Big Life Chapter 246-250

Chapter 246. It’s Fine Even If You Can’t Speak English (2)

[The ghost, The Breath: Dragon Rider, that has been traveling across L.A., has finally spread its wings]

[Ha Jae-Gun’s newest fantasy novel, which was secretly in preparations, has officially entered the U.S. market, mainly focusing on California]

[Representative from Open House: We will do our best in marketing and connecting with readers of Writer Ha Jae-Gun’s published works]

[L.A. Times and San Jose Mercury News introducing The Breath: Dragon Rider; ‘The partnership between an abandoned knight and dragon’]

[On-site photos of the long line of readers trying to buy Dragon Rider: It’s taken too long, Poongchun-Yoo!]

Open House had kept its promise. The Breath was now known beyond L.A. and had expanded its target to the entire California state, continuing its aggressive marketing efforts.

They had connections to almost everywhere: major newspapers and magazines, Korean communities, and all large and small genre literature sites. Responses from L.A. were conveyed to Korea in real-time through the Internet. The words “The Breath officially released in the U.S.” dominated the major search portals in Korea.

The novel’s sales volume soared once again.

The interest shown by Korean readers had also broken through the roof. Even Ha Jae-Gun, who did not usually use his social media, posted a short post after a long while.

The title that I had initially come up with, Dragon Rider, which was shot down by everyone else, has finally been proven to be a global preference through this publication.

– Ohhh kekekeke crazy TTTTTTTTTT Seems like he’s had a hard time whenever he had to come up with the title for his works kekekeke

– Writer Lee Yeon-Woo had also mentioned it on his blog kekeke. He said that Writer Ha Jae-Gun has bad naming sense but thinks otherwise kekekeke. The writers in the office would always let out a sigh whenever he tells them the title of his latest works kekeke.

– What’s wrong with Dragon Rider?! It’s intuitive and good!

– Person above, are you Writer Ha Jae-Gun? Please comment with your own account.

– Is there a difference from the original? If there are new illustrations, I would buy the entire set for my personal collection.

The response on the internet was so great that everyone could feel the heat through their monitors. It was a given since The Breath was Ha Jae-Gun’s bestselling novel out of all of his works in Korea.

Thanks to this, Chae Yoo-Jin couldn’t stop smiling despite being busy preparing for her upcoming childbirth. Her days passed quickly, just monitoring related news, reading the reactions of the readers in the U.S., and calling up various media outlets and agencies in New York.

It was also part of Chae Yoo-Jin’s job to put together a document that included the above information to disseminate to reporters, including Hyun Sung-Beom from Weekly Trends. Despite working from home, her workload was still quite heavy, making Oh Myung-Suk worry to no end.

“What? All 140,000 copies were sold out? We’re already going into reprints? Ohohohoho! How could I not laugh, Eden? It’s not even three days since the delivery began!”

The response of the teens in California was extremely high, as they were able to relate better to the story, especially since the knight had met the dragon just when he had just been abandoned and had turned his back on the world.

The internet conveyed the endless emotions of adventure, romance, friendship, and love they had experienced in this fantasy world.

“I’ve got a very good feeling about this right off the bat. It’s tugging at the heartstrings of the teens. The romance element is quite strong in this novel as well, so we have a considerably healthy number of female readers, too.” Chae Yoo-Jin said as she took over Oh Myung-Suk’s coat, who had just returned home from work. “I’m not worried about California now. Should I say that I’ve had this feeling all along?

“I just have to compile all the hot responses and soaring sales and then send it over to New York. Barnes and Nobles, Trident, and Harvard Square should all just trust me with promotions.”

“You must be ecstatic. It’s good to see you enjoying yourself, but I’m worried that you’re working too much, so I can’t be happy with you for too long.” Oh Myung-Suk looked down at the ground.

Chae Yoo-Jin smiled brightly as she caressed her belly, where his gaze had fallen upon. “How happy our child must be when mommy is so happy? Don’t worry, I’m eating and sleeping well while working.”

Chae Yoo-Jin stretched and murmured, “I should repay him.”

“Repay?”

Chae Yoo-Jin nodded and locked eyes with Oh Myung-Suk. “Mr. Ha. Don’t you want to repay him as well?”

“Yeah… we owe him a lot,” Oh Myung-Suk said as he ruffled Chae Yoo-Jin’s scattered hair.

Chae Yoo-Jin giggled like a young girl and buried herself into his chest.

***

However, not everyone was happy. This was especially so for a certain movie director who had suffered a crushing defeat at the box office for his latest production.

Having nothing to do since he couldn’t find any investors for his movie, Woo Jae-Hoon had been spending more and more time holed up in his house.

“These damn bastards, it’s such an interesting plot…!” Woo Jae-Hoon growled as he clenched the tattered document in hand.

It was the scenario he had completed quite some time back. It was titled “Final Godfather.” The comedy depicted the story of a boy who had just learned about the existence of his father—a wealthy mafia boss in the U.S. The boy then went on a journey, looking for his father.

The true value of scenarios would only appear once it was turned into movies.

However, no one was willing to invest in it. Even Newdown, the distributing company with which his relationship had gone down the drain, had been ignoring his calls. It was due to the messed up interview he had done using the company as an excuse after his movie’s failure.

“Hello? Please deliver a large set of pig trotters here. Service? It’ll be soju, of course. What’s with that mindless question?”

Woo Jae-Hoon had been drinking alone a lot more often now that he had nothing to do. After roughly two bottles, he lost his mind and was filled with anger. Unable to withstand the shame and boredom, Woo Jae-Hoon pressed the power button on his computer.

“What, this punk?” Woo Jae-Hoon’s eyes burned in anger as soon as he accessed Navin.

The internet was swarming with news of Ha Jae-Gun once again. His name was plastered all over the keyword search rankings and even the main news.

“First edition sold out in just three days? Tsk, America is huge, and it’s not even sold out in three hours, so what’s so great about that?!”

Woo Jae-Hoon’s teeth chattered in anger just hearing Ha Jae-Gun’s name. He began reacting in this way when Ha Jae-Gun’s name became an indicator of his incompetence. His impulsive production of Summer in My 20s was the start of his nightmare.

“Argh…! The American market would be easy peasy for me as long as I can find some investors…!” Woo Jae-Hoon seethed, but he didn’t have any concrete plans nor any alternatives.

Woo Jae-Hoon looked around his house with a distorted face. If he were to secure funds for his new movie, he would require cash and even had to put up his house for collateral.

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be enough.

‘I have to crush my own pride…!’ Woo Jae-Hoon finally picked up his phone and looked up his contacts list. After most of his relationships had turned sour, there weren’t many people who would answer his call. There was only one person left, whom he believed would answer his call.

— Hello?

“D-Do-Joon!” Woo Jae-Hoon stuttered, surprised to find Park Do-Joon willing to answer his call at this point. “H-how are you? I’ve been watching your news, and you’ve recently become very popular in China. I knew you’d make it big, boy!”

— What is it?

“Hmm?”

— Why did you call? I answered immediately, hoping that we wouldn’t have to come in contact ever again. I have to go out soon.

Park Do-Joon’s cold voice sounded on edge. Woo Jae-Hoon realized that the latter had lost all affection but still persevered. “Y-yeah. You must be busy, so I’ll go straight to the point. Will you… invest in my latest movie?”

— No.

Woo Jae-Hoon raised his voice intuitively to Park Do-Joon’s quick response. “Why are you so determined?! You haven’t even asked about it yet! You haven’t even read a single word in the scenario either!”

— I just have no interest in your—no, Director Woo’s movies. Can I hang up now?

“Do-Joon…! W, wait, don’t hang up yet!”

Woo Jae-Hoon’s voice raised sharply, feeling anxious. “I’ll be straightforward. I have to get back on my feet. Hmm? I have to make a comeback, but I’m totally pushed into a corner right now. Otherwise, why would I call you if I weren’t in a desperate situation?”

— …

“I’m not asking for a lot. You’re earning big bucks anyway, so just ten large pieces would be sufficient. Let’s talk in person. Let me show you the scenario and buy you a meal. I’m really confident this time.”

— Director Woo.

Park Do-Joon’s clear-cut tone was heard.

— You just said that I’m earning big bucks, right?

”Y-yes. I did. Why?”

— It’s all my hard-earned money. I should be using them in the right places and have no intention of throwing them into the trash.

”W, what…?! What did you say, you punk?!” Woo Jae-Hoon’s eyes widened in shock. His body temperature shot up as well, which was fueled by the alcohol. “What did you just say?! T-trash?! I was the one who helped you become who you are today! How dare you speak to me like that?!”

— I’ve repaid you many more times as compared to how much you’ve done for me. And I saw that you’ve gone on a debate on TV, sharing your so-called objective views and righteous attitude. Is that something a movie director should be doing? You should act like your title.

”What?! Are you done? Come see me right now! Let’s see this until the end!”

— I’ll be hanging up now.

Beep!

“H-hello? Hey! Do-Joon! Do-Joon! That darned punk!”

Woo Jae-Hoon hurled his phone to the floor. Then, he grabbed his head and stepped out of his room into his living room, roaring, “Sure, fuck it! So, you’ve decided to forget about the old days now, huh? Let’s wait and see! Did you think I wouldn’t be able to produce a movie without your help?!

“I’m Woo Jae-Hoon! I can definitely enter the U.S. market on my own!” Woo Jae-Hoon waved his arms in the air. His frenzy did not stop until a security guard arrived.

***

[Director Woo Jae-Hoon’s social media post directed at Ha Jae-Gun?: 140,000 copies in America? What’s so great about it when it’s equivalent to 1,400 copies in Korea?]

[Original post deleted four hours later, but the situation has evolved significantly]

[Anonymous official from Chungmuro: Woo Jae-Hoon’s new movie is struggling without investors]

“The movie is interesting. I’m sorry for not showing up at the movie preview.”

“If you are, order one of everything on the menu.”

“Just don’t waste any of the thick black bean sauce noodles[1].”

Ha Jae-Gun and Park Do-Joon sat together in the lounge basement of Ha Jae-Gun’s house, enjoying their lunch. Rika and Nun-Sol were holed up in the corner by the stairs, playing among themselves.

“Wow, but you really sounded like a native Chinese speaker. How is that possible?”

“I’ve only practiced whatever’s in the scenario. I’m not a genius at all,” Park Do-Joon said, but he still cast a surreptitious glance at Ha Jae-Gun. “Did I really sound like one?”

“Yes, I just told you.”

”Would you be able to give me the role of someone who speaks Chinese if you were to produce a movie?”

”Yeah, I would.”

Park Do-Joon grinned. Since Ha Jae-Gun had said so, he would believe it, even if it were flattery. Feeling happy, Park Do-Joon changed their topic to one about Ha Jae-Gun’s work.

”I heard that the second reprint of The Breath is already sold out. Is that for real?”

“Yeah, I heard it personally from Open House on the phone. Response from California is good overall; it seems like the word of mouth is going well.” Ha Jae-Gun then tapped on his phone and added, “I receive hundreds of emails from my readers. It’s exhausting to even translate and reply to each and every one of them.

“It’s torture when I have to refer to the dictionary and use a translating program while reading and replying to them.”

“You’re obviously liking it. What if your novel becomes a hit like Harrison Potter?”

“I’m a person with a conscience, so I won’t have such ridiculous expectations.”

“How would I know? Did Harrison Potter become a hit right off the bat? Every publishing company rejected it, and it also started from a small company specializing in children’s books. On top of that, the CEO also mentioned that they couldn’t make money as a children’s book, but look at it now. How much have they earned so far?”

“I understand why you’re so excited. Alright, thank you. I believe it’ll work out.”

“What’s most important is word of mouth. Aish, if I knew things would turn out this way, I would have entered Hollywood first and promoted The Breath for you instead. It’s my mistake to hold myself back from toppling the rice and bowl of the Hollywood actors.”

Bzzt!

Ha Jae-Gun’s phone rang, and his phone showed a phone call from Lee Soo-Hee. Ha Jae-Gun put down his chopsticks and answered it.

“Yeah, Lee Soo-Hee. Have you had lunch?”

— Yeah, I had ssambap[2] with Director Nam, your brother-in-law.

”Haha… I’m having lunch with Park Do-Joon now.”

— Good. Anyway, I called to ask about an overseas article I read about while looking up on the Internet. But I’m not sure what I should say about it.

“What do you mean?”

— I’ll send the link to you, so just take a look at it. It’s not so long, so interpret it on your own, Writer Ha.

“Alright, I got it.” Ha Jae-Gun hung up the call, feeling strange.

A while later, he clicked on the link sent by Lee Soo-Hee and an English article popped up on the screen.

“What’s this?” Ha Jae-Gun murmured, sounding interested.

Park Do-Joon looked over as well. “What did it say? I can’t read English, so interpret it for me.”

”So… It says that there was a shooting in Orange County… and an eighteen-year-old young man was saved by a book he was holding up to his chest?” Ha Jae-Gun’s eyes then focused on the article’s main body.

An eighteen-year-old student went to a barbershop, but he unfortunately ended up getting caught up in a robbery. He was shot and was sent to the hospital afterward.

“Huh…?” The photos included throughout the article made Ha Jae-Gun’s eyes grow wide. The victim on a stretcher was holding a book in his arms, and the book—with a gaping hole in it—looked extremely familiar to Ha Jae-Gun.

”Hey, Jae-Gun. Isn’t that The Breath?”

”Looks like it…” Ha Jae-Gun was baffled as he checked the date of the incident. It was on the very same day when The Breath: Dragon Rider was released.

Park Do-Joon shook his head, and then he chuckled in disbelief. “Wow, Soo-Hee has hawk eyes. How did she find this article among so many articles? There’s no mention of The Breath at all in here.”

“How do you know when you don’t even understand English?”

“Why are you looking down on me? Why won’t I be able to read the words The Breath on the picture? Look at yourself, Jae-Gun.”

“I’m joking.” Ha Jae-Gun consoled Park Do-Joon, who had leaned back into the sofa, pretending to be upset. Thinking about the victim whose life he had indirectly saved made him heave a sigh of relief, even though he wasn’t familiar with the victim.

“Wow, even a book can save a man. You’ve written a great book, Jae-Gun. Wouldn’t he be happy if you could write an email to him? Looks like he’s your fan.”

”Yeah, I should probably ask Soo-Hee to help me with it after she returns from work,” Ha Jae-Gun said without much thought. Then, he stood up with his emptied bowl in hand. The article soon disappeared from his memory.

Chapter 247. It’s Fine Even If You Can’t Speak English (3)

— Even a phone interview is fine, please? Deputy CEO, I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t frustrated. It’s become my daily routine at work to get reprimanded by the department head day in and day out. Please connect us with Writer Ha.

“How many times must I tell you, Reporter Ma? Writer Ha stopped all external activities to focus on writing and his personal affairs. He has even announced that he won’t be participating in the Baeksong Arts Awards this year, don’t you understand?”

Shin Dong-Mi was in the Laugh Books office. It was already past noon, but she had yet to find the chance to open her lunchbox bought from the convenience store. The Breath: Dragon Rider was starting to become even more popular, so the number of calls looking for Ha Jae-Gun had increased significantly.

“It’s useless no matter how much you plead with me. We can’t get in touch with Writer Ha either.”

— Stop lying. Do you think that I’ll believe that the publishing company can’t even get in touch with their own writer?

“Oh my, feel free to think otherwise. I’m not begging for you to believe me either. And we’re not an artist agency, alright? Why should we know our writers’ every move? Anyway, I’ll be handing up now.”

— H-hello? Deputy CEO! Deputy CEO!

Shin Dong-Mi hung up in a hurry and even turned her phone to silent mode while she was at it. She needed time to eat her lunch, as she still had work to do for the rest of the day.

”Deputy Jung, come here. Let’s have lunch before working again.”

“Yes, Deputy CEO. Let me heat up the lunchboxes again.” Jung So-Mi and Shin Dong-Mi sat at a table in the corner of their office as they had their lunch. Hunger knew no delicacy, so the taste of convenience store-bought lunchboxes didn’t lose out to a normal Korean restaurant.

“It’s great that you’re coming to the office to work, Deputy Jung. If you had gone to the Bucheon office instead because of the illustrations, I would have been swarmed here.”

“I’ll work on the illustrations over here for the time being.”

“Oh my, can you really do that?”

“I’ve actually finished discussing with Writer Ha up until volume five.”

Shin Dong-Mi covered her mouth, laughing happily. Having Jung So-Mi as an employee of Laugh Books was the best blessing she had ever had, as Jung So-Mi had never disappointed her even once since she first joined the company.

Jung So-Mi would always maintain a gentle attitude, even when saying whatever she had to say. Work would always come first for her, and she had never complained when they had to work hard and work overtime. There was no way anyone could hate Jung So-Mi even if they wanted to.

“You guys are already eating?” Kwon Tae-Won asked, emerging from behind the door, carrying a bag full of sushi in his hand. He placed the bag on the table where the ladies were having their lunch and called the other employees over as well.

“Have some of these even if you already had lunch. I bought a lot of sushi on the way back but was delayed, as I stopped by one of our distributors.”

Everyone gathered, totaling less than ten members. The topic that naturally came to mind as they had sushi was, of course, Ha Jae-Gun.

“Local sales for The Breath has also increased a lot recently.”

“Yeah, the paperbacks just went into reprint again.”

“Is it really looking good in America? Are they not exaggerating it on the news?” asked one of the employees.

“No way, look at the sales numbers. The news also mentioned that it’s going to go on the L.A. Times Square Bestsellers list. If the sales numbers were exaggerated, how would The Breath become a bestseller in L.A?”

Jung So-Mi’s words were filled with thoughts of Ha Jae-Gun. However, they weren’t exaggerated in any way, as the popularity of The Breath in the U.S. was increasing even as they were talking to each other here.

“Open House is great, but Ms. Yoo-Jin is amazing as well,” Kwon Tae-Won said after taking a sip of water.

Jung So-Mi then added, “Yes, I looked up what’s going on, and it turns out that the ongoing marketing that Open House is doing currently in L.A., San Francisco, and even Nevada is going very well. They’re a small company, but they’re pretty solid.”

“Yes, and we have Yoo-Jin for New York. She’s competent and has broad connections, even overseeing the market from Boston to Philadelphia.”

In fact, Chae Yoo-Jin wasn’t in any way less competent than Open House. She was pregnant and was working from home, but she had received powerful and decisive in her decision-making Of course, it was also thanks to her long career as an agent in New York.

“I heard that they’re doing a fourth round of reprinting since the third round was sold out as well. However, do the reprints mean anything when the U.S. is so huge?”

By now, Jung So-Mi’s smile was brightening the entire office.

Laugh Books could stay afloat with just The Breath alone. Therefore, Kwon Tae-Won silently expressed his appreciation for his team of diligent and loyal employees; he was truly happy with their current situation.

The team’s lunch soon ended. Shin Dong-Mi headed to the veranda while enjoying her coffee, and Kwon Tae-Won spoke, “I met Deputy Ko while I was at the distributor’s earlier, and I heard about Star Books.”

“What about them?”

“The CEO’s son ran with the distribution money.”

“…!” Shin Dong-Mi’s eyes grew wide in astonishment.

Kwon Tae-Won then continued calmly as if he had already seen this coming. “He said it was two months’ worth, probably a little less than a billion won? Seems like he gathered whatever money he could and went into hiding.”

“Oh no…! Is Star Books alright?”

“Are you joking? It’s Star Books, after all. Would it collapse with just a billion won of losses? But the CEO must be extremely disappointed. I heard that he has been visiting the distributors personally, pleading with them.”

Kwon Tae-Won’s long sigh escaped into the spring air. In the blink of an eye, Laugh Books had grown into a scale comparable to Star Books. However, Laugh Books was still growing immensely, while Star Books was crumbling down to the ground. They were now overshadowing the spearhead of the genre fiction market.

“You’re great at judging others. You’ve always treated Writer Ha better than I have in the past and even now,” Shin Dong-Mi said, holding Kwon Tae-Won’s hands tightly in hers.

However, Kwon Tae-Won smiled bitterly and shook his head. “I didn’t… I was just looking at his work.”

“…?”

“I couldn’t understand it back then either. He was such a great writer, but why didn’t anyone lead him onto the right track? They just had to find the right method for him to communicate with the readers, and his success would be guaranteed,” Kwon Tae-Won said, putting down his empty coffee cup. Then, he clicked his tongue before continuing, “I still can’t forget the day when I first read his manuscript. I couldn’t believe that there’s such a great and talented writer.”

Shin Dong-Mi smiled.

Kwon Tae-Won continued. “I’ve written quite a few things for myself before becoming an editor. After the shock that stuck with me for a while, I finally decided to make sure Writer Ha’s name would be known to the world. I want to prove that my judgment as an editor isn’t wrong.”

“But because of that, the CEO of Star Books scolded you on several occasions. He had even asked why you’re taking care of Writer Ha so much when he’s not even popular, when you’re doing so well in your other tasks. But he didn’t say anything after Records of the Murim Master became a hit, right?”

Shin Dong-Mi took the cup from Kwon Tae-Won.

Now with both cups in her hands, Shin Dong-Mi smiled and added, “You’re an editor by nature. You’re an amazing editor who looks not only at their writing but also their hearts.”

“Why are you complimenting me so much today?” Kwon Tae-Won grabbed Shin Dong-Mi by her shoulders. He was about to hug her when Jung So-Mi walked through the door behind them. Kwon Tae-Won’s legs tangled, and he fell on his butt.

He laughed despite being in pain.

***

“I’m sorry for dropping by so early in the morning, Elder. Reporters have been flocking over recently for interviews, so I could only come to visit you at this hour.” Ha Jae-Gun greeted with a polite bow as he stood before the tomb.

The night’s aura lingered in the darkness. He looked at his watch, which read past 4.20 a.m.

“My mother always said that evil spirits run rampant from midnight to four in the morning, but I don’t believe in that. However, I only thought of coming here after four, haha,” Ha Jae-Gun said, setting up a bottle of soju along with a few other dried snacks in front of the tomb. The last thing he placed on the ground was a copy of The Breath published in the U.S..

“Thanks to you, the publication of the English version of The Breath went very smoothly. No, I’m not certain, but I think it’s going quite well. Everyone around me says that, but I still can’t feel the reality of it.”

Ha Jae-Gun walked around the grave but did not spot any weeds that needed pulling. When he returned to the tomb, he poured himself a glass of soju and turned his head away as he took a sip.

“I came without Rika and Nun-Sol again today. I… wanted to stay with you alone for a while longer today.”

Ha Jae-Gun immersed himself in the memories with someone he had never really met before. Ha Jae-Gun sat in the open sharing the soju with Seo Gun-Woo as the chilly daybreak breeze battered him. He felt himself heating up, and he felt as if the elder’s protective barrier had enveloped him.

Just then, Ha Jae-Gun heard footsteps approaching out of the blue. He looked up in the direction behind the grave, where there was also a pavement. He spotted an elderly man in a navy-custom-made hanbok walking down the path.

‘Who is that? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else taking this path for a walk.’

Their eyes met coincidentally. Despite his thin build, the elderly man was quite tall, and he seemed to be at least in his early eighties.

“Are you the one?” the elderly man asked out of the blue.

Ha Jae-Gun looked around, wondering if there was anyone else aside from him, but of course, there was no one else around.

“I’m asking if you’re the one who has been tending to this grave?”

“Ah, yes. I did.” Ha Jae-Gun replied, albeit still confused, as he stood up.

The elderly man took a few steps forward and glanced around the grave briefly before adding, “I would come down to take a look when I think of him occasionally, and it was always clean. I guess someone has really been taking care of it.”

“Excuse me, sir, you’re—”

“No.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m not going to answer your question.”

The elderly man walked around the grave once, and then he stood in front of the tombstone silently, lost in thoughts.

Ha Jae-Gun stood behind the elderly man, waiting patiently for the silence to shatter.

After a while, the elderly man straightened his back and began heading in the direction where he had come from.

Ha Jae-Gun hurried behind him, asking, “Sir, excuse me, but there’s something I’d like to ask. How do you know—are you related to Seo Gun-Woo in any way?”

“I said I’m not going to answer your question,” the elderly man replied, sounding displeased. However, the elderly man stopped in his tracks all of a sudden after a few steps and added, “Did you want to know what kind of writer he was?”

“Anything is fine. I’m a writer myself, too, so I wish to know every little detail I can gather. I have met his son before, but I’ve lost contact with him.”

“A maverick.”

“…?”

“He was a maverick—someone who only cared about writing and nothing else,” the elderly man explained and continued walking.

Ha Jae-Gun followed behind hastily, pleading in earnest, “Sir, if you could give me your contact number…”

“Forget it. We’ll meet again if we do; there is no need to exchange numbers…” The elderly man’s hunched back was quickly swallowed by the wild trees.

Ha Jae-Gun stood in a daze, stunned, as he took a few nervous gulps.

Was the elderly man’s character originally eccentric? Or was his relationship with Seo Gun-Woo not that great?

Ha Jae-Gun could not guess the answers to those questions.

‘I should be able to see him again.’ Ha Jae-Gun packed up and trudged back home.

The overbearing impression the elderly man gave him could not be erased from his mind throughout the time he walked back home.

“Huh? Why did you wake up so early?” Ha Jae-Gun asked upon seeing Lee Soo-Hee sitting on the sofa. She was looking at her phone with her pajamas unbuttoned in front.

“A reply came from Michael.”

“Oh, really? What did he say?”

“He said he was too shocked and rolled off the bed, almost injuring himself big-time. He was very touched and cried a lot. He’s really thankful to you as well.”

“That’s good to hear.” Ha Jae-Gun sat down beside Lee Soo-Hee and pulled her into a hug. As if patting a child on the back, Lee Soo-Hee said, “It’s great that I’m fluent in English, right? It’s fine even if you can’t speak English. You have me, so I can convey whatever you want to say to him.”

Ha Jae-Gun kissed Lee Soo-Hee lovingly. As soon as his tongue entered her mouth, Lee Soo-Hee frowned lightly and pulled back. “You drank?”

“Oh, I forgot that I had two glasses earlier. Should I go brush my teeth first?”

“You don’t have to—but you want to do it so this early in the morning?”

“I’m ready to go around the clock so long as it’s with you.”

“You’ve got quite the energy… Kyaa! What’s wrong with you… doing this in the living room?!”

“No one’s around anyway.”

Lee Soo-Hee opened her arms wide as Ha Jae-Gun pounced on her. Meanwhile, Rika curled up by the window sill and twitched one ear without opening her eyes once.

Daybreak soon arrived.

***

[Student’s life was saved thanks to a book: The book took the brunt of the shot and left a wound only 2 cm deep.]

[Focus brought to the book that saved 18-years-old Michael, a fantasy novel originating from a small East Asian country, The Breath: Dragon Rider]

[Many comments toward the line that Michael posted on his personal blog: The Breath was originally a popular novel in L.A.]

[A small miracle introduced on USA Today: Michael could not stop smiling at the small and unexpected present sent by the author (photo attached)]

“Wait, what’s all this…?” Oh Myung-Suk came to work on a refreshing morning.

Chae Yoo-Jin sat down before her laptop in shock after brushing her teeth. She started off her day like any other, monitoring the response for The Breath, but the novel was plastered all over the news online.

“Michael Bristol…? He was saved from a gunshot? Thanks to The Breath?” Chae Yoo-Jin’s shock only escalated as she continued reading the news articles while scrolling her mouse rapidly. Finally, Michael Bristol’s blog post appeared on her screen.

[The author of The Breath sent me a present, wow!]

Look closely at the photo, my friends.

The copy of The Breath I have in hand is different from all of yours. Did you see the autograph on that page? It’s his penned autograph. I’m not sure how he learned about the incident, but he sent me this as a consolation gift!

He didn’t just send me the book either.

I think he even looked up my blog and read through all my posts. He read about how I lost my parents when I was young and that I’m currently living with my mother’s family. Otherwise, how would he learn of my current situation, that I had to work part-time just to replace my broken laptop since I couldn’t ask my poor grandparents for money?

My friends, scroll down a little more.

See this photo?

It’s a laptop sent by the author of The Breath! Wow!

It has a large screen, and it’s light as well! I tried typing on it, and the laptop’s keyboard is good enough that I don’t have to connect it to an external keyboard!

I’m so happy writing this right now, but I actually cried a lot…

I only have all of you as my friends, and this is the first time I’ve ever received a gift from someone other than my family. I haven’t had any interest in knowing what countries are there in East Asia, but recently, I’ve been spending my days researching Korea. This author has become a turning point in my life.

Thank you, Writer Ha Jae-Gun!

Your writing is so amazing, and you deserve my utmost respect!

“Oh my god…!” Chae Yoo-Jin checked out the comments under the post. Dozens of comments and likes would appear every time she refreshed the page. Despite being unfamiliar with the oriental way of mannerisms, many Americans shared their appreciation.

Bzzt!

Chae Yoo-Jin’s phone vibrated on the table next to her. She answered the call in a daze, her eyes still fixated on the screen.

“Good morning Eden… I was about to give you a call.”

Chapter 248. It’s Fine Even If You Can’t Speak English (4)

— Have you read the news, Yoo-Jin? Have you read about how The Breath became a bulletproof vest? Have you read how The Breath saved a person’s life?

Eden asked a string of questions in excitement, not giving Chae Yoo-Jin a chance to answer for a brief moment.

— I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t expecting anything upon hearing Mr. Jae-Gun sending a gift to Michael. But wow, I didn’t imagine this at all. Ben is going crazy right now; he’s even doing an old-school dance. He will have a sit down with me at the salary negotiation table after he’s done.

“Congratulations, Eden. Make sure to ask him to double your salary.” Chae Yoo-Jin couldn’t stop smiling and even held her cheeks in happiness. As written in the news article headline, the entire situation was a miracle. Eden seemed to have read her thoughts as well.

— Any other writer may have overlooked that incident, but Mr. Jae-Gun did not. He sent him an autographed book, examined his living conditions, and even bought him a laptop. Michael is really touched by his considerate actions, which touched not just him but many Americans. Oh my goodness! Jesus!

“Calm down now, Eden. Just relax, and talk to me. How’s the situation there now? Do you feel any changes happening?”

— I was just about to talk about this. There are a lot of calls coming in asking to order the book, and the sales on the internet have exploded. Our employees have been running around, visiting printing shops. The Breath will be selling in the hundreds of thousands—no, millions going forward.

Chae Yoo-Jin subconsciously clenched her fist, thankful that it wasn’t a one-off hot topic and that it had translated into actual sales.

— So there’s something I would like to say, Yoo-Jin.

“What is it? Tell me.”

— L.A. Times contacted us, they would like to have an interview with Mr. Jae-Gun and The Breath.

“Really? Why did you only say it now when it’s so important?!” Chae Yoo-Jin gasped in excitement. An interview with the L.A. Times? Getting 10th place on the bestseller list seemed attainable now.

“I’ll arrange a time with Mr. Jae-Gun and let him know that we’ll soon have a video interview.”

— Thank you, Yoo-Jin. The marketing was done well in New York; I’m really grateful to you, Yoo-Jin.

Chae Yoo-Jin hung up and then immediately dialed Ha Jae-Gun’s number.

The weather outside looked exceptionally sunny.

***

“I understand. I’ll visit you at your residence sometime soon. No, you shouldn’t travel so far; you’re pregnant, after all. Yes, I’ll be waiting for your call.” Ha Jae-Gun hung up the phone, putting down his phone.

Lee Yeon-Woo was browsing the internet when he commented, “Wow Jae-Gun hyung, this is no joke. The Breath, There Was A Sea, and even Gyeoja Bathhouse were mentioned because of Michael, saying that they were all written by the same author.”

“You said that earlier, too, before I answered the phone.”

“News really creates more news. Wow, hyung! The company that bought the $1.8 million license to Gyeoja Bathhouse, Paramountain, has been quiet all this time, right? Three hours ago, they finally announced that they’ve cast the actors!”

“Lower your volume. Are we alone here?” Ha Jae-Gun calmly slurped another mouthful of udon. They were currently in a restaurant along the arcade near the office.

Ha Jae-Gun had worked throughout the night and finally came out for brunch with Lee Yeon-Woo.

“The Breath is getting popular, so news about you and related companies is being released. They must recognize your character, and Michael is cool as well. What an amazing kid.”

“He wouldn’t be as good as you are.”

“Are you for real, hyung?”

“Yes, so this meal is on you if you’re happy to hear it.” Lee Yeon-Woo opened his chest and nodded happily.

“Feel free to order more, hyung. Is just a bowl of udon enough for you? I’ve just received my royalties, so you can order everything on the menu.”

Ha Jae-Gun only replied with a smile and ate his udon silently. He felt thankful that Lee Yeon-Woo had finally gotten back on his feet. It seemed like Lee Yeon-Woo’s life as a writer had fallen after his father’s passing, but now, he didn’t seem to be having any mental struggles and was even writing consistently regardless of his novel’s performance.

He still had nightmares, but his condition was improving.

“But these haters are everywhere,” Lee Yeon-Woo grumbled, his face unpleasant. ”I would love to overlook them, but I still see some who post negative comments. You should sue all those cursing at you and your family. Sue them for personal attacks.”

“The lawyer will handle them, so don’t worry about it.”

“What are you going to do today?”

“Of course, I need to go home. Once I receive the email from L.A. Times, I’ll have to write up my answers for the interview, then work on Human’s Malice.”

Lee Yeon-Woo scratched the back of his head and spoke carefully, “Honestly, even after reading the manuscript you showed me, I still can’t understand what it is about.”

“I’m not sure what I’m writing either. I haven’t organized it at all.”

”Plus, I feel uncomfortable and scared whenever I read it. I felt scared when reading Gyeoja Bathhouse, but that one feels different. Hmm, anyway, I think I’d prefer if you could write more fantasy or martial arts novels instead of those.”

“I’m writing them as well. Let’s go if you’re all done. You should go back and rest, too.” Ha Jae-Gun did not return to the office but parted with Lee Yeon-Woo in front of the building. Ha Jae-Gun had a change of heart after he boarded the subway, looking out the window.

‘I’m not that tired, so maybe I should drop by there instead.’ Ha Jae-Gun alighted at his destination and headed in the direction where The Breath was born. The signboard of the cafe was the first that came into his view in the distance, and then the cafe owner wiping down the ceiling-to-ground glass windows came into view.

“Hello, how have you been?” Ha Jae-Gun greeted first.

The cafe owner turned around, smiling brightly. “Aigoo, Mr. Ha. It’s been a while. What brings you here?”

“Well, I’m back here for the same reasons.”

“I think it’s the first time seeing you here this early. Welcome in.”

Ha Jae-Gun stepped into the cafe and spotted his framed autograph hanging on the wall in the hall. He walked past the frame and took a seat at a table in the corner. He didn’t need to place his order; the cafe owner had automatically prepared his usual Iced Americano and served it to him.

“The Breath is going viral in the U.S.,” the cafe owner said, placing Ha Jae-Gun’s drink on the table. “I’ve been looking up articles in the U.S. every day recently, curious about what they have been talking about The Breath. I look just like a cafe owner, right? But my cafe was where The Breath was born. Hahaha.”

“I’m grateful to hear that.”

“You’ve improved by leaps and bounds too. Many aspiring writers like Mr. Ha would come over to have a coffee, work on their writings, and even do reviews. I was worried since my turnover wasn’t as good before, but you’ve really saved the lives of many, Mr. Ha.”

Ha Jae-Gun scratched his nose lightly, smiling in embarrassment. The cafe owner walked away for a moment, then returned with a book. It was the English version of The Breath, which had been released in the U.S.

“I have been waiting for you to come. Please sign this for me.”

“You bought the English version, too?”

“I bought it through Amazon on the day of its release. I’m an English Literature major after all. Hahaha.”

The cafe owner received their signed book and returned to the counter happily. Then, they no longer bothered Ha Jae-Gun. They even turned down the music volume so as not to disturb Ha Jae-Gun while he worked on his writing.

‘Now, shall I dig into Human’s Malice?’ Ha Jae-Gun pulled out his laptop in this comfortable atmosphere. He thought that it was a great idea to come to the cafe to work as soon as he started on the first sentence. It was much easier for him to focus whenever he was sitting in a familiar area. On top of that, he no longer had to worry about The Breath and Records of the Modern Master, so he found it relaxing to write.

Tadadadak! Tadak! Tadadak!

How long had he been working? A sudden sound made Ha Jae-Gun look up.

An elderly man in a custom-made hanbok sat next to him.

“Oh? Hello, sir.” Ha Jae-Gun was so shocked that his fingers stopped working. It was the same elderly man he had met not too long ago at Seo Gun-Woo’s grave. “Why are you here?”

“I come here occasionally since I live nearby. It seems like you visit this cafe often too.”

“I focus better here. Would you like a cup of coffee? I’ll buy one for you.” Ha Jae-Gun stood up.

However, the elderly man waved his hand dismissively, rejecting Ha Jae-Gun’s goodwill. He looked at Ha Jae-Gun’s laptop and asked, “Forget about the coffee; what are you working on?”

“My work?”

“The one you’re writing now. Can I read it?”

“Ah… it’s not anything proper yet.” Ha Jae-Gun moved his laptop to the elderly man’s table. He would have rejected if it was someone else, as it was an incomplete manuscript with no proper characters yet.

“I’m not good with technology. Please help me scroll.”

“Okay, please let me know when to scroll.”

The elderly man began reading the manuscript for Human’s Malice. He would gesture with his head every time he needed Ha Jae-Gun to scroll. The manuscript was dozens of pages long, but the elderly man quickly read the entire manuscript.

“I see that you’re trying to create the characters first, then trying to make a leap,” the elderly man commented after reading the manuscript.

“…!” Ha Jae-Gun flinched in shock as if his thoughts were read.

“You’re not sure how this will turn out yourself, right? This character that you’ve created will follow the story development, and you’re trying to have this fictional character take up all the responsibilities of the novel?”

“Y-yes, you can see it that way… Yes, you’re right, sir…” Ha Jae-Gun stuttered.

The elderly man hit the nail on the head without using any difficult or technical terms.

Ha Jae-Gun couldn’t help but think that the man might also be a writer.

“Is this all the malice you’ve felt throughout your life?”

“Yes, that’s about it.”

The elderly man then looked back at Ha Jae-Gun and asked, “So this isn’t your journal, but a novel, right?”

“Yes, sir. It is a novel.”

“So, the readers should understand what they’re reading, right?”

“Of course, sir.”

“Then focus on communication. And don’t be too immersed in this character you’ve created, or you’ll be distraught. All right, then. I’m going to the washroom.” The elderly man left Ha Jae-Gun.

Ha Jae-Gun fell into deep contemplation over the elderly man’s review.

Meanwhile, the elderly man did not return from the washroom.

***

“Ughh, no…! It’s not my fault…!”

“Father, are you alright? Father.” Oh Myung-Hoon shook his father’s shoulders, waking him the latter up.

Oh Tae-Jin’s eyes shot wide open and gasped with his hands in the air.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

“Haa…!” Oh Tae-Jin sat up, drenched in sweat. He had been having nightmares more often lately. He breathed in ragged pants as he looked at the clock. It was already morning.

“Was I yelling in my sleep?”

“Otherwise, why would I hear it when I’m in the living room? Have a glass of water.” Oh Myung-Hoon handed him a cup of lukewarm water. Oh Tae-Jin downed the entire cup and finally calmed down.

“Are you not like this because of hyung?”

“Nonsense.”

“You seem to become disturbed after he left the house. Father, you should forgive him now.”

Oh Tae-Jin only remained silent. He might pretend to lose and forgive Oh Myung-Suk if the latter brought Chae Yoo-Jin along with him to ask for forgiveness.

However, Oh Tae-Jin could not bear to reach out first.

“Stop with the nonsense, and go do your work. You should go to work.”

“Yes… Please come out for breakfast.”

After breakfast with the family, Oh Myung-Hoon stepped out of the house first and headed to his car. As he started the engine, the radio broadcast began playing.

[…Here’s some news on Writer Ha Jae-Gun’s fantasy novel, The Breath: Dragon Rider. According to the announcement made by Open House, the novel has sold two million copies and has also been listed on the L.A. Times’ bestseller list…]

Oh Myung-Hoon changed the radio frequency. He couldn’t believe he’d start the day listening to news about Ha Jae-Gun. He had to stop listening to it, or he might get into an accident.

‘Damn it…!’ There was nothing he could do now since Ha Jae-Gun had become too popular. Even with OongSung Publication Group’s power, there was nothing he could do to suppress Ha Jae-Gun.

Oh Myung-Hoon was in pain. Aside from the power he had obtained from being a member of a chaebol family, he was inferior to Ha Jae-Gun in anyone else. Just then, the pop song playing on the radio ended, and the DJ’s calm voice echoed from the speaker.

[I’m sure everyone knows Oprah Nightly. She’s a famous celebrity who has reigned over 20 years as the queen of talk shows. She’s now a globally successful black woman who has even created her own cable channel named the Oprah Nightly Network.]

Oh Myung-Hoon turned up the volume, interested in the topic raised over the radio. Of course, he knew the name Oprah Nightly. When he was young, he had made countless vows to become as successful as Oprah Nightly.

[Oprah’s comment on TV has recently become a hot topic. It was about the new word, Oprahization, which could bring about social repercussions. The self-improvement book written by a certain author in the past had also become a world-class bestseller thanks to Oprah’s introduction on TV.]

The traffic light turned red at the intersection. Just as Oh Myung-Hoon stepped on the brakes to come to a stop, the DJ’s voice traveled through the silence.

[Now, let me get straight to the topic. Everyone knows of Writer Ha Jae-Gun, right? The fans with us for the morning book cafe know him, right?]

“…?!” Oh Myung-Hoon’s face distorted, and he glared at the speaker. The talk about Oprah Nightly suddenly became a topic about Ha Jae-Gun. The question was quickly answered.

[I’ve brought this up because Oprah has mentioned Ha Jae-Gun on her own social media, along with the story of how the novel by a certain Asian writer saved the life of a student dreaming of becoming a writer. The number of retweets has since exceeded 50 million. Oprah herself will also be officially introducing Writer Ha Jae-Gun’s novel through her show soon…]

Crack!

Oh Myung-Hoon smacked the power button with his fist, turning off the radio. Oprah Nightly’s recommendation? Just how long did he have to listen to Ha Jae-Gun’s success stories? The tears of anger that he had been holding back threatened to spill from his eyes.

‘Let’s say I’m defeated as a writer…! But it’s still not the end for me as a man, Ha Jae-Gun…!’

Oh Myung-Hoon ground his teeth as he gripped tightly on the steering wheel. He decided that he would either get what he wanted or he would chase after it until he died.

The traffic light turned green, and Oh Myung-Hoon slammed his foot on the accelerator.

Chapter 249. It’s Fine Even If You Can’t Speak English (5)

[Queen of talk shows Oprah Nightly praises The Breath: An incredibly intense, sophisticated, and wonderful story]

[Michael goes on a talk show with The Breath in hand: I will definitely become a writer and meet Ha Jae-Gun in Korea]

[Entering the rankings from L.A. Times to Amazon Bestseller: An extremely rare case where translated texts appear in the publication market, sales of Writer Ha Jae-Gun’s previous novels are increasing collectively]

Countless articles with large headlines appeared all over the Internet in the early hours of Monday. In addition to large news media companies, the main news of all the Internet search portals had the same news headlines. How Oprah Nightly introduced The Breath: Dragon Rider.

Oprah Nightly was one of the top ten renowned women with a global influence, and her broadcast ramifications were simply unimaginable. Of course, the real-time viewership ratings of her programs need not be mentioned. Even the videos uploaded onto YouTube afterward were breaking phenomenal numbers by the minute.

The momentum was simply unstoppable.

The keywords “The Breath” alone did not take long to take over the U.S. in its entirety after dominating California and New York. Anyone could easily purchase a copy of the book with just a single movement of their finger.

There was no landing for The Breath after Oprah added wings to it. Book reviews on the novel that originated from a small country in East Asia began pouring in from everywhere.

[A pressurized story development, which is unconventional. Despite the heavy subject, the surprising pleasure felt from the story is a blessing.

– L.A. Times]

[A world where distinguishing good and evil is meaningless, a method where the country manipulates the public, making the reader see hope in a tunnel of darkness while being led by the collar.

– USA Today]

[A knight, Edward, who had to know how to survive to protect those precious to him, and the mourning of our fathers after going through heavy storms.

– San Jose Mercury News]

[The crude friendship shared between an abandoned knight and dragon is going to send a tremor across all of America.

– New York Post]

The book received nothing but praise. Eden, the editor-in-chief of Open House, couldn’t stop smiling even in his sleep. He had discussed the novel with Ha Jae-Gun for a long period of time, and he had put huge amounts of blood, sweat, and tears into revising the novel. The results of those efforts exceeded his expectations by leaps and bounds, and the book was displaying its fullest potential.

“Everything is going swimmingly,” Eden said, dusting himself as he stood up from his seat. He had just finished monitoring the responses. He placed his hands on his waist and looked around the empty editing room.

With the success of The Breath, Open House managed to move offices.

The cramped interior made him emotional.

“What do you think of my judgment, Ben? Our trip to Korea was a ticket to heaven.”

“Show off to me one more time, and I’ll sell the company right away. Then, I’ll run away with the money. Let’s leave the emotions and reminiscing to the party later tonight and focus on wrapping up here,” Ben grunted, picking up the full-length mirror.

Eden carried the other end of the mirror and said, “I didn’t see any negative comments.”

“Me, too.”

“It might end up selling like Harrison Potter.”

“I heard that Korea has an idiom that says not to jump to conclusions.” Ben seemed to be nagging Eden, but he was smiling as well.

He was also glad to see their favorable situation. In his heart, he held the same certainty: The Breath was Open House’s greatest achievement since its establishment.

Just as the book received widespread praise in the U.S., a few negative views emerged in its originating country, Korea.

Of course, Ha Jae-Gun had a few enemies lying around in the dark. Regardless of the truth, the unidentified enemies took into their own hands and beliefs and began criticizing The Breath.

Most of them were from anonymous sites as well.

– They’re all just media play, but The Breath is in fact a mess Keke

– They said Ha Jae-Gun is trying to convert into a U.S. citizen; his whole family seems to be doing that. Is that true?

– Honestly, isn’t Ha Jae-Gun just a bubble? All he knows as a writer is to flatter the Chinese and American markets.

– No, let’s bring in at least a fact here if we want to incite and fabricate. Those fans[1] are just all talk when they haven’t read a single Korean textbook in their lives, let alone Ha Jae-Gun’s novels.

“Yeah yeah, go ahead and criticize all you want.” Lee Yeon-Woo snorted as he read all those comments. He had been exposed to all kinds of negative comments to the extent that such comments no longer affected him.

The A4 paper he was printing contained snippets of book reviews of The Breath: Dragon Rider. Lee Yeon-Woo opened his scrapbook and began cutting out the pieces one by one with a pair of scissors.

“There’s no need to care about them. They’ll cool down in just a week.”

However, Lee Yeon-Woo was wrong. It didn’t take a week, but overnight, for the negative comments to dwindle significantly as Open House made another official announcement on the sales of The Breath: Dragon Rider.

[Open House: 5.5 million copies sold for The Breath: Dragon Rider. The printing speed can’t catch up with the sales, so it’s torture.]

“Hello? Yes, Eden! This is Yoo-Jin! I just read the news. Gosh, how did we already hit 5 million copies? Ohohohoho!”

— You shouldn’t laugh that loudly, Yoo-Jin. You’re pregnant, you know that, right?

“Alright, I’ll be careful. But it’s fine because I’m happy!”

Chae Yoo-Jin got busier as sales accelerated. The number of people contacting her because of The Breath had increased exponentially. The people who had been contacting her could be categorized into two groups: overseas publishers looking to sign copyright contracts and movie production companies wanting to make a move adaptation upon seeing the success of the original novel.

“Are you from London Queensbury? Hello, I was about to contact you. Yes, you said you’d like to contract 50,000 copies?” It was time for Chae Yoo-Jin to showcase her full potential as an agent. She took the first step to deal with the rest of the world with the rights of The Breath in her hands.

Chae Yoo-Jin had extensive knowledge of the current publishing industry in many European countries, including the UK. She also had extensive experience in them. She had spent years focusing on her career to soothe the loneliness she felt while living on foreign soil after her breakup with Oh Myung-Suk. The hardships she had to go through were finally paying off.

And tonight…

“Hello? I hope it’s not too late for me to call you.” The last person she had to call tonight was Ha Jae-Gun. Chae Yoo-Jin couldn’t stop smiling as she reported the happenings of today.

***

“Welcome, the future ten million bestselling writer.” Lee Soo-Hee grinned, wearing an apron.

Ha Jae-Gun sniffed the air as he smelled the cooking. After taking off his shoes, he stepped into the living room and asked, “What are you cooking?”

“The dish that our future ten million bestselling author likes, sweet and spicy braised fish[2].”

“Wow, how did you know that I wanted to have fish today?”

“You said it this morning while we were talking on the phone.”

“It’s embarrassing hearing you say that. Are you going to keep at it?”

“What are you embarrassed about, future ten million bestselling author?” Lee Soo-Hee asked as she blinked, feigning ignorance.

Ha Jae-Gun grabbed her legs and plopped her over his shoulders, spinning around the house. Her screams and laughter, filled with happiness, rang throughout the house. Rika didn’t bother with them, obviously tired of the repeating scene.

“I was on the phone with Ms. Yoo-Jin, and she said we’re going to sign with the UK first.” Ha Jae-Gun picked up his chopsticks and then added, “They will wire over the full royalties for 50,000 copies first. After that, we’ll sign with either France or Germany.”

“That’s great. She does her job really well.” Lee Soo-Hee gathered her hands in exclamation.

Ha Jae-Gun helped her out a few strands of messy hair behind her ear and replied, “You’re the one who treats me the best. It’s because you saw that piece of news that my novel saw such a huge success.”

“It’ll definitely happen regardless. I’m just bringing forth the period of your success.” Lee Soo-Hee then shifted to sit next to Ha Jae-Gun. As she picked out the fish bones for Ha Jae-Gun, she said, “You probably haven’t heard much of it since The Breath’s success in America is such a huge topic, but there’s good news in Taiwan, too.

“Do you know that Oscar’s Dungeon is very popular there? It’s still in first place in Taiwan’s ranking. You know that it’s all thanks to me setting up the foundation there in Taiwan, right?”

“Of course. Should I give you a kiss?”

Lee Soo-Hee pushed Ha Jae-Gun’s face to the side as he leaned in and said, “Stop with your weird antics during meals. Anyway, Director Nam is also very happy. The Taiwan branch is now stable, and The Breath is also gaining more popularity as the game development is still ongoing.”

Lee Soo-Hee smiled, placing the fish meat on Ha Jae-Gun’s plate. “So what’s left now?”

“Us,” Ha Jae-Gun replied immediately. Seeing how Lee Soo-Hee wasn’t following him, he added, “We should begin our wedding preparations.”

“Are you sure…?” Lee Soo-Hee asked, suppressing her joy. “As much as a writer has to work on novels, it’s going to be much more hectic for you going forward. There’s going to be many other things that are going to bother you.

“Our wedding is a fact now, so it’s fine even if we delay it for a while. So I hope you’ll schedule it as you wish.”

“I’m rushing it for myself.”

“…?” Lee Soo-Hee had a questionable look in her eyes, but Ha Jae-Gun did not explain further.

He could still feel the same feeling he had back then during their university days. Lee Soo-Hee’s existence was the driving force behind his writing. He pressed on in his writing even when he was having a hard time and was shedding bloody tears.

“You’re still as pretty as you were in university.”

“What are you saying… Did you get drunk after a small glass?” Lee Soo-Hee picked up her glass. Before toasting, Ha Jae-Gun pulled her into a hug and took a deep breath. Her scent was as refreshing as ever, bringing him strength.

***

“Oppa, let’s stop by the bookstore for a while.”

“We do have time, but why the bookstore out of the blue? You can just let me know if you need anything.”

“I want to buy it personally. I just need five minutes, please?” Hong Ye-Seul pleaded as she massaged her manager’s shoulders.

She had always wanted to do this after becoming an actress. She wanted to be like Lee Chae-Rin, visiting a bookstore secretly to purchase his novel and take a photo of it as proof.

‘The timing’s great. Today is the release day of The Breath.’

The Breath revised edition was released today. The autograph event wasn’t held today like back when Lee Chae-Rin had done it herself, but Hong Ye-Seul had been waiting for this moment since morning.

“Oh, I get it now. You want to purchase The Breath, right?” Her manager asked as he turned the steering wheel at the cross-junction of the building where the bookstore was located. Caught red-handed, Hong Ye-Seul kept her mouth shut and looked out the window.

”I saw that 100,000 copies were sold during the pre-order. The C.B.C. also said that Writer Ha’s creative works should be encouraged further for the sake of national interest. That’s true, as his cumulative sales in the U.S. is approaching the 10 million mark.”

Hong Ye-Seul smiled while listening to her manager’s mutterings. How could she not grin when she had always been treating Ha Jae-Gun’s success as her own success?

“Aside from that, it’s already the end game. The president mentioned at the cabinet meeting that there should be ten or hundreds of writers like Jae-Gun in Korea. Who could have thought that a single writer from Korea would become this successful?”

“I knew it.”

“Huh?”

”I knew right from the start that Writer Ha would become a huge success. And it’s still far from using the word success on him. It’s just the beginning after all.”

“Anyway… you’re always odd whenever we talk about Writer Ha.”

The vehicle entered the basement carpark and came to a stop. Hong Ye-Seul was about to undo her safety belt and get off when her manager stopped her with a glance.

“What is it now?”

“I’m sorry for always asking you this, but you’re really fine, right?”

“I’m fine. How many times do you want me to say it? Why are you still so worried when you’re already monitoring me around the clock?” Hong Ye-Seul replied with a frown.

Hong Ye-Seul knew what her manager was talking about. The rumors of her being a karaoke helper were still circulating on the Internet, after all.

“You’re the most important person to me, and I know how much effort you have put in to get where you are today. So don’t suffer alone; depend on the company whenever you need.”

”Yes, I get it. I’m fine, really. Like you say, I’m diligent in my acting career. Look at Na-Yeon unni, she has been going to Hyehwa-dong more recently despite getting it worse than I did.” Hong Ye-Seul then slapped her manager’s shoulder lightly and added, “I won’t crumble. I’m not a weakling.”

”Alright. Remember to wear your sunglasses. Here, your hat.”

Hong Ye-Seul put on her disguise and entered the bookstore. However, before she could locate Ha Jae-Gun’s novel, her fans saw her through her disguise, and ten minutes later, another news article appeared on the Internet.

Its title read: I came to buy Writer Ha Jae-Gun’s book?

***

“Yeon-Woo, where are you going not having lunch?”

”I have an appointment today. I’ll be having lunch outside, so please enjoy lunch without me. I’ll be back later.” Lee Yeon-Woo stepped out of the office with mixed feelings of anticipation and suspicion.

He had received an email from a publishing company called Fantasium, and it was all because of his blog.

– As a member of the brand promoting fantasy literature, we would like to meet Writer Lee Yeon-Woo if possible. I would appreciate it if you could drop me a contact whenever you’re available.

‘What did they like from my posts that they’d call to meet me? Am I…becoming a recognized writer as well?’ Immersed in his thoughts, Lee Yeon-Woo nearly bumped his head against a telephone pole. After a while, he calmed down slowly. ‘It doesn’t make sense now that I think about it. None of my novels have been doing well, and my capability is still quite inferior.’

Either way, meeting with an editor and discussing his writing with them was the only way he could grow as a writer, which was why Lee Yeon-Woo agreed to the meeting.

On top of that, Fantasium was a brand created under the umbrella of a large corporation, so it was quite credible.

‘It’s here, right?’ Lee Yeon-Woo entered the cafe they had agreed to meet at. He looked around, and a man sitting at a table in the corner of the shop lot stood up.

“Are you Writer Lee Yeon-Woo?”

“Yes, that’s me. Editor-in-Chief Oh Myung-Hoon?”

Chapter 250. Just Need You Gone (1)

Lee Yeon-Woo stood hesitantly. Oh Myung-Hoon flashed him a spotless, welcoming smile while gesturing for Lee Yeon-Woo to take a seat.

“I’m extremely grateful to you for coming here today. You must be busy working on your novel.”

“No, no. I’m honored that someone from OongSung Group has recognized my work as an inkslinger to the extent of contacting me. Hahaha.” Lee Yeon-Woo waved his hand while chuckling awkwardly, seemingly unable to control his emotions.

Oh Myung-Hoon stopped Lee Yeon-Woo from following him to order their drinks.

“Come to think of it, Writer Yeon-Woo, have you had lunch? We can go somewhere else for lunch after our work discussion.”

“It’s alright, I take care of my meals regularly, and I’ve been on a diet recently. I worked out quite regularly before, but my pot belly has grown substantially since I started focusing on writing,” said Lee Yeon-Woo.

He then realized that he was sharing unnecessary facts with Oh Myung-Hoon. He felt like back when he was still a student, excited about going on a trip with his friends. Was it because Oh Myung-Hoon was from OongSung Publication Group, Korea’s top publication corporation?

A while later, Oh Myung-Hoon returned to the table with coffee for each of them. Lee Yeon-Woo pulled his cup of coffee toward him and started, “Editor-in-chief.”

“Please speak.”

“I wasn’t sure earlier… But I just remembered this.”

Oh Myung-Hoon cocked his head to the side, curious about what Lee Yeon-Woo was talking about. Lee Yeon-Woo tapped his fingers on the table and continued awkwardly, “When Jae-Gun hyung’s There Was A Sea was published in the U.S….”

“Ah, yes…”

“I remember reading a short piece of news before. It was you, right?”

“That’s right,” Oh Myung-Hoon replied calmly with a smile. He had already decided to come clean when he called Lee Yeon-Woo to meet. Ha Jae-Gun and Lee Soo-Hee would get married sooner or later, so there was not enough time for him to do anything else. There was only one road before him, and he could only bulldoze forward.

‘How much does he know about me and Ha Jae-Gun’s relationship?’

The cogwheels in the mind of his other self hidden behind this current facade were working faster. Seeing how Lee Yeon-Woo addressed Ha Jae-Gun as hyung, their relationship had to be quite close.

Oh Myung-Hoon hated Ha Jae-Gun the most in this world, but his hatred of Ha Jae-Gun meant that he knew the latter very well. Ha Jae-Gun was the type to only share the necessary information with people around him and would think things over a few times before saying them.

The Ha Jae-Gun that Oh Myung-Hoon knew had always been like that, and funnily enough, this part of Ha Jae-Gun was playing a role in calming himself down.

‘That beggar…’ Oh Myung-Hoon grew disgusted as Ha Jae-Gun’s smiling face surfaced in his mind. Everyone who liked Ha Jae-Gun’s personality was being viewed as hypocritical in Oh Myung-Hoon’s eyes. Wasn’t that just Ha Jae-Gun’s shallow way of living and keeping up his own image in the frame of society as an incompetent individual?

Oh Myung-Hoon unknowingly fell deeper into his thoughts.

Lee Yeon-Woo pulled him back out.

“Um, editor-in-chief?”

“…Ah, yes?” Oh Myung-Hoon belatedly came back to his senses and looked up.

Did his face subconsciously turn into a frown while thinking of Ha Jae-Gun? Was that why Lee Yeon-Woo was looking at him with a weird gaze?

However, Lee Yeon-Woo’s words were different from his expectations…

“You’re really cool.”

“I’m… cool?” Oh Myung-Hoon was taken aback.

Lee Yeon-Woo nodded profusely. “The response in the U.S. for There Was A Sea was great. Ha Jae-Gun hyung’s novel is interesting, but it was also thanks to the marketing done back then. And weren’t you in charge of it? I admire your capability.”

“Ah… Mm, yes… Well, I…”

“I’m quite a fan of Ha Jae-Gun hyung. Well, technically speaking, I’m a fan of Poongchun-Yoo. So I would print out every article related to him and create a scrapbook out of them.”

“I see.”

Lee Yeon-Woo scratched his cheeks awkwardly and continued, “Right, something happened back then, halting the promotions in Boston, right?”

”How did you…?”

”Ah, it’s not something that came out from the news. I found out on the internet from the disappointed Korean readers in Boston, they seemed to be looking forward to it too. I’m just asking out of curiosity, hahaha.”

Oh Myung-Hoon’s face turned dark as he cast his gaze downward. He recalled when he had flown to Taiwan just to look for Lee Soo-Hee. After witnessing the secret meetup between Ha Jae-Gun and Lee Soo-Hee, he lost his mind over it and canceled the entire promotion plan just two days before its execution out of fury.

“Did my question put you in a difficult situation…?”

“Not at all.” Oh Myung-Hoon looked up with a smile. “I remember that a miscommunication caused the mix-up in the schedule. Although there were only two days left until the promotion, I’m only filled with regret since we could have done better.”

“As expected… Ha Jae-Gun hyung is blessed indeed. He even knows a great person like you to help him.” Lee Yeon-Woo sucked on his straw, smiling like a young boy.

Oh Myung-Hoon smiled bitterly but nodded meaningfully. ‘Oh? Things are going better than I thought.’

He had made preparations in case Ha Jae-Gun had talked badly about him. He wanted to ask a few probing questions, but it seemed that he didn’t have to go through it anymore.

‘Whatever, it doesn’t matter what that punk said; I have confidence since foolish people often fall for compliments and money. Plus, this Yeon-Woo has yet to earn his keep among the writers that Ha Jae-Gun knows.’

Oh Myung-Hoon needed someone to extract Ha Jae-Gun’s weakness, which was why he had chosen Lee Yeon-Woo after much consideration from reading his blog posts. Oh Myung-Hoon would sometimes read Lee Yeon-Woo’s blog posts, as it contained a ton of detailed information about Ha Jae-Gun.

Bzzt!

Oh Myung-Hoon’s phone vibrated just then…

“Oh, Writer Lee, please excuse me for a few moments as I answer this call.”

“Please go ahead.”

Oh Myung-Hoon took his phone and stepped out of the cafe. Lee Yeon-Woo wasn’t the only person Oh Myung-Hoon had approached recently.

“Yeah, Jung-Mi. Sorry for answering late.”

— Hi, Myung-Hoon. It’s been a while; I just saw your message.

However, Jung-Mi sounded listless over the phone. Jung-Mi was a classmate who liked Ha Jae-Gun back during university. She was also sued for making malicious comments after being rejected by Ha Jae-Gun. She had been keeping a low profile after Ha Jae-Gun stopped pursuing the case.

This was the first time Oh Myung-Hoon had ever taken the initiative to contact her.

“How have you been doing? I haven’t heard from you for a while.”

— So-so… I’m doing quite well at my work.

“Shall we meet up for a meal someday? I haven’t seen you for so long.”

— Mm…

Jung-Mi trailed off, feeling guilty about her past actions.

Oh Myung-Hoon did not push but waited in silence for her reply. He had long abandoned his thoughts of crushing Ha Jae-Gun as a writer, as it was now impossible for him to do so. Naturally, his target shifted to splitting Ha Jae-Gun and Lee Soo-Hee.

— Why are you doing this to me out of the blue?

“What do you mean? We’re classmates and used to see each other often too.”

— Yeah but…you’ve heard the news about me, haven’t you?

“What news?”

— Do you really not know?

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about. We’re talking in Korean now, right?” Oh Myung-Hoon continued with his sly acting.

Moments later, Jung-Mi let out a sigh and said in a low tone.

— Thanks for contacting me. When do you want to meet?

“I’m available whenever. Leave me a message after you’ve checked your schedule.” Oh Myung-Hoon returned to the cafe after ending the call.

As Lee Yeon-Woo looked up from his phone while browsing the internet, Oh Myung-Hoon asked outright, “I’m sorry for taking up your time. Let me share why I decided to meet you.”

“Sure.”

“Fantasium would like to sign an exclusive contract with you, Writer Lee Yeon-Woo.”

“An exclusive contract?” Lee Yeon-Woo’s eyes and nostrils grew wide in astonishment; even his jaws dropped.

Oh Myung-Hoon did not wait for Lee Yeon-Woo to calm down and continued, “I’ve read all the novels you’ve published, Writer Lee Yeon-Woo, and even all the blog posts you’ve uploaded. Your writing is both crude and honest, but it touches the hearts of people with sincerity.”

“M-my writing…?” Lee Yeon-Woo stuttered with a look of disbelief. He clearly didn’t expect to hear those words to come from Oh Myung-Hoon. He never imagined that he could receive compliments from an editor-in-chief of a brand under the OongSung Publication Group; it almost felt surreal.

“I’ve envisioned your future instead of focusing on your current outlook. You need someone who could excavate you to your fullest potential, and I’m confident in playing that role for you.”

“Mm…!” Lee Yeon-Woo gulped, unable to come up with a response. So far, he had only encountered publishers like Haetae Media and Laugh Books. It was thanks to Ha Jae-Gun’s novels that Laugh Books had grown tremendously, but this man before him was affiliated with OongSung Publication Group.

“I-I’m very grateful for your kind words. Thank you for viewing an inkslinger like me in such a favorable light, but I…” Lee Yeon-Woo found it difficult to finish his sentence. His mind had gone haywire; he felt like he was floating in mid-air with the overwhelming emotions he was feeling right now.

“However, an exclusive contract… I’ve heard stories about it from the other writers in the office, and it didn’t seem all that good…”

“Exclusive contracts would differ for each company, right?” Oh Myung-Hoon quickly caught on to Lee Yeon-Woo’s concern. “I will do my best to cater to every support you’ll need. I really mean it by everything.’

“…!” Lee Yeon-Woo gasped as he looked away.

Oh Myung-Hoon took a sip of his coffee coolly, and he almost burst into laughter when he thought about how naive people could be.

***

“Is Yeon-Woo not having dinner?”

“He said he had eaten before coming back and that he was turning in early first because he was feeling under the weather.”

“I haven’t seen him take any flu medicine before. What’s wrong with that strong boy? And Writer Jae-Gun said he would be dropping by, but why isn’t he here yet?”

“Jae-Gun hyung said he was meeting the assistant secretary from Ministry of Culture today, saying that there was something to discuss about The Breath.”

Yang Hyun-Kyung and Kang Min-Ho’s conversation was heard through the door. Lee Yeon-Woo was in his bed, covering his entire body with his blanket. It was a lie that he was feeling sick. He just needed some time alone to think.

“I’ve envisioned your potential, Writer Lee Yeon-Woo.”

Oh Myung-Hoon’s words were still ringing clearly in his mind. He had never received such high praise from anyone in his life. The best encouragement he had heard from others so far was just, “You’ll do better if you work harder.”

‘He said I’m a valuable gemstone… no way,’ Lee Yeon-Woo said inwardly, shaking his head profusely. If there was anything great about his writings, Ha Jae-Gun and all the other writers would have recognized it much earlier and had acknowledged it.

Moments later, however, another thought surfaced in his mind.

‘N-no matter how great Ha Jae-Gun hyung is, he’s just a writer. He’s different from an editor, plus the talents of editors and writers are different! Who knows, maybe editor-in-chief Oh Myung-Hoon had recognized something in me that editor-in-chief Kwon Tae-Won had yet to see!’

Lee Yeon-Woo was not used to hearing compliments at all. Even he couldn’t see any special talent in himself, so there were, of course, not many instances where he would receive compliments from others.

Just like that, he spent the rest of his time away in his room…

***

“Thank you so much, department head.”

Oh Myung-Hoon could not hide his smile after the unexpected harvest he had while taking off his coat. Things had gone as he had expected. The pleasure surging from his toes made his body shiver in anticipation.

“I did think there was something going on between them, but I never imagined this would happen.” Oh Myung-Hoon looked at the picture in his hand in disbelief. “I never thought this would be a one-for-one gift. The unexpected gift was many times more expensive than what I had paid for. Isn’t that so, department head? It’s the end game with this alone. Anyway, you did a great job.”

“But, Second Young Master, why do you have to do this…” the department head asked with caution, his face full of worry. He had participated in almost all of Oh Myung-Hoon’s secret moves, so he was aware that Oh Myung-Hoon was targeting Ha Jae-Gun.

“Please take a rest, department head. Oh, you can go on a vacation for three days, but just make sure to keep your mouth shut.”

“I’m honestly worried, Second Young Master.” The department head was usually compliant, but he didn’t back down this time.

Oh Myung-Hoon’s gaze turned cold, but he maintained his smile. “Why are you talking so much today?”

“Please pardon me for saying this, but I’ve been looking after you since your middle school days. My only hope is for you to be happy.”

“I’m doing this to become happy.”

“Young Master… please stop.” The man bowed a deep ninety-degree bow pleading. As Oh Myung-Hoon turned speechless, he continued, “Please forget it even if you’re upset. You have a natural talent, and there are many other routes you can take in this world.”

“Hahaha…” Oh Myung-Hoon burst into laughter out of the blue, looking out the window toward the city center. “You’re clueless.”

“Young Master…?”

“About a person’s malice. Did you think it’s a kind of emotion that anyone can forget about so easily?”

The department head could no longer answer Oh Myung-Hoon, who growled in anger. If he were to answer, the furniture in the room would get smashed into pieces, as Oh Myung-Hoon’s anger management disorder had yet to be cured.

“Make sure to contact Hong Ye-Seul first before you go on vacation.”

“Young Master…”

“I’m done now, please leave.” Oh Myung-Hoon opened the door. The department head struggled to step out of the door with his heavy body akin to wet cotton.