece that existed only inside his mind.
If someone heard that, they might have told him to stop talking nonsense.
Fifteen years.
Simply put, nobody could perfectly remember something they had written that long ago.
They would probably say it would be better to start writing an entirely new work from this point onward.
But Sim-rok was different.
He could remember every single letter of every piece he had ever written.
That was the dazzling ‘talent’ that had made him the greatest ghostwriter of all.