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# Chapter 4. Good Riddance — What a Relief (1)
4.
---
“Argh!”
Kwon Ji-yeon jolted awake in terror at the producer’s call early in the morning.
“This is driving me crazy. What am I supposed to do if I can’t even get up...?”
She had only intended to close her eyes for a moment to clear her head, but when she woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.
‘I shouldn’t have drunk.’
The stress of writing had been getting to her, so she had downed a few cans, but she had never imagined she would sleep so deeply that she couldn’t even wake up properly.
So this was what it felt like when your future suddenly looked pitch-black.
But with the situation already beyond recovery, she had no alternative.
At the producer’s urging, she reluctantly sent over the unfinished manuscript.
‘First, I’ll send whatever I’ve revised so far, then go see her in person and apologize.’
Without even washing her hair, Kwon Ji-yeon immediately headed to the production company.
She felt uneasy the entire way.
‘What if they ask me to return the advance?’
It had already been more than two months past the date she had promised to deliver the script.
Given how slow her work had been going, she had no excuse if they demanded to terminate the contract.
‘Sigh. What else can I do? I’ll just have to beg and beg.’
Kwon Ji-yeon entered the production company’s office with her shoulders hunched.
The moment she opened the door, Producer Jung Eun-mi, who recognized her, jumped up and hurried over.
“Writer Kwon!”
Her voice was nearly an octave higher than usual.
Ji-yeon couldn’t understand why she was being greeted so enthusiastically.
“See? I told you our Writer Kwon could do it!”
What was going on?
Why was she acting like this?
“Writer Kwon, aren’t you seriously a genius?”
“...Excuse me?”
“It’s so good! When did you revise it this much?”
The more she listened, the harder it was to understand the producer’s reaction.
“Um... Are you sure you’re talking about the manuscript I sent you?”
“Of course. There’s practically nothing left to revise in what you sent this time. The CEO even said we should go straight into production with this version. We were thinking of setting the filming schedule right away...”
“Wait, just a second. Just a second.”
Kwon Ji-yeon hurriedly stopped the producer, who was racing ahead.
She needed to make absolutely sure, just in case.
“Could I... check my email for a moment?”
“Of course. Oh, look at me getting ahead of myself. I’ll go get us something to drink.”
Once Producer Jung left the meeting room, Kwon Ji-yeon hurriedly pulled out her phone.
‘There has to be some kind of mistake.’
She quickly opened the email she had sent that morning.
The title was definitely hers.
The sender was definitely her.
But the contents were completely different.
‘What? Did I really revise this?’
The plot and episodes were drastically different from before.
Most of all, the three-dimensional behavior of the characters naturally created a sense of immersion.
‘Now that the characters feel alive, even the scenes before and after them stand out. The romance has come alive too...’
The further she read, the more she understood the producer’s reaction.
‘This is really good.’
It was so good that she could hardly believe she had written it herself.
Could she have woken up while drunk, as though she had sleepwalked, and revised it?
But no matter how much she had drunk, there was no way she could have forgotten something like this.
‘What on earth happened?’
Just as she was lost in thought, Producer Jung returned with tea.
“Is this... really something I wrote?”
Producer Jung gave a small chuckle and nodded.
“Then who else could have written it?”
“But this is... way too good.”
“That’s why I told you. We’re already thinking about setting the filming schedule.”
“Could Shakespeare have visited me last night?”
“...What?”
Producer Jung blinked and asked again.
Kwon Ji-yeon, who had said it herself, shook her head.
‘Well, that makes no sense. There’s no way.’
Someone other than her had clearly tampered with the script.
‘There was definitely only Mom, me, and Seo-jun at home...’
There was no way Mom could have written something like this.
Then the most likely suspect was...
‘No way... Seo-jun?’
The natural conclusion made Kwon Ji-yeon’s mouth fall open.
“Producer, I think... my younger brother revised this.”
“Really? Is he someone who originally writes scripts?”
“No. He’s never written one before.”
“...What?”
Producer Jung rapidly blinked her wide eyes.
But even more unbelievable than the producer’s reaction was Kwon Ji-yeon’s own realization.
‘What on earth is this kid?’
---
Late afternoon.
After class ended, I boarded the bus as usual.
The wind in the first week of April was still somewhat chilly, but fortunately, the warm sunlight made the weather pleasant enough to warm my skin.
It was the time of day when the belated warmth from the heater was making everyone drowsy.
I quietly observed the people on the bus.
I wondered what had kept that man, sleeping with his arms folded, awake through the night.
And what pleasant thing had happened to the woman who kept fussing over her bangs while looking at herself in the mirror?
As I continued imagining their stories, amusing scenes unfolded in my mind.
Funny ones, sometimes sad ones, and then stories overflowing with tension.
Once again, my fingers began to itch.
‘I want to write...’
It had been the same last night.
A youthful yet heartbreaking first-love story unfolding on campus.
I loved the feeling of watching a story change vividly beneath my hands.
‘As expected, I feel most comfortable when I’m writing scripts.’
I got off the bus and enjoyed the bright weather.
The city under the spring sunshine was full of vitality, as though it were awakening from a long winter sleep.
I walked on, taking in the atmosphere of spring, and before I knew it, I had reached the alley in front of my house.
But the moment I turned the corner, a sharp voice coming from directly ahead instantly blew away the refreshing spirit of spring.
“What’s the problem this time?”
It was our landlady.
“Well... Could you please take a look at our drain? It keeps backing up, and the smell is so bad.”
“What am I supposed to do if it doesn’t get fixed even after I spent money repairing it last time?”
The person talking to the landlady was none other than my mother.
“I know that, but it keeps backing up, so it’s hard even to breathe. If you could please do something about it...”
It was something she had every right to ask for, yet Mom’s voice was timid.
In contrast, the landlady spoke without hesitation, her arms folded.
“I told you. What do you expect me to do when it doesn’t improve no matter what I try? And honestly, I haven’t raised your rent for two years now, have I? You can’t keep complaining about every little thing.”
“...”
She suddenly brought up money.
At the building owner’s words, Mom was rendered speechless.
Money...
There was no power more frightening than money to someone who had none.
“Just wait for now. I’ll look into it too.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you...”
“Why are you making such a fuss? How bad can a little smell really be? Honestly.”
The landlady tossed out the last remark almost casually, but it flew like a dagger.
Struck by that dagger, Mom walked toward me helplessly, like a defeated soldier, then raised her head when she saw me.
“What are you doing there?”
“Nothing.”
“...When did you get here?”
It was a question to find out whether her son had heard their conversation.
Knowing exactly what she was thinking, I shook my head.
“Just now. Where did you go?”
“Huh? Oh, I came back after finishing work... Oh, right. Have you eaten?”
“Not yet.”
“Let’s go inside. I’ll make you some kimchi stew.”
I went downstairs with Mom.
Before we had even gone down more than a few steps, a musty smell greeted me.
The smell so characteristic of a semi-basement.
The smell of sewage, which had been quiet throughout winter, had returned along with spring.
“Looks like the drain is clogged. The landlady said she’ll take care of it, so let’s just put up with it for a few days.”
Mom even felt sorry for things that weren’t her fault.
“I’m fine, so don’t worry about it.”
Mom gave a bitter smile at my words and went inside.
Even though she had just finished work, she had no time to rest before preparing dinner for the family.
A second chance at life.
The fact that I could write again.
Amid all of that, a problem I had forgotten came back to me.
Money.
It was one of the things I absolutely needed to live the life I wanted.
‘Even talent is difficult to make use of if your practical problems aren’t solved.’
To achieve my dream,
and to maintain a stable life and working environment,
money was indispensable.
‘Fortunately, there are many ways to make money through writing in this era.’
Among them, I chose the thing I was best at.
Scripts.
‘Come to think of it, it should be about time for them to contact me.’
Sure enough.
As if she had been waiting for that thought, my phone rang.
As expected, it was my sister.
“Hey, Sis.”
-What happened? You revised my script, didn’t you?
My sister was asking the obvious.
That alone proved how unbelievable it was to her.
“Was it okay?”
I skipped answering her question directly, but my intent was clear enough.
-Okay? Of course it was. They’re making a huge fuss about starting filming next week.
For once, my sister’s voice was filled with excitement.
The corners of my mouth rose slightly as well.
‘Just as I expected.’
A stepping stone toward my future.
The first step was proceeding exactly as planned.
“That’s great. Does that mean my allowance is going up too?”
-Do you even have to ask? Anyway, let’s talk about the rest when I get home.
Just as we were about to hang up, my sister urgently called my name.
-Hey, hey, hey, Kwon Seo-jun.
“Why?”
-Is there anything you want to eat?
“Not particularly.”
-This kind of opportunity doesn’t come every day. Think carefully.
Hmm.
If she insisted, there was one menu that came to mind.
---
“Hey, Kwon Seo-jun! Let’s have chicken.”
My sister, who had returned late at night, shouted from outside the door.
The moment I went into the living room, she waved me over impatiently.
“Sit down quickly. I bought two whole chickens today, especially for this.”
One seasoned chicken, one fried chicken.
It was a lot for three people, but that was how generous my sister was feeling tonight.
“Be honest with me. Have you ever studied scriptwriting separately?”
“I took it as an elective course, but I’ve never written one separately.”
“Really? That’s it? You’ve never even tried writing as practice?”
I nodded.
My sister kept tilting her head in disbelief.
Mom, who had been quietly watching us, picked up a piece of chicken breast and asked,
“Why are you making such a fuss? Did things work out? You looked like you were about to die this morning.”
“Mom, this guy solved my problem for me. Turns out this kid is actually useful.”
“What? Seo-jun helped you with your work?”
“I’m telling you, he did.”
My sister suddenly looked at me and tilted her head.
“No matter how much I think about it, I don’t understand. How did a guy who’s only dated once write dialogue like that?”
“You don’t have to experience something yourself to write it well. If that were the case, how would anyone write science fiction?”
“True, I guess that makes sense too. But what are you, anyway? Have you been taking some kind of speech class lately? Why have you suddenly gotten so good at talking?”
That didn’t need an answer.
A second chicken leg was much more satisfying at that moment.
Then,
my sister put down the chicken leg.
“But, Seo-jun. I think you should be the one writing this series.”
I looked at her, wondering what she was talking about after eating so well.
“Thinking about it carefully, you’re the one who revised it. It doesn’t feel right to call it my work.”
It was an understandable sense of guilt for a creator to have.
Though in this case, it was more guilt than necessary.
“It was just an idea. I didn’t change that much.”
“No. Even after looking at it again, there’s no way I could have written it like that.”
My sister was being honest.
But she was overlooking one important thing.
“When you write a script, does the production company immediately start filming?”
“Are you crazy? Even after getting rejected dozens of times and revising it, you’re lucky if they even start filming. Sometimes the producer changes the dialogue himself.”
“See? You don’t write a script alone.”
“...Huh?”
My sister stared at me, still holding the chicken leg.
“You work on your script with the producer, discussing things and figuring them out together. That’s what I did too. The entire story was created by you. It’s the story you built. Besides, you still have four more episodes to write. Of course it’s your script.”
“...Is that so?”
“Yeah. So stop saying unnecessary things and just focus on writing.”
My sister looked at me for a moment, seemingly moved, before nodding.
“Thanks. For saying that. I think I finally got a proper feel for it, so I’m going to work hard too.”
From the look in her eyes, she had definitely been inspired.
Now that the first button had been fastened properly, there was no need to worry too much.
‘Now I just have to solve my own problem.’
An opportunity to make money through writing.
If possible, doing it through scripts would make things a little easier.
Bzzzt.
Just then, my sister’s phone rang.
“Yes, Producer. I got home safely. Yes. We’re actually having a little party.”
Unlike usual, the conversation sounded peaceful.
“But what brings you to call at this hour? Yes, yes. Ye-es?”
The pitch of my sister’s voice suddenly shot up.
She soon stared at me with wide eyes.
“Yes, no. I’ll ask him once. Yes, yes. I understand.”
The moment she hung up, she asked with an expression full of excitement.
“What are you doing this week?”
“Why?”
“Our producer wants to meet you.”
A stepping stone toward my future.
The first stone had rolled toward me all on its own.