An ancient manuscript from million of years was accidentally obtained by a young man who was escaping from a pursuit of his enemies. 
Although he doesn't know what its use and can't even force it wide open, he still decided to take it with him as he ran for his life...
It didn't take a long time and he died, but with the help of the manuscript...

What is love? My english teacher believes that it's truly rare to truly love someone unconditionally. You end up loving someone because you feel obligated to, or because they took care of you; is this real love?

When the blood of different races infest your body, are you still human? Are you part human? Are you still considered as a human in mind and spirit, or are you throwing your 'humanity' away?

A story is only dramatic when riddled with challenges.

Miracles only are deemed miracles in fateful moments.

Soulmates are only found when two accept what is being shouted in their hearts.

Pushing fate away doesn't stop it, only delays it.

“CAFFEINATED LOVE: THE LAST MANUSCRIPT – contrary to its title – is not a bitter story even with its lack of a happy ending. Yes, it’s sad. I think it’s the saddest kind of love. Thank you for understanding what everyone and I did not.” Gabrielle’s note on her first and last book signing event as a writer.

    Several weeks later, Alice has finished writing her discovery. Alice is sleeping soundly with a slight snore after exhausting work. "Hm...(Yawn) I must be exhausted, I snored," Alice said. Alice reads her written diary about her discovery. "Well, that's everything. Let's learn some new magic," Alice said. Alice opens a big leather book bearing golden runic writings on the cover and sea blue colored ribbon between pages containing information of magic, runes and magic sigils used to cast magic for someone born without the ability to use magic. This leather book in her tent is a spell book that she always read whenever she wants to learn a new magic. While Alice is reading, a sound of flutter and small footsteps heard in front of the tent. "Hmm? Phoenix? What brings you here, my birdy friend?" Alice looked up from the book. A medium sized phoenix carrying a rolled paper in its beak and a bag approaches closer. "Is that a message?" Alice approached the Phoenix for the paper. Alice takes the paper while petting Phoenix's head and opens it. "It's a letter from Roy. Let's see...," Alice read the letter. "Hello, Alice. It's me, Roy Kivan. I found an old book in my basement while I was cleaning the room. I don't remember having this book and I can't read the language so I sent it to you. Maybe you can understand the language written in this book. From: Roy," Alice read the message. "A book? Hmm...," Alice looked away from the letter and turns her sight on the bag. "The book is in this bag?" Alice wondered. Alice opens the bag and pulls out a book inside it. "What a dusty book. Roy forgot to clean it before sending it to me. Phoosh!" Alice blew the dust from the book. Alice opens the book and she was surprised upon reading the writing format. "What kind of format is this? This is not an ordinary format for a story book. It's the format of manuscript! I don't believe it!" Alice's eyes widened. Alice read the manuscript that Roy gave her while leaving her spell book opened. "Huh...The tale of Vathek...What kind of name is that? This book said that this character named Vathek was born during the reformation of religion. Wait, what? What a strange tale," Alice exclaimed. Vine opens Alice's tent after he heard her shouting and enters the tent. "What are you doing, Alice? Your shouting tone can be heard from the outside," Vine asked. "Roy gave this manuscript to me. He said he found it while cleaning. I wonder if it belongs to the previous owner of the house. This book mentions someone named "Vathek" and I had no idea who that was. You may read it if you want," Alice wondered. Vine takes the manuscript and read it. "This manuscript is written in Arabic and I can't understand the language. Wait, you don't think that...this manuscript isn't from this world?" Vine asked in wonder. Alice looks bewildered and says," Maybe the timeline of this manuscript is from other era. Wait, I have an idea. Let's go back to the time of that manuscript". Alice turns her spell book's pages and found a spell that will help them understanding the language of the manuscript. "We're going to the past. This is going to be a scary strange adventure. Are you ready?" Alice asked. "I'm ready to go on an adventure with you anytime," Vine said. "Let's do this," Alice turns the pages and stop at the time magic. "Here it is. Quantum Leap!" Alice casted the time magic. "Whoo!" Alice jumped into the manuscript with Vine. "Whaa! What is this? I'm floating!" Vine screamed. "Not floating. We're on the way to the manuscript's time. This is the gateway of time, think of it as the road to our time destination," Alice explained.

Several weeks after discovering the existence of siren behind the myth, Alice receives a letter from Phoenix under the care of Roy Kivan. Opening the letter, Roy told her of how he found a forgotten dusty old book in a basement written in a language that he couldn't understand and send the book in a bag brought by the Phoenix to her hoping that she could understand the language and its writing style. With curious intent, Alice took the book and open it. Shocked by the language and format that she has never seen before, she take a closer look at the title of the book spelled Vathek. Vathek is a novel written by William Beckford and the second gothic novel of the 18th century after Walpole's Castle of Otranto that mark the beginning of distinguishable classic gothic genre which became the inspiration of the present gothic story. 
This story was written under Alice's exploration along with Vine of what happened within the story as she tried to save Vathek from his envisioned path of damnation.

Since the last Weixin chat, Su Lu hasn't bothered Chu Yu anymore. After all, the idea of ​​the new work can only be relied on by Chu Yu herself. At most, she can only make some comments after the idea of ​​the new work is completed. Chu Yu is in a hidden state in the world.
　　"Aren't you talking nonsense?" Chu Yu said in an angry voice.
　　"If I haven't thought about the idea of ​​the new work so far, how could I draw the manuscripts of the three words at the serial meeting next Friday!"
　　"Yeah...yes, it seems that your state is very high, it seems that you have not been lazy during this time..." Su Lu nodded and said.
　　However, Su Lu immediately noticed something wrong with Chu Yu's words.
　　"Original...what original?"
　　"Huh?" Chu Yu made the look that you were teasing me.
　　"What manuscript do you mean? Of course it is the manuscript of the new work! Didn't you say that you asked me to draw three new works before next Friday?"
　　"Did you come here specifically to waste my precious painting time on this kind of problem?" Chu Yu said out of air.
　　Su Lu finally understood completely, where did the sense of something wrong that he noticed came from.
　　"You mean, you are not painting the storyboard name of the new work this week, but you are directly painting the original manuscript of the new work?"
　　Chu Yu blinked, he also seemed to notice something was wrong, he hesitated, he said.
　　"Em...that's right!"
　　"How much did you paint?" Su Lu looked at him with weird eyes.
　　"Almost a little more words! Twenty-five-six pages of comics." Chu Yu said.
　　"What?" Su Lu's eyes widened.
　　"Page twenty-five and six...A week, are you alone?"
　　"You are kidding!"
　　"Forget it, don't care about it, where is the manuscript of your drawing, let me see?"
　　"That stack on the table is." Chu Yu looked inexplicable, what happened to Su Lu today!
　　Su Lu didn't talk nonsense with him, and rushed over, carefully picked up the manuscript and began to read it.
　　...
　　Entering the eyes, several characters of Rurouni Kenshin. Remembrance chapter come into view.
　　"I'm dying..."
　　"The same is true of the times, so are the hearts of the people..."
　　In a secluded night, a handsome man, sitting cross-legged in front of the creek, looked at the night sky and sighed like this.
　　It is just a simple picture, a depressive and sad atmosphere is conveyed from the painting.
　　This....
　　Su Lu's eyes became serious.
　　In the next scene, the scene turns.
　　A group of women ran away desperately with a child.
　　Behind him was a vicious human trafficker.
　　Killing, killing without any compassion.
　　In the expressions and eyes of the traffickers, there is no trace of awe for life.
　　The women and children were overtaken, and everyone could not escape the killing.
　　"Please let this kid go..."
　　The women guarded the children and begged the robbers.
　　But only swords responded to them.
　　The last woman, after being pierced by a sharp blade in her neck, looked at the little boy for the last time before Ning died, and said to him in a weak voice.
　　"... Live!"
　　Next, when the little boy was about to be slaughtered, the handsome man appeared and cleanly beheaded all the robbers on the scene.
　　For the man, he was just saving the next person, but what's the use?
　　Such things happen all the time in this world.
　　He can only save the person in front of him, but he cannot save this corrupt world.
　　With this idea,
He leaves here.　　But when I passed by here again the next day.
　　It was discovered that the little boy saved by him had buried everyone at the scene, including the traffickers who wanted to kill him...
　　After some conversation, the boy was accepted as a disciple by the man and changed his name to Jianxin.
　　....
　　Next, the screen turned again. Jian Xin, who had grown up, killed a man indifferently one night, and the man's last sword also made a scar on his face.
　　The man before he died, a beautiful woman's face flashed in his memories, and he said in his mouth.
　　"I don't want to... die... Ba!"
　　...
　　The content of Chu Yu's painting ends here.
　　To be honest, Su Lu didn't understand what kind of work Chu Yu wanted to paint.
　　But after reading this short comic, Su Lu developed a strong desire to continue reading.
　　Judging from the plot in Chuyu's comics, the location should be RB Island, and the time is set to RB more than a hundred years ago.
　　Although in this world, RB is already a province of the Dragon Kingdom, if the protagonist and the location of the story are set in such a blatant way, will readers in Los Angeles buy it?
　　Su Lu didn't know, but when she saw Chuyu drinking coffee with Red Bull on the table, she didn't want to pick Chuyu's fault on this issue.
　　She believes that Chu Yu must have thought about this issue, but still set it like this after thinking about it, it proves that such a setting is indispensable.
　　So putting aside these things and viewing the content of this cartoon from an editor's corner, Su Lu had only one idea.
　　"It's amazing, you!"
　　...
　　after an hour.
　　Chu Yu looked at Su Lu with a dazed expression.
　　"So, you said that you should hand over the three-part manga before next week. You are not asking me to hand over the three-part manuscript, but the three-part storyboard name?"
　　"Yes!" Su Lu said.
　　The name of the manga, which is equivalent to the draft before the manga is created, is just a kind of thing that roughly expresses the storyboard and content of the manga.
　　Generally speaking, when the editor reviews the manga manuscript, the manuscript name is read first, and the author is not allowed to draw the manuscript after confirming that there is no problem.
　　It was also Chu Yu who did not play the card according to common sense, and directly drew the manuscript of the Garden of Seven Characters and Leaves at the first submission, and directly submitted the manuscript.
　　So Su Lu did not subconsciously treat Chu Yu as a newcomer, nor did he elaborate.
　　But when I think about it, Chu Yu really doesn't understand anything except drawing cartoons.
　　Su Lu would never have thought that what Chu Yu was drawing this week was not the manga name, but the manuscript.
　　What's even more outrageous is that he actually drew more than 20 pages of manuscripts a week by himself.
　　This simply refreshed her view of cognition.
　　The author she was in charge of before, who was not the one who had to draw twenty pages of cartoons a week with the assistance of a few assistants.
　　What kind of like Chu Yu, he is like a tentacle monster and model worker in the comics industry in Ming City.
　　Single-handedly, he prepared to draw three manga manuscripts in two weeks.
　　And according to this Chu Yu's painting speed, UU reading www.uukanshu. com is also entirely possible.
　　"Then what should I do now?" Chu Yu was dumbfounded.
　　"I won't draw the manuscript? Is it ok to draw the manga name?"
　　Just creating a draft-level painting like the name of a comic, how can Chu Yu spend so much thought, thinking of herself who has been anxious about not having enough time to paint during this period, and wants to rely on Red Bull drinking coffee to burst her liver tonight. Chu Yu feels that she is really stupid .
　　"Do not...."
　　Su Lu thought for a while, said.
　　"Although it's a mistake, it doesn't seem to be purely useless work..."
　　"After discussing with you, although I still don't quite understand what your intention is for you to switch from a small fresh manga like the Garden of Words to this work? I can't judge the effect of this work."
　　"But I understand one thing. Does this work end with just sixteen words for the time being?"
　　"To be honest, there is still a certain gap between this and the length of the serialized works on Man Ying, but it is not much worse, at least it is much better than the length of the Garden of Words."
　　"So, if you can really come up with a mature and wonderful three-character comic at the serial meeting next week, I think... it will be a lot of help for you to compete for this seat."
　　"But the premise is, are you sure you can finish the manuscript of these three comics before that day?"

another work published by me {My Cartoonist Guide}

　Chu Yu, a senior two-dimensional fan, a dead house in the eyes of others, and a cheating comic book author in the eyes of readers!
On that day, he obtained the system that carries many excellent comic works on the parallel world earth... and
began his life as a comic artist who considered himself a legend, but was actually a silly comic artist!
Reader A, "Teacher, please, please finish drawing the full-time hunter first and then open a new hole? It's been three years, and three years later, three years have been opened for ten years. You want me Will my son burn me the full-time hunter's final chapter?"
Reader B, "Old thief Chuyu, you know what a fart cl. If you don't resurrect Furukawa, I will send you the blade tomorrow!"
Reader C, "Hehe, Xiangbei is down !" It's over in the top eight in the country? Chu Yu Lao Kengbi, do you want to pass by saying "the dream of youth is imperfect"? I swear, I will die for your works in the future, outside of death, from my house If I jump down, I won’t look at it again!"


if you would like to make a donation-----PayPal: lopesplayer2@gmail.com

Vivian carefully tried to recall her memories before she shook her head. "I have no impression."
"Do you remember what happened before you slept 300 years ago?" Hao Ren felt like he was now a psychologist. "After you were done with the vengeful spirit, you went into hibernation because of drowsiness. Do you have any impressions of those days?"
Vivian's brows were knitted together as she struggled to recall. After a while, she shook her head. "I still don't have any impressions. But I'm sure I forgot about some details before I slept, including giving this box to Pavel. I only remember that I was tired and sleepy after defeating the vengeful spirit. The only thing on my mind that time was to find a quiet place so that I could sleep. I still vaguely remember handing two pieces of stone to two minions, but I have no idea under what circumstances they were given those stones, and what other items I've also given out. I totally have no impressions whatsoever."
Hao Ren drew on the table with his finger and summed up the information revealed by the manuscript as well as the clues he gathered. "Now, let's talk about what we know. Just like you said, you had two types of sleep; one where you went to sleep on your own to get through hard times. Let's not talk about this type for now. The other type is the drowsiness where you couldn't help but sleep, resulting in a substantial weakening of your power and amnesia. This type of sleep has one thing in common: you experienced a state of irritability, and it was usually followed by a fight. Sometimes you didn't even remember who you were battling, nevertheless you had to fight with someone before you exhausted yourself and fell asleep. After waking up, you forget about whatever happens earlier, especially the negative emotions. You've only learned from the manuscript that you were plagued by those negative emotions after waking up."
Vivian gently nodded and pointed at a sentence near the end of the manuscript. "I left some comments here, which should have been written 700 years ago. It says 'I' was confused. A detailed investigation was carried out 700 years ago but it failed to explain the matter. So I decided to set aside the truth for the time being, and concentrated on keeping a record of every sleep and waking, hoping to accumulate enough information to crack this strange phenomenon in the future."
"Besides, there was one more thing in common before you slept, but I don't know if this clue is important or not," said Hao Ren. His hands locked together under his nose and his face was serious. "It was only after the restoration of your strength that you started another hibernation. The manuscript mentioned that in more than one occasion after your 'full recovery of strength', you decided to take on a journey or do something. But every time after that, you became restless and looked for fight."
Vivian blinked. "Is my passive sleep related to my recovery of strength? As soon as I recover my full strength, I'll immediately feel drowsy again?"
"It's just a guess." Hao Ren scratched his chin, his face gloomy. "Anyway, I feel that something is amiss. Your condition... is a bit worrying."
"I'm worried too," said Vivian, pursing her lips anxiously. "I don't even know what's going on with me... For the first time ever, I'm beginning to feel that my forgetfulness is bad. I've been used to the forgetfulness, but now I feel that the most troublesome thing in the world is to have forgotten what I've forgot. I've forgotten that I've forgot what I forgot..."
Hao Ren was stunned, drawing with his finger for a long while trying to figure out what she was saying before he finally looked up. "I think the most troublesome thing in the world is to understand what you've just said."
Revealing her fangs, Vivian said, "I suddenly feel helpless. I can't believe that I've lost control of it."
The two of them remained silent for a while before Hao Ren suddenly broke the silence by asking, "You feel sleepy now?"
"A little." Vivian took a little stretch. When she saw Hao Ren's reaction, she laughed. "Don't worry. It's just normal drowsiness. I think there's still some time before the next sleeping cycle hits, at least after my strength has recovered to its heyday. The symptom of my passive sleepiness is very obvious, and you should be able to notice any abnormal emotions from me. Remember to remind me, maybe... just maybe, this time I can be controlled."
Hao Ren laughed, confidently patting himself on the chest. "Don't worry, I have high technology—if I can't figure it out, I can ask the goddess to treat you. Like the old saying goes, 'prolonged illness makes the patient a good doctor'. Raven 12345 has had several thousands of years of brain damage; treating your amnesia will just be a walk in the park."
Vivian almost freaked out, thinking that the goddess could not even cure herself, what made her capable of treating others? But at the end of the day, the vampire maiden still feared the goddess, so she did not say it out loud.
However, judging from Raven 12345's magical power, Vivian's faith in the goddess had increased a little. As incompetent as Raven 12345 was, she was still a goddess and should have no problem treating a mortal.
If her "amnesia" was really an illness.
The two of them continued to discuss the contents of the manuscript as well as the discrepancies between what Vivian recalled and the contents of the manuscript. Finally, they found out that Vivian's amnesia had a strong pattern. She would forget everything about the "negative emotions before the hibernation". The records of these negative emotions in the manuscript were all written before her sleep, and they were copied again word-for-word after she woke up. For now, there was no discrepancy between her memory and the contents of the manuscript. Also, the authenticity of these records was unquestionable: Vivian would absolutely not be wrong about her own blood.
Apart from that, there was not much progress made.
Luckily, although Vivian had completely forgotten about the manuscript, she had found it again somehow—it was the luckiest moment for this poor, 10,000-year-old vampire.
Looking at the small wooden box, which had been ripped apart on the table, Hao Ren could not help but say, "Why did you hide the manuscript in the interlayer of the box? Had we not ripped it apart today, I'm afraid no one would ever find it."
Vivian was not surprised. "It's a safety measure. A 300-year-old jewelry box is still a box no matter how exquisite it is. It wouldn't attract attention when placed alongside your grandmother's old dowry. But it's very different for a well-preserved manuscript from the Ancient Egyptian Era—the fabric is unknown, the ink is unknown, the text is unknown, and carbon isotope detection can trace it back thousands of years ago. Who would dare let it be exposed on the outside? But then, I didn't know that Pavel could live until now. I must have been worried that his descendants would be unreliable, so I hid the manuscript within the wooden box."
Hao Ren was silent for a moment, but suddenly, he stared into Vivian's eyes. "No matter when your next sleep is, we have to find a way to solve this problem now. I don't want to suddenly find you in hibernation and can only say hello to you after a couple of centuries."
"Me too." Vivian smiled. "And, it's hard to find a good life like the one I have now... I don't want to forget about everything this time."
The two of them found the atmosphere a bit dull. Hao Ren steered the conversation away as he pointed at the blood-red crystal that was there with the manuscript. "What is this again?"
"I don't know. There's no mention about it in the manuscript." Vivian caressed the crystal with her hand. "But, I have a feeling that this thing is a condensation of my blood. The time of its making should be 300 years ago. I must have forgotten to record it down. If it's been kept till this day, it has to be something useful, " Vivian said, shoving the blood-red crystal into her pocket.
Then, she looked up at Hao Ren. "Enough about me. You came here for something?"
"Oh, I wanted you to see the lifeblood." Hao Ren passed a tube of the lifeblood sample to Vivian. "Part of the samples are being nurtured in the spacecraft lab. Please help to study this sample with your Blood Magic and see if you can find a way to contact the goddess. I've been staring at this thing for a long time, but I haven't been able to figure out its relationship with the brainwaves."
"Is it urgent?"
"Not at all. Stuff about the Plane of Dreams are all part of a big project." Hao Ren waved his hand. "Take your time."
The two of them chatted for a while before Hao Ren left the basement and returned to his room.
He looked out of the window and stared at the moonlight in a daze. He then summoned the MDT that was projecting a movie for him on the table. He said, "Write a report to Raven 12345."


As a person who is down-to-earth as well as a good Samaritan, Hao Ren desires to live the rest of his life as a benevolent landlord. Stumbling into a curious yet mysterious lady, he began his journey of “collecting” abnormal and supernatural tenants. 
His life only became more chaotic when he receives a labor contract from “God”. Discover the many races, myths and worlds that lie beyond what humans define as normal! This bizzare fantasy full of fun is sure to bring you on a crazy rollercoaster of emotions!

Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl


"Experiment? What kind?" Young Do asked. Remembering having explained every bit of it to the young editor, Juho blinked awkwardly. The author even remembered the look on his editor's face. 

"Did I not tell you?" Juho asked. 

"Well, I remember you beating around the bush the entire time, saying things like, 'I had to in order to survive,' or 'The crow told me to do it. I had no choice.' I don't know Mr. Woo, I didn't know how to make sense of the things you were telling me," Young Do said, and Juho nodded light-heartedly. Young Do had long grown tired of Juho's absurd stories. Although Juho had worked fiercely back then, there was no getting around the anxiety as the time of his past death drew closer and closer. When anxious, people tended to make mistakes. 

"You're not gonna tell me, are you?" the editor asked, furrowing his brow. As Juho snickered at the look on his editor's face, Young Do let out a small sigh and said, "I guess even Yun Woo isn't immune to growing old." 

"I thought that was pretty obvious." 

"A genius boy turned genius middle-aged man." 

"People call me great, you know," Juho said, furrowing his brow playfully. 

"I thought you didn't like that nickname, Mr, Woo…" 

"Humans can be fickle like that, you know?" 

Juho looked out the window. There was a crow resting on the branch of a big tree. Although high enough off the ground, the bird remained still on the branch, without flying off. Disgruntled by that, Juho rested his chin on his hand. 

"I see that the tree is sprouting." 

"It's a big tree." 

"Isn't it already heavy enough?" 

"You must be going through a lot if you're that worried about a plant." 

"You know, Mr. Woo, if you keep me on the edge of my seat any longer after having written such an amazing intro, I just might die." 

"You won't die that easily," Juho said. 

Chuckling, Young Do scratched his temple and asked, "Do you think I can take a look at the manuscript?"

"Sure thing." 

After going into the room, Juho brought out the manuscript. With his eyes fixed on it, the editor said, "Don't you just love the feel of a handwritten manuscript?" 

At that, Juho chuckled quietly. Taking the manuscript from the author carefully, Young Do started to read through it. Juho's clean, well-trimmed handwriting made for an easy reading experience. Although Young Do noticed the author's penmanship deteriorate as the story progressed, he didn't go out of his way to point that out. 

"This story reminds of 'The Great Gatsby.'" 

A wealthy partier, Gatsby was a character who wrestled with his hypocritical inner self. As he had done as a young author, Juho had blended two distinctive writing styles into a single story, which enabled him to depict the inner thoughts of the protagonist more effectively. However, despite the tremendous potential for success, the story was yet to be completed. At the thought of the story collecting dust in the corner of a storage room, Young Do clenched the manuscript tightly in his hands. 

"Of all places…" Young Do murmured as if sighing, but covered his mouth in a hurry. 

Smiling, Juho said, "You know, I really like that you're an honest man." 

"I'm sorry, Mr. Woo. I'll be more careful."

Shrugging, Juho asked, "Well, what did you think?" 

After staring at the words on the manuscript quietly and briefly, the young editor cautiously studied Juho's expression. In response, Juho nodded, as if giving him permission to speak his mind. 

"I think you're being a bit of a perfectionist here. I mean, it's still the first draft." 

"I agree," Juho said, admitting it willingly and catching the young editor off guard. Walking toward the refrigerator, he asked, "Drink?" 

"It's still light out, Mr. Woo. Besides, I have plans later. Wait, do you really have alcohol in your refrigerator?" 

"I kept a bottle for a certain occasion." When Young Do looked back to check whether Juho really had alcohol in his refrigerator, he saw Juho grabbing a bottle of water. Returning to his seat, the author added, "I want this story to be better than any other story that I've written. Those are my honest feelings." 

"Why?" Young Do asked. 

"Think of it as the grand finale." 

At that, an alarmed look appeared on the young editor's face. 

"Wait, you're not retiring, are you, Mr. Woo!?" 

"Me? Retire? That'd be absurd. I'm at the peak of my career." 

"Well, there are authors who say that they want to retire when they're at the height of their writing careers." 

"Well, I can tell you right now that's not gonna be me. I'm not going anywhere, even if people say that I'm too old to write." 

"Then, what did you mean by grand finale?" 

Instead of giving him an answer, Juho rubbed his chin and asked, "... Have you ever felt like you knew when you were gonna die?" 

"I'm sorry?" 

"Did you ever have a premonition that you'd die soon?" 

"I don't know… I mean, sure, I ask myself what would happen after I died, but… I'm still thirty." 

"Young and free." 

"So… On that note," Young Do said nervously, and Juho waved his hand to reassure his editor. 

"What I mean to say is that I always write like it's going to be my last story." 

"Oh, right. That makes sense," the young editor said, nodding and adding, "That's very admirable of you, Mr. Woo. The better the book, the better for the publisher." 

There was no need to rave on any longer when the author himself was well aware of the problematic areas in the manuscript. 

"I'm counting on you, Mr. Woo. We'll push back that deadline for now, but I hope you can finish it in time this time," Young Do said, and Juho shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, that's that. Oh! Have you given it some thought?" 

"About?" 

"... C' mon, Mr. Woo. You said you'd consider it when we talked about it last time, remember? Judging?" 

"Oh, that. I decided not to." 

At that, Young Do dropped his head. His face was filled with disappointment. At the same time, he seemed to have expected Juho to turn him down. 

"I can't say that I'm surprised," Young Do said.

"I think you should just tell 'em to give up. I'm not the only person qualified to judge, you know," Juho replied.

"But, you're the only Yun Woo there is." 

"Like I said, there are plenty of people who qualify to be judges," Juho said. Then, looking toward his editor, the author said, "Let me ask you something. Why are you so insistent on convincing me? I don't intend on being a judge for any occasion." 

"... I don't think you realize your talent, Mr. Woo." 

"My talent?" Juho said, chuckling. However, the young editor seemed serious. 

Going through his bag in a hurry, Young Do took out a certain manuscript and said, "This is the manuscript that you liked last time we met. It went into print just yesterday. The president seemed happy with it too. If it hadn't been for you, that one rookie author from last year would've never seen the light of day. The year before that, you liked a manuscript that I hadn't even gotten to yet. Now, that author is one of the leading figures of the literary world." 

"That's because he is a good writer himself," Juho replied. 

"One can't become a star on their own. If people can't appreciate their talent, then what's the point? You have sharp eyes, Mr. Woo. Even if you had been an editor, you would've had a massively successful career," Young Do said, handing a portion of a manuscript to Juho.

"On that note, do you think you could give this one a read?" 

When Juho gave him a disgruntled look, Young Do avoided eye contact with the author, pushing the manuscript toward Juho. Although reading a rookie author's manuscript was always a delight, a great learning experience, and a motivator, Juho simply couldn't afford the time to read those as often as his editor asked him to. After some contemplation, Juho said, "On the off chance that there's a problem, I'm taking no responsibility." 

"I know I'm asking a lot, but please take a look, Mr. Woo. It's one of the submissions from last month. Apparently, the writer is a working doctor." 

As Juho scanned through the manuscript unhurriedly, Young Do joined in. Reading the first page was more than enough to distinguish a rookie from a seasoned writer.

"Not bad." 

Because Young Do was capable of distinguishing the subtle nuances in the author's tone, the editor was able to catch on to the real meaning behind Juho's response. 'That's a no go.' Upon realizing that the author was having the same thought as him, Young Do had to suppress his excitement. 

"Is there an issue, Mr. Woo? Others seem to think that it's pretty good," Young Do said, playing coy. 

"I don't recall saying that there's an issue," Juho replied.

"OK. Then, what do you like about it?" 

"You're very persistent, you know that?" 

"I'll keep it to myself." 

Rubbing his chin, Juho flipped through the pages of the manuscript unhurriedly. 

"I have a feeling that this is the first piece the writer has ever completed." 

"I'm sorry?" Young Do asked, caught off guard by Juho's answer. 

Paying no attention to him, Juho said, "It's not bad though." 

"Wouldn't that make him a genius? Especially if this is the first draft?" 

"I don't know. What do you think?" Juho asked. 

Since Young Do already had an answer in mind, he was able to give it readily, "I mean, sure, it reads like it was written by an amateur, but that's nothing a bit of revision can't fix. Personally, I liked the idea of the story." 

"Hm." 

"I had no idea that it might be his first novel, but his sentences are incredible." 

"I agree," Juho said, looking at the editor and urging him to speak more on the matter. If the editor had already made up his mind to work with the author, he wouldn't have brought it to Juho in the first place. 

Realizing that Juho had already caught on to his excitement, Young Do, looking like he'd been pricked in the heart, explained, "Though, it does kind of seem made up." 

It had been the only, yet fatal, flaw of the manuscript. As Young Do smacked his lips, Juho put the manuscript down. 

"Well, everyone has their own standards, right? I think this will definitely sell. Personally, I'd like to read this writer's other stories." 

"You know, Mr. Woo, it would make my life so much easier if you were more straightforward." 

"It's your decision," Juho said, drinking his tea, and Young Do stared intently at the author as he drank the bitter liquid. 

"Do you think you can write a testimonial for someone, Mr. Woo?" 

"You're asking a lot of favors today." 

"I was hoping that you could think of it as the cost for the deadline extension." 

"I didn't realize we were negotiating." 

"I'm just joking, Mr. Woo." 

Yun Woo's testimonial was highly sought after. The phrase 'Recommended by Yun Woo' alone had the power to multiply a book's sales severalfold. 

"For whom, if you don't mind me asking?" 

Fortunately, Juho wasn't exactly like Hyun Do, who was infamous for refusing to write testimonial for anybody. However, once Juho said no on a matter, nothing would change his mind, not even an acquaintance or one of the higher-ups of a publishing company.

"The author debuted last year. I don't know if you remember, but he drew a lot of attention. He's actually releasing a new book this year. Here's the manuscript." 

Juho picked up yet another manuscript and scanned through it for a similar duration. After which, the answer became clear. 

"No." 

"... May I ask why?" Young Do asked while internally complaining about Juho's convoluted nature. 

Rolling his eyes, Juho looked toward the young editor and asked, "Who's the editor in charge of the author?" 

"He's a coworker of mine who's been around longer than me." 

"I have a favor to ask you. Make sure that editor and I don't end up working together, even if it means you having to work for another publisher." 

"That won't happen… Is it really that bad, Mr. Woo?" 

"It's not bad necessarily." 

'Here we go again,' Young Do thought to himself, fed up with the author beating around the bush. Without even bothering to ask, the young editor nodded. Although he had nothing to with the author of the manuscript, Young Do had to take on the burden in order to grant a coworker's request. Naturally, the manuscript was not one of the young editor's priorities. 

"OK. Well, let's get back to your manuscript, then, shall we? So, toward the end here…" 

Young Do listened to the author's thoughts quietly. By the author's explanations, it sounded like the manuscript was flawless. In fact, the young editor believed firmly that any manuscript that went through Yun Woo's hands came out significantly better. Then, noticing that something seemed off with the author, Young Do studied Juho's expression. Juho didn't necessarily appear to be in discomfort. In fact, he looked more at peace. After some brief contemplation, Young Do nodded and said, "Well, I'll see you next time, Mr. Woo. If you need any help, please let me know." 

The house became silent after the young editor left. At which point, Juho rose from his seat and went into his room, where countless sheets of manuscript paper were scattered across the floor. Walking over them, Juho lay himself down on the bed. The windows were completely covered by the towering stacks of paper, making the room dark. After closing his eyes deliberately, Juho woke up from his nap about an hour later, yawning and murmuring, "Still no sign of him."

Yum Woo is the youngest author in history to enter the literature world. His debut work was a massive hit but this success was short lived for the unprepared.

A miraculous second chance comes his way one day.

This is the beginning of that journey.

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