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Big Life-Chapter 195. What? Dragon Rider? (1)
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Chapter 195. What? Dragon Rider? (1)
âIâm all for it.â
âYouâre really sure that you donât mind if I get married first?â
âLook at the era weâre living in now; why should I get petty over such things? Mom and Dad are just worried about me, so they didnât mention it, but Iâm sure theyâll be very happy. You should bring her to meet them once sheâs back.â Ha Jae-In smiled brightly while fixing Ha Jae-Gunâs clothes.
Ha Jae-Gun was dressed in a stylish suit instead of his usual attire, as he was going to have dinner with Oh Myung-Suk and Oh Tae-Jin.
âMy younger brother is looking cool. Always getting me excited when I see you.â
âIâm turning thirty the day after. Stop it, ah...â
Ha Jae-Gun was about to turn around when he snapped his fingers and asked, âNoona, how about you?â
âMe? What about me?â
âWhat happened with Director Nam after that time?â
âAh... That...â
âYouâre always turning red and trailing off when I ask you about it; how is that a proper answer to my question? Answer me, or Iâm going to ask him directly.â
âN-no, donât.â A worried expression filled Ha Jae-Inâs face, and her shoulders shrank.
Ha Jae-Gun shook his head slowly with a frustrated look. âYouâre seeing him with positive feelings, right?â
â...â
âJust tell me that. Are you sure about it?â
âMm...â
âJust be sure of your feelings, whatever happens. Donât make others worry about you.â
âAll right, I know. Itâs scary when you do this. You should get going now.â Ha Jae-In pushed Ha Jae-Gun away.
Ha Jae-Gun walked through the empty living room and to the door, putting on his shoes.
âFather and Mom are coming back late?â he asked.
âWhenever they attend a married coupleâs meeting, theyâll always have dinner before coming back. Still, they should be back in a few hours.â
Ha Jae-In saw Ha Jae-Gun off at the garage, watching the wonderful car Ha Jae-Gun had received as a gift from Oh Myung-Suk.
âNoona, go back in.â Ha Jae-Gun opened the car door and took the driverâs seat.
As Ha Jae-Gun started the engine, Ha Jae-In said, âCome to think of it, I was on the phone with Director Nam, and he mentioned The Breath; he told me a few times that he really enjoyed the story. He was even looking at different business mediums for it.â
âReally? Does he want to make another mobile game from it?â
âIâm not sure either. Anyway, Oscarâs Dungeon was a huge hit, so he must want to hold on to Writer Ha Jae-Gun tightly.â Ha Jae-In smiled and pinched Ha Jae-Gunâs cheeks lightly.
Ha Jae-Gun put on his safety belt with a pout. It seemed that the kids' treatment he was getting from Ha Jae-In would continue even beyond sixty.
âIâm going now. You should have dinner, noona.â
âMm, Iâm meeting Teacher Yoo from the academy later for dinner. Donât worry, and drive safely.â
Ha Jae-Gun wound up his car window and stepped on the accelerator. As he drove out into the road, he thought of Oh Tae-Jin, whom he would be meeting in a while. More specifically, he was thinking about the novel that Oh Tae-Jin had written.
âIt was a great novel...â
He felt as though electricity was coursing through his body while he was reading that novel. The novelâs main character was a ruined man who had lost both his friend and his woman. He even quit his job and wandered around the world, working daily wages for his livelihood. In the process, he met people from all walks of life. He then got hurt and grew stronger from his experience.
âI should be able to read until the end of that novel, right?â
Ha Jae-Gun had only received half of the manuscript from Oh Tae-Jin, thanks to Oh Myung-Suk for sending it over after the revision was completed. He would be able to gain access and read the remainder of the novel over dinner.
âWill I be able to write such a great novel after accumulating more experience?â
In fact, Ha Jae-Gun had not been able to work on his writings recently due to the withdrawals after reading Oh Tae-Jinâs novel. There was nothing else coming to his mind aside from the extremely well-written novel.
It was an unfamiliar sensation he had felt in a long time. He was dumbfounded at himself, but it was definitely envy that he was feeling.
Ha Jae-Gun felt that his own works were atrocious and even humiliating after reading Oh Tae-Jinâs novel, especially Foolish Woman, A 90s Kid, and all his other earlier works.
He would even secretly drink alone at night while struggling in anguish, thinking about how good novels were good. That fateful lonely night was painted once more before his eyes, and he smiled bitterly.
âThe traffic is pretty heavy today.â
As it was near peak hours, it was taking him some time to arrive at the destination. But thankfully, he had left the house earlier, so he was able to arrive twenty minutes earlier than the agreed meeting time.
âMr. Ha, youâre early!â
âAh, editor-in-chief!â
Ha Jae-Gun parked his car and alighted, greeting Oh Myung-Suk with open arms.
He smiled lightly and hugged the man.
âWhy are you here so early? I thought I read the time wrongly.â
âI came earlier to just hang out around here for a while. Since you always come early, I thought of coming out here to see if youâve arrived. As expected, my intuition is never wrong. Letâs go in.â
Ha Jae-Gun followed Oh Myung-Suk into the same pufferfish restaurant where he met Oh Tae-Jin for the first time.
As they took the stairs up the building, Oh Myung-Suk said, âYou must like the food here, seeing that you agreed to have dinner here.â
âYes, the food here truly surprised me. I told myself that I should come back again, and thanks to you, I'm about to eat their dishes again.â
They spotted Oh Tae-Jin as soon as they entered the restaurant. Oh Tae-Jin was reviewing his manuscript seriously. Oh Tae-Jin didn't notice Ha Jae-Gun entering the restaurant even until he was at the table.
âFather, Mr. Ha is here.â
âAh, Iâm sorry. Welcome, Mr. Ha.â
Oh Tae-Jin smiled as he stood up in a hurry. Ha Jae-Gun shook hands with Oh Tae-Jin, whose hands were thick and looking healthy.
âIt was a pity that we couldnât talk much during the Popular Arts Awards.â
âI agree. President, congratulations once more on receiving the Geumgwan Order of Culture Merit Award.â
âMr. Haâs commendation by the Minister of Culture has much more value. I think that youâll be able to receive the Geumgwan Order of Culture Merit in your forties. Iâm only getting this now because Iâm old.â
âYouâre too humble, President.â
After a round of greetings, they sat around the table. They continued with small talk for a while over trivial matters in the literary world, as well as the achievements and overseas expansions Ha Jae-Gun had attained.
As the hotpot boiled down by half, Ha Jae-Gun found an opportunity and made his request. âUm, President, about the remainder of the manuscript...â
âAhh, right. I was waiting for you to bring it up first, as I was too embarrassed to bring it up first. Anyway, here it is.â Oh Tae-Jin said as he handed the manuscript to Ha Jae-Gun with his face flushed. He looked like an affectionate young girl giving a hand-written heartfelt love letter.
âIâve read the first half of the novel,â Ha Jae-Gun mentioned as he took the manuscript.
Oh Tae-Jin gulped, looking nervous. âWhat do you think, Mr. Ha.â
âItâs great.â Ha Jae-Gun said and looked at Oh Tae-Jin with determination before adding, "It was so good that I felt inferior."
"Hohoho..."
"I'm not saying it to get into your good books. There was a period when I couldn't work on my own novels after reading your work."
Ha Jae-Gun never beat about the bush when talking about writing or novels. He would always express his feelings as they were as it was for the development of his own and others' works. He had inherited his persistence from Professor Han Hae-Sun.
"Thank you so much for letting me read such a great novel earlier than any other readers in the world."
Ha Jae-Gun stood up and gave a deep bow to Oh Tae-Jin. Taken aback, both Oh Myung-Suk and Oh Tae-Jin hurriedly stood up and bowed in return as well.
âOh my... Hoho, thank you. Thank you so much. I hope thereâs a hole for me to hide around here, but at the same time, my heart is pounding because Iâm so happy... What senseless talk at my age.â Oh Tae-Jin scrambled with joy.
Even Oh Myung-Suk was laughing uncontrollably in surprise. Oh Myung-Suk was confident, but he hadnât expected such high praises coming from Ha Jae-Gun.
Ha Jae-Gun sat back down in his chair and picked up the manuscript. âExcuse me, but may I finish reading the rest of the novel right now, please?â
âWell, it doesnât matter, but... right now?â Oh Tae-Jin asked, dumbfounded.
Even if it was the second half of the novel, it was still around 80,000 characters long. If Ha Jae-Gun was going to appreciate its contents, it should take him over thirty minutes to finish it at the very least.
âI would at least love to find out about the storyâs development with a quick read. Iâve been very curious how the story would end, you see. I apologize for doing this in the middle of our dinner, but Iâll be extremely grateful if you could allow me to read it now.â
âS-sure. Itâs my pleasure. Donât mind us.â Oh Tae-Jin tried his best to suppress his pounding heart. He was also excited to hear Ha Jae-Gun's final review.
âIâll read this in my car for a moment so that I wonât affect you having dinner.â
âNo, you donât have to.â
âItâs because Iâm already done with my dinner. Iâll return in thirty minutes.â
There was a reason why Ha Jae-Gun had to leave the restaurant to read in the car. He took out Seo Gun-Wooâs horn-rimmed glasses from the glove box. As soon as he put it on, he began flipping through the pages of the manuscript. The fine print on the manuscript began flowing into his eyes.
âHmm...?!â
Ha Jae-Gun frowned after going through a few pages. Amidst the wrinkles that were formed on his face, Ha Jae-Gun was filled with unexpected doubts and disappointment.
âWhy does this read weird? How can it turn out like this...?â
The novel was still going well for the first ten thousand characters. However, the problem came from the novelâs core story. There was a strong contrast between the heterogeneous style of writing and the monotonous narratives.
It felt as if another writer had taken over.
Ha Jae-Gun sat alone in the car as he fell into deep confusion.
âWhat? Itâs flowing naturally again from this point on?â
Ha Jae-Gunâs mouth dropped open, stunned. The story returned to its original flow at around 10,000 characters before the novelâs ending.
The main character reunited with the love of his life, and the book ended with them looking at each other from afar.
Ha Jae-Gun stared at that certain part of the book for quite a while.
âWas I too strict?â He began suspecting the glasses themselves. Could he, perhaps, be using Seo Gun-Wooâs sharp judgment while reading the novel? Ha Jae-Gun took off the glasses and decided to go over the novel once more.
âNo, it wasnât an illusion....â The results remained the same.
The feelings from earlier didn't change a single bit.
Ha Jae-Gun put down the stack of papers on his lap and let out a long sigh.
He regretted giving such high praises in the first half of the novel back in the restaurant. He never expected that a novel written by the same person could bring such a huge disparity.
Looking at the time, it was well past his promised thirty-minute mark.
Ha Jae-Gun returned to the restaurant. As soon as he stepped through the door, he saw Oh Tae-Jin and Oh Myung-Suk waiting for him anxiously.
âYouâre really back in thirty minutes.â
âYes, I thought I couldnât take too long, so I did some speed reading.â
Oh Tae-Jinâs eyes were filled with expectations.
Ha Jae-Gun cleared his throat and began speaking truthfully. âIs it alright if I write a proper review after reading it more in detail and send it over to you via email? I think itâs rude to give you my reviews when Iâve only done a brief read-through.â
âAhh, sure... Iâll be grateful if you could do that.â Oh Tae-Jin nodded slowly before letting out a sigh that had a mix of sadness and relief.
He desperately needed reviews, but it wasn't just because he was a writer. There was another reason behind it.
âNow, Mr. Ha, please have a glass.â
âThank you. Iâll pour you a glass as well.â
The three men raised their glasses and shared a toast. However, Oh Tae-Jin felt extremely anxious. After living for a good sixty years, he had learned to read the expressions on peopleâs faces.
And Ha Jae-Gun had been acting quite rigid ever since his return.
Although Oh Tae-Jin had a lot of questions in his mind, he could not speak of them freely. His eldest son seemed to be the only one enjoying himself while talking to Ha Jae-Gun.
***
[An explosive effect on Oscarâs Dungeon, Nextionâs mobile game sales grew 24% year-on-year]
[Huge achievement in both Korea and China, counting down to the next release of Oscarâs Dungeon in Taiwan]
[Nextionâs planning director, Nam Gyu-Ho: Development of the game Gyeoja Bathhouse is going well, thanks to the power of the original novel.]
[Concerned voices from local women groups: Game restriction age for Oscarâs Dungeon should be raised to prevent studentsâ addiction to the game]
Nam Gyu-Ho was currently reading the news on his phone alone in the pantry, there was no one else around in the early morning. The performance remained great, and the popularity of Oscarâs Dungeon in Korea and China increased exponentially day by day.
âI never knew it would rake in so much popularity.â
The cumulative number of downloads and sales had exceeded expectations by a huge margin. Nam Gyu-Ho exclaimed, rolling his tongue in his mouth. He then moved his finger on the screen, clicking on the ebook of the first volume of The Breath.
âNext would be you...â
It had been a while since he started thinking about The Breath. They were a game company, so it was natural that he would want to turn this novel into a game as well.
However, the issue was the platform that the game would go on.
âIt would look good either way, regardless of the platform.â
Nam Gyu-Ho scrolled through the ebook mindlessly as he fell into deep thoughts. He had read the novel countless times, but he would always fall in love with it over and over again.
He had always believed in his own judgment. He believed that this novel would definitely become a huge hit as a game, regardless of the platform. Accepting his extreme conclusion, he burst into laughter once more.
âKekekek... Hahahaha!â His laughter was both contrived and sinister.
He was at the scene where the main character had lost his colleague and had almost lost his mind. novelbuddy. com
Just then, an employee had stepped through the door to the pantry, his face turning pale.
Bzzt!
Nam Gyu-Hoâs phone rang, and his screen showed the caller ID.
Nam Gyu-Ho immediately stopped laughing and answered the call.
âHello, this is Nam Gyu-Ho.â