WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Potter
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Genius Writer Who Will Never Fall Again ◈
Chapter 16: Human Scum (2)
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When had Jo Du-ho started seriously pulling this shit?
Thinking back, the turning point was obvious.
‘Wasn’t it when they found out that Geomgye Ilgun, the work they’d been praising so highly, was Writer Han’s?’
This was why people needed to watch what they said.
Du-ho had raved that Geomgye Ilgun had “a depth those rude, wet-behind-the-ears kid writers could never produce.” Once the writer was revealed, though, Du-ho became an idiot who could not even match a manuscript to the writer they had nearly signed.
Du-ho was famous for being narrow-minded.
Someone who had spent over a month badmouthing Jae-kyung just because Jae-kyung turned them down. What would they have done upon finding out the script they chose belonged to the writer they had insulted so viciously?
Du-ho had been truly difficult to deal with back then.
Their face kept turning red and blue all day. Whenever people whispered among themselves, they assumed it was gossip about them and started shouting.
And, as if that were not enough, their hostility toward Jae-kyung only grew.
They had insulted Jae-kyung themselves, but when those insults came back like a boomerang and damaged their pride, they shamelessly flew into a rage at even the mention of Jae-kyung’s name.
‘They were quite a sight back then.’
Of course, that was the only time it had been funny.
“Is filming going well? How’s that rude bastard’s script these days?”
“Ah, we’re working hard on the project. Yes...!”
What was there to say?
PD Min Byeong-gi was in charge of Geomgye Ilgun. Ever since Byeong-gi had taken on the director’s role, Du-ho, who was not even close to him, kept coming over to ask about the production.
The malice behind it was obvious.
There was every reason for Byeong-gi to feel humiliated.
“You know how rookie punks are. They don’t know shit, yet they insist on pushing their own opinions. You’re always right.”
“Ahaha... R-right.”
“That bastard’s rotten to the core, I’m telling you. No matter how impressive something they write looks, you need to question it at least three times. You know I’m saying this for your own good, right?”
Du-ho said such things because they looked down on Byeong-gi.
Because they thought Geomgye Ilgun would fail if Byeong-gi got involved.
Yes. Du-ho wanted to use Byeong-gi as a card to ruin Geomgye Ilgun.
They had to turn the project that had embarrassed them into trash somehow.
They had misjudged one project?
At this point, if Geomgye Ilgun failed, everyone who picked it would have misjudged it. Their personal reputation would be safe.
And what would happen to Jae-kyung’s reputation?
Jae-kyung would become a fraud who wrote empty stories that only fooled people.
Expectation filled that poisonous toad’s hide and snake-like eyes. The expectation that they might be able to bury Jae-kyung completely in the industry.
It would have been a lie to say Byeong-gi was not angry.
‘There’s a limit to how much I can put up with.’
How much more did Du-ho intend to look down on him?
‘If I can just get the ratings up, this bastard is going to...!’
Byeong-gi cursed inwardly, but then...
“...Hey, Byeong-gi. Are you listening to me?”
Byeong-gi had gotten too caught up in those thoughts and missed Du-ho’s words for a moment.
A chill ran down his spine.
Byeong-gi jerked his head up.
“Yes, yes!?”
“You ignored me? You let what I said go in one ear and out the other?”
A vein stood out on Du-ho’s forehead.
Their trembling, heavy breaths were far more threatening than before.
Byeong-gi’s eyes shook.
They realized their mistake, but it was already too late.
“Hey, do you think I’m a joke now too? Huh!? You little punk!”
Du-ho suddenly shouted.
Byeong-gi’s eyes darted wildly.
‘W-what? Why are they throwing another fit now!?’
Had it been a mistake to let their mind wander for a moment?
Or had they failed to control their expression?
Whatever it was, the situation had clearly passed the point of no return.
Du-ho, who had been especially sensitive lately, had finally exploded.
Byeong-gi’s heart pounded madly.
It had always been like this.
Whenever someone who seemed capable of hurting him created an intimidating atmosphere, his mind went blank.
Tunnel vision and hyperventilation sometimes came together.
At times like this, the resentment felt worse than ever.
‘Fuck... Why is it always me...!’
“Hey, does what your senior says sound like a joke to you? Huh? You’re getting more arrogant by the day. You think that drama’s going to be a hit? You think I’m easy too!?”
Everyone knew Du-ho was acting this way out of an inferiority complex because Geomgye Ilgun’s production was going smoothly.
Would anyone help?
Byeong-gi had considered the possibility, but no one here was in a position to stop Du-ho.
Byeong-gi tried desperately to steady his ragged huff, huff breaths, but it was not easy.
They opened their mouth because they had to do something, but only a voice shaking like that of a newborn goat came out.
“N-no... I-I mean, ahaha...!”
“No, my ass! Speak properly!”
Du-ho’s fist clenched.
Then, just as Du-ho was about to slam it down on the desk with a face bright red with rage...
“Director.”
Du-ho froze.
The room went so quiet that a fly could have been heard buzzing.
Byeong-gi knew that voice.
Turning his head, he saw someone standing there.
Tears nearly welled up in Byeong-gi’s eyes.
“W-Writer? What are you doing here...?”
Jae-kyung was there.
They were looking back and forth between Byeong-gi and Du-ho with their usual crooked air and eyes as dry and lifeless as a dead fish’s.
Why did Byeong-gi feel relieved?
As he wondered that, someone overlapped with Jae-kyung in his mind.
“You beat up my lackey?”
Back in school, there had been someone who relentlessly bullied Byeong-gi, but whenever anyone else tried to hurt him, rushed over like a ghost and beat them half to death so no one else could touch him.
‘...Min-chan?’
The silhouette of Kim Min-chan, the bully in charge, seemed to appear behind Jae-kyung’s back...!
* * *
Human beings developed malice toward others very easily.
People could hate someone without a grand reason, without suffering any real harm.
Then what about someone who had suffered real and serious harm?
The answer lay in my heart.
‘What a pathetic way to act.’
There had never been a single thing about Du-ho worth liking, then or now.
It had been quite a while since I had seen them, even counting from after my regression, but the feeling of my insides twisting remained the same.
No, it was worse than before.
Maybe because I had seen them throwing their weight around based on their authority.
Maybe because they had singled out my director as someone to vent their anger on.
What a wonderful industry this was.
Someone like that could gain power just because they had two successful dramas.
I wanted to avoid seeing their face for the rest of my life if possible, but given where we both worked, I knew we would meet eventually.
It was simply unfortunate that it had happened today.
My insides were boiling, but...
‘...Not yet.’
There was another place where that bastard needed to explode.
So for now, I needed to swallow this feeling down.
With that thought, I spoke to Min Byeong-gi.
“You weren’t answering your phone, so I came all the way here. We have a project meeting today.”
“Ah... R-right...?”
“Let’s go. I don’t have much time.”
That was when it happened.
“Well, look who it is.”
The poisonous toad twisted their mouth into a smile, their face bright red.
Perhaps they wanted to pretend they were somebody important, because they straightened their back as well.
“It’s Writer Han, the contest winner. This is not our first meeting, is it?”
“...Yes. I apologize for last time. Something urgent came up.”
“How urgent could it have been, when you never contacted me afterward? I was quite disappointed. Ha ha.”
Their casual attitude and utter lack of shame were incredibly vulgar.
At that age, they were still playing the school bully.
“I’m sorry, but may I take Director Min Byeong-gi with me? I came for a project meeting, and I don’t have much time because of my writing.”
Jo Du-ho’s eyes widened.
It seemed their pride had been seriously wounded.
I was just trying to ensure we would not have to see each other any longer and make each other uncomfortable. Was that so hard to understand?
As I thought that, Jo Du-ho muttered under their breath.
“...Ha, fuck.”
The surroundings were so quiet that everyone heard it.
“Haah, now every little nobody thinks they can... Fuck...”
Jo Du-ho swept back what little hair they had and looked at me.
It reminded me of something from the past.
Before my regression, when Du-ho’s scandal broke and I called in a hurry, there was something they said to me.
“Now even every worthless little dickhead thinks they can...!”
Even their filthy mouth had stayed the same.
I had no idea why they loved talking about dicks so much, either.
I was about to let it slide.
‘Why the fuck are they swearing at me?’
But then, snap, something broke in my head.
My head grew hot.
I suddenly did not want to let it slide.
I supposed people could not change their true nature.
Whenever I stood in front of someone like that, my “writerliness” came out.
“Excuse me, Writer Han.”
“Yes, PD Jo.”
“What exactly do you think you’re doing right now?”
“I’m trying to take our director with me.”
“Are you playing games with me?”
“Are we close enough for that?”
“Your attitude right now is...”
“Is there a problem?”
“You...!”
‘How should I screw them over?’
If I left them alone, they would obviously torment Min Byeong-gi again.
The company’s affairs were none of my business, but I could not watch one of my team members lose morale after getting pushed around by trash like this.
Should I deal with them directly some more?
No. That would not change anything.
There was a very simple fact.
In the terrestrial broadcasting industry of 2013, even if people actually traded punches inside the company, they would be made to reconcile over drinks.
In other words, no matter how much of an outside collaborator I was, an argument alone would not accomplish anything.
Then what should I do?
Fortunately, there was a way.
No, there was a very clear one.
This was where I drew on the wisdom of an ancient sage, otherwise known as a senior.
“Listen carefully, junior. Wherever you go, you must never forget your ‘writer spirit.’”
“What nonsense are you about to say now...?”
“Listen. If someone decides to defy you, make them think they’ll be fucked if they mess with you. Not just them. Everyone who sees it needs to think they’ll be fucked too.”
“Excuse me?”
“You have to blow the whole thing up so badly that everyone starts trembling. If that bastard starts foaming at the mouth and charging in now, everyone’s fucked, right? From then on, they start crawling.”
“Senior, I hope you go to hell.”
“Stay strong, my junior. A talented writer can be forgiven anything. A writer’s only sin is being boring.”
I never thought the day would come when I put those words into practice.
‘It’s about time.’
A bomb would be dropped soon.
That was why I provoked them further.
“Did I perhaps say something wrong?”
“Something wrong? Wrong!?”
“If I did, I apologize.”
There was one good thing about being a writer.
“I spend so much time writing that I’m not very good at dealing with people.”
If you spoke rudely, then said it was because you were a writer, people somehow accepted it.
Someone finally failed to hold back a snort.
The poisonous toad whipped their head around, looking for the culprit, but everyone merely avoided their gaze.
‘That’s why you should have treated people better.’
No one would step forward to protect the dignity of someone with no goodwill to their name.
That bastard did not even understand such a simple principle.
So this was what it meant to benefit all humanity.
Their face was so red that I wondered if they might collapse from high blood pressure.
‘Now...’
Time to drive in the final nail.
“You have nothing to say, so why are you holding us up? Honestly. Let’s go, Director.”
The moment I said that...
‘Here it comes.’
Their fuse had already been short, and they finally exploded.
“You fucking bastard!!!”
With a roar, Jo Du-ho raised their hand, eyes rolling wildly.
As they swung their arm with all the strength their bloated body could muster, their whole body jiggled.
Too slow.
I did not particularly want them touching my skin, either.
‘Still...’
Well, whatever.
Goodbye.
I would not have to see them again over a drama.
Smack!
My cheek felt as though it had caught fire.
And it was perfect timing.
“...Freeze.”
A welcome voice resonated through the room.
It was fundamentally different from Jo Du-ho’s shrill squawking.
Not the squeal of livestock, but the growl of a predator.
Do you know the feeling of the temperature in a room dropping?
Not an actual drop in temperature, but an illusion of cold created when psychological intimidation, subtle shifts in the atmosphere, and someone’s sheer presence combined.
Someone radiating that sort of presence stood by the door.
Jo Du-ho’s face went pale in an instant.
“C-Chief...?”
The most senior chief, Go Young-chan.
The pinnacle of authority in our broadcasting world.
The highest-ranking working manager, and one of the people in this entire station most favorably disposed toward me.
Now, imagine coming here for a meeting and finding this.
One subordinate had struck an outside contracted writer.
Not even the writer assigned to their project, nor someone they knew personally. They had struck a promising rookie recruited through a contest, with CCTV cameras and witnesses everywhere.
If I lost it and walked out now, this would become an incident serious enough for a criminal case.
The situation my senior loved, the one where everyone instantly realized they were fucked.
In other words, I had been handed truckloads of justification as a writer.
What would the highest-ranking person present think as a witness?
I did not know, but one thing was certain.
‘Look at that terrifying face.’
I had never known that person could make an expression like that.
I had also never realized how many veins a human face could have.
I made a decision.
“Jo Du-ho. What are you doing?”
I absolutely must not act up.
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