5
### Chapter 5: A Lot Had Changed
By the time the once-frigid winds began to soften beneath the spring sunshine, more than a hundred million won had been
deposited into my bank account.
It was roughly equal to—no, probably more than—everything I'd earned in my entire life.
Naturally, a lot had changed.
The biggest change was my home.
I'd finally escaped the goshiwon.
Did I feel bittersweet about leaving?
Not at all.
I was just...
Happy.
Incredibly happy.
Back when I lived in that ten-square-meter room where one roll off the bed would bring me to my desk, I'd had one dream.
A workspace that didn't smell like everyday life.
A room without blankets, trash bins, laundry baskets, or wet wipes.
A room with nothing except a desk and a laptop.
A studio apartment would have been enough, but for that dream, I'd rented a two-room apartment instead.
Today's evening okay?
A message arrived from Manager Han Heejung.
My phone, which had once been nothing more than an alarm clock, was finally serving its proper purpose.
Ever since our first meeting, Manager Han had contacted me almost every day.
Most of our conversations were about scripts and drama production.
Since I knew almost nothing about production, I'd learned a great deal thanks to her.
The first impression she'd left on me during that rainy day at Lion Entertainment had been unforgettable.
She was so striking that I'd wondered whether the company even hired its employees based on their looks instead of their
qualifications.
At the same time, she radiated the aura of a perfect career woman.
Her light brown dyed hair.
A navy suit.
Teal sneakers.
Everything looked as though it had been chosen with deliberate intention, fitting together as perfectly as carefully
selected words in a masterpiece.
I'd met her several more times after that.
Her outfits were always similar.
The colors and designs changed.
The suit and sneakers never did.
Just tell me what time you're off work and I'll come to Lion Entertainment.
Until now, we'd always met in the café inside the company.
This was the first time she'd invited me out for a meal.
Last week she'd casually suggested we eat together sometime, and I'd agreed.
As I finished replying to her message, a familiar voice called out from in front of me.
"What the... Han Noah?"
"Is that really you?"
Looking up, I saw Suhyun wearing a mask.
Wrapped in a light brown coat, she stared me up and down with wide eyes.
"What?"
I couldn't help laughing.
Honestly...
I'd expected this reaction.
Money had finally entered my account.
I'd escaped living like a caveman.
I'd gotten a haircut.
I'd bought new clothes at a department store.
The truth was...
I'd always been interested in fashion.
But once you bought clothes, you wanted new shoes.
Then you wanted a better hairstyle.
It became an endless cycle of spending money.
To avoid that temptation, I'd practically forced myself to live like a barbarian.
"People really can change this much."
Suhyun circled around me like a child visiting the zoo.
"You look like you're twenty again."
"How long ago was that?"
"Aren't you tired?"
"I slept well."
Today was the day I repaid my debt to Suhyun.
No...
It was the day I repaid my gratitude.
Not just for the five million won.
She'd helped me in countless ways.
Emotionally.
Financially.
I could've simply transferred the money back.
But I didn't want to.
Instead, I'd waited until the prize money arrived and one of Suhyun's days off.
"You said you'd treat me to something expensive."
"That's why I came."
She smiled teasingly.
"Yes."
"Of course."
I intended to treat her to the best meal I could.
To thank her for six years of unwavering support.
---
We went to a beef omakase restaurant that Manager Han Heejung had recommended.
The meal cost 250,000 won per person.
Half a million won for two people.
Before winning the contest, my monthly living expenses had only been around 400,000 to 500,000 won.
Having beef grilled directly in front of me was an experience unlike anything I'd ever had.
I knew it was a luxury.
But now I understood why people paid for it.
The meal began with abalone porridge.
Then yukhoe.
Various premium cuts of grilled beef.
Occasional fish dishes.
Clay-pot rice infused with truffles.
Soup to finish.
For someone whose only experience with beef had been all-you-can-eat restaurants...
It felt like an entirely different world.
"Coming outside was definitely worth it."
Suhyun cut off a bite of the chocolate terrine served for dessert and shivered with delight.
"Your reaction's even bigger than when you were eating the beef."
"It's chocolate."
She calmly took another bite.
"How'd you even find a place like this?"
"So you really have gone back to being twenty?"
"Searching for lost time."
"Why do you keep saying twenty?"
"Because after you left home and started college, you changed a lot."
"You dressed well."
"You became more outgoing."
"Whenever we made plans, you'd always find some amazing restaurant and take me there."
"It was reassuring."
"And after that?"
"Not so reassuring?"
"I was worried."
Suhyun looked as though she were remembering the past.
"The guy who used to be neat from head to toe suddenly started wearing nothing but sweatpants."
"Your hair became a mess."
"You stopped shaving."
"It wasn't about looking tidy anymore."
"It was worrying."
"When someone changes that much overnight..."
She was right.
Once I became trapped financially and mentally, I no longer had the energy to care about anything else.
"Then you kept acting like, 'My life's my responsibility, so don't interfere.'"
"You have no idea how much I had to watch my step around you."
She finished jokingly.
But I understood.
Even I knew I'd become incredibly sensitive back then.
"Thank you."
I handed her the paper shopping bag I'd been carrying.
"Hm?"
Inside were the CEL000 hoodie I'd bought while shopping for my own clothes...
And five million won in cash.
A small surprise.
Suhyun had jokingly told me to repay her double.
But I knew she'd never actually accept extra money.
So I bought her a gift instead.
Especially during the last few years, when writing novels had driven me into a corner...
She'd helped me more than I could ever repay.
She claimed she'd only been careful around me.
The truth was...
If she hadn't cared about me at all, she never would've needed to be careful in the first place.
Even so...
She stayed by my side.
She always joked,
"If it weren't for me, you'd have died alone."
Honestly...
I agreed.
Maybe not literally.
But at the very least, I'd have become a complete social wreck.
How many times had I dreamed of succeeding so I could repay her kindness?
It had been as important to me as becoming a published writer.
Blinking in confusion, Suhyun looked from the shopping bag to me.
As if silently asking,
What's this?
The expression on her face was strangely adorable.
It also filled me with quiet satisfaction.
"It's a gift."
From the way her emotions fluctuated—from being moved to acting like she could finally stop worrying about me...
I simply smiled.
---
After parting ways with Suhyun, I killed some time at a café before arriving ten minutes early for my appointment.
While waiting outside Lion Entertainment, a man walked out of the building.
He had sharp, striking features.
Not the kind of handsome face you'd expect from an idol.
More like an actor with a strong presence.
Is he one of Lion Entertainment's actors?
Lately, most of my conversations with Manager Han had revolved around casting and actors.
Naturally, that was my first thought.
His slicked-back hair and slightly upturned eyes gave him an intimidating appearance.
He looked perfectly suited for noir or crime dramas.
I briefly wondered whether there was any role in Everyone Only Stops by the Convenience Store for a While that would
suit him.
But his presence was too overpowering.
He didn't seem to fit my script at all.
At that moment...
Everything before my eyes turned black.
As though mocking my thoughts.
What the...
More than surprise...
I was dumbfounded.
The phenomenon hadn't appeared once since that very first time.
I'd reread every novel I'd written hoping to trigger it again.
Nothing had happened.
Eventually I'd half given up.
Even after my vision returned, I remained unsettled.
Because the convenience store had appeared once again.
And the man was there.
Wearing the convenience store uniform.
He had taken my place as the male lead.
He wasn't exactly the same as the man I'd seen in reality.
His slicked-back hair now hung loosely over his forehead.
He wore round silver-rimmed glasses.
Instead of looking intimidating...
He appeared cynical.
And somehow...
Exhausted.
Seriously...
I wanted to complain.
But to whom?
Inside the vision, I accepted reality.
There was nothing I could do except watch.
"I'll need to check your ID."
The man spoke.
The line had changed.
Yet it didn't feel strange.
His firm voice sounded a little dramatic, but it suited both the character and the actor far better.
It conveyed absolute determination.
Without an ID, no matter the reason...
He wasn't selling alcohol.
At the same time, his expression suggested it wasn't about principles.
He simply wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble from the very beginning.
"Do I look that young?"
The woman smiled with the same flushed face as before.
Her question came out of nowhere.
She continued making one unexpected remark after another.
Eventually...
The man's poker face crumbled.
The cold convenience store clerk.
The drunken troublemaker.
It was the first meeting between the male and female leads.
The man tried to remain calm.
In the end...
He was completely swept away by the woman's pace.
Finally, while he briefly stepped into the office...
She disappeared.
The man returned to an empty counter and stared blankly at the vacant space.
Watching the entire sequence...
I had no choice but to admit it.
It was better than I'd imagined.
No...
Much better.
The seemingly cold man revealed unexpectedly human moments.
The result gave the character far more depth.
Because the original novel had been written while I was working at a convenience store...
I'd projected far too much of myself onto the protagonist.
It had been almost autobiographical.
Whenever I tried to portray myself acting calmly in situations that didn't suit me...
I'd ended up looking like someone pretending to be cool.
All of that was gone.
The revised character felt complete.
He had become an entirely separate person.
Someone completely independent from me.
It wasn't just the male lead.
Changing him improved the chemistry between all the characters.
After all...
The drama revolved around a convenience store employee interacting with countless customers.
Especially the scenes where that intimidating-looking man kept getting pushed around by the gentle, adorable-looking
heroine...
Their chemistry became much stronger.
It felt as though the entire script had evolved.
I watched the vision in amazement.
Like I was watching a real television drama.
When it finally ended and my vision returned...
The overwhelming impulse surged up once more.
I have to write.
Right now.
I have to rewrite the script.
Scenes played endlessly inside my head.
Beside them, words rapidly formed.
I had to get them out immediately.
I looked around frantically.
Of course there wasn't a laptop or even a notebook lying on the sidewalk outside Lion Entertainment.
By the time I finished searching...
The man had already disappeared from sight.
I pulled out my phone.
Downloading a note-taking app, I immediately began typing.
It didn't feel inconvenient at all.
If anything...
I felt relieved simply because I could write.
I furiously tapped away at my phone.
By the time Episode 1 was almost finished...
Someone called out to me.
"Writer Han?"
Whoever it was...
Just wait a little longer.
I silently pleaded as I hurriedly finished the final few lines.
Episode 1.
Complete.
A strange sense of exhilaration filled my chest.
I finally looked up.
Han Heejung was standing right in front of me.
"...Huh?"
The foolish question escaped my mouth.
Han Heejung tilted her head, looking at me as though asking what on earth had just happened.