Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Chapter 44: Each One's Circumstances
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It had been a long time since Woo Ji-hyun focused solely on writing, but he finally stepped out for the first time in ages.
It was because Im Seung-hye, whom he had taught at the creative academy, had begged him tearfully to buy her a meal, saying she was feeling down.
She was his student, after all, so his soft heart won out in the end, and he dragged his heavy butt off the chair.
“Oppa! Over here!”
“What’s this? Your voice is totally different from before.”
“I feel refreshed now that I’m out!”
“Then just go for a walk by yourself and head home.”
Even with his usual prickly way of speaking, Im Seung-hye smiled.
She knew that despite his blunt words, he had a surprisingly kind heart.
“You’re saying go for a walk alone when I dressed up like this?”
“So what? Or you could get some air at a club by yourself and go home.”
“I moved to Incheon.”
“Why?”
Woo Ji-hyun responded so naturally.
With an air of confidence that couldn’t be more confident.
But Im Seung-hye was already used to this style of conversation, so she didn’t falter.
“What choice did I have when Mom and Dad said we’re going? I had to move with them.”
“That’s too bad. You’re at the perfect age to hit the clubs.”
“I can still go in Incheon. Hongdae and Sinchon aren’t that far.”
“Where exactly?”
“Mansu 3 District.”
Woo Ji-hyun’s expression turned subtly strange for a moment.
That was the neighborhood where he had lived until just a few years ago.
Also known as Mansu 6-dong.
“Isaac Apartments, by any chance?”
“Huh? How did you know?”
“I’m a local from there. Went through Namdong Elementary, Namdong Middle—the whole tech tree.”
“Wow. Guess Teacher and I are fated!”
Im Seung-hye’s eyes sparkled.
But Woo Ji-hyun had other thoughts despite her enthusiastic reaction.
One of his friends lived in Isaac Apartments.
“What a coincidence. Could be.”
“Right?”
“Anyway, that’s why you wanted to meet in Bupyeong?”
“It’s the closest bustling area to home.”
Woo Ji-hyun nodded.
Back in her age, he had roamed Bupyeong Station endlessly himself.
And he still did.
“But isn’t Bupyeong Station less convenient than Bucheon? You went there a lot for the academy.”
“I like new things more than the familiar, Teacher.”
“Pick one honorific. And I’m not an instructor anymore. Back to my main job.”
“Then should I call you Sunbae-nim?”
Im Seung-hye made a face like she was daring him to say it.
But Woo Ji-hyun just clicked his tongue at her.
“Say that after you debut first.”
“Tch! Isn’t an aspiring writer still a writer? Debut or not, we’re both in the writing business.”
“Maybe you’re not just undebuted—you can’t debut.”
“...Can we skip the nitpicking?”
Im Seung-hye pouted.
He was being unnecessarily picky.
But that mood didn’t last.
She naturally grabbed Woo Ji-hyun’s arm and started walking.
“Where are you going?”
“It’s Friday—not just any day. We gotta party hard!”
“Fridays are the same as any other day. Nothing special.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
Im Seung-hye, clinging to his arm, looked horrified, as if she’d heard something outrageous.
Fridays and Saturdays were distinctly different from other days.
Office workers didn’t look forward to them for nothing.
“Days of the week don’t matter to freelancers. You gotta work hard to succeed.”
“What about your youth slipping away?”
“That’s why choices matter.”
“Wow.”
There was no room for rebuttal in his straightforward logic, so Im Seung-hye fell silent.
Instead, she led him to an izakaya she had scouted in advance.
“Straight to drinks without eating first?”
“We can order plenty of sides.”
“You already decided I’m paying?”
“If it’s a burden, we can go somewhere else. Plenty of BBQ places in Bupyeong.”
Im Seung-hye slyly poked at his pride.
Of course, it was a joke.
She didn’t know the details, but she had a rough idea of Woo Ji-hyun’s income.
“It’s not about the money. I’m just thinking why make dinner into sides. But your options suck. No decent BBQ spots at Bupyeong Station.”
“Let’s go in!”
“Huh?”
With no other choices, he had no option but to follow her lead.
And soon, soju bottles piled up on the table.
“The behind-the-scenes of going overseas. Amazing. To think someone I know got their work exported abroad.”
“You can do it too. If you write something fun and good.”
“I know that’s the hardest part.”
“That’s why you keep at it. Luck only comes once. After that, it’s all about skill.”
“Sounds like you’re saying write instead of plotting.”
Im Seung-hye twirled her now-long hair around her finger.
Her slightly flushed face gazed intently at Woo Ji-hyun.
“You get it.”
“I think I know why you don’t have a girlfriend. You’re so oblivious.”
“I am kinda oblivious.”
“Don’t just admit it—try to change!”
Im Seung-hye looked frustrated.
But Woo Ji-hyun just smiled faintly and raised his glass.
“People don’t change easily. Not without some special trigger.”
“Tch! Be right back—going to the bathroom.”
“Okay.”
Grumbling, Im Seung-hye grabbed her bag and headed to the restroom inside.
Left alone, Woo Ji-hyun stared at the crowd filling the street outside and muttered.
“I wonder who’s really the oblivious one.”
The words melted into the air.
An ambiguous remark unclear to whom it was directed. Woo Ji-hyun took a light sip of soju.
Strangely, he wasn’t getting drunk.
“Not easy.”
Meanwhile, in the women’s restroom, Im Seung-hye couldn’t hide her frustration.
Despite using the dress and makeup she had prepared for today, she saw no reaction from Woo Ji-hyun.
Especially since she had grown out her hair and added waves—the kind men supposedly loved—yet his gaze hadn’t changed at all from their academy days.
Even though they weren’t teacher and student anymore, but oppa and dongsaeng.
“How is he not even shaken?”
Im Seung-hye had prepared a lot for today.
To leave a good impression, she had acted the diligent student, and dressed plainly on purpose for the academy days.
To show the transformation firsthand—that a woman’s change is innocent.
Yet her efforts yielded no response from Woo Ji-hyun.
“At least no other women are clinging to him?”
KakaoTalk notifications kept coming nonstop.
But he didn’t seem to pay them much mind, so probably nothing important.
And he wasn’t seeing anyone yet.
That made today crucial.
Having one of the industry’s top writers by her side would bring her success closer.
“I have to seal it today. Otherwise, no chance.”
Im Seung-hye steeled her resolve.
She was active on SNS, so she knew Woo Ji-hyun was meeting more and more people from various circles.
Which meant introductions to various women.
Especially from the entertainment world, overflowing with pretty girls.
So she couldn’t let today slip.
“The only way to catch a dragon is right before it ascends.”
To be precise, it was already a dragon with the yeouiju orb, but she believed there was still a chance.
Hard with a goalkeeper, but now the goal was wide open.
So she thought she had a shot.
Not realizing the goal itself could move.
“Let’s go!”
Without even using the facilities despite coming to the restroom, she fixed her makeup, put on a tipsy expression, and headed out.
Minding her steps for perfect acting.
* * *
In his office—open-plan, barely separated from the general staff—Jo Jin-gu smiled contentedly as he reviewed the documents.
He had seen them dozens of times already, but he wasn’t bored.
Because the project he had led was a resounding success.
“Knew there’d be demand.”
Rental shops were no longer mainstream in genre literature.
But for paper-book lovers, they were the only place to access physical copies.
Though only rentals, no ownership.
Buying outright? 8,000 won per book was a burden.
Fine for one or two, but over ten? Different story.
80,000 won wasn’t pocket change.
But what if cheaper?
That changed everything.
And that was Jo Jin-gu’s target.
“Some dismiss it as snack culture or kill-time reads, but that’s just their view. Like music reviving old scenes and memories, books do the same. Everyone has that life book they want to own. No matter what anyone says, we each have our fun reads and novels.”
Jo Jin-gu had been a mere reader in school.
Raised on wuxia novels stacked vertically in what they called pulp shops.
So he preferred paper books over mobile, tablets, or e-readers.
And that thinking paid off.
“Heh heh heh!”
Far more people requested collector’s editions on the homepage than expected.
Mostly Woo Ji-hyun’s, Frontier Management’s ace, but Jo Jin-gu figured other authors’ requests would follow over time.
“Over 1,000 copies easy.”
Break-even was around 500—the minimum print run.
So 1,000 meant profit.
“The webtoon team will love it.”
These collector’s editions weren’t just printed text.
They featured character illustrations midway, plus full-scene cuts.
Unmatched quality compared to rental shop books.
Knock knock knock.
Satisfied with the hotter-than-expected response, a knock came.
Open-plan, but with a transparent door someone was tapping.
“President, Writer Woo-ju is here.”
“Woo-ju? No meeting today, right?”
“Said he was passing by.”
“Hmm. Bring him in.”
Lee Ji-hye, Min A-rang’s assistant and the youngest editor, replied curtly and turned.
But Jo Jin-gu’s expression, watching her back, wasn’t pleasant.
The beaming smile from moments ago darkened like a lie.
“Wonder what brings him today.”
“Hello, President!”