Translated by: ShawnSuh Edited by: SootyOwl Mr . Moon examined the plots the club members had come up with and their structures . Seo Kw.a.n.g wanted to write about the history of books while Sun Hwa wanted to write about the life of a celebrity . Bom had decided to write about a child who had just begun to stand on his own two feet, and Juho had decided on the daily life of a woman who made a trip to the beach . So, Im guessing you all thought of the characters for your story? Mr . Moon asked the club members sitting in front of him . Everyone answered, Yes . Today, were going to give them as much shape as possible . Everyone looked at him with excitement and antic.i.p.ation . They would be giving their characters a personality . Creating a character was a fun process, but there were exceptions . Characters are important . Sometimes, they even affect the direction of the development of the plot . Think about what you want to express in your respective stories and think of a character who would best represent that . That sounds hard, grumbled Seo Kw.a.n.g . After a brief, momentary thought, Mr . Moon gave a simpler explanation, Youre all parents . Huh? Your characters would be your children . . Eh? Author, parents . Characters, children . Mr . Moon continued with his explanation, Think about your parents . What do they for you? Uh… Lots of things, said Sun Hwa, looking puzzled . She had to have received a lot from her parents in her upbringing . Thats right . You guys, need to treat your characters the same way . Juho thought about what he had received from his parents . Everything . From his uniform to the slippers he was wearing, everything had come from his parents . The hand he wrote with, the brain he used to think, everything had come from them . Parents . The club members still seemed to be at a loss . After all, they were all children of their parents . Though grateful toward them, they didnt quite understand what it meant to be a son or a daughter . Their confusion was natural . Examining the look on everyones face, Mr . Moon took some time to think before giving them an even simpler explanation . How about this? If its hard for you think from your parents perspective, be the creator . Thats kind of cool, isnt it? You guys, are making a person . A creator gives different talents and characteristics to his creation . The creator… It does sound cooler, but it doesnt make it easier . In fact, it had made it harder for them to understand, so Mr . Moon thought some more and said, Thats it! Think me . As in you, Mr . Moon? Yourselves . The writer . As Seo Kw.a.n.g was about to ask another question, Mr . Moon raised his hand, indicating that he wasnt finished . What would it feel like to hold hands with my character? How would they answer my questions? How would they respond to a certain situation? How detailed or vocal your characters are would depend on the writer . Since you guys are beginners, you wont be able to get much further than getting really ambiguous answers . So, just think from my perspective . You all know how your hand feels, right? Thats because the writer isnt skilled enough . Id be frustrated, complained Sun Hwa . Youre still a beginner, answered Seo Kw.a.n.g . It sounded like an answer Mr . Moon would give, but for some reason, he waved his hand in denial . Treating your character as your own self is a very author-like way of thinking . At the end of the day, a novel cant escape the limits of exploring the existence that is me . Youre writing about a person and their life . As a parent, creator or an author, you are distinctively you . Juho nodded quietly . . Uh… Hm, right, said Bom, chuckling awkwardly . The club members seemed all the more lost, and Juho smiled internally . There really was no way to get around the matter . The more the author thought about and dug into his novel, the more they tended to tread into the territory of ident.i.ty and metaphysics . Clap! Clap! Suddenly, Mr . Moon clapped twice while sitting quietly . He was probably having trouble with his explanations . Anyway, today, youre going to create your own characters, he changed the subject, emphasizing on characters alone while setting everything he had said very far aside . Every single one of your characters is alive, he emphasized . The club members listened intently, telling themselves that they were writing about a live person in their minds . As long as a character is alive, that means that theres a reason behind the things they do or say in the novel . A reason? Thats right . Why are we here? Uh… Hm… Maybe… to go college? To be happy, all of us, said Mr . Moon . What youre about to write, it wont help with college in any way . It wont bring your grades up either . YET, you guys are working hard . Even now, you guys are on fire to learn more and write better . Why? Because its fun, said Bom . I love writing . I want to write . It helps me reach my goal . The other club members added to Boms statement . Whether emotional or rational, everyone had a reason . See? Everyone has an answer . Its the same with your characters . They move about because they have their own reason to . Pausing briefly, Mr . Moon looked around . OK, lets say I kill a person . Huh!? Ah, a.s.suming that Im a fictional character, explained Mr . Moon, waving his hand to mimic swinging a knife . Juho watched his hand carefully . Stab . The members imagined the gut-wrenching sound of a knife piercing through skin . Mr . Moon had just killed someone . Of course, his knifeless hand was swinging in thin air . This doesnt leave you with any impressions . Why? Because there is no reason for it, said the club members, applying what they had just learned . Thats right . Its because there was no explanation as to why I did what I did . Again, your characters are alive, and they do things for a reason . Theres always a reason . Its just that we cant express it for them . Parents! Are you planning on raising a child whos a boring killjoy? The almighty creator, are you intending on leaving your creations confused? Arent you all going to explain yourselves? No! the members exclaimed . Thats right . You have to protect yourselves with everything youve got . I will reciprocate as much love as you show me . Ill tell you what you want to hear . Or, maybe I can show you something unimaginable . Im kind of getting gooseb.u.mps . As you can see, creating a character is not easy . I didnt mean it lik… Got it? Now, think about a character that would suit the events in your stories, Mr . Moon interjected . Sounds complicated . Try to enjoy it . Youll get the hang of it . With a sigh and a pens in hand, everyone glared at their notebooks . When Mr . Moon finished speaking, the room sunk into silence . Only the air lingered about . Juho thought, What do I do? Ive already met her, and I already know her personality . I know her reason for her actions and behavior . I know what she wants and where she wants to be in life . With those thoughts, he quietly raised his hand . Yeah? asked Mr . Moon . Juhos voice broke the silence, If Ive already heard an answer from my character, can I just start writing? . Bring it here . Juho took his paper over to Mr . Moon . All eyes were on him as he walked toward the teacher . Slowly, Mr . Moon immersed himself in the world Juho had created . Though it was incomplete, things were bound to change down the line . New things would come up as others would get taken out . Ha…! Mr . Moon laughed . When did you write this? Eh, this is nothing . Besides, its short, said Juho . Have you thought about how you want to end it? Mr . Moon asked carefully . Juho had a history of writing ridiculous endings . Vaguely . Things are still blurry, Juho said, shrugging . Try to be more intentional this time, will you? Ive told you, its not that simple . Try anyway . Starting with the next time we meet, write in the computer room . For now, focus on your ending . Yes, Mr . Moon . With that, Juho returned to his seat, feeling the uncomfortable gazes of the other club members over him . The first one to speak up was Sun Hwa . Seriously? What? Dont act like you dont know . It made sense that she was surprised . Juho had already started writing when everyone else was still busy thinking of a character . Since he had decided to write two separate novels, there was no time to waste . In the end, Juho had no choice but to say, What can I do? Im just that good . Youre so shameless . Haha . Youre laughing? Thats cheap . When did you start writing? Cheap shot . Im not surprised, said Seo Kw.a.n.g, resting his chin on his hand . He seemed familiar with Sun Hwas experience . Juho can be like that, agreed Bom . It was clearly not a compliment . Suddenly, Seo Kw.a.n.g clapped loudly as if he had remembered something . I should write about someone like you! I will reciprocate as much love as you show me . Strike that, said Seo Kw.a.n.g at once . As Juho poked fun at Seo Kw.a.n.g, he felt someone looking in his direction and asked, What is it? Nothing, Sun Hwa and Bom said, giving him a peculiar look . Do you want to write about me? I thought about it, but I dont think itll work out . Its too much . Yeah, I think so too . They had answered gently, but it had been a resounding No . At that moment, Seo Kw.a.n.g pulled Juhos notebook in his direction and asked, Can I look at this? No, another voice answered . Seo Kw.a.n.g looked in the direction of the voice and protested, Why not? Itll affect your writing . You have to write on your own, warned Mr . Moon, crossing his arms . Until he had finished his own writing, Seo Kw.a.n.g wouldnt be able to read what Juho had written . OK . Alright then, Im leaving now . Dont look or show . With those words, he made his way to the staffroom . Watching the door open and close, Juho organized his thoughts . Then, Baron raised his voice and asked, I can look, right? Thats not fair! We want to look too! Thats really unfair Baron . The three club members protested, but Baron paid them no attention . Willingly, Juho handed him the notebook . Wow, these people, Sun Hwa grumbled, but Baron took the notebook from Juhos hand, reading it quietly . It was the overall flow of the plot . Although it wasnt long, Baron remained silent for a good while . . Youre writing this? he murmured . Is there a problem? No, no problem . Baron thought, Theres no problem, but… . Wouldnt it be a little difficult? Though he was about to go on, Baron stopped himself . He was conscious of other club members . However, Juho had understood more than enough to know what he was trying to ask . A person going to the beach alone, all without an apparent climax or danger . It could easily turn out boring . It would be a challenge to keep it interesting . Yet… I want to write it, so theres nothing I can do . . Show it to me when youre done . Id like to read it . With that, he gave Juhos notebook back to him . To everyone else who was glaring at him with piercing curiosity, Juho added, If youre so anxious to read it, then all youve got to do is finish your stories . Punk, said Sun Hwa, who s.n.a.t.c.hed her pen still glaring with her nose on her notebook, she immersed herself in thoughts about the characters for her story . By contrast, Juho reached slowly for his pen . It was time for him to write about the woman at the beach .