Big Life

Chapter 131: I’m An Earthling (1)

‘Ah, I’m really scared.’

Lee Yeon-Woo nervously bit his thumbnail. He had just completed the drafts for volumes one and two of his next novel after Martial God Management.

The novel’s title was Objection.

The main character of Objection unexpectedly received an amazing oratory skill. His life turned for the better, and he went on a roll in modern society.

‘Why is this taking so long?’

Lee Yeon-Woo swallowed as he watched the closed doors. An entire hour had passed ever since Ha Jae-Gun said that he wanted to focus on reading the draft, yet there was still no news.

Lee Yeon-Woo couldn’t hold back his impatience and turned on his laptop. Instead of just blindly waiting, he thought it would be better if he spent the time waiting anxiously on browsing the internet instead.

‘Wow, there are still articles about Jae-Gun hyung going on I Live Alone.’

Was it because the movie There Was A Sea would premiere soon? Articles about Ha Jae-Gun appearing on the popular variety show I Live Alone were pouring out once more, even though it had been quite a while since the show was broadcast.

As always, Lee Yeon-Woo finished reading the article and then headed to the comments section. A certain comment caught his attention amidst the sea of positive responses.

-I can’t believe that a writer is neglecting his main job and making appearances on TV;;; Isn’t he ashamed to be called a writer? Does he love money that much? Seeing that he’s trying to make success with his looks, I don’t think Ha Jae-Gun will stay long as a writer;;;

‘What? What’s this punk up to again? Why are they so nosy trying to interfere in what other people are doing?’

Lee Yeon-Woo couldn’t help but think that the malicious comments toward Ha Jae-Gun had increased ever since he went on the show.

Ha Jae-Gun didn’t seem very concerned about them, but Lee Yeon-Woo’s mood would always turn for the worse every time he saw a bad comment about Ha Jae-Gun.

“Meow.”

“Ah, Rika.”

Lee Yeon-Woo rubbed Rika’s neck as she leaped onto his lap.

“There are more malicious comments than before, and it’s all because of Jae-Gun hyung’s growth. I shouldn’t be concerned about them, but what can I do? I always get mad whenever I see them. What? I shouldn’t care about them?

”How about you? Can you do it? What’s up with that look? Are you trying to say that I’m pathetic? Huh?”

Just then, the door behind Lee Yeon-Woo opened, and out came Ha Jae-Gun.

“Why are you bullying Rika?”

“No way, hyung. We were just having a debate,” Lee Yeon-Woo replied and quickly turned off his laptop. He decided not to bring up the malicious comments to Ha Jae-Gun. He didn’t want Ha Jae-Gun to worry about those comments.

“I’ve read Objection.”

“How did you find it?”

“Mm, it was interesting.”

Lee Yeon-Woo gulped down his nervousness. He had long gotten used to how Ha Jae-Gun gave reviews. Ha Jae-Gun would always start with compliments and then subsequently point out the areas where improvements had to be made.

According to his past experience, Ha Jae-Gun would point out ten issues for every compliment.

‘I’m going to get reprimanded quite a bit today, huh.’

Ha Jae-Gun would always become as serious as a hawk in the middle of hunting whenever writing was the topic. Lee Yeon-Woo prepared himself mentally as he looked down. He didn’t dare to look up and meet Ha Jae-Gun’s gaze, but…

“Send me the draft for volume three when you’re done.”

“...?!”

Lee Yeon-Woo looked up in surprise.

Ha Jae-Gun was drinking his coffee calmly.

“Hyung, what do you mean?”

“I’ll look at volume three when you’re done with it.”

“No… Are there no other issues that you should be pointing out to me?”

“You’ve written it so well, so why should I? You’ve improved.”

Ha Jae-Gun took another sip of his coffee and continued. “Your writing originally had lots of long paragraphs. Do you remember what I said about how it’s a make-or-break point for readers who read web novels on smart devices?”

“Yes, hyung.”

“You’ve cut down a lot on those and increased the number of dialogues as well. The main character is doing well realistically as well. I like the story; it’s making me curious how the story will develop in volume three.”

Lee Yeon-Woo trembled, and a smile slowly formed on his tightly shut lips. He had just received a huge compliment from his favorite writer in the world! It had been extremely worthwhile pouring all his efforts into writing the novel.

Bzzt!

“Oh, it’s President Kwon. Hello?”

— Writer Ha. You should be heading back to Suwon now, right?

“No, I’m still at the writer’s office, I just finished reading Lee Yeon-Woo’s next novel.”

— Are you talking about Objection? So he’s done with the manuscript? He hasn’t sent it to me yet.

“Ahaha, really? I like the novel, but I’m not sure how you’ll see it since I’m still an ink slinger reliant on your judgment.”

— No, I’ve actually become an editor who’s becoming more reliant on your judgment. Ah, but the title, it’s just tentative, right?

Ha Jae-Gun observed Lee Yeon-Woo’s expression and asked, “You mean for Objection?”

— Yes, did you come up with the title for him as well?

“I’m sorry…”

— Hahaha, why are you apologizing? It’s not a bad title, but I think we can come up with a better one, so let’s brainstorm this a little further.

As the laughter died down, Kwon Tae-Won’s tone turned serious.

— Ah, the small talk has been extended. Actually, I’m calling because I’ve received an email from overseas.

“An email from overseas?”

— A Korean-American living in L.A. sent an email to us, saying that they’ve enjoyed reading The Breath a lot. They would like to thank Writer Ha for writing this novel.

“Ahh, I see…” Ha Jae-Gun replied in a low voice upon hearing the news. He found it quite unbelievable that he had a reader overseas. The unexpected news touched his heart.

Kwon Tae-Won continued.

— Oscar’s Dungeon was released in the paperback version, so it still doesn’t have ebook versions, right? It was a good thing that The Breath had started off as a paid serialization novel, as they managed to read it with ease.

“I see.”

— But they said something quite weird. They wanted to share the story they enjoyed with their friends, but there are many who don’t understand the Korean language.

“Ahh, yes.”

— So he wanted to translate the novel into English and share the story with their friends, but I’m not sure how I should reply to them. It’s technically illegal to do so, but I think they’ll still go ahead and translate the story even if I were to tell them not to. So I gave them a brief reply—I told them not to distribute his translation commercially.

“Thank you. It is indeed quite an awkward situation.”

— Actually, this isn’t the first time I’ve received such requests. This happens often to a certain famous fantasy Korean writer as well. This just shows how much Writer Ha has grown in terms of popularity. I’ve forwarded the email to you so you can take a look at it in detail when you’re free.

“I understand. I’ll read it right away.”

— All right, Writer Ha. Please be careful on your way to Suwon. I look forward to our great cooperation next year as well.

"Same here. Have a good day at work."

After hanging up the call, Ha Jae-Gun stood in a faze, locked in his thoughts.

He couldn’t quite believe that he had readers from overseas.

The newfound fact became an opportunity for him to look back on his life as a writer so far. He had always been writing for Korean readers, so he was caught off guard by the fact that he had readers overseas.

The overwhelming emotions immobilized him for quite a while.

"Are you that happy?"

"Oh!"

Ha Jae-Gun flinched and took a step back in surprise.

Lee Yeon-Woo smiled mischievously with hands behind his back.

"What, you heard everything?"

"The volume was quite high, so I heard the entire conversation you had with President Kwon. I’ve been waiting quietly on the side to let you savor the happy news you just received."

"No, I'm just surprised…"

"You're indeed awesome, hyung. Just wait and see. The name Poongchun-Yoo will definitely spread far and wide—across the entire globe!"

"Stop getting ahead of yourself."

Ha Jae-Gun held Rika in his arms.

Just then, the entire empty office came into his view. No one else was around as they had all returned to their hometowns for the year-end celebrations, all except for Lee Yeon-Woo.

"You should get going too, hyung. Stay safe on the road."

"Aren't you going to go back?"

"I'm much more comfortable staying here than going back home. There's no one who would be glad to see me, anyway." Lee Yeon-Woo smiled bitterly and scratched his cheeks.

Ha Jae-Gun did not take too long to decide. He then saved Lee Yeon-Woo's draft and turned off his laptop. He didn't want to leave Lee Yeon-Woo all alone in this cold office to spend the year-end and the new year.

"Let's go."

"To your house? No, I'm fine. Hyung, don't worry about me…"

"You're my manager, right? You should be going with me, then. I'm going to stay there for three days and two nights, so pack your bag."

"..."

"You're not going to pack up?"

"Yes, yes! I'll pack up right away!"

Lee Yeon-Woo hurriedly packed a few sets of clothes to change, along with his laptop.

Ten minutes later, the two hopped into the car and headed for Suwon.

***

"Wow, it looks quite good. It's not that far from home as well."

Ha Jae-In was currently on the second floor of a building next to the cross junction near their house in Suwon. She had just rented out the entire 40-pyeong shop lot; she was planning on running her own school there.

"I'm going to take in elementary and middle school students, focusing on English and Math."

"You still have to send the kids to and from their homes." Ha Jae-Gun pointed out.

"I've already got a driver's license, so what's the issue?"

"It's not that; wait, are you going to do all of that alone?"

"It’s fine. I'm more worried if I’ll receive enough students to cover the cost of the rent."

"Have you decided on the name of your academy?"

"No, not yet…"

Ha Jae-Gun immediately gave a suggestion, "Why not use your name and call it Jae-In’s Academy?"

"Jae-In’s Academy?"

"Your name also means a multitalented person, doesn't it? I've had this in mind for a while. I suggest naming it Jae-In’s Academy."

"I don’t know; it’s cringey."

"No one cares about that, you're just being self-conscious."

"Look at you, taking the chance to tease me, huh?"

"Owww."

Ha Jae-In strangled Ha Jae-Gun from behind.

Ha Jae-Gun coughed and fell on his butt.

Ha Jae-In's grip on him loosened, and she leaned in closer to him.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Just… for everything."

"...If I turn around right now and see you crying, I'm going to get angry."

"No, I'm not crying." Ha Jae-In raised her voice and let go of Ha Jae-Gun.

Ha Jae-Gun chuckled silently as he watched her turn away and dab the corners of her eyes.

"We should get going now. It's going to start in thirty."

"Mm, of course."

Today was the premiere day of There Was A Sea. Unlike Summer in My 20s, Ha Jae-Gun joined his family this time to watch the movie premiere. Ha Jae-Gun's car stopped by the road shoulder in front of the building.

Lee Yeon-Woo was in the driver's seat, with Ha Suk-Jae and Myung-Ja in the back passenger seat.

"How is it, Jae-Gun? The place is huge, right?"

Myung-Ja asked as soon as Ha Jae-Gun hopped into the front passenger seat.

"Yeah. I heard you helped her choose the place?"

"Of course, I have to. Who else in our family has a good eye for properties besides me? The location is great, and the landlord is a nice person, too. Jae-In’s academy would definitely be the most successful school in this area.”

Lee Yeon-Woo stepped on the accelerator and drove onto the main road.

The roads were empty today, so they quickly arrived at their destination, which was a huge theater located in the department store. They already had tickets to the most comfortable seats in the theater.

“Mom, Father. Do you want any snacks?”

“I’m fine.”

“Mom is fine, too. We should focus on watching your movie. Just buy me a bottle of water.”

The family of four, including Lee Yeon-Woo, sat down in their assigned seats. Ha Jae-In then whispered to Ha Jae-Gun, asking, “You didn’t even join us when we watched Summer in My 20s. It seems like you’re quite confident in this movie, huh?”

“You’ll know when you watch the movie.”

“Alright, let me bring up my critical eyes to review this movie.”

The seats in the theater were all filled out. Ha Jae-Gun then overheard the conversation of a couple sitting next to him.

“Is this movie going to be great? I haven’t seen many movies with original novels do well.”

“The director is different this time. It’s not Woo Jae-Hoon.”

“I searched him up, he’s not even a verified director and a rookie at that. Well, we'll know after watching it for half an hour. Who knows, it might turn out worse. If it's bad again, I'm going to leave midway through the movie."

Ha Jae-Gun smiled bitterly in the darkness.

Ha Jae-In quietly reached out and held his hand.

Soon, the lights turned off, and the movie started. Ha Jae-Gun watched the movie in comfort as he had already seen it during the preview. Of course, he enjoyed it as well this time.

Halfway through the movie…

"S-sob…"

The lady of the couple next to them started sobbing, unable to hold back her tears anymore. Meanwhile, the man's eyes were unwittingly transfixed on the big screen while handing his partner tissues.

Seeing their reactions, a smile crept up on Ha Jae-In's tearful face.

“Hehe.” Myung-Ja giggled and whispered to Ha Jae-In. "Your dad is crying."

Shocked at the news, she leaned back to take a peek at her father, then replied, "Don't do this, Mom. You know that Dad has quite a strong ego."

"It's just funny. Look at him sniffling while pretending to look serious."

Ha Jae-In tightened her grip on Ha Jae-Gun's hand.

It was the best compliment ever.

Meanwhile, the couple next to them didn’t leave their seats until after the ending credits were done rolling.