Former Warrior Turns Into A Million-Dollar Actor [EN]: Chapter 166

The Unfinished Manuscript (4)

* * *

Kang Young-il had arranged to meet at a cafe in front of his house.

It was a bit away from his company, and it seemed he was worried his family would be surprised if he brought a group of celebrities home.

“So, everyone. Do we have a plan?”

In front of the cafe’s main entrance, Yoo Joon-il, the manager, asked, adjusting his tie. Yong Ryu-baek, smoothing his traditional Korean jacket, replied.

“We should start by listening to his story. He must have a reason for calling us here, so I doubt his reaction will be negative.”

“That’s true, but our PR team leader is still worried… You writers know how unpredictable artists can be.”

“He wouldn’t call us here and then send us back. He knows it’s a meeting about his work.”

Eun Hee-wook, the screenwriter who joined the team last, spoke up after receiving a call.

He was there to advise Kang Young-il, who didn’t know much about the broadcasting industry, in the position of a screenwriter.

Geon, standing next to Park Sun, summarized briefly.

“Then, let’s go.”

Their target was visible as soon as they entered the cafe.

A haggard-looking man in a suit was sitting in a corner at a table with no other customers.

A briefcase, an open laptop, and a heavy stack of papers were placed next to his orange juice.

“Are you Kang Young-il?”

Geon approached and spoke to him. The man looked up, startled. Perhaps he had seen the articles with photos, because a faint look of pleasure crossed his face as he recognized them.

“Ah, yes. Hello…”

Kang Young-il’s greeting stopped abruptly. He saw the rest of the group walking in behind Geon.

Yong Ryu-baek spoke in a heavy tone.

“It’s been a while, Young-il.”

.

.

.

Contrary to their worries, Kang Young-il didn’t immediately leave or show displeasure.

He simply bowed his head, as if ashamed to face his senior and acquaintance of over a decade, and asked how he had been.

“I’m doing alright. Tae-shik and Hyun-myung are all working hard. Soo-hee immigrated to America five years ago.”

The names of club seniors and juniors who once shared the same goals, known only to the two of them, were mentioned.

“Soo-hee looked for you until the very end. She said she wanted to see you before she left the country. Didn’t she ever call you?”

“…No. I didn’t give my contact information to any alumni except for you, *hyungnim* [older brother or respected male senior].”

Yong Ryu-baek shook his head repeatedly, looking regretful. Manager Yoo cautiously asked.

“So, how have you been, *jakga-nim* [esteemed writer]? What about your writing?”

“I just… I stopped writing for a while. The screenplay I sent to *hyungnim* Yong was my last work.”

“Perhaps, ‘The Chronicle of the Gods’ is still without an ending…?”

“Yes. I couldn’t write any more, so I couldn’t finish it.”

With a long sigh, Kang Young-il began to tell his story to no one in particular.

To put it simply, ‘The Chronicle of the Gods’ was still unfinished.

After years of fighting with the publisher, he was able to regain the copyright, but the physical and mental exhaustion from the legal battle was the problem.

“My weight dropped to the low fifties [kilograms, approximately 110 pounds]. I became afraid of meeting people, so I went to a psychiatrist, who said I had panic disorder and depression. I never expected the CEO, whom I thought of as a close *hyungnim*, to do that…”

“That bastard ended up scamming a few more writers before going to jail. If he was going to ruin himself, he should have ruined only his own life.”

Yong Ryu-baek muttered bitterly. Park Sun, who was easily moved by such stories, already had tears in her eyes.

Kang Young-il, his cheeks sunken, continued.

“After I recovered a bit, I picked up my pen, thinking I should finish the story I had started. But I couldn’t write. Just the thought of finding another publisher, having meetings, and talking about my work with someone again made me suffocate.”

Everything went dark, and I couldn’t hear anything. Geon stared silently at Kang Young-il, who was speaking with a bitter smile.

Completing a story… Finishing the narrative of a human being is this difficult. Just like the hero of the Iron Kingdom, who succeeded as an actor, is still wandering the battlefield.

-What did you expect, saving the world would be easy? It’s the five great devils, not just anyone!

The voice that always snapped at him echoed in his ears and then disappeared. Now, the novelist’s trip down memory lane was coming to an end.

“I’m married now, and my child started elementary school this year. So… I’m really grateful that you came to find someone like me, but I have to tell you I’m sorry.”

“No, what are you talking about?”

Manager Yoo, who had been watching closely, ready to jump in at any sign of a negative reaction, quickly interjected.

“*Jakga-nim*, we absolutely won’t pressure you or burden you.”

“It will take time to adapt the original work into a screenplay anyway. If you need it, we can get help from another screenwriter, so you can finish the novel first and think about it slowly.”

Even Eun Hee-wook joined in to support them, but Kang Young-il’s answer remained the same.

“Too much time has already passed. I’m not a writer anymore, just a father and a husband. I don’t have the confidence to write again, and even if I did, I don’t think I could produce a work that would satisfy you.”

Yong Ryu-baek, who had been listening, took out the copied manuscript of ‘The Chronicle of the Gods’.

“You sent me this just a few years ago. Your talent hasn’t dulled at all. Just because you put it aside for a while doesn’t mean the story in the bookshelf will disappear…”

“*Seonbae-nim* [respected senior], I know myself.”

“Kang *jakga* [writer]!”

“I’ve made my readers wait for nineteen years. I haven’t said a word as a writer, but I didn’t want to give up, so I had it adapted into a screenplay and sent it to you, *seonbae-nim*. I don’t want to do something I can’t take responsibility for anymore.”

After speaking, Kang Young-il closed his mouth like a clam. They had expected some resistance, but his refusal was stronger than they had anticipated.

‘This isn’t going to work.’

Manager Yoo and Eun Hee-wook exchanged troubled glances, and just as Geon was about to speak, a voice called out.

“Honey…?”

The eyes of those trying to persuade him and those refusing turned to the side at once.

A woman holding a girl’s hand stood at the cafe counter, looking surprised.

*

Kang Young-il’s wife was a petite woman who seemed to have a strong sense of practicality.

She was surprised to see her husband surrounded by strangers for a moment. After hearing the situation, she suddenly brought Park Geon and his group to her house and offered them fruit.

“Please, make yourselves comfortable. The Korean melons are sweet.”

Yong Ryu-baek, the oldest member of the group and the de facto leader, waved his hand.

“No, we’re the ones who seem to be taking up too much of your time…”

“It’s okay. He must have been stubborn again. Once he thinks something is right, he never changes his mind.”

She smiled slightly and glanced at her husband, who was playing with their daughter in her room.

“I knew he was writing.”

“Are you talking about Kang *jakga-nim*?”

“Yes. He has books and manuscripts that he keeps like treasures in his study. He told me about them after we got married, that they were things he wrote when he was a college student.”

Her voice, as she spoke about her husband’s work, was filled with undisguised affection and regret.

Manager Yoo carefully persuaded her.

“We need Kang *jakga-nim*’s work. This actor here, Park Geon, saw the screenplay and wanted to work on it so much that he came all the way here.”

“*Baeu-nim* [actor] wants my husband’s book…?”

Park Geon nodded.

“After I accidentally saw Kang Young-il *jakga-nim*’s work, I thought I had to do this work. As a personal fan, it was a book I wanted to see the ending of.”

“Kang *jakga*, this friend is more than capable. He’s too young to give up yet.”

“Just the fact that Park *bae-u* [actor] mentioned the work is attracting public attention. Whether it’s a movie or a drama, investors will be lining up to buy the screenplay and rights in any market.”

Following him, Yong Ryu-baek and Manager Yoo began their full-fledged appeal.

Even Eun Hee-wook joined in, explaining the recent OTT [Over-The-Top media service] market and the potential of ‘The Chronicle of the Gods,’ as well as the flexible schedule, but the answer was firm.

“I just want my husband to be happy.”

In terms of nuance, this meant certain failure. Just as Manager Yoo was about to speak again, a calm voice was heard.

“Stories must have an ending.”

As always, the voice, though not loud, spread with a clear impact.

Park Geon continued in a gentle tone.

“Whether it’s the writer’s, the work’s… or the actor’s. I think Kang Young-il *jakga-nim* wanted that for a while too.”

Kang Young-il, who had come to stand beside them, was listening to the story with a look of mixed emotions.

The actor’s lips moved again.

“I still have an unfinished task, and I’m afraid, but I want to move forward and see the truth.”

“……”

“That’s why I came to find *jakga-nim*. Because in any world, postponement cannot be salvation.”

They couldn’t understand everything, but everyone in that place vaguely felt what was contained in those words.

Kang Young-il’s wife, who had been looking at her husband, smiled gently.

“Yes, I know. That’s why I want him to go with you.”

“Seo-hyun-ah!”

Kang Young-il’s eyes widened in surprise, but his wife said in a steady voice.

“I know that your expression changes whenever we go out and you see bookstores, places with books. And I know that you spend all night in your study looking at manuscripts and then go to work without sleeping. We’ve been living together for years, did you think I wouldn’t know?”

“…Seo-hyun-ah.”

“I won’t force you. But if it’s a burden you can’t put down for the rest of your life, it’s okay to carry it together. Just like I did with you.”

The swamp of self-loathing breaks the blade and steals the sharpness of the pen.

Tears welled up in the eyes of the once-young novelist, who had been running away from himself for a long time.

“I’m…”

*

“So? What happened?”

“What do you mean?”

The next afternoon, Roman Entertainment.

A small commotion broke out in the newly built Sky Lounge’s VIP meeting room.

Jin Ji-yoo, almost rising from her seat, pushed away her coffee cup and asked again.

“Kang Young-il, the *jakga-nim*! He agreed to work with you, right?”

“Ah, are you talking about Kang *jakga-nim*?”

“Don’t suddenly pretend you don’t know. You were just talking about it… what’s going on!”

If Park Geon was so serious when he first came to Roman that it was hard to talk to him, now he often jokes with his close friends.

Manager Yoo, who was watching with a smirk, generously told her.

“Yes, he agreed.”

“That’s a relief… I was worried.”

Jin Ji-yoo took a deep breath and glared at Park Geon.

“Okay? I pretended to be fooled, so tell me what happened.”

“It’s just as you heard.”

“He just said he would do it, and that was it?”

“Yes. Yong Ryu-baek *jakga-nim* and his wife played a big role. And Sun-i helped in the end.”

That day, the final trigger was the community reaction that Park Sun showed them.

The data, which was a collection of captured screenshots, contained the reactions and cheers of old fans waiting for the return of ‘The Chronicle of the Gods’ without any exaggeration.

Kang Young-il, who had been silently reading the decades of waiting for his return amidst the resentment and criticism directed at him, said after a long silence.

‘I’ll do it. Even if it ends up being a poorly written piece.’

Jin Ji-yoo, who had been listening to the story, shook her head.

“No way. It will never be a poorly written piece. I read it as soon as the article came out, and it wasn’t inferior to any English-language fantasy.”

Manager Yoo replied.

“But time is the problem. Speed is important for writers. That guy has been resting for a long time, so if he’s unlucky, it could take him years just to find his groove…”

At that moment, an employee rushed in.

“*Baeu-nim-deul* [actors], Manager Yoo! We just got a call from that *jakga-nim*!”

“What is it, why! Did he overwork himself or something…?”

“It’s not that. He said he has something to deliver as soon as possible, and he sent it with his wife.”

Yoo Joon-il, who had gotten up in a fluster, grabbed the back of his neck and sat back down.

“…Then you should have said so. I thought he had suddenly collapsed. That he had overworked himself writing the manuscript after so long.”

He was a precious person they had barely gotten to start writing. Just as they were about to take off, there was no way they could let the writer collapse from the start.

But the employee’s expression was strange.

“I think he did overwork himself… He said he finished it.”

“…What, the screenplay?”

“Yes. He took a vacation and has been running straight through until just now, and he finished the novel version first.”

“……”

A shocking silence fell. Only Park Geon had an expression that seemed to say, ‘That’s possible,’ and reached for his coffee.

Yoo Joon-il, looking around, muttered.

“Seriously, are there only geniuses around us?”

* * *