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Big Life Chapter 1-10

Big Life Ch 1-10

Chapter-1

-Beeeeep! Beeeeep!

The phone under his pillow greatly vibrated his body. Jaegun’s two eyes burst open. He was anxiously waiting for his editor in chief’s call; however, it wasn’t the editor. It was his best friend, Park Jungjin.

“Heeeelllllooo…” He yawned.

“What’s with you today?”

“Just woke up. The deadline is today.”

“Oh, that new contract.”

“Yeah, just got it done.”

“That’s good. Come before 7:30. Remember? At Shinchon?”

His eyes burst open again at his words, “What do you mean? 7:30?”

“This idiot forgot again? You know the college reunion is today?”

“Aaaaahhhhh.” Jaegun sighed. He had completely forgotten. Today was the day to meet his fellow literary college graduates. “What time is it right now?”

“Don’t even have a clock? You better hurry because it’s 5 right now. Woah. Hey, I have a meeting to go to. See you later.”

-Beep!

He took his aching body and went to the bathroom; he needed to hurry.

-Whoooshhhh

“AAAAAHHHH IT’S FREAKING COLD!” The freezing water hit his body hard.

He had no choice; he had to save on his gas fees. Flailing like a fish, he hurriedly finished his shower. Picking out his best clothes, he quickly left home.

Heading to the bus stop, he checked the time. 15 minutes to get to the subway station, 40 minutes to ride the subway. He had some time.

‘It’s still the same.’

He arrived at the meeting place, a nostalgic pub. He remembered when he had first visited this place. Cheap and delicious; the store owner was really nice as well.

-Tap!

Someone behind him tapped his shoulder.

Surprised, he looked back to see a smiling Jungjin.

“Hey man, don’t do that. My heart’s been weak recently.”

“What are you doing out here; not going in yet?”

“I was just… filled with nostalgia. I haven’t been here in ages.”

“Same; it’s been a while. Let’s go in.”

In the corner of the pub, there was a huge corner large enough to hold even 20 people. 18 people said they would come. Most of them were already there and exchanging conversations.

“Hey. Been a while, man.”

“You two, always sticking together since college. You dating now?”

People exchanged greetings.

Jaegun and Jongjin took their places and replied, “Hey, how is everyone? Your face is still the same, Hyojin.”

“Don’t make fun of me, I was thinking of getting a facelift because of my skin.”

“Silly you, not even 30 and thinking of nonsense. Don’t ruin your pretty face.”

“Same as always, I see. Speaking about pretty, come to me; I’ll take care of you today.”

She gestured with her hands for him to sit next to her. With a face, Jongjin came in the middle.

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t put all the attention on him. Look at this poor looking producer. This poor looking producer spent a week with a bloody nose trying to think of an idea that just got shoved in the trash can.”

“Ohhh you di~d,” she mocked. ”Come here too. Have a drink.”

Smiling, he went next to her with a cup.

Minah, the girl across from them, said with wide-eyes, “You guys are starting strong already. Aren’t you ready to be dating now? Don’t you think, Jaegun?”

“Yeah. Listening to them, I reckon so,” he replied seriously.

Immediately, Jongjin and Hyojin crinkled their faces and stared at each other. A smile formed on Jaegun’s lips.

-Clomp! Clomp!

A sound of shoes hitting the ground came up. Everyone looked towards the sound. A man in a suit waved confidently to the crowd; it was another graduate, Oh Myunghoon.

“Hey, come here.”

“How’s life.”

“How’s it been going.”

The reaction was different from when they had gotten here. There was more cheering, especially from the girls.

“It’s the successful guy! I see you’ve been rocking them fancy clothes.”

“What do you mean? It’s only the beginning.” He said stolidly and sat down straight across from Jaegun.

“Been awhile, hasn’t it.” he put his hand out.

“Yeah, yeah, it has been,” Jaegun replied awkwardly. He couldn’t be calm any more.

Not everyone becomes a writer when they graduate from literary college. As it was a job with great risk, people often went elsewhere to find jobs. They might go to a gaming company and write scenarios like Jongjin. In his college, there were barely any writers. In this reunion, there was two.

One was Jaegun, the other was the person right across from him, Myunghoon.

Myunghoon recently broke out and had achieved huge success with his three romance novels. One had even gotten a huge award. It was big enough to be considered to be adapted into a drama.

Myunghoon was famous among writers, and his salary was said to be in the millions already.

“What have you been doing recently?” Myunghoon asked.

It felt mocking. It felt mocking to be asked a question that he already knew the answer to. Reading his mind, Jongjin answered for him,” What do you think? Of course he’s been writing.”

“I see, still writing?” He put a strange emphasis on “still.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m still writing. You want a drink?” he answered back with a false smile.

“Ah, thanks.”

“I’ve heard. You’ve been famous. Congrats.”

“Nah, it’s nothing. It’s only good enough for a drama consideration.”

Jaegun’s hands shook when he was pouring the drink. Trying to conceal it, he quickly poured the drink and put the bottle down.

“What are you writing?” Myunghoon asked.

“Me? I’ve been, I’ve been writing a martial arts novel for a contract right now.”

“Ah, martial arts? Does that even pay? Does it even give 1,000,000 Won for a book?”

Chapter 2

“Even though the genre is already dead, good writers can still sell them.” Jaegun hurriedly said.

He didn’t want to talk about his life in front of his classmates. However, Myunghoon didn’t change the topic.

“No, this isn’t about other writers; this is about you. Do you think your writing would sell well?” he inquired.

“I’m not sure yet. I’ll know after it gets published.”

“Do you have an idea of how many copies will be printed? It’s not a pay per chapter, right? You’re going to have to write a book every day. No, even then you’re going to have trouble getting money.”

“A writer has to get money be a considered a writer. That’s why people make fun of poor writers.”

-SLAM!

Jongjin drank a cup and slammed it down on the table.

“Hey! Oh Myunghoon, I’ve been listening, and your words seem to have some hidden meaning to it.”

(TL: Oh is his last name)

“What? What hidden meaning?” he shook his head as if he was baffled. Jongjin’s eyes were radiating with anger.

“Don’t try to say you don’t know. I’m warning you before I drink; don’t ruin this good mood we have right now.” Jongjin seemingly growled at him.

Myunghoon’s personality didn’t change a bit from the college days. He still liked to show off and was still opportunistic. Girls had a hard time trying to figure him out.

Jongjin also knew why Myunghoon was attacking Jaegun today. He could vouch that it was because of an absent colleague, Lee Suhee.

“Okay, okay, I was just trying to check on a colleague. There’s no need for such emotion.” Myunghoon sarcastically finished his words.  

Realizing the cold mood, Hyojin changed the topic.

“Is everyone here yet?”

“I think Suhee didn’t come yet.”

Jaegun’s ears perked up. Her beautiful smile showed up in his thoughts.

“Oh yeah, I should go call her.” Minah pulled her phone out but Myunghoon stopped her.

“There’s no point.”

“Why?”

“She had a meeting today so she had to work late.”

“How do you know that? You two dating?” Minah asked with her eyes wide open.

Myunghoon laughed out loud and shook his head. “No. You know the gaming company she works at? The Nexon Mobile Team.”

“So?”

“Apparently, there’s a racing game about to be released. It has a lot of romantic elements to it, so she begged me to write a scenario. What could I do? It was a colleague’s favor, so I accepted it.”

The girls’ eyes stared at him like he was a bright and shiny diamond.

“That’s amazing! Now you’re also a game scenario writer as well?”

“How much money will they give you? Nexon is the nation’s best. If a stubborn person like Suhee asked you, you really must be at the top.”

Myunghoon leisurely sat on the sofa, enjoying all the attention that he was getting.

“Hahaha, I kind of feel a little bad now. She’s not here because of me. I can’t allow that. I’ll do this, drink’s on me. I’ll buy everything; get whatever you guys want.”

“Really? You’re so cool, Myunghoon.”

“Hey guys, the successful writer is buying us drinks. Everyone get ready.”

In this loud atmosphere, Jaegun picked up the beer bottle. Before he could pour, a hand stopped him.

“Don’t pour yourself drinks, you idiot.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Jaegun and Jongjin touched drinks. As the cool beer poured down his throat, he secretly thanked Jongjin. He would not be able to survive this without him.

Jaegun and Jongjin split from the crowd after the party.

It was Jongjin’s idea. They went into a quiet pub and poured drinks.

“It feels good drinking in a quiet place.”

“Sorry.”

“For what?”

“I know it’s because you’re thinking about me.”

“Stop talking nonsense. It’s all because of that Myunghoon fool.”

“It’s not wrong. A writer has to get money to be a writer.”

“Hey, shut up. Dang it. When I see that fricking idiot laughing his mouth off, I feel disgusted. It’s worse for you because of Lee Suhee.”

Jaegun smiled bittersweetly.

Lee Suhee.

One of the girls who got the attention of all the boys. She even had a good personality that allowed her to be with the girls. Jaegun also had feelings for her.

During college, Myunghoon asked her out and got rejected. He didn’t come to school for a week because of that incident.

Fast forward a few months later…

Approaching graduation, Suhee asked a person out. That person was Jaegun. It was because of his diligent writing.

Jaegun couldn’t accept it.

The reason was obvious. He had no money. He was barely getting through college with part-time jobs and he didn’t have the time and money for love.

Jaegun drank another cup while thinking of the memory.

It was disappointing, but he didn’t regret it.

It wouldn’t have mattered. He probably would have broken up with her already. He was just a poor writer who was worried about rent and saving gas.

-Beeeeeep!

The phone vibrated Jongjin’s body. As he looked at the picture, he felt disgusted.

“Wow.”

It was a message by Hyojin. In the picture, there was everyone, including Myunghoon and Mina. Everyone was smiling and lifting up a wine cup.

“Fricking wine.”

“Wine?”

“Myunghoon said he knew a good wine bar. He’s paying. Look at these women loving free stuff and chasing him around.”

Jongjin pushed the phone to Jaegun’s face. Jaegun poured a drink to his empty bottle and asked, “You have your mind on Hyojin, right?”

“Was it too obvious?” Jongjin agreed instantly. It must have been their close relationship.

Jaegun smiled and asked, “Since when?”

“Hmm. Like last time we met. In college, she was just okay. But now, she’s been getting better. She’s strong and energetic. I get pulled to those types.”

“Yeah, she does have that type of personality. Her face is pretty as well.”

“Who cares. Tell her to have fun with Myunghoon. Completely lost feeling right now. Drink up, drink up.”

-Beeeep!

Now it was Jaegun’s phone.

It was the editor in chief’s call. With a serious face, Jaegun told Jongjin, “I’ll be back after I get this call.”

“Come back quickly.”

Jaegun went out of the pub and answered the phone, “Hello?”

“Hello, Mr. Ha. I read your preview. Do you have time for a call?”

Chapter 3

Jaegun abruptly expanded his eyes and opened his mouth. The moment he touched the kitten, an indescribable sensation traveled through his arm and entered his body.

“Urgh… Wh-What? Did I drink too much?”

Even his head started aching. Jaegun wrapped one hand around his head and hollered.

“Arrgg, I must have over-drank. I should rest now. You should come to my house for now too, but I would have to use 2 hands to bring the box…”

To Jaegun’s words, the kitten classily hopped on top of the box. Seeing this cute scene, Jaegun momentarily forgot his pain and let out a grin. As he lifted the box up, the kitten was already calmly waiting for him.

“Your name is Rika, right?”

“Meow.”

“There’s nothing to feed you except milk at my house, is that okay?”

“Meow.”

“As soon as I get up tomorrow, I’ll find your owner for you. I’m just a novel writer with nothing to do.”

“Meow. Meow.”

That night. Jaegun dreamt his first dream in a long time.

An old man in his 60s was there, warmly smiling at Jaegun. He approached Jaegun and laid down a piece of advice.

-Write the stories that you want to write, but you must remember to distinguish between what you want to write and writing to solely make money.

-Do not forget what you promised to yourself when you decided to pick up the pen. You must always keep in mind what you promised to yourself in the beginning.

“Urggghhhh…”

Jaegun rubbed his burning head from the hangover and woke up from his slumber.

“Meow.”

Rika, who was guarding him by his bedside all night, approached him while meowing. Jaegun fondled Rika who was rubbing against his cheeks and stood up.

“You sleep well Rika? I should first take a walk around the neighborhood. And you, play with the toys while I start on my proj-…”

Jaegun couldn’t finish his sentence and closed his mouth. He stared penetratingly at Rika with a face void of tiredness. His two eyes were wildly shaking.

“Ri-Rika, I knew you already…?”

“Meow.”

Jaegun was in a state of extreme confusion. Memories of his daily life with Rika were flooding into his mind. What was the meaning of this when it was his first time meeting this kitten.

“Wh-What? What? Thi-This is?”

The new memories were not just about Rika. His entire body shuddered while he observed the memories one by one. The memory fragments didn’t make sense nor were they organized.

A scene of him taking a walk with Rika, a scene of him writing a story somewhere, a scene of a young, angry girl throwing a fit, etc… All of these scenes were running past his mind like the floating clouds outside.  

A memory of a picture surfaced in Jaegun’s mind. The figure in the picture made Jaegun recall his dream last night.

‘The, the old man from the dream!’

He had completely forgotten about the contents of his dream until just now. The figure was that old man from his dreams who gave him various advice. The memories of the old man were, for some reason, transferred to Jaegun’s mind.

Jaegun sprinted outside of his one-room apartment, wearing mismatching slippers. Behind the huffing Jaegun was Rika, quickly keeping up with him.

The place that Jaegun arrived at was the grave on the mountain. He looked at the gravestone while gasping for breath and he immediately froze.

-Suh Gunwoo (1952~2012)

“How could this be…!”

His teeth clattered as he fell down to the ground. The name of the old man that forcefully planted the memories into him was Suh Gunwoo. How could this possibly happen. The memories of another person, and a long-dead person at that, were planted inside his mind. Jaegun tried pinching his cheeks. He felt the pain for sure; it was not a dream.

“What? Th-This is?”

Another memory surfaced in his mind. It was none other than Suh Gunwoo’s street address.

“Pyeongchang-dong… Jongno District… Seoul…?”

Jaegun sounded out the address with his mouth. Pyeongchang-dong was in the same city he was in and it was not that far from where he was. It was a distance that he could go to in 40~50 minutes by riding the subway.

‘I definitely need to go there.’

First, Jaegun came back home and quickly washed his body. Inside a big, yellow backpack, he packed the items that he picked up yesterday: the laptop, fountain pen, a mug, and the glasses. After he was done, he held the kitten in his embrace.

“You come here too. This is probably your home.”

“Meow.”

Jaegun boarded the subway while holding Rika. He wanted to use a taxi because of the cat, but due to his financial situation, he had no choice but to use public transportation.

“Ah, what the hell is this. Bringing a cat inside the subway.”

“I have an allergy too, really.”

“I’m very sorry. I apologize. I’ll get off soon”

As he was profusely apologizing to the passengers, it was soon time to get off. Jaegun hugged Rika and quickly got off the subway.

‘Let’s see, the address is…’

The villas became numerous as he was nearing the address. All of a sudden, he stopped in front of a place in a narrow alleyway.

“Meow.”

Without warning, Rika jumped to the ground and took the lead. Jaegun treaded behind Rika through the twisting and turning alleway.  

Suddenly, the duo stopped in front of a worn-down villa. Jaegun looked at the engraved address next to the entrance. It exactly matched the address from Suh Gunwoo’s memories.

“It was your house after all, you remembered well. Let’s go in quickly.”

Jaegun walked in front of the villa and pressed the doorbell of suite 201. After a long while,a man’s voice came back through the intercom.

“Who is this?”

“Ah, yes. Excuse me, do you possibly know Suh Gunwoo?”

“… What is the problem?”

The man’s voice turned dark in an instant. Jaegun cleared his voice with a cough and quickly replied.

“Actually, his grave is near my house. There was a laptop and various other items as well. I also found a cat and was wondering if these items were yours.”

“How did you find this place?”

“The address was written on a piece of paper inside the box. Um, I think it was something like a delivery sticker.”

Jaegun did not tell the truth. He could not tell the crazy story that he inherited the memories of Suh Gunwoo and he found this place like that.

“There was an address written somewhere? There is no way that would happen… Anyways I don’t need those items so please go back.”

The man still did not open the door and stubbornly talked through the intercom. Jaegun was enraptured by a peculiar mood. Jaegun was sure that the man abandoned these items in the grave from the way he was talking.

“Excuse me, but what is your relation with Mr. Suh Gunwoo?”

Jaegun asked through the intercom. He needed information. What was the identity of the old man named Suh Gunwoo, who came into his head without warning; he desperately wanted to get to the bottom of this.

-Slam!

The door suddenly opened with a deafening noise. In front of the startled Jaegun, who took a step back, was a man in his 30s. A red face and a strong alcoholic smell emanated from the man even though it was currently morning.

“What are you planning to do with information about my Father?”

“Fa-Father?”\n

Chapter 4

“That damned old man… Sorry, it looks like you wanted to do a good deed, but it’s all a waste. I purposefully put them over there.”

“Purposefully? I thought that these belonged to your dad? Aren’t the laptop and the glasses all of your dad’s treasures?”

“They’re all trash! Do whatever you want with them. Those are garbage that won’t sell anywhere.”

He tried to shut the door.

Jaegun hurriedly held on to the door that was about to close and continued. 

“Wait, what about Rika then?

The man looked at me with surprised eyes.

”Wait, how do you know that cat’s name?”

“It’s on the collar. Isn’t this your cat? I don’t know about anything else, but you should at least keep her.”

The man smiled coldly and lifted his left hand. Only then, did Jaegun realize that his arm was in bandages.

“That damnable cat was the one who did this to me. I tried to bring her back, but this is what I got. That cat; leave her on the streets for all I care.”

“W-wait.”

Jaegun resolutely held on to the door and asked the death-glaring man:

“One more question; what was your father’s job?”

It was a question asked thinking about Seo Gunwoo from his dreams. The man lowered his head and sighed before he spat out.

”A writer.”

“Writer? A writer? He was a writer?”

“Yes! A writer! Now just leave me alone!”

-BLAM!

He shut the door. Rika was crying from the shock from his roughness.

‘To think that he was a writer…’

He supported himself on the rails; he had trouble standing. How could he have inherited the dead writer’s memories?

“Meow. Meow.”

Jaegun looked at the crying Rika.

He suddenly remembered a theme from an occult book that he once read; a cat could be a bridge between the dead and the living.

“Rika, you know something, right?”

“Meow.”

Jaegun sank to his knees. He had actually waited for an answer from a cat. A cat. He felt as though he lost himself. Is this what a madman feels like?

Lost in thought, he arrived home.

‘What? How did I come back?’

He didn’t remember leaving the subway; he didn’t remember leaving the bus station; he didn’t remember anything. Staggering as he walked, he stepped down the stairs to his room.

‘What could be in the labtop?’

He was very curious about the writer Seo Gunwoo. He only had some fragments of his memories, and he didn’t know very much about him. Before he even took his clothes off, he took out the laptop. When he plugged it in and pressed the power button, it thankfully booted.

‘Wow, this is really old.’

A hollow laugh came out of him as the labtop finished booting and came to the home screen.

The hard drive had only 256MB of RAM. On top of that, the memory space had 40 Gigs of storage. Also, it was running Windows 98. It was something that people would refuse to use for free.

‘There’s nothing in here.’

He couldn’t find any information about the writer. There was no search history, nor was there programs except the common writing one.

Jaegun opened his own computer and he connected it to the internet. Then, he searched up the name: Seo Gunwoo. There were way too many people. Jaegun put in Seo Gunwoo’s birth and death date. Still, nothing happened.

‘Did he use a pen name?’

It was a world where writers used a pen name instead of their real name. Even he used one himself.

Anyway, since there were no results for Se Gunwoo, that could only mean two things: either he used a writing name or he didn’t have any released work.

-Wiiinnnngg!

The phone vibrated his entire body. On the phone’s screen, it showed: Ha Jaein. It was his three-years-older sister.

Jaegun didn’t pick up the called right away and hesitated. Due to her phone call, reality came rushing back to him. There was no good news to give to her. Even so, she would worry if he didn’t pick up. She was one that still considered her 27 year old brother, a child. Jaegun finally picked up the phone with a sigh.

“Hey.”

-You picked up? I was just about to hang up because I thought you were sleeping.”

“Nah. I was awake.”

-Did you eat?”

“Of course.”

Jaegun suppressed his grumbling in his belly.

-What did you eat?”

“I ate stuff. Stop asking me. I’m not a child anymore.”

-Of course, little brother.”

“Hey, hey.”

His sister laughed across the phone. Then with a serious voice, she continued.

-You’re coming home tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah.”

-Good. At least come and see our dad. He’s getting up there in age.”

“Okay.”

“What’s with your weak voice? Did something happen?”

She asked worriedly.

Jaegun felt bad, but he just couldn’t continue the conversation.

“Sorry, I’m just at a deadline right now. I can’t talk; I’ll see you later.”

-Beep!

He cut off quickly. It was her sister who supported him writing every time. Therefore, she didn’t call again.

‘Sorry.’

Her sister liked to call herself “gold miss.” However, he knew better. He knew that she didn’t have time to date because of trying to keep up with her poor family.

‘This isn’t the time for this.’

Jaegun turned on the computer and opened the word program. In his eyes, the book he just wrote came up.

‘What now…’

It didn’t look like a book, but rather, a jumbled cluster of sentences.

He scrolled up to the top; he was going to read it once more.

‘Hmm.’

Jaegun’s face started to grow paler as he read on.

He didn’t think it was perfect, but to think it had this many issues. Mistakes that he didn’t see yesterday seemed to come up.

‘At this point, this information is unnecessary. The readers will be bored here. Delete everything.’

‘This is a point where the main character learns a new skill and matures. This doesn’t have enough. It needs more detail.’

‘How could this girl slap the main character like this. Is she crazy? She needs to get on her knees and beg.’

-Tap! Tap! Taptap! Tap!

His ten fingers flew around the keyboard.

When was it; the last time when he was this motivated. He couldn’t even remember. A feeling that he didn’t have before urged his fingers on. It felt as if they had wings.

Chapter 5

1 hour… 2 hours… 3 hours… 4 hours…

Jaegun couldn’t feel the flow of time.

Sweat fell down his face. His ten fingers had grown red from the heat.

-Tap!

“Haaaaa…”

Jaegun sighed as he typed the last line. As he looked around, it was already dark outside. There was a bright moon outside of the window.

“What? How? How long have I worked for?”

The clock read over 7.

He didn’t even remember when he started. Jaegun remembered his sister’s call and checked the call history. It showed about 11.

“8 hours…? What… Why am I… like this?”

He was completely in the zone to the point where he hadn’t rested his fingers at all.

There was never a point in time before where he had put this much effort into writing. Really, he completely forgot about everything except for writing during that time.

‘This is fun! This book has changed so much after these edits.’

Jaegun exclaimed as he looked over the book. He had no basis for the confidence, but he was confident nevertheless. This was something that the producers would like. It was the first time he had this feeling.

Jaegun sent the book to the editors by email. After he had sent it, he heard Rika’s growling.

“Ah Rika, Rika. I’m sorry. You must be hungry?”

It wasn’t just Rika; Jaegun was also starving. He hadn’t ate anything at all today. As he was going to have to walk because he had some things to buy; he put on some clothes and left.

“It’s 45000 Won”

(TL: $45, take out 3 Zeroes at the end of Wons to convert to dollars)

“What? It is that expensive?”

On the pet store’s counter, Jaegun was surprised as he asked the clerk.

The clerk smiled and replied.

”For that amount of food, it is pretty cheap. It would be cheaper if you purchase it online, but there’s not that big of a difference.”

“It’s… A bit more expensive than I thought.”

“So are you going to buy it?”

“Yes. Yes. Here.”

His hand shook as he gave the money to the clerk. What could you do if you were poor? Imagine how much food he could buy for 45 dollars.

“See you again.”

Jaegun left the store in a half-shocked state. Rika, who was in his arms, looked at him with her two, bright round eyes, it was as if she was asking ‘what’s wrong.’

“Is that a ‘making fun of me’ look?”

“Meow.”

“I get it. What do you know? It’s fine. My sister always used to say, ‘don’t save money on food; live with plenty of food.’ Since you’re now family… family… Let’s go. Let’s go eat some ramen at home.”

Jaegun moved his body back home.

“I ran out of eggs. I should buy some on the way home. Put 2 eggs in the noodles and bam: a freakingly good meal. Adding rice on top of that would fill me up, don’t need anything else”

-Wiiinnnng!

His phone in his pocket vibrated. As he thought it would be from his best friend Jungjin or his sister, his eyes suddenly widened.

‘What’s the occasion calling this late?’

To think that he would get a call back as soon as he uploaded his updated story. ‘What for? This couldn’t be good’ he thought.

“He-Hello?”

-Mr. Ha. Did you revise this in one day?”

“What? Yeah, I did? Is there something wrong?” He trailed off at the end with a worried voice.

Was this going to be a talk about how it became worse? He thought it got better; however, if he was going to be criticized again, what would he do? With that thought, he clenched his eyes closed.

However—

The following words from the editor completely shook his mind.

-No, you should have wrote like this before!

“What?” Jaegun straightened his back with a bewildered face. The editor’s bright voice continued from the other side.

-Since you changed a few things and altered the flow several times, the story completely changed. I read it well.”

“You read it… well?”

-Yeah. I read it well. Really. Do you think I would say something that’s not true?”

“N-no, of course not.”

The editor wasn’t the type of person to lie. Since he knew the editor for 5 years, he knew he wouldn’t make things up. If he said it was good, it was good. At least, the editor thought it was good.

-There are a few minor errors and mistypes, but it’s not serious. I’ll leave it to the office. Fine?”

“Ye-yeah, that would be great for me.”

-I’ll send it tomorrow to the printing press it worked on. I’ll try to get it published in 4 to 5 days. Oh and Mr. Ha? I don’t know how to say this… but, do you need any money? Should I put in some additional money in the contract?”

“Contract? If you could do that, I would be really happy.”

His voice perked up as he listened to some bright news. He was in the red after he bought that food. If he was a successful writer, he could get money whenever he wanted and more; however, Jaegun definitely not at that stage.

Jaegun’s contract was one that didn’t provide much as his writing didn’t sell well.

-Okay. I’ve just deposited 500,000 Wons. I’ll send you the rest for books 1 and 2. It will go in tomorrow at 10 am.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much, editor in chief”

-It’s me who should thank you for this amazing writing. Thank you, Mr.Ha. I hope to see more writing from you. This is will be a hit”

“I hope so”

-Please trust my instincts. This will be a success. Then you’ve worked hard so give yourself a nice rest today.

“Yes, You should rest too editor.”

Jaegun was paralyzed after that phone call. With cat food in one hand and Rika in the other, he couldn’t move at all.

‘My writing… my writing is good?’

5 years after his debut. Since then, all of his work had been dead or failed. He couldn’t see “good” anywhere in the comments.

This was his first compliment.

It wasn’t just any compliment either, it was a huge one.

From an editor who was known for being sharp and objective with his cruel comments, he had heard a compliment. There was no describing this feeling in his chest.

-Drop. Drop. Drop.

Tears fell from his two eyes.

As hot tears fell on her, Rika raised her head. As if to relieve him, she softly his chest.

“Rika… he said it was good…”

“Meow?”

“My writing is good…  My writing… From an editor who rarely gives compliments… he said it was good… you have no idea what type of person that editor is… he said it was good…”

He couldn’t stop the tears from his eyes. Jaegun dropped the cat food and hugged Rika with his two arms. Rika, as if to congratulate him, meowed cutely along.

The weather didn’t feel cold any more.

Chapter 6

“Yes, yes, there is no problem. Go ahead and speak.”

The editor in chief faltered a bit and continued speaking.

-Actually, we’re worried about your current project.

“Is that so…”

-The theme of a peerless martial arts master being transported to a fantasy world is good, but focusing mostly on the fantasy plot is a little… And on top of that, it’s not as if the main character is some completely overpowered munchkin; the plot development should be about meeting stronger and stronger enemies and cultivating, but his occupation as a blacksmith is a little too boring.

Jaegun plugged his mouth to stop himself from gasping. As he turned his head and looked in front of him, he saw countless amounts of people showing a happy smile and walking past him. It seemed as if everyone was living a happy daily life except for him.

The words of the editor in chief continued.

-Mr. Ha, you always seem to be writing diligently. I know that, but because your writing focuses heavily on not leaving any holes in the plot, you lose out many opportunities to bring out more entertainment in your stories.

“Yes…”

-If you insist on releasing your work like this, we can do it. However, your guaranteed compensation will be reduced by quite a bit and you shouldn’t expect much sales either. Also, your work might get an early termination. Instead of paper books, publishing e-books seems to be the better option for you.

Jaegun plopped down to a squat as he felt the darkness clouding his eyes.

The editor in chief added on with absolute firmness.

-You probably won’t be able to pass your previous performance, It might even be worse.

To say that I wouldn’t be able to do better than previous times. Jaegun’s heart seemed as if it would tear even though he knew the editor in chief was speaking with unbiased objectivism.

-Please think about it and contact me. There is still time left until the deadline so you have some breathing room.  

“Yes, editor in chief. Thank you very much, I’ll get back to you.”

Jaegun hid his hurt feelings and intentionally replied with a vigorous voice and ended the call. Then, he opened a cigarette packet with a sigh and bit into it.

‘This is so shitty, really…!’

The previous work that the editor in chief was referring to was Jaegun’s fantasy novel that was published last year. In the end, the performance of that project was not really well received.

The series was finished with 5 books in total and the total amount of revenue that he received was less than 1,800,000 Won. You could say that each book brought in less than 360,000 Won. He had to spend a month of writing non-stop to complete a book so it was a shockingly low income.

(TL: 1,800,000 Won is roughly $1800. Just take out 3 zeros in at the end for Won and you get dollars for future reference.)

It was said that because of the increase in popularity for e-books; the situation for authors became better, but that was a faraway land for Jaegun. The monthly income that Jaegun received from e-books were too embarrassing to even mention. There were many times when the income didn’t even go over 10,000 Won.

-Does that even pay? Does it even give 1,000,000 Won for a book?

The taunting face of Myunghoon lingered in his thoughts. Jaegun wrapped his head with both his hands while biting down on his cigarette. It seemed as if each book would not even produce 300,000 Won, let alone 1,000,000 Won. The guesses of the editor in chief were correct most of the time.

‘Should I quit now…’

He couldn’t live with an income of 300,000 Won per month. Including his current one room apartment’s rent plus various bills, there was no answer to be had.

He had only two choices to make. To get a part-time job in a convenience store like last year and continue writing, or to quit altogether.

His age was already 27. There was no money saved in his bank account; a depressing life. Unknowingly, streams of tears fell from his two eyes. He felt as if there would never be a time where he would be able to laugh again. Jaegun couldn’t even wipe the tears that fell from his face as he blankly stood still.

“Go home safely.”

Jaegun said as he got off the taxi. Jungjin in the backseat was passed out drunk.

“Yea, *hiccup*. Lesh talk t’morrow. Mishter Driver, drive away. *hiccup*”

The taxi drove off along with Jungjin’s slurred speech.

Jaegun put his hands in his pockets and lifelessly walked toward his home. He intentionally got off from a decently far away place from his home. It was because his one room apartment was a bad place for a car to drive to.

To the left of the lonely road was a small river and to the right was a gloomy mountain. The road that always had a lack of people was walked by Jaegun alone with a depressed mood.

‘Mm?’

In one moment, Jaegun’s footsteps suddenly stopped. Something unnatural came into his line of sight. He looked back at the road that he came from while second-guessing himself due to his drunken state.

His vision came to a focus in between the slopes of the hill. It was a place where someone’s gravestone lied. As if the bereaved family didn’t take care of it for a long time, weeds grew in spades and the grave gave off a ghastly aura.

However, the thing that caught Jaegun’s attention was something else. The tombstone that stood still was fallen to the ground.

‘Did somebody take it down on purpose?’

Maybe the sympathy was due to the alcoholic influence. He felt sympathy for the owner of the desolate grave. On the other hand, he became curious. What kind of life must the owner have lived so the owner was abandoned by his family without a second glance. He saw the grave every day but it was his first time feeling this.

Whatever the case might have been, it was currently not important to Jaegun. As if he was drawn to the grave, he walked up the hills where there were no roads and approached the grave.

‘Wow, this… is bigger than I expected?’

The gravestone that seemed small from far away was considerably big. He pulled both his sleeves up and grabbed on to the gravestone.

-Grunt

As he exerted his strength and grunted, the fallen gravestone slowly came back up. Veins began to show on his blood-red face.

“Rurrggggh…!”

-Kroom!

The massive gravestone was restored to its previous state. Jaegun’s knees were supporting his hands as he gasped for breath.

“Haa! Ha! Ha! Blu, bluurrgggh…!”

The sound of heaving came out after he exerted his strength after drinking alcohol. Jaegun threw up a mouthful of spit and then plugged his throat. If he threw up anymore, it seemed like everything he ate for dinner would come back up.

“Hheu… Hheu…”

Jaegun gathered his breath and looked down at the clothes he was wearing. Both his arms and hands were covered with dirt from the gravestone.

‘Dirt is already on me so whatever.’

Jaegun walked towards the grave and started pulling the weeds that grew too much. They were more grounded than they looked so it took quite a bit of strength. It would have been good if there was a weed cutter lying around, but of course, there was no such thing.

It was the moment when he roughly cleared up the front of the grave and turned around to walk away.

“Meee~oowww”

“Woah! God damn!”

Jaegun fell backwards onto his butt. A cat was sitting there with its tail pointed upward. It was a kitten that had a short, deep-blue coat.

“What are you. You, you’re a house cat?”

Jaegun asked the cat. Around its neck was a red collar. On it, the Korean characters ‘Rika’ was inscribed.

“Rika? Your name is Rika?”

“Meow.”

“Why are you in a place like this? Did you lose your way?”

“Meow.”

The kitten looked up at Jaegun and continuously mewed. He felt as if the eye level of the kitten was high. As he looked down, the kitten was sitting on top of some box. It was a ramen box covered in duct tape.

“What is this now? This is weird.”

Maybe because this was a world where it was overflowing with bad news, scary thoughts came into his mind first. Jaegun swallowed a ball of spit, gathered courage and stretched out his hand toward the box. He steeled his resolve and decided that he would investigate it even more if it was related to a crime. The kitten came down from the box and stood next to Jaegun.

“Mmm? A notebook?”

After locating the entrance of the box, Jaegun muttered with a stupefied expression. A notebook was inside the box. You could tell it was an old, worn-out notebook. Aside from the notebook, there was a fountain pen, a mug and a brown-rimmed pair of glasses neatly laid inside the box.

“These, do these items belong to your owner?”

“Meow, meow.”

As if the kitten understood, it raised its head and cried out. Jaegun carefully reached out his hand and scratched the kitten’s neck. The kitten must have liked the sensation of the first time meeting Jaegun’s hands and stuck closer to him.

It was at that moment.

“Wuh-What?!”

Chapter 7

Jaegun abruptly expanded his eyes and opened his mouth. The moment he touched the kitten, an indescribable sensation traveled through his arm and entered his body.

“Urgh… Wh-What? Did I drink too much?”

Even his head started aching. Jaegun wrapped one hand around his head and hollered.

“Arrgg, I must have over-drank. I should rest now. You should come to my house for now too, but I would have to use 2 hands to bring the box…”

To Jaegun’s words, the kitten classily hopped on top of the box. Seeing this cute scene, Jaegun momentarily forgot his pain and let out a grin. As he lifted the box up, the kitten was already calmly waiting for him.

“Your name is Rika, right?”

“Meow.”

“There’s nothing to feed you except milk at my house, is that okay?”

“Meow.”

“As soon as I get up tomorrow, I’ll find your owner for you. I’m just a novel writer with nothing to do.”

“Meow. Meow.”

That night. Jaegun dreamt his first dream in a long time.

An old man in his 60s was there, warmly smiling at Jaegun. He approached Jaegun and laid down a piece of advice.

-Write the stories that you want to write, but you must remember to distinguish between what you want to write and writing to solely make money.

-Do not forget what you promised to yourself when you decided to pick up the pen. You must always keep in mind what you promised to yourself in the beginning.

“Urggghhhh…”

Jaegun rubbed his burning head from the hangover and woke up from his slumber.

“Meow.”

Rika, who was guarding him by his bedside all night, approached him while meowing. Jaegun fondled Rika who was rubbing against his cheeks and stood up.

“You sleep well Rika? I should first take a walk around the neighborhood. And you, play with the toys while I start on my proj-…”

Jaegun couldn’t finish his sentence and closed his mouth. He stared penetratingly at Rika with a face void of tiredness. His two eyes were wildly shaking.

“Ri-Rika, I knew you already…?”

“Meow.”

Jaegun was in a state of extreme confusion. Memories of his daily life with Rika were flooding into his mind. What was the meaning of this when it was his first time meeting this kitten.

“Wh-What? What? Thi-This is?”

The new memories were not just about Rika. His entire body shuddered while he observed the memories one by one. The memory fragments didn’t make sense nor were they organized.

A scene of him taking a walk with Rika, a scene of him writing a story somewhere, a scene of a young, angry girl throwing a fit, etc… All of these scenes were running past his mind like the floating clouds outside.  

A memory of a picture surfaced in Jaegun’s mind. The figure in the picture made Jaegun recall his dream last night.

‘The, the old man from the dream!’

He had completely forgotten about the contents of his dream until just now. The figure was that old man from his dreams who gave him various advices. The memories of the old man were, for some reason, transferred to Jaegun’s mind.

Jaegun sprinted outside of his one-room apartment, wearing mismatching slippers. Behind the huffing Jaegun was Rika, quickly keeping up with him.

The place that Jaegun arrived at was the grave on the mountain. He looked at the gravestone while gasping for breath and he immediately froze.

-Suh Gunwoo (1952~2012)

“How could this be…!”

His teeth clattered as he fell down to the ground. The name of the old man that forcefully planted the memories into him was Suh Gunwoo. How could this possibly happen. The memories of another person, and a long-dead person at that, were planted inside his mind. Jaegun tried pinching his cheeks. He felt the pain for sure; it was not a dream.

“What? Th-This is?”

Another memory surfaced in his mind. It was none other than Suh Gunwoo’s street address.

“Pyeongchang-dong… Jongno District… Seoul…?”

Jaegun sounded out the address with his mouth. Pyeongchang-dong was in the same city he was in and it was not that far from where he was. It was a distance that he could go to in 40~50 minutes by riding the subway.

‘I definitely need to go there.’

First, Jaegun came back home and quickly washed his body. Inside a big, yellow backpack, he packed the items that he picked up yesterday: the laptop, fountain pen, a mug, and the glasses. After he was done, he held the kitten in his embrace.

“You come here too. This is probably your home.”

“Meow.”

Jaegun boarded the subway while holding Rika. He wanted to use a taxi because of the cat, but due to his financial situation, he had no choice but to use public transportation.

“Ah, what the hell is this. Bringing a cat inside the subway.”

“I have an allergy too, really.”

“I’m very sorry. I apologize. I’ll get off soon”

As he was profusely apologizing to the passengers, it was soon time to get off. Jaegun hugged Rika and quickly got off the subway.

‘Let’s see, the address is…’

The villas became numerous as he was nearing the address. All of a sudden, he stopped in front of a place in a narrow alleyway.

“Meow.”

Without warning, Rika jumped to the ground and took the lead. Jaegun treaded behind Rika through the twisting and turning alleway.  

Suddenly, the duo stopped in front of a worn-down villa. Jaegun looked at the engraved address next to the entrance. It exactly matched the address from Suh Gunwoo’s memories.

“It was your house after all, you remembered well. Let’s go in quickly.”

Jaegun walked in front of the villa and pressed the doorbell of suite 201. After a long while,a man’s voice came back through the intercom.

“Who is this?”

“Ah, yes. Excuse me, do you possibly know Suh Gunwoo?”

“… What is the problem?”

The man’s voice turned dark in an instant. Jaegun cleared his voice with a cough and quickly replied.

“Actually, his grave is near my house. There was a laptop and various other items as well. I also found a cat and was wondering if these items were yours.”

“How did you find this place?”

“The address was written on a piece of paper inside the box. Um, I think it was something like a delivery sticker.”

Jaegun did not tell the truth. He could not tell the crazy story that he inherited the memories of Suh Gunwoo and he found this place like that.

“There was an address written somewhere? There is no way that would happen… Anyways I don’t need those items so please go back.”

The man still did not open the door and stubbornly talked through the intercom. Jaegun was enraptured by a peculiar mood. Jaegun was sure that the man abandoned these items in the grave from the way he was talking.

“Excuse me, but what is your relation with Mr. Suh Gunwoo?”

Jaegun asked through the intercom. He needed information. What was the identity of the old man named Suh Gunwoo, who came into his head without warning; he desperately wanted to get to the bottom of this.

-Slam!

The door suddenly opened with a deafening noise. In front of the startled Jaegun, who took a step back, was a man in his 30s. A red face and a strong alcoholic smell emanated from the man even though it was currently morning.

“What are you planning to do with information about my Father?”

“Fa-Father?”

Chapter 8

“That damned old man… Sorry, it looks like you wanted to do a good deed, but it’s all a waste. I purposefully put them over there.”

“Purposefully? I thought that these belonged to your dad? Aren’t the laptop and the glasses all of your dad’s treasures?”

“They’re all trash! Do whatever you want with them. Those are garbage that won’t sell anywhere.”

He tried to shut the door.

Jaegun hurriedly held on to the door that was about to close and continued. 

“Wait, what about Rika then?

The man looked at me with surprised eyes.

”Wait, how do you know that cat’s name?”

“It’s on the collar. Isn’t this your cat? I don’t know about anything else, but you should at least keep her.”

The man smiled coldly and lifted his left hand. Only then, did Jaegun realize that his arm was in bandages.

“That damnable cat was the one who did this to me. I tried to bring her back, but this is what I got. That cat; leave her on the streets for all I care.”

“W-wait.”

Jaegun resolutely held on to the door and asked the death-glaring man:

“One more question; what was your father’s job?”

It was a question asked thinking about Seo Gunwoo from his dreams. The man lowered his head and sighed before he spat out.

”A writer.”

“Writer? A writer? He was a writer?”

“Yes! A writer! Now just leave me alone!”

-BLAM!

He shut the door. Rika was crying from the shock from his roughness.

‘To think that he was a writer…’

He supported himself on the rails; he had trouble standing. How could he have inherited the dead writer’s memories?

“Meow. Meow.”

Jaegun looked at the crying Rika.

He suddenly remembered a theme from an occult book that he once read; a cat could be a bridge between the dead and the living.

“Rika, you know something, right?”

“Meow.”

Jaegun sank to his knees. He had actually waited for an answer from a cat. A cat. He felt as though he lost himself. Is this what a madman feels like?

Lost in thought, he arrived home.

‘What? How did I come back?’

He didn’t remember leaving the subway; he didn’t remember leaving the bus station; he didn’t remember anything. Staggering as he walked, he stepped down the stairs to his room.

‘What could be in the labtop?’

He was very curious about the writer Seo Gunwoo. He only had some fragments of his memories, and he didn’t know very much about him. Before he even took his clothes off, he took out the laptop. When he plugged it in and pressed the power button, it thankfully booted.

‘Wow, this is really old.’

A hollow laugh came out of him as the labtop finished booting and came to the home screen.

The hard drive had only 256MB of RAM. On top of that, the memory space had 40 Gigs of storage. Also, it was running Windows 98. It was something that people would refuse to use for free.

‘There’s nothing in here.’

He couldn’t find any information about the writer. There was no search history, nor was there programs except the common writing one.

Jaegun opened his own computer and he connected it to the internet. Then, he searched up the name: Seo Gunwoo. There were way too many people. Jaegun put in Seo Gunwoo’s birth and death date. Still, nothing happened.

‘Did he use a pen name?’

It was a world where writers used a pen name instead of their real name. Even he used one himself.

Anyway, since there were no results for Se Gunwoo, that could only mean two things: either he used a writing name or he didn’t have any released work.

-Wiiinnnngg!

The phone vibrated his entire body. On the phone’s screen, it showed: Ha Jaeyn. It was his three-years-older sister.

Jaegun didn’t pick up the called right away and hesitated. Due to her phone call, reality came rushing back to him. There was no good news to give to her. Even so, she would worry if he didn’t pick up. She was one that still considered her 27 year old brother, a child. Jaegun finally picked up the phone with a sigh.

“Hey.”

-You picked up? I was just about to hang up because I thought you were sleeping.”

“Nah. I was awake.”

-Did you eat?”

“Of course.”

Jaegun suppressed his grumbling in his belly.

-What did you eat?”

“I ate stuff. Stop asking me. I’m not a child anymore.”

-Of course, little brother.”

“Hey, hey.”

His sister laughed across the phone. Then with a serious voice, she continued.

-You’re coming home tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah.”

-Good. At least come and see our dad. He’s getting up there in age.”

“Okay.”

“What’s with your weak voice? Did something happen?”

She asked worriedly.

Jaegun felt bad, but he just couldn’t continue the conversation.

“Sorry, I’m just at a deadline right now. I can’t talk; I’ll see you later.”

-Beep!

He cut off quickly. It was her sister who supported him writing every time. Therefore, she didn’t call again.

‘Sorry.’

Her sister liked to call herself “gold miss.” However, he knew better. He knew that she didn’t have time to date because of trying to keep up with her poor family.

‘This isn’t the time for this.’

Jaegun turned on the computer and opened the word program. In his eyes, the book he just wrote came up.

‘What now…’

It didn’t look like a book, but rather, a jumbled cluster of sentences.

He scrolled up to the top; he was going to read it once more.

‘Hmm.’

Jaegun’s face started to grow paler as he read on.

He didn’t think it was perfect, but to think it had this many issues. Mistakes that he didn’t see yesterday seemed to come up.

‘At this point, this information is unnecessary. The readers will be bored here. Delete everything.’

‘This is a point where the main character learns a new skill and matures. This doesn’t have enough. It needs more detail.’

‘How could this girl slap the main character like this. Is she crazy? She needs to get on her knees and beg.’

-Tap! Tap! Taptap! Tap!

His ten fingers flew around the keyboard.

When was it; the last time when he was this motivated. He couldn’t even remember. A feeling that he didn’t have before urged his fingers on. It felt as if they had wings.

Chapter 9

1 hour… 2 hours… 3 hours… 4 hours…

Jaegun couldn’t feel the flow of time.

Sweat fell down his face. His ten fingers had grown red from the heat.

-Tap!

“Haaaaa…”

Jaegun sighed as he typed the last line. As he looked around, it was already dark outside. There was a bright moon outside of the window.

“What? How? How long have I worked for?”

The clock read over 7.

He didn’t even remember when he started. Jaegun remembered his sister’s call and checked the call history. It showed about 11.

“8 hours…? What… Why am I… like this?”

He was completely in the zone to the point where he hadn’t rested his fingers at all.

There was never a point in time before where he had put this much effort into writing. Really, he completely forgot about everything except for writing during that time.

‘This is fun! This book has changed so much after these edits.’

Jaegun exclaimed as he looked over the book. He had no basis for the confidence, but he was confident nevertheless. This was something that the producers would like. It was the first time he had this feeling.

Jaegun sent the book to the editors by email. After he had sent it, he heard Rika’s growling.

“Ah Rika, Rika. I’m sorry. You must be hungry?”

It wasn’t just Rika; Jaegun was also starving. He hadn’t ate anything at all today. As he was going to have to walk because he had some things to buy; he put on some clothes and left.

“It’s 45,000 Won”

“What? It is that expensive?”

On the pet store’s counter, Jaegun was surprised as he asked the clerk.

The clerk smiled and replied.

”For that amount of food, it is pretty cheap. It would be cheaper if you purchase it online, but there’s not that big of a difference.”

“It’s… A bit more expensive than I thought.”

“So are you going to buy it?”

“Yes. Yes. Here.”

His hand shook as he gave the money to the clerk. What could you do if you were poor? Imagine how much food he could buy for 45,000 Won.

“See you again.”

Jaegun left the store in a half-shocked state. Rika, who was in his arms, looked at him with her two, bright round eyes, it was as if she was asking ‘what’s wrong.’

“Is that a ‘making fun of me’ look?”

“Meow.”

“I get it. What do you know? It’s fine. My sister always used to say, ‘don’t save money on food; live with plenty of food.’ Since you’re now family… family… Let’s go. Let’s go eat some ramen at home.”

Jaegun moved his body back home.

“I ran out of eggs. I should buy some on the way home. Put 2 eggs in the noodles and bam: a freakingly good meal. Adding rice on top of that would fill me up, don’t need anything else”

-Wiiinnnng!

His phone in his pocket vibrated. As he thought it would be from his best friend Jungjin or his sister, his eyes suddenly widened.

‘What’s the occasion calling this late?’

To think that he would get a call back as soon as he uploaded his updated story. ‘What for? This couldn’t be good’ he thought.

“He-Hello?”

-Mr. Ha. Did you revise this in one day?”

“What? Yeah, I did? Is there something wrong?” He trailed off at the end with a worried voice.

Was this going to be a talk about how it became worse? He thought it got better; however, if he was going to be criticized again, what would he do? With that thought, he clenched his eyes closed.

However—

The following words from the editor completely shook his mind.

-No, you should have wrote like this before!

“What?” Jaegun straightened his back with a bewildered face. The editor’s bright voice continued from the other side.

-Since you changed a few things and altered the flow several times, the story completely changed. I read it well.”

“You read it… well?”

-Yeah. I read it well. Really. Do you think I would say something that’s not true?”

“N-no, of course not.”

The editor wasn’t the type of person to lie. Since he knew the editor for 5 years, he knew he wouldn’t make things up. If he said it was good, it was good. At least, the editor thought it was good.

-There are a few minor errors and mistypes, but it’s not serious. I’ll leave it to the office. Fine?”

“Ye-yeah, that would be great for me.”

-I’ll send it tomorrow to the printing press it worked on. I’ll try to get it published in 4 to 5 days. Oh and Mr. Ha? I don’t know how to say this… but, do you need any money? Should I put in some additional money in the contract?”

“Contract? If you could do that, I would be really happy.”

His voice perked up as he listened to some bright news. He was in the red after he bought that food. If he was a successful writer, he could get money whenever he wanted and more; however, Jaegun definitely not at that stage.

Jaegun’s contract was one that didn’t provide much as his writing didn’t sell well.

-Okay. I’ve just deposited 500,000 Won. I’ll send you the rest for books 1 and 2. It will go in tomorrow at 10 am.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much, editor in chief”

-It’s me who should thank you for this amazing writing. Thank you, Mr.Ha. I hope to see more writing from you. This is will be a hit”

“I hope so”

-Please trust my instincts. This will be a success. Then you’ve worked hard so give yourself a nice rest today.

“Yes, you should rest too editor.”

Jaegun was paralyzed after that phone call. With cat food in one hand and Rika in the other, he couldn’t move at all.

‘My writing… my writing is good?’

5 years after his debut. Since then, all of his work had been dead or failed. He couldn’t see “good” anywhere in the comments.

This was his first compliment.

It wasn’t just any compliment either, it was a huge one.

From an editor who was known for being sharp and objective with his cruel comments, he had heard a compliment. There was no describing this feeling in his chest.

-Drop. Drop. Drop.

Tears fell from his two eyes.

As hot tears fell on her, Rika raised her head. As if to relieve him, she softly his chest.

“Rika… he said it was good…”

“Meow?”

“My writing is good…  My writing… From an editor who rarely gives compliments… he said it was good… you have no idea what type of person that editor is… he said it was good…”

He couldn’t stop the tears from his eyes. Jaegun dropped the cat food and hugged Rika with his two arms. Rika, as if to congratulate him, meowed cutely along.

The weather didn’t feel cold any more.

Chapter 10

The next morning.

Jaegun let out a sigh of relief as he checked his bank account. 2,100,000 Won was deposited in his account.

‘I’m alive…’

Even though it was only the money from making books 1 and 2, he felt glad for the money he earned.

‘This is really a gift from the heavens.’

Today was his father’s birthday.

He was just about to go there empty-handed, but now, with the newly earned money, he could actually prepare a gift.

“Rika, I’m really sorry, but stay home today. My parents really don’t like animals, so it’s gonna be hard to take you; I’ll come back early.”

“Meow.”

Rika shook her head; it was as if she understood and hopped onto the bed. Jaegun quickly put on some clothes and left. It was a one hour journey by subway to go there.

‘It might be better giving cash’

Jaegun changed his mind about the present. It would be awkward if his father didn’t like the present. He hadn’t heard anything good come out of his dad’s mouth ever since he was little. Unlike his mother and sister, his dad was always cold to his son.

As Jaegun left the station, he put 300,000 Won into an envelope. He bought a cream cake as well. His dad wouldn’t eat it, but his sugar loving mom and sister would.

-Ding Dong~

Jaegun arrived at the villa and pressed the doorbell.

The door opened: “I didn’t expect you to arrive this soon. How did you come this early?”

Jaeyn looked at the clock that showed 2 and asked as if she was surprised. Jaegun smiled as he took off his shoes.

“What have you been doing?”

“Since it was a holiday, I was just resting.”

He could tell that was a lie as he looked towards the kitchen. On the table, there were many ingredients and dishes with boiling soup. It was obvious that she has been busily preparing since this morning.

“Did you eat lunch yet? Nevermind, there is no way that you would have.”

“Where’s mom?”

“She went hiking with dad. It should be time for them to come back. Eat first.”

“Okay.”

Jaegun pulled out a chair and sat in front of the table.

Jaeyn made many dishes for her younger brother. She pulled out ham, eggs, beef, kimchi and also, the rice; everything that he liked.

“Thank you for the food.”

“Just eat. Tell me if you want more.”

The food was just as good as ever. The deep taste was something he had never savoured before in any restaurant. Jaegun sometimes told her to set up  a restaurant. It wasn’t a joke, he was serious. His sister’s cooking skill was that good.

“Is it good?”

“Why ask something so obvious?”

“Even though you’re living alone, eat well.”

“Yeah, I got it.”

“It would be good if you come back home…”

“You know our dad doesn’t like me.”

“That’s why I can’t say it, you idiot.”

“Hey.”

“Hmm?”

Jaegun put down his spoon. He swallowed everything inside his mouth and spoke.

“I think everything’s going to work out for me soon.”

“Yeah? What happened?”

Jaegun lowered his eyes and smiled embarrassedly.

Jaeyn slapped his thighs and urged him to continue.

“Come on, stop holding me in suspense. Tell me quickly. Tell me~.”

“The editor said that my book was good.”

“Really? The editor that you spoke to me about on the phone? The one you said that was strict?”

“Yeah, he said it was good. he even gave me money a lot of money, and that’s why…”

He pulled out the envelope that contained 300,000 Won and handed it to Jaeyn.

“Here, a present. Since he’s not gonna take it from me, I think it would be the best if you gave it to him.”

“Yeah…”

Jaeyn took the envelope. As she felt the unexpectedly thick envelope and looked inside, she was shocked.

“How much is this? Wow, this is 300,000?!”

“Why are you surprised by only that much.”

“Hey, take some out, you only have to give dad 100,000 Won”

“Hey, don’t do that.”

“You have to take care of your life first. Don’t overdo it; there’s no need to be prideful towards me.”

Jaegun grabbed her arms and pressured it as he shook his head.

“I’m not being prideful. Just think about how I lived like a loser all these years. Do I have the right to be a miser at this moment?”

“Jaegun…”

“300,000 Won? That’s nothing. In a little while, 3,000,000, no 30,000,000 Won will be coming in. Just please don’t say anything and take it. I’m not burdened by this. I can at least give this much as a gift to dad.”

Jaeyn dropped her head. Jaegun was surprised and took her shoulders and lightly shook them as he spoke.

“You’re going to cry again. Don’t cry. If you cry, I’m leaving.”

“I’m not crying. It’s just some dust in my eyes.”

“You’re lying. Dust, what dust.”

Jaeyn lifted her head and bitterly smiled with a red nose.

“You’re handsome, my little brother.”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m a kid. You’re only three years older.”

“Only three years? Hey, that means I ate 3000 more meals than you. What are you talking about?”

“So that’s why you’re so fat these days.”

“Hey, are you teasing me? I’m exactly 50 kg. Come over here you little brat.”

“Hey, hey. I was joking. I can’t breathe.”

She put her two arms around his neck and squeezed Jaegun’s neck. At that moment, the doorbell rang ‘Ding Dong’.

“You’re saved by the bell.”

Jaeyn went to the door and opened it. Jaegun also stood up and watched the door. His dad and his mother were stepping in with their hiking attire.

“You came back.”

“Ooooohhh, you’re here early, my Jaegun.”

His mother took off her shoes and immediately came to hug him.

His dad stood behind her and slowly took off his shoes.

“Why are you so slim. You only eat ramen now, don’t you?”

“No, I’m eating well. Why are you so slim though?”

“This kid’s teasing his mom? I’ve put on a lot of weight these days. Honey, don’t you think Jaegun is teasing me? Right?”

His father didn’t respond. He took off his shoes and stepped onto to the living room with a stoic face, brushed past Jaegun and went into his room.

“Hoooh, that old man… Jaegun, you understand. He just had a drink.”

“I’m fine.”

“I’ll go and see to him. Go with your sister, son.”

His mother slapped him on the butt, and she followed his father into the room.

He could hear their voices from the room. Their volume slowly got louder and louder and eventually turned into shouts.

“Why are you acting like this, honey! Don’t you think about Jaegun’s feelings? Let’s take it easy today, okay?!”

“What would even come out of that bastard’s feelings? Who told him he could come here! I can’t stand his face! What? Writing? Ha, he can’t even provide for himself and he wants to write novels like others? There’s no need to feed a pathetic bastard like him so take him out quickly! Get him out! Go tell him to write his so-called poems and roleplay as a scholar!”

“You’re really!”

Jaegun slowly moved his footsteps to the front door. While Jaegun was putting on his shoes, Jaeyn behind him was about to implode with emotion and tears.

“Jaegun…”

She had no words to say to her brother.

He didn’t know his father would be like this on his birthday. Taking on a job of a writer had its consequences. From the moment he set out on that path, his father rejected him. His dad’s fury still lasted until now. Today was a reality check.

“Give mom some comforting words. I’m leaving”

“I’m sorry. I’ll come over soon when I get a day off.”

“You don’t have to. I’ll call.”

Jaegun turned around and walked away from the house with Jaeyn’s teary eyes behind him. As he walked towards the subway station, his heart wasn’t only filled with sadness; it was now filled with determination. His walking grew more resolute and filled with strength.

‘Just you wait, father. I’ll be back.’

Jaegun gathered his will power and bit his lips.

In the past, when he was chewed out by his father, he abandoned his writing and looked for a bottle of soju. That was how much of a mental impact the insults had on him. However, today wasn’t the day for that. He started to see a glimpse of his future that had been fading out now. He quickened his footsteps; he needed to write the next martial arts novel for the contract.

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Big Life

Big Life

빅 라이프
Score 8.4
Status: Completed Type: Author: , Artist: Released: 2015 Native Language: Korean, English
Death, Depression, Poverty, Love issues – all things that a 27-year-old no-name writer faces. Yet, with one fateful day, one fateful supernatural event, he gains the powers of a dead genius writer. Everything changes after that, and success after success comes to him. Yet, he has a rival in love and writing, one who is also a famous writer and son of an international publishing corporation. This rival will do anything he can with his influence to beat him into submission. This is a story of a writer, who must succeed against all odds.

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