Big Life-Chapter 211: What? Dragon Rider? (17)

“Are they only transferring Writer Jeon Bong-Yi’s royalties now?” asked the new employee sitting beside Deputy Lee. Deputy Lee had just finished calculating the royalties due for Writer Jeon Bong-Yi and threw a glance at Ma Jong-Goo and Park Kyung-Soo’s way before signaling the newcomer to leave the office together.

“Do you want to have a coffee together?”

“Thank you.”

Deputy Lee and the newcomer took a can of coffee each and went up to the rooftop. He put a cigarette stick in his mouth and said, “Mr. Dae-Woo, if you want to work here longer, just go with the flow.”

“Pardon?”

“This is how we do things here at Haetae Media.” Deputy Lee turned to look at the newcomer and laughed self-mockingly, “It’s been two years since I joined the company, and do you know what I’ve realized while working here?”

“I-I don’t know…?”

“I learned that writers are much more powerless than expected. Nine out of ten of them don’t even complain when they don’t receive their full settlement, and this applies more toward writers who are not as popular. They do not know much of anything else aside from writing. If they know that they can't really do much about it, and it's going to be bothersome to deal with it, they wouldn’t deal with it at all."

“Even if they don’t get paid according to what is rightfully their portion?”

“Yes.” Deputy Lee replied before adding, “And this company takes full advantage of that characteristic.”

“But… wouldn’t there be at least one writer who would threaten to sue the company?”

“Like I said, the company only takes advantage of those pushover writers. Plus, their royalties don’t amount to much. You read the statement I tallied for Jeon Bong-Yi’s settlement, right?”

“Yes, that’s why I thought, why didn’t the company just pay it out when it’s better for the company image and for the future?”

Deputy Lee then looked away and stared into space with a grin. “Mr. Dae-Woo isn’t looking at the big picture. Do you know how many novels we have published until today at Haetae Media?”

“Huh? Um… maybe around a thousand?”

Deputy Lee snorted. “Over 3,500 novels. A whopping 3,500 novels. How many of those pushover writers like Jeon Bong-Yi do you think contribute to that number?”

“…”

“Small change gathered together totals to a huge amount of money, which in turn fills the pockets of our CEO.”

“Ah… I understand what you mean.” Deputy Lee finished smoking out a stick in no time and took out a second stick to smoke before continuing. “Most writers are poor, and they wouldn’t be able to make ends meet if they only relied on writing. There are countless of them who have to work part-time or even take a full-time job, reducing their amount of sleep while writing on the side.”

“Yes, Writer Ko Dae-Geun, who is the first writer I’m overseeing in my life, is also working night shifts at a PC cafe.”

“The biggest issue with poor writers is that they don’t have the luxury to dream. So the moment they realize that they can't receive their well-deserved royalties, they wouldn’t think of filing a lawsuit or consulting a lawyer. The best they could do is call the company and beg for their royalties no matter how much it amounts to.”

“Mm…”

“Of course, they would beg the company to transfer their full portion of the royalties they were promised. But isn’t it funny? Getting enough money for living expenses is the most urgent, so whatever that should be right or wrong becomes an issue for tomorrow.”

Deputy Lee took a few puffs from his cigarette, and then she showed a look of disgust. He rubbed his teary eyes and continued. “What’s more ridiculous was Department Head Ma’s answer whenever he answers their calls. He would ask them to sign their next novel with us, and if they give us the manuscripts, the company will then transfer the overdue royalties.”

“Oh my god…! The overdue royalties aren’t pawns.”

“I had the same reaction when I first joined the company as well.” Deputy Lee finished the remaining coffee in the can and threw it into the trash bin nearby. As she turned around slowly, Deputy Lee said, “I didn’t understand it, but I came to accept it gradually. I am a salaried employee, after all, but I’m slowly growing exhausted with this situation. I have also decided to stop understanding it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I tendered my resignation. I’m working until next week.”

“Deputy Lee…?!”

“I stayed for a while longer just to teach you, Mr. Dae-Woo. Let’s have some drinks one of these days.”

“Yes… Okay.” Dae-Woo grew depressed and followed behind Deputy Lee. He was saddened to hear that the first and only person he had grown close to in Haetae Media since he had joined was leaving soon.

“Are you going to rest for a while after your resignation?”

“There’s no time for me to rest since I have to pay for my rent. I have already found another job, I passed the interview.”

“Ah, so you’re changing companies. Where are you going to work at?”

“Laugh Books.”

“Laugh Books?! That same publishing company that Writer Poongchun-Yoo is at?”

“You’re too loud, Mr. Dae-Woo. I’ll share with you another time, but please keep it a secret to the company for now.”

As they went back down to their office, they saw a few cigarette butts thrown on the ground in the emergency stairway. Those were traces of people who had found it bothersome to climb all the way to the rooftop to smoke and had thrown them carelessly to the ground.

As usual, Deputy Lee bent down to pick all of them up. As he did, he couldn't help but wish that his world would become slightly better than before.

***

“A female as the main character of a fusion fantasy novel is quite… unusual.”

“Is that what everyone thinks?”

“Well, the majority of those readers are men, so fantasy novels with female main characters don’t sell.”

The three new writers said in unison. Jeon Bong-Yi nodded, looking dejected. “Why don’t you stick to romance novels?”

“I’ve been writing romance novels since my debut, and strangely, I’m finding it more boring than before. Especially the one I’m writing now. Plus, I originally like fantasy novels too.”

Just then, the door to the bedroom opened, and Ha Jae-Gun stepped out. The new writers turned around to see him, and one of them asked, “Writer Ha, novels with female main characters don’t sell well, right?”

“Novels with female main characters?”

“Yeah, fantasy stories with female main characters. Writer Jeon Bong-Yi was contemplating what to write for her new novel.”

“It is hard to sell,” Ha Jae-Gun said as he headed to the coffee machine. While the others nodded in agreement, Ha Jae-Gun continued. “But it’s more important that you write something you like. I personally feel that it’s marketable as long as you enjoy writing it.”

Their opinions started off the same, but the conclusion was different. Jeon Bong-Yi looked at Ha Jae-Gun’s back as he made his coffee. Soon, a bright smile grew on her face—an idea had already popped into her head.

Bzzt!

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Jeon Bong-Yi took out her phone, her eyes almost popping out as she saw the screen. It was a notification from the bank about a new bank transfer to her account.

Deposit: 318,420 won

Balance: 2,611,243 won

Haetae Media

‘Wh-what happened…?’ The sudden notification got Jeon Bong-Yi flustered.

She was certain that the amount was the royalties for the ebook of her debut novel that she hadn’t received for a while. Her debut novel didn’t do well, so the amount she was due to receive wasn’t that much. However, money was no longer important to her at the moment. Haetae Media had been turning a blind eye to her requests whenever she asked, so how come they suddenly decided to pay her due royalties?

“Writer Jeon, what’s wrong? Did something bad happen?”

“N-No. It’s not that…” Jeon Bong-Yi trailed off and looked up. Her eyes began to blur as she shifted her gaze to Ha Jae-Gun. She then recalled the night when she shared her concerns over dinner at the sushi restaurant.

‘Did Writer Ha…?’

Back then, Ha Jae-Gun only said to dig in and not elaborate on how he would help her, so Jeon Bong-Yi had forgotten all about it. After a while of thinking, Jeon Bong-Yi stood up. She was about to ask Ha Jae-Gun about it, but the doorbell rang.

“Huh? Who is it?”

Baek Sung-Hyun stood up and went for the door. Everyone working in the office knew the password to the door, so the doorbell rarely rang.

“Who is it?”

“Excuse me, is this Writer Ha’s office? I’m from Haetae Media.”

The voice coming through the intercom belonged to Ma Jong-Goo, and Jeon Bong-Yi froze on the spot. Even Ha Jae-Gun looked at the door when he was about to take a sip of his coffee.

“Writer Ha, what shall we do?”

“…Open the door.”

Baek Sung-Hyun hurriedly opened the door at Ha Jae-Gun’s instructions, revealing Ma Jong-Goo and Park Kyung-Soo at the door. The two of them had boxes of beverages in both their hands.

“Hehehe, hello. I’m Department Head Ma Jong-Goo from Haetae Media.”

“I’m Deputy Park Kyung-Soo. Is Writer Ha around?”

“Yes, he is…” Sung-Hyun answered and stepped aside for the two men to enter.

Ma Jong-Goo spotted Jeon Bong-Yi staring at him blankly and grinned. “Haha! How have you been, Writer Jeon Bong-Yi? Aigoo, I didn’t know you joined Writer Ha’s office. You should have dropped me a call.”

“…” Jeon Bong-Yi found his words so ridiculous that she almost scoffed loudly. She had called them so many times about her debut novel; what a liar.

“Aigoo, there are so many writers in this office. But where is Writer Ha…” Ma Jong-Goo trailed off when he spotted Ha Jae-Gun between the kitchen and living room, expressionless. “Hello, Writer Ha!”

Ma Jong-Goo bowed down ninety degrees, and Park Kyung-Soo followed suit.

“I’ve contacted you a few times, wanting to meet you, but I couldn’t reach you at all. I was curious about how you were doing; that’s why I came here without notifying you. Hahaha,” said Ma Jong-Goo.

Ha Jae-Gun remained expressionless. Ma Jong-Goo was right. He had indeed called Ha Jae-Gun once or twice every month, but Ha Jae-Gun had ignored all of them, as he had thought he had no further reason to come in contact with them again.

“Has Writer Jeon Bong-Yi’s matter been resolved?” Ha Jae-Gun said, going straight to the point.

Ma Jong-Goo’s smile disappeared immediately and nodded nervously. “Yes, um… It’s been resolved. I will make sure that we won’t sell her novel by mistake anywhere else again.”

“You said it was a mistake?”

“Yes, um… we are overseeing a lot of writers, so there are some difficulties when handling their novels collectively. So mistakes like these happen from time to time.”

“A mistake, you say…” Ha Jae-Gun mumbled as he looked down at his cup. His cold voice echoed through the office like his coffee losing its heat. “Mistakes do happen since publishing companies are run by humans. But if those mistakes happen to several books every month, then doesn’t that mean that there’s a huge problem?”

“Writer Ha, that’s…”

“From my understanding, only Haetae Media has such issues in South Korea. So why does this happen only in Haetae Media? Why are the writers badmouthing Haetae Media everywhere in the online writers' community?”

“Mm…!” Ma Jong-Goo could only grunt. Park Kyung-Soo could only stand beside him quietly like a mute.

“Deputy Park Kyung-Soo.”

“Y-yes! Writer Ha, please speak.”

“You said it in the email you sent me last week, saying that I’ve become a famous writer and that you feel fearful to send over a new novel proposal.”

Park Kyung-Soo gulped as he remained silent. He could not guess why Ha Jae-Gun had brought this up.

Ha Jae-Gun then said, “This isn’t the reason why I’m not signing with Haetae Media. You should know my character by now.”

“I-I’m sorry. I apologize for everything, Writer Ha.” Park Kyung-Soo dropped his head, beads of cold sweat trickling down his body.

Ma Jong-Goo couldn’t look up as well, also hesitating to speak. All the new writers were watching how his hands were trembling while retreating his steps.

‘I never thought I’d see the loud Department Head Ma like this…?’ Jeon Bong-Yi could not believe her eyes upon seeing Ma Jong-Goo's reaction. The client on the contract, who should always be the writer, had always felt like it was Ma Jong-Goo instead. But watching how he bowed his head down like a sinner before the judge here, who was Ha Jae-Gun, made everything feel surreal.

“I could make this issue public, too.” Ha Jae-Gun seethed.

“…!” Ma Jong-Goo and Park Kyung-Soo instantly turned pale as they looked up.

“Please let the President know; tell him not to bother the writers anymore. I believe you have understood my words.”

“…!”

“Why are you both not answering? Department Head Ma? Deputy Park?”

“Y-yes, Mr. Ha.”

“I-I understand. Yes, I understand.”

“Please leave then. The writers have to continue writing their novels.”

Ma Jong-Goo wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked up carefully. “U-um… Writer Ha. I was just wondering if we could treat you to lunch tod—”

He couldn't finish his sentence.

Ha Jae-Gun had emptied his cup of coffee at one go and held it in his mouth. With a deep frown, he glared silently at Ma Jong-Goo.

Ma Jong-Goo stammered, “N-no. Writer Ha. I apologize for showing up out of the blue. W-We will take our leave now.”

“Please take care of yourself, and I hope you’ll k-keep producing good novels. I-I’ll contact you again.”

Ma Jong-Goo and Park Kyung-Soo turned around, fear-stricken. After the two men left the office with tails tucked between their legs, Ha Jae-Gun finally swallowed the coffee held in his mouth.

“T-thank you… Writer Ha…!” Jeon Bong-Yi exclaimed, her hands clasped together before her chest. Her teary eyes were filled with gratitude.

“You’re not faultless, Writer Jeon Bong-Yi.”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind. I will make sure to read through the contracts carefully in the future.”

Ha Jae-Gun smiled faintly and picked up his coat. He was supposed to have a meeting with Nam Gyu-Ho today, making the final decision about the game adaptation for The Breath. Of course, Soo-Hee would be joining the meeting.

“I’ll be going first. Good luck with your writing, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Only the four new writers were left behind after Ha Jae-Gun’s departure. However, none of them moved from their spots after a while, they only stared at the door blankly.

“What are you all doing?” Jeon Bong-Yi broke the silence first. “Writer Ha said to work hard on our novels. We should quickly finish our work and head out for lunch, too.”

Everyone else nodded in agreement and returned to their own seats. Their newly found motivation got everyone typing away on their keyboards at full speed.

‘One day, I too will…!’ They hadn't said it out loud, but all of them held the same thoughts. They steeled their resolve to always be confident in spite of whatever ridiculous treatment they might receive in the future.

On the other hand, Ha Jae-Gun was driving toward the Nextion headquarters. Never in his wildest dreams would he imagine that his words and actions today be recorded in the history of the genre novel industry.

It was winter, but the weather felt relatively warm today.