Chapter 139: Separation Is the Mother of Creation (3)
Kim Si-woo headed to the Siwoo Film office first instead of home.
He knew that if his parents—who didn’t like cats—saw the animal, they’d definitely give him an earful and kick him out.
“I’ll have to keep him at the office until I find a new place…”
When he arrived at Siwoo Film after such a long time, the people who hadn’t left yet greeted him with all sorts of reactions.
Lee Yoo-jin, in particular, welcomed him especially enthusiastically—her worry had clearly built up over the past weeks.
“You’re back?”
“You must have had a really hard time…”
“Writer-nim, why is your face so thin? Have you been eating properly?”
“Well… I ate at least once a day.”
“No way! How can a person survive on just one meal a day? Especially when you usually eat three full meals without fail.”
At the unexpectedly sharp nagging, Kim Si-woo scratched the back of his head.
“By the way, what’s that in your hand?”
“This? A cat.”
“A cat?”
At the word “cat,” several heads turned—not just Lee Yoo-jin’s.
“I picked him up yesterday.”
“But why does he look like that? Is he sick?”
“No, the vet said he’s healthy. He just had neutering surgery, so he’s like this for now.”
“Ah…”
At the mention of neutering, the men in the room especially made sympathetic faces.
“Anyway, Ji-yoo?”
“Yes, Writer-nim.”
“Did you look into lawyers?”
“Yes. I’ve already organized the list~.”
“Then print it out and bring it to my office.”
“Got it!”
“Yoo-jin-ah, let’s talk more in my office.”
Kim Si-woo entered his office with Lee Yoo-jin. Surprisingly, the room was cleaner than expected.
It had been abandoned for a full 45 days—there should have been dust everywhere—but not a single speck could be found on the desk.
“The office is really clean.”
“I cleaned it.”
“Thanks.”
“It’s nothing…”
The person who had been taking care of his office all this time was none other than Lee Yoo-jin.
After sitting down, Kim Si-woo turned on the computer and called her closer.
“I worked on a new project while I was at home. Wanna take a look?”
“Ah… so that’s why you needed a lawyer…”
“Well… it’s still a bit awkward to see Hae-soo face-to-face…”
Kim Si-woo looked slightly embarrassed, as if ashamed of his inability to perfectly separate work and personal matters.
But Lee Yoo-jin was clearly delighted to hear confirmation of the breakup between him and Lee Hae-soo.
“Ah… then please send me the file. I’ll read it at my desk.”
“Okay, I’ll send it over.”
“By the way, are you planning to keep that cat here in the office from now on?”
“No. Just until I find a new place. My parents aren’t big fans of animals…”
After that, Kim Si-woo and Lee Yoo-jin caught up on how they’d spent the past month and a half.
Mid-conversation, Hwang Ji-yoo came in, handed over a file containing the lawyer list, and left.
The lawyer list was surprisingly detailed.
It included the projects they had handled in the past, their current evaluations, and the directors and writers they had signed partnership contracts with.
“Wow… her connections really are something else.”
Kim Si-woo was once again impressed by Hwang Ji-yoo’s ability to gather and organize this level of information in just one day.
“Just read the script on my computer. I’ll go through this list.”
“Ah… okay.”
While Lee Yoo-jin read the script in one corner, Kim Si-woo stroked the cat and narrowed down the lawyer list.
By the time he finished selecting candidates, Lee Yoo-jin was still immersed in the script.
Kim Si-woo told her he’d be right back and asked her to watch the cat for a moment.
He stepped out and headed to a nearby pet supply store, where he bought cat food, bowls, treats, toys, litter, and various other essentials before returning to the office and setting everything up.
“Yoo-jin-ah.”
“Yes, Writer-nim?”
“Can I ask you for one favor?”
“Sure. What is it?”
“Tomorrow, while I’m out meeting lawyers, could you look after the cat for me?”
“Ah! Of course.”
At that moment, Lee Yoo-jin still thought the cat Kim Si-woo had brought in was friendly and affectionate toward people.
After all, it didn’t reject his touch and showed endless affection toward him…
“Just make sure he doesn’t go outside. Feed him and give him water—that’s all.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”
Kim Si-woo only prepared to leave for home after Lee Yoo-jin finished reading the script.
“Come on. I’ll give you a ride.”
“Is it okay to leave the cat here?”
“Him? He survived fine on the streets—this is practically a suite for him. Right? I’ll come in early tomorrow morning, so just sleep here tonight.”
“Nya~.”
“See?”
Lee Yoo-jin’s eyes widened in surprise at how the cat seemed to respond.
“Is he… a genius or something?”
“Maybe? He answers pretty well. Not sure if he actually understands, though.”
At Kim Si-woo’s words, Lee Yoo-jin turned her head—just in time to see the cat calmly walking into the kennel on his own and settling down to sleep.
“…”
Even on the entire drive home, Lee Yoo-jin’s mind was completely filled with thoughts of the mysterious cat.
***
The next day, Kim Si-woo set out to meet the lawyers he had marked on the list.
“The cat’s been taken care of—people at the office know about him, so they’ll look after him well.”
After checking on the cat that morning, Kim Si-woo pushed his worries aside and began meeting with the lawyers one by one.
After finishing meetings with all five he had selected, Kim Si-woo frowned deeply.
“As expected… the information isn’t completely accurate.”
Meeting them in person revealed how different reality was from the reports.
The lawyer who was supposedly popular among directors turned out to be someone obsessed with self-promotion.
The one praised for great skills had an unbelievably terrible personality.
And the others he’d chosen each had some flaw that didn’t sit right with him.
“Sigh… For today, let’s look for a house instead.”
Giving up on the lawyer search for the moment, Kim Si-woo walked into a nearby real estate office.
“Hello.”
“Welcome! How can I help you?”
This was the same agency that had helped him find the Siwoo Film office and Hong Soo-yeon’s home.
“Ah! You’re the gentleman who came before. Long time no see. What kind of property are you looking for this time?”
“I’m looking for a house.”
“What’s your budget range and preferred size? Any specific type you have in mind?”
Sitting down, Kim Si-woo thought for a moment before speaking.
“Price doesn’t matter. It has to allow pets—I’m going to keep one cat. And I’ll be living alone.”
“How about a detached house in the countryside?”
“Wouldn’t that be too much maintenance? I really hate anything troublesome…”
“Hmm… I see. Well, young people usually prefer officetels or apartments anyway. Still, a really good property just came on the market, so I had to ask.”
“Hmm…”
Hearing it was the agent’s personal recommendation suddenly made Kim Si-woo curious.
“Can I see it?”
“Of course. Shall I show you the photos first?”
“Ah… sure.”
Kim Si-woo looked at the photos the agent brought out, while the agent continued explaining beside him.
“It’s a property that just came up a few days ago in Hannam-dong. A famous foreign architect couple built it for themselves, but something came up and they suddenly put it on the market. They’re heading back overseas, apparently… The price is high, but it’ll probably sell quickly. The building is exceptionally well-made. The land is about 200 pyeong, and the building itself is around 140 pyeong. The neighbors are all nice and quiet too.”
“Wow… it really looks incredible just from the photos.”
The more Kim Si-woo looked, the deeper his dilemma grew—this house looked far too good.
“How much is it?”
“A little over 10 billion won.”
10 billion won.
Before becoming a writer, he wouldn’t have even dreamed of a house like this.
But now… it was different.
There was far more than 10 billion won sitting in his bank account.
And just as expected from a home built by architect owners themselves—there wasn’t a single thing that needed fixing.
No need to redo the interior, and the yard was big enough for light exercise.
The only issue was exactly what he’d feared: maintenance.
If cleaning his own tiny room under 5 pyeong already felt like a chore… taking care of 140 pyeong would probably mean spending the entire day just cleaning.
“It does seem a bit too big for one person to manage, right? It was originally built for a family of four, after all…”
“Yeah… that’s true. Could you show me some other properties?”
“Of course.”
The real estate agent showed Kim Si-woo several other listings.
He looked at the photos, but in his mind, the first countryside house he’d seen kept circling back.
“Sigh… Could I actually go see that very first countryside house?”
“Ah! Yes, of course.”
The agent hurriedly gathered a briefcase full of documents.
“Let’s take my car.”
“Shall we? Haha…”
A short while later, after arriving at the detached house in Hannam-dong by car, Kim Si-woo looked up at the building.
“Seeing it in person… it looks even better.”
“That’s why I recommended it. Shall we go inside and take a look?”
“Sure.”
Once inside, Kim Si-woo inspected every corner meticulously.
Almost as if he were looking for even the tiniest flaw to give himself a reason not to buy it.
But the more he explored the interior, the more his thoughts began to shift.
“If I worked here… I think I’d probably do much better.”
“The architect couple apparently paid special attention to natural lighting because they believed children need sunlight. And they’re leaving all the appliances they used behind, so there aren’t many things you’d need to buy separately.”
“…”
After a brief silence, Kim Si-woo made up his mind.
10 billion won was a huge expense, but if he thought of it as a place to live for the rest of his life, there was no better option.
“Let’s make the contract.”
“Ah… yes? What?”
The agent was visibly startled by the sudden decision.
“Tell the owner I’ll pay the full 10 billion right away.”
“Ah… understood.”
The agent quickly made a phone call somewhere. A few moments later, he returned with a slightly relieved expression.
“They say they’re willing to sign today. The owner is coming to the office.”
“Let’s go.”
Kim Si-woo left the house and headed back to the real estate office.
When they arrived, a blond, blue-eyed foreign man was already waiting outside.
“Ah, Colin-ssi. Please come in.”
“Hello, Mr. Park.”
Speaking in fluent Korean, Colin entered the office and greeted Kim Si-woo as well.
“Hello. I’m Colin.”
“Hello. I’m Kim Si-woo.”
After exchanging brief greetings, the two men made eye contact for a moment. Before stamping the contract, Colin cautiously asked,
“May I ask you just one thing?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Um… what do you do for a living…?”
“Me? Ah… I’m a writer. I write scripts.”
“Oh~ A writer! Could you possibly be that Kim Si-woo Writer-nim himself?”
“Probably? I’ve never met another writer with the same name…”
Kim Si-woo was slightly flustered by the question.
It felt as though Colin already knew who he was.
He had always thought his fame was limited to the Korean industry—people in film and drama.
But for a complete foreigner with no connection to movies to recognize him… he couldn’t help but feel surprised.
“It’s just that… my daughter is a huge fan of yours.”
“Huh? My fan?”
“Yes. She dreams of becoming an actress. She always says she wants to appear in one of Writer-nim’s movies someday. So… would it be possible for you to give her an autograph?”
“Uh… I don’t really carry autographs around, but… how about a business card instead?”
“Oh… shh~!”
Colin reacted quite excitedly and quickly pulled a business card from his wallet.
“Then I’ll give you mine as well.”
The card listed Colin’s full name, occupation, phone number, email, and more.
After exchanging business cards, the two men completed the contract paperwork and smoothly finalized the deal.
“If you ever need to build another place in the future, please contact me anytime.”
“Haha… thank you.”
Having formed an unexpected new connection, Kim Si-woo finished his schedule and returned to the office to check on the cat—only to find the entire Siwoo Film team looking utterly exhausted.
“What’s going on? Did something happen?”
“Writer-nim… well, the thing is…”
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TL Note:
This novel is now translated and finished at Chapter 176
If you’d like to continue right away, the remaining chapters are available on My Patreon Premium tier and Plus Tier, but if you want to read my other 5 translated novels, join the Premium Tier
Link: https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
For this novel specifically, check the collection under “Genius Writer”
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