Book 25 Chapter 24

A roundtable discussion with Ryu-yeon Bi and her crew

Jang Hong: Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh.

Hyo-ryong: Brother Zhang, your complexion is bad.

Jang Hong: Oh, I thought I was going to die this time. I was terrified.

Hyo-ryong: I'm glad you're taking good care of him.

Jang Hong: Well, maybe.

Bi Ryuyeon: I can't guarantee that I'm safe yet. If they find out that I've been cheating on you for the past seven years and three months, it'll be the end of me.

Jang Hong: Wind! That's a frame-up! You're trying to kill me!

Biyou: I was just joking, but it's suspicious that you're running around like that. Didn't something like that really happen? When you went to Japan for training? Why do men often say that they're going to make a local…….

Jang Hong: It never happened. I was always a single-minded dandelion! Like a sunflower, I only had eyes for one person!

Bi Ryuyeon: You never know. If you were alone and lonely, and there was a big-breasted female ninja next to you, you might have thought about flirting with her, right? To soothe the loneliness of the moment……. Well, I understand, so there's nothing to hide from me. Now, feel free to tell me everything.

Jang Hong: Oh, so that means……. Hot! What did I just say? You caught me off guard with sweet words and then tried to trap me! That's really too much!

Ryu-Yeon Bi: Chit, I was hoping for a little more.

Jang Hong: So, you have a grudge against me, but?

Bi Ryuyeon: No, I'm on my brother's side. Besides, you say dandelion one minute and sunflower the next…… I wonder if Jijo is suspicious.

Jang Hong: Burr, you've already done the work for us. You've told us to trust you, that you're going to bring out the hidden past and offer it up.

Bi Ryuyeon: I know.

Jang Hong: You're a ghost without blood or tears. A man of valor must uphold a man's honor.

Ryuyeon: It's not fair to turn a blind eye to cheating, is it? I'm doing this to protect Mr. Zhang's marriage. Do you understand?

Jang Hong: You'll never understand, you traitor!

Hyo-ryong: That's right, Ryuyeon. Brother Zhang is right about this one, we all make mistakes.

Jang Hong: (Frantically jumping up and down!) Ah, so there was no mistake, and now you're doing this to me!

Hsiao-Long: I understand, Brother Zhang, I understand, but I will never tell you, because this is a secret between men. I know the loneliness of being separated from the pack and having to go into a place you've never been before.

Jang Hong: Don't understand!!! Put yourself in my shoes.

Hyo-ryong: I'm not married, so it doesn't matter.

Jang Hong: Hmph, why don't you tell that to Yi Yun Sojae? Ah, no need to bother, I'll do it myself. It'll be less work for you, and you'll be able to say that you have a "very good understanding".

Hyo-Ryong: That's not fair! That's not fair! That's not fair! I'm done!

Bi Ryuyeon: (nonchalantly) I can 'testify' to that because I definitely heard Long Yong say that from the sidelines.

Hyo-ryong: Liu, Liu, Ryuyeon, are you going to sell your friends?

Bi Ryuyeon: I'm not perjuring myself, I'm just telling it like it is. My conscience is clear!

Jang Hong: Yes, you can't perjure yourself! So be sure to tell him that nothing happened to me. That's telling the truth. I never cheated on you.

Bi Ryuyeon: Oh, that's for you to decide, not for Mr. Zhang to decide.

Jang Hong: kwik…….

Hyo-Ryong: (I'm doomed, I'm doomed, I'm doomed, I'm doomed, I'm doomed, I'm doomed, I'm doomed!)

Writer M: Eh, everyone's panicking, so I'll take over the story.

Bi Ryuyeon: Not me!

Writer M: (ignoring them) Well, we've finally reached the end of Book 25, and I hope you've enjoyed it. It seems like things aren't going so well for Mr. B, who's been on a roll.

As I was writing this 25th volume, I suddenly realized that writers are a lot like radiotelegraphers.

Why do people write?

When I look back and ask myself, "Why did I start writing?", I think, "Well, why did I start writing?". The answer is, of course, "Because I love it!" but that doesn't seem to be enough.

As humans, we seem to know ourselves more poorly than we know ourselves, so when we reflect on our behavior, we ask ourselves these questions.

I think everybody has their own reasons for doing that, but I think everybody who writes, I think everybody who writes writes because they want to shout something out into the world, or they want to show something, or they want to send something out into the world, whether it's a message or a story, I think they want to send something out into the world. It's like a wireless radio, where you're sending out radio waves, hoping that somebody will receive it.

If you put it that way, there are probably as many listening radios in the world as there are people in the world, but unfortunately they're all on different frequencies, and it's nothing short of miraculous to find a reader who can pick up the waves you're sending out.

I don't think you can say that you've received a radio wave simply by reading a book, it's more about 'how' you receive it after reading it, did you receive exactly what the writer wanted to say, and I think that's the key. Of course, the writer is sending out radio waves to find a reader who will receive them, and the reader is reading different books to find radio waves that resonate with the frequency of their own mind. If the frequencies of those two radio waves match, then the frequency is amplified, and it can be entertaining and moving, and I think both the writer and the reader are consciously or unconsciously hoping for that amplification to happen, and I think we're in contact with a lot of radio waves today, but they don't necessarily take the form of print.

I'm sure there are some people out there who haven't written yet, but have a message or a story that's building up inside of them, and one day it's going to reach a critical mass, and it's going to spill out, like water in a full cup overflowing, and you can't keep it inside of you anymore, and you need to get it out. And it becomes unbearable, and it suddenly dawned on me that I wish there was a place where I could pour it out, where I could shout it out to the world. A place where you could get it out into the world, where it would be a little bit closer, or a little bit easier to get it out into the world.

I thought it would be fun to create a space where like-minded people could come together and spread their waves, so I'm currently working hard to put my mind and heart together. (laughs)

What do you want to shout out to the world?

See you in the next volume.

Bi Ryuyeon: I'm not done yet! Hey, everyone, get a grip…… ouch!

Author M: See you in the next book.