Become a Star - Chapter 243.2

Chapter 243.2
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Chapter 243 (Part 2)

The cafe had been crowded since this morning, but it became relatively empty in the evening. It was common for most of the customers to go to more exciting places than cafes on a Saturday night. There were also many people that simply chose to rest in their cozy homes, or study hard at the library instead of taking the day off.

The customers that frequented the cafe around this time either wanted to have some quality time by themselves or they just wanted to find a place where they could talk to their friends comfortably. Some came here just to fill the remaining free time on their hands.

Dinky Cafe closed its doors at 10:30 p.m. As 10 p.m. drew closer, only five tables on the first and second floors of the cafe were occupied. Aside from two of the tables, the rest of the customers were regulars who would leave on their own when it was near closing time.

Preparing to close the cafe, the owner personally went out to throw away the food waste instead of having his part-timer do it. As he returned from the garbage bin located in the corner of the parking lot, he stopped in his tracks when he heard a familiar voice.

“Don’t you think it’s weird that a person that has studied abroad keeps getting rejected at the resume screening stage? I’ve heard about her going to competitions, but I’ve never heard about her winning any prizes and awards. Don’t get hung up on the impossible, and just tell her to be a teacher in a private institute or something.”

As soon as Kim Tae-Hwa was done speaking, a voice could be heard coming through the phone –– it was even audible to the cafe owner, who was a distance away.

–– What did you say? A teacher in a private institute? Do you think you’re a big shot just because you’ve become a prosecutor! How dare you say such a thing to your older sister? You can’t see all the hard work your sister put in, huh? Whenever I look at your sister, I feel frustrated and my heart aches so much. Who are you to admonish your sister!

“What’s wrong with being a teacher in a private institute? To put it bluntly, I paid for her fees and expenses when she studied abroad, as well as her private classes, with the money I earned from tutoring. And who’s the one who told this prosecutor to find her a job in an orchestra? Not only do I not know any orchestras, but also, who’s going to hire someone without any skills just because a mere prosecutor said so? Please know your place.”

Kim Tae-Hwa’s mother gasped and screamed at her. This time around, it was so loud that it was impossible to make out what she was saying.

“I’m asking you for a favor –– please don’t call me if you want to say such useless things.”

–– I’ve had it with you! What have you done for us ever since you’ve become a prosecutor?

I worked my fingers to the bones to raise you and yet you don’t repay my kindness. You don’t even give your parents any money! When other people’s daughters become successful…

Not wanting to hear her mother’s verbal vomit, Kim Tae-Hwa closed her eyes and wrapped her hands around the phone for a moment. As soon as the sound of the muffled voice faded, she placed her phone back to her ear and said in a calm and cool voice.

“Since you said that, I’ll print out my bank statements dated all the way back to the time I went to college, stating the amounts of money I wired to you. Just like what you always say, I’m a spiteful and evil daughter, so don’t hope for anything more. And if you come to the District Prosecutor’s Office ever again, I really will apply for a restraining order against you then. Do you think I can’t do it?”

Even if things were to escalate, there were several law firms out there that would hire her even if she were to quit being a prosecutor. Kim Tae-Hwa was no longer afraid of her mother, and she wasn’t worried about the things that would happen because of her.

–– How did I give birth to someone like you! Oh my goodness, what a terrible fate I have.

“Indeed. Even if I were poor, I wouldn’t have turned out to be like this either, if I had been born to parents who loved me. But what can I do? I feel sorry for myself for being born to someone like you.”

Kim Tae-Hwa calmly retorted before hanging up the phone right away without hesitation. She turned around and was about to go back into the cafe when she paused. The owner had been standing in the corner, unable to leave.

“I was too loud, right? I apologize.”

“It’s fine; nobody can hear it from inside the cafe anyway. But will your mother really go to the District Prosecutor’s Office to look for you?”

The owner of the cafe was worried because Kim Tae-Hwa’s mother had stormed into the cafe and kicked up a huge fuss a couple of times before. If she were to storm into the District Prosecutor’s Office as she did here, it would be an utter disgrace for Kim Tae-Hwa.

“She did drop by a couple of times before, but she can’t pull the same thing she did before. My mother’s very careful about maintaining her image since her purpose of going to the office is to get prosecutors to be her son-in-law and daughter-in-law.”

Her mother was trying to do all she could to use Kim Tae-Hwa to set her older sister and younger brother up with prosecutors. She couldn’t storm into the District Prosecutor’s Office and act like she did at the cafe.

The boss smiled wryly. He was relieved to hear that she only behaved inappropriately if the setting permitted.

“Still, I’m glad you handled it firmly. I thought you would’ve let her walk all over you like you used to, but you were awesome!” As soon as the cafe owner gave her a thumbs up, Kim Tae-Hwa smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

She gradually gave less, and less money to her family when she entered the training institute. And as soon as she was appointed as a prosecutor, she stopped sending money to her parents under the pretext of buying a car and a house. Truthfully, she was earning less as a prosecutor than she had as a private tutor.

She had given up on being loved by her parents and was now emotionally independent. And so, her life became beautiful and peaceful. The dark and turbid energy that used to linger on her face had disappeared, and her beautiful face had become even more radiant.

“Oh, your friend must be waiting alone for you, so run along and go in.”

It had been a while since he saw her, so he wanted to chat more with her, but Kim Tae-Hwa wasn’t alone today –– she visited the cafe with her friend, who was a fellow prosecutor. After hearing what the cafe owner said, she hurried inside.

Fortunately, her friend was still sipping on her cafe latte that was filled with syrup just like she was before she left the cafe. She looked extremely troubled.

“I’m sorry for leaving you here by yourself. I received a call from home…”

“You must have felt as troubled and depressed as me huh.”

Fully aware of the situation, Kim Tae-Hwa’s friend sighed while feeling depressed. She thought about how Kim Tae-Hwa’s phone kept ringing a while ago and looked at her with a gaze that seemed to imply she understood how she felt.

“But what exactly happened to you today?”

Since her friend had suddenly become depressed that afternoon, Kim Tae-Hwa couldn’t help but be worried that something had happened to her. That was why even though it was late, and her friend wanted to drink alcohol, Tae-Hwa had coaxed and brought her here. Seeing how both of them were addicted to caffeine, there was no way they wouldn’t be able to sleep just because they drank coffee late at night. Not to mention, the consolation provided by alcohol when one was in a bad mood only lasted in that moment –– one would feel worse when they woke up in the morning.

“My only hobby is reading novels.”

“I’m well aware of that. Not just novels –– you also like reading comics.”

Kim Tae-Hwa’s friend had no interest in music, movies, or art-related things, but she read novels and cartoons across all genres. Because of that, her friend didn’t know a single thing about celebrities or highly-rated dramas.

Kim Tae-Hwan had been busy with her life, so she wasn’t an expert on the subject either, but at the very least, she knew the names of celebrities or the titles of dramas. She watched one or two movies a year, but her friend didn’t watch a single one.

“So, I think it was four years ago? There was a novel I really enjoyed reading. However, it was a little rough around the edges, so I pointed it out. I’m absolutely not the type of person who normally leaves comments online, but it was a pity to let it be because the novel had a huge potential. Hence, I left a comment saying it’d be good if he tweaked it a little, and nitpicked on the flaws one by one…but the author deleted the novel.”

“You were in the wrong, HNeul.”

“I reflected on what I did and I regret it as well.” Jang HNeul pouted as she said that. Even though she was the same age as Kim Tae-Hwa, HNeul had passed her bar exam a year before she did.

Although Jang HNeul was her senior by a year at the training institute, they managed to become friends because of her amiable personality. However, as a prosecutor, she was tenacious, and once she located a weakness of an individual, she would never let it go, earning her the nickname, ‘Crazy Turtle’.

If Jang HNeul had persistently pinpointed all the author’s flaws, then just imagining what happened was enough to make Kim Tae-Hwa feel sorry for the author.

“But the storyline of A Fragment of Enigma, a novel that was published in the United States a few years ago, was very similar to Woosa88’s novel!”

“Woosa88?”

“The nickname of the author of the novel I was talking about is Woosa88.”

Kim Tae-Hwa nodded after hearing Jang HNeul’s explanation. When she suddenly recalled the article she saw today, she clapped and said, ‘I got it.’

“Ah, that’s why somebody has established a Fancafe that sought to find the truth behind which author plagiarized the other… Was it you by any chance?”

“Yeah, I founded that Fancafe.”

A Fragment of Enigma was a fantasy novel that was published in the United States, and it became a huge sensation worldwide. People talked about how he was the second Tolkien, and some even called him the novelist who had surpassed Tolkien.

As the author’s name was ‘Woo-Jin’, people guessed he might be Korean. As expected, the book that was published in English in the United States was translated into Korean, but there wasn’t a translator. The author, Woo-Jin, had rewritten the novel in Korean.

But that didn’t mean people could strongly insist he was Korean. His novels weren’t written only in English and Korean, it was also published in Chinese, Japanese, French, and German. He had written his novel in six languages by himself, without the help of translators.

However, that wasn’t enough for the author –– he said he was going to personally write the novel in the other foreign languages he knew, without the help of translators, and was pushing back publishing contracts with a few countries. His agency had responded that he was busy and had no time.

The novel was perfect in the sense that it felt complete, and it was interesting. The readers often wondered how many languages he had mastered –– it was a hot topic among them.

However, among the readers that had read the Korean version of the novel, a lot of them surprisingly remembered a novel that was serialized online a few years ago. Since the author Woo-Jin’s writing was refined and his writing skills were top-notch, the other author’s work couldn’t be compared to his, but nobody could deny that the storylines of both novels were the same. If both parties weren’t the same person, it was evident that one of them had plagiarized the other person’s novel.

“They could be the same person, but their sentence structures were so different. I feel bad for saying this, but Woosa88’s would definitely need more than just two to three years to get to author Woo-Jin’s level in terms of writing skills.

“I understand.”

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Kim Tae-Hwa patted Jang HNeul on the shoulder as the latter couldn’t finish her sentence. The reason behind her sadness was that an article published today had stated that the publisher and author Woo-Jin’s agency had officially confirmed that both novels in question were written by author Woo-Jin himself.

“What have I been doing the entire time? I truly thought the author, Woo-Jin, had threatened our dear powerless and incompetent Woosa88 and stole his writing!”

Judging by how she referred to him as ‘our dear Woosa88,’ it seemed like she was very fond of him even though she had nitpicked on him a lot. She should’ve done it moderately, but there was no middle ground with Jang HNeul.

“How could he have grown so much in such a short period of time? As expected of our dear author!”

The truth-seeking Fancafe had strongly argued that Woo-Jin had stolen Woosa88’s writing. But as it turned out, both writers were the same person, so even though Jang HNeul felt dispirited, she was also relieved and happy. It was a mixture of emotions.

Joy and sorrow were written all over Jang HNeul’s face. And just then, the cafe’s door opened and the door chime rang. It was now 10:20 p.m., so the cafe was about to close. There was also a ‘Closed’ door sign hung outside the door, so no customers would enter the cafe. Thus, Kim Tae-Hwa wondered who the person that entered was.

“Oh?”

“Is he someone you know?”

When Kim Tae-Hwa had a look of surprise on her face, Jang HNeul asked as she looked at the man entering the cafe, out of curiosity.

“It’s my senior, Choi Woo-Jin.”

“Senior?”

“Senior? Judging from how I don’t know who he is, is he your senior from college?”

If he was Kim Tae-Hwa’s senior, it meant that they went to the same school, but since Jang HNeul didn’t recognize him, she guessed that he was Kim Tae-Hwa’s senior from college. She had an indifferent reaction.

It seemed like Jang HNeul truly didn’t know who Choi Woo-Jin was, so as soon as Kim Tae-Hwa told her about him, she finally nodded. She had a rough idea of who he was.

“Ah, the actor that won the Best Actor Award at Cannes a few years ago, and won an award at a film festival in Berlin last year?”

Jang HNeul remarked that even she knew that much. That was because his name was Woo-Jin, so once she heard it, she could never forget it.

Jang HNeul looked at Choi Woo-Jin, who was talking to the cafe owner, and the other customers that were talking among one another after seeing him, she nodded.

“Come to think of it, I remember how our administrative officer said he was really handsome and kicked up a fuss over it.”

However, Jang HNeul didn’t seem to relate to what she was saying. Her reaction was cold and soulless.

“Indeed, the faceless men in your novels and the main characters of the comics you read are more handsome, right?”

Jang HNeul couldn’t refute what Kim Tae-Hwa said, and looked at her with a facial expression that seemed to say, ‘Aren’t you the same anyway?’.

“In any case, you find your boyfriend more handsome than him, no?”

“Doesn’t that go without saying? And at the very least, my boyfriend exists. He even sent me this message.”

Kim Tae-Hwa waved her phone in front of Jang HNeul and showed off her boyfriend’s text message that asked if she was having fun hanging out with her friend.

“Damn it, I’m the only one without any.” Jang HNeul grumbled that she was the only one without a cat or a boyfriend. She suddenly looked up after sensing someone else’s presence next to her. Before she knew it, Choi Woo-Jin had appeared there, greeting Kim Tae-Hwa.

“Hello, it’s been a while.”

“Hello.”

Kim Tae-Hwa got up from her seat to greet him, and Jang HNeul subconsciously followed suit. In any case, she wanted to be polite to Kim Tae-Hwa’s college senior, and a junior who had passed the bar exam, even though he didn’t go to the training institute. As soon as Kim Tae-Hwa introduced Jang HNeul to Woo-Jin, he looked happy to see her, as though he kind of knew who she was.

“Ah, are you Cr…Turtle?”

“How did you know…ah!”

While Jang HNeul’s nickname was well-known among prosecutors, it wasn’t something known outside the circle so Kim Tae-Hwa wondered how Choi Woo-Jin, an actor, knew it. However, she quickly remembered that his cousin and his cousin’s wife were prosecutors. But HNeul wasn’t aware of that information and so, when he mentioned her nickname, her eyes widened as she wondered if she was that famous as a prosecutor.

After a brief exchange of greetings, Choi Woo-Jin said he was going to get the Dutch coffee he ordered from the cafe owner and said goodbye to Kim Tae-Hwa and Jang HNeul before leaving the cafe.

As soon as Woo-Jin left, Kim Tae-Hwa got ready to leave too.

“We should make a move now as well.”

“Yeah, it’s almost closing time.”

Putting her experience as a part-time worker in this cafe to good use, Kim Tae-Hwa placed the cups on the tray and threw the recyclables into the recycling bin as well.

Not only them –– the other customers at the cafe started to leave one by one as soon as it was time for the cafe to close.

After all the customers had left, the cafe owner checked the empty cafe once more before turning off the lights one by one, after sending all the part-timers home. The only light that remained turned on was the red ‘Closed’ sign.

The people that passed by the closed cafe walked under the moonlight, preparing for tomorrow.