432 - The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel

EP.432 A Letter - Part 1 There are memories in life that revisit us from time to time, those you simply can't forget. Like the bitter cold on the day of the college entrance exam, the joy of being accepted to the university you wanted, or the realization the day after entering basic training that friends who promised you'd find a girlfriend upon enrolling in a good college were all liars. 'Where is this place?' A landscape abundant with pink blossoms. As I opened my eyes, it resembled a certain day. In the distance, the silhouette of a woman could be seen. Who could she be? As words inadvertently spilled from my mouth, she turned to look back. ‘Ah…’ There stood an unforgettable woman. A woman I would want to gaze at endlessly if I didn't focus, even knowing she was headed towards disaster. ‘Mo Yong Sang Ah.’ The woman who became my wife gazed at me with a startled look. ‘Is this a dream?’ The scene was so enchanting it felt like a dream. Her beauty was dreamlike to such an extent. In this world, the most real thing was her beauty, yet it was also the most surreal. An unforgettable memory. Perhaps a reimagining of the memory of our wedding day. I was myself, yet I could not move at my will. It felt like watching a first-person movie alone. In the dream, I said something to her. The world shatters. The dream shatters. "Husband…!" Her scream echoed pitifully. “What is this?!” Was I preparing to wake up? As if slipping into consciousness, my body became mine again. The woman who seemed so distant appeared incredibly close. Her face looked like it could collapse at any moment. The tears on my hand were both scalding and cold. Just like that day. A day when my true feelings unintentionally slipped out. When I felt like I would crumble without support. "Be strong." "……!" The preordained catastrophe arrives. The parting I experienced comes again. That was all I could say to the woman in my dream. --------------- “What kind of dream was that?” Startled, I opened my eyes with a shout. Dreams can be sudden and nonsensical, yet suddenly having Mo Yong Sang Ah appear by my bedside... The sun had yet to rise. I needed more sleep. I forced myself to try and sleep again, but the tearful face lingered in my mind. “Mo Yong Sang Ah…” If someone asked me to pick the most critical moments of my life, I would choose the first night. It wasn’t merely due to a threat to my life. All the plans I had meticulously prepared to survive fell away so completely with a kiss from Mo Yong Sang Ah that I was left utterly unaware of anything else. “Even recalling it now, her beauty is still unbelievable.” If I hadn’t held onto my sanity and acted desperately to survive, I would have lost myself entirely. “I was trying so hard to forget…” Though other women had since marked me with kisses, it was hard to forget the one who first claimed that banner. The woman with whom I shared my first kiss. Such a woman cried in my dream. A bitter sentiment escaped my lips. Thoughts and words about her don't come easily or cleanly. There’s nothing good about being entangled with the Mo Yong family. The problem of treason would haunt me like a persistent shadow. If it became known that I survived, Mo Yong Bi would pursue my life relentlessly, and the position Mo Yong Sang Ah has painstakingly built with a tainted reputation could vanish in an instant. She was someone I could naturally meet if I became famous but was also someone I could only meet if I achieved that fame. “I have to become famous.” Famous enough that neither Joseon nor the Mo Yong family could meddle with me. I closed my eyes once again. ---------- “Leader! Did you sleep well?” As I descended to the first floor of the inn, An Suk Su greeted me warmly. “I didn’t even realize when I fell asleep while working.” My eyes, heavy with fatigue, couldn’t fully open as I slumped into an empty seat. Why do I feel so worn out? I did sleep after all. It feels as though I returned from a long journey. Must've accumulated a lot of fatigue. "You look awfully tired. I told you to go home and sleep." “I’ve been slacking off too much lately.” Having had a merry time until the day I parted from Ha Yeon So Jeo was great, but who knew it would be to this extent. It's like returning from a week-long overseas trip, only to face the harsh reality of work everyone did while I was away. “Now that your wife-to-be has left, you must feel the burden.” “They had somewhere to go with my father-in-law, so I have no choice. I have to give it my all.” It's like being the boss of a company with fewer than five employees who just lost a key player. With Ha Yeon So Jeo gone, who handled all the minute tasks, the void felt immense. Je Gal So Jeo still helps out, but she struggles with client dealings or face-to-face tasks, leaving me no choice but to shoulder more work. The owner of the company I used to work for, even when employees were struggling or quitting, would change his car, go golfing, and party all the time. As for me, though called the boss, it feels like being a salaried worker without a guaranteed quitting time. “Cheer up. What would you like for breakfast?” An Suk Su, with apparent sympathy, clicked his tongue and asked me. “I’m not really hungry for breakfast.” "That's not good. You look exhausted as it is. Let me prepare something simple.” “Really, I’m fine.” “Oh, no! We Koreans need our rice power! Rice power!” When his vigorous voice rang across the inn, other Koreans on the first floor began to glance at me with concern. “All right, then. Just a simple bowl of gukbap, please.” Our Leader even skips meals working. I'm worried he'll fall ill. If he collapses, the Korean Association would be in shambles. Better to eat than have rumors bring unwanted guests. I nodded without raising my weary head. "Oh?! Gukbap. For someone who looks this tired, I’ll prepare something better! Just wait a moment!” An Suk Su hurried to the kitchen, pulling out something and busying himself with the chopping board. I was just craving a simple rice-and-soup meal. With the sound of something sturdy breaking and being chopped, and seeing others swiftly at work, it seemed he might be preparing something grand. “Here you go!” Soon, he brought a tray of prepared food to me. Oh? What is this? “What… is this?” It's something familiar. On the tray Cook had placed down, in a wooden bowl, was a very familiar food. “What is it? It's the food that gives the energy of a tiger! Cereal!” The mysterious food was indeed cereal. “Energy of a tiger?” I could accept the food, but where did he learn that catchphrase? As I stared at him in bafflement, Cook folded his arms and looked at me as if I were ignorant. “Do today's youth not know old tales? The story of the tiger that only ate mugwort and garlic.” “Are you referring to the Tangun myth?” “That tiger got so fed up with the pungent taste of mugwort and garlic that the first thing it found upon emerging was this cereal. Just like whales give birth and eat seaweed soup, it's said tigers ate this cereal to regain their tiger energy.” “Uh, I see…” Wow. So, the traditional food the tiger in the Tangun myth ate was cereal. Right. A deep sigh of disbelief escaped from within. “You don’t believe it? Why do you think cereal is called cereal? It’s because it embodies the essence of the tiger. ‘Suh ri eol,’ ‘Suh ri eol’ became ‘cereal.'” What kind of naming logic is that? This woke me up abruptly. “Well, thank you for the meal.” Although surprised by the sudden appearance of cereal, I didn't really dislike it. It was a simple way to start a workday morning after all. I placed a spoon into the cereal-laden bowl. Whether or not it really gave tiger energy, it was surprisingly well-prepared. It wasn't just plain cereal but included nuts, bananas, and fruits. It looked just like the kind you'd see in commercials. ‘It's tastier than I expected.’ I didn't know about tiger energy, but it was certainly a fit breakfast for the weary. ——— “I’m back.” Having stopped by the flagship store, franchises, the Black Dragon Society, and several client sites, I finally returned to the estate as the sun began to set. “Master Kang, you have a visitor.” “A visitor?” Who could possibly be visiting? I didn't expect anyone since I'd already dealt with business matters today. Sibi hurriedly approached me, leading me to the guestroom. “Ah! Master Kang! You’ve finally arrived!” “Branch Manager of the West Heaven Escort Agency? What brings someone as busy as you here?” A completely unexpected guest. It was the Branch Manager from the Infinite West Heaven Escort Agency. “I came to apologize.” The Branch Manager averted his eyes, appearing uneasy as he spoke. “An apology? For you to visit in person… Don’t tell me you’ve lost a delivery item?” Surely the escort agency hadn't lost an item again. “No, no. Thanks to you, Master Kang, there have been no issues with the deliveries recently.” He shook his head emphatically, denying any such misfortune. “Then what brings you here?” “It seems there was an issue regarding the delivery between you, Master Kang, and Writer Hofil.” “A delivery issue between myself and Hofil?” The Branch Manager knows I'm Hofil, one of the few. For him to refer to Hofil as a separate entity meant there was a reason. “As you know, the fame of Writer Hofil is spreading, and letters to him have been coming to the warehouse at an increasing pace.” “Yes, I'm aware of that.” “I heard that since you’ve been quite busy, you instructed them to store all such letters in the warehouse?” “Yes, that's correct. But what does that have to do with your visit today?” I used to find joy in reading fan letters while in the warehouse, but countless tasks in Infinite meant I hadn’t the time to read them anymore. But what does that have to do with an apology today? “Well… it seems there was a miscommunication.” The Branch Manager spoke, his face etched with awkwardness. “A miscommunication?” Even more confusing now. “I heard that the Uzang branch sent a letter to you.” “Uzang branch…?” Did I send or receive a letter from Uzang, neither the warehouse nor Infinite? Uzang was where I met Ha Yeon So Jeo. Huh? As something began to surface from the recesses of my memory, long buried by busyness, the Branch Manager continued. “It was written simply as ‘Paper Friend’ rather than your name, Master Kang. Naturally, assuming it was meant for Writer Hofil, as a friend connected through books and paper, they probably thought the letter was for him.” “Paper Friend (紙友)? Ah…!” Like a hammer striking my head, an intense shock ran through me. There's only one person I've ever used the name 'Paper Friend' with. “Apologies for the delay. Here is a letter from the Mount Hua Sect.” The original protagonist. Over six months had passed, and the original protagonist's letter had finally reached me. [Seems like a huge arc is about to start since previous thirty chapters were a setup]