The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel-Chapter 138: Uninvited Guest - 5

Attic.

It wasn't a particularly tall room—perhaps a little cramped for some—but to Tang Hwa-rin, it had become a warmer, cozier place than even the Seong Family Manor, where she had once lived without lacking a thing.

She sat dazed, staring at the medicine in her ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) hand, then turned toward her roommate at the faint scent that brushed past her nose.

“Ugh... alcohol. I told you to wash up before bed.”

Getting up, Tang Hwa-rin opened the window briefly. The cold air streaming in through the crack cooled her flushed face.

“Ugh.”

“I’ll cover you with the blanket.”

When Kang Yun-ho groaned in response to the sudden chill, Tang Hwa-rin approached him. He had passed out from the alcohol and exhaustion.

As she unfolded her roommate’s blanket from the corner, his scent wafted over her. She hated the smell of alcohol—but not this scent. It had felt awkward at first, but now... it was oddly comforting.

“Mmgh...”

“Ah!”

Startled by his groan, she quickly pulled her nose away from the blanket she’d pressed it to. She swiftly covered Kang Yun-ho with the blanket and sat back down on her own bed, watching him.

Hey. You're not awake, right? ...Good. If you were, I would’ve died of embarrassment.

Seeing no sign that Kang Yun-ho had woken, Tang Hwa-rin picked up the hand mirror beside her.

“I’m actually looking in a hand mirror.”

She let out a small laugh at herself in the reflection, amused.

Tang Hwa-rin didn’t usually look in mirrors. Looking meant having to face a reality she didn’t want to confront.

A life lived wrapped up head to toe, her lower face covered by black cloth. Why would she bother looking into a mirror and paying attention to something like that? But now... now was different.

She could imagine a brighter tomorrow, and so she looked.

Even just having the pain disappear after taking the medicine felt like a miracle. But the medicine hadn’t stopped there.

“...It’s really healing.”

Even looking again, it was strange. You wouldn’t notice unless you looked carefully—but there was clear improvement.

A face even she rarely examined closely. But there was someone who always looked at it intently. Who worried for her. A man who constantly wished for her healing.

If he hadn’t pointed it out, she might never have noticed.

Tang Hwa-rin, thinking of the man who had come into her life like a miracle, recalled what had happened just a while ago.

Kang Yun-ho’s sudden physical contact.

Without asking, he had reached out and touched her face. The very part she was most self-conscious about. If it had been anyone else, she would’ve broken their wrist. But with Yun-ho... it was okay.

She had quietly accepted his touch.

— Hwa-rin. Really. If people could just look past their bias, you’d see you have such a charming face.

Is he drunk? Is that it? Is it because he’s drunk that he’s being like this?

Her mind spun from Kang Yun-ho’s muttering. She’d heard men say that even the plainest woman could look like a goddess when they were drunk. Was this one of those moments?

— Hwa-rin, lift your face a bit.

That’s it. This is one of those moments. What do I do? Yun-ho, you said we were just friends...

She had never particularly wished for more, but if he truly did... then shouldn’t he start with words? This wasn’t the right way.

This isn’t me letting you do this—it’s you forcing it. Got it?

Since it’s what you want, I’ll stay still for now, she thought, closing her eyes and pushing her chin forward to make things easier for him.

Kang Yun-ho gently angled her face with his hand. To Tang Hwa-rin, it felt like adjusting a target so a throwing knife would stick better.

It’s coming, right? It’s coming. He really does have those thoughts about me. So then what now?

Yeah. Get a clear answer first. You’re the one who came to me. I don’t mind either way, but you made the move, so I couldn’t help it.

Don’t say it was a mistake. I’ll be sad. No—wait—whatever, just tell me how you really feel.

Smiling to herself at the thought of this delightful turn of events, Tang Hwa-rin’s entire plan shattered with a single line from Yun-ho.

— Can you loosen your collar a bit?

— Whaaaat?

Just because you grant permission doesn’t mean everything is okay. And what Kang Yun-ho had just said... was far, far outside the bounds of any permission she had imagined.

How much exactly am I supposed to allow here? Wait—where exactly is this going tonight?

— Eep!

In a swirl of fear and confusion, as his hand approached, she let out a shrill scream.

— I’m sorry, Hwa-rin. I messed up. That’s not what I meant.

Idiot. You stupid idiot. Tang Hwa-rin, you’re not an idiot because of your face. You’re just a plain old idiot. Why did you scream there?

She looked at Kang Yun-ho, who couldn’t lift his head from guilt. But there was still a chance. She still had her trump card.

Tang Hwa-rin knew Kang Yun-ho sometimes stole glances at her chest.

He probably thought he was subtle, but come on—she knew exactly who she cared about, and no way she hadn’t noticed.

That cumbersome, heavy part of her body. If even that caught his attention, maybe now was the time to use it. Maybe, whatever had made him lose interest could be reignited.

— Take a deep breath. This is important.

As she expected, when she opened her collar, something like a new spark lit up in Kang Yun-ho’s eyes.

— Okay. I’m ready to listen.

And ready to nod, too.

— Hwa-rin... your face is healing.

What he said, however, wasn’t what she’d expected at all—but it was more honest and more beautiful than anything she’d hoped for.

-------

After expressing every emotion possible—joy, bliss, gratitude, sobbing, euphoria—Tang Hwa-rin headed for the washroom.

Of course, she also felt the sting of embarrassment for misunderstanding things again. But at the same time, she was thankful to Yun-ho. She felt hope for the future.

I can recover.

She looked at the mirror above the sink and smiled. That was such a ridiculous misunderstanding. Why do you keep confusing people like that? This wasn’t my fault. Just forget the embarrassment quickly and pretend nothing happened.

Once she stepped out, she should go thank her friend.

But the moment she saw him, she couldn’t say thank you.

Because standing there wasn’t just her friend Kang Yun-ho—but someone else’s Mokryeok Ji-u.

You’re thinking about that friend again, aren’t you.

She didn’t need to ask. She could tell just by looking—he was lost in thoughts of someone else.

All her life, she’d longed for someone she never had. But Yun-ho... was still struggling with the eternal emptiness left behind by someone he once had.

— What are you thinking about?

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Just in case she had been wrong.

— Yeah. I was just wondering... if my friend had taken that medicine, would he have recovered? Or would it still have been not enough?

But of course, she hadn’t been wrong.

I’ll never be able to take that friend’s place... will I.

He had once called him a Mokryeok Ji-u—a friend closer than a brother.

He had helped her solely because she was also a victim of the Poisoned One experiments, just like that friend. That meant... that friend must have been an overwhelmingly significant presence in his heart.

And in contrast, what was her relationship with him?

He was far too good to even be called a “friend.”

Kang Yun-ho had helped her through her agony, rescued her from a bandit den, and when she was about to be thrown out onto the streets under crushing debt, he used his cleverness to let her inherit this bookstore.

Because of the medicine he gave her, she could now even imagine a future with a healed face.

And I never gave him anything.

He helped her simply because she happened to be along his path. She was never of any help to him.

If not for her, he never would have had to rebuild this failing bookstore. With his storytelling and writing skills, he would’ve succeeded anywhere.

Am I a burden...?

If not for her, he wouldn’t have to run around fixing disasters, wouldn’t have to spend all day working in the store, and could have just quietly written in peace.

She was blocking Kang Yun-ho’s path forward. The realization stabbed at Tang Hwa-rin’s chest.

“Yun-ho... You’re not going to leave once I’m better... right?”

It was something she could never say directly to him—only murmur softly.

He had said he was following her because of guilt. So if her face healed, and the bookstore’s debts were completely paid off... wouldn’t that be the day his atonement was complete?

If that day came, would he still stay at Daseogak?

“Yun-ho. We’re friends, right?”

Because we’re friends... please stay by my side.

She was still just the pampered girl from the Seong Family Manor. But he kept growing.

The gap between them, the kindness he’d shown, kept growing. And what grew even more than all of that... was how much space Kang Yun-ho now occupied in her heart.

Yun-ho called her a friend. She was thankful even just for that—but friends can’t stay by your side forever. If she wanted to keep him close...

...then she’d have to become something more.

Tang Hwa-rin’s thoughts halted.

How? With this face? With this kind of relationship? How dare you?

She drooped her head powerlessly. The hope that she could somehow take the place of his Mokryeok Ji-u vanished, leaving behind only the smaller, diminished version of herself.

“...Should I throw the medicine away?”

The medicine she’d been faithfully taking. The medicine made by Kang Yun-ho and his friend. If her face didn’t heal... maybe he wouldn’t leave. If she stopped taking it, maybe she could stop him from going.

Maybe she could bind him to her... forever.

“That would be betraying Yun-ho.”

Tang Hwa-rin shook her head.

That would be a betrayal of his trust, his kindness, his atonement—everything.

She could never betray Kang Yun-ho. If she did, she wouldn’t even deserve to call herself his friend anymore. If those thoughts came, it would be better to focus on becoming someone worthy of him wanting to stay.

Tang Hwa-rin swallowed the medicine.

It was tasteless, except for the dull bitterness—

—but today, it felt more bitter than any poison.

*******

“Yun-ho! Wake up!”

I opened my eyes to Hwa-rin’s completely inconsiderate morning call.

“Ugh... My stomach...”

What hit me the moment I woke up was a brutal hangover. I rubbed my stomach as I slowly crawled out of bed.

Whether I wrote last night or went to a drinking party—either way, I had to go to work. The Daseogak bookstore I worked at was a true worker’s paradise with a Mon-Tue-Wed-Thu-Fri-Fri-Fri schedule. Just who the hell is the manager here?

“I’ll get you some honey water. Wait here.”

Hwa-rin darted off, quickly returning with the honey water, and handed it to me. I sipped it to soothe my aching insides and looked over at her.

“Hwa-rin.”

“Mm?”

“You look a little better than last night.”

“Really?”

“Or maybe not?”

“You little—! You wanna die?!”

“No, really. You look better. Enough that it’s obvious.”

Yesterday, the smooth skin had only formed thin lines across the affected area. Today, they were as wide as a child’s pinky finger.

“Really? You’re right...”

Hwa-rin stared into the hand mirror and gently touched the healing skin. Shouldn’t she be happier? Why the gloomy tone?

Did my Fame Points go up overnight or something?

Maybe a bunch of people binge-read my book last night... or maybe I got talked about a lot at the tavern for being Ho-pil.

Is her healing linked to how famous I am in Yichang?

*******

Hubei Province.

A county far from Yichang.

A massive estate stood there—now completely ransacked. A few local officials stood among the wreckage.

“He showed up again this month?”

“Yes. Just like last month. It seems to be happening regularly. We still don’t know who’s behind it, but there may be a leader. Look over there.”

The official pointed to a flag planted in the center of the ruined mansion.

[Eradicate the Bourgeois. – Kang Mo.]

“Just who the hell is this Kang Mo bastard?!”

This had once been the home of a notorious steward.

The official let out a sigh as he stood among the wreckage—where all the property had been stripped and forcibly redistributed to the poor peasants—and lamented the growing legend of a certain thief the people had begun to praise.