Translated by: ShawnSuh Edited by: SootyOwl At one point, Juho had been afraid . Of course, it was rather c.u.mbersome . After all, Im known as a genius and the youngest person to debut as an author . So, I tried to stay low and enjoy my life for as long as possible, but thats when I thought of something I wanted to write about . I saw it with my own eyes . Yet, he had still been looking . Once again, he had found himself desiring for something that had the power to lead him to his downfall . Because of that, he was able to find it and face it . What can I do? I gotta write what I want to write about, said Juho as he smiled . Ive tried really hard to not think of things that would get in the way . Failure, success, results, unchanging future and the complaints of readers, Juho had been fighting these thoughts from disrupting his mind and forcing him to stop writing . It was the only way he could write . Im a professional when it comes to setting things aside He had spent the last three decades of his life running away . He had fled from his past failures, fear of challenge, and desire to write . He didnt think of the failures . He didnt gape after success . He didnt let his anxiety get to him or rush him in any way . He simply wrote . He looked at nothing else, but the graph-like paper . I have no clue about how the next book will turn out, but now that its already finished… Well, what can I do? I guess all those failures in the past werent in vain, after all, Juho thought as he smiled . Whew… did you hear that Mrs . Baek? I sure did . How old are you again? Im seventeen . My… my! Geun Woo exclaimed . For a timid person like him, he wouldnt even dare say such things . Yun Seo smiled quietly . Ill look forward to it, she said . Yes, maam, Juho answered confidently . --- He went inside . If there was anything different from the usual household, it was the designated s.p.a.ce for writing lessons . It almost looked like a cla.s.sroom . There were desks, a sitting mat and natural wood grains on the floor . There were compositions of her past pupils on the wall and a white board at the front . So, what do you think? Not bad, huh? No, maam . If there was a school for aspiring authors, it wouldve looked like that . This is my seat, and also where I wrote my debut t.i.tle . Im not sure how much that would mean to an author like Yun Woo, but yeah, said Geun Woo as he sat on the second backmost seat . Though he started off proud, his voice grew more and more timid toward the end . Do you mean the one you were decorating the sky with? Juho asked as he smiled . Lets… not talk about that for now, shall we? I got in enough trouble with Mrs . Baek, Geun Woo said bashfully . Whether you decide to change what youve written or throw it out altogether is up to you as an author, but not like that . You cant treat it like trash . At that point, youre not just throwing away your writing, but youre also hurting yourself . Yes, Mrs . Baek . Though she said it light-heartedly, there was substance to her words . She was more strict than Juho had imagined . That day, Geun Woo had almost given up pursuing his dream of being a writer . It hadnt been that he hadnt been happy with what he had written or that he had felt like he couldnt write well . Deep inside, hed lacked courage . Repeated failures had chipped away at his self-esteem . What he had really wanted to desert hadnt been his novel . It had been himself . Yun Seo had urged him not to give up . Coming to think of it, you two have a unique relations.h.i.+p, Yun Seo said light-heartedly . Pardon? An ill-fated relation turned good . Sometimes, I cant tell if youre complimenting me or just trying to call me out . Though Juho hadnt intended, he had always been part of Geun Woos failures and successes . I havent done anything really . In the end, you wrote something amazing, Geun Woo, Juho said . Yep, and Im also the one who wrote a half decent book . Come by anytime you want . Id love to rub off of you, he said as he made a tai-chi like move with his hands . At that, Juho calmly took a step back to distance himself . Youre staying for dinner right? Ill go prepare the rice, said Yun Seo . In the past, she had asked Juho what his favorite food was . After Yun Seo went outside, Juho quietly walked toward Geun Woo and sat across from him . Thanks, Geun Woo said quietly . For what? For picking up my ma.n.u.script that day . I recall you already thanked me then . Yun Woo wasnt there that day . Juho asked after a brief silence, Were there any missing pages? A few . I read through it and rewrote them . With that, they no longer talked about that day . Neither Geun Woo or Juho said any more . They had talked about it enough . At that moment, Joon Soon came back in after taking a phone call . He tapped his finger on his phone three times before putting it into his pocket . After he briefly looked in Juhos direction, he looked back up at the sound of Geun Woos voice . Another lecture? Yep . My books dont really sell, Joon Soo said as he sat next to Geun Woo . The way they sat around the desk resembled an official debate . Geun Woo grumbled with his face filled with discontentment . Its odd . Why is it that people dont read your book? Beats me . Joon Soo wouldnt have been able to answer that question . He just smiled gently as he patted Geun Woos shoulder three times . Juho thought of his books as he watched . His books tended to be focused more on literary value than appealing to the ma.s.ses . There were countless gems that were not best-sellers, but unfortunately, not all became known . As the publis.h.i.+ng market grew even narrower, accessibility was a crucial component in a book . There had to be something that caught peoples attention . That was the reality of it . Juho looked at Geun Woo . His debut t.i.tle was doing very well . The gruesomeness of his book had caught peoples attention . In modern days, people no longer remembered the fear of getting eaten . However, in reality, that fear was closer than most realized . One didnt have to be chewed on like a piece of meat or have their bones taken away in order to remember the fear for survival . Geun Woo understood that fact . It was something people would take interest in . The publis.h.i.+ng company he had submitted the ma.n.u.script to had predicted its success, and invested a large sum of money into promotion . Juho turned his head and looked at Joon Soo then . He wasnt as familiar with Joon Soos books . His books werent as provocative . From the perspective of a reader who had to pick and choose what interested them the most, his books didnt quite stand out . However, Juho had been impressed by them . His style was clean, sophisticated, and beautiful . He hadnt given up on writing even as he took on a second job . He refused to conform to the norm . His tenacity would eventually bear fruit in the future . He would become a bestselling author, and many people would come to appreciate the true beauty of his writing . Juho smiled quietly . Joon Soon had been stroking the desk in front of him . He did it by reflex . After staring at it for a brief time, Juho said, Three times . Huh? Youve been touching things three times . His cell phone, Geun Woos shoulder, the desk, and the same while he was eating fruit . He had a habit of tapping things three times before putting them down . Juho had noticed some time ago . He caught you . Ah, shucks, he said as he smiled awkwardly, scratching his head . Amid his embarra.s.sment, his good nature remained apparent on his face . His hand soon moved away from his head . Though it hadnt been visible, Juho guessed that he had tapped his head three times . Its a kind of ritual, said Joon Soo . More like OCD, Joon Soo, Geun Woo murmured quietly . Instead of criticizing him, he humbly admitted it, Im sure it seems more compulsive to others . It might be compulsive to others, but to himself, it was ritualistic . What kind of ritual? It brings good luck . Good luck . Perhaps three was his lucky number . Whatever the reason was, it was an interesting habit . Not to sound arrogant, but there are times when Im surprised by what comes out of my head . It almost feels like something just flowed into my body, and Im just lending my body to it . It doesnt feel like I wrote it . Youd know since youre an author . It doesnt sit well with me . There were times when a sentence suddenly thrust itself into the depths of the authors heart . Those sentences were apparent in Joon Soos books . When the author wrote with such inspiration, they knew immediately how the words would fit with the surrounding words . However, there was a foil to such inspiration . That was anxiety . They felt anxious and insecure about whether or not they would be able to write something like that again in the future . Juho asked after a brief thought, What led you to that habit? Why three times? My third composition became my debut t.i.tle, he answered with a gentle smile . It was somewhat of an underwhelming answer . My books havent done so well since then, so Ive been wondering if I spent all of my luck on writing that book . Thats why I tap things three times before I put them down - to bring in luck, he added . He was somewhat of an oddball too . Mrs . Baek didnt say anything about it either . Besides, three is my favorite number . You can say that its a form of affection . Towards what? The number three? Myself . Mrs . Baek has always taught us to love ourselves . Im not sure if that necessarily translates to tapping your fingers three times . At that moment, Yun Seo cut his nonsense short . My husband used to like the number three as well, she said as she sat next to Juho . He picked up a faint, comforting smell of cooked rice Mr . Kang, right? She nodded quietly . Wol Kang . He was Yun Seos late husband, who had pa.s.sed away at an early age . He had been known as an eccentric, but his books were still loved by many . The fact that there was a movie about him showed how much his fans loved him . Juho, too, had been an avid fan of his and sought out every one of his books . They had been cheerful and peculiar and they had made the readers joyful . That lively, fearless author had lost his life to tuberculosis at an early age . You know, I always had a feeling that hed pa.s.s away too early, she said as she smiled innocently . Mrs . Baek… Whenever she made remarks like that, her pupils felt as awkward as possible . What? Its true . I even got rid of him first in my book . Are you saying that there was a character modeled after Mr . Kang? Really? Who? asked Joon Soo and Geun Woo . They must have never heard about it . Juho also thought, Who could it be? The first character to die, similar to Mr . Kang… After a brief time staring at, Juho asked, Its not Malddong, is it? Oh my! You guessed it before I even had a chance to say it! Goodness, Malddong?? Geun Woo was dumbfounded, and Joon Soo, too, no longer looked peaceful . Youre talking about The Horse Hoof, right? Geun Woo asked in disbelief . Yes, the servant who worked at the stable . He gets killed after getting kicked by a horse, right? Juho asked quietly after Yun Seo answered brightly . (TLs note: the word mal translates to horse in Korean, while the word ddong means excrement . So, Malddong would mean horse p.o.o.p . Having ddong in a servant name seemed to be a common practice in Korea back in the day . )