Big Life

Chapter 260: Don’t Provoke Me (1)

“Aigoo, you’ve arrived earlier than we expected. We were about to explain the situation. Hahaha.” The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Culture scanned the room anxiously and laughed awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.

Ha Jae-Gun’s gaze passed the deputy minister and laid on the assistant secretary sitting next to him. The assistant secretary couldn’t look Ha Jae-Gun in the eye. He avoided Ha Jae-Gun’s eyes as much as possible, feeling guilty for causing an unwelcoming situation for Ha Jae-Gun.

‘Just what is happening here.’ Ha Jae-Gun looked back at Lin Minhong. Lin Minhong was stunned as well, as he didn’t think that Ha Jae-Gun would appear at this meeting either.

Just then, the person with the answer stepped into the hall. “I’m sorry for being late; I needed to go to the toilet.”

“…?” Ha Jae-Gun’s eyes widened even before he turned around. His body instinctively became heavy. He recalled meeting that person once at his older sister’s wedding, but the memory was still vivid in his mind.

“Why are you all standing around, not taking a seat?” The fourth-term assemblyman, Kwon Sung-Deuk’s voice, boomed shamelessly.

Ha Jae-Gun finally realized what was going on. He had just become a pawn in Kwon Sung-Deuk’s game. This could be easily inferred upon seeing how Lin Minhong was flustered and how the assistant secretary couldn’t raise his head.

‘The world is small indeed.’ Ha Jae-Gun almost laughed out in front of everyone. He didn’t expect this to happen even before he opened the door—he never thought that he'd unknowingly get caught in Kwon Sung-Deuk’s plan. His toes went numb while his insides heated up slowly.

“C-come on in first.” the deputy minister stepped up amidst the tension in the room, breaking out into a cold sweat.

“As everyone knows, Assemblyman Kwon here is from the C.B.C. and works hard for the development of Korea’s content industry. I can’t be the only person to hear Mr. Ha’s precious opinions, and I was caught up in the tight schedule until yesterday, so I couldn’t personally inform him in advance….” the deputy minister trailed off and handed the baton to the assistant secretary.

“Did you not tell Mr. Ha in advance?”

“Pardon? No, I….” The assistant secretary had nothing to say; the guilt toward Ha Jae-Gun only weighed heavier in his heart. He felt so wronged that he very much wanted to yell his frustration out.

Kwon Sung-Deuk passed Ha Jae-Gun, stepping into the room and continued, “We can skip the introductions between Writer Ha and Department Head Lin Minhong, right? I know Department Head Lin Minhong as well, as he’s from the company, which is the cream of the top in China’s content industry. That’s why I called him. I wonder how CEO Mao Yen is doing these days…”

Kwon Sung-Deuk spoke as if he and Mao Yen had known each other for a long time.

Lin Minhong was speechless at how Kwon Sung-Deuk had subtly exaggerated his connections when this was only their second time seeing each other. On top of that, he was certain that Kwon Sung-Deuk and Mao Yen had never met each other before.

Anyway, Lin Minhong was a careful person. He wouldn't have climbed to his current position as Teencent’s head of the strategic planning department if it hadn't been for his capabilities. He kept his thoughts to himself for now and gestured for Ha Jae-Gun to take his seat.

“Mr. Ha, please, sit over here.” Ha Jae-Gun and Lin Minhong’s eyes met.

Ha Jae-Gun hesitated for a while and finally nodded. Kwon Sung-Deuk’s motive was obvious, but Lin Minhong and the assistant secretary were both present. He decided to listen to find out what was exactly going on.

Ha Jae-Gun sat on the left of the huge table along with Lin Minhong.

Kwon Sung-Deuk and the others sat on the right side.

Kwon Sung-Deuk then began their dialogue.

“It’s regrettable that I wasn’t able to participate in such an important cultural exchange between Korea and China when the head of the Central Publicity Department, Liu Bao, was here. I was busy with state affairs back then.”

No one responded to him; the deputy minister and the assistant secretary merely nodded amidst the awkward silence.

Regardless, Kwon Sung-Deuk continued, “I like Writer Ha a lot, I’m really proud of him. We don’t have any other writer like him in Korea, do we? Isn’t that right, deputy minister?”

“Yes, yes. I have the same thoughts. There’s no one else like Mr. Ha Jae-Gun, who is capable of boosting national prestige with his novels that touches the hearts of everyone,” said the deputy minister, stepping up in an attempt to pacify Ha Jae-Gun, but Ha Jae-Gun remained expressionless.

Kwon Sung-Deuk tapped the tabletop, adding with a sigh, “We need to nurture more of such talents like Writer Ha, yeah? I can’t help but be filled with regret. Why would we need the country, the president, and assemblymen like me?”

Kwon Sung-Deuk’s eyes laid on Ha Jae-Gun. “Writer Ha, please believe in me from now on. I will make sure to bring your name to higher heights, bringing more recognition to more readers. I must make that happen. Everyone here is working for the country, aren’t we?”

“…!” Ha Jae-Gun felt disgusted as he gulped angrily. Anger was boiling from within him, and it was surging toward his esophagus and throat. If Kwon Sung-Deuk were a reader who had even read one of his novels, Ha Jae-Gun wouldn’t have been this angry upon getting to know of the elder man’s snobbish and underhanded methods.

“Everyone must be thirsty. Come, let’s have a drink,” the deputy minister suggested cautiously, holding up his glass.

Ha Jae-Gun held up his glass but did not join in the toast and instead drank its contents immediately. As he drank it on an empty stomach, the effect of the alcohol felt stronger than normal.

“You must be pretty good at drinking, Writer Ha,” Kwon Sung-Deuk commented after emptying his own glass. Of course, he wasn’t looking for a response. This was a prelude to a so-called fight of the nerves. Kwon Sung-Deuk found it necessary to remind Ha Jae-Gun here today that he was someone who had been around in this society for much longer.

“Oh, Deputy Minister. Did the Minister of the Ministry of Culture come up with any good ideas for Writer Ha to adopt?”

As Kwon Sung-Deuk threw that question to the deputy minister, Ha Jae-Gun suddenly grabbed the bottle of alcohol in front of him. He had politely rejected Lin Minhong’s offer to fill his glass and instead filled his own glass to the brim.

‘I haven’t seen this side of him before….’ Lin Minhong was stunned. He sensed the anger that was smothering Ha Jae-Gun’s calm expression. He couldn’t predict what would happen at this table in this room today.

Just then, Kwon Sung-Deuk widened his eyes and snapped his fingers as if something had suddenly come to his mind. “Right, Deputy Minister. How about turning it into cultural content?”

“Cultural content?”

“Look at the local self-governing bodies. There are many cases where they build memorial halls and literature halls in commemoration of famous writers. Of course, people would say that it’s difficult to achieve in Seoul, but we're not talking about any Tom, Dick, or Harry here. We're talking about Writer Ha. What do you think?”

“Oh…! That’ should be possible with Mr. Ha Jae-Gun’s reputation. Come to think of it, I remember the Mayor of Donghae saying that he wanted to pursue some sort of business there, right?” The deputy minister clapped with joy.

However, the assistant secretary was aware of Ha Jae-Gun's nature, and he felt like crying at the remarks.

Kwon Sung-Deuk nodded in satisfaction and admired his own brain work as he muttered, “There’s also the idea of coming up with a creative residency. There must be hundreds and thousands of aspiring writers who would like to learn from Writer Ha. Anyway, I’ll meet the Seoul mayor soon and discuss more on this. Ah, Writer Ha. You don’t have to worry about the budget.”

Instead of replying, Ha Jae-Gun emptied his glass once more. This was already the third glass he had on an empty stomach. Lin Minhong couldn't even attempt to stop Ha Jae-Gun.

“I need to go to the washroom.” Ha Jae-Gun finally spoke up and stood up. This conversation was not something he needed to put his attention on. He hadn't even decided on anything yet, but everyone else had already gotten ahead of themselves.

Ha Jae-Gun let out a huge sigh as he stepped into the washroom. His face shown in the reflection was bright red. It couldn’t be helped, as he had downed three glasses of alcohol on an empty stomach. He washed his face with cold water, and his complexion seemed to have recovered slightly.

‘I’m not the odd one, right?’ Ha Jae-Gun asked himself, staring in the mirror.

The faces of the people whom he were missing appeared one by one in the mirror. Aside from his family were Park Jung-Jin, Park Do-Joon, Kwon Tae-Won, Oh Myung-Suk, Jung So-Mi, and so on. They were all people he felt grateful for putting their best foot forward for him. The last person’s face to appear in the mirror was Lee Soo-Hee’s beautiful face, and he was about to get married to her.

Creakkk.

The washroom door opened behind Ha Jae-Gun, and Kwon Sung-Deuk stepped in.

Ha Jae-Gun’s eyes met with his through the mirror.

“Is the weather hot for you, Writer Ha? I saw that you were drinking pretty fast.” Kwon Sung-Deuk headed to the urinal and unzipped his pants.

Ha Jae-Gun pulled out a paper towel and wiped his face dry. It would be best if Kwon Sung-Deuk could just keep to himself. However, Kwon Sung-Deuk’s strong will did not allow him to let Ha Jae-Gun off so easily.

“Writer Ha, I think it’ll be better if you had a bit more sociability.”

Ha Jae-Gun stopped wiping his face.

Kwon Sung-Deuk finished his business and turned around, continuing with a "teaching" tone of voice, “We’re in an era where we have to appeal to the crowd regardless of our jobs. Of course, you have made great accomplishments. I know that. However, if you recognize that relationships between people are also as important, then you’d become much—”

“Assemblyman,” Ha Jae-Gun interrupted and stopped wiping his face. Ha Jae-Gun had come to a conclusion about what he should do in this situation. His hand trembled in anger as he clenched the ball of paper towel in his fist.

“Will you please shut your trap up?”

“...?!” Kwon Sung-Deuk was in utter disbelief, enough for him to look around to see if there was anyone else with them in the washroom. However, there were only him and Ha Jae-Gun, and Ha Jae-Gun’s words had to be directed at him.

“Y-you…!” Kwon Sung-Deuk’s breathing turned rapid as he stammered, “W-were you… talking t-to me…?!”

As a fourth-term assemblyman, Kwon Sung-Deuk had never once heard of such words, even during a chaotic situation at the National Assembly. However, a thirty-year-old middle-aged man had just told him to shut up.

“I’ll be leaving now.”

“S-stop right there!” Kwon Sung-Deuk shouted, spitting at the same time. His eyes grew so wide, and his nostrils were flaring. His nose hairs, which were thick like weeds, seemed to be wriggling as if they were living creatures.

“Writer Ha! You don’t have any manners at all! How dare you act out of your place when you’ve just gained a bit of fame—”

“Please stop speaking informally to me!” Ha Jae-Gun yelled back, anger painting his face red.

Surprised, Kwon Sung-Deuk retreated a step.

“I’ve been wanting to ask you since we met, but are you my father? I’m about to get married, and I'm about to start a family myself. Please do not speak to me informally, as we are not blood related.”

“Y-you…! Y-youuu…!” Veins bulged all over Kwon Sung-Deuk’s neck, but his voice wouldn't come out of his throat. Meanwhile, his fingers, which were pointed at Ha Jae-Gun, were shaking so much that it looked like he was a malaria patient. Kwon Sung-Deuk was so shocked that it appeared like he wouldn't live for long.

“Let me be clear now that we’re on the topic, Assemblyman. I won’t be participating in any of your plans no matter what they are.”

“W-what…!”

“Did you want to use me to increase your approval rating? Or are you asking for a raise in your budget? Or do you want both?”

“H-how far are you going to tease me!” Kwon Sung-Deuk roared. It was natural for him to raise his voice, as he couldn't retort at all. More importantly, Ha Jae-Gun’s words had hit the nail on the head.

Ha Jae-Gun calmed down and added, “There’s nothing to do with me either way. I’m just a writer who writes what I want, and I don’t think there’s a part for me in those plans. If someone like me, who is lacking, really needs to help in the nation's vested interests, then I'll step up by then.”

Ha Jae-Gun knew that he had to be responsible about his moves. He had to skip over things when necessary, even if they were related to those who truly cared about him. That was why Ha Jae-Gun had no regrets over what he had done.

“Ugh…!” Kwon Sung-Deuk groaned, legs trembling in exhaustion.

Ha Jae-Gun turned around.

Just then, the door to the washroom opened, and Lin Minhong walked into the washroom.

“Hmm…?” Lin Minhong was stunned as he stared alternatingly between Ha Jae-Gun and Kwon Sung-Deuk. Kwon Sung-Deuk was trembling as if he had gotten scammed out of his life savings, so Lin Minhong quickly deduced that something had to have happened between him and Ha Jae-Gun.

“Mr. Ha, what happened?” Lin Minhong asked Ha Jae-Gun instead of Kwon Sung-Deuk. Lin Minhong’s question added to Kwon Sung-Deuk’s anger.

“It’s nothing much.” Ha Jae-Gun smiled faintly as he shook his head in response. “The assemblyman asked if I felt hot, and I said yes. It seems like he feels the same.”

Ha Jae-Gun left the bathroom afterward. Lin Minhong only glanced at Kwon Sung-Deuk before following after Ha Jae-Gun.

Kwon Sung-Deuk shut his eyes tight and leaned against the wall, wishing that everything that happened earlier was just a dream.

A while later…

“Huh? Assemblyman Kwon, what’s wrong?” The deputy minister was shocked to see Kwon Sung-Deuk in the washroom. However, Kwon Sung-Deuk did not have the energy to respond.

“Mr. Ha Jae-Gun is leaving. I will be back with the assistant secretary after sending him off. Please wait here, Assemblyman.” After informing Kwon Sung-Deuk, the deputy minister left in a hurry.

Now that he was truly by himself, Kwon Sung-Deuk collapsed to the floor like a sand castle getting hit by the waves. He thought it was an easy plan to carry out, so he couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong in his calculations.