How to Survive the Horror Novel I Wrote
Chapter 19
Chapter 19
I had no idea how I even managed to drive there. Every time I stopped at a red light, I chewed on my thumbnail until blood welled at the edge.
When I rushed breathlessly into the publishing office, Oh Haejun, who had been manning the empty room alone, greeted me with a look of surprise.
“Ma’am! What brings you all the way here? I was planning to drop by your house later.”
Gasping for breath, I grabbed Oh Haejun’s arm.
“There’s… an urgent… pant… an urgent matter. Please, come with me for a moment.”
“Right now?”
Oh Haejun asked back, bewildered.
“Yes, right this second.”
“Ma’am, as I mentioned earlier, I’m waiting for a guest right now…”
“My husband!”
When I raised my voice in a shout, Oh Haejun fell silent in surprise. Squeezing my eyes shut, I resorted to my last resort.
“My husband wants to meet you, Assistant Manager Oh.”
“Really? Did he come with you?”
Oh Haejun’s face brightened as he looked toward the entrance. Watching his sheer anticipation that Mun Seongwon might walk in at any second was utterly absurd.
Where are you looking? I’m right here.
“I don’t know if I’d say we came together, but…”
“Just a moment. Let me call the guest first.”
Oh Haejun picked up the office phone and pressed the buttons.
A moment later, however, a ringtone echoed from outside. My startled heart leaped like popcorn. No way.
“Ah. Looks like he’s already here.”
Just as Oh Haejun said, the ringing didn’t stop and only drew closer. I couldn’t bring myself to look back at the door. Please, please don’t let it be Ugeum. Please…
Soon, the sound of the door opening resonated through the room.
“Are you an acquaintance of Author Mun Seongwon?”
Hanging up the phone, Oh Haejun asked in delight.
“Yes.”
Ugeum’s voice replied.
I slowly turned my frozen neck to look back. Ugeum stood right before the entrance.
My stomach dropped, and I felt as if the floor had given way beneath me. Dizziness washed over me as if the ground had collapsed, leaving me at a complete loss.
I felt as though Ugeum would sneer at me at any second, saying, ‘Right? Author Mun Seongwon.’
Yet Ugeum did not. His expression merely hardened, looking surprised to see me.
“Ji-an. Why are you… No, what brings you here?”
Ugeum asked in a rigid voice.
A drought struck my mouth. In an instant, my tongue parched and my throat burned.
I had to answer. I needed to say something—anything. But my emptied mind couldn’t conjure a single excuse.
“I… I’m…”
As I parted my dry lips, straining my brain, Oh Haejun looked back and forth between Ugeum and me, muttering softly.
“Ah, this voice…!”
It was a sign of recognition. That man had finally remembered Ugeum’s voice.
Believing Ugeum to be Mun Seongwon, Oh Haejun’s entire face lit up with joy.
‘Author-nim! You’re Author Mun Seongwon, aren’t you?’
‘What?’
Ugeum’s brow would furrow sharply. Paying no heed, Oh Haejun would rush to Ugeum and offer a handshake on his own accord.
‘It’s an honor to meet you. I heard from your wife. You came to see me, right?’
‘Wife?’
Ugeum would turn his head to look at me, seeing through everything the instant he caught my terrified expression.
The next second, Ugeum would pull a phone from his pocket and strike Oh Haejun’s head. With a blunt thud, Oh Haejun would collapse like a paper doll…
No, he wouldn’t touch Oh Haejun. He wasn’t an evil man, nor a traitor.
Ignoring Oh Haejun, who was frozen by the grave atmosphere, Ugeum would march steadily toward me while I stood unable to even scream.
‘Ugh… ah…’
Letting out a whimper close to a sob, I would stumble backward until I hit the wall. With nowhere left to retreat, Ugeum would step up to me and clamp a hand around my throat. My breath would catch in my chest. Shedding tears, snot, and saliva, I would thrash desperately to break free from his grip.
Yet no matter how much I scratched his hand, hit his arm, or kicked his shins, Ugeum wouldn’t budge an inch. Watching me gasp for my last breath, he would simply chide me softly.
‘I told you. I don’t tolerate lies.’
Goosebumps erupted across my entire body. Before this three-second daydream could turn into reality—before I was discovered as a corpse in an empty publishing office—I gripped Oh Haejun’s arm tightly.
Oh Haejun flinched and looked down at me.
“The—the books didn’t arrive! I was selected as part of Chaekdongne’s reader evaluation panel for this month, but no matter how long I waited, the books never came. When I asked him, he said my home address was omitted!”
With desperation pressing down on me, my mind spun at full throttle and words tumbled effortlessly from my lips.
“…?”
Oh Haejun wore a thoroughly puzzled look, but thankfully, he didn’t call out my lie.
“Since I got here first, do you mind if I finish my business before you?”
Forcing an unnatural smile in an effort to appear composed, I asked for Ugeum’s understanding.
“Of course.”
Ugeum answered with a gentle smile.
Without a second thought, I dragged Oh Haejun into a far-off meeting room. The moment I closed the door, I leaned against it, panting for the breath I had held back. Oh Haejun watched me carefully and asked,
“Ma’am, why are you lying? To your husband…”
To survive.
Still, with Ugeum waiting right outside, I couldn’t explain everything in detail, nor would he believe me even if I did. I had to lie, but I lacked the confidence to pull it off convincingly.
Taking a deep breath in and exhaling slowly, I reined in my mind.
This isn’t a lie. It’s fiction. And fiction is my specialty. Because I’m a novelist. From this moment on, I will write a novel out loud.
“This is the urgent matter I mentioned earlier.”
“Pardon?”
Naturally, Oh Haejun didn’t understand. I elaborated calmly.
“My husband found out.”
“Found out what?”
“That you hid in my room, Assistant Manager Oh.”
“That was—!”
Because you told me to. I could read the rest of his sentence before he even spoke. Before Oh Haejun could protest, I preempted him.
“My husband came here to catch you, Assistant Manager Oh.”
Oh Haejun was dumbfounded.
“Me? Why?”
“Because he thinks… you’re my lover.”
I deliberately paused, pretending to carefully choose my words.
With a look of sheer shock, Oh Haejun pointed his index finger back and forth between himself and me.
I nodded quietly.
“That’s absurd! I’ll explain the truth to him right now.”
Having declared his intention indignantly, Oh Haejun moved to leave the meeting room.
Startled, I stepped into his path to block him.
“You can’t!”
“Why not?”
Oh Haejun asked back, bewildered.
“Because… because…”
What should I say? What would make this man understand? There was no time to deliberate. Just as my insides were burning with anxiety, Oh Haejun’s misconception from the manuscript suddenly flashed through my mind.
‘The author suffers from pathological jealousy.’
“Because he has an infidelity delusion.”
It hit the mark. I saw a spark of comprehension flicker in Oh Haejun’s eyes.
“My husband is pathologically jealous. Even if you explain, he won’t believe you.”
Then, the question I had been waiting for finally came.
“Then what should I do?”
“Pretend you’re not the one he’s looking for. Act as if you don’t know him. The only people who know my husband’s true identity are the CEO, my editor, and you, Assistant Manager Oh—just the three of you.”
“But I have to persuade the author not to terminate the contract.”
Oh Haejun protested with an uneasy look.
“My husband already firmly believes you’re my secret lover. Do you really think your persuasion will work on him?”
“…”
“Stepping up right now is only pouring fuel on a fire. First, let me clear up his misunderstanding, and I’ll arrange a meeting for you later.”
I pleaded desperately with the wavering Oh Haejun.
“Please. If only for my sake… My husband will kill me.”
This, at least, was absolute truth.
After a conflicted silence, a deep, heavy sigh escaped Oh Haejun’s lips.
“Understood.”
I survived.
I let out a sigh of relief as well.
“Thank you.”
Now it was time to take Ugeum and leave. How could I get him out of here without him exchanging a single word with Oh Haejun?
Should I get angry? Ask if he rejected our date just to come here?
No. That would clash with the lie I told Oh Haejun. I couldn’t claim my husband came to catch an affair partner and then bring up a date.
Nor did I have the confidence to act angry. I wasn’t an actress.
Still, there was one thing I knew I could act out with absolute confidence. Something I had experienced so often that I could reenact it with my eyes closed.
The moment I stepped out of the meeting room, I bent at the waist and clutched my stomach.
“Ugh…!”
“Ji-an!”
Ugeum’s face changed instantly as he rushed over.
“What’s wrong? Does your stomach hurt?”
Bending down, Ugeum peered into my face with deep concern.
Terrified that my fake illness would be exposed, I cast my eyes down. If our gazes met, I felt as though he would see right through the lie.
‘You’re not in pain at all. Want me to make it real?’
The moment the imaginary Ugeum asked that with an expressionless face, a sharp pain genuinely stabbed through my abdomen.
“Gasp.”
Sucking in a ragged breath, I sank to the floor.
As I curled up like a pill bug, gasping for air, Oh Haejun, who had followed me out, asked in a flustered voice,
“Are you alright? Should I call an ambulance?”
“No. I’ll take her.”
Ugeum scooped me up in his arms and whispered into my ear.
“Hold on just a little.”
Letting out a groan, I buried my face into Ugeum’s shoulder. It felt as though an awl was churning inside my stomach. Having pretended to be in pain, I had wound up in real agony.
Holding me, Ugeum strode out of the publishing office without looking back once. As Oh Haejun vanished from sight, the stomachache gradually subsided.
Down in the underground parking lot, Ugeum seated me in the passenger side, got into the driver’s seat, and immediately searched for a nearby hospital on the navigation system. I hurriedly grabbed his wrist.
“I don’t think I need to go to the hospital. I feel better now.”
Ugeum gently pulled my hand away with his other hand.
“Just because the pain went down doesn’t mean you’re fine. If you hurt, something is wrong. Let’s go to the hospital and get you checked.”
“The test results are always too obvious. Chronic gastritis, stress-induced stomachaches—I live with those all the time. You know that, right, honey?”
I deliberately used the term of endearment as I looked at him pleadingly.
He knew. He knew the passcode to my front door, what was in my kitchen cabinets, and that the first aid kit was on the TV stand. He likely knew that I lived with all sorts of minor ailments, too.
After a moment, Ugeum let out a sigh and asked,
“Are you really alright?”
“Yeah. But I think I need to rest. Could you take me home?”
“Alright.”
Ugeum started the car. The publishing building receded rapidly behind us, and the sunlight pouring through the high-rises, the crowded streets, and the shadows of the roadside trees swept past the car window.
Gazing out the glass, I sank into worry. Though I had narrowly evaded the crisis this time, I had no idea what to do if Ugeum ever crossed paths with Oh Haejun again.
Amidst all this, Ugeum grated on my nerves with an absurd remark.
“You’d really be in big trouble without me.”
What are you talking about? I’m in pain because of you. Dating you is the single biggest trouble of my life.
An unutterable fury burned inside me. As I silently swallowed my anger, Ugeum asked in an offhand tone,
“By the way, Ji-an, aren’t you going to ask why I was there?”
