Chapter 140: Separation Is the Mother of Creation (4)
Upon entering the office, Kim Si-woo spoke to the exhausted-looking staff.
“The cat barely touched his treats or food…”
“Ah…”
Realizing the reason was the cat, Kim Si-woo scratched his head.
“Probably just lost his appetite.”
“Do you think so?”
“Most likely.”
Knowing how smart the cat was, Kim Si-woo wasn’t too worried.
When he entered his office, he found Lee Yoo-jin locked in a staring contest with the cat.
“What are you doing?”
“Ah! Writer-nim. I was just trying to build some rapport with the cat…”
“Oh… right. But I heard he didn’t eat much today.”
“Yeah…”
As soon as the cat heard Kim Si-woo’s voice, it came out of the kennel and began rubbing itself all over him, marking him with its scent.
“Hey, you didn’t eat, they said.”
“Nya~.”
“Ugh… at least eat a snack.”
Kim Si-woo tore open a nearby treat and offered it. The cat immediately devoured it as if nothing had happened.
“He’s eating fine now?”
“Huh?”
“Next time he refuses a snack, just rip it open and dump it in his kennel. He’ll eat it then.”
“Okay…”
“By the way, I bought a house. 10 billion won one.”
“What?”
Lee Yoo-jin’s eyes widened in shock at Kim Si-woo’s casual announcement that he’d bought a 10-billion-won house.
“And I couldn’t find a lawyer I really clicked with. So… could you handle the copyright registration for me?”
Kim Si-woo handed Lee Yoo-jin a USB drive containing the files, picked up the cat kennel, and quickly left.
***
About a week later, Kim Si-woo had fully adjusted to his new home, and the cat had completely recovered.
But one important thing still remained: giving the cat a name.
He couldn’t keep calling it “cat” forever.
Since he planned to keep it long-term, it needed a proper name—but no good ones were coming to mind.
“Hey. Pick your own name. What kind of owner does this?”
“Nya~.”
Kim Si-woo printed out several name candidates on paper and spread them across the floor.
Before long, the cat sat down in front of one sheet and refused to move.
“Danbi? Sounds like you’re gonna be super disobedient. Alright, starting today, your name is Danbi.”
“Nyang!”
After refilling Danbi’s food and water, Kim Si-woo dove back into writing.
The new house felt incredibly well-thought-out—aside from its enormous size, there wasn’t a single inconvenience.
“The workspace is perfect too.”
The room where he wrote was bathed in soft, gentle sunlight, putting him in a pleasant mood while helping him concentrate.
Maybe the breakup was having some effect after all…
Whatever the reason, lately he’d been churning out web drama scripts like water flowing downhill.
“But… shooting is starting soon, isn’t it?”
Before he knew it, filming for <Peerless Joseon> was right around the corner.
“I need to figure out how many coffee trucks and catering vans to send…”
With so many actors he was close to, there were quite a few people to take care of.
Kim Si-woo soon called Lee Yoo-jin.
“Hello?”
—Yes, Writer-nim.
“I’ll send you the list of actors who should get coffee trucks and catering vans for this shoot. Don’t send them all at once—space them out.”
—Understood.
“If you want one for yourself, just put your name on the list. Or if you’d rather take the cash, go ahead and pocket it. Oh… and also…”
After carefully saying what he needed to, Kim Si-woo ended the call, stretched, and dove back into writing.
Lost in work, lunchtime arrived before he knew it.
As he stood up from his desk, the doorbell rang.
Ding-dong.
“Who could that be?”
He checked the intercom and saw his parents standing outside.
“Huh?”
When he opened the door, his mother stepped inside and immediately started scolding him.
“Son! You moved in how long ago and still haven’t invited us?!”
“Huh?”
“You kept refusing to invite us over, so Mom just dragged Dad here herself.”
“Ah… okay.”
His mother, carrying bags full of side dishes in both hands, quickly began putting them into the refrigerator.
And his father wandered around the house, clearly impressed.
“Do you like it? This place was actually built by a really famous architect couple.”
“Yeah, it shows. It looks really nice.”
Seeing his father’s rare satisfied expression, Kim Si-woo thought to himself that he’d have to let them stay here someday.
“So… are you two staying over tonight?”
“Of course. Did you think we’d just leave after coming all this way?”
“Uh… well…”
In that moment, Kim Si-woo suddenly hesitated over whether he should show them Danbi or not.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well… the thing is…”
“You… don’t tell me—”
When Kim Si-woo hesitated, his mother started looking at him suspiciously, as if she’d figured something out.
“Is there a woman here? Oh my, Mom was so tactless. Sorry, sorry—we’ll leave right away.”
Misunderstanding completely, his mother began smacking his father’s arm repeatedly, trying to drag him toward the door.
“Wait! It’s not that… I have a cat.”
“What? A cat?”
Kim Si-woo quickly stopped his parents before they could leave, then went into the room and brought Danbi out.
“Oh my goodness! Since when?!”
“It’s been… less than two weeks.”
“Oh my… so that’s why you suddenly moved out on your own.”
Only now did his mother finally understand why her son had insisted on getting his own place.
“Fine. If you want to raise it in your own house with your own money… just keep him in the room when we eat. The fur will fly everywhere.”
“Yes…”
Fortunately, they didn’t strongly oppose him keeping a cat in his own home.
They just kept listing all the downsides of cats…
“But I heard cats don’t listen at all?”
“I don’t think so. Want to see?”
“See what?”
“How well he listens.”
“Okay, show us then.”
At his mother’s words, Kim Si-woo brought Danbi into the living room.
“Danbi-ya. Sit.”
“Nyang!”
Danbi immediately sat down at the command.
“You see that over there? Go bring it.”
Kim Si-woo pointed at the remote control a short distance away.
Danbi walked over gracefully, tapped the remote with his paw a few times, and pushed it all the way back to Kim Si-woo.
“Good boy.”
Kim Si-woo gave him a treat and ruffled his fur. Danbi closed his eyes in contentment, enjoying the petting.
“…”
Kim Si-woo’s mother was completely speechless at the sight.
“Isn’t that a dog?”
“It’s a cat.”
“I mean… it sure looks like one…”
“He’s a bit special. He doesn’t even hate water much.”
After that, Danbi seemed to sense that these were Kim Si-woo’s parents. He approached them affectionately and started acting cute.
Before long, Kim Si-woo’s mother was holding Danbi in her arms while they all began eating.
With Danbi’s introduction successfully completed, time passed quickly, and before they knew it, the first day of filming for <Peerless Joseon> arrived.
***
The first day of shooting for <Peerless Joseon>.
Everyone moved busily.
From setting up cameras to installing lights, the staff had no time to catch their breath.
But no one complained.
They all knew exactly how important the work they were doing right now really was.
And among them, one actor in particular was extremely tense.
“Sigh… My stomach hurts again…”
The nervous actor was none other than Jung Pil-gyu.
This was his first time properly filming a movie.
He had greeted the other actors and received encouragement from Choi Seung-yong, but the tension was impossible to shake.
He instinctively knew that if he didn’t make his mark properly this time, his acting career would truly be over.
“Phew…”
Having come to the set alone without even a manager, Jung Pil-gyu’s worries were overwhelming.
On top of that, his wife was approaching full term—her due date was getting closer every day.
He couldn’t help but worry that something might happen to her while he was filming.
“I should take a Cheongsimhwan.”
[TL Note: Cheongsimhwan: It’s a med that is supposed to calm you down. Koreans take it before interviews and other stressful nerve- wrecking situations]
In the end, he took out the calming pill his wife had packed for him, swallowed it with water.
“Uncle!”
“Cough!”
Just as he was swallowing the pill, someone poked him from behind and called out—causing Jung Pil-gyu to choke violently.
“Cough, cough!”
“Huh? Uncle?”
The person who had called out and poked him from behind was none other than Hong Soo-yeon’s younger brother, Hong Soo-hyuk.
“Ah! Should I call you Dad now instead of Uncle?”
“Ahem… Hello, Soo-hyuk-ah.”
“Yes, hello.”
Seeing that even Hong Soo-hyuk—who was more than twenty years younger—didn’t seem nervous at all, Jung Pil-gyu felt a little embarrassed.
“You must be really nervous, right?”
“Ah, Writer-nim. Hello.”
And when Kim Si-woo—the man who had given him the chance to spread his wings as an actor—greeted him from behind, Jung Pil-gyu’s entire body stiffened like stone.
“You look like you’ve gotten in even better shape since last time.”
“Ah… working the bellows in the forge every day…”
“That’s impressive. Going all the way to a real forge to learn the craft yourself… Anyway, if you’re okay with it, why don’t you come rest with us over there?”
Kim Si-woo pointed toward the area where the main and supporting actors were gathered.
“Ah… is it really okay for me to join?”
“Huh? Well… if it makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to…”
“No, I’ll come.”
“Okay. Talking with the other actors will help loosen you up a bit. Come on.”
“Thank you.”
As soon as Kim Si-woo brought Jung Pil-gyu over, the gathered actors warmly welcomed him.
The moment he arrived, they started asking him about his acting and why his body had improved so much.
Watching Jung Pil-gyu’s tension gradually ease as he chatted with the actors, Kim Si-woo turned his head and glanced at Kim Da-on and Hong Soo-hyuk playing off to the side.
The truth was, Kim Si-woo had brought Kim Da-on and Hong Soo-hyuk with him to the first day of shooting.
There was no one else he could leave them with, and asking Park So-yul’s parents—who were around the same age—felt like imposing.
He had taken them around the set, introducing them to the director and staff, and then handed them off to the actors.
After entrusting the two child actors to the group, he stepped away briefly.
“Director.”
“Ah, Writer-nim. Is something wrong?”
Kim Si-woo had come back to speak with Director Park Se-yong, whom he had greeted earlier.
“No, I just wanted to say thank you.”
“Oh, come on, it’s nothing. We feel more at ease this way too. And the actors can probably perform better like this.”
In fact, Kim Si-woo had made one special request to Director Park Se-yong, the production company, and the actors:
To prioritize the shooting scenes for Jung Pil-gyu and the child actors.
The people who received the request didn’t know the full reason, but knowing Kim Si-woo’s reputation for rarely interfering in production matters, they had accepted without question.
The ones directly involved—the children and Jung Pil-gyu—remained completely unaware…
Not long after his conversation with Director Park Se-yong, official shooting began.
The actors, who had already changed into costume and finished preparations at the staff’s direction, moved to their positions.
“Alright, we’re starting the shoot.”
At Director Park Se-yong’s command, the main camera focused on the lead actor, Choi Seung-yong.
The other cameras captured the scene from various angles.
“Ready… Action.”
Clack!
With the sharp sound of the slate, Choi Seung-yong began acting.
The opening scene was Choi Seung-yong searching for the best blacksmith in Joseon to make guns—until he encounters Jung Pil-gyu.
“Is this the greatest forge in Joseon?”
Choi Seung-yong, with a sly grin, led his group of followers and stopped in front of the forge.
He took a deep breath and shouted loudly.
“Come out here!”
For the first time, Choi Seung-yong tried using the kind of dramatic line he’d seen in historical dramas.
But the moment he saw the massive figure of Jung Pil-gyu emerging from the forge, Choi Seung-yong immediately regretted provoking him.
“Uh… well, the thing is…”
Fortunately, this was the Joseon era, and society was governed by strict class hierarchy.
He was the Daegun—son of the king, second only to the king himself.
“You scoundrel! What do you think you’re doing?! Bow your head to the Daegun at once!”
“Ah! My apologies!”
The blacksmith, Jung Pil-gyu—who hadn’t yet grasped the situation—hurriedly dropped to the ground.
“Phew… thank goodness.”
Choi Seung-yong, a modern man at heart, whispered in relief under his breath.
A moment later, he approached the prostrated Jung Pil-gyu and extended his hand.
“You’re the greatest blacksmith in Joseon, aren’t you? How about joining me to conquer the world?”
“Huh?”
The spark that would ignite the creation of a new Joseon had begun right here, in this forge.
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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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