{What’s the rush? Let’s eat first before discussing anything.}

Ilya had personally made the reservation at the restaurant, and he had already picked out what they would be eating –– the dish recommended by the head chef. When he asked Woo-Jin if there was any food he disliked, the latter shook his head.

Fortunately, Woo-Jin had nothing in common with Lansky. This was only natural since they each had an entirely different body and personality, resulting in varying tastes and preferences when it came to food, as well as habits. Thus, Woo-Jin didn’t have to act cautiously in front of Ilya, so he could be at ease. Without any hesitation, Woo-Jin ate the lamb, something Lansky hated back when he was alive.

It was possible that Ilya had been using this meal to test Woo-Jin, but the conversation between them was still as enjoyable as it used to be back in his previous life.

{I was running a background check on you, and I somehow ended up looking into all the productions you’ve been in.}

{Yes, I heard. Hugh said you ended up becoming a fan.}

{I said they left a deep impression on me –– I didn’t say I was a fan.}

{Ah, I see.}

In a way, perhaps Woo-Jin subconsciously had high hopes prior to this meeting, which caused him to grow somewhat disappointed when he heard Ilya’s response. For some reason, it was funny because it seemed as though their roles were reversed in his current life. Back then, whenever he heard Lansky’s criticisms, Ilya reacted in the same way Woo-Jin did.

{Was what I said that funny?}

As soon as Woo-Jin unintentionally smiled after reminiscing about the past, Ilya asked quizzically. He initially had a sullen expression, but then he started beaming brightly, looking very happy. For those around them, such a happy expression even elevated the spirits of anyone who saw it.

{No. I suddenly thought of one of your novels that I read.}

{The one you recently read?}

{No, the one I read when I was little.}

Most of the time, rather than reading books for the content itself, young people often did so because they believed it would be beneficial for their schooling or would boost their image. Woo-Jin wasn’t much different from these people, but he enjoyed reading Ilya’s novels very much. The one thing Lansky and Woo-Jin had in common was that they liked Ilya’s work.

{I’ve liked your work for a long time now.}

{It must have been difficult for you to read them at a young age, right?}

{I only understood the words after I revisited the novels when I was older. At the time I first read them, I simply fell in love with your writing style and the mood created in your writing. I just liked all of your novels back then.}

Ilya’s lips twitched after hearing Woo-Jin’s reply as he attempted to hold himself back from laughing. That was because he remembered how Woo-Jin reacted when he picked up Confession of White at the bookstore. Judging from the candid look on his face that suggested he had gotten the wrong book, it seemed as though he didn’t like all of his work.

After replying to Ilya, Confession of White came to Woo-Jin’s mind as well, and he thought to himself: ‘Except that.’ He then paused when he saw Ilya looking at him, the latter trying his hardest to hold back his laughter.

{Why are you laughing like that?}

As someone who had to hide the truth, Woo-Jin couldn’t help but be sensitive toward the other party’s actions and reactions.

{Well, I was simply reminded of the past as well.}

Ilya casually replied, making Woo-Jin feel incredibly frustrated because he didn’t know what the man was thinking or how much he already knew. If he were to ask him directly, Ilya would give the answer he had prepared beforehand, so he could only ask a roundabout way, but he felt antsy.

{My writing isn’t easy for children to read, though. You have a peculiar taste.}

{Your writing style was so neat that it was easy to read. At that time, I couldn’t see the social criticism or irrationality hidden within the text. I just thought the plot was interesting.}

When he was little, he simply assumed the main character was a good person and that everyone who opposed him was bad. He also believed that the moral of the story always ended with the main character’s victory. However, after he re-read the novel as an adult, he found that the main character in Ilya’s novel was not a good person. Nonetheless, he wasn’t an evil person either, so it caused the readers to have mixed feelings.

However, one thing was for sure. Ilya, the author, viewed the protagonist with a warm gaze, although it wasn’t clear if he was a good or a bad person. It was akin to a father looking at his child.

On the other hand, in Confession of White, readers were inclined to feel that the protagonist, Lloyd, was struggling alone. Throughout the book, the writer’s stance and emotions toward Lloyd are cold and cruel. At some point, this causes readers to sympathize with Lloyd after seeing how he was rejected and didn’t receive any love from the author.

{But the feeling I experienced when reading it as a child wasn’t particularly bad either.}

Be it Ilya’s novels or L’s novels, Woo-Jin acknowledged and cherished all the feelings they had evoked when he read them for the first time.

{You’re correct. There’s no right answer when it comes to writing, so the feelings that formed when reading those books as a child were probably not wrong. So, in that sense, how were the other authors’ writing? For instance, Confession of White! Was that the first time you read it?}

Ilya brought up Confession of White as a topic of conversation, almost like he was talking about someone else’s work.

{It was my first time completing the book. In the past, I always gave up on reading it halfway through, but this time around, I read it to the end.}

{You finished reading it this time? The text remained the same, so the person reading it must have undergone a change.}

{I simply grew up and became an adult.}

{It’s a sad thing to become an adult who force himself to do things he doesn’t like.}

{I’m not yet an adult who’s patient enough to force myself to put up with something I dislike. It’s just that I saw a part that I hadn’t seen before, so I read it.}

{Something you hadn’t seen before?}

Before Ilya knew it, his eyes were gleaming as he put down his fork and rested his chin on his hand, awaiting Woo-Jin’s next words. Perhaps this was something that everyone knew, but Ilya always reacted with that expression every time he was being evaluated by others.

Woo-Jin was briefly conflicted about whether he should reveal that he knew Ilya was the author of Confession of White or continue feigning ignorance. However, since Ilya pretended he was unaware, he had to keep it a secret as well.

{The introduction was truly brutal, which initially made me think it was just a gory book, but I couldn’t stop myself from reading it because of the beautiful writing style. Yet, the protagonist is almost psychopathic. As we approach the climax of the novel, Confession of White makes me picture the scenes, and since it was all blood and gore, I couldn’t handle it. Hence, I really don’t know the author’s intentions. Frankly…I thought the author was a strange person when I first read it.}

Ilya smiled after hearing what Woo-Jin said. There were rumors about the author of Confession of White being a drug addict, as well as all kinds of criticism, so Woo-Jin’s evaluation was nothing.

{Originally, I thought it was a gore novel before thinking it was a fantasy novel. And then, at some point, I wondered if it could be a family novel. Can a story filled with murders even be a family novel?!}

Woo-Jin truly wanted to personally ask the author, ‘How could you write something like this?’ However, he simply shrugged it off with an indifferent look on his face.

{The author must have jumbled everything together when he wrote it.}

{No! What I’m trying to say is that the more you read, the more you discover new aspects of the novel. It’s somewhat like a treasure hunt; it’s amazing how the author’s hidden meanings throughout the book jump out at you every time you read it.}

Although Woo-Jin was praising him, Ilya wasn’t smug or embarrassed. That was because he had often heard a lot of different evaluations from people comparing L. Dmitri to Ilya in the past. The readers of both authors often fought as they analyzed the two authors; it was as if they were fated to be drawn to each other. The fans of the two authors were aware of the other party and would often compare the two. Burning with a competitive spirit, it wasn’t uncommon to witness the conflicting fans badmouthing their opposition.

Ultimately, Ilya was the victor. After all, he had written countless novels and won several awards, whereas L. Dmitri was up against Ilya with only one published novel. In any case, regardless of the conclusion, Ilya wasn’t bothered by it. As such, no matter what he heard, he was calm.

{In a way, it’s a simple principle. More often than not, a hundred sheets of manuscript paper isn’t enough for someone to write down their thoughts. Yet, if I were to publish something like that, it would be boring, and nobody would read it, but if it were compressed to one page, people naturally wouldn’t understand what I’m thinking. Since it was originally one hundred pages, much content would be lost, and many interpretations could be gathered from the shortened work.So, for every different reader or for those who’re re-reading it, varying understanding of the book would exist. And I always respect my readers’ opinions.}

Ilya had always argued that anything the author wrote no longer had anything to do with the author’s thoughts. This mindset of his surfaced once again. It was also the topic of conversation he once had with Lansky. Ilya merely repeated the advice Lansky often gave him back then.

Woo-Jin barely managed to stop himself from saying, ‘Indeed, a writer shouldn’t inhibit the readers’ imagination,’ because Lansky had often said that to Ilya as well. After almost slipping up and making a huge mistake, Woo-Jin deliberately responded in a way that differed from Lansky.

{But if a writer manages to fully convey their thoughts to their readers with certainty, wouldn’t that be considered skilled writing? Ah, with the exception of Confession of White, of course. Most literature isn’t as remarkable as Confession of White, but I don’t think it’s necessarily a good thing to make every reader have a different opinion. For example, although there are literary differences in your work, the ideas and themes that flow throughout the novel are clear.}

{That’s because I’m proficient at writing.}

Woo-Jin was about to subconsciously nod his head, but he stopped himself once again. The Ilya that Lansky knew was a slightly depressed young man who agonized a lot over his writing. It took quite some time to appease his bitterness after receiving harsh criticism for his first work. Needless to say, after that, he started to gain recognition and soon became a world-renowned novelist. Thus, it was only natural for him to have such confidence, but it was also unfamiliar at the same time. Woo-Jin had only known the old Ilya Turner, so he was not accustomed to his current self at all.

{You’re right.}

In his response, Woo-Jin’s voice seemed to lack power behind it. This was because he had writing experience as well. Since he had experienced how difficult it was to write and receive the public’s recognition, he understood Ilya’s confidence and was envious of him. The situation seemed to be the opposite of his previous life, so Woo-Jin wondered if he was truly astonished at how things had changed.

{By the way, why are you so disheartened?}

{Frankly…}

Woo-Jin confided in Ilya and told him a secret he had never told anyone else before. He had a desire to listen to Ilya’s advice, and he wanted to form a new relationship with him based on the current situation where their positions had changed.

{I’ll only know after reading what you wrote, but if you can’t communicate your ideas to your readers and they hate it, can’t you just fix it?}

Woo-Jin was filled with indignation when Ilya told him to simply fix the issues if they’d been clearly identified.

{If that were the case, I would’ve become a writer just like you! Even though I know what I want in my head, I can’t get past the issues. Is there any other way to get the readers to understand while simultaneously maintaining my own style?}

{There is.}

{Really?}

{You just have to write well. Regardless of what you write or which writing style you adopt, you just have to make it so that it’s impossible for the readers to put your writing down.}

Woo-Jin suddenly came to the realization that this was why he couldn’t communicate with successful people. Ilya advised others to use the method he had used to attain success; if that had worked, everybody in this world would have become successful. Notably, people who were born with natural talents and worked hard had a tendency to view the mediocrity of other people as incompetence.

{The Confession of White that you mentioned earlier is a suitable example. Even though you didn’t like the storyline and you didn’t understand the protagonist, you still ended up reading it. Exceptional writing has power that goes beyond taste.}

Ilya was subtly bragging about himself. He seemed to be in a great mood, but on the other hand, Woo-Jin was depressed because of his dissatisfaction that stemmed from being unable to refute Ilya.

{I’m not even hoping to write something that amazing.}

{I don’t know what the standard of ‘amazing’ work is, but a good piece of writing is one that is read by many people.}

Good writing or great writing- this was none other than the first criteria of a masterpiece. In the process of captivating readers’ hearts when they first read the piece of literature, a masterpiece would be born.

{When are you leaving for your country?}

{In a week’s time.}

After pondering for a moment upon hearing Woo-Jin’s response, Ilya made an unexpected suggestion.

{If you have time, let’s have another meal like this before you fly back home. If you don’t mind, I’d like to read what you’ve written.}

Naturally, Woo-Jin wanted to meet Ilya again, so he was happy to do so, but he was shocked that Ilya wanted to read what he had written.

{Really? Will you actually do that?}

{It’s not a big deal.}

In truth, Ilya was indifferent about it, but Woo-Jin knew better than anyone else that it was not an

{By the way, when did you learn Korean?}

{Huh? I never learned Korean.}

{Oh? So how are you going to read my novel- ah!}

Since Woo-Jin was fluent in English, Ilya had assumed his novel was also written in English.

{Was it written in Korean?}

{Of course. I’m Korean… But if you give me some time, I’ll translate it into English and show it to you.}

Due to his schedule, Woo-Jin wouldn’t be able to translate it immediately, and the translation itself would require a great deal of time. Despite this, Ilya readily accepted. Thus, they naturally exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

{Is there really nothing else you’d like to ask me?}

There were many things they talked about today, and they also asked each other questions. Yet, he didn’t interrogate Woo-Jin as expected. Time flew by as they spoke about the various movies and dramas Woo-Jin had acted in, as well as Ilya’s novel. Hence, Woo-Jin asked Ilya if there was something he didn’t get to say because of the lack of time.

{Didn’t you already tell me back then? I believed what you said and decided just to interpret it however I like.}

{But that’s…}

This reply terrified Woo-Jin, and he started sweating. If he didn’t state something explicitly, he wouldn’t be able to figure out what Ilya was thinking, so he had no choice but to be careful in his actions. Alas, before he could do anything, Ilya patted Woo-Jin on the shoulder as if to suggest it wasn’t a big deal, so Woo-Jin had to let go of this matter.