Big Life

Chapter 146: Tremble in Fear (5)

“Is this it?”

“Yes, Director. It’s on the second floor, Jae-In’s Academy,” Chauffeur Kim replied.

Nam Gyu-Ho looked out the window and at the second floor of the building.

"The academy looks quite small. Is it even profitable?"

"It looks like a neighborhood academy for the students living in the area."

"Hmm, I'll be going up first. Tell Team Leader Lee to come up when she arrives."

"I understand, Director. I'll be waiting here."

Nam Gyu-Ho alighted from the car and fixed his necktie before stepping into the building. Thinking that he only needed to get to the second floor, Nam Gyu-Ho chose to take the stairs instead of the elevator.

'To think that he made me come all the way here.'

Nam Gyu-Ho went up the stairs, clicking his tongue. He was the kind who couldn’t stay still when there was something in front of him waiting for him to resolve. He had to resolve the issue on hand first before moving on to the next issue.

Moreover, the work meant to be cleared today was extremely important.

‘Is his older sister’s name Ha Jae-In?’

Nam Gyu-Ho peeked through the glass door into the academy as he arrived on the second floor. A lady who had just stepped out of the ladies’ room stood with a large flower pot in hand.

“Sorry, but could you please…”

“Ahh.”

Seeing the pot that was dripping with water, Nam Gyu-Ho stepped aside for the lady to pass. The lady, whose face was covered by the flower pot, walked past him into the academy.

A mild fragrance tickled Nam Gyu-Ho’s nose.

‘What flower is that?’

Nam Gyu-Ho watched her back and took a deep breath. He liked it, and he found the scent quite familiar. The scent that permeated deep into his lungs slowly disappeared, leaving an aftertaste.

“Oh my, is…!” the lady mumbled and placed the flower pot down before turning around. Their eyes met, and Nam Gyu-Ho didn’t feel any feelings of unfamiliarity toward her, even though it was his first time seeing her.

“Are you Director Nam Gyu-Ho?”

“Ahh…” Nam Gyu-Ho nodded lightly.

A fresh smile akin to a spring flower bloomed on her face.

“Hello, I’m Jae-Gun’s older sister. I apologize for the late introduction,” Ha Jae-In bowed politely.

Nam Gyu-Ho finally realized why he found her familiar. Although they weren’t identical twins, Ha Jae-Gun and his older sister’s facial features looked somewhat similar.

“Please take a seat here. Jae-Gun went to change and will be out soon.”

“Ah, okay.”

Nam Gyu-Ho sat upright on the sofa with hands on his knees. He suddenly felt conscious of his loose necktie and reached up to fix it.

“Do you want something to drink? I’ve got coffee and juice…”

“I’ll have a cup of coffee, please.”

“Okay, please wait a moment.” Ha Jae-In stepped away to get Nam Gyu-Ho his coffee.

Left all alone, Nam Gyu-Ho watched the flowerpot on the table. He suddenly wanted to confirm something. He leaned toward the flower pot and sniffed it.

‘The scent wasn’t from this flower.’

Nam Gyu-Ho leaned back in his seat. If the scent wasn’t from the flower, it could only come from one thing.

Ha Jae-In soon returned with a cup of coffee on a tray.

“I’m not sure if you’ll like instant coffee.”

“It’s alright.”

Ha Jae-In bent naturally to place the cup on the table. At that moment, the fragrance from earlier tickled Nam Gyu-Ho’s nose again.

“Is the taste to your liking?”

“I like the fragrance.”

Nam Gyu-Ho’s answer had an underlying meaning, with coffee as its pretext. Ha Jae-In smiled faintly, taking his response as a polite answer, as there was no way instant coffee would smell good.

“Oh, Director. You’re here?”

Ha Jae-Gun appeared in comfortable clothes.

Nam Gyu-Ho greeted him as he stood up awkwardly.

“Hello. I’m sorry for coming here out of the blue.”

“No, it’s fine. I wanted to head back up, actually. Have you had lunch?”

“Not yet,” Nam Gyu-Ho replied without hesitation. He wasn’t the type to beat around the bush. He was also starving after skipping lunch. However, his original plan was to finish his work first before eating lunch.

Nam Gyu-Ho immediately added, “I hope we can talk about work first.”

“Do you want to head to a quieter place to talk about it?”

Nam Gyu-Ho glanced sideways at Ha Jae-In, who was standing next to him and shook his head before saying, “We can talk here; it’s fine. I think Team Leader Lee is running late, so I’ll just go straight to the point. I’ve read the plot you wrote for Gyeoja Bathhouse.”

Ha Jae-Gun nodded silently. Ha Jae-Gun had sent Nam Gyu-Ho the new horror mystery plot when the latter asked to take a look at it.

“Writer Ha, do you know March 14?”

“White Day?” Ha Jae-Gun shrugged at the random question.

“No, the game—March 14. It’s a horror adventure game developed by Sonnoori.”

“Ahh, yes. I’ve heard of it. It’s about a male student trying to escape the school, which he hid until at night to put candy in the locker of the girl he likes, right?”

“Oh, you seem familiar with it.”

“I played it when I was a student, but I was too scared to finish the game.”

“It was originally a PC game but was remade into a mobile game. It was recently launched in eight other countries, and the response is relatively good. Both Teencent and I are quite interested in such horror adventure genres.”

Teencent is one of the internet and game service companies in China. They were the distributor of Oscar’s Dungeon in China. Ha Jae-Gun could finally guess why Nam Gyu-Ho was here today.

“I would like to turn Gyeoja Bathhouse into a game.”

“I see…”

“My meeting with Teencent tomorrow in China will not be about Oscar’s Dungeon. Have you heard of Evil Spirit’s Night that we’re currently developing?”

“It’s a text-based horror adventure game?”

“That’s right. But Teencent seems reluctant to get Evil Spirit’s Night as the story is dull and relatively long. That’s why I’m thinking of taking it out and proposing Gyeoja Bathhouse instead.”

Nam Gyu-Ho did not beat around the bush today, either. He looked straight into Ha Jae-Gun’s eyes and shared his opinion fervently, “Give me a definite answer right now, and I will be able to proceed with negotiations with Teencent on Gyeoja Bathhouse. This is why I’m here a day before my business trip.”

Ha Jae-Gun tilted his head in confusion. There was a part he couldn’t quite understand.

“Gyeoja Bathhouse hasn’t even received a proposal yet, can negotiations proceed despite that?”

“It’s a verbal agreement for marketing.”

“Oh, I see.”

“The response in China for the webtoon of Oscar’s Dungeon is off the charts, and it’s handled by Teencent as well. It’s better to have a verbal agreement made if we want them to prepare the promotions and events. Even There Was A Sea, which was released in China, is getting good responses, so I think this is an opportune timing.”

Nam Gyu-Ho raised his finger and said with conviction, “The Chinese market has finally felt your power, Writer Ha.”

“Thanks for your encouraging words.”

“I’m only speaking the truth.” Nam Gyu-Ho finished the now-cold coffee in a gulp.

Ha Jae-In, who had been sitting next to Ha Jae-Gun all this while, asked, “Director, would you like another cup of coffee?”

“I’m feeling slightly thirsty, so could you please give me some cold water?”

Ha Jae-Gun emerged from his thoughts and looked up before asking, “Soo-Hee—no, I mean Team Leader Lee… What did she think about this matter?”

Nam Gyu-Ho put down the cup of cold water that Ha Jae-In had given to him.

He was about to reply to Ha Jae-Gun when the door was opened.

“I strongly support this idea.”

Everyone turned their attention to Lee Soo-Hee.

Lee Soo-Hee closed the door behind her and continued, “From game, novel, webtoon, to either TV drama or movie. I’m certain that through this novel, you’ll be able to see the effect of One-Source, Multi-Use much clearer than ever.”

“Oh my, Ms. Soo-Hee. Welcome.” Ha Jae-In’s face brightened.

She stood up and held Lee Soo-Hee’s hands.

Lee Soo-Hee looked around and said, “Your academy looks clean and pretty, unni. I apologize for not dropping by sooner.”

“No, it’s fine. How much free time can an office worker get? Oh my, look at me. You are here for business, so I shouldn’t interfere. Please take a seat.” Ha Jae-In quickly walked away.

Lee Soo-Hee sat down quietly next to Nam Gyu-Ho, then locked eyes with Ha Jae-Gun sitting across from her.

Smiling, Lee Soo-Hee asked, “Director, what have you guys been discussing?”

“...”

Nam Gyu-Ho silently looked in the direction where Ha Jae-In left.

Lee Soo-Hee waited for a moment before calling him again.

“Um, Director?”

“Hm? Ah, yes. We’re almost done with the discussions.”

Nam Gyu-Ho quickly withdrew his gaze and cleared his throat. He then looked back at Ha Jae-Gun with eyes longing for an answer.

Ha Jae-Gun nodded and said, “Alright, let’s do that.”

“You’ve decided?”

“Yes. Since both Director and Team Leader Lee are supporting the idea, it should be fine. I feel relieved to be able to leave this in your hands.”

Seemingly doubtful, Nam Gyu-Ho added, “Please do not take verbal agreements lightly. The Chinese tend to put more importance on saving their faces than how things are run.”

“I will keep that in mind,” Ha Jae-Gun answered with a serious look.

Lee Soo-Hee smiled bitterly. Nam Gyu-Ho’s words just now were unnecessary.

Ha Jae-Gun had never been the type of person to break his word.

“Thank you for listening to me. Now that the important business has been dealt with, shall we talk about the rest over a meal? We can invite your older sister along as well since she probably hasn't had any food yet,” Nam Gyu-Ho proposed, caressing his stomach.

Nam Gyu-Ho decided to change his plans after stepping foot into the academy.

“Shall we do that, then? What would you like to have? I’ll buy the meals since you came all the way here.”

“Anything with rice is fine with me.”

The four went to a nearby restaurant and ordered a beef hotpot.

It was a late lunch, so they continued talking about work.

“Please have some of this, Director.”

Ha Jae-In picked up a plate of fish and put it in front of Nam Gyu-Ho. The fish had been deboned with clean chopsticks. A wave of emotions struck Nam Gyu-Ho’s heart as he looked down at the plate.

“Do you eat marinated crabs too?”

“Ah…” Nam Gyu-Ho responded by shaking his head.

Strangely, he could not give her a proper response. Even he himself found his response ridiculous.

Ha Jae-In smiled as she tore the crab and asked, “How does it taste? Jae-Gun and I frequent this restaurant. We really love the food here.”

“It’s delicious,” Nam Gyu-Ho replied while chewing.

Nam Gyu-Ho finished all the food that Ha Jae-In had sincerely prepared and handed to him. He had eaten more than usual, but he didn’t feel bloated at all.

***

“I enjoyed the meal. I’ll see you again in two weeks. I'd appreciate it if you could mention your decision to OongSung, Writer Ha. I’ll take care of the rest on my end.”

“Yes, Director. I’ll do that. Thank you for coming all the way here.”

“Team Leader Lee, you don’t have to return to the office. I’ll be leaving first, then.”

“I understand. Please be careful on the way back, Director.”

Nam Gyu-Ho opened the car door and got into the back seat.

The chauffeur had the car on standby, and they drove off immediately.

“Chauffeur Kim.”

“Yes, Director?”

“How long have you been working with me?”

“It would be four years in two months’ time.”

“I see. Time really flies.”

Nam Gyu-Ho crossed his hands and was silently immersed in his own thoughts.

When the car stopped at the red light of an intersection, he said, “Chauffeur Kim.”

“Yes, Director.”

“Am I cool?”

“Pardon…?”

Chauffeur Kim was flustered. Nam Gyu-Ho had talked nonsense before, but it was the first time he had asked such a question.

“Please tell me. Am I cool?”

“Y-you’re cool.”

“Really?”

“O-of course. You’ve been labeled the Handsome CEO on a few occasions on the news, too.”

“Hm, I see.”

“…”

“Chauffeur Kim.”

“Yes, please speak, Director.”

“Family-oriented ladies are beautiful, are they not?”

“What? Ah… Yes, they…are.”

“Right?”

“Yes, I—Ah, yes. I think family-oriented ladies are beautiful. Yes, of course.”

“Hahahaha!”

Nam Gyu-Ho suddenly burst into laughter.

Chauffeur Kim flinched and tightened his grip on the steering wheel out of shock.

It had been four years since he started working for Nam Gyu-Ho, but he still couldn’t quite grasp Nam Gyu-Ho’s thoughts.