Translated by: ShawnSuh Edited by: SootyOwl Are you hungry by any chance? Should I order something? No, thank you . I ate before coming here . OK, then well wait till dinner . After gesturing Juho to sit, he went out of the room . Soon, he brought back some iced coffee . I enjoyed your work quite a bit, Seo Joong said as he looked at Juho with eyes filled with interest . So, thats what you look like . At once, Dong Gil poked Seo Joong on his side with force, and Juho was impressed by how deep his finger went in . Clean shot, he thought . Do you mind? For goodness sake, watch what youre saying . Youre in your thirties now . Seo Joong couldnt say anything . He was shaking in pain while holding his side . In Juhos eyes, both of them were more or less the same . He slowly turned his eyes towards the window in the study and saw the beautiful yard he had seen on his way in . He couldnt help but keep looking at its heartwarming sight . Huh, youre just quietly enjoying the view without even being fazed . I knew you werent an ordinary kid . Are you feeling better? Its nothing . So, I heard your real name is Juho Woo? How should I call you from now on? he asked as he glanced at Dong Gil . Id prefer my real name . Seo Joong made a circle with his hands as a way of saying loud and clear . He seemed to be in a good mood . Ive heard about you from Nabi too . Going out into the world right off the bat, I see . Its hard to say . Things are still in their early stages . Youll be fine as long as the translation is good . Thats what Im hoping too . Seo Joongs book was doing quite well in the US . Juho thought about his book, and the first word that came to mind was growth . Every character in Seo Joongs books was three-dimensional . One would say that it felt like German literature . He enjoyed writing things that enabled his readers to become emotionally invested into the protagonist . So, where did you write The Trace of a Bird? At home? Maybe at school? He seemed like he had quite a interest in Juho . Well, if he wasnt, he wouldnt have wanted to invite him in the first place . It was an honor to be recognized by an author who would be actively working for another thirty years . Both . At home and at school . Im not very picky about where I write . I am picky about how Im feeling at the moment . If my heart was willing, I could write while laying on my stomach in the street, he murmured silently . When did you get into writing? Im not sure . You must have written quite a bit before you were happy with the results . Seo Joong posited simply, and Juho took a moment to think . Nope, he answered . Huh? I didnt write all that much . It was the first work Id ever completed . I didnt even want to be an author at the time . I submitted it to the essay contest nearly on impulse . Impulse, Seo Joong echoed quietly . Juho took a sip of his coffee . People usually took some sort of action as a means to alleviate their anger . Some screamed while others kicked things around them . Some listened to music . In Juhos case, he had a habit of writing out his anger . It tended to be all over the place, so he never bothered to read it again later . However, a novel was not the same . It didnt work that way . A book came to completion through countless revisions . Whether the writer wanted to or not, he had to revisit his draft . That was what it looked like to write rationally . The Trace of a Bird, that book had been written on impulse . It had been almost like throwing a fit to alleviate his own fears and anxiety . Naturally, it was more emotional than it was rational . He could have done better . He could have written more elaborately . With Seo Joong staring at him as if observing and measuring him, Juho said, Thats why Im not satisfied with it . Seo Joong nodded slowly . You really are a writer, he added . They were words of recognition . To an author, writing in large spurts took on a different meaning . Mr . Moon had said in his past lesson, We have to write a lot . Its the only way to get better . It had been a lesson for those who werent already writers, much in the way of what Seo Joong had just said . An author simply wrote too many words . It was more than one could count . Seo Joong had tried to see if the author Yun Woo was really the result of his own efforts . Juho didnt take it personally . Besides, he wasnt entirely wrong . He had been Yun Woo in his past life . Amid the failures that stormed into his life, the name Yun Woo was the only thing he had a.s.sociated with success . A coincidental success of a young author . A coincidental work . A coincidental result . (TLs note: In Korea, last name comes before the first name . This means Yun Woo would be Woo Yun, which sounds like the Korean word for coincidence . ) This time, things would be different . What, did you think I had someone ghostwrite for me? Juho asked with a smile . Thats a strong answer . My bad, my bad, Seo Joong apologized as he scratched his head . Juho waved his hand in denial . You two are the real writers, he answered as he thought about the pool table in the living room and Dong Gils list of things I clearly like . Development was one of the essential elements of a novel . Authors a.n.a.lyzed and reinterpreted various situations between characters once they took them apart . Because authors made their living out of writing, they had to be aware of everything that was happening around the world . Even at the sight of a small pebble thrown into their boring, everyday life, authors desperately took hold of it to feel and trim it into writing material . Their hands might be covered in cuts and blisters, but that was hardly an issue . I cant tell if that was a compliment or not . As Seo Joong sat in confusion, he suddenly clapped his hands, Clap . The sound resonated through a small hole in the room . Is it true that you turned down the film adaptation offers? I heard that one of the directors who approached you was really famous . Where did you hear that? Its common knowledge . Us writers know everything about each other, you know? he said boldly . Since it wasnt anything he wanted to hide or felt uncomfortable talking about, Juho answered honestly, Yes, youve heard right . As he had discussed with Nam Kyung, Juho had turned down every film adaptation offer . Among them were famous directors and studios that were quite big . So, why did you turn them down? Your books would have sold even more . Kids your age are usually into celebrities, arent they? Besides, were living in the video era . Ah, wait, was it because you didnt want the director changing the story? Seo Joong asked . Juho thought for a brief moment, I already know the outcome . Its a complete disaster . As honest as the answer might have been, he couldnt talk about something that hadnt happened yet . He looked for another reason in his mind . True, but Im not looking to make any tricky demands either . If I were to have my book made into a movie, Id like the director to have full creative authority . I dont want there to be a condition in terms of film adaptation . I wouldnt mind if the director decided to name the movie with an entirely different name . Of course, it wouldnt have been ideal to have the director change things in the story . However, there was no right answer to a book . It took shape based on the readers interpretation and their emotions . For that reason, Juho felt at peace about having one of his readers as the director . He was OK with actors and actresses interpreting the book their own ways . However… But at that point, I wonder if a film adaptation would even be necessary . The book is already doing well, and I dont really have a celebrity that I like . Still, if the film does well, your books will sell even more . Greed can lead to ones downfall . Seo Joong tilted his head as he studied Juhos response . He seemed curious . I dont get the impression that youre antic.i.p.ating success . You almost sound like you know youre going to fail…? I just dont have a good feeling, thats all . My intuition tends to be pretty accurate, Juho answered calmly . Intuition, huh . Thats fair, Seo Joong admitted . Well, you never know what could happen . I might change my mind too . A person cant change so easily . Still, whats more fickle than a persons heart? As he took a sip of his sweet and bitter coffee, a pigeon flew into the yard . It walked about as if it was home . Like an arrogant person with his hands behind his back, it looked at the flowers with its wings folded back . Arent you scared? Seo Joong asked as he spotted the pigeon . Seo Joong sounded playful because he was thinking of a fictional character that immediately came to mind when it came to fear birds . Im not Yun, you know . Theres a rumor that youre actually afraid of birds . Ive heard that as well . You have? Do you look up your own name and things like that? No, Ive heard from a friend . A friend, I see . Seo Joong reached into his pocket . Dong Gil saw what he was doing and protested, If youre going to feed the bird, you should stop . The boy has to eat . You mean you dont see how chubby that thing is? Seo Joong paid no attention to Dong Gil and kept looking through his pockets . Soon, he took out his hand with a disappointed look . He couldnt find anything with which to feed the pigeon . He didnt have any snacks around either . His hand moved slowly away from the window . Juho said as he watched, I heard your new book is coming out soon . Yep, thats right . Its been five years right? Ive been waiting anxiously myself . Thats an honor, Seo Joong answered as he looked out of the window . A cat, he said as he pointed . For a moment, Juho wondered if he didnt feel like talking anymore . However, there was no fatigue or annoyance on his face . He was genuinely distracted by the cat that had randomly appeared . His hair wobbled . Juho looked toward where he was pointing . There was an adorable kitten sticking its head through an opening in the front gate . The kitten meowed sadly . There were quite a few animals in the neighborhood . First, a pigeon . Now, there was a cat . Maybe it had something to do with the neighborhood being small and quiet . The three observed the kitten through the window . It struggled to make its way into the yard, wailing as if it were frustrated . Kind of cute . Dong Gil nodded quietly . At that moment, a black cat jumped onto the wall . It must have heard the kittens wailing . It looked up to the three, but soon looked away, probably feeling unthreatened . It slowly approached the kitten and laid on its stomach, watching its babys struggle . No matter how much the kitten wailed, the black cat didnt move from its place . Do you think a novel is a lie? asked Seo Joong . Yes, Juho answered immediately . He felt the two looking at him . Do you consider your own writing to be a lie? Yes, without hesitation, Juho affirmed the notion . . Why is that? Seo Joong asked . Juho looked up for a moment . Instead of a blue sky, he saw the white ceiling of the study, only visible to the people inside . I looked up the word lie in the dictionary once . What did it say? Decorating something thats not true as truth . Juho had a thought when he had seen that sentence, I think it is the very essence of what I do . A novel is a story made up by an author . Sigh, Seo Joong sighed deeply as he plunged his head against the desk . He was making a strange sound .