Big Life

Chapter 172: Let’s Meet At Home (3)

[Gyeoja Bathhouse premiering soon. Novel has surpassed 800,000 copies sold!]

[Oscar's Dungeon novel begins ebook distribution in China via Teencent Culture. Will the Ha Jae-Gun effect shine in China as well?]

[Gyeoja Bathhouse game OBT begins, Nextion's Director Nam Gyu-Ho: One game gives the thrill of reading dozens of horror novels.]

[OongSung Publication Group's Editor-in-chief Oh Myung-Suk: Countdown to Gyeoja Bathhouse's entry into U.S. market.]

[Korean-American students in L.A.: Translated version of The Breath, secretly a huge sensation.]

Lee Yeon-Woo looked up Ha Jae-Gun's name on the web browser early in the morning at the office. As usual, he checked out the articles. He wasn’t doing this out of his respect for Ha Jae-Gun but as part of his task as Ha Jae-Gun’s manager.

“What are you reading so seriously?”

“Ah, Deputy Jung.”

Jung So-Mi approached Lee Yeon-Woo from behind him and handed him one of the two cups of coffee in her hands.

Lee Yeon-Woo gratefully accepted the fragrant cup.

“I said I would make a cup for you today; I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright; the first person who thought of coffee should make one for themselves and for the others. Don’t worry about it.” Jung So-Mi sipped on the hot coffee and looked out the window. She saw two cats curled up by the windowsill.

There was Rika, looking out the window like a reliable elder sister, and Cheol-Soo, the little white kitten. Suddenly, Jung So-Mi and Cheol-Soo’s eyes met. The little kitten immediately jumped down from the windowsill and ran to her feet, acting cute.

“I think the cats love you a lot, Deputy Jung,” Lee Yeon-Woo said as Jung So-Mi carried Cheol-Soo in her hands.

“Rika follows after you the most, too. I think she likes you more than Jae-Gun hyung.”

“Aye, no way. She’s still the closest to Writer Ha,” Jung So-Mi said as she hugged Cheol-Soo. She was silently feeling happy at Lee Yeon-Woo’s words.

“But… Is he really naming this kitten Cheol-Soo?” Jung So-Mi asked in a disapproving tone as she stroked the kitten. She thought there was a much more fitting name for this snow-white and cute kitten.

“Yeah, I was speechless when I first heard and asked him about it, but Ha Jae-Gun hyung said he finally decided on it after thinking about it for a long time.”

“He came up with this name…after thinking about it for a long time?”

“You know that his naming sense is abysmal.”

“Mm…” Jung So-Mi nodded, convinced.

Just then, a sound of a door opening in the hallway and out came Ha Jae-Gun.

“Yeon-Woo must be talking behind my back. Am I right? My ears are itchy.”

“Wow, you’re a radar.”

“You really did that?”

“We were talking about you naming the kitten Cheol-Soo. Hyung, isn’t Cheol-Soo just too much for this kitten?”

Ha Jae-Gun pouted slightly and scratched the back of his head. Meanwhile, Cheol-Soo was looking at Jung So-Mi with dazzling eyes.

“Ms. So-Mi, please come up with a good name for it then.”

“M-me?”

Wait, hyung. Why only Deputy Jung? What about me?”

“I can’t trust you. Please come up with a good name, Ms. Jung So-Mi. I believe in your naming sense as an editor.”

Ha Jae-Gun took his cup and went to the coffee machine.

Behind him, Jung So-Mi asked, “Is the script going well?”

“I just finished one part. I’m left with the other two, but I’ll have to work on it to know how much longer I’ll need to complete them.”

“But you’re still working relatively fast.”

“It’s because the novel is completed. After all, the short stories and one-act plays are quite similar, and I didn’t need to do much with the relationship between the characters, plus take out all the narratives. I think it’s much easier to work with.”

Ha Jae-Gun then took a sip of his coffee leisurely. In fact, there wasn’t much difficulty in writing the script. He found it funny today that he felt nervous at the start just because it was his first TV drama project.

“Hyung, you should wash up and get prepared.”

“Oh, yes. I should.” Ha Jae-Gun looked at his wristwatch and nodded.

Today was the day of the movie preview for Gyeoja Bathhouse.

The editing was finally complete, and it was ready to be shown to the audience. After the movie preview, he had to appear for a radio broadcast. Today was a busy day for him.

“Do you want to join us, Ms. So-Mi?”

“What? Me too?”

“We’ll be done around three in the afternoon after everything and lunch. President Kwon said you can rest until evening.”

“That’s true, but…” Jung So-Mi trailed off with a browbeaten expression. Would she be in his way? Was it really fine for an editor, who had no direct relation to the movie preview, to appear there?

“You don’t want to watch the movie?”

“Ah, no! I really want to watch it.”

“Then why are you taking so long to answer me?”

“Um… We need someone to take care of both Rika and Cheol-Soo…”

Just then, Yang Hyun-Kyung stepped out like a savior and said, “I’m going to be working all day here since my deadline is the day after tomorrow. Feel free to leave Rika and Cheol-Soo here with me. Have a good time at the preview.”

“Will you be alright alone, Writer Yang?”

“They play well enough on their own, anyway. It would have been great if Eun-Young noona were around, but Min-Ho hyung and her said that they're going to the movies, too…”

Yang Hyun-Kyung yawned and headed to the kitchen. Jung So-Mi looked at her outfit, looking regretful. If she had known that she would end up going to the movie preview, she would have put more effort into her outfit.

***

“Welcome, Mr. Ha.”

Director Yoon Tae-Sung, the manager, and Editing Director Park Seok-Ji with her team, greeted Ha Jae-Gun.

Ha Jae-Gun bowed slightly, and then he introduced his companions to them.

“I’m not here alone today. He's my manager, and he's also a writer. His name is Lee Yeon-Woo.”

“That same friend who went up against Director Woo, right?” Park Seok-Ji grinned. She then went up to Lee Yeon-Woo shyly and whispered into his ear, “You’re totally my cup of tea. Do you want to have some drinks with me after the movie preview?”

“W-what? Uh…” Lee Yeon-Woo blushed in an instant, unable to withstand her advances.

Park Seok-Ji laughed boisterously and slapped his shoulder.

“Look at you blushing so much. I had no idea that you can't withstand such jokes. And this is…?” Park Seok-Ji then turned to Jung So-Mi.

Before Ha Jae-Gun could introduce her, Jung So-Mi bowed deeply and introduced herself. “Hello, I’m Jung So-Mi. We’ve met before when I was Writer Ha Jae-Gun’s editor for his fantasy novels. And now…”

“She’s still my editor, and she's also the artist behind the webtoon for Oscar’s Dungeon,” Ha Jae-Gun added.

Jung So-Mi quickly looked down with a shy smile. Her heart, which was pounding heavily against her chest, was bursting with pride.

It still felt surreal that she could stand among such famous people from all walks of life. After making their introductions, everyone stepped into the theater. Ha Jae-Gun, Jung So-Mi, and Lee Yeon-Woo sat together in a row. Ha Jae-Gun fixed his necktie and turned around to see how many people had filled the place.

‘Ah…’ Ha Jae-Gun had his eyes fixed at the back of the theater. He spotted Hong Ye-Seul at the back, sitting upright with her hands on her lap. Her no-makeup face was filled with nervousness.

“…?!” Feeling someone looking at her, Hong Ye-Seul looked up to see Ha Jae-Gun. They continued looking at each other for a while amidst the commotion before the start of the movie.

Ha Jae-Gun nodded slightly toward her after a while.

Hong Ye-Seul realized what Ha Jae-Gun was trying to do, and she nodded as well.

‘Nothing good is going to come out of pretending to know her.’ Ha Jae-Gun smiled faintly as he looked away.

It had been quite a while since then, so that particular moment didn't shake him up as much as he expected. After all, Hong Ye-Seul had escaped from the dark night; in other words, all the concern and sympathy he had for her had already disappeared.

“Jae-Gun hyung, is this going to be very scary?” Lee Yeon-Woo asked timidly as the lights in the theater dimmed. He looked like he was about to cry.

“I was so scared I almost fainted when reading the book. I can still leave while watching midway, right?”

“Why are you so timid when you’re usually so loud and all? Shh, it’s about to start."

The movie started with some bleak background music. The first character to appear was Hong Ye-Seul’s character. It was the scene of her high school student supporting character smoking in the old town where Gyeoja Bathhouse was located.

‘She really looks like a high school student.’ A smile formed on the corners of his mouth. He couldn’t believe that Hong Ye-Seul had appeared in a movie based on his novel.

They were in the same theater, but there was a significant distance between them.

Despite that, he felt as though he was communicating with her.

The hall was in complete silence aside from the audio coming from the movie. Everyone was immersed, and they all gulped. As the tension reached its peak, Lee Yeon-Woo was a step ahead compared to everyone else, shivering in his seat.

“Arrghhh!”

“Kyaaaa!”

The first screams exploded all around the theater. It was the scene where Gyeo-Ja first appeared at the bathhouse. Despite having expected it, Ha Jae-Gun was still shocked by the story’s flow.

‘Hmm?’

Ha Jae-Gun suddenly felt someone touch him, and he turned to find Jung So-Mi holding his arm with both hands. She was afraid, but her eyes remained fixated on the screen.

“Ah, ah… I’m sorry. I was surprised, so I unknowingly—” Jung So-Mi caught herself in time and let go in a hurry, apologizing profusely.

Ha Jae-Gun felt slightly awkward and scrunched his nose slightly with a smile.

‘No one saw it, right?’

Jung So-Mi looked around secretly. Thankfully, no one else was looking at them.

However, someone saw what Jung So-Mi had done just now.

Hong Ye-Seul saw it. It was inevitable, as her attention had only been on Ha Jae-Gun ever since the movie started.

‘Who is she?’

Hong Ye-Seul’s fingers trembled impatiently. She had no idea where else to look aside from the pair in front of her.

‘Is that his girlfriend…?’ Hong Ye-Seul had bumped into Jung So-Mi earlier in the washroom before entering the theater.

Knowing that Jung So-Mi had come with Ha Jae-Gun, she had purposefully stayed in the washroom pretending to fix her makeup while checking Jung So-Mi out.

She immediately thought that Jung So-Mi had a pretty-looking face, and she looked pretty cute—similar to a puppy. Her healthy and positive energy was overwhelming. Hong Ye-Seul concluded that most men would fall for her quite easily.

‘But so what if she’s his girlfriend…!’

Hong Ye-Seul had been running because of her inferiority complex and lack of confidence. Hong Ye-Seul had always been putting down her pathetic self.

‘You’re a fool, Hong Ye-Seul. Jae-Gun Oppa isn’t going to stay alone for the rest of his life. Did you really think you’re some sort of princess? Did you think Jae-Gun Oppa would accept you once you’ve become an actor? Wake up.’

The tension of the movie rose exponentially as the movie hit its midway mark, but Hong Ye-Seul could no longer pay attention to it. She couldn't even console her flustered heart.

The movie soon ended. As the ending credits rolled on the screen, the OST that AppleT’s Lee Chae-Rin had sung for the movie started playing. Ha Jae-Gun and everyone in the audience sat in their seats, enjoying the sad melody until the end.

“You’ve worked hard, Director Yoon.” Ha Jae-Gun hugged Yoon Tae-Sung. They were now close enough to share a hug, not just handshakes.

“It was a fantastic movie this time as well. I couldn’t believe that it was a novel I had written at all. I think the novel will hit 1 million copies once the movie premieres.”

“Your compliments are exaggerated. It’s all because of your scenario that the movie was so great.”

“It’s not time to rest yet; you still remember Storm and Gale, right?” Ha Jae-Gun whispered and winked at Yoon Tae-Sung.

Take-Sung frowned slightly and smiled before changing the subject. “I’m really thankful to you for helping Eun-Ha.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“The day she received the call from ICU Entertainment, she was on the way to the bank, about to return all the money I lent her. She got rejected for the scenario she worked on before and was planning to go back to her hometown after the rejection.”

“…” Ha Jae-Gun nodded silently. He could still remember how Lee Eun-Ha looked when she hugged him while sobbing uncontrollably upon returning to the office.

“There’s so many people helping her. I’ve mentioned this a few times, but Eun-Ha is extremely talented. You will never be disappointed, Writer Ha.”

“I know that, and that’s why I recommended her. Plus, I didn’t do much either. They had acknowledged her capabilities after seeing her movies, so please don’t mention this anymore.”

Just then, Lee Yeon-Woo appeared from behind them, joining the conversation. “Jae-Gun hyung, there are reporters surrounding the main entrance. I’ll bring the car over to the back, so please come out when I give you a call.”

“Oh? Wow, you’re really my manager now.”

“You can’t be late for the radio broadcast anyway. I’ll bring Deputy Jung along with me first, then. Deputy Jung, let’s go.”

“Ah, sure. I’ll go with him, then, Writer Ha,” said Jung So-Mi.

With that, Lee Yeon-Woo and Jung So-Mi left the theater.

Meanwhile, Hong Ye-Seul’s sharp eyes followed Jung So-Mi out of the theater even though she was talking with the assistant director.