Big Life

Chapter 259: It Has To Be You (6)

“CEO, this is Lin Minhong. I have just arrived at the hotel.”

— I’ve been waiting for your call. How did the talk go?

“I have told them the truth as per your instructions. Though I’m not sure if they have felt burdened…” Lin Minhong shared the lunch conversation over the phone.

Mao Yen listened attentively, then chuckled lightly.

— That’d be enough. You’ve worked hard.

“Thank you.”

— Mr. Ha is a pragmatic person, but he's emotionally sensitive as well. It might be better for us to be open with him right from the start.

”I think so, too. We’re not an insolvent company like Wizardry, so I think we can come to an agreement at the next negotiation.”

— Of course, I trust your capabilities. Please take care of the rest of the project.

“Yes, Madam. Ah, there’s something else I have to tell you.” Lin Minhong quickly added before Mao Yen hung up.

”Someone from the parliament has contacted me.”

— A member of the parliament?

”Yes. He’s called Kwon Sung-Deuk, a fourth-term lawmaker. He’s part of the C.B.C., and he contacted me, asking to meet me in my capacity as a representative of Teencent.” Lin Minhong explained Kwon Sung-Deuk’s profile, which he had his subordinates investigate.

Mao Yen soon replied.

— Does he have any connection with the Department Head of the Central Publicity Department, Mr. Liu Bao?

“From my investigations, no.”

— But I’ve heard of that name somewhere…

“What should I do?”

— Nothing good will come out of ruffling the feathers of politicians. However, it’d still be good to meet them at least once. Go meet them and find out what their intentions are. I will also do my best on my end.

“I understand.”

On that same evening, Lin Minhong and Kwon Sung-Deuk met up secretly somewhere in Seoul.

***

“How is it?”

“…” Ha Jae-Gun did not answer, not because he didn’t hear the question, but because her beauty had rendered him speechless. His breath was taken away by Lee Soo-Hee’s shy look in her wedding dress.

“Look at Jae-Gun, he's lovestruck.” Ha Jae-In chuckled as she watched from the side. Eventually, she slapped Ha Jae-Gun's back.

Ha Jae-Gun finally came back to his senses and said, “You look good.”

“Is that all?”

“So pretty.”

Lee Soo-Hee scrunched her nose slightly, showing that the answer she heard wasn’t that satisfactory.

‘Is he referring to the dress? Or me?’ Lee Soo-Hee wanted to ask that but held back since her sister-in-law, Ha Jae-In, was around.

“But I think the third dress you wore earlier looks better.”

“The third one? The pink dress?”

Ha Jae-Gun nodded slowly. In his eyes, Lee Soo-Hee had the most beautiful legs in the entire world, and he wanted her to wear a mini dress to accentuate that part.

Ha Jae-In did not forget to give her two cents as well. “That dress looks cute and bright, and it seems lighter too. Didn’t it feel like something’s missing?”

“I thought so, too, unni. I think this is prettier. The laces are plentiful too…”

Ha Jae-In and Lee Soo-Hee put their heads together, agonizing over the choices. Soon, Ha Jae-In announced that she was going to the washroom. Ha Jae-Gun immediately asked Lee Soo-Hee in a low tone, “Do you really like this dress?”

“Do you really think it's not a good fit?”

“No, this is pretty, too. I’m just saying that we should choose what you like. It’s our wedding after all.”

“I’ll do that even if you haven't said it.”

Lee Soo-Hee giggled lightly while still in the dress. Ha Jae-Gun’s heart was almost starting to melt, then thought to himself that maybe he hadn’t explored half of Lee Soo-Hee’s beauty yet.

“So you’re going to go with this?”

“I’ll think over it a bit more.”

“You don’t really like the third dress?”

“Stop it. You think I don’t know what’s on your mind?” Lee Soo-Hee pinched Ha Jae-Gun’s cheeks and then whispered, “The privilege to look at my legs belongs only to you.”

“...” Ha Jae-Gun was speechless. Ha Jae-In returned after a while, and the two ladies resumed agonizing over the best wedding dress for Lee Soo-Hee. Ha Jae-Gun had been standing for so long without doing anything that his legs were starting to hurt, so he decided to step out of the studio for a while.

Bzzt!

“Oh? Hello? Assistant Secretary?”

— Hello, Mr. Ha. How have you been?

Ha Jae-Gun had a spotless smile on as they exchanged greetings. The Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Culture had been looking out for Ha Jae-Gun’s convenience on multiple occasions. He had never made any cumbersome arrangements at all.

“I’m doing very well. I hope the same was for you.”

— Of course. Hahaha, anyway, I see that you’ve been very famous recently. How many countries has The Breath expanded to? Six? Seven?

“I was lucky. The novel is still quite lacking, but it’s all thanks to the support of my good friends.”

— As I’ve said multiple times, please do write th part two of The Breath. Human’s Malice which you’ve told me about before is good, too, but I’m more curious about Edward’s backstory. Please don’t misunderstand; I’m only expressing my wishes as a reader. Hahaha.

“Thank you for your encouragement.”

Ha Jae-Gun chuckled along with the assistant secretary. As their laughter died down, the assistant secretary brought up the main topic for making this call.

— Mr. Ha, are you busy lately?

“Not really. I’m not particularly busy.”

— When would you like to have dinner with the deputy minister?

“Dinner with the deputy minister?” Ha Jae-Gun’s face slowly darkened.

The assistant secretary knew of Ha Jae-Gun’s personality, so he quickly added,

— It’s nothing special. The deputy minister only wanted to learn your thoughts and knowledge on the overseas markets, as well as the trends in the publication industry, from you.

“That sounds much scarier, Assistant Secretary. I’m a writer, so I don’t have much to share about in those areas.”

— It’s not an official meeting, so please don’t feel burdened by it. It’s just a light-hearted dinner, and you just have to share a few words for the development of Korean content. His term is coming to an end, could you please do me this favor?

Ha Jae-Gun was about to buy drinks from the vending machine before him, but he froze and started pondering over the assistant secretary's words instead. If it were a favor from the head of the district office, he wouldn’t have to spend time pondering over it.

However, it wasn’t because of their position or affiliation. It was all because Ha Jae-Gun respected the assistant secretary of the Ministry of Culture on a personal level.

Upon recalling that his term was ending, Ha Jae-Gun finally came to a conclusion.

“Then, is this a meeting with just me, you, and the deputy minister?”

— Yes, that’s right.

Ha Jae-Gun then nodded. “Alright, I’ll go for this meeting.”

— Thank you, Mr. Ha. When will be good for you? The deputy minister is free on all days except for Thursday, but the sooner, the better.

“I’m free any day for dinner until next week.”

— Okay, Mr. Ha. Then I’ll get back to you with a confirmed date and time.

Ha Jae-Gun said goodbye and hung up the call. Just as he was getting a drink from the vending machine, he recalled the allegory of a certain philosopher: "What else is as difficult as relationships in this world?"

***

“Do you have any idea why Yeon-Woo has been spacing out recently?” Kang Min-Ho whispered into Yang Hyun-Kyung’s ears. He had just arrived at the writer’s office in Bucheon. The newlywed couple—Kang Min-Ho and Jang Eun-Young—had been clocking in at the office every three or four days.

“He’s been like this since last week. Look at his eyes, just blanking out.”

“I’m not sure, either. I’ve asked him a couple of times, but he has never given me a proper answer. Fortunately, he’s still working on his novel.” Yang Hyun-Kyung then tilted his head to one side, muttering, “Maybe it's because of a girl he likes? He has been looking more frequently at his phone.”

“Probably not a girl; maybe he became a domestic financier like you did at the time?”

“Hyung, why are you bringing up stocks here?”

“It’s just a joke. Alright, don’t be upset. I’ll buy you lunch.”

While Kang Min-Ho was pacifying Yang Hyun-Kyung, Lee Yeon-Woo was still staring at his blank monitor screen. Even his nose hair was turning white as he kept his concern to himself, unable to share it with anyone else.

‘How come he hasn't been contacting me?’ There hadn’t been any messages or calls from the brilliant editor-in-chief of OongSung Publication Group for days now. Lee Yeon-Woo would check his text messages or email inbox dozens of times a day, but he was soon getting tired of it.

‘Aish, forget it. Maybe he’ll contact me before the month ends.’ Lee Yeon-Woo shook off the distracting thoughts and decided to work on his novel first. Although he had been working slower than usual due to the anguish he was feeling, his fingers still typed out the sentences smoothly.

"Lee Yeon-Woo, it’s lunchtime. Let’s have lunch first. Eun-Young noona is making omurice for us.”

“Please go ahead first and leave a portion for me. I haven’t met my morning quota yet, so I’ll eat after finishing that.”

“Wow, pretending to be diligent. He’s become a changed person.”

“Hyun-Kyung hyung, isn’t your tone on the slightly negative side?” All the other writers turned on the TV and gathered around the dining table. As political news began showing, Jeon Bong-Yi looked at everyone at the table and asked, “This isn’t interesting to watch, right? Shall I change the channel?”

“Yeah, let’s watch the drama or movie channel.” Just as Jeon Bong-Yi picked up the remote control to change the channel, the news anchor appeared on the screen.

The news crawl showed the following words: "Assemblyman Kwon Sung-Deuk mentions Writer Ha Jae-Gun while emphasizing the importance of the content industry."

“Huh? They’re talking about Writer Ha.”

“Oh, really?”

The writers stopped eating and look at the TV screen. Even Lee Yeon-Woo stopped working and walked over to the TV. The news anchor then played through the speakers clearly.

[...A forum to promote the content industry will be held on the 22nd at the third seminar room of the National Assembly building. At this forum, which is co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Assemblyman Kwon Sung-Deuk,…]

“What? This isn’t about Jae-Gun hyung at all.”

“Wait a bit more.” Jang Eun-Young hit Lee Yeon-Woo on the back, warning him.

A while later, the screen showed the National Assembly building and mentioned Ha Jae-Gun.

[...Assemblyman Kwon Sung-Deuk mentioned Writer Ha Jae-Gun, whose name has become a household name globally while emphasizing the importance of the content industry. He also said that the nation should spare all support for the development of Korea’s content industry to consistently produce competent writers like Ha Jae-Gun.]

“Who is Kwon Sung-Deuk?”

“No matter how uninterested you are in politics, you can’t not know Kwon Sung-Deuk. He’s a fourth-term assemblyman,” Jang Eun-Young chided.

Jeon Bong-Yi nodded and said, “I’m not familiar with politics, but my father likes that assemblyman. I’m sure he has a high approval rating.”

“Right. I think he’s also the one who proposed the fixed book prices, right? He looks familiar.”

“Anyway, Writer Ha is just amazing. Regardless of what kind of person that assemblyman is, doesn’t this mention mean that he’s become the representative writer of Korea?”

“Yeah, hearing this through the news made it seem like he's not the same Writer Ha Jae-Gun that we know.”

“I kinda miss Writer Ha now that we’re on the topic. I wonder when will he drop by the office again?”

“He’s quite busy recently. I think it’s faster if we just meet him at his wedding instead.”

Smiles appeared on the writers’ faces as they talked about Ha Jae-Gun. Even his biggest fan and manager, Lee Yeon-Woo, stopped working on his novel and went to sit at the dining table, wanting to join in the conversation.

Meanwhile, Sung-Deuk was still on TV with all smiles, talking about Ha Jae-Gun.

***

“Yes, Editor-in-Chief. I’ve just sent you the manuscript of Human’s Malice up to chapter three. Please read through them and share your thoughts. Ah, I have a dinner appointment and am in a rush, so I took the taxi. Yes, please enjoy your dinner, Editor-in-Chief.”

Just as his phone call ended, the taxi had arrived at its destination as well. They stopped outside an old hanok with a large yard.

It was the Korean restaurant where they had agreed to have dinner. As he walked through the entrance, a middle-aged lady in hanbok and beautifully combed hair greeted him.

“Welcome.”

“Hello. I’m sure a reservation has been made. My name is Ha—”

“You’re Mr. Ha Jae-Gun, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

The middle-aged lady, whom he hadn’t met before, continued with a gentle smile. “I’ve always enjoyed your novels. My name is Park Hae-Ryeong, and I'm the manager of this restaurant. I’m extremely happy to see an accomplished writer like you visiting us.” She then bowed a ninety-degree bow.

Flustered, Ha Jae-Gun returned with a bow as well.

“It’ll be great if you could give me an autograph later.”

“I’ll make sure to do so. And I should be the one thanking you instead for reading my works.”

“The room is at the end of the corner, over there.”

Ha Jae-Gun took off his shoes and crossed the hall, walking over to the room under the manager's guidance. He looked at his wristwatch and found that he was five minutes earlier than the agreed time.

‘I could have been late; the traffic was so congested today…’ Ha Jae-Gun straightened his clothes as he stood before the sliding door. As he was about to open the door, someone else opened it first from the inside, and a familiar face appeared.

“...Department Head Lin Minhong?”

“Wait, why are you here, Mr. Ha Jae-Gun…?”

Both Ha Jae-Gun and Lin Minhong stared at each other blankly. Ha Jae-Gun then shifted his surprised gaze to the people gathered in the room.