Big Life Chapter 111-115

Loud Cheers (6)

Oh Myung-Hoon admired the night view of the cityscape from his office studio in the high-rise building at the city center. He was listening to the meeting recordings through his earphones recorded by Hye-Mi.

— This NPC is a knight guarding the dungeon’s entrance, right? He’s not even the subordinate of the demon lord, but he’s just there wanting to meet a true warrior? Hah, seriously. Does it make any sense? I can’t tell if he’s stupid enough to forget his duty as a knight or if he has nothing else to do.

Oh Myung-Hoon frowned and bit his lips.

Director Nam Gyu-Ho was constantly criticizing the scenario which he had written.

— I mentioned previously that this teahouse girl’s quest was boring, but it’s still the same? Just how stubborn is he?

— This part about the adventurer’s friends, do friends really scold each other like this? It’s really irking me. Does Writer Oh talk like that with his friends?

— Ah, I’m getting a headache. Do I have to keep looking at this? Where is Team Leader Lee Soo-Hee? Ask her to come here now!

All Oh Myung-Hoon heard were Nam Gyu-Ho’s harsh words. Oh Myung-Hoon’s hand that was gripping his phone shook like an aspen tree in the wind.

His patience had also run out. The moment he couldn’t stand to listen to the criticisms and was about to yank out his earphones, Nam Gyu-Ho started,

— Team Leader Lee, are you still in contact with the writer you mentioned before? What was his name again? Ha Jae-Gun? I think we need an additional writer on the team.

“…?!”

Oh Myung-Hoon’s eyes shot wide open. Lee Soo-Hee’s reply came next.

— Yes, he also agreed to hold a lecture.

— Really? I’ll see him on that day then. Let’s end this here now.

Oh Myung-Hoon threw his earphones down. He placed both his hands on the full frontal glass windows and dropped his head facing the floor. Behind him, the door opened and in came Hye-Mi, who was only in her lingerie.

“Mr. Myung-Hoon, are you not going to sleep?” Hye-Mi asked sleepily as she rubbed her eyes. Her hair was in a mess, and she was still wearing her makeup.

Oh Myung-Hoon didn’t turn around.

Hye-Mi walked to him quietly and hugged him from behind.

“Ah, you’re so warm…”

“Take a shower.”

“What?”

“The chauffeur is waiting for you downstairs. He’ll drive you home,” Oh Myung-Hoon said calmly and turned around.

Hye-Mi was stunned at his cold tone. She then covered her chest with her arms at the belated embarrassment and realization.

‘She can’t even compare to her.’

Lee Soo-Hee’s face overlapped with Hye-Mi’s face in Oh Myung-Hoon’s mind. It was too shameful to even compare Hye-Mi to Lee Soo-Hee. It was also his mistake to bring her into his office.

“I get it, I’ll leave.”

Hye-Mi washed her face and put on her clothes. Oh Myung-Hoon followed her to the foyer, pulled out his wallet, and said, “Thank you for today. Buy whatever you want with these.”

Hye-Mi’s gaze quivered upon seeing the three million won in Oh Myung-Hoon’s hands. She revealed a tearful look and asked, “Why are you giving me money? It feels weird like that. I’m not dating you for your money.”

Hye-Mi looked like she was about to cry. Oh Myung-Hoon stared at her affectionately before pulling her into a hug and comforting her.

“I’m just thankful to you, but this is all I can do for you now, so don’t feel burdened or have any foolish thoughts. Just accept these.”

Oh Myung-Hoon slipped the money into her bag.

He pulled away from the hug and smiled at her.

Hye-Mi couldn’t find words to reply and slowly turned around.

‘Phew, she’s so annoying! Why is she talking so much when she’s still going to keep the money, anyway?’

Oh Myung-Hoon ruffled his hair as soon as Hye-Mi left his studio. He should have known earlier that she was such a sentimental woman.

Tadadak! Tadak! Tadadadak!

Left all alone, Oh Myung-Hoon started working on the scenario. He started editing the areas that Nam Gyu-Ho had pointed out during the meeting. He could no longer stand the hyena that was trying to step into his—the lion’s territory.

***

On an August day, the heat wave reached its peak.

The movie—Summer in My 20s—was released nationwide.

The film’s distributor and investor, Newdon, secured more-than-average screens and pushed ahead with aggressive marketing. The main players in the marketing fell on two key people.

One was on Ha Jae-Gun, the bestselling author of the original novel Summer in My 20s, as well as the currently most popular actor, Park Do-Joon.

The movie was released, but Ha Jae-Gun remained calm, as he had already seen the movie during the preview. Even on the day of release, Ha Jae-Gun was focused on writing his scenario in the office.

He was almost done with the scenario. He only needed to write the ending.

“Writer Ha, we’ll be heading out first, then.”

Kang Min-Ho spoke cautiously from behind.

Ha Jae-Gun turned around with a smile to see everyone else prepared to leave the office.

“Enjoy yourselves. Please don’t return with curses for me after watching the movie.”

“Hahaha, no way. We’ll be back later.”

Bzzt!

As soon as they left, Ha Jae-Gun’s phone rang.

“Oh, noona.”

— Are you really not going to come? Your novel is being adapted into a movie, we should all watch it together as a family.

Ha Jae-Gun could feel Ha Jae-In stamping her feet while saying that.

Ha Jae-Gun looked into the air and said dryly, “I’m not feeling well. You can just go ahead with Mom and Father.”

— Lies again. Wait and see. Whatever, bye.

Ha Jae-Gun let out a sigh as he comforted himself. He knew his family’s preferences the best. His family would definitely feel disappointed in the movie. He didn’t want to see them pretending to be fine after the movie while trying to cheer him up.

“Rika, come here.”

Rika jumped onto the desk and sat next to the keyboard. They rubbed noses, and Ha Jae-Gun said, “Bite me if I look up Summer in My 20s on the internet, all right?”

“Meow?”

“Mm, thank you. I’m going to work now.”

Tadadadak! Tadak! Tadadak!

Ha Jae-Gun focused once more and started working on his scenario again. He decided not to waste any more time and emotions on a movie that had left his hands long ago.

***

The late summer days passed quickly as more characters filled up Ha Jae-Gun’s monitor. Articles kept pouring even ten days after the release of the movie—Summer in My 20s.

[Summer in My 20s broke even in just ten days since release. The audience response, ‘Huh?’]

[Summer in My 20s overseas blockbuster in talks]

[Audience count hits 3 million, Looking into Summer in My 20s]

[Popularity never falters, how high will Summer in My 20s go?]

Most of the people around Ha Jae-Gun had gone to the cinemas to watch the movie, and they all told him that they had enjoyed the movie.

Ha Jae-Gun appreciated their words, but he also felt disgusted. No one had given him a detailed review of the movie, perhaps out of consideration.

Aside from one person—his best friend—Park Jung-Jin.

Park Jung-Jin was one of the last few people who watched the movie due to his busy schedule at work. Park Jung-Jin raged as soon as he met Ha Jae-Gun.

“Fuck, how is this Director Woo Jae-Hoon’s level of movie? It’s not even worth my money. I want to request a round of sparring right now.”

Ha Jae-Gun laughed despondently as he filled Park Jung-Jin’s glass with soju.

The best friends met at a bar near the cinema. Their meeting was long overdue, but it was filled with curses.

“It would have been different if I had watched the movie first before reading your novel. I might even watch it just to kill time as well. I really didn’t expect them to destroy your original work to such an extent.”

“Stop it.”

“I haven’t even started yet, why are you asking me to stop? Wow, I almost fainted at the scene when Han Joo-Hee fought with the former martial arts athlete one-on-one. Everyone laughed at how ridiculous that scene was.”

Park Jung-Jin kept on pointing out the bad parts of the movie, as well as the huge difference it had from the original novel.

Ha Jae-Gun quietly emptied his soju shots while listening.

“Look, it’s not just me.” Park Jung-Jin handed Ha Jae-Gun his phone.

Ha Jae-Gun looked down and saw many one-liner reviews from the audience.

– This is crazy kekeke I should’ve known this when Woo Jae-Hoon was the director of this movie. Who’s to blame here?

– You can’t watch this with the original novel in mind… I think high school film clubs or indie films would do even better than this. I’m curious about this director’s double-play…

– You guys talk too much. Why don’t you guys just film it yourselves? I find it funny since I watched it without any thoughts in mind hahaha

– I’ve just experienced the quality of Korea’s films once again. I’m an idiot for having any expectations for the movie just because I enjoyed the original novel.

– I’ve recovered from all sorts of diseases after watching this movie.

– Wow, I never knew they could ruin such a great novel.

– I think Writer Ha Jae-Gun must be having soju now. T.T

“Wow, that last review was spot on. How did they know you’re drinking soju now?”

“You can still joke right now?”

“I know. You watched it at the preview and were even prepared. But you should be relieved that the responses turned out this way. I thought it would flop, but you still got over three million viewers.”

Bzzt!

All of a sudden, Ha Jae-Gun’s phone vibrated on the steel table.

The call came from Oh Myung-Suk.

Ha Jae-Gun excused himself and took the call.

“Yes, editor-in-chief.”

— Hello, Mr. Ha. I’m relieved that the viewership is better than expected. At this rate, we might hit four million viewers soon.

“It’s quite fascinating since many online reviews are curses.”

— That is how it usually is. There are countless popular movies with bad ratings in the market. Oh, I’ve got some good news as well. Thanks to the movie, the sales of Summer in My 20s increased once again.

“Again?”

— Yes, it’ll soon hit 1.5 million copies. Congratulations.

“Hahaha, thank you. It’s all thanks to your marketing efforts.”

— Anyway, I think we can proceed with Gangster’s Sea as it is. The film treatment version you sent is quite clean, too. It’s much better to have the gangster living happily with the female lead at the end instead of ending it with his death. People are into happy endings recently since it gives them hope.

“That’s good to hear. I’ll go ahead and start working on the novel, then.”

— Yes, please. Enjoy your evening. Oh, and I’ve transferred the advanced royalties to you, so please verify that as well.

“Ah, the advanced royalties? I haven’t even written the novel yet, but thank you. Please enjoy your dinner as well,” said Ha Jae-Gun before ending the call a few moments later.

Park Jung-Jin asked, “Advanced royalties? Are you talking about Gangster’s Sea?”

“Yeah, I’ll be writing a novel with the scenario as the foundation and publish that first,” Ha Jae-Gun replied as he accessed his bank’s online banking.

Indeed, a hundred million won had been transferred to his account from the OongSung Publication Group.

“How much did you get?”

“Mm, a hundred million.”

Park Jung-Jin reeled in shock. “A hundred million? How could you say that number so casually? Your novel hasn’t even been penned just yet but what? A hundred million in advanced royalties?

”You’re getting 14%, right? I heard it from someone I know who works there. Aren’t you getting the best treatment among the writers of Korea? Aren’t you already on Lee Man-Yeol or Gong Ji-Yong’s level?”

Park Jung-Jin was right.

Ha Jae-Gun’s contract had the best terms in the entire of Korea.

The company couldn’t give above 14% in royalties, as they could only break even if the novel sold over 100,000 copies in the first print. This was the market standard because of the additional costs like marketing.

Of course, bonus royalties would be given after the release depending on the number of copies sold.

“It’s my treat tonight, so stop it.”

“Of course, you have to. But not alone. I’ll call Hyo-Jin and Soo-Hee to join me in this feast.”

“I’ve called them over already. They should be on their way now.”

“What, really? Wow, you’re the best!”

“You’re so obvious, man.”

***

On the same night, Director Woo Jae-Hoon appeared on the entertainment news.

He was sitting with his legs crossed as he answered the host’s questions.

“Word is you’ve made a successful comeback with Summer in My 20s. How do you feel about it?”

“First of all, I feel relieved. I am most grateful to actor Park Do-Joon for his great acting.”

“Ah, but there are also reviews saying that the movie was very different from the original novel and that it also failed to bring out the best parts of the novel. Could you share your thoughts about those reviews?”

Woo Jae-Hoon glared at the host. His gaze seemed to be saying, “Why did you bring up such a ridiculous question?”

However, he couldn’t possibly show his brazen side in front of so many cameras.

Woo Jae-Hoon calmed himself down and replied, “Hmm, there were a lot of issues with the original novel in the first place.”

“Issues?”

“So um… We faced a lot of difficulties while filming. The characters in the story are ambiguous, and the timeline of the background is quite complicated as well. We have to amend quite a bit of all those throughout the filming process. Anyway, I’m relieved to hear that the people liked it.”

Click!

Woo Jae-Hoon’s face disappeared as the screen abruptly turned black. Ha Jae-Gun’s face appeared on the screen, and he looked like he was in despair as he stared blankly at the black screen.

Chapter 112. Loud Cheers (7)

“What…?” Ha Jae-Gun muttered incredulously.

Woo Jae-Hoon’s words were no different from saying, “It’s all thanks to my directing that this movie could gain this much popularity.” Woo Jae-Hoon had concealed his usual flippant personality and expressed it in a roundabout manner because he was on a live broadcast.

‘Am I the only one taking this seriously?’

Ha Jae-Gun clenched his trembling fist in deep thought.

He wondered if it was all because he was the author of the original novel, and that was why he took it seriously and to heart that everyone else didn’t find the director’s remark to be an issue.

‘I can’t…’

Ha Jae-Gun realized one thing.

Ever since he had made the decision to go ahead with the movie adaptation and wash his hands off it, the issue still clung onto him, tugging so very often in the back of his mind.

He had been turning a blind eye to it, but he finally saw that his work—which was akin to his alter-ego—had been unreasonably looked down upon, and he was giddy with rage.

Bzzt!

Ha Jae-Gun was surprised to see Lee Yeon-Woo calling him so late, as it was nearly midnight. He answered the call immediately, wondering what made the boy call him at this hour.

“Yeah, Lee Yeon-Woo.”

— Hyung, what’s going on? Did you see the broadcast?!

Lee Yeon-Woo’s furious voice was so loud that it hurt Ha Jae-Gun’s ears.

“Broadcast?”

— Did you see what bullshit that Director Woo Jae-Hoon—Ah, I’m sorry for raising my voice, hyung. I was just too angry.

Ha Jae-Gun could vividly imagine Lee Yeon-Woo’s furious look.

Ha Jae-Gun finally realized why Lee Yeon-Woo had called, and he frowned.

“So you saw it, too.”

— Hyung. How can anyone say something like that? Isn’t he just blatantly saying that the original novel was bad and the movie was this successful, all thanks to his skills?! Why didn’t the broadcast station edit that portion out of the show?!

“They must have thought that it wasn’t that excessive of a comment to be removed. Calm down.”

— How can I calm down? I’m going crazy about it. Wow, seriously! How dare he spit on the original novel when he’s just a stupid director who had ruined countless other movies?!

“All right, stop it.”

Ha Jae-Gun smiled. He was truly grateful that Lee Yeon-Woo was so furious as if this was his personal issue. Lee Yeon-Woo’s anger had assuaged his own anger before it could boil over.

— Hyung! Don’t give a shit about that sloppy director. That’s just shit barking and not human language. Okay?! Summer in My 20s is the best!

“I get it. Thank you. It’s late now, so go to sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow at the office.”

— Okay, hyung. You should rest well, too, I’ll see you tomorrow. That bastard…!

Lee Yeon-Woo’s angry muttering could still be heard until the call ended. Ha Jae-Gun put his phone down and did some stretching. He was still smiling.

‘Thank you, Yeon-Woo.’

It would be absurd if a single call from Lee Yeon-Woo could erase all the anger in Ha Jae-Gun’s heart. However, he did receive some comfort from the latter. At least, the resentment that wouldn’t have helped him in any way had disappeared.

‘I don’t have to be worried about it. I just have to be myself as always.’

Ha Jae-Gun steeled his resolve, but he decided to lie down in his bed instead of returning to his desk. It was time for him to sleep and regain his energy. However, Park Jung-Jin was snoring loudly and was occupying the entire bed.

***

The next morning, Ha Jae-Gun woke Park Jung-Jin up, and the pair of best friends ate some lunch boxes that they had bought from the convenience store for breakfast.

“Are the lunchboxes at convenience stores getting better these days?”

“Yeah, but I get sick of them if I eat them too often.”

Park Jung-Jin chewed while looking around the studio. His eyes were filled with premature longing. “I think this will be my last day seeing this studio.”

“Nonsense, you should come help me on the moving day, too.”

Park Jung-Jin immediately pretended to throw up.

“Just hire some people to help you move, man! Why are you making your friend a slave when you’re earning so much money?”

“I’ve got important stuff, so help me with them.”

“You’ll be dead meat if you just treat me to black bean noodles afterward. Anyway, how much is your new house?”

“1.33 billion.”

“Fucking expensive. What’s with the thirty million at the end? Can’t they just give you the discount?”

“It was 1.4 billion, but I negotiated a seventy million discount.”

Their conversation ended there.

Park Jung-Jin hurried to the shower and put his clothes back on. He patted down his crumpled shirt and grumbled, “Damn, I’ll have to go to work looking like this again. I should have gone straight home last night.”

“Hey, everyone else stopped you, but you wanted to go for a third round, and that’s how we ended back at my house, right?”

“Whatever. I’m going to take a walk to sober up; don’t follow me.” Park Jung-Jin was about to step out, but he turned around and said, “Don’t mind that dumbass director.”

“You’ve already looked it up on the internet?”

“I’m going now.” Park Jung-Jin stepped out and closed the door behind him.

Ha Jae-Gun smiled once more, grateful to his best friend. Park Jung-Jin was never really good at consoling others, but he did it for Ha Jae-Gun, anyway.

It was time for Ha Jae-Gun to prepare to head out for work.

The morning air was unusually fresh today.

“Let’s go, Rika.”

Ha Jae-Gun started working at 9 a.m. The feeling of typing away on the keyboard while sipping his hot coffee seemed much more enjoyable today.

“Writer Ha, you seem to be in a good mood today,” Jung So-Mi asked as they stepped out for lunch.

Jung So-Mi would usually come to the office whenever she had to work on the illustrations, as the computers in the office had better specifications.

“Well, it’s all because the weather is great today,” said Ha Jae-Gun with a bright smile, but he lied.

He had actually been linked to Jung So-Mi’s emotions the entire morning while working on Gangster’s Sea. Thanks to her, it was easier for him to pen the descriptions for the charms and psychology of the female character, Ba-Da.

After lunch, Ha Jae-Gun continued working. Thankfully, Jung So-Mi did not step out of the office and continued working in the office as well.

‘Mm…!’

It was already past 3 p.m. Ha Jae-Gun paused his work and stretched his back.

The evident fatigue was weighing down on him.

‘I got tired much faster today than yesterday. Is it because of the drinks I had with them last night?’

However, he hadn’t drunk a lot last night. He had less than a bottle of soju, as he was worried about his work for the next day.

Ha Jae-Gun stood up and was about to make himself another cup of coffee, but he spotted Rika lying down by the windowsill.

‘…Rika?’

Ha Jae-Gun approached Rika quietly and waved his finger over her face.

She didn’t respond.

‘Hmm?’

Rika would usually curl up and nap whenever Ha Jae-Gun was working, but she would immediately wake up whenever Ha Jae-Gun moved.

“Rika, are you sleeping?” Ha Jae-Gun asked, gently stroking her neck.

Rika opened her sleepy eyes and stared at Ha Jae-Gun before letting out a soft cry.

‘Wait…!’

Ha Jae-Gun suddenly thought of something the moment his gaze met with Rika’s.

He had never thought of it before, but his jaw dropped open upon recalling the previous instances.

‘Now that I think about it, I get tired faster than usual whenever I use Rika’s ability, and there were also a couple of times when I fell asleep without realizing it.’

Ha Jae-Gun’s eyes remained on Rika as he slowly made the connection.

Could it be that Rika would also get exhausted while they were connected? Perhaps it was much more taxing on Rika, as she was the medium that had to keep the connection up between Ha Jae-Gun and his target.

‘Rika, am I right?’

Ha Jae-Gun asked inwardly as he got on his knee and stared at her at eye level. Rika yawned before slowly picking herself up. She then licked his nose in reply to his question.

Jang Eun-Young turned around and saw Ha Jae-Gun staring at Rika

“Writer Ha? Is Rika feeling unwell?” she asked.

“No, I’m just… talking to her.”

Jang Eun-Young grinned, then burst into a chuckle. “I get jealous of your relationship sometimes. Are you sure you’re not going to marry Rika?”

“…!” Jung So-Mi flinched and paused. She turned around wide-eyed. The other party was Rika, but the word marry had caught her attention.

‘Sorry, Rika. I won’t go over an hour a day next time.’

‘Meow.’

Ha Jae-Gun and Rika replied to each other telepathically. Ha Jae-Gun hugged Rika once more and had his coffee before returning to his desk. He reached out for his keyboard and took a deep breath.

‘Let me try this on my own. I shouldn’t depend too much on her if it’s tiring her out.’

Ha Jae-Gun slowly closed his eyes.

He recalled all the moments he had come into contact with Jung So-Mi, and his fingers moved slowly as he typed genuine lines while imagining Jung So-Mi as Ba-Da.

***

– Editor-in-chief, I’m sending you the draft of Gangster’s Sea. Please look through it and give me a call afterward.

“Hmm? He’s already done with the first draft?”

Oh Myung-Suk looked at the calendar, double-checking that it had indeed been a week since he had asked Ha Jae-Gun to start working on the novel.

“Was he already writing it before I asked him? He’s so diligent, as always.”

Oh Myung-Suk chuckled and accessed his email inbox. He clicked on the email section and opened the attached document.

‘He’s great as usual. It’s as interesting as the scenario.’

Oh Myung-Suk was engrossed in Ha Jae-Gun’s novel right off the bat.

Cho Kang-Jae was the leader of the gang dominating Seoul and Incheon. He was hired to attack Kim Pil-Woo, the head of his rival gang, in exchange for money that would resolve the issue of his parents’ hospital bills. However, he failed, and his attack ended up as an attempted murder case.

He withdrew his initial plan to turn himself in and chose to flee.

A huge gang war occurred between Cho Kang-Jae and Kim Pil-Woo’s gangs, and new information traveled to Cho Kang-Jae’s ears. Kim Pil-Woo apparently had a secret daughter.Ñ00v€l–ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

Cho Kang-Jae devised a plan to make use of Ba-Da on the negotiation table, and that was how he embarked on the journey to a small city in the East Sea looking for Ba-Da.

Oh Myung-Suk finished reading the draft in slightly over an hour.

While making himself a cup of coffee, he called Ha Jae-Gun.

— Hello, editor-in-chief.

“Hello, Mr. Ha. I’ve finished reading the draft for Gangster’s Sea. It’s great. When did you write this?”

— Well, the first half of the scenario is done, and we’ve already agreed on the ending for it as well, so it wasn’t that difficult. However, the scenario isn’t complete yet. How did you find the novel?

“I already told you that it was great, didn’t I? I think it’s as interesting as Summer in My 20s, but it’s much more outstanding. Our domestic readers love some drama, so I’m sure it’ll be a hit. I don’t think it’s too much of an issue even if we push ahead with the draft alone.”

— Thank you, but I’ll still have to make revisions.

“I’m sorry, but I might need you to hurry on the revisions if possible. Summer in My 20s is still going strong, and if we release a novel to ride that momentum, the sales will reach greater heights.”

— I guess I’ll have to do that. Can you give me about a week’s time?

“What? A week? Hahaha, you don’t have to push that far. We can do with a month for the novel’s revision.”

— Okay, that’s more than enough time for me. I’ll try my best to submit it earlier. Is there anything else you want to point out about the novel?

“Ah, mm. It’s not really that important…” Oh Myung-Suk trailed off as he looked at the novel’s title. “I was thinking that we might have to change the novel’s title.”

— Ah, the title… I thought it wasn’t that bad because the female character’s name is called Ba-Da, and she lives by the sea as well…

Hearing Ha Jae-Gun’s dejected tone, Oh Myung-Suk hurriedly said, “Yes, the title is not bad. But… it feels weird with the word gangster in it. It feels somewhat harsh and stark.”

— How about A Wastrel’s Sea?

Oh Myung-Suk almost let out an audible sigh.

“Um, Writer Ha. How about we consider taking another perspective to come up with the title? I’ll come up with a few options as well.”

— Thank you as always…

Oh Myung-Suk stayed on the call for a while more before hanging up. He then called an employee of Mysterium’s editing department.

“Please inform the entire editorial department. Have everyone read the draft of Gangster’s Sea and come up with at least ten decent titles to be submitted by tomorrow.”

With that, Oh Myung-Suk looked out the window and stared at the clear blue skies of late summer.

He sipped on his coffee while trying to come up with a few decent titles himself. He also started mentally listing a few directors just in case the novel got popular enough to get adapted into a movie.

Chapter 113. Loud Cheers (8)

“You’re here, Director.”

“Oh yeah~! Nice to see you!”

Woo Jae-Hoon’s footsteps were full of vigor as he stepped into the office of Newdon, a film distribution and investment company.

The audience count for Summer in My 20s had gone past 3.5 million. He was so proud about it that he even recently started saying that he had built two buildings on each of his shoulders.

“Do-Joon.”

“Hello, Director.” Park Do-Joon stood up awkwardly to greet the older man while he was reading a book. Park Do-Joon’s hairstyle had changed to a two-block cut after the movie.

“What book is that?” Woo Jae-Hoon asked as he sat on the sofa across from Park Do-Joon. “Oscar’s Dungeon? A fantasy?”

“It’s by Writer Ha Jae-Gun. His original pen name was Poongchun-Yoo, and he started out writing martial arts and fantasy genre novels.”

“Let me borrow the volume one for a while if you have it right now.”

Woo Jae-Hoon took the book and opened chapter one. The martial arts genre was fine, but he wasn’t the type to easily go for fantasy genres. However, it was different if the story was written by Ha Jae-Gun.

“Hm, it’s quite interesting.”

“Please make fantasy stories like this into a movie.”

“Where are we? In Hollywood? Why don’t you invest in it, and I’ll make you something.”

Woo Jae-Hoon stopped reading after five minutes and closed the book.

“Lend me this book, I’ll read it at home.”

“You should just buy it at the bookstore,” Park Do-Joon grumbled and handed Woo Jae-Hoon volume two of the novel.

Woo Jae-Hoon accepted the book before finally getting to the point.

“Mysterium sent in another proposal.”

“What proposal is it?”

“Ha Jae-Gun’s next novel. The scenario is half-done, and they said that they would release the novel first, so they’re working on the novel right now. Here.”

Park Do-Joon accepted the set of papers from Woo Jae-Hoon.

The cover page was labeled Gangster’s Sea (Working Title). It consisted of the half-completed scenario and a film treatment of the story’s latter half.

“Seeing how they started sending proposals, they must be quite confident in this novel as well,” Woo Jae-Hoon said indifferently.

Park Do-Joon started reading the scenario seriously and looked up after a while.

“I’ve finished reading it.”

“What do you think?”

“It’s interesting. The main character Cho Kang-Jae is quite charming.”

Woo Jae-Hoon nodded in agreement, seemingly having expected this answer from Park Do-Joon and replied, “I’m looking to schedule a meeting with them.”

“With whom?”

“Who else? Myung-Suk and Ha Jae-Gun, of course.”

Park Do-Joon raised an eyebrow with a slight frown.

Woo Jae-Hoon observed the latter’s expression. He sounded boastful as he said, “Well, like Summer in My 20s, Ha Jae-Gun’s writing is worth using, isn’t it? Plus, OongSung will continue financing the films, so even if this novel doesn’t sell over a million copies, it could still hit a few hundred thousand copies. Don’t you think so?”

Woo Jae-Hoon pulled out a stick of cigarette and put it into his mouth.

The frown on Park Do-Joon’s face did not go away.

‘Will Ha Jae-Gun accept it?’

It wasn’t Woo Jae-Hoon’s first time disparaging Ha Jae-Gun’s personality and skills in front of Park Do-Joon. He had even scratched the tip of the iceberg, saying that Ha Jae-Gun’s original work was quite problematic in the broadcast interview.

“Director, do you hate Ha Jae-Gun?”

“Of course, I hate him. The young ink slinger only gained some popularity, so how dare he glare and act arrogant—” Woo Jae-Hoon caught himself. He took a few more puffs of his cigarette before letting out a huge cloud of smoke.

“Anyway, work is work. There haven’t been any other scenarios that managed to catch my eye, so why don’t I work with his scenario rather than wait?”

Woo Jae-Hoon couldn’t stay truthful to himself.

To be honest, Woo Jae-Hoon was on the losing end. Ha Jae-Gun’s work was undeniably good, and he secretly admitted that it was thanks to the popularity of the original novel that his movie was still considered a success.

Moreover, if Ha Jae-Gun’s next novel were to be adapted into a movie again, the investors would swarm in like bees, opening their wallets up to finance the production.

Woo Jae-Hoon had barely made a comeback with Summer in My 20s, so he wanted to ride on Ha Jae-Gun’s bus to cement his comeback with the next movie.

“Do-Joon, do your best at the meeting, and let’s make it big once more.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. I thought that you would fit the male lead, Cho Kang-Jae, quite well. He’s in his late twenties, so you’re quite similar in terms of age. It feels like Ha Jae-Gun created that character with you in mind.”

Park Do-Joon looked down at the script again, unable to reply.

In fact, Park Do-Joon was getting drawn to the character—Cho Kang-Jae. He wanted to play the role of a young gangster who was being tormented by both his parents’ hospital bills as well as the daughter of his rival gang boss. He also had faith in the story’s level of completion since Ha Jae-Gun wrote it.

“Hmm? Do-Joon. What do you think? Forget about dramas and do one more movie with me.” Woo Jae-Hoon couldn’t wait any longer and urged him.

Honestly, he was anxious. Newdon definitely wasn’t the only one that received the proposal. Woo Jae-Hoon had to get this project in his hands before the other companies beat him to it.

“Can you persuade him?” Park Do-Joon asked in a serious voice. He looked up and continued. “I think Ha Jae-Gun’s quite prideful as well.”

“Well, he’s still a greenhorn.”

“There’s no way he would have missed that broadcast interview.”

“Fuck, I asked them to edit that out. That damn journalist spewed nonsense to make me all emotional. Anyway, I’ll deal with that personally and keep myself in check, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

Woo Jae-Hoon took out another stick of cigarette.

Park Do-Joon sighed in frustration.

He was worried even if they managed to come to a compromise. Above all, he was the most worried about the director, and he couldn’t help but think of himself as pathetic, as he couldn’t reject the man because of the gratitude he owed him.

***

“Wow, how many inches is this? Eighty inches? This is crazy!” Lee Yeon-Woo exclaimed as he stared at the huge TV sitting in the middle of the living room. He had come to visit Ha Jae-Gun’s new house after the move.

“Wow, look at the home theater. This is totally a cinema on its own!”

Lee Yeon-Woo paced around the house excitedly. New home appliances decorated the interior at the right spots. The European-style interior looked more refined and great now that the appliances were here.

“He must have spent a huge amount of money on the interior. Oh? Is he planning to make something in the basement?”

Lee Yeon-Woo saw mountains of construction materials piled up in the basement.

It was so tough to find even a flat ground to step on that Lee Yeon-Woo had to walk out after only a few moments in the basement.

Just then, Ha Jae-Gun had just come out of the shower, towel-drying his wet hair.

“Hyung, is something still under construction for the basement?”

“Yeah? Since I’m going to fix the entire garden, I might as well turn the basement into a lounge since my friends and family will be dropping by as well.”

“Lounge? What are you installing in there?”

“I’ve got plans to install a bar, a second-hand billiards table, a soccer table, a pinball game machine, and a dart game machine for now.

”Ah, I’m going to add some arcade games, too, the ones that you have to use tokens to play. I love those classic games, you see.”

Lee Yeon-Woo’s jaws dropped, and he soon raised both of his thumbs at Ha Jae-Gun. “Hyung, I think I can live in your basement for the rest of my life! Hyung, how good are you at billiards? Argh, I’m going crazy!”

Ha Jae-Gun grinned as Lee Yeon-Woo bubbled over in excitement.

Ha Jae-Gun felt safe since a full security system had been installed with the help of a third-party vendor. Every issue with the house had been resolved, and there were only a few construction projects left.

“I don’t think I can go to the office for the next few days. I’ll have to stay home to work because of the construction projects,” Ha Jae-Gun said.

“Okay, hyung. Since I’m here today, can I work here with you?”

“Sure. Let’s go up.”

Ha Jae-Gun brought Lee Yeon-Woo up to the study on the second floor.

A pair of antique double doors were left wide open. The study’s interior—as well as Rika standing in the middle of the study—appeared in front of them. The empty bookshelves were now filled with books.

“Wow, hyung. You’ve added so many books, how many books are here?” Lee Yeon-Woo exclaimed in amazement.

“I’m not sure. Probably over five thousand.”Discover, Devour, Delight: N♡vεlB¡n.

“Have you read all of them?”

“I just bought them, so how can I possibly read them all so quickly? I’ll just have to start reading them from now on.”

However, Ha Jae-Gun had already read over five hundred of those books.

He couldn’t sleep last night, so he decided to do some reading with the brown horn-rimmed glasses. He took an hour to read twenty books, but he didn’t mind it because reading was an important part of a writer’s life.

Ha Jae-Gun and Lee Yeon-Woo sat next to each other with their laptops on the long table placed next to the bookshelves. Rika curled by the window while on guard duty and was staring at the garden downstairs.

Bzzt!

A call from Oh Myung-Suk came in.

Out of consideration for Lee Yeon-Woo, Ha Jae-Gun took his phone and left the study.

“Yes, editor-in-chief.”

— Hello, Mr. Ha. How is the writing going along?

“It’s going along swimmingly.”

— That’s a relief. I’ve called to inform you that I’ve received a few interview requests from a few newspapers. Navin as well as Dawoom reached out for an interview request as well. I was wondering if it would be good to accept interviews from a couple of them since we’re about to release the next novel.

“I’ll go along with your decision, editor-in-chief.”

— Okay, I’ll go ahead with Navin, then. There’s one other thing. I’ve sent out the proposals for the movie adaptation, and Director Woo Jae-Hoon was the first to respond.

“Hmm, I see…”

Ha Jae-Gun’s reply trailed off as the scene of Woo Jae-Hoon with a sly look on the TV surfaced in his mind.

— He seems to be keeping a low profile, and he had even mentioned the broadcast interview himself.

“What did he say about it?”

— He said that it was edited with malicious intent to reel in viewership ratings. He said that there were a lot of issues related to the contract for the original novel, but he had no intentions of disparaging your work.

Ha Jae-Gun squeezed the back of his stiff neck with his free hand.

There was a moment of silence until Oh Myung-Suk shattered it.

— What do you think, Mr. Ha?

“What about you, editor-in-chief?”

— I think it’s not a bad idea to arrange a meeting with Director Woo Jae-Hoon, regardless of the possible negotiation results. The movie was indeed a success, and the investors were happy with it despite the audience response.

“As expected,” Ha Jae-Gun answered and organized his thoughts.

If the meeting were held, they would most likely put the main focus on the scenario. The key issue this time would be if they would allow Ha Jae-Gun to write the scenario himself.

— It’s not that urgent, so please take your time, Mr. Ha.

“I understand. Thank you.”

Ha Jae-Gun ended the call and returned to his seat.

Lee Yeon-Woo had been unintentionally eavesdropping.

He turned around and asked, “What is it? It sounded like the editor-in-chief for Gangster’s Sea was the one talking to you just now.”

“Oh, well. He was just asking about my progress,” Ha Jae-Gun replied casually and reached for the keyboard. Ha Jae-Gun completely forgot Woo Jae-Hoon’s existence the moment he started writing.

***

“That arrogant punk!”

Slam!

Woo Jae-Hoon slammed his huge fist on the desk.

“Consider?! That greenhorn of an ink slinger! Does he really think that I’m free?!”

Woo Jae-Hoon flung his arms in the air out of anger. His actions were a complete change from earlier when he was still on the phone talking and bowing down repeatedly like a servant to every Oh Myung-Suk’s words.

Park Do-Joon was rendered speechless by Woo Jae-Hoon’s performance.

“Are they already done talking with another director?” Woo Jae-Hoon mumbled, his eyes darting around.

Park Do-Joon yawned lightly and stood up.

“Where are you going?” the older man asked.

“I’m meeting Chae-Rin.”

“Hey, Park Do-Joon. Just ask her for a favor when you meet her later.”

“What favor?”

“Ask her to give Ha Jae-Gun a call.”

Park Do-Joon stood there with a slightly stiff look.

“Are you asking me to grab a meeting with Ha Jae-Gun now?”

“Yeah. Why should OongSung be present at the meeting, anyway? This is between Ha Jae-Gun and me. If we want to untangle the knot, we’ll first have to meet in person. He’s acting up without knowing his place, so let’s have her call him out for a meeting. Perhaps over drinks or something. He might not agree if it were me, but it’s a different story if it’s someone else.”

“I don’t want to. Anyway, I’m leaving.”

“Hey, Do-Joon! Do-Joon! Stop right there!”

Woo Jae-Hoon leaped to his feet and stopped Park Do-Joon at the door.

“Have I failed you before? Can’t you just do this for me?”

“Ah, Director. It isn’t about that, but it just feels weird. Let’s just wait patiently for a few days.”

“I can’t wait patiently, you punk!” Woo Jae-Hoon was close to screaming at this point.

He picked up the phone on his desk. He revealed a servile smile before dialing Ha Jae-Gun’s number.

— Hello.

Ha Jae-Gun’s voice echoed from the phone.

Woo Jae-Hoon shoved the phone in Park Do-Joon’s hand and begged him while rubbing his hands together.

Park Do-Joon scoffed, but he still accepted the phone before saying, “Hello, Writer Ha. This is Park Do-Joon.”

— Ah, yes. Hello.

“How have you been?”

— I’ve been great. I enjoyed the movie. The movie shone thanks to your great acting.

“Thank you. It’s great to hear that from you.”

Their conversation came to a lull. Woo Jae-Hoon made a series of silent yells, prompting Park Do-Joon to continue with the conversation.

“I’d like to meet you if possible, Writer Ha.”

— Me?

“Yes. Well… not as an actor but as a reader. I have a few things I’d like to discuss with you.”

— Ah, I remember that you posted about reading Oscar’s Dungeon on your Twitter before. Thank you so much.

“It’s nothing. I uploaded it because it was really interesting. So how about it? Let’s perhaps have dinner together.”

— It wouldn’t be polite of me to reject you one more time. When shall we meet then?

“How about this evening? I don’t have anything on my schedule tonight as well.”

— Sure. Where shall we meet? I don’t think we can meet anywhere in public, so please decide on the location.

The two agreed on a location, and Park Do-Joon ended the call. He was starting to feel more uncomfortable around Woo Jae-Hoon, who was singing cries of joy in front of him.

Chapter 114. Loud Cheers (9)

There were only ten minutes left until 7 p.m.

The train had come to a stop at Apgujeong station. Crowds started streaming through the open subway doors, and among them was Ha Jae-Gun. Unsure if they might have alcohol later, he chose not to drive and took public transport instead.

Ha Jae-Gun looked for the exit. It might have been his first time heading to the agreed location, but it wasn’t difficult for him to find his way around since he had looked up the directions earlier.

Just as Ha Jae-Gun left the station…

“Um, excuse me.”

A group of five or six high school students surrounded Ha Jae-Gun out of the blue.

A young man with a relatively large build was one of the high school students.

The sudden turn of events caught Ha Jae-Gun off guard.

“Excuse me, are you Writer Ha Jae-Gun, who appeared in A Writer’s Study?”

Ha Jae-Gun’s rigid expression softened, and he replied with a smile, “Ah… Yes.”

The female students exclaimed in excitement and held each other’s hands while jumping for joy.

“I knew it! I’ll never forget a face I’ve seen!”

“After watching Summer in My 20s, I even went to read the book! But I think the book is much more interesting than the movie…”

“Writer Ha, are you close to AppleT’s Chae-Rin unnie?! Do you meet up and hang out often?”

“Do you know the other members of AppleT?”

“Have you met Do-Joon oppa during the filming period?”

The students chattered for a while. Ha Jae-Gun had to take photos and give his autograph to each of them before he could finally escape from the group.

‘Oh no, I’m going to be late.’

Ha Jae-Gun picked up the pace as he looked down at his wristwatch.

The Korean restaurant where they had agreed to meet wasn’t that far from the station, so it didn’t take him that long to arrive.

Two female staff greeted Ha Jae-Gun at the door.

“Hello, I’m here under a reservation.”

“What is the name used for the reservation?”

“It should be under the name Park Do-Joon. My name is Ha Jae-Gun.”

“Ah, I see. Please come this way.” A female staffer led Ha Jae-Gun to a corner near the back of the restaurant. The area was surrounded by a wooden partition, blocking it from other diners. Ha Jae-Gun walked around the partition and finally found the space leading to the table.

“Ah, welcome.” Park Do-Joon stood up and greeted Ha Jae-Gun.

Ha Jae-Gun was dumbfounded. Park Do-Joon wasn’t by himself.

Director Woo Jae-Hoon was present as well.

“Hello. I heard from Do-Joon that he’s meeting you for dinner tonight, so I shamelessly invited myself to join you. I have quite a few things to discuss with you myself.”

“…” Ha Jae-Gun remained silent.

Were Woo Jae-Hoon’s words the truth? Did he use Park Do-Joon to meet him?

Regardless, Ha Jae-Gun felt uncomfortable.

He thought that Park Do-Joon should have given him a heads-up.

“Writer Ha, please take a seat here.”

Park Do-Joon gestured to Ha Jae-Gun, worried that he might leave.

Fortunately, Ha Jae-Gun took the seat, albeit with a complex expression.

Park Do-Joon moved to the seat next to him.

“First of all, I would like to apologize to you about the incident on the broadcast interview,” Woo Jae-Hoon jumped at the chance and started the conversation at the table.

“It was due to malicious editing. It was never my intention to say that your original novel had issues. I was referring to the issues that occurred during the process of turning the original novel into a movie—”

“It’s fine.” Ha Jae-Gun cut him off after drinking a dip of water. “It’s water under the bridge, and I’ve long forgotten it. I don’t think there’s going to be any difference even if we talk about it here.”

“Ahaha…! Yes, of course. I understand.” Woo Jae-Hoon burst into laughter, even though there wasn’t anything funny.

Even the most slow-witted person out there would be able to see that an apology wouldn’t move Ha Jae-Gun’s heart. Ha Jae-Gun didn’t accept Woo Jae-Hoon’s apology. Instead, he had shown Woo Jae-Hoon that the latter had made a mistake.

‘Keugh, this arrogant punk…!’

Woo Jae-Hoon clenched his trembling fist and calmed himself down. Meanwhile, the food that was ordered had arrived and was being set up on the table. Both Woo Jae-Hoon and Park Do-Joon picked up their chopsticks, but Ha Jae-Gun sat motionless, lost in thought.

“Writer Ha, the food here is delicious. Please have some.”

“Director, you’re here to see me because of Gangster’s Sea, right?”

Ha Jae-Gun went straight to the point with a grave look. He obviously didn’t want to drag this out and went straight for the jugular.

“Mm, yes. That’s right,” Woo Jae-Hoon replied obediently while scratching the back of his head. “The story of your next novel is great. Please leave the movie adaptation to me as well. I understand that you’re quite upset over the Summer in My 20s, but I will ensure that your concerns will be addressed.

”I will complete the film to my best efforts.”

“Thank you for viewing it so positively, even though both the novel and script are still not complete.”

“Your skills have already been verified and acknowledged, plus I trust my gut feeling as well. Hahaha.” Woo Jae-Hoon burst into laughter.

However, Ha Jae-Gun remained expressionless as he said, “I can’t guarantee if the novel will get adapted into a movie, but as usual, I’m leaving the details like copyright fees and other additional clauses in the contract to Editor-in-chief Oh Myung-Suk.”

“Ah, I see.”

“There’s only one thing that’s important to me,” Ha Jae-Gun stressed the importance of his words and raised his index finger. “I would like the movie to inherit the same emotions and atmosphere from my novel.

”I can vaguely understand the difficulties of adapting the world that was originally in words into movie form, but at least…”

Ha Jae-Gun swallowed before continuing. “I hope that the scenario which I’ve written will be used in its entirety. That’s my only condition.”

“Hmm…” Woo Jae-Hoon couldn’t give an immediate answer. He understood the underlying meaning behind Ha Jae-Gun’s words: Ha Jae-Gun couldn’t trust him.

‘This prideful greenhorn…! If it weren’t for the investors, I would have abandoned this project! Ah, should I just walk away now?’

Woo Jae-Hoon revealed a displeased look. Who was he? He was one of the top film directors in Korea, and he had several hit titles under his belt.

Ha Jae-Gun was indeed a greenhorn compared to him. Furthermore, Ha Jae-Gun was much younger than he was, but he actually dared to express his opinions without compromising.

“Director?” Ha Jae-Gun said calmly.

Woo Jae-Hoon suppressed his surging anger and replied, “I understand. I’ll make sure that your scenario will be used.”Ñ00v€l–ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

Those words he uttered meant that he had given in and had abandoned his pride as a famous director.

However, Ha Jae-Gun wasn’t done just yet.

“Please write it down clearly in the contract as one of the clauses.”

“Pardon?”

“Please make sure to indicate in the clause that all scenes in the movie will strictly follow my scenario. Of course, I will make edits to areas that do not fit, but those changes must also be discussed with me before they are filmed.”

Woo Jae-Hoon could no longer keep himself composed. His ears turned red, and his cheeks trembled in anger.

“Look here, Writer Ha…!” Woo Jae-Hoon growled and narrowed his eyes. “Do you really think that a scenario writer can stand above the director?”

“Your phrasing is weird. I’m not saying that I wish to stand above you. I just want a legal agreement that my scenario script will be used accordingly.”

“Isn’t that the same thing? Directors exist for a reason! If what you said is allowed, then the writers could just film the movies themselves. It’s natural to meet variables while filming, and that’s why the story will change at the director’s discretion!” Woo Jae-Hoon shouted.

However, Ha Jae-Gun remained unaffected, and he replied calmly, “The changes aren’t that serious. I just don’t want to see an ordinary female high school student fighting a former martial arts athlete one-on-one.

“I also don’t want to see characters confessing their love for each other while they’re being pursued by a criminal down the streets.”

“What?!” Woo Jae-Hoon leaped on his feet. A few diners from beyond the partition stood up and stared in their direction, wondering what the commotion was about. “Writer Ha, are you playing with me?!”

“I just want to stop any more of my works from getting changed into an entirely different movie in the future,” Ha Jae-Gun answered without backing down.

Just then, a young male staffer approached their table and hesitantly said to Woo Jae-Hoon, “I’m sorry, customer… but other diners are complaining about the commotion you’ve caused.”

Woo Jae-Hoon glared at the staffer. “Do you not know who I am?”

“Pardon? Ah, I-I’m sorry.” Flustered, the staffer apologized. He only recognized Park Do-Joon, the actor, and no one else at the table. It wasn’t strange because directors were famous for the works they had created instead of their faces.

“Why are you smiling? Is there something funny?”

“No, it’s not. I’m sorry, I’ll leave…” The staffer erased the smile on his face and shook his head. As he left, Woo Jae-Hoon muttered, “Youngsters these days are hopeless. They don’t know how to respect their seniors and are only looking out for their personal interests. That’s why the country is turning out this way.”

Park Do-Joon’s face darkened. Woo Jae-Hoon was badmouthing the staffer and Ha Jae-Gun at the same time.

Ha Jae-Gun only smiled softly. He didn’t want to waste his time on unnecessary arguments. Woo Jae-Hoon’s words were so childish that he couldn’t even get angry.

“Sorry, I don’t feel that good.” Ha Jae-Gun stood up from his seat and said, “I’ll be leaving first. Please enjoy your dinner, and feel free to contact me again.”

Ha Jae-Gun greeted both Park Do-Joon and Woo Jae-Hoon before leaving.

As soon as Ha Jae-Gun left the restaurant, Woo Jae-Hoon slammed his fist on the table in anger.

Meanwhile, Park Do-Joon silently felt anxious.

‘This shouldn’t have happened.’

Park Do-Joon had been looking up all of Ha Jae-Gun’s works and reading them all during his free time. He had cried and laughed countless times in the fantasy worlds that Ha Jae-Gun had created.

Ha Jae-Gun was the writer who taught him the joy of reading.

And that was why Park Do-Joon was anxious…

Ha Jae-Gun had become a special existence to him. The more he read Ha Jae-Gun’s novels, the stronger his respect for Ha Jae-Gun grew, even though they were of the same age.

After a while, Park Do-Joon stood up. He had called to meet Ha Jae-Gun here, so he thought that there was no way he could let Ha Jae-Gun go just like that.

“Are you going to the washroom?”

“I’m sorry, but I’ll be leaving first.”

“What? Why? Are you…? Park Do-Joon! Come back here!”

Woo Jae-Hoon’s eyes flipped when he realized what Park Do-Joon was planning on doing. Park Do-Joon was a precious talent at the peak of his popularity. He had a cold exterior, but he was an extremely loyal person inside, so he had always been easy to handle.

Woo Jae-Hoon had been planning to cast Park Do-Joon as the male lead of his next movie, even if the movie’s original writer wasn’t Ha Jae-Gun. So how could he let Park Do-Joon abandon him to chase after Ha Jae-Gun?

Woo Jae-Hoon was in a frenzy.

“I’ll give you a call later, Director.”

“Hey! Do-Joon!”

Park Do-Joon ignored Woo Jae-Hoon and left the restaurant.

The two managers standing at the entrance stopped Park Do-Joon. “

“Do-Joon, where are you going?”

“Hyung, where did he go?”

“He was heading to the subway station. Huh? Hey, Park Do-Joon! There are so many people on the streets, where are you going by yourself?”

Park Do-Joon ran toward the subway station cutting through the crowd. Many recognized him despite him having a pair of sunglasses on, and most of them whipped out their cameras to capture Park Do-Joon chasing after someone.

“Writer Ha!” Park Do-Joon called out after discovering Ha Jae-Gun. Ha Jae-Gun was about to head down the stairway into the subway station, but he came to a halt and turned around after hearing his name.

Park Do-Joon stopped in front of him and bent down, catching his breath.

“Why did you run after me?” Ha Jae-Gun asked, looking puzzled. Soon, a huge crowd surrounded them, and the way down to the subway station was totally blocked off.

“Haa…! I-I want to tell you something.”

“To me?”

Park Do-Joon nodded and straightened himself up. Park Do-Joon took a moment to catch his breath, and his expression turned grim afterward. Moments later, he performed a 90-degree bow to Ha Jae-Gun.

“W-what are you doing?!” asked Ha Jae-Gun.

“I apologize for today.”

The picture of Park Do-Joon bowing respectfully to the confused-looking Ha Jae-Gun quickly went viral on the Internet.

Chapter 115. Loud Cheers (10)

“Park Do-Joon, are you really alright?”

“I’m fine. And we’re already home, so what if I’m not fine? Stop worrying and go back home. You’ve worked hard today,” Park Do-Joon said, waving his hand. His eyes were opened wide as he exerted strength on them whilst his face was flushed red.

He was obviously pretending that he was sober.

“Okay, rest up then. Stop drinking. You remember there’s a meeting with the advertiser tomorrow evening, right?”

“Am I dumb? Stop with the nagging and go.”

“All right, see you tomorrow.”

Park Do-Joon’s manager left his officetel and burst into laughter as he headed for the car.

‘Seems like they get along pretty well. He hasn’t let anyone into his house aside from Chae-Rin and myself.’

The manager had just sent a guest to Park Do-Joon’s place.

The guest was none other than Ha Jae-Gun.

Park Do-Joon stood on the terrace, taking in some fresh air as he looked down at the night view of the city center.

‘Hooo, control yourself. Otherwise, it’ll be hard for you tomorrow if you continue drinking.’

The two started drinking at an Izakaya that Park Do-Joon frequented. His manager suggested going somewhere to avoid the public’s eyes after chasing them all the way to the subway station.

The drinks didn’t end so easily.

Park Do-Joon held onto Ha Jae-Gun and suggested going to a more comfortable place for another round of drinks. Ha Jae-Gun was helpless. His refusal and suggestion to drink another time didn’t work on Park Do-Joon.

Eventually, they got into Park Do-Joon’s car and arrived at Park Do-Joon’s place.

‘To think the more comfortable place he meant was his own place.’

Ha Jae-Gun turned around, and the sight of a spacious living room entered his view.

It was a 50-pyeong[1] officetel decorated with a black and white tone. The clean yet cold look made Ha Jae-Gun wonder if Park Do-Joon had ever felt lonely staying here by himself.

“Hick—what are you—doing there, Writer Ha?” Park Do-Joon asked while hiccuping.

He had just returned after sending his manager off. He was holding a bottle of whiskey and two whiskey glasses.

“I was looking around your house. I’m amazed that I actually got to visit a celebrity’s house.”

“Amazed? It’s just a house where humans live. Come over here.”

“Are you sure you can have some more?”

“I’m not drunk. Ah, I’ve forgotten about the snacks. What would you like to have? I’ve got cheese, fruits, and…”

“I’m fine with anything. I’m still quite full, actually.”This essence is securely nested within the heart of Nøv€lß¡n★

They sat across from each other on the sofa and clinked glasses. As the strong whiskey went down their throat, Ha Jae-Gun and Park Do-Joon both frowned at the same time as if on cue.

“This is quite strong.”

“It’s because it’s your first glass. I’ve received a few bottles as gifts, and they taste quite good. Have another glass.”

The two shared a long conversation as they enjoyed their drinks. Unlike during their first round of drinks, where they talked about Ha Jae-Gun’s life as a writer, they were now discussing Park Do-Joon’s life in the entertainment industry.

“…So I began modeling like a hobo and got to know Director Woo Jae-Hoon. I owe him a lot. It’s thanks to him that I could smoothly get a foothold in the film industry after all.”

“So he’s your benefactor…”

“Ah, I’m sorry. You must have felt awkward when I mentioned him.”

“Please don’t mind me. Feel free to speak. That’s my problem to deal with, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

Ha Jae-Gun enjoyed having conversations with Park Do-Joon. Surprisingly, they were quite alike in terms of mindset. Ha Jae-Gun initially thought that Park Do-Joon was impertinent and loved self-exaggeration, but it seemed like he had been prejudiced.

It was a perfect harvest for him as a writer who still had to gain more traction in his writing. Ha Jae-Gun listened intently to the stories in the entertainment industry that Park Do-Joon had shared with him.

“Wow, I’ve talked too much about myself. Writer Ha, if you’re having a hard time drinking straight whiskey, how about having it on the rocks?”

“No, it’s fine. Actually, I…” Ha Jae-Gun hesitated for a while before continuing. “I’ve been thinking about this throughout the day today. I’ve been wondering how I should address you when you’ve been calling me Writer Ha.”

“Address? Feel free to address me however you like.”

“It’s weird if I’m the only one calling you Mr. Do-Joon, so please address me by name as well.”

Park Do-Joon grinned and picked up the whiskey bottle. He filled Ha Jae-Gun’s empty glass and asked casually, “Since we’re of the same age, I wonder if we could become friends instead?”

“Friends?”

“Aren’t you twenty-eight as well? Ah, age isn’t important here. Am I getting ahead of myself?” Park Do-Joon dropped his drunk gaze and smiled awkwardly.

Ha Jae-Gun stopped Park Do-Joon from filling his own glass. He took the whiskey bottle from Park Do-Joon’s hands and replied, “Let’s do that.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m fine with us becoming friends. It’s my honor to be friends with a celebrity,” Ha Jae-Gun said as he filled Park Do-Joon’s glass.

Park Do-Joon’s face brightened. He raised his glass and asked, “Do we drop the formal language, too?”

“Of course.”

With the alcohol as the impetus, the two dropped their formalities and burst into laughter. After emptying their glasses, Park Do-Joon said, “Keugh, now that we’re friends, let me say something.”

“What is it?”

“You look pretty sharp, but your hairstyle is too common. Join me at the salon I frequent someday.”

Ha Jae-Gun shook his head with a dreary smile and said, “I’m just an ink slinger.”

“Even writers dress up in this era. Plus, you’re a famous writer who even goes on TV shows. Anyway, this is just my two cents…” Park Do-Joon put on a serious look and said, “I’d love to be the male lead for Gangster’s Sea if it gets a movie adaptation.”

“Thank you for your words.”

“No, I’m sincere about it. Cho Kang-Jae’s character is totally up my alley. I’m much more confident acting with that role in mind compared to Lee Jin-Hyuk in Summer in My 20s. You must remember these words, I’m not saying it for fun.”

Ha Jae-Gun smiled and nodded. “All right, there’s something I should tell you, too. We’re friends, after all.”

“What is it? Tell me.”

Ha Jae-Gun opened his mouth to speak, but the door lock jingle suddenly echoed and interrupted him.

“Oh, who is it? Did manager hyung leave something behind? Wait a minute.”

Park Do-Joon got up from the sofa and staggered his way to the door. However, the visitor had already entered the house. They walked into the corridor and stumbled upon Park Do-Joon.

“Oppa!”

Ha Jae-Gun’s eyes flew wide open.

The visitor who jumped onto Park Do-Joon and wrapped her legs around Park Do-Joon’s waist was none other than AppleT’s leader, Chae-Rin.

“Ah, why are you here? You didn’t even call me.”

“I called you so many times! I told you that I’ll be coming over if I get some spare time after my dance practice. Yu-Ri is here, too.”

“Yu-Ri? Hey Chae-Rin, hold on…!” The drunk Park Do-Joon sobered instantly as he hurriedly pulled Lee Chae-Rin off of him. Behind them stood Lee Yu-Ri, one of the members of AppleT, in a training suit.

Lee Yu-Ri and Ha Jae-Gun’s eyes met.

“Oh, you have a guest?”

Lee Yu-Ri’s words prompted Lee Chae-Rin to look past Park Do-Joon’s shoulder.

Lee Chae-Rin’s jaws dropped upon seeing Ha Jae-Gun.

Ha Jae-Gun awkwardly stood up.

“W-Writer Ha Jae-Gun…?”

Lee Chae-Rin’s face turned pale. She looked at Park Do-Joon, seemingly asking what was happening. Park Do-Joon scratched his cheeks in shame and said, “We had some drinks. Jae-Gun, you know Chae-Rin, right? And this is Yu-Ri.”

“I’m a spy if I don’t know AppleT. Hello, Ms. Chae-Rin, Ms. Yu-Ri.”

“Ah, hello. But why is Writer Ha and Oppa—when did you guys become so close?”

“Today. Jae-Gun, let’s talk a bit.”

Park Do-Joon brought Ha Jae-Gun to the terrace and sighed, and then he started explaining his relationship with Lee Chae-Rin.

Ha Jae-Gun only nodded at him. He wasn’t surprised to hear that Park Do-Joon and Lee Chae-Rin were in a relationship.

“Please keep this a secret. AppleT is just starting to get popular, so it’s going to be quite problematic if it gets leaked.”

“Don’t worry. I can keep secrets well.” Ha Jae-Gun assured Park Do-Joon, and the pair headed back to the living room. Meanwhile, Lee Chae-Rin and Lee Yu-Ri hurriedly stopped their conversation upon seeing the two men.

“Don’t worry. Do-Joon has already told me about it, your secret is safe with me.”

“Thank you, Writer Ha. Ah, I was really surprised. I never imagined that I would be able to meet you at Do-Joon Oppa’s house.” Lee Chae-Rin used her hands to fan her red face.

Instead of taking a seat, Ha Jae-Gun looked at his wristwatch and turned to Park Do-Joon before saying, “I should leave now.”

“Is that so? They’ve just arrived, so you should hang out with us for a bit more.”

“Yeah, Writer Ha. I’ll be upset if you leave right now.”

“It makes me feel like you’re uncomfortable with us here.”

Both Lee Chae-Run and Lee Yu-Ri tried to hold Ha Jae-Gun back, but he still refused and shook his head. “I was about to leave earlier. I’ve got to head to the office tomorrow as well. I’ll see all of you again next time when there’s a chance.”

“Jae-Gun, wait a bit. I’ll call a taxi for you.”

“I can just hail one myself. Plus, there’s a bus stop up front.”

Ha Jae-Gun put on his shoes in the foyer and opened the door, then turned around briefly and said, “Ah, I almost forgot about what I wanted to tell you earlier.”

“Oh, right. What is it?”

“You wanted to be the male lead for Gangster’s Sea, right? We definitely think alike. Actually, I created Cho Kang-Jae using you as the model.”

“…For real?” Park Do-Joon asked in disbelief.

Ha Jae-Gun laughed and tapped Park Do-Joon’s shoulder lightly.

“I’m bad at lying. Bye,” he said before exiting and closing the door behind him, leaving Park Do-Joon to stew in his own shock in silence.

He turned and looked at himself in the full-length mirror.

An impressive line came out of him.

“I’ve become disgusted with this lowdown life. I finally realized this when I saw the sea in you. Like your endless sea, I have—I had one in me as well…!”

“Oppa, what are you doing there?”

“I’m practicing to become the male lead for a project.”

“A project? Has it been decided?”

“I’ll tell you next time. Anyway, stop interrupting me. Go ahead and drink whiskey with Yu-Ri.”

Lee Chae-Rin snorted and looked away.

Park Do-Joon didn’t comfort her. He remained standing in front of the mirror and spoke Cho Kang-Jae’s lines. He was overjoyed to hear that Ha Jae-Gun had used him as a model to create Cho Kang-Jae.

***

– Writer Ha, we’re reprinting Oscar’s Dungeon. It’s selling much better than the Pezellon and Records series. There are also a few other companies, including Comic KT, sending in proposals to adapt it into a webtoon.

– Mr. Ha, the 50,000 reserved copies for There Was A Sea preorder have all been sold out. I think this novel will be successful as well.

It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that Ha Jae-Gun was on a roll.

Oscar’s Dungeon, which was released primarily via paperbacks, was selling like hotcakes. The readers’ responses on the various portal sites were overwhelming, and Jung So-Mi’s illustrations were making headlines as well.

Meanwhile, Gangster’s Sea was renamed to There Was a Sea, and it attracted a ton of interest even before it was published. Its pre-orders closed much faster as compared to Summer in My 20s.

“Wow, Ha Jae-Gun hyung, won’t you hit two million copies sold for your novel this time?” Lee Yeon-Woo couldn’t hide his excitement as he went through the responses.

Summer in My 20s was still showing in the cinemas, so There Was a Sea received great reviews. The audience count for the movie had just gone past four million, and it was expected to slow down as it neared the end of its showing.

“Hyung, you’re up on the real-time search rankings again! But Park Do-Joon is on it, too. You’re even on the news! Actor Park Do-Joon bowing down in the middle of Apgujeong Rodeo in front of Writer Ha Jae-Gun. What happened between them…”

“Stop reading those and work on your novel.”

Ha Jae-Gun had just returned from the bathroom, and he lightly smacked Lee Yeon-Woo’s head. “How can you spend hours on the Internet? Can you even hit 20,000 characters for your Martial God Management? No dinner for you tonight if you can’t hit it.”

“Woah, hyung. You’re too much. How can you do this to me?”

“Get cracking if you don’t want to starve.”

Lee Yeon-Woo contemplated for a while.

Then, he closed the browser and started writing.

Ha Jae-Gun chuckled lightly and went back to his seat. The moment he reached for his keyboard, a call from Oh Myung-Suk came in.

“Hello, editor-in-chief.”

— Hello, Mr. Ha. Are you perhaps free either tomorrow or the day after? I thought it’d be great to meet this rookie director, Yoon Tae-Sung. This will be his first commercial movie as well.

“Director Yoon Tae-Sung? The one who directed The Forest That Misses You?”

— That’s right. Do you know him?

“Yes. I don’t watch TV, but I watch a lot of movies. I liked his movies. I think he has also filmed quite a few indie movies, I think I’ve already watched them all.”

— I’m relieved to hear that you view him highly. I’ve talked to him briefly, and he agreed to all of your requests concerning the scenario.

“Thank you very much for looking out for me. But, editor-in-chief, would there be any issues with financing and casting? He’s a rookie director, after all.”

— Those areas do not require your concern, Mr. Ha. As I’ve said multiple times before, please leave it to me. You should focus solely on your novel. That would be more than enough.

“Thanks a lot. I’m free on either day, so please let me know once you’ve decided on the meeting day and time.”

— Okay, I’ll contact you again.

Beep!

Oh Myung-Suk got out of his and left the study. He walked through the long hallway, where the housekeepers were busy cleaning the glass windows. He was heading to his father, Oh Tae-Jin’s bedroom.

“Father, it’s me, Myung-Suk.”

“Ah. Come in.”

Oh Myung-Suk opened the door and entered the room.

Oh Tae-Jin hid the book he was reading and welcomed his son.

“What is it?”

“I’ve got something to discuss about an investment.”

“Investment?”

“For Writer Ha Jae-Gun. I wish to invest fully in Writer Ha Jae-Gun’s new novel using OongSung Publication Group’s name.”

Oh Tae-Jin’s face stiffened slightly at the mention of Ha Jae-Gun, and he took off his glasses.

Oh Myung-Suk continued. “I’ve found a director willing to use Writer Ha’s scenario, but Director Yoon Tae-Sung is still a rookie director.”

“I see…”

“He has released a few movies, so I will gather other investors to pool money to fill up the gap.”