Big Life

Chapter 177: Let’s Meet At Home (8)

“Aigoo, thank you for your hard work!”

It wasn’t only Ha Jae-Gun who showed up. Behind him was Kang Min-Ho greeting the policemen warmly. Yang Hyun-Kyung and Jang Eun-Young followed behind; it was a full mobilization of the writers from the office.

“I knew you’d cause trouble again.” Jang Eun-Young punched Lee Yeon-Woo lightly.

Yang Hyun-Kyung opened the case of drinks he brought along and gave one bottle to each policeman.

Ha Jae-Gun stood up as the representative and greeted everyone seriously.

“I’m terribly sorry when all of you are so busy. The rookie writer at my office brought trouble to you.”

“Ah, an office? Are you guys like a company then?”

“Not a company, it’s just a working space where like-minded writers gather to work. We share opinions on each others’ works and also information on the market.”

The older police chief didn’t seem to understand Ha Jae-Gun’s explanation.

Just then, the policewoman beside the chief looked at Ha Jae-Gun curiously.

“Ah, are you…” Her eyes slowly grew, and her jaws dropped half-open. It didn’t take long for her to recognize Ha Jae-Gun as she watched a lot of TV.

“Are you Writer Ha Jae-Gun?”

“Yes, I am him.”

A bright smile bloomed across her face. She smiled widely, unable to control her joy. If she weren’t at her workplace, she would have asked for his autograph immediately.

“Oh, is he a famous writer?” the police chief whispered to the policewoman.

The policewoman whispered in response. The chief’s eyes widened like saucers.

“Really? I watched that movie, too.” The chief unclasped his hand behind his back in surprise. He wasn't a bookworm, but he had watched the movie adaptation.

“Wow, a great person arrived at our police station. What was that, Hear The Sea? No, There Was A Sea. I enjoyed it a lot.”

“Thank you.” Ha Jae-Gun smiled.

The other policemen looked up Ha Jae-Gun’s name on the internet and looked up at him in surprise.

“He’s that Ha Jae-Gun. He’s the one who appeared in I Live Alone with Park Do-Joon.”

“My son likes him a lot, too.”

“Didn’t he also win an award at the Baeksong Arts Awards?”

Amidst the attention directed at Ha Jae-Gun, Won Ji-Yeon sat in a corner in pain. She was suffocating, praying to get out of the police station as soon as possible.

“U-um…!” Won Ji-Yeon finally opened her dry mouth to speak for the very first time. Glancing at the police fearfully, she continued. “I-I must have made a mistake… He didn't do anything, so please let me go, too. I’ve been on edge recently…”

“Of course, you must be on edge—you've committed a crime, after all," Lee Yeon-Woo said, pointing his finger at her. Lee Yeon-Woo then looked at the policemen around him, seeking permission to speak.

“As I’ve said earlier, this lady here, Won Ji-Yeon, is Jae-Gun hyung’s assistant writer. The script that he had been working at the broadcasting station recently was deleted, with all traces erased completely.”

Some were nodding their heads with questioning looks, wondering if that was really what had happened. They were starting to believe Lee Yeon-Woo’s story after Ha Jae-Gun’s appearance.

“Although she denied it, there was actually no one else who could do it aside from her. So I went looking for her, wanting to find out why she did it and why she ran away after deleting his script. However, she actually dared to label me as a pervert even though I just wanted to ask questions. Does she not have any conscience at all?”

“ Yeon-Woo, stop it.” Jang Eun-Young grabbed Lee Yeon-Woo’s arm.

Lee Yeon-Woo was about to continue despite Jang Eun-Young’s persuasion, but he saw Ha Jae-Gun shaking his head. Lee Yeon-Woo could only hold in his fury.

Ha Jae-Gun went and stood behind Won Ji-Yeon. Looking down at her shoulders, which were shaking uncontrollably, he muttered, “If you want to say the truth, say it now.”

“...!”

Won Ji-Yeon's heart began to palpitate. She knew that Ha Jae-Gun was giving her a chance. She was also clear that there wouldn’t be a second chance for her if she didn't take advantage of this opportunity.

“You have nothing to say to me?” Ha Jae-Gun repeated himself calmly. The fatigue and anger he felt back then were coming back to him, stoking the fires of his fury, but he was doing his best to control them.

“I-I…” Won Ji-Yeon started. She saw that she was at a point of no return; essentially, her distrust tendency in others led her to a single conclusion.

“I don’t know anything.”

“That wretched…! What? Don’t know anything?!” Lee Yeon-Woo shot up from his seat, his face reddened. He was angrier than the actual victim of this incident, who was Ha Jae-Gun himself.

Tapping on his head with his fingers, Lee Yeon-Woo chewed her out. “You, you know the three o’clock direction, right? If you feel that something’s wrong, just know that I’m always watching you. How dare you touch Ha Jae-Gun hyung. How dare you still have the cheek to say that? Huh?!”

“Hey, Lee Yeon-Woo! Stop it!” Kang Min-Ho and Yang Hyun-Kyung both forced Lee Yeon-Woo to sit back down.

Ha Jae-Gun tilted his head toward Won Ji-Yeon’s side profile and muttered, “If you truly haven't done anything wrong, nothing bad will happen to you, but…"

Ha Jae-Gun slowly turned his head to face her, and his deep gaze watched her clench her jaws. The veins on her neck were throbbing as she gnashed her teeth.

“If I ever find out that it was your fault, I’m never going to let this go. I’m not generous enough to allow someone who doesn’t qualify as a writer to work and remain in this industry.”

Tears welled up in Won Ji-Yeon’s eyes. It was the first time she cried tears of fear since her parents had scolded her fiercely when she was still a child.

“You still have my number, right? I will wait until midnight tonight.”

Ha Jae-Gun then greeted the policemen after finishing his piece and left the police station. A tear rolled down Won Ji-Yeon's cheek as contemptuous looks were thrown in her direction.

***

“I’m really sorry, hyung.” Lee Yeon-Woo apologized and bowed deeply. He had just completed a perfunctory investigation and left the police station.

Ha Jae-Gun smiled bitterly and patted Lee Yeon-Woo’s shoulders.

“I understand how you’re feeling, but please listen to me.”

“Yes… I just felt really angry, and I found it really unfair for you…” Lee Yeon-Woo drew in a breath and looked at the main road. It was the street where Won Ji-Yeon had run away and disappeared into.

Won Ji-Yeon still did not say anything in the end.

“Your job is just to work on your novel. Don’t waste your energy on such things, and focus on your new novel. If you do things other than your novel, I’m going to chase you out of the office.”

“All right, hyung…”

“You’re just good at replying.”

Ha Jae-Gun pulled out his wallet and took out a piece of cash cheque, handing it to Kang Min-Ho, the oldest of the group.

“I should be having a meal with you guys, but I have an important meeting today. Go and have your meal and head back safely after.”

“Oh my, please don’t do this every time. We can buy food ourselves.”

“I wanted to treat you guys anyway. Please take it.” Ha Jae-Gun stuffed the cash cheque into Min-Ho’s pocket.

After saying goodbye to the goodbye and turning around, Lee Yeon-Woo asked Ha Jae-Gun, “Hyung, where are you going? Let me drive you there. I’m your manager, after all.”

“You were fired ten minutes ago.”

“What? Ah, hyung. Please don’t say that.”

“I’m meeting someone personally. I’ll tell you later once there’s a chance, so head back to the office with them.”

Ha Jae-Gun turned down Yeo-Woo and headed for the subway station. He was headed for Jonggak station today.

He agreed to meet Seo Sang-Do today near his house.

‘What will I be able to learn from him today?’

Seo Sang-Do had turned down Ha Jae-Gun’s offer to have dinner together that night and said that he would calm himself down first and contact him again.

Ha Jae-Gun thought he would have to wait quite a while before Seo Sang-Do would contact him again, but Seo Sang-Do contacted him earlier than he had expected.

‘We seem to have similar tastes as well…’

They had agreed to meet at a rice soup restaurant in Jongno, which Ha Jae-Gun had enjoyed visiting since university days with Jung-Jin. Although the place was shabby and cramped, Ha Jae-Gun liked the friendly atmosphere it held.

Creaaak.

As he opened the door and stepped into the restaurant, he spotted Sang-Do sitting in a corner. Ha Jae-Gun looked at his wristwatch, there was still 15 minutes before their agreed meeting time.

“You have already started?” Ha Jae-Gun asked as he pulled the chair across from Sang-Do and sat down. On the table was a half-empty bottle of soju.

“I didn’t want to wait with my mind sober.”

Sang-Do’s hand that was holding the soju glass trembled visibly. Ha Jae-Gun was worried that Sang-Do had become an alcoholic.

“You should have some snacks with the soju. What would you like to have?”

“Please order whatever you want, Mr. Ha.”

“Please don’t call me that, senior. Maam, please give us a platter of snacks and a hangover soup.” Ha Jae-Gun finished ordering and looked back at Seo Sang-Do.

Meanwhile, Seo Sang-Do emptied his glass and placed it back on the table.

“I have gone back to your house once after we met back then but found that you’ve moved.”

“Haaa… It’s because there’s a lot of bad memories in that house.”

“Where are you living now?”

“Can’t you guess from how I look now? I’m just wandering around aimlessly.” Seo Sang-Do held up his tattered jacket and chuckled self-mockingly.

Ha Jae-Gun took the soju bottle from Sang-Do as he was about to pour another glass for himself. He filled Sang-Do’s glass instead and said, “I’ve mentioned this before, but as a writer, he keeps coming to mind. Since I live nearby, I often visited your father’s grave, albeit without permission.”

“He must be happy. I looked you up and saw that you’re quite an amazing person, Mr. Ha.” Seo Sang-Do filled Ha Jae-Gun’s glass and continued, “I wasn’t aware before since I had isolated myself from the world, including books. Perhaps thanks to you, I might start reading a book after such a long time.”

“It’s my honor,” Ha Jae-Gun replied, but more questions popped up in his mind.

What did Seo Sang-Do encounter as a writer for him to make the extreme decision of distancing himself from books? In the first place, would Seo Sang-Do even tell him about it?

The food was soon served. Seo Sang-Do took a spoonful of the hangover soup and shrugged before saying, “Now, what are you curious about? Go ahead and ask. Since you saved me and viewed life to be precious when I saw myself as a worthless human being, I'll tell you everything you want to know.”

“Please don’t say that.”

“Ignore it. I’ve always been like this. Anyway, enough about me.” Seo Sang-Do then signaled with his gaze, prompting Ha Jae-Gun to ask away.

Ha Jae-Gun gulped and asked carefully, “First of all… I’m most curious about the kind of novels he has written before.”

“He didn’t write any books.”

“Pardon?”

“My father didn’t publish a single novel.”

“...” Ha Jae-Gun was so speechless that his mouth dropped open. Ha Jae-Gun knew better than anyone else how great Seo Gun-Woo’s abilities were as a writer.

However, the elder had actually never published even a single novel? What had the elder been doing throughout his entire life?

“E-even under a pseudonym?”

“He probably wrote something to earn money while raising me and sending me to university. But he didn’t mention anything about it to me. I haven’t inherited any copyrights since his passing either.”

Seo Sang-Do then picked up the soju bottle again. Ha Jae-Gun was so flustered that he didn’t even think of pouring another glass for Seo Sang-Do.

“Is there anything else you’d like to ask?”

“Um… I apologize if this is offensive, but how did he pass?”

Seo Sang-Do’s face looked troubled for a moment. However, he quickly regained his composure and replied, “A hit-and-run.”

“...?!” Ha Jae-Gun’s eyes widened in shock. On top of that, the dream he had back at Lee Soo-Hee’s place a long time ago came back to him.

‘Could that dream be…?!’

Ha Jae-Gun was sprawled on the ground in that dream.

The car engine nearby grew softer as Rika walked up to him.

After a while, someone opened the bag that he was carrying on his back. They took out something, and he heard footsteps hurrying away. Ha Jae-Gun felt regretful that he couldn’t finish the dream before he woke up from it.

Ha Jae-Gun remembered the dream all too vividly. It was like it had been written out in so much detail, like a diary entry. He couldn’t forget it at all.

“There’s no need to put on such a dark expression. The culprit was caught. He was drunk driving and is still locked up behind bars.”

“Mm, I see…” Ha Jae-Gun answered with a heavy heart.

How hurt and painful it had to have been for the elder. He had to have wanted to write so many novels regardless of how the world viewed them, but he passed away in vain.

“You’re quite the strange fellow,” Seo Sang-Do murmured as he smiled bitterly. He then continued. “Why are you crying for someone whom you don’t know much about?”

“Ah, I…”

Ha Jae-Gun wiped away his tears with tissues. He hadn’t realized that he was tearing up.

“On the left is my father.”

Seo Sang-Do took out a photo and showed it to Ha Jae-Gun.

It was a yellowish-tinged black-and-white photo. It showed two men in their early twenties, much younger than Ha Jae-Gun’s current age, standing side by side.

“He looks great.” Ha Jae-Gun touched the corners of his eyes that were getting teary again.

The smiling Seo Gun-Woo in the photo looked thin. Anyone could tell that he was happy when the photo was taken.

‘That’s weird. Why does the man beside the elder look so familiar?’ Ha Jae-Gun tilted his head as he looked at the other man in the photo. Ha Jae-Gun felt like he had seen the man before, but was it just an illusion?

“Why are you staring like that at the photo?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.” Ha Jae-Gun chuckled awkwardly and looked up. “He looks so good here. I could tell from the photo alone that he must be a good person…”

“Not exactly. He was also a perfectionist, so people around him found it tiring to deal with him.” Seo Sang-Do’s tone still showed some hostility toward his father.

Ha Jae-Gun pondered for a while before asking another question. “I’m not sure if I can ask you this, but…”

“Go ahead.”

“Hearing what you’ve said, your relationship with your father didn’t seem that amicable.”

“...!” Seo Sang-Do flinched. He was evidently shaken by Ha Jae-Gun’s unexpected question.

Ha Jae-Gun was clearly asking why Seo Sang-Do was still living in so much pain. As the shame that Seo Sang-Do wanted to conceal so much surfaced, he began shuddering like a person suffering from malaria.