Chapter 157
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 157
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Letters appeared on the laptop screen as her fingers moved.
Eun-sam stared blankly at the words materializing before her, her typing continuing unabated.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound went on for some time, filling the space. There was something about the sharp, rhythmic noise that gathered her scattered thoughts and helped her focus.
Aided by that sound, Eun-sam’s typing continued.
Paragraphs turned into pages, and pages turned into files.
She wrote for so long that the steady rhythm that had once pierced her ears and aided her concentration faded from her awareness.
[The adventure continues.]
A single period settled onto the screen.
“…Ah.”
A soft gasp escaped Eun-sam’s lips.
Her hands had already stopped.
Eun-sam’s gaze fell to her hands, then back to the screen.
A belated realization.
I’ve written it all.
There was nothing left to write.
Which meant…
It’s really finished.
My long, long story had come to an end.
*
“I’m home!”
Dokyun announced his return in a loud voice, then let out a deep sigh as he began to take off his shoes.
He was dead tired.
As usual, Myeong-dae had made a mess of things, and Dokyun felt completely drained from cleaning it up.
A day like this calls for a drink.
Maybe I’ll just have a can of beer and go to bed.
With that thought, Dokyun entered the living room, only to stop in his tracks when he saw Eun-sam sitting in the middle of the sofa, staring blankly into space.
“Gei, you’re back.”
“…Eun-sam?”
“Can’t you tell by lookin’?”
At Eun-sam’s reply, a flicker of suspicion entered Dokyun’s eyes.
It was only natural. Wasn’t her attitude uncharacteristically listless?
The girl who was always cackling while scrolling through her phone was sitting there so vacantly that for a moment, he’d thought she was Eun-chae.
“What’s wrong? Why the long face?”
“Huh?”
Eun-sam’s head, which had been aimed at the empty air, turned toward Dokyun. As her face came into clearer view, Dokyun tilted his head.
“What’s with that expression?”
She looked as if her soul had left her body.
A beat after Dokyun’s question, Eun-sam let out a small sound.
“Ah.”
She then pressed her lips together as if lost in thought before finally speaking to him.
“Gei.”
“Yeah?”
“What are you doin’ tomorrow?”
“What’s there to do? It’s the weekend.”
“Then how about we go for a drink right now?”
At her suggestion, Dokyun didn’t hesitate long before nodding.
“Sounds good. I was just thinking about having a drink myself.”
“Alright, igi. Wait here. I’ll go get ready.”
Eun-sam pushed herself up from the sofa and staggered toward the dressing room.
Watching her go, Dokyun let out a soft “Hmm,” a small seed of worry sprouting within him.
Did something really happen?
She was in a sorry state.
*
The bar Eun-sam took him to was a place Dokyun already knew.
It was her favorite tented street bar, the one they had visited when he first met her.
They hadn’t been back a single time since that first meeting, so it had been a long time for Dokyun as well.
“Oh, we’re coming here today?”
“That’s right. Gotta stop by and say hello, don’t we?”
“True. For your favorite spot, we really haven’t been here much.”
Exchanging idle chatter, they entered the tented bar, where the owner, his face a little more wrinkled than Dokyun remembered, greeted them.
“Oh, Eun-sam! And next to you… your brother-in-law?”
“It’s been a while, boss!”
“Good evening.”
“Yeah, yeah, go grab a comfortable seat. The usual for snacks?”
“You bet!”
The moment they stepped inside, Eun-sam’s tone became lively. Seeing this, Dokyun felt certain that something was up.
What could it be?
Pondering this, Dokyun sat down and looked at Eun-sam, running through the list of things that could be considered “her business.”
Online communities. Her novel. Cars.
The things she loved more than anything.
As he thought them over…
Ah.
Dokyun’s body flinched as he remembered that her novel—the side stories, at least—was on the verge of completion.
He briefly chastised himself for having forgotten, then watched Eun-sam pop one of the complimentary snacks into her mouth. He finally understood why she was acting so strangely today.
“…Looks like it’s over.”
Her novel was finished. The shackles that had bound Eun-sam for nearly eight years had finally been broken.
As Dokyun spoke in a slightly subdued voice, Eun-sam offered an uncharacteristically small smile and nodded.
“That’s right. It’s really over now, igi.”
“Then…”
“You know the answer, so why ask?”
Heh heh. Eun-sam chuckled.
“Gei. Isn’t it coolest to know when to leave while they’re still applauding?”
With those words, Eun-sam picked up the soju bottle that had been served to their table. With a gurgle-gurgle-gurgle, she filled a glass and handed it to Dokyun.
“Take a glass, igi. This is the last one I’ll pour for you.”
The glass was filled so high it would spill with the slightest tilt. Looking at it, Dokyun suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.
It was Eun-sam’s nonchalance, the way she spoke as if it were nothing at all, that stirred such feelings in him.
Dokyun’s fingertips twitched. He reached out, took the glass, and downed it in one go.
“Ooh, Gei, you can handle your liquor.”
At Eun-sam’s comment, Dokyun let out a sharp “Keuhh,” his face scrunching up before he spoke.
“…Using that damn internet slang to the very end.”
“It’s my identity, ain’t it?”
“Change it, you bastard.”
“Ahem, no bad words, igi!”
Heh heh. Eun-sam laughed, then refilled her glass and continued.
“Man… I thought I’d be over the moon once I finished it, so why does it feel so empty?”
Eun-sam raised her glass. Just like Dokyun’s, it was filled to the brim, threatening to spill over. The alcohol disappeared down her throat in a single gulp.
“Keuhh—!” After letting out a sound of satisfaction, she slammed the glass down and scratched the back of her head, a hint of embarrassment on her face.
“Should I say I feel relieved, or should I say I’m disappointed? It doesn’t feel real. I don’t know, igi.”
“Well, you just finished it today, didn’t you? That makes sense.”
“You think so?”
Dokyun watched Eun-sam chuckle. He noted that, unlike with Eun-ji, he wasn’t panicking and was managing to keep his emotions in check. He let out a breath.
If you were to ask if he was okay… he wasn’t okay at all.
Eun-sam was the type to make his blood boil every time he saw her, but perhaps he’d grown fond of her through all the bickering. Now that the moment of her departure had arrived, a bitter feeling spread through his heart.
However, unlike with Eun-ji, he had been able to roughly gauge when his farewell with Eun-sam would happen, so he’d had plenty of time to prepare himself mentally.
Of course he had. Though he’d been too swamped with work to check for the past week, hadn’t he been checking her novel every day before that, counting down the remaining days?
…In the end, he had made a painful mistake at the crucial moment, but because it wasn’t an entirely unexpected farewell, Dokyun had the capacity to suppress the rising tide of his emotions.
Dokyun lifted his head, his gaze landing on Eun-sam. She was staring at her glass with a somewhat hollow expression. He said the words he had always wanted to say to her when this moment finally came.
“Congratulations.”
“Huh?”
“On finishing. Congratulations.”
At his reply, Eun-sam’s eyes blinked.
After staring blankly for a long moment, she burst out laughing and answered him.
“Thaaanks, gei!”
“And you worked hard.”
“Damn right! I worked my ass off!”
Eun-sam nodded emphatically, accepting his words.
“A work I spent my life on is finally over, ain’t it! Me, Go Eun-sam. I’m an author with a completed series now, igiya!”
She raised her glass. Dokyun clinked his against hers, a small smile gracing his lips.
*
The alcohol was kicking in. My face was getting warmer. My stomach felt tingly and numb, and my eyelids were getting heavy for no reason.
In that hazy state, I looked at Chae Dokyun.
He was still sitting up straight, picking at the side dishes. It looked like it would be a while before he got drunk.
That damn bastard.
Here I am, drinking like this, and he’s holding back. If you don’t get completely wasted on a day like this, when will you?
His perfectly sober state was getting on my nerves. I narrowed my eyes and asked him.
“Gei. You’re not drinking?”
“If I get wasted too, how are we supposed to get home?”
“There’s designated drivers, isn’t there! Designated drivers!”
“Forget it, you punk. It’s your last day. I can’t let myself get so drunk I forget what happened today.”
At his words, I felt my hand freeze.
“…Tch, trying to act all cool.”
“What?”
Chae Dokyun shrugged. Look at that shameless bastard. A laugh escaped my lips.
My gaze fell to my glass. It was empty again. I reached for the soju bottle to refill it, but it was empty, too.
“Boss! Another bottle of soju over here!”
“You got it! Eun-sam’s drinking a lot today!”
“Damn right! I’m moving on to bigger things!”
I stood up and looked at the middle-aged men filling the seats of the tented bar, shouting loudly.
“Hey, fellas! This Go Eun-sam is moving on to bigger and better things! Today’s my last day here!”
“Huh? Where’s Eun-sam going?”
“To conquer the world, of course! So, today, this Eun-sam is paying for everything! Don’t you worry, fellas, order up a storm and help the boss out!”
As I said that, a torrent of applause erupted from all sides.
“Woooooah!!!”
I spread my arms wide, accepting the praise directed at me, and burst out laughing for a long time before sitting back down.
“How was that? Was I cool?”
“Aigoo, yes. You were cool. Happy now?”
“Heh heh, this is it. Countless requests for handshakes! Endless applause! What better side dish is there than this, igi!”
“Whatever you say.”
Chae Dokyun was smirking again. Tsk, this is why people call him a slut. I wanted to click my tongue at him, but I felt like I’d actually get hit if I did, so I’ll hold back just this once!
Feeling very satisfied with my self-control, I opened another bottle of soju and poured it into my glass.
Gurgle-gurgle-gurgle. A sound that always calmed my heart.
In the past, on days when things were unbearably hard, I would always come here and pour soju just like this.
A tiny glass. The sound of the soju filling it would inexplicably soothe my mind, and if I emptied the glass to hear the sound again, the drunkenness would set in. I would drink until I couldn’t tell if I was pouring the alcohol to hear the sound or making the sound to drink the alcohol. Only then would the hardships finally fade away.
Hmm…
My gaze returned to Chae Dokyun.
Am I okay now?
The thought continued.
Looking back, I always found it hard to endure without alcohol, but at some point, I stopped seeking it out so much.
When I did drink, it was all about partying and drinking until I dropped.
…I’m okay.
Really, I was lucky it was Chae Dokyun.
Feeling a smile spread across my lips on its own, I drained my glass and spoke to him.
“Gei.”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s go get some fresh air, igi. I know a place with a great night view.”
Drinking ourselves into a stupor like this felt like a decent ending, but still, the end of a story should take place somewhere with a nice atmosphere, right?
With that thought, I watched Chae Dokyun give a small nod, and a laugh burst from my lips.