Novelist Running Through Time - Chapter 232



Only Noblemtl

She was dressed plainly, standing alone in the middle of a parking lot bathed in the evening glow.

Like an old tree that has lost all its vitality, still.

So, in the big picture, she came to us, but what we immediately pictured was us approaching her.

One step, and one step at a time.

Me, Kim Byeol, and Ma Gi Hoon took careful steps.

As if passing a rabid Tosa dog, stealthily······

He approached the lifeless woman.

An extremely inert being felt was just as dangerous as an extremely threatening being.

It’s like a ghost girl at the well who bows her head and then suddenly screams when someone approaches her.

So when she suddenly raised her head and opened her mouth, we flinched as if we had encountered a ghost.

“Star······”

A hoarse, cracked voice called out her daughter’s fake name.

When Magi Hoon and I froze at the call of our names, only Kim Byeol walked forward with a mask of ‘expressionless face’ on.

The daughter stopped in front of her mother.

And he answered in a cold voice.

“why.”

Then the mother said,

“Let’s go back······”

EP 14 – The Future

I knew very well how weak and helpless a minor without a guardian was.

Community taxes are for the many, not for those outside the social safety net.

Therefore, the young, the weak, and the unprotected are destined to die.

This was the reality where the law of the wild existed even in civilization.

However, the ‘helplessness’ that Kim Byeol showed was different from the ‘helplessness’ that the children at Saebitneulbom Daycare Center often experience.

That look is like someone is getting scolded······

“······”

I looked at the shabby back of Kim Byeol, who had her head bowed low.

The vibrant energy I had just seen had disappeared without a trace, and all that remained was a listless, withering feeling like a bird dying in a cage.

What on earth could have made her like that?

What on earth is the bond between parents and children that can oppress one human being so much?

The difference between adults and children is absolute.

Not all hardships can end in a happy ending like the luck shown by Moon Ji-seop and Ahn Joo-hee.

But does that mean we should give Kim Byeol’s life back to someone who is not Kim Byeol?

Should we accept the wall of reality and allow someone’s future to once again be mortgaged to someone else?

“······”

no.

That can’t be happening.

I know a person who let others decide his future and regretted it even after he died.

Even if you regret, that regret must be your own, and even if you hold someone responsible, it must be only you.

If that doesn’t happen, the pain will never end in your heart.

Because once the people who took my pain and my sorrow are gone, I will never be able to forgive them or be forgiven by them.

So I decided to step forward to make sure Kim Byeol wouldn’t make the same mistakes I did.

Maybe, I thought, the reason Kim Byeol brought me to the filming set was to prepare for this kind of situation······

“no.”

But I was wrong.

Kim Byeol made her own decision.

“Don’t go.”

Decided not to go back.

To stop entrusting your life to someone else.

* * *

Kim Byeol’s firm answer surprised even Moon In and Ma Gi Hoon who were watching her from behind.

But even if emotions had mass, and they were gathered into one place, it would be nothing compared to the shock that Kim Byeol’s mother felt.

“what···?”

She had one belief.

The belief was so entrenched that it bordered on fanaticism, causing one human being to live another human being’s life as if it were his own.

It is the belief that ‘your daughter’s success’ and ‘your own success’ have the same meaning.

For the sake of that belief alone, she turned her back on her husband, her children, and even herself.

Therefore, the attitude that Kim Byeol showed made her mother feel as bewildered as when she heard the words, ‘1 plus 1 does not equal 2.’

“What are you talking about, Byul-ah······?”

“I’m not Kim Byeol.”

That can’t be true.

‘Kim Byeol’ is her everything.

Without the name ‘Kim Byeol’, she is nothing.

Because she is ‘Kim Byeol’s’ mother.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Mom······”

“······”

“Is it because your mom treated you so badly? She didn’t let you eat delicious food, forced you to exercise all the time, and didn’t let you meet your friends… Is that why you’re like that? It was all for your sake… I didn’t know you were having such a hard time….”

“······”

“Yes! From now on, let’s choose the works together, okay? Let’s have meetings together, choose clothes together, eat delicious food often······ Let’s do that. So please come home, daughter······”

“······”

“I’m sorry, Mom. I was wrong······ Huh?”

As one person continued talking, an eerie silence surrounded them.

The writer felt as if he had discovered a kind of separation anxiety disorder in the way the mother spoke to her daughter.

However, Kim Byeol, who knew her much better than the writer, interpreted her mother’s appearance a little more accurately.

That was a ‘pleasure’.

Kim Byeol witnessed for the first time her mother, who had been so strong and resolute, pleading with her.

It wasn’t the first time I saw my mother act so petty. I’ve seen her act like that in front of directors and producers who have casting authority, very occasionally.

But the moment the object of that ‘needlessness’ turned to herself, Kim Byeol felt an unpleasantness that came from having the wrong emotion directed to the wrong place.

That’s······

It wasn’t the kind of emotion a ‘mother’ should show to her ‘daughter’.

It is the emotion that the ‘subordinate’ shows to the ‘superior’.

So then what exactly made a mother her daughter’s ‘subordinate’?

The moment the answer to that question occurred to me –

-Kim Byeol felt fear rising from the depths of her heart.

‘Really······ Really······’

Kim Byeol saw a vision of a rotten monster greedy for her flesh overlapping with the pitiful gaze of her mother.

‘Are you considering my life yours?’

That’s right.

Kim Byeol’s mother was begging for Kim Byeol to return ‘Kim Byeol’s life’ that Kim Byeol had taken away from her.

And that cruel truth drove Kim Byeol mad for a moment.

“Why go back?”

“······Star?”

“Why is that my house? It’s my mother’s house.”

Contrary to her harsh words, Kim Byeol slowly backed away, trembling with fear.

Then, contrary to her harsh words, Kim Byeol’s mother grabbed Kim Byeol’s wrist in a way that felt somewhat violent and prevented her from running away.

Kim Byeol threw away her mother’s hand, convulsing as if a man-eating monster had grabbed her arm.

“Let go of this – !”

But the mother did not let go of her daughter’s wrist.

The skinny hand was holding onto his daughter’s wrist with a strength that no one knew where it came from.

“Star······”

Kim Byeol shouted, disgusted at her mother for not calling her name.

“Why is that my name? Why on earth do I have to choose a piece with my mom? Why on earth can’t I just say whatever I want to my manager? Why on earth can’t I even choose my own clothes? Why on earth? It’s my life? Why?”

“Star! Talk to Mom······!”

Kim Byeol screamed.

“What kind of story is this – !”

Beauty, politeness, kindness, and all the other aspects that make you feel socially acceptable.

Kim Byeol threw off her mask, opened her eyes wide, and shouted so loud that her voice cracked.

“When did you ever listen to my story – !”

Just as the daughter was surprised by the sight of her mother meeting her for the first time just a moment ago, this time the mother was shocked and stood still by the sight of her daughter meeting her for the first time.

Taking advantage of the gap, Kim Byeol bit the back of her mother’s hand, which was still holding onto her wrist.

A brutal and blatant violence that no one could have predicted.

“Stop! Stop!”

“Hey, hey, stop!”

It was only when it got to that point that Moon-in and Ma Gi-hun separated Kim Byeol and her mother, and Kim Byeol was unable to escape from her mother’s clutches.

As the noise died down, a single, vivid color dominated the place.

Red.

Bright, cruel, red blood was flowing from Kim Byeol’s mouth.

“Huh······ Huh······”

The daughter who hurt her mother was crying.

And the mother who was hurt by her daughter – quietly, without making a sound.

As if he absolutely cannot accept this reality-

Odokani was silent.

“······”

Kim Byeol, who had fallen into madness, cried for a long time, and then laughed for a long time again.

I was laughing so hard I almost lost my breath –

He speaks to his mother, who is still looking at him with a blank expression.

“People who shouldn’t have met met, huh?”

“······”

“People who should not meet as parent and child… ended up meeting each other.”

At that moment, the mother felt as if she was looking straight into her daughter’s face for the first time.

The true face of a naked daughter who has thrown away all the masks, smiles, and fake respect…

With a smiling face,

With tears in my eyes,

Blood was flowing from his mouth.

Only after facing that horrible sight did the mother realize that she had made a terrible and irreparable mistake.

The mother spoke, holding in her heart the most desperate regret that only such people can feel.

“daughter······”

But as is always the case with people who feel such regrets, it was already too late.

“Look straight ahead.”

“······”

“You ruined me.”

“······”

“You made me like this.”

“······”

Kim Byeol smiled like that and stared at her mother for a long time.

This time, the mother looked down and could not meet Kim Byeol’s eyes.

Before I knew it, the warm evening glow had disappeared beyond the horizon, and only the chilly night air was blowing into the shabby parking lot.

In the darkness that seemed particularly thick, the mother and daughter stood for a long time without being able to look at each other.

After some time, Kim Byeol, as if she had won a fight that had been going on for a very long time, burst out laughing and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

The daily managers who had been following Kim Byeol around also followed her around in a fluster.

“······”

When the mother, who had been suffering in such karma and anguish for a long time, raised her head, her daughter had already disappeared into the darkness of the night, and only she remained alone in the shadows.

Mother remained silent for a long time under the shade of a streetlight.

He left the stage quietly, without making a sound of footsteps.

So all the actors left.

And then, there was no one.

At least on stage.

Below the stage, there was still one audience member left.

“······her.”

A man with a job that you would normally find near a drama set was sitting in his car in the parking lot, holding his breath and looking at the empty stage.

* * *

Baekhak Entertainment was experiencing internal strife at an unexpected time.

This is because of the sudden rush of resignations from key mid-level managers.

“No, Vice President Kim! If you leave too······”

“sorry.”

“her······”

All day long, whispers could be heard in the office building, saying, “If this continues, the company will go under.”

And that worry seemed to come true any moment now, wreaking havoc on every aspect of the company.

But even in this situation, people with short vision were happy about the immediate promotion…

It was the law of nature that when someone resigns, the people below them get promoted.

“under······”

Team leader Kim Seong-geun of the management headquarters was also one of those ‘short-sighted people.’

But he was excluded from the opportunity to enjoy the joy.

Of course, it’s because of Kim Byeol.

“Fuck······”

A manager who is abandoned by the celebrity he has been in charge of for 10 years will never receive a good evaluation.

Even more so, if the fact that he was in charge of Kim Byeol was the greatest achievement.

As a result, Manager Kim Seong-geun was overlooked for promotion amidst the storm of resignations and promotions coming from all sides.

From then on, promotion is no longer an issue, it is an issue of pride.

At that time, when he was barely soothing the wounds of his bitter pride with cigarettes-

Someone came looking for him.

“Hello, are you Team Leader Kim Sung-geun, who was in charge of actor Kim Byeol?”

“Not anymore.”

“Oh, so you were in charge of it in the past?”

Team Leader Kim Seong-geun looked at the person who came to see him with a puzzled look as he smiled as if to say, ‘You found the right person.’

Who would want to look for someone who is now useless?

The answer followed immediately.

“Ah, I’m this kind of person······”

The business card he handed me had a fairly familiar company logo on it.

The fact that he is an entertainment reporter is also true.

“Can we have a brief interview about actress Kim Byeol?”