Chapter 26
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Farewell to the Saintly Lady
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Cold sweat poured down my back.
"Already heading in?"
Jin-seong blinked at me, staring.
"Ah, I'm not feeling well."
How on edge was I that I misheard even Jin-seong's voice?
"You're breaking out in cold sweat. Let me walk you back."
"No need for that."
"I saw some thugs in the alley last time."
"......Alright, if you insist."
Seeing him chuckle, I felt like I'd been cleverly tricked, but walking this path together wasn't half bad.
Jin-seong asked,
"Ever thought about exercising?"
"Out of the blue?"
"You just write in your room all day."
Team Leader trauma had kept me from venturing far.
"Even light jogging would make a difference. Your body's completely out of shape right now."
"I'll think about it."
"Should I set up some equipment on the rooftop?"
"Do what you want."
"Yes, sir!"
The way he lit up, it felt like that was his goal from the start.
In front of the goshiwon, I said to Jin-seong as he turned to leave,
"Drink in moderation."
"Of course! I'm the man responsible for all you authors' safety and peace! I'll make sure every single one gets home safe!"
That's exactly why the women might not want to come.
Poor guy’s got his work cut out for him.
I smirked and headed inside. I should've sat at my desk chair, but I just collapsed onto the bed.
Resting today should be fine.
I hadn't realized it, but the cold sweat was still dripping.
I had a dream.
【Unfortunately, there were no significant sales this week either, so we'll start announcements from 4th place.】
I knew it was a nightmare, but the defeat and loss still hit hard.
【Author Number 1, views aren't high, but your die-hard fans are growing. Keep pushing, and good results will come. I trust your next work.】
The Team Leader was masterful at elegant threats.
【Maintaining the office costs money and effort. Keep performing like this, and remember we might have to close it down.】
Some didn't even catch it as a threat.
She was that innocent back then. Pure and clear. When had I started feeling affection for her?
'She means she could kill us all......'
Objects get discarded when they're no longer useful. Thinking back on how the Team Leader had treated us, the answer was obvious.
'We have to use them until they break.'
It felt like something inside me snapped right then.
'To protect Number 7, even I need to make sales.'
Writing for someone else, not myself. It was a new concept.
Bang bang!
I woke to the commotion.
"Hyung, you okay?"
The blanket was soaked. Must've sweated that much in my sleep.
"Yeah."
"You skipped meals, so I came to check. Your face looks awful. Want to go to the hospital?"
"Nah. Slept like a rock and feel refreshed now. Give me a sec to wash up, then I'll head to the communal kitchen."
Had I pushed too hard lately? I felt groggy, but sleeping over 10 hours for the first time had eased the fatigue.
Stockpile's plenty.
No need to rush.
I showered and went to the communal kitchen. Ye-jin and Jin-seong weren't there—probably busy.
I ladled some soup, mixed in rice, and was about to dig in when my phone rang.
"Pardon? Where did you say?"
Was that why I had that dream?
-The funeral is on August 20th.
It was an obituary.
That evening, I took Jin-seong, Ye-jin, and Jin-guk to the funeral home.
Jin-guk had never met her, but he read our faces and stayed quiet.
No blood ties, bound by money, but to me, she was the Saintly Lady.
"I never dreamed she'd pass so suddenly. At least she went without much suffering—that's my consolation."
"Our deepest condolences."
"I heard from Mom before she passed. You're the one who bought the goshiwon building."
The aunt's boastful son, the lawyer.
"She held on until the end, unable to let go. Maybe selling it brought her relief. Thank you."
"No, thank you. I'm the one who's grateful. You've done me a great favor."
You could tell how the Saintly Lady had lived just from the funeral scene.
More mourners than the long line of wreaths. Strangely, their clothes starkly showed the gap between rich and poor.
One uncle's work pants were caked in dirt.
"Whoa, this is good?"
Jin-guk marveled, spooning yukgaejang.
"Eat plenty, slowly. That's what she'd want."
The one who always cooked in the communal kitchen—this might be her final meal for us.
"But that goshiwon building—you ended up selling it, right?"
"To some golf range guy? Heard she wouldn't even sell to him. What changed her mind?"
"He offered 10 billion, right?"
"She must've closed a good deal."
"......"
"......"
We were packed so tight, the voices from the next table carried clearly.
Ye-jin and I exchanged glances. Somehow subdued, we just ate in silence.
"Can't figure why a rich guy like that volunteered at free soup kitchens, hauled briquettes to shantytowns. Could've lived easy. He even joined kimchi-making for single-parent families every year?"
"Probably paying it back. What he received......"
We stepped out of the funeral home and paused.
Jin-seong had asked for it free; Ye-jin haggled the price; I knocked it down further.
10 billion...
I got it for 5.5 billion.
As Jin-seong lit a cigarette, Jin-guk asked,
"What was she like?"
We three answered in unison.
"......A good lady."
"Our goshiwon mom."
"The noblest soul from the very bottom."
Some say this world itself is hell.
But I've seen devils and angels. That's why I know: we choose which one we become.
The aspiring writer finished Kunlun Return and Infinite Reincarnation, then finally clicked on chapter 1 of The Gangster Family's Youngest Son, which he'd held back on.
He'd planned to binge more chapters first, but the paywall notice broke his patience.
"Ha......"
The previous two works were imaginative enough, but The Gangster Family's Youngest Son was the king of all stimulation.
'This is how you make it sell.'
Reading Memory Author's work, the aspiring writer sketched out a few story ideas.
Everyone wants to go back and fix their mistakes. Memory Author brilliantly exploited that gap.
'Let me rewrite it. From the beginning.'
He knew he lacked the sparkling imagination of other authors. He felt his skill limits clearly.
But he found answers elsewhere—something genre novelists weren't good at.
'Put more punch in the dialogue!'
He discovered it in The Gangster Family's Youngest Son.
That's why he rated this work higher than the first two: the dialogue carried it.
Natural lines that could go straight into a drama! Dialogue an actor could spit out convincingly made it highly readable.
'Focus. Play to my strengths.'
He scrapped his prepared drafts from his mind and wrote a new piece.
He sent the 3 chapters' worth to Memento Mori Studio. His first submission ever.
"So, who wrote this one?"
"I-hae-gol Author."
Time to change that pen name.
"Tell them to come in."
"Yes, I'll call right away."
September arrived.
The heat was dying down, and Jin-seong finished his painting.
Again My Life
'Well written.'
Good writing lifts my mood. I was once just a reader, living the last 10 years that way.
'Traces of real thought and effort.'
Above all, I-hae-gol Author knew and leveraged his strengths perfectly. I know how hard that is for a newbie, so it piqued my interest.
'Do I know them?'
Too soon to tell.
I finished the manuscripts Ye-jin left.
'Oh, this one's solid too?'
Cha Team Leader had filtered them first, so they had basics covered, but even among 100 idols, one shines.
Ye-jin walked in just then.
"Contact this one too."
"Yes. Should I schedule both?"
"That'd be better."
"Got it. Can we talk work a bit more?"
"Sure."
"We need to pick a platform for Kunlun Return serialization."
"Ah......"
Kunlun Return's webtoon was up to episode 5; time to choose a platform.
In 10 years, anywhere works, but now it's tricky.
"Mium, where most webtoon artists are active, right?"
Good for now, but soon big corps invest heavily, shaking things up. I'd seen webtoon teams bend to platforms in hell.
'Do we have to?'
I'm leading the market. Creating the genre. Web novels for now, but webtoons too.
"Let's wait a bit longer."
"Pardon?"
"Until all three works hit 10 early episodes."
"That delays investment recovery."
"I know. But stronger cards, right?"
"Cards?"
"Yeah, cards."
Platforms always hold power, except for one: authors with 'masterpieces'.
As original creator and producer, I might even draw decent art.
"Understood. I trust you, President."
"I trust only you."
"Eek-!"
I picked up the manuscripts again as Ye-jin left smiling.
Jeong Yong, huh...
First time rereading a submission.
"This is genius."
Different vibe from I-hae-gol. Not about which is better—novels are subjective. No wrongs. Just majority pick vs. niche joy.
I wrapped up work and stepped out of the goshiwon for the first time in ages, walking 3 minutes. An old multi-household iron gate had a sign.
Memento Mori Studio
Cha Team Leader and staff's office.
"Oh? President?"
Cha Team Leader spotted me first.
Rented a house; living room desks packed tight, big room conference, small room storage.
"What brings you?"
"Fresh air."
"Perfect timing. I had something to discuss..."
"Ugh, not here for work."
"Haha! You're so hard to see, can't help it!"
Staff gone home? Empty seats. Then—
Bang.
Bathroom door slammed; someone emerged into the living room.
Where do I know her? That girl?'
She froze spotting me. Cha Team Leader hurried over.
"Greet him. It's the President. My daughter."
"Ah......"
I remembered. The kid peeking at Jin-seong. Misjudged; she was waiting for Dad.
"On break, so she drops by often. Sorry, didn't mention."
Some bosses hate family in sacred workspaces.
"Middle schooler?"
I don't mind at all. Maybe I crave people.
"Yes."
Did he move jobs because of her?
"Want pizza?"
"Why......?"
"Eat when you can."
Shadow on her face. Not poverty. Father-daughter not too sweet.
"Ahem, thanks! We will!"
Cha Team Leader awkward; girl whipped away.
Tough.
I grabbed my phone.
"Jin-seong, pizza tonight. Studio."
The girl froze.
Well, well?