Chapter 146: Export and Re-import (2)
After finishing the day of sightseeing (and what felt suspiciously like a date), Kim Si-woo returned home looking quite exhausted. He rubbed his eyes tiredly.
“I’m really worn out today, so I’ll head to bed first.”
“Okay! We need to rest well if we’re going out again tomorrow.”
Fortunately, Arimura Noa didn’t seem particularly bothered that Kim Si-woo wanted to sleep early.
The next day, they continued their Seoul sightseeing tour / date.
Arimura Noa had expressed a desire to visit an amusement park in Seoul, so they decided to go to a famous one in Songpa-gu.
“Of all times… April…”
There was one more problem.
The amusement park was located right next to a lake famous for its cherry blossoms, which were in full bloom at this time of year—meaning the place was absolutely packed with people.
“I’m already starting to feel tired…”
“Writer-nim! Let’s wear school uniforms!”
On top of that, many couples were walking around in school uniforms for photoshoots. Seeing them, Arimura Noa excitedly suggested that they should wear matching uniforms too.
“Uh… I’m thirty, you know.”
“So what? As long as your face looks like it’s in its twenties, it’s fine.”
In the end, Kim Si-woo found himself entering the amusement park dressed in a school uniform alongside Arimura Noa.
Inside, the park was overflowing with people taking photos and waiting in endless lines for rides.
“If we didn’t have Magic Passes, we’d be screwed.”
Magic Passes were the magical tickets that let you pay extra to skip most of the regular lines.
Kim Si-woo couldn’t help but think how nice it was to have money in moments like this.
If he had come here as a student, he probably would’ve spent the whole day just waiting and then gone home.
Kim Si-woo and Arimura Noa used the relatively short premium lines to enjoy the rides.
Or… tried to enjoy them.
“Wait! Let’s take a photo here.”
“Ah… sure.”
Photos were mandatory.
Whenever Arimura Noa spotted what she considered a perfect photo spot, she insisted on taking pictures—no exceptions.
“Excuse me… sorry, could you take a photo for us?”
As a result, Kim Si-woo spent the entire day asking random passersby to take pictures of them.
“Okay, I’m shooting. One, two, cheese~.”
After taking the photo, the woman who helped them turned around and shot a death glare at her boyfriend beside her.
“Oppa, you were staring at her just now, weren’t you? Huh?”
She walked away muttering something chilling enough to make any man shiver. Kim Si-woo gave a wry smile.
This was already the fifth time something like that had happened.
Arimura Noa’s appearance had that kind of impact.
Misinterpreting his bitter smile, Arimura Noa looked smug as she turned to him.
“What? Feeling nervous? Worried someone’s going to hit on me? Don’t worry—I’m not that easy.”
“No… I just feel bad for the guys.”
“Ah… yeah, I guess that’s true. They kept staring at me the whole time.”
“You noticed?”
“Of course. Actors are extremely sensitive to gazes. Right now, about five guys are sneaking looks at me.”
“Huh?”
When Kim Si-woo glanced around, sure enough, several men were stealing glances at Arimura Noa. When their eyes met his, they hurriedly looked away.
“Wow, you’re right.”
“So? How does it feel? Going on a date with a beautiful woman like this?”
“Hmm… I don’t know.”
Kim Si-woo answered vaguely, feeling like saying it felt good would be playing right into her hands.
“Hmph. Just you wait.”
After that, over the course of several days, Kim Si-woo took Arimura Noa to almost every famous spot in Seoul: Namsan Tower, the amusement park, Han River Park, Gyeongbokgung Palace, the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan, DDP (Dongdaemun Design Plaza), Gwanghwamun Square, and more.
And both Kim Si-woo’s and Arimura Noa’s smartphones were blowing up nonstop.
“Mmm…”
The constant vibration forced Kim Si-woo to check his phone, where he found messages from a flood of people.
Actors, directors, Siwoo Film team members—everyone was contacting him.
Just then, another call came in. He answered.
“Hello?”
—Hey! Why are you only picking up now?!
It was Shim Ji-young.
“I just woke up.”
—Check the internet right now and search your name.
“Why?”
—You’re in a dating scandal. Wait—no, when did Arimura Noa even come to Korea?
“Probably about a week ago? Anyway, got it. I’ll look at the articles and call you back.”
Kim Si-woo ended the call and turned on his computer. As soon as he searched his own name, articles about his supposed romance with Arimura Noa flooded every portal site.
“Sigh… What a hassle.”
To inform her, Kim Si-woo called Arimura Noa over.
Surprisingly, she didn’t seem shocked at all—she already knew.
“Wait, are you okay with this?”
“Actually, I’m kind of happy? Look, they’re saying we look good together.”
Arimura Noa was clearly enjoying the situation.
“Won’t this affect your work?”
“Me?”
At Kim Si-woo’s words, Arimura Noa made the most dumbfounded expression she’d shown since arriving in Korea.
“This is… the first time anyone’s ever worried about my career.”
“Right…”
Only then did Kim Si-woo remember that Arimura Noa was the only daughter of Only One Film’s owner.
“Yeah, exactly.”
“Anyway, I wasn’t planning to be active for a while, so this actually works out great. Because it’s true—I do like you.”
“…”
Seeing Arimura Noa with zero intention of clearing up the rumors, Kim Si-woo let out another deep sigh.
“Sigh…”
“Writer-nim. Want to see how Japan is reacting too?”
“Hm?”
Before he could even answer, Arimura Noa showed him translated Japanese articles.
The headlines were similar, but the reactions were the complete opposite of Korea’s.
While most Korean comments praised Kim Si-woo, Japanese ones were filled with death threats and curses too extreme to repeat.
“If I go to Japan now… I might actually get stoned.”
“Before that happens, those people will have criminal records.”
Arimura Noa was enjoying the chaos while already preparing to send legal teams after anyone who crossed the line.
“They’re probably already moving—our company lawyers.”
“Ah…”
Truly the difference in class between a Japanese conglomerate heiress and everyone else.
“So… how does it feel to be in a dating scandal with a famous Japanese actress?”
“Tired.”
“Ehh~ That’s so mean.”
“Eventually I’ll have to explain how we met… and admit that I’m the writer of <The Way a Genius Loves> too…”
Kim Si-woo felt dizzy just thinking about how much bigger this was about to get.
“Now things are really going to explode. ‘He gave his work to Japan because…’”
“Come on, that kind of thing doesn’t happen these days.”
“Doesn’t it? You’re underestimating Korea. But honestly, what I’m more worried about is having to explain this to everyone around me before the official statement even comes out…”
That day, Kim Si-woo ended up receiving a barrage of scoldings from multiple people.
A few days later, through Hwang Ji-yoo and CBS reporters, Kim Si-woo released a clarification article.
He is not in a romantic relationship with Arimura Noa.
They simply became close while working together on a project in Japan.
While explaining his connection with Arimura Noa, he also revealed that he was the writer of <The Way a Genius Loves>—and instantly, the topic shifted heavily toward that film.
“Now the hate comments are going to start pouring in…”
Just as Kim Si-woo predicted, speculative articles exploded, and malicious comments flooded in.
[Kim Si-woo kneels to Japanese capital.]
[Started working in Japan because of his Japanese girlfriend?]
[Kim Si-woo sold out his country for a girlfriend.]
“See?”
This time, Kim Si-woo showed Arimura Noa the Korean articles. She couldn’t hide her shock.
“Wait—this is way too harsh, isn’t it?”
“Well… if it’s not this extreme, people won’t even read it. Guess we’ll just have to hire good lawyers and sue.”
“And what’s with these comments? ‘Selling out the country for a girlfriend’? When did I ever sell out the country?”
“It’s because of the special history between Korea and Japan.”
“Ah…”
Arimura Noa fell silent, knowing Japan’s past invasion and colonization of Korea.
“Koreans don’t forget the past. Especially when they were the ones who suffered.”
***
A few days earlier, among those who heard about Kim Si-woo’s dating scandal was also Lee Hae-soo.
She had already finished dealing with all her family matters and had since become like a shut-in, doing nothing but work.
If she wasn’t working, the anxiety was unbearable.
Her sense of self-worth.
Her very existence.
It felt like everything would disappear if she stopped.
The trauma of “family” occupied such an enormous part of her heart.
Nosebleeds became frequent, and sometimes she collapsed from malnutrition and had to be rushed to the hospital.
When she saw the article about Kim Si-woo, the fragile pieces of her heart that she had barely managed to hold together shattered completely.
“Why am I regretting things now…?”
Blaming herself bitterly, Lee Hae-soo sank deeper into a lightless abyss.
Until the day she happened to run into Kim Si-woo on the street…
Lee Hae-soo regularly visited the hospital to receive nutritional IV drips.
Of course, she didn’t go willingly.
She kept collapsing at the law firm office, and the staff eventually told her that calling 119 every time was becoming too much of a burden—so she started coming on her own.
“Sigh…”
Lying on the hospital bed with the IV drip in her arm, Kim Si-woo’s image kept flickering before her eyes.
After dozing off briefly during the drip session, Lee Hae-soo left the hospital to return to the office—only to cross paths with Kim Si-woo at a nearby street corner.
Arimura Noa, the woman from the article, was nowhere in sight. He was walking alone.
But Lee Hae-soo didn’t have the courage to face him.
She turned and ran to hide.
“Huff… huff…”
She desperately tried to conceal herself, but running after so long left her gasping for breath.
‘No…’
Her head spun, and her vision began to blur.
“Huff… huff…”
Eventually, hyperventilation set in, and her consciousness started to fade.
“Hae-soo-ya.”
In her dimming vision, she caught a glimpse of Kim Si-woo calling out to her—and she managed a faint smile.
‘Oppa… I’m sorry.’
“Lee Hae-soo, wake up.”
Seeing her collapse, Kim Si-woo hurriedly carried her on his back and rushed to the nearest hospital.
By the time Lee Hae-soo regained consciousness, Kim Si-woo was already gone.
But she knew.
She knew it was Kim Si-woo who had brought her here.
The lingering scent of his cologne still clung faintly to her clothes.
“At least… he didn’t hate me enough to let me die.”
Meanwhile, after the doctor assured him that Lee Hae-soo would be fine, Kim Si-woo finished paying the bill and returned home.
“She looked really worn out…”
Anyone could see how much thinner and more haggard Lee Hae-soo had become—it was heartbreaking.
“I need to speed up the movie production.”
The thought of showing her <An Unfortunate Girl and a Lucky Boy>—the film he had written while thinking of her—filled his mind.
Maybe…
Maybe this movie could heal her heart.
With that determination, Kim Si-woo quickly called Lee Yoo-jin.
“Hey, Yoo-jin-ah. How’s the preparation going?”
—Yes? Uh… it’s going well.
“Let’s pick up the pace starting tomorrow. Is that okay?”
—I’m fine with it… but are you okay, Writer-nim? Don’t you have to hang out with your Japanese girlfriend?
At Lee Yoo-jin’s sulky tone, Kim Si-woo broke into a cold sweat.
“What are you talking about? Noa-ssi has to go take care of her own work now. And I have to focus on mine.”
—Got it. I’ll have all the materials ready at the office tomorrow.
After ending the call, Kim Si-woo turned and flicked Arimura Noa—who had been eavesdropping—on the forehead.
“Ow!”
“No eavesdropping.”
“Hmm… If she finds out I’m staying here with you, she’s going to lose it, isn’t she?”
“Then you’ll be the one getting kicked out.”
“Ah… then…”
Ding-dong.
Just as Arimura Noa was about to say something, the doorbell rang.
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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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