Chapter 148: Export and Re-import (4)
After finishing their meal, Lee Yoo-jin ended up heading to Kim Si-woo’s house with him.
“Why? Is there something at home?”
“Huh? No, nothing.”
Watching Kim Si-woo fidget like a puppy that desperately needs to go outside, Lee Yoo-jin became certain.
There was definitely something—or someone—at his house.
In the meantime, Kim Si-woo had secretly texted Arimura Noa to leave the house for a while, but for some reason she hadn’t replied, which only made him more anxious.
A short while later, they arrived home and stepped inside.
Sure enough, Arimura Noa was waiting to greet them.
“You’re back? Oh, we have a guest today?”
“…”
“Writer-nim?”
“Huh?”
“Why is the star of the dating scandal here? Are you two living together?”
At Lee Yoo-jin’s icy question, Kim Si-woo scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“Uh… she said she’d move out as soon as she found a place…”
“Writer-nim. Do those eyes look like someone planning to move out anytime soon?”
When Kim Si-woo turned to look at Arimura Noa, she simply gave him a bright, innocent smile.
“Sigh… yeah, doesn’t seem like it.”
Arimura Noa stepped forward first and extended her hand to Lee Yoo-jin.
“But first… shouldn’t we introduce ourselves properly? Director Lee Yoo-jin?”
“You know who I am?”
“Of course. I have my ways of finding things out.”
“Then I guess there’s no need for introductions. Actor Arimura Noa.”
The two women stared at each other as they shook hands, then walked together into the living room.
“Would you like some coffee?”
“No, I’ll make it myself. Writer-nim, where’s the black tea?”
“Right here.”
Arimura Noa moved around like she was already the lady of the house, while Lee Yoo-jin politely declined her offer.
Each prepared their own drink—coffee for Lee Yoo-jin, black tea for Arimura Noa—and sat down on the living room sofa.
“So… what brings you here…?”
“To work.”
Lee Yoo-jin’s cold reply came instantly to Arimura Noa’s question.
Seeing the tension, Kim Si-woo quickly stepped between them and spoke up.
“She’s here to help prepare the next movie.”
“Already?”
“Yeah… it just kind of happened.”
“Can I read the script?”
“No!”
Lee Yoo-jin rejected Arimura Noa’s request flat-out.
“I don’t think I can show it to non-involved parties.”
At Lee Yoo-jin’s refusal, Arimura Noa looked at Kim Si-woo with pitying eyes, but he shook his head.
No matter what, Lee Yoo-jin was the director of this film—and she had every right to make that call.
“Writer-nim?”
“Yeah…”
“It feels a little distracting out here. Should we go to your room instead?”
“Huh? Uh… sure.”
Lee Yoo-jin led Kim Si-woo into his room.
Once inside, she praised the house she had already admired from the entrance.
“Writer-nim… this place is really nice.”
“Yeah… I was just trying to find a decent apartment, but somehow it turned into this…”
“Then shall we get started?”
“Sure.”
Kim Si-woo and Lee Yoo-jin sat side by side in front of two monitors and began going over everything.
Investment companies, distributors, additional casting needs, script revisions—there were surprisingly many things still left to coordinate.
After more than four hours, dinner time arrived.
“Let’s stop here for now and decide what to eat.”
“Okay.”
After saving the files and sending them to Lee Yoo-jin’s email, they returned to the living room—only to be greeted by the smell of delicious food.
“What’s that smell? Who in this house could possibly be cooking…?”
Kim Si-woo knew Arimura Noa couldn’t cook, so he didn’t think it was her.
And sure enough—he was right.
Arimura Noa hadn’t cooked at all. She had ordered delivery and was now transferring everything into pots and plates to make it look homemade.
“Kyaaah!”
Caught in the act of plating the food, Arimura Noa let out a startled scream.
“What are you doing?”
“I-I was… cooking…”
“Cooking? Or just unpacking delivery?”
Seizing the moment, Lee Yoo-jin immediately began her attack.
“Ugh… there’s nothing for you.”
“Really? Then I guess Writer-nim and I will have to go out to eat.”
“Huh?”
Faced with the two women refusing to back down even an inch, Kim Si-woo hurriedly sat at the table.
“Come on, just sit down.”
In the end, at Kim Si-woo’s words, Arimura Noa brought out the food, and Lee Yoo-jin sat down as well.
After the three of them finished dinner, Kim Si-woo turned to Lee Yoo-jin.
“So… have you decided what to do about the Siwoo Film team?”
“Yes…”
“And?”
“I want to make it with our team.”
“Alright then. Let’s wrap up the current web drama first and focus on the movie after that.”
“Yes!”
Accepting Lee Yoo-jin’s decision, Kim Si-woo spoke to ease her worries.
“If at any point you feel like we’re falling short, you can always bring in outside staff. Don’t stress too much about it.”
“Okay.”
“And worst case, we’ll just call Director Park Woong-deok or Director Park Se-yong…”
Hearing Kim Si-woo casually mention some of Korea’s top film directors as if they were neighborhood friends, Lee Yoo-jin felt a mix of envy and admiration welling up inside her.
“More importantly, think carefully about the male lead. In some ways, he’s the most important part.”
“Got it.”
At Kim Si-woo’s words, Lee Yoo-jin nodded firmly.
And so, the foundation for <An Unfortunate Girl and a Lucky Boy> was steadily taking shape.
***
Time passed, and while preparations for <An Unfortunate Girl and a Lucky Boy> were moving quickly, word finally came that the editing for <Peerless Joseon> was complete.
Director Park Se-yong offered to send Kim Si-woo the video, but he declined, saying he’d rather wait and watch it at the audience preview screening.
As the technical preview, distributor preview, and press preview took place one after another, Kim Si-woo kept hearing updates about the film—and the praise was unanimous.
Most of all, people were saying it was a movie every Korean had to see.
Of course, the critics’ reactions were negative.
“Well… can’t be helped. My movies were never really about art to begin with…”
Commercially successful films often lacked artistic depth, while highly artistic ones usually struggled to make money.
A true masterpiece required both.
Critics tended to focus heavily on artistic merit, which meant commercially driven films almost always received harsh reviews.
But critics weren’t always right.
Sometimes overwhelming commercial success could surpass artistic expectations.
The very title <Peerless Joseon> sparked curiosity.
For Koreans, it was impossible not to turn their heads at a title like that.
Joseon.
The tiger of Asia?
No.
It had always been nothing more than a rabbit—constantly devoured by China and Japan.
Because Koreans knew that history so well, perhaps they wanted to see—at least in a movie—what it would look like for Joseon to become the tiger of Asia.
In the midst of all this, the audience preview day arrived.
Kim Si-woo attended the premiere alongside Arimura Noa, Lee Yoo-jin, and several other actors.
“Si-woo-ya? Why is she here…?”
“Ah… she said she’s staying in Korea for a while…”
Shim Ji-young and Kim Ji-hyun, seeing Arimura Noa for the first time, quickly scanned her from head to toe.
Height, face, body, fashion—comparing themselves to her in every way, sizing up the competition.
But she wasn’t called Japan’s national actress for nothing.
And on top of that, she was a conglomerate heiress.
The clothes, bags, and jewelry she wore were—if anything—even more expensive than theirs.
“Tch.”
In the end, Shim Ji-young clicked her tongue first and returned to her seat. Kim Ji-hyun followed suit.
“Oppa, have you decided on the male lead yet?”
Jung Se-yeon and Hong Soo-yeon—who had met Arimura Noa before—greeted her politely.
“It’s been a while.”
“Hello.”
Their voices were soft and courteous, but their eyes were anything but.
Why had she come to Korea?
Their eyes were filled with intense anti-Japanese sentiment, practically screaming “Go back to your country.”
“Nice to see you again.”
But Arimura Noa’s response was pure evasion.
A slightly sly evasion.
She made a frightened gesture and quickly grabbed Kim Si-woo’s sleeve.
Seeing this, Jung Se-yeon and Hong Soo-yeon felt their insides boil with anger, but they forced bitter smiles and returned to their seats.
Soon, the seating arrangement was finalized: Jung Se-yeon sat to Kim Si-woo’s left, and Arimura Noa to his right.
“Writer-nim. I’m upset.”
“Hm?”
As soon as they sat down, Jung Se-yeon whispered her complaint in a small voice.
“It feels like we’ve drifted apart since filming ended.”
“…”
“You don’t contact me first anymore… I only found out about your move from someone else…”
“I just thought… it’s hard to get too close to celebrities you like…”
Kim Si-woo had simply been busy, but he carefully chose his words to avoid hurting Jung Se-yeon’s feelings.
As a result, she looked noticeably happier. Kim Si-woo let out a relieved breath and turned his attention to the screen.
Completely unaware of the final remark she left hanging…
“Got it. Then after this, we’ll have a private 1-on-1 fan meeting. Just wait for me.”
“Huh?”
At the same moment Kim Si-woo’s startled voice escaped, the theater lights dimmed and the opening music of the film began to play.
***
Beep beep beep beep. Beep beep beep beep.
At the sound of the relentless alarm, Choi Seung-yong—the protagonist of <Peerless Joseon>—groaned strangely and struggled out of bed.
“Ughhh… Monday already? I seriously don’t want to go to school.”
Thwack.
The moment he complained about not wanting to go, his mother appeared and smacked him on the back.
“Get up! You have to go to school!”
“Ah, seriously… can’t I just say I have a cold today?”
“You little—do you think you’re still a student? Get up right now!”
“Okay… okay, I’m up.”
Unable to withstand his mother’s nagging, Choi Seung-yong dragged himself out of bed, scratching his body as he shuffled toward the bathroom.
Watching him, his mother clutched her chest in frustration.
“Hah… no wonder he can’t get a girlfriend. My fate… they say if you have no luck with husbands, you have no luck with sons either…”
Having heard his mother’s lament too many times, Choi Seung-yong paid it no mind and hurriedly began washing up.
After finishing, he grabbed one of his identical everyday outfits, put it on, and trudged off to school.
Once at school, he greeted the teachers as usual and sat at his desk to prepare for class.
Morning assembly, 1st period, 2nd period, 3rd period…
As time passed, Choi Seung-yong grew more and more bored with this repetitive routine.
“Ah… is this really life? It’s so boring. Someone please send me to another world. I’ll quit teaching and unify everything with guns.”
Staring out the window, Choi Seung-yong muttered to himself, thinking about the web novel he’d read yesterday.
At that moment, something sparkled in the sky, and his smartphone buzzed.
“What the—!”
When he checked, it was an emergency alert: North Korea had launched a nuclear missile.
But before he could even finish reading it, a blinding light flashed, followed seconds later by a deafening explosion. The shockwave collapsed the school building.
Buried under the rubble, Choi Seung-yong bled from all over his body.
‘So this is how I die…? Well… at least it’s better than this boring teaching life…’
Even in the midst of catastrophe, Choi Seung-yong remained calm—almost relieved that he could die this way.
But when he opened his eyes again, bandages were wrapped tightly around his abdomen.
“…”
Staring at an unfamiliar ceiling, Choi Seung-yong tried to sit up but winced in pain from his stomach and let out a groan.
“Ugh…”
At his groan, footsteps approached. The door opened, and several people dressed in traditional hanbok entered the room.
“Lord Husband!”
“Daegun!”
At the unfamiliar words, Choi Seung-yong tilted his head in confusion.
‘Daegun…? And… Lord Husband? Me?’
Seeing his bewildered expression, the people hurriedly urged the physician forward. The doctor took Choi Seung-yong’s wrist and checked his pulse.
And so, the modern high school science teacher who had wished to be sent to another world was reincarnated as a Daegun (prince) in the Joseon era.
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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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