Chapter 131
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 131
Two days later, just as Eun-ah had predicted, Eun-sam appeared.
Dokyun woke up late and went out to the living room, greeting Eun-sam, who was looking at her smartphone.
“Long time no see.”
“Oh, dude, you’re up!”
Dokyun watched Eun-sam wave enthusiastically at him, then let out a small chuckle at the realization that he’d somehow gotten used to her way of speaking. He sat down next to her.
“You said you came out to write today.”
“Damn right! Just three more chapters and the main story’s done, y’know! There’s still a bit more if you count the side stories, but… since I’m out, I figure I’ll finish the main story before I go back in!” she declared, giving him a thumbs-up.
Has it really been that long? Dokyun wondered, but then he remembered what Eun-sam had said at the hospital and it made sense.
‘She said it was about thirty chapters, right?’
Once Eun-sam started writing, she worked fast. It seemed she had already reached the end of the main story.
As this thought crossed his mind, Dokyun leaned back against the sofa and muttered, “Time flies.”
“For real…”
Dokyun’s gaze shifted to Eun-sam.
She had her eyes closed, a sentimental expression on her face that felt strangely out of place. After watching her for a moment, Dokyun spoke up.
“So, are you going to start writing now?”
“Hmm?”
Eun-sam turned her head toward him.
A grin spread across her face. She shoved the screen she’d been looking at in his face.
“Was in the middle of planning, dude.”
Dokyun’s eyes moved to the screen, wondering what kind of planning required her to be so forceful.
A scene from a comic filled the screen.
Flesh, and more flesh. And muscles.
It was a 19+ BL comic.
Dokyun stared blankly for a second before his entire body jolted, and he flailed his arms.
“Agh! Fuck!”
A curse burst from his lips as his body recoiled.
Dokyun squeezed his eyes shut in horror and only managed to speak again once the screen was out of his sight.
“Don’t show me shit like that!”
“Huh? It’s fun once you get into it!”
“I said I don’t want to, dammit!”
The image he had just seen was seared into his mind.
“First thing in the morning, seriously…!”
What kind of fresh hell was this after waking up in a good mood? And why would she show him something like that without a shred of hesitation?
Dokyun glared at her, his feelings plain on his face. Eun-sam just tilted her head, as if she couldn’t understand his reaction.
“Why are you freaking out so much? First time seeing something like this?”
“Of course it’s my first time! Why would I ever look at that?!”
“Tsk, tsk…”
Watching Eun-sam sigh and look at him with pity, Dokyun felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck.
“And what the hell does looking at that have to do with planning your novel?”
“Huh? This is the concept for my novel, ain’t it?”
Her reply left Dokyun speechless.
Wait, the story about dick sword fighting was inspired by this?
Was that really her intention when she wrote it?
Dokyun stared at Eun-sam, his face a mask of pure confusion.
Ignoring his gaze, Eun-sam flashed a brilliant smile and gave him another thumbs-up.
As Dokyun wondered how such a monster could have been created, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
The Legend of the Seven Dicks was first posted in 2014, the year Eun-ah turned fifteen.
According to Eun-seol, that was around the time Eun-byeol had emerged.
The culprit behind the dark evolution of the once-severe workaholic Eun-sam, the one who had led her to online communities.
He dared to guess that she had probably discovered that BL comic through a community Eun-byeol had introduced her to.
Dokyun squeezed his eyes shut and let out a groan.
Eun-byeol’s karma ran far too deep.
*
After spending a good while “planning” or whatever on her smartphone, Eun-sam finally started working after lunch.
To avoid disturbing her, Dokyun moved to a corner of the sofa and watched her blankly.
She had brought her laptop over and was typing away, hunched over the screen.
Watching Eun-sam with her face buried in her laptop, Dokyun felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity.
It was because the way she looked when she worked was so different from her usual self.
Technically speaking, this focused side was Eun-sam’s true nature.
Hadn’t Eun-byeol said so herself? That before she introduced her to online communities, Eun-sam was the type of personality who would just write and write, oblivious to her own body breaking down.
Once again letting out a deep sigh over Eun-byeol’s karma, Dokyun turned his gaze back to Eun-sam. He watched her face get closer and closer to the monitor before reaching out and pulling her head back.
“You’ll ruin your eyes like that.”
“Ah.”
The focus returned to her dazed eyes.
Eun-sam let out a small sound, then looked at Dokyun with drowsy eyes.
“Worried our queen’s gonna ruin her eyes, are ya?”
“Your nicknames…”
Dokyun pressed a hand to his head as he pointed it out.
Her nicknames were just too damn confusing.
All of Eun-sam’s nicknames were like that. As before, Eun-seol was “Armband,” while he, Eun-ji, and Eun-byeol were “dude.” Eun-chae was “Likable,” and Eun-ah was called the “Gaelju” [Queen of the forum].
Just hearing them gave him a headache.
He had pointed it out several times, but Eun-sam showed no signs of changing them.
A sigh escaped him.
He couldn’t think of any way to fix her.
As Dokyun agonized over it, Eun-sam just cackled at him.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to just give up? I’m not changing the way I talk, dude.”
“…Fine. Just get back to writing.”
In the end, Dokyun had no choice but to surrender.
All the personalities were a handful, but Eun-sam was particularly difficult to manage, so he couldn’t force her.
Eun-sam gave a small nod and turned back to her monitor.
“Just wait a bit. Once I wrap this part up, we gotta go pound some soju, right?”
As soon as she finished speaking, she dove back into her work without even waiting for his answer. Dokyun couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
Did it not even occur to her that he might refuse?
He shook his head and pulled out his smartphone.
She’d probably just force me to drink even if I refused.
He was used to Eun-sam by now; he could predict her every move.
Since he couldn’t avoid it anyway, it was better for him to just accept it and catch up on the novels he’d been saving.
*
He was deep into a novel when Eun-sam, having finally finished her work, let out a huge stretch.
“Ughhh…!”
“You done?”
“Yeah, all done.”
Dokyun felt a smile creep onto his face as he watched Eun-sam go limp, completely drained of energy.
The way she flopped over after finishing her work was somehow similar to Eun-ah.
Of course, it was only natural for them to be similar since they were the same person, but because Dokyun saw them as different people, he couldn’t help but smile whenever he found such similarities.
“Good work.”
“Thaaanks!” she replied playfully.
Eun-sam closed her laptop, stood up, and spoke in an excited tone.
“So, how about a shot of soju now! For some reason, I’m craving Nak-gop-sae today…!”
“Nak-gop-sae sounds great.”
“Aww yeah~! Let’s go!”
Dokyun shook his head as he watched Eun-sam shout and open a delivery app, then stood up himself.
“I’ll go clear the table then.”
“Got it!”
Watching the gleefully scrolling Eun-sam, Dokyun wondered, Was the novel just an excuse? Was this her real goal all along? He only started heading for the table after Eun-sam, having finished her order, began to hurry him along.
The delivery arrived a little over thirty minutes later.
Dokyun received the food and was about to transfer it to proper dishes when he felt a hand grab his arm. He turned to face Eun-sam.
She had a somewhat displeased look on her face.
“What?”
“Dude, you got no vibe?”
“Huh?”
What was she talking about all of a sudden? As he tilted his head in confusion, Eun-sam let out a heavy sigh, rattled a soju bottle, and continued.
“The cardinal rule is you eat delivery food with soju straight from the disposable containers!” she yelled, squeezing her eyes shut.
A laugh escaped Dokyun’s lips. Just as he was about to say something, Eun-sam spoke again.
“If you put it on plates, the vibe is gone! These containers are all part of the price of the aesthetic, I tell ya!”
The price of the aesthetic.
The phrase sounded familiar. It took him a moment to remember Eun-byeol saying the exact same thing while splurging at a cafe, and he burst out laughing.
Price of the aesthetic, my ass…
It seemed Eun-byeol’s idea of an aesthetic and Eun-sam’s were a little different.
Shaking his head at the thought, Dokyun put the plates back and sat down at the table.
Well, for him, it just meant fewer dishes to wash.
“Here, take it!”
Dokyun took the soju glass Eun-sam offered, another smile spreading across his face as he spoke.
“You seem pretty excited.”
“Hell yeah! My eight-year journey is finally coming to an end, isn’t it?!”
Her eight-year journey.
She was talking about finishing her novel.
Dokyun thought about it as he watched the ecstatic Eun-sam down her soju.
A wide smile was plastered on her face, yet every now and then, a shadow of melancholy would pass over it.
“Feeling wistful?”
“Hmm?”
“Your expression says it all.”
Clink.
Eun-sam stopped pouring the soju, scratched the back of her head, and gave an awkward laugh.
“Heh, guess I can’t fool you, Honeybee-dude.”
After that bit of theatrics, she stared at her half-full soju glass with a somewhat wistful look.
“Well, yeah, how could I not be? It’s a novel I’ve been writing for eight whole years. It’s been with me for almost my entire life. Of course I’m gonna miss it.”
Dokyun nodded at her words.
He could completely understand.
Even for him, whenever a novel he was enjoying neared its end, all sorts of emotions would well up inside him.
“I keep thinking, ‘Could I have done better? What if I had tried this instead?’”
Eun-sam said, a small smile forming on her lips.
“Still, it was so much fun while I was writing it.”
She raised her glass, drained it in one go, and let out a satisfied “Keh!” before continuing.
“Imagining it, writing it. Even the moments of worrying and regret were so much fun.”
Watching Eun-sam speak with a face full of smiles, Dokyun felt an indescribable emotion rising within him.
It was a bit stifling, and a bit ticklish.
He fiddled with his glass for no reason, then let a smile form on his own face as he raised his glass toward her.
“Isn’t it a bit early for that? You haven’t even finished it yet. You still have the ending and the side stories to write.”
It was a gesture proposing a toast.
Eun-sam blinked at him, then burst out laughing and clinked her glass against his.
“Whoa there, was I getting a little arrogant?”
“Not a little, a lot.”
“Hey, my bad!”
“Whatever.”
Dokyun watched Eun-sam’s playful reply and downed his glass in one shot.
A bitter taste filled his mouth.
He smacked his lips a few times, refilled his glass, and picked up a shrimp. He then burst out laughing as he watched Eun-sam, who had already started to empty her glass again by herself.
And so, the drinking session he had braced himself for continued in a much more pleasant atmosphere than he had expected.