Editor’s Survival Guide - Chapter 28

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Editor’s Survival Rules Episode 28

ep6. XIII(4)

I tidied my disheveled hair from rushing and entered the cafe.

I paused at the entrance to look for a familiar face, then laughed helplessly.

A familiar silhouette huddled on the sofa.

Unlike the editor who tried to look neat even after quitting, that author was as casual as ever today.

Casually draped bob cut.

Casually thrown on loose military jacket.

She wore sneakers in winter, but now that it was a bit warmer, she was back to her inevitable slippers.

I walked toward Author Nabbit, who looked the same as always.

“Author, hello. It’s been a long…”

I approached while greeting to make her turn around.

But when the author actually turned around, I froze in place.

“…”

Author Nabbit, who had turned to look at me, was crying with tears streaming down.

“What should I do…”

She even started crying more earnestly when she saw me…?

“Just thinking about it… is so painful…”

As the author sobbed audibly, the attention of everyone in the cafe focused on us.

Startled by the gazes that gathered in an instant, I whispered frantically.

“A-Author, please calm down. Author?”

But Author Nabbit only shook her shoulders, and I grew increasingly anxious.

Author, please don’t do this!

Just looking at your face, you look much younger than me!

Ah, could that really be why?

Whatever misunderstanding they had, the gazes directed at me were growing increasingly cold…

* * *

Author Nabbit, who had finally calmed down, said while sniffling.

“I’m sorry, you must have been flustered.”

“It’s fine. You must be under a lot of stress from the sudden change in your work contact. I’m also truly sorry that I couldn’t stay with you until the end.”

Everyone, did you hear that?

We have a business relationship.

The morning drama you all imagined doesn’t exist here.

I deliberately spoke clearly with this intention.

Fortunately, it seemed to clear things up somewhat, as people’s gazes quickly dispersed. Phew.

“I didn’t contact you to do this, but suddenly I felt a bit strange…”

“Haha…”

That’s not because of me, right? Yeah, surely not.

As I nervously assessed the atmosphere.

Author Nabbit took out a small box and held it out to me.

“What is this?”

“It’s nothing special, but as a token of gratitude for everything…”

“May I open it?”

Nod-

With the author’s permission, I opened the box.

Inside was a pen.

Not a fountain pen, but a somewhat heavy ballpoint pen?

“It’s a space pen.”

“A space pen?”

“Yes, a pen that can be used even in space. Regular pens don’t work in zero gravity because the ink won’t come out. So this pen is designed to not be affected by gravity.”

“It would be useful if I ever go to space.”

“It’s useful on Earth too. You can write while lying down, and even underwater.”

But there’s no paper in mid-air or underwater.

I held back from saying this.

“That’s amazing. I’ll use it well. But I didn’t prepare anything…”

“No, how could I have the nerve to receive anything? I’ve only been a bother all this time…”

Author Nabbit said while hanging her head.

Right, reflection is necessary. For my successor’s sake too.

As I nodded inwardly, Author Nabbit said something unexpected.

“I’m confessing this now, but I had nightmares every time I received feedback from you.”

“Nightmares?”

“Dreams where I was dragged somewhere and only wrote. Getting my manuscripts inspected day and night.”

“When did I ever torment you like that…”

“I thought you were almost like a dictator.”

“Me?”

I was listening with a smile when I was shocked.

A dictator? Why me?

“You always spoke nicely, but I had no choice but to follow. You gave such precise feedback that I couldn’t argue back, so somehow when I got corrections, it felt like getting back a test paper that was all wrong…”

At Author Nabbit’s complaint, I secretly clutched my chest.

But it wasn’t time to feel relieved yet.

“So I became increasingly afraid to send manuscripts… Just imagining how much you’d mock my pathetic first draft made me want to bite my tongue…”

“Mock you? Author, absolutely not.”

“Of course you wouldn’t have. But every time I saw manuscripts come back all red, I felt self-loathing…”

Oh my, this author is doing this again.

“I’m sorry for whining when you’ve already quit… Anyway, I was truly grateful. It was painful, but thanks to you, good results came out, so without you, whether I can do well…”

Just when I thought she was getting better, this author is doing this again.

But taking care of this glass mentality is no longer my role.

That’s the job of the new contact person who will work with her from now on.

So the former contact person should just wave a handkerchief from afar, but…

I remembered Author Nabbit sniffling and swallowed a sigh.

Then, thinking this was the last time anyway, I began to speak.

“Don’t put yourself down like that, Author. I’ll confess this now too – I’m actually a fan of yours. More than half the reason I became an editor was because of you.”

“Hiek…!”

“…Why is your reaction like that?”

I had finally revealed my identity, but Author Nabbit trembled and covered her mouth.

As if she had heard something terrible.

I felt somehow choked up and asserted again.

“It’s true. I’ve liked your work since your debut.”

“XIII…?”

“No, ‘Twelve Days Later One Day’…”

Could there be a previous work I don’t know about?

That would immediately disqualify me as a fan, wouldn’t it?

When I hesitated, Author Nabbit elaborated.

“Yes, that one. I call it XIII.”

“Ah, because ‘twelve days’ plus ‘one day’ equals thirteen?”

“No. It was originally XIII. I split XIII into ‘twelve days’ and ‘one day’.”

Right, normal people would ask what all this means.

But I like even these perverted details…

“But XIII was written so long ago…”

“I liked it back then and it’s still my favorite work.”

I could see Nabbit’s face flushing red in real time.

The author must have felt the heat rising too, as she hunched her shoulders and buried her face in her military coat.

“I actually knew…”

The author said while hiding her face.

“You looked at my work so carefully, I thought you must like my writing…”

At that mumbling, I asked back in disbelief.

“Then why were you afraid of me?”

“If you were a fan but got disappointed, it would be even sadder…”

What a truly troublesome person…

But what can I do, the follower has to endure.

Like a long-time fan, I wholeheartedly appreciated even the author’s embarrassed appearance.

After a moment, the author emerged from her clothes again and complained.

“I contacted you to say hello, but I’m just receiving help again. I’m envious. You seem like you’d handle anything well…”

“That can’t be true.”

“Really though. Even when my protagonists were lost, you immediately found the right path for them. Of course you’d be good at your own work too.”

I felt somehow guilty at the infinite trust the author was sending me.

Ah, I suddenly remembered.

Manager Kwon Mu-seop’s assignment.

And that I still haven’t solved it.

Right, I did help find good paths for the protagonists in the novels.

But that was because I knew all the situations, because I could fix mistakes.

Most importantly, I was an observer, not the person involved.

But this editor who only interfered from the sidelines suddenly became the person involved in some situation.

So I’m trying to find motivation to give myself, but I’m still lost.

Because whatever I bring up feels artificial.

“Author, this is a bit of a different topic…”

Since I thought of it, I casually brought it up.

“There’s someone who might die. So they need motivation for survival, but what would be good to give this person a reason to ‘definitely save themselves’?”

“Mission, revenge, love?”

“Those are the standard ones. But they’re not that dramatic a character. Just a regular person with no beliefs or grudges, no family or lover.”

“Ah…”

“So they’re telling them to get a girlfriend or something…”

“When their life is hanging in the balance? Isn’t that too foolish and irresponsible?”

“I thought so too.”

“Yes. If they’d loved each other from before, maybe, but at this point, even if feelings develop, drawing the line would be right. Besides, giving that much meaning to a hastily made relationship would be awkward too. That’s being intoxicated with yourself loving that person, not the person themselves. It’s inappropriate sudden acceleration.”

…There’s no room for argument.

Right, I thought this wasn’t right from the beginning too.

Having her break it down like this is refreshing though…

So what reason should I give to the character Seo Do-un?

“What if they just accept death?”

At the author’s words, I was inwardly surprised and clasped my hands together.

“For example?”

“They try to survive, but when death comes, they just accept it. This is my end, but I’m glad I can die like myself.”

“The point is not to die so lightheartedly…”

“Being lighthearted would actually be good.”

“Pardon?”

“Not having a mission, revenge, or love worth sacrificing your life or life for means you can decide for yourself what kind of person to become.”

“…”

“Since you’re in a free position, you can just do what you like. Living or dying, entirely according to your own will.”

“What if that lowers the survival rate?”

“That would be okay too, wouldn’t it? Just living long isn’t always the best. I think one year that sparkles without regret is better than 100 years stretched out meaninglessly.”

“Ha…”

I listened to Nabbit’s words and laughed weakly.

So that was it.

Why Manager Kwon Mu-seop’s assignment kept not appealing to me.

A reason why I must save myself.

If such a reason arose, I would have to push away Lee Sol and board the train.

And hide in the ruins hoping for Baek Sa-ra’s death.

But I don’t want to do that.

I don’t want to survive like that and swallow bitter water while absorbed in self-rationalization.

Like Nabbit said, I just want to choose as I feel inclined.

“And I don’t think death is necessarily bad.”

As I swallowed a chuckle, Nabbit chattered again.

“Death is completion and conclusion. There might be something else beyond the death we believe is the end. Maybe all of this is like a role-playing game, and after dying, people who killed each other might say ‘I lost this round, shall we play another?'”

Right, Nabbit’s unique view of death has been consistent since her first work.

I think I’ve been influenced by it quite a bit too.

For a fan like me, this kind of TMI from the author is a kind of reward.

As I listened with a smile, Nabbit, who had been chattering happily, belatedly looked at me.

Then her complexion turned drastically pale.

“…This isn’t about you, is it?”

I just smiled.

Then the author’s mouth became busy in another sense.

“Of course, naturally, people should do their best to live. Death comes once anyway, but once you die, you can’t turn back. So everyone should live as long as they’re given, no, as long as possible…”

“Yes, I’m also planning to live as much as possible, of course.”

Before the author could cry again, I casually interjected.

“But the person treating me told me to try making a reason I must live. So I asked.”

“…Saying it’s foolish and irresponsible was just my personal opinion.”

“No, I have a similar judgment…”

The atmosphere became awkward for no reason.

So I was about to change the topic when Nabbit suddenly spoke up.

“Then, how about this?”

“Yes?”

“First decide on an ending. An ending for your current situation.”

“If I decide?”

“You have to complete the story.”

A story?

As I tilted my head, Nabbit asked while reading the room.

“Wouldn’t this be a reason?”

“Ah…”

As I finally understood, Nabbit shyly added.

“An incomplete story is unacceptable.”

“That’s true.”

“Even if you die, you have to finish it.”

“No, our authors’ health comes first.”

“Just dying, finishing and then dying.”

“The options are too…”

I ended up laughing, and Nabbit smiled brightly too.

Decide on an ending and complete the story.

This is advice you’d give to an aspiring writer.

But I guess I’m really a hopeless workaholic too.

Seeing how this resonates with me much more than being told to get a girlfriend.

“That sounds like a good idea.”

I said with a bitter smile.

I’m an ordinary person who has lived well enough without grand motivations like convictions, grudges, or family.

I’m just a person who isn’t passionate or reckless enough to entrust the reason for my existence to something.

At the same time, I’m a hidden fan of a certain author, and an editor.

If I had to give myself a reason to survive, wouldn’t ‘because stories should be completed whenever possible’ be appropriate?

And when it comes to my ending, there’s no need to even think about it.

“Author, please keep writing. Until I return.”

Since my fan feelings were already exposed, I spoke with personal feelings included.

Thinking that I’d like my epilogue to be a scene of me reviewing your new work.

Did these thoughts of mine get through to her?

My dear author simply smiled.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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