Big Life

Chapter 157: Make It Up, If There’s None (1)

Things went swimmingly afterward.

The culprit of the incident kept his head low and did not utter a single word. Like an obedient child, he became a yes-man before the police, and he didn’t steal even a glance in Ha Jae-Gun’s direction.

“I’m sorry for holding you up when you must be busy.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s natural since it's part of our job. We serve and protect the people, after all. Please be safe on your way home, sir.”

Ha Jae-Gun and Lee Yeon-Woo left the police station and went to the writer’s office.

On the way, Lee Yeon-Woo said, “Hyung, relax.”

“I’m fine. It’s fortunate that you’re here with me.”

“Self-centered people like him are a dime a dozen. They look down on the weak but cower before the strong,” said Lee Yeon-Woo. He then frowned as if he had recalled an unpleasant memory.

“Do you still remember how obedient he became after discovering your identity? People like him judge people based on their wealth.”

Ha Jae-Gun smiled bitterly and looked at the world before him. A fresh scene in his eyes unfolded before him as they went past the market. A grandmother sat by the roadside selling vegetables while a man who had just walked past her was carrying a large bag full of glutinous rice cakes and was going around selling them.

“...Why would he mess with those who are making an honest living?”

“Hyung? What did you just say?”

“No, it’s nothing. Let’s go.”

Ha Jae-Gun walked briskly back to the office and placed Rika on his lap upon returning. He had just decided his next novel at the police station earlier. It was now time for him to come up with the characters and story composition.

‘A picaresque[1] novel might be fitting.’

Ha Jae-Gun was leaning toward writing his novel in a way where every character shared the same world setting, but they all had their own story to tell.

‘Using the market as the setting sounds good. As for a short-form novel that tells the story through different characters that exist in the same space…’

He drew the scene he had seen in the market earlier.

With the bustling market as the novel’s background, the first character would be the grandmother selling vegetables, the second character would be the glutinous rice cakes seller, the third character would be the delivery man, and so on.

“Meow.” Rika cried out and pawed at Ha Jae-Gun’s chest.

Ha Jae-Gun was pulled back to reality, and he stood up from his seat.

“Lee Yeon-Woo, I’m going to go into my room to work. Don’t disturb me if I don’t come out. Go ahead for lunch on your own first.”

“Okay, hyung.”

Lee Yeon-Woo watched blearily as Ha Jae-Gun went into his room. The only times he would retreat into his room would be when he was working on story compositions or reading someone else’s novels.

‘Seeing how he brought his notepad along, he should be working on a story composition. Is he stuck with Oscar’s Dungeon? Or is he working on his next novel?’

Ha Jae-Gun did not leave his room even well past noon. All the other writers had soon returned to the office after running their own errands. Lee Yeon-Woo joined them for a late lunch, and then he returned to his desk to work on his novel.

‘Everyone is working hard, but… why is it not going well for me?’ Lee Yeon-Woo massaged the nape of his neck, blaming himself.

His gaze slowly moved from the door of Ha Jae-Gun’s room to Kang Min-Ho and Jang Eun-Young and then to Yang Hyun-Kyung.

Everyone was working hard on their own novels.

‘Sigh, I might just mess up my next novel at this rate.’

Progress on his next novel, tentatively titled Objection, had been sluggish since the third volume, and this had been going on for quite a while now. If it weren’t for Ha Jae-Gun’s goodwill, he would have already left the office to find another livelihood.

‘Ah, this is a big problem. I’m not sure how I can continue the story from here on.’

Lee Yeon-Woo looked up at the ceiling in anguish.

Jang Eun-Young decided to take a short break and turned around.

“Lee Yeon-Woo, are you feeling unwell?” she asked.

“No. I was just thinking about the story.”

“It’s not going well? Maybe you’re just hungry, and it isn’t helping your brain with creative work. You should have dinner later.”

“Yeah, I should call Jae-Gun hyung along, too.”

Lee Yeon-Woo headed to Ha Jae-Gun’s room and knocked on the door. However, he received no response. He tried again to no avail.

“Is he sleeping? But he said he has an appointment tonight.”

Ha Jae-Gun had instructed him not to enter the room, but Lee Yeon-Woo still decided to open the door.

His eyes widened in shock upon seeing the sight before him.

“...!”

‘W-what’s going on?!’

Scribble! Scribble! Scribble! Scribble!

Ha Jae-Gun was scribbling away on his notepad like a madman. He didn’t even realize that Lee Yeon-Woo had entered the room.

His face was covered in sweat. Dozens of A4 papers were seen with long sentences scrawled across them. A few of them had even fallen to the floor. Lee Yeon-Woo picked one of them up and read it.

It was the first half of a short-form novel portraying the daily life of a security guard, while another piece of paper told the tough life of a wife selling kimbap.

“Jae-Gun hyung, what’s all this?”

“...Hmm? When did you come in?”

Ha Jae-Gun looked up belatedly with sunken eyes. A drop of sweat trickled down his nose bridge.

“Hyung, isn’t this a short-form novel?”

“I thought it would help shape the characters this way if I wrote in short-form novels.”

“But these three pieces look like they’re all different main characters. Does each of them contain a short story with different main characters?”

“Mm, of course.”

Lee Yeon-Woo felt a chill go down his spine. He was reminded once again that the writer whom he respected the most was a madman when it came to writing.

“Oh? It’s past 6 p.m. already?”

Thanks to Lee Yeon-Woo’s appearance, he came back to his senses. He hurriedly gathered the papers. He had to hurry if he didn’t want to be late for his dinner appointment with Lee Soo-Hee.

“Writer Ha, are you leaving without dinner?”

“Ah, everyone is here. I’m actually late for my appointment, so let’s have dinner next time. Good luck with writing.” Ha Jae-Gun picked up Rika and left the office.

Lee Yeon-Woo stared at the door even though Ha Jae-Gun had already left. He couldn’t help but think that perhaps he wasn’t destined to become a writer in his current life.

***

“My goodness… What if something dangerous happened? So, there weren’t any issues when you left the station?”

“I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Ha Jae-Gun and Lee Soo-Hee were enjoying a cozy dinner at his house. Lee Soo-Hee put some deboned fish into Ha Jae-Gun’s bowl. She didn’t eat much and only kept taking care of Ha Jae-Gun.

Ha Jae-Gun noticed that and said, “I’ll take care of myself, so you should eat more. Before you go to Taiwan.”

“...”

Lee Soo-Hee bit her lips and looked down. She couldn’t believe that the topic she hadn’t been willing to bring up all this time was brought up again when Ha Jae-Gun had just suffered from a bad encounter.

“Should I not go then?”

“To Taiwan?”

“Director Nam told me to let him know if I ever change my mind, and you’ve been having a tough time, so if I stay in Korea—”

Ha Jae-Gun reached his hand out across the table. He smiled as he held Lee Soo-Hee’s hand.

“I’m fine, so go. I’ve given it some thought while putting myself in your shoes. I would choose to go to Taiwan for your sake as well. I’m serious.”

“...”

“Like you said, it won’t take too long, and Taiwan isn’t that far away either. Plus, I can just bring my laptop over and find you there, right?”

He had known her for so many years, so he knew very well that Lee Soo-Hee was a career-minded individual. As such, Ha Jae-Gun had been planning to send her off so that she could work with peace of mind.

Moreover, Lee Soo-Hee’s decision was born from her desire to oversee the development of the game that was based on Ha Jae-Gun’s novel.

“I’m thankful to hear that, but…”

“Do a good job if you are. Make sure my game becomes a hit in Taiwan. Let’s dig in.”

Lee Soo-Hee eventually picked up her chopsticks and began forcing herself to eat. The grains of rice felt like sand. The reality was starting to sink in as she would soon depart for overseas. She wouldn’t be able to see Ha Jae-Gun for a while.

“I’ll do the dishes, so go and shower and change your clothes,” Ha Jae-Gun said.

“Okay, thank you.”

Lee Soo-Hee headed off to shower while Ha Jae-Gun started washing the dishes. Just as he wiped off the water on the last plate, his phone rang. It was a call from Ha Jae-In.

“Yeah, noona.”

— Have you had dinner?

“Of course. What about you?”

— I just had dinner with Mom and Dad, too. But there are lots of reporters outside the house, and it’s all because of that photo. Thankfully, the fences are high enough.

“How is Father doing?”

— He’s doing much better now. He’s playing Go with Mother, and he’s been tending to the garden as well. If it’s okay with Director Nam, he said he would like to treat him to dinner.

“I’ll try to ask him. He’s usually quite busy…”

The moment he turned around while saying that, Ha Jae-Gun stiffened as he saw Lee Soo-Hee between the divider between the kitchen and the living room. Ha Jae-In had said something over the phone, but he didn’t pay attention to it.

“Noona, I’ll call you again later.”

— Alright.

Ha Jae-Gun hung up the call and smiled. Lee Soo-Hee was fanning her flushed face.

“You wore that?”

“You were the one who kept bugging me to wear it a while back…”

Lee Soo-Hee was wearing the qipao that Park Do-Joon had bought for Ha Jae-Gun when he returned from China. Her gorgeous figure was accentuated by the tight-fitting dress, and the side slit that came all the way up to her thighs made her look much more seductive.

“It looks weird, right?”

“No, never. You look stunning.”

“Lies. I shouldn’t have worn this. You’re done staring, right? I’m going to change.”

“No way.”

“Kyaa!”

Ha Jae-Gun lifted Lee Soo-Hee up, princess-style.

Rika watched as the two of them rushed upstairs to the second floor and disappeared into a corner. Soon, the lights on the second floor went off.

***

[Worship the overwhelming scale of the dungeon that will overtake this summer! The guild leader’s stamp will be given if you download the game now!]

‘It’s so cool…!’

Jung So-Mi exclaimed inwardly as she stood on the subway platform on her way to work. She was standing before a full-page advertisement for the mobile game Oscar’s Dungeon.

A ginormous dragon and a blonde-haired Oscar armed with a sword and shield were charging toward it, and the scene almost filled the entire screen.

Mass advertising had just begun before the game’s official release.

‘Oh my, my webtoon is also mentioned as well?’

So-Mi bent her knees to look at the mention at eye level. A guide to her webtoon was also mentioned at the bottom of the billboard. The sight filled her with pride.

Bzzt!

Her phone rang just then, and it was a call from Kwon Tae-Won. With her eyes still fixed on the billboard, Jung So-Mi answered the phone.

“Yes, President.”

— Deputy Jung, please go to the office in Bucheon today. You may work there while discussing the illustrations with Writer Jang Eun-Young.

“Ah, yes. I understand. I’ll do that.”

— I’ll see you in the evening.

“Ah, President!” Jung So-Mi hurriedly called out as she recalled that she had something to ask.

“When will the Chinese version of Oscar’s Dungeon novel be released?”

— It’s going to take some time. It might be released a week later than the game’s launch, but what about it?

“I’m at the subway station and just saw the mobile game’s advertisement, so I was just wondering and looking forward to it.”

Kwon Tae-Won burst into laughter.

— I’m quite excited as well. I thought it would do well as well, but popularity really depends on luck. Fortunately, Writer Ha is a great writer, so let’s put our trust in him and monitor the situation.

“Yes, President. I’ll see you later in the evening then.”

Jung So-Mi hung up. She looked up Ha Jae-Gun’s name on the internet, and many news articles appeared on the search results page. News of the Oscar’s Dungeon game, its Chinese novel, the movie Gyeoja Bathhouse, and the game of the same name Nextionwas making, as well as There Was A Sea, which was slowly gaining popularity in America, had all appeared on the search results.

‘Writer Ha is really amazing.’

It felt like she could see at a glance how many characters Ha Jae-Gun had written so far. How much further could his works go? As a fan, she was truly looking forward to it.

‘Did he go to the office today?’

The wound in her heart was still recovering. Jung So-Mi had been keeping herself busy to make sure that the band-aid she had put on herself wouldn’t fall to the floor.

‘Why should I care? Why am I such a fool?’

The subway finally arrived, and Jung So-Mi entered it. Her destination was the writer’s office.

***

— Mr. Ha, we’ve sold 400,000 copies of Gyeoja Bathhouse so far. The genre is quite niche, so the rate of sales is slower than your previous works. But of course, it’s also because your past works were so great, so this is actually an above-average performance.

“I think so too. I’m quite satisfied with it,” Ha Jae-Gun replied while closing all the windows.

The cool air was flowing out of the office where no one else was in.

— The sales will go up again once the movie is released. A highly competent agent is also preparing for the launch well in America, so don’t worry about it. The publishing company, Knobble, has the highest potential at the moment. They’ve been around in the industry for a long time, and they are quite well-known, too. They seem to be highly interested in your novel as well.

“Ahh, I see. Knobble? I’ll look them up.”

— How is your work these days?

“I’m quite free these days. I’m not working on anything else in particular aside from Oscar’s Dungeon.”

Ha Jae-Gun chose not to mention anything about his next novel, as he wasn’t sure how it would turn out. There was no need for him to reveal it now and add pressure to himself. He planned to keep it from everyone, not just Oh Myung-Suk.

Of course, except for one person.

— Hahaha, if you’re free, can I arrange some work for you? The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has been calling quite a few times these days, wanting to invite you to a global web content festival. Various broadcasting stations and MNCs have been calling us multiple times every day as well. They want to invite you, too.

“It’s scary just hearing it from you. If I have ten of myself—no, if my stamina isn’t so poor, I wouldn’t have been afraid.” Ha Jae-Gun laughed along with Myung-Suk.

Oh Myung-Suk’s voice abruptly sounded serious.

— Mr. Ha, I didn’t want to ask this if possible, but… how is your family doing recently?

Of course, he was referring to the assault case related to Ha Jae-Gun’s father. Ha Jae-Gun nodded and said, “Yes, he’s doing much better now. Thanks for your concern.”

— That’s most fortunate. Please don’t skip your meals, I hope you and your family will get back on track soon.

Ha Jae-Gun talked for a while more with Oh Myung-Suk before ending the call.

He stretched for a while until he received a message from Nam Gyu-Ho.

-Writer Ha, this is Nam Gyu-Ho. If you’re free today, how about having dinner together? I also have something related to work that I’d like to talk to you about.

Ha Jae-Gun immediately replied. There was no reason for him to reject the man after the recent events.

- Yes, tonight is fine. I’ll meet you if you decide on the place and time.

- I’ll send my staff over at 7 p.m. to pick you up later. Are you at home today?

- No, I’m at the office in Bucheon today.

- Alright. I’ll see you later in the evening.

Ha Jae-Gun put down his phone and reached for his keyboard. He then began to slowly work on the manuscript, which he wasn’t sure when he would be able to complete. It was a short-form novel, and only one person knew of its existence

1. The picaresque novel is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish but "appealing hero", usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corrupt society. Picaresque novels typically adopt a realistic style. There are often some elements of comedy and satire. ☜