Translated by: ShawnSuh Edited by: SootyOwl Seo Joong made a high pitched, slightly nasally sound, Thats harsh . Are you saying that your readers are reading your lies? Mr . Woo, Im hurt . I feel lonely . Dong Gils expression grew darker, but Juho added as stared at Seo Joong, who claimed to be a reader who had been hurt by him, You have to let me finish . Theres always truth in a book . Dont be sad . Please, explain, Seo Joong asked as he kept acting . Only, he was looking at Juho with eyes sparkling with interest . Lets say an artisan potter makes some pottery, Juho said slowly . It doesnt matter what he makes . When people see it, they wont think of it as a lie . They probably wouldnt even doubt it . The same went for the potter . He didnt doubt whether what he had made was real or not . However, authors were different . An author writes a novel about an artisan potter . He, too, is a potter, no matter what he makes . Its all pottery, Dong Gil murmured, and Juho nodded . Thats right . Its all created by a person, but theyre treated differently . One is made up while the other actually exists . Meow, a faint cry came from outside . The black cat was looking in their direction with its squinted eyes . On the outside, yes, Juho added . On the outside, Seo Joong echoed his words . Yes . The pottery made by the real artisan is for practical use . You could use it as containers for drinks, or rice . You could see it with your eyes, and you can touch it with your hands . Yes, an artisans pottery has a definite shape . But not so with novels . In other words, theyre made up . At the end of the day, theyre just letters written a page . You cant use them as containers . A novel was a lie . Did that mean that authors were liars? There had been a time when Juho had been stuck on that question . What he had written couldnt be the truth . No matter how hard he tried, he couldnt change the fact that it had been made up . He had felt guilty . He had felt like he had been no different from a con artist . He hadnt been able to look at novels the same way . His head and mind had been chaotic . The calm waters in his mind had started shaking out of control and become murky . He hadnt been able to do anything . Then, whats in it? However, as long as the author was still around, the dirt eventually sunk down to the bottom . Emotions . Emotions… Seo Joong echoed his words again . There were emotions in novels, which couldnt be seen or touched . Yet, they definitely existed . Everyone felt them . Theres no truth or lie in emotions . Theyre just feelings . Theyre in the heart . Juho understood now . He had been able to stand confidently and answer without hesitation . Im not writing because I want to deceive people, he said as his head dropped slightly . There were moments of realization in life . Like a thunderstorm, they came without warning . Then, what followed was time . Juho had to spend years and years living in order to understand the difference between what was true and what was false . It had been long enough for the dirt to sink back down to the bottom so the waters were no longer murky . Though it had been a long time, it didnt feel like a big deal in hindsight . When Juho looked ahead, he saw a white mug filled with coffee . An author writes the potter, not the pots themselves . A person is much larger and more complex than pottery . If hes distracted with whats true or false, he loses his shape and becomes unrecognizable . We often feel uneasy at heart when he decide that all novels are lies . Thats the evidence . Incredible . Clap . Clap . Clap . The room was filled with that sound . Dong Gil was slowly clapping with a straight posture . Thats Yun Woo for ya . You look like an idiot next to him . Seo Joong smiled bitterly . Its embarra.s.sing, but I gotta admit . It took me five years to reach that conclusion, but youve already figured that out . That wasnt true . Juho hadnt figured out the answer as quickly as Seo Joong had said . He thought as he swallowed words that he couldnt let out, Five years, that was the amount of time he took to write his most recent book . Was that the reason? That was the reason, Seo Joong answered as if he read Juhos mind . He chugged his coffee and then wiped his mouth with his sleeve . One day, I felt sick as I was writing . I broke into cold sweats like Id eaten something bad . After that, I couldnt write . Juho knew what that felt like . I couldnt answer any questions about myself . My brain had stopped working . I didnt dare to go outside, even if Ive always been a homebody, he added . The first year was bearable . I thought to myself: lets treat this as a vacation . Ill feel better in no time . But after a year, and the year after, nothing changed . I started growing anxious . Juho observed him . He saw his casual attire and his spiky hair . Writing a book had the power to make its writer anxious, even a free-spirited person like Seo Joong . It was no use, no matter how much I talked to him . It had been something he had to explore all along, Dong Gil said quietly . Juho nodded . When such doubt and anxiety bloomed from within, one had to find the answer himself . After three years, my health started to deteriorate . There were constant headaches and dizziness . On the fourth year, I found myself incredibly timid . My movements were becoming sluggish and awkward . I spent more and more time crouching in the corner . I was growing smaller, Seo Joong said as he reminisced the last five years he had spent without writing a single word . The days were unbearable, and filled with self-loathing . He grew more and more lethargic by the day, and his brain no longer tried to distinguish between the days . Every day had been the same . His sense of time had grown dull . Time had flown past him . Time was just pa.s.sing, and I couldnt have been more afraid, he said . How did you manage to get out of there? Juho asked quietly . Funny story, he said with a chuckle . One day, my landlord told me to expect some noise because she was going to plant a big tree in the backyard . I couldnt see the backyard from here, so as usual, I just went back to sleep . A tree and the landlord, it had been a sudden change of pace . How was he able to come out of his rut? The place was kind of noisy for several months, and there were sounds of people moving building materials . Still, I stayed home quietly . One day, I noticed that the house was unusually quiet, so Id opened the window to see what had changed . Then, I heard a faint chirping . That was when I realized where the tree had been planted . Juho imagined a tree, a tree that would have existed in a place that his eyes couldnt reach . It was refres.h.i.+ng, several times more than usual . I couldnt remember the last time I had breathed in the fresh air . From that day on, it became my daily routine to breathe in fresh air with my windows wide open . One day, I was sitting by the window, getting some air like usual, and my eyes met with my landlords in the yard . So, I said hi, and we had a short conversation . Do you know what she said then? Seo Joong asked with a smile . There had never been a tree . Once she started, she realized how complicated it was going to be, so she gave up . Things had felt so good since the tree had come, but it turned out that the noise had been made from some nearby construction . In hindsight, it was kind of odd that planting a tree would take so long . If I had used my brain just a little more, if I had come out and looked just for a moment, I wouldve known right away, but my sluggish brain had been thinking there was a tree the entire time . That whole day, I was rolling on the floor laughing . Although the tree wasnt there anymore, I felt refreshed . I had finally reached the truth, he added . The tree reveals itself the moment I believe it exists . My job was to reinterpret that as a development in my writing . His eyes sparkled in the shade and he smiled brightly while looking untidy . One day, the anxiety would return . Times of confusion and chaos would always come back, and he always went on a quest in search for truth . Im looking forward to your new book! You should . Its probably going to be nothing like my other books . Itll be long . Is that right? In what way? Maybe… spiraling downward instead of growing? It was the polar opposite of what he had been writing so far . Most of his books had characters who grew more mature throughout the book . They experienced things for themselves as they grew and groaned in pain . Then, they learned . Let me tell you a secret, Seo Joong whispered although there were only two other people in the room . The protagonist is a corporate worker . Ive already read that in the synopsis . Buy the book if you want to know the rest . Dong Gil didnt even look surprised . The two cats were gone, and there was no kitten wailing . They had to have left to look for another place to stay, and Juho asked as he stared out the window at the empty front yard, I guess you had an answer this whole time, Dong Gil . There was no need to find an answer . My stories are based on my own experiences . In other words, theyre real, he answered brusquely with his arms crossed . He might not look like it, but hes the simplest person in here . Whats that supposed to mean? Do you have something to say about my looks? Ive known you for years now . Its kind of late for complaints . I dont think I like your tone . That was very Dong Gil-like, someone had told Juho that every author has their own unique personality . They each wrote with their own hearts . It was their hearts that defined their stories and writing styles . Juho looked at the clock on the wall . They had been talking for quite some time now . Im hungry . Like Seo Joong had said, the pool table made the black bean noodles taste even better . As he was his way out after cleaning up, Seo Joong asked, When are you planning on writing your next book? He had asked light-heartedly . Yet, there was substance in his question, and Juho felt Dong Gil looking back from the gate . Im already working on it, he answered as he quietly stepped out . Stop right there! That day, Juho had to stay even longer at Seo Joongs place .