Great Novelist

“That's embarrassing.”

I swept my hair up. There's very little left.

“What's a good ending? ”

I asked myself a question. No answer was given. He's dead or alive. There is no contradiction.

“I have the contradiction. ”

The swearing poured out on its own. I squeezed my thighs. My feet are sore. We're running out of time. I want to complete the article. I want to use them all. As you throw the pen, a dull sound rings. Even that sound bothered me. I thought about it without even moving for a while.

“Teacher.”

You hear a cautious call from behind.

“Why.”

“Why don't you take a walk? It was warmer than yesterday.”

“ · · · · · ·. ”

He was watching. The spear trembles severely. Even if it is warm, it is winter. I thought about it for a moment and woke up. When he picked up his coat, the crow was excited and said.

“I'll show you. I recently found a great place to run. ”

He exercises morning and evening. The crow enjoyed it, though it was all the way from the neighborhood. He had a longer walk than he had recently run.

“Let's have a match. ”

When he put on his shoes and asked, the crow smiled.

“No contests. I'm sure I'll win. ”

“I don't know until I try. ”

“I'm not going to let you. ”

I passed by him, full of thoughts of running.

“Never mind. If you break a bone, it's a distraction. ”

Breath came out. The sky is dark. The crow has moved on to the location of the guide. Walking clearly calms down. My head started to sink.

“Teacher.”

“Why.”

“You said you didn't like crows. ”

“I did.”

“Was that a bypass I didn't like? ”

He smiled and said.

“Then what are you going to do? ”

“Forgive me.”

Your tone is serious. You rub your cold nose and ask.

“Were you still concerned? ”

“I don't care how. ”

I don't have time for him. He was distracted by his problems and couldn't afford to look around. My shoulders are sore because I feel uncomfortable. I turned my head and thought about what to say to him. The surrounding landscape caught my eye.

“Here.”

“Great place, right? Just a little further. ”

I looked closely at the path I was on. I was used to it. I've been here before. The crow walked diligently. I couldn't feel my cold feet in my shoes. The sky was all black. The streetlight is on.

“Where are we going? ”

He said he was only a few steps away and walked faster.

“Here you go.”

The wind chilled the sweat on my hands. Breath gushed out every time I breathed. The river flows. You stand a little distance from the ledge.

“You like the river. What do you think?”

You look down. The reflective waterway gleams brightly. Dead here. The crow moves on. I call myself immovable.

“Sir?"

I took a hard step. My cheeks froze and my mouth didn't move well.

“The wind is pretty strong. I guess it's because it's a river. ”

“I see. I'll be going. ”

“We've come this far, but we'll walk to the other side. ”

“· · · · · · · Yes. ”

I forcibly move the leg, which is not strong enough. The crow doesn't notice its condition at all. An exhilarating step. The hand in your pocket trembles. I couldn't bear it. I called for a raven.

“Hey."

“Is that what you called me? ”

The crow turns to look disappointed. I noticed a handrail that stretched over his shoulder. One of them.

“You know my name, right? By the way, sir, you've never called my name before. ”

“Nothing.”

He was a crow, nicknamed after him. I haven't seen a raven since he arrived. Kang Wol told me to face him. I sighed.

“Teacher.”

The crow never called himself a teacher. You don't answer, you start walking. I summon him. I look back.

“Let's get out of here. ”

“What's the matter? ”

“Speaking of breaking up, ”

“Yes? What's breaking? ”

“I hate crows. ”

I made eye contact with him. I didn't hate him.

“I say so. I don't talk back to people I hate. ”

“That.”

“Plus, there's only one crow in the world I hate. I don't feel any other way. ”

The wind blows violently. A branch is broken from afar. You hear a cry. It's been a long time.

“What did that one do to you that you hated her so much? ”

“You ruined my life. ”

I raised my hand to the sky, avoiding the face of wanting to hear the correct answer.

“Look at the moon. ”

“Oh, it's a full moon today. ”

He followed his orders. I opened my mouth and saw a crow sitting on the ledge. I slowly walked to the crow. Slowly the distance narrows. The crow did not fly away. I suddenly inflated myself when I reached out my hand.

You hear a beat. Someone walks in rumbling. There was a bottle in his hand. A layer of perforated clothing is wrapped around it. I approached him without even knowing it. The faces of the novelists who had finished their lives passed through my mind. They will not be named to honor them. An artist who jumped into the river without overcoming the urge for self-destruction. Excellent novelists. Their works were still selling well without mourning my master's death.

He looks down at the river leaning against the ledge. I wanted to be a river when I was born again. I wanted to be a river that would flow anywhere if I lost my strength, and would not be connected to the destination or the starting point. Looks like he failed again. I'm dying to live. He reaches for the river. It's dangerous. The young man shouts from behind.

“Be careful.”

You see the body going over the ledge. It's falling off my head. I grabbed my ankle and jumped in. The screams of someone. The cold wind. I realized that it was falling into the cool feeling of the scalp. I was shocked. You scream.

“Help me.”

I opened my eyes. It's the workshop. You can see the wheels of the chair spinning around. Mack loosens. Lies face up at the ceiling for a while. I can see the pen falling. The laughter poured out.

“My back doesn't hurt. ”

It's not real. There's no such thing as a closed house.

“I don't think the afterlife could be like this. ”

“You made it.”

It's been a long time since I heard your voice. I turned my head and saw a sinister smile.

“Writer Kang, ”

“You're so old. ”

I got up and looked around.

“Am I dead? ”

“I don't know. ”

What came out of his mouth was a smile. It doesn't feel real.

“You were under a lot of pressure as the distance between the present and the past got further away. I was curious about what the future might look like, but this is interesting. ”

“It's nice to hear that kind of hate speech. ”

“Will I stay dead? ”

“No. Please continue. ”

“I intend to. I want to say something to you. ”

The river came a step closer and said.

“Oh, my gosh. ”

Grab your stomach and smile as you make an impression.

“How do you feel about being in my shoes? You can't be that cocky, can you? ”

I rubbed my face with words that I didn't care about. I didn't feel anything. Repeated the same failures. Kang Wol put his hand in his pocket and held still.

“I asked you to save me. ”

“You heard.”

I heard and didn't save him. This is a grudge. I straightened my throat and asked.

“That's what I've been praying for. ”

“If you don't, you won't come back. ”

“I wanted to write something back then. As soon as I got back, I wrote it first. My failed story. ”

At some point, I was turning away. You put your failures deep in the drawer. At the same time, I was still thinking. I remembered the last article I left behind. I couldn't write down the ending.

“There's only writing. ”

I couldn't complete it. It can't be this empty. My shoulders tremble with emptiness.

“Well, I can't help it. ”

Kang Wool stared at himself expressionlessly. I made excuses.

“I can't help it. That's it. I think I've done enough. If he insists on being a student, he'll do anything. I couldn't live with what I wanted to do, and it was hard to live. ”

“You grabbed my ankle. ”

A handrail rises. The awkwardness rises with it.

“I caught the falling one's ankle. ”

“What's that? ”

“Like a raven you hated so much, you grabbed someone's ankle. ”

It was a choice to save him. As a result, he was like this. Something fell on my nostrils. Water. I looked up at the sky. There's gold. The water is counting in between.

“Face to face brings death. ”

Kang Wool's expression was insensitive.

“I've left a lot of traces. There are those who mourn my death. I don't think that's bad enough. ”

“Where will you be after this space collapses? Great novelist coincidence? Crashed genius coincidence? ”

“· · · · · · · I don't know. ”

“Remember, no matter how many traces you leave as a celebrity, if you don't believe me, that's where it ends. Fantasy at best. Including me. ”

He strokes his stomach. The back of my hand is cracking. It looks like a drought. The raindrops have no effect. The back is cold. You should never stay. We can't lose him here. I didn't want to repeat myself. He whispers, a dry voice.

“Don't be so hard on yourself. ”

I can feel my fingernails digging even when I apply strength to my hands.

“Where are the crows?" ”

“What about him? ”

“Where are you?" ”

“Would you like me to warm up when it's cold? ”

A cold breeze blows. The river returned to the ground. You see a black object beyond where he was. I'm curled up in a corner. The crow opens its mouth.

“Do you hate me? ”

I heard his voice. I'm in a hurry. I want to blame him.

“You know my name, right? By the way, sir, you've never called my name before. ”

“Speak your words. ”

“There's no second time. ”

“Shut up. ”

The crow closes its mouth. There was silence.

“Why haven't I seen you before? ”

The crow pounced. I approached him and kicked him.

“Tell me. Why? ”

The crow finds a place to run. The frame hangs. It's a picture of the moon. The crow crawls into it.

“Come out.”

She doesn't come out. She tries to stick her hand in. I only touched the hard surface.

“You brought this on yourself. ”

I threw the rolling makgeolli cup. The wall is broken. Sharp debris falls. A mirror.It's embedded on every cracked surface.

“Why didn't you show yourself? ”

I said to the mirror. The crow did not answer. I opened my mouth instead.

“If you blame the young man for the image of a crow, he doesn't have to look at you. ”

The crack opens. The debris falls. Limits. The water comes in and the ankle snaps.

“Come out.”

The crow says nothing. It flutters its wings like an itch somewhere. He has wings. I was able to get out of here.

“Fly away. Get out of here. Don't get caught in the past. ”

I shaken my head.

“Survive.”

Turn around.

“I've got some writing to do. ”

Yawn. Crows don't come out of there until they get what they want. I punched the wall with my fist. The crow did not raise his hand. No matter how much I threatened it, it didn't work.

“What should I do? ”

I asked the moon. I bowed my head.

“What do I want? I have writing to do. I want to live for a reason. ”

“Novels are fiction, I'm me. ”

The voice of the river came out. The crow moves its beak.

“Complain to the novel. ”

I keep doing what they say. Think of yourself as a parrot. Ridiculous.

“You're just like me. ”

I drowned myself down to my thighs. Time is running out. Death is coming. There was a rough wave. I didn't know where I was standing.

“Hey."

I summon the raven. I blink silently. I spit on him. Smells like alcohol. White hair obscured my vision.

“Say something. Son of a bitch.”

There is a Great Novel here (2) The End

lim Han-baek