Big Life

Chapter 168: Make It Up, If There’s None (12)

Park Seok-Ji's personal editing office which had been quiet for a while, began bustling with life once more as they got busy with editing Gyeoja Bathhouse, which was directed by Yoon Tae-Sung.

The movie’s premiere date was set in late autumn, so Yoon Tae-Sung had no choice but to return all his vacation days to make preparations for it.

“Do you want coffee?” Yoon Tae-Sung asked as he was about to step out of the office to head to the toilet.

Lee Eun-Ha was sitting on a table in the corner, working on a scenario. She smiled at him and shook her head. “I’ll make one myself later, so don’t worry about me.”

Lee Eun-Ha didn’t want to stay home alone, so she followed Yoon Tae-Sung out. While Yoon Tae-Sung was working, she worked on her scenario in the reception room.

“It’s because I want some myself. Come here.” Yoon Tae-Sung forcibly pulled Lee Eun-Ha out of the office.

There was a cafe in the same building on the ground floor. The two ordered coffee for themselves and took a seat at the table by the window.

“It’s too noisy that you can’t concentrate, right?”

“No, I quite like the busy place.”

“You should just work at home.”

“I’ll get distracted easily if I stay at home. It's too comfortable at home that I even slept the entire day away yesterday.”

Yoon Tae-Sung took a sip of his coffee and signaled at Lee Eun-Ha’s laptop with his eyes.

“So your scenario is almost done?”

“Yeah, I just need to proofread it.”

“Do you think you can sell it?”

“Honestly, I’m not that confident. The story is so-so.”

Yoon Tae-Sung nodded silently. Even back in their university days, Lee Eun-Ha was only fixated on writing about current events. She would always write about the reality of the socially disadvantaged people struggling with their lives under unfair treatment.

It was the case with her previous two indie films, as well as the current scenario she was working on at the moment.

“Maybe you should try focusing on feminism instead.”

“I only look like a female; I’m not a woman.” Lee Eun-Ha stretched herself for a while. Looking out the window where the sun was pouring down, she said, “Don’t worry. Even if I can’t sell this scenario, I still have plans.”

“What kind?”

“I’ll go work in the factory.”

“…What?” Yoon Tae-Sung was speechless.

Lee Eun-Ha grinned and patted his shoulders. “Why are you looking at me like that? I was planning to get a job elsewhere if the scenario fell through. I’ve been resting because I want to become healthy again.

"I was doing part-time here and there before, so life has been quite uncertain up until now. So I plan to give up entirely after this.”

“You’re going to give up?” Yoon Tae-Sung was dumbfounded.

Lee Eun-Ha was always a level above him in terms of their passion for movies, so it felt surreal to hear such words coming from her.

“I’ve got no other choices. I’m already in my mid-thirties, and I don’t have any savings at all. I think I should acknowledge my incompetency now.”

“Work with me then. Do you really think that I can’t take care of you? I'll even let you stay at my place however long you like; treat it as your own. If you feel uncomfortable staying with me, I can get you a studio outside, too.”

Lee Eun-Ha turned her chair around and sat facing Yoon Tae-Sung.

She reached out both hands and grabbed his face by the cheeks like holding a child’s face and said, “Don’t use up all your energy on me, Director Yoon Tae-Sung. You should find a girl you like and get married instead.”

“Stop joking around. I’m being serious here.”

Just then, a young lady from across the street was approaching the window where the two of them were located.

Lee Eun-Ha recognized the well-dressed lady first and asked, “Isn’t she a celebrity? I think her name was Bo-Ra?”

“Yes.”

She was Lee Ye-Ji in Ha Jae-Gun’s movie, Summer in My 20s. Back then, her poor acting skills led to a huge controversy.

Lee Eun-Ha looked at Bo-Ra and muttered, “Her acting was bad in Summer in My 20s. The immersion just breaks whenever she appears. Oh, well, Woo Jae-Hoon’s scenario was a mess right off the bat, right? Oh, she’s looking this way.”

Lee Eun-Ha quickly looked away.

Indeed, Bo-Ra had looked in their direction and quickly approached them. Her face was full of smiles as she pushed the cafe doors open.

“Writer Ha! What are you doing here?”

Bo-Ra whizzed past Yoon Tae-Sung and Lee Eun-Ha, walking briskly into the cafe. Yoon Tae-Sung’s eyes widened as he looked in the direction she went. He spotted a man sitting in a corner with his laptop on the table.

“Oh? Writer Ha Jae-Gun?”

Ha Jae-Gun stood up with an awkward smile. Yoon Tae-Sung stood up as well and went up to Ha Jae-Gun for a handshake.

“I apologize. When have you been here?”

“Probably thirty minutes before you came in.”

“Why didn’t you go to the editing office?”

“I thought you were quite busy, and since we agreed to meet for lunch, I thought I'd go over when it’s time.”

Standing beside them, Bo-Ra looked alternatingly between Ha Jae-Gun and Yoon Tae-Sung. She couldn’t recognize Yoon Tae-Sung at all. She met Yoon Tae-Sung during the audition for There Was A Sea, but she had long forgotten about him.

‘What? A director? Which movie’s director is he?’

Regardless, Yoon Tae-Sung’s presence wasn't important to Bo-Ra at the moment. She clasped her hands together and sang praises to Ha Jae-Gun, flattering him.

“Oppa, you’re so incredible. I only see news of your success these days. How much money did you make in China? Is it ten times more than in Korea? Or twenty times? I think you’re earning much more than Do-Joon Oppa now.”

However, Ha Jae-Gun did not reply to her as he was not obliged to answer her frivolous questions. He had long known of her shallow personality since he first met her at the movie’s press conference for Summer in My 20s.

“Oh, right, Oppa. Gyeoja Bathhouse will premiere soon, right? Ah, I wanted to act in that movie, too. Who's the director? I think he hates me a lot. Our president personally went to ask him for a role but got rejected.”

She had no idea that the director she was referring to was standing next to them.

“So Hong Ye-Seul was picked? Anyway, you know her too, right? I heard she’s close with the hostess girl, Kim Na-Yeon. I think that’s why there are rumors that she’s from a similar background as Kim Na-Yeon.

"As they say, birds of the same feather flock together. You should be careful, Oppa. No one knows what kind of things those crude girls are doing behind our backs.”

Ha Jae-Gun smiled bitterly at Yoon Tae-Sung. Unbeknownst to what was happening, Bo-Ra continued. “Oppa, can’t you treat me to a meal? It's a coincidence that we’ve met here, and I’m free today as well. How about we have some delicious food together?”

“No.” Ha Jae-Gun rejected her with a stoic expression.

Bo-Ra was embarrassed, but she continued with a smile. “Come on, Oppa. Let’s have a meal together. I know all the delicious restaurants in this area.”

“I have something on, so I can’t.”

Bo-Ra was boiling in anger after getting rejected twice in the face. She was proud and confident in her own appearance; after all, she had undergone plastic surgery several times.

Most men would go along with her after seducing them the first time.

Bo-Ra wouldn't give up easily, as Ha Jae-Gun was at the top of her list of prey. Of course, it was all because Ha Jae-Gun had amassed immense wealth and popularity in a short amount of time.

“When would it be convenient for you, then? Give me your number, too. I’ll give you mine, too. How about that?”

Bo-Ra took out her phone with one hand and held Ha Jae-Gun’s wrist with the other.

Ha Jae-Gun bit his lips at the same time. “Please don’t touch me.”

Ha Jae-Gun shook off Bo-Ra’s hand coldly. Bo-Ra gulped in fear at the sudden change in attitude and Ha Jae-Gun’s eyes that had turned cold.

“Please do not touch others without permission. And do you know me well enough to call me Oppa?”

“N-no… I… didn’t have other intentions…”

“And you wanted to appear in Gyeoja Bathhouse? The director of the movie, Director Yoon Tae-Sung, is right here. How dare you still want to act in the movie when you can’t even remember the director’s name?”

“What…?”

Bo-Ra turned pale and looked at Yoon Tae-Sung.

She wasn’t that dumb to know that she had made a grave mistake.

Before she could come up with any excuses, Ha Jae-Gun said, “Also, please do not slander Ms. Hong Ye-Seul. While you’re here wasting time and spreading groundless rumors, she is working hard to become a real actor.”

“O-Oppa, I just…” Bo-Ra was on the verge of tears as she took a step back.

Ha Jae-Gun bent slightly to meet her at eye level before growling, “Do you know me well enough to call me Oppa?”

“I-I’m sorry…! I’m sorry, Writer Ha…!”

“Leave if you are sorry.”

Bo-Ra quickly left the cafe while covering her tear-stained face after bowing to both Ha Jae-Gun and Yoon Tae-Sung.

Ha Jae-Gun apologized to Yoon Tae-Sung. “I’m sorry, Director.”

“Don’t be. If you didn’t say all that, I would have given her a piece of my mind as well. Thank you for resolving it before I burst out in anger.”

Lee Eun-Ha stood up from their table. Yoon Tae-Sung then took the chance to introduce her to Ha Jae-Gun.

“She is Lee Eun-Ha. She is also my friend, movie director, and scenario writer. Eun-Ha, this is Writer Ha Jae-Gun.”

“Hello, I’m Ha Jae-Gun.”

“I’m Lee Eun-Ha. I really enjoyed your novels, as well as the movies Yoon Tae-Sung directed. I’m honored to meet you here today.”

The three naturally joined tables. The atmosphere had turned amicable after Bo-Ra’s departure, and Ha Jae-Gun asked Lee Eun-Ha, “If my memory serves me right, are you not the director for Mart and Forest of Buildings?”

“Oh, my... Yes. That’s right.” Lee Eun-Ha’s face turned pale instantly. Both movies were her works. As both movies were indie films lined strongly with current affairs, they performed poorly on the market.

“How were you able to tell…?” Yoon Tae-Sung asked, astonished.

Ha Jae-Gun scratched the back of his head and said, “I love movies, too. Even before working together with you, I already knew who you were just by hearing your name alone. Director Lee Eun-Ha’s movies were pretty impressive as well.”

“T-they weren’t that interesting…”

“They were interesting to me. The movies weren’t too bogged down by the topics, and they had some funny points that were relatable. You also depicted the lives of the socially disadvantaged people quite accurately as well.”

Ha Jae-Gun pulled his laptop toward himself.

On the screen was the manuscript of his short stories—The Market and Its People.

“This is my latest work and is quite similar to the movies that Director Lee Lee Eun-Ha has worked on before. There were times when I thought of your movie while writing my novel. I’m really honored to meet you through Director Yoon Tae-Sung.”

“Thank you… really, for your kind words.” Lee Eun-Ha looked like she was about to cry.

Ha Jae-Gun’s compliments reminded her that the hard times she had gone through so far hadn't been a waste.

“Tae-Sung was right.”

“Pardon…?”

“You’re an amazing person. You've made me so happy, even though we just met… I've always been wondering what kind of person you are while reading your amazing works, and I finally got my answer,” Lee Eun-Ha replied and smiled softly.

A sudden thought came to her. She reckoned that she would never forget this coincidental meeting with Ha Jae-Gun today, and the overwhelming courage she had received from him today would remain in her heart forever.

“I have many questions I would like to ask you. Since it’s lunchtime, shall we head to a nearby restaurant?”

“Sure, Writer Ha. Let’s go then.” The group of three left the cafe and headed to a restaurant.

Before the day ended, a new space was being set up in the writer’s office, and another main character was added to Ha Jae-Gun’s The Market and Its People. The title of Ha Jae-Gun’s third short story was decided—The Market’s Movie Director.