The Door Closes (2)
Jang Hee-soo had asked to meet me. The first, and last, time I had ever seen her was at the book fair held at COEX.
She had come straight to me and demanded that I stop criticizing Yomo’s novel. Perhaps because so many things had happened in between, it already felt like a story from a long time ago. Of course, when I first started running Soop, I had been aware of Jang Hee-soo. My first review had been of Cooking, Sex, Murder, after all, and it had also overlapped with the lineup for ZZ : NOVEL. But at some point, I stopped thinking about her entirely.
That was even more true after ZZ : NOVEL began doing well in its own right.
She had always been notable, but now she was a recognized editor in the independent magazine scene. The only real difference from before, I supposed, was that she probably made more money now. The whole independent magazine world had grown larger, after all. In any case, I was curious.
How exactly was Jang Hee-soo going to come at this?
Gratitude for helping expand the independent magazine scene?
Or anger at having been deceived? Considering the aura that woman gave off, the latter somehow felt more natural. After work, I went to a certain cafe.
There she was, dressed in a neat suit.
Money changed people. She had once looked like a hippie, but now she had the unmistakable air of an editor.
Her face tense, she stood and gave me a slight nod.
I smiled and greeted her. “It’s been a while, Editor Jang.” But there was a woman who looked to be in her early twenties sitting beside her.
The plump girl with her hat pulled low was wearing a comfortable hoodie.
Who was she? An editor? Sensing my gaze, Jang Hee-soo explained. “This is the author Yomo. She said she absolutely had to meet the critic, so I brought her along.”
“…!” Yomo?
I had known she was young, but she looked far younger than I had expected.
And then there was her whole presence.
For someone her age, she clearly had the air of someone who had never really lived in the world.
Yomo gathered her courage and held out a hand. “P-pleased to meet you, critic. My name is Yomo. My real name is Lee Mo-yoon.”
“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you.” I shook her hand first.
Inside, I was a little taken aback.
Not because she was Yomo, but because, as a critic, I wanted to keep my distance from writers.
A matter of professional ethics, you could call it. I concealed my thoughts and asked Jang Hee-soo, “What brings you here?”
“You know perfectly well why. It’s because of Soop.”
“Then you could have just let it go and not met me at all.” Jang Hee-soo and Yomo could have simply kept their mouths shut and moved on.
Soop had already closed its doors, so they had nothing to lose.
But apparently not for Jang Hee-soo. “How could anyone do something like that?”
“I see.” I gave a faint smile.
Not because I was mocking her. I only found it strange that she could say something so human with such a cold face.
“Honestly, honestly, I’m still completely shocked. That you were Soop. I’m a person too, so yes, I do feel deceived. Of course... it’s also true that I feel grateful. I guess you could call it mixed feelings. My head is a mess.”
“I’m sorry for confusing you.”
“Still, when you think about it, it doesn’t make sense. Some amateur producing writing of that quality that quickly... ” Jang Hee-soo trailed off and looked at me.
As though she were trying to match the trajectory of the old Soop with the Mok Hyunsun sitting before her.
She seemed about to say something else, then stopped herself. “Mo-yoon. You should speak first. I’m going to sort out my thoughts.”
“Ah, yes. Sister.” So they were on a sister-and-younger-sibling basis. Because of the cap of Yomo’s hat, I couldn’t see her eyes.
Only the trembling muscles around her mouth gave her away. The tension.
“The reason I came all this way is... I just wanted to thank you.”
“Thank me?”
“Yes. Um, I mean, at first I rejected your criticism, didn’t I? But you covered my work in Soop, and then this time you gave Blue Black Hole one final review too... I’m truly, truly grateful. And I also wanted to apologize for refusing your criticism back then.” Yomo bowed her head deeply once. “...” I understood the feeling well enough, but I wanted to correct one thing.
“Thank you for recognizing it. But next time, don’t bow your head to a critic.”
“…”
“Not to any critic.”
“!” She lifted her head and looked at me.
At last, our eyes met.
Yomo’s eyes were round like a frightened rabbit’s. “A writer and a critic are not supposed to bow to each other. If anything, you can resent one another.”
“Ah...”
“It’s fine to feel grateful that someone understood the world of your work. But there’s no need to thank them for it. A critic only criticizes the writing they wanted to critique. Each of us is simply doing our own job from our own position.” In simple terms, it was like this.
At one company, if the sales team sold a great deal of product because their sales ability was excellent, the technical team would not formally thank them.
If you replaced that company with the literary world, the point was easy enough to understand. Of course, Park Jeong-shin and Son Yeong-han had also thanked me before.
But they were older than Yomo, and they were professionals.
Even if they thanked me in the moment, they knew they would turn back and take their place as writers. Separate from how they felt about me, they would also know when it was necessary to draw the line properly. Yomo was not like that, though.
She was far too inexperienced... and sincere. “I criticized Yomo’s writing only because I liked the writing itself. There was no other reason. So don’t mix too many personal emotions into your work, either. That’s how you last.” That was one of my own principles in this line of work.
To feel nothing personal toward the writer.
If she was intelligent, she would have understood what I meant. In truth, the reason Yomo had rejected my criticism in the first place was probably because of her feelings toward Jang Hee-soo.
If she let go of that feeling, she would probably find her own dignity as a writer.
The self-respect that let her stand alone as a writer, leaning on nothing and no one.
And Yomo seemed to understand me.
She nodded with a firm expression. “Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I’m making it sound a bit too much like a lecture, but... I’m looking forward to your next novel.” Yomo blushed and nodded.
The way she smiled so easily was exactly right for her age. All right. Then the only one left was Jang Hee-soo.
“If you’ve finished thinking, I’d appreciate it if you’d say what you need to say. I can’t stay here forever.”
“Yes. Of course.” Jang Hee-soo murmured.
She seemed to steady herself, drew in a long breath, and let it out slowly.
Then, with a calm look in her eyes, she said, “I understand why you had to create Soop. Not because of sympathy for the independent magazine scene, or some desire to challenge it... but because, as a critic, you really wanted to judge the novels in this space.”
“You hit the mark exactly.”
“And I’m the one who tried to stop you by force.” That was another exact reading from Jang Hee-soo. “I’m deeply sorry for that.”
“It’s fine. I found my own way and did everything I wanted to do.” I held no feelings against her either.
In some respects, I still found her hard to understand, but she had not tried to stop me out of any deep malice.
It seemed Jang Hee-soo had wanted to apologize to me.
And since I accepted it cleanly, I thought we could part on good terms now. But then she said something completely unexpected. “I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
“Yes. Would you mind not closing Soop?” ...That was not a turn I had anticipated.
“I understand what you’re regretting, Editor Jang. But even if Soop disappears, the independent magazine scene won’t collapse overnight.”
“I know.”
“To be blunt, from here on out it’ll be people like you who have to hold it together.”
“That’s why I’m saying this. Because I want to hold this place up properly.”
“...”
“This industry has stubbornly refused criticism and reviews for years. It was a stupid thing to do. But when Soop appeared, we realized we had been wrong. We learned what a good review actually was too. So I can’t just let Soop vanish like a mirage. Personally, I could send you off with pride intact and say I was sorry, or grateful, or whatever else. But as an editor, I can’t do that. That’s why I’m clinging to you like this.” She was right.
Her tone was calm, but she was clinging to me all the same.
“You asked me once before,” she said. “Why there aren’t any critics in the independent magazine scene. I think I know why you asked that now.”
“...”
“We need critics. We can’t let a critic like you leave so empty-handedly.” To be honest, I was shaken.
I hadn’t expected the proud Jang Hee-soo, at a glance so full of herself, to come at me with such desperate sincerity.
So I decided... to be honest for her sake.
“There’s no reason I can’t go back.”
“! Then you can save Soop...?”
“No. I can’t do that.” The expressions on both of their faces were all hope, then disappointment, then a kind of pathetic sorrow. “I do have my own plans, you know.”
“Plans?”
“For one thing, independent magazine reviews will be able to continue.”
“We don’t need just any reviews. We need your reviews.”
“I’m talking about my review.”
“...?” They both looked baffled. “Soop will come back in a different form. I already wrote it on the feed. I said to come find me again.”
“How on earth?”
“Listen.” I leaned forward.
They, in turn, bent forward too, almost involuntarily, so they could hear me out.
I told them my plan in a whisper, if plan it could be called. “...? Ah...?”
“Is, is that possible?”
“I don’t know. We’ll try it and see.” As always. “The odds are fifty-fifty. Maybe even lower than that, but... we have to try.”
“...”
“If it works, I’ll let you know. I should be going now.” As I stood and reached for my bag, Jang Hee-soo caught me by the chin.
She looked at me with fierce eyes. “You told me this before, remember? That I was acting like some editor and throwing my weight around.”
“I didn’t say it quite that directly. It was a metaphor.”
“That I was acting more powerfully than anyone else.”
“...I did say something like that.”
“Whether it’s throwing weight around or power, I’ll gather all of it and help you. I’m going to try using my power in the right place too.” I laughed.
Jang Hee-soo of all people was going to help me. “That would certainly be a huge help.”
─┼
At that same time, the editorial board members of Gyeongseong Geul had gathered in a hurry at a cafe in Paju.
Normally, because it was hard to coordinate everyone’s schedules, they would only exchange small points over chat, but this matter was far from small. “I wasn’t sure what to expect, but Mok Hyunsun being Soop? I never imagined he’d reveal it so publicly, either.”
“We were already worried because Mok Hyunsun’s influence had grown too large... why did he have to draw so much attention like that?”
“He’s probably trying to grow even bigger.”
“Even the Yongin relic case was huge enough to make my head spin, and now more than that? What on earth is he planning?” What they cared about was balance.
If any one editor’s name value rose too high, there would certainly be trouble for Gyeongseong Geul.
“Whatever that plan is, I hope he can still work with Gyeongseong Geul. Mr. Mok is already an outstanding editorial board member.”
“It would be a shame. I rather like Mr. Mok personally.”
“Impossible.” Im Myeong-eul cut them off cleanly. “His scale has become too large. By his current level of fame alone, it’s even bigger than Gyeongseong Geul.”
“Then what are we supposed to do?”
“We should make him independent.”
“Independent to where?”
“That is—” Im Myeong-eul had just begun to answer when his phone buzzed. A text had come in.
Speak of the devil, the sender was Mok Hyunsun. Would it be all right if I requested this editorial meeting a little earlier? came the message, along with a rather cheeky tone.