Big Life-Chapter 212: What? Dragon Rider? (18)

“I look forward to working with you this time as well.”

Ha Jae-Gun stamped his seal on the contract.

Nam Gyu-Ho smiled and reached his hand out, which Ha Jae-Gun grabbed and shared a handshake. Everyone on the planning team, including Lee Soo-Hee, sent a round of applause for the moment when the game adaptation for The Breath was finalized. As mentioned by Nam Gyu-Ho himself, it would take Nextion two years at the minimum to develop the game.

He needed that much time to paint the big picture he had in mind.

“I’ll try my best to ensure that we’ll be able to hold a production press conference in the next six months.”

“I’m not in a hurry at all. It’s fine even if it takes ten years, so I hope it comes out exactly as how you have imagined it to be, Director Nam.”

As everyone else left the meeting room, Ha Jae-Gun, Lee Soo-Hee, and Nam Gyu-Ho were left in the room. Nam Gyu-Ho took a sip of his coffee and said, “I haven’t had the chance to say it before, but congratulations to both of you.”

Ha Jae-Gun grinned and nodded.

Lee Soo-Hee looked down with her face flushed and twiddled with her fingers.

“I read it in an article by Weekly Trends. Is it true?”

“Yes, we’re planning to get married mid-next year.” Ha Jae-Gun revealed that much information and then thought that he would prefer it if his sister could get married before him. However, he couldn't say that in front of Nam Gyu-Ho.

“Director Nam, I think I’ll have to get going first.”

“Let’s have dinner together one of these days. I’ll drop you a call.”

Lee Soo-Hee followed Ha Jae-Gun as he turned around to leave the meeting room. The distance of the corridor leading up to the elevator wasn't long. With a regretful look, Lee Soo-Hee said, “I’ll send you down to the car park.”

“No, it’s okay. We’ll meet again later in the evening anyway.”

“No, I’m going to send you all the way to the car park.”

Lee Soo-Hee eventually took the elevator with Ha Jae-Gun. She pressed the button to B1 and said, “What else is left? Movie? Anime?”

“Huh?”

“The Breath. The novel is out, the game will be developed, and unlike Korea, the U.S. said that they could produce a movie adaptation for it as well. If the novel does well in the U.S., the movie will be underway soon, right?”

“Was Team leader Lee Soo-Hee always this ahead of herself?”

As Ha Jae-Gun opened his car door, Lee Soo-Hee had just recalled something and a shiver traveled throughout her entire body. “Jae-Gun, why don’t we have dinner at your house later?”

They had actually agreed to meet at Lee Soo-Hee’s house for dinner instead of going to Ha Jae-Gun’s house. But she suddenly recalled that she had forgotten to lock the door to her study before she left the house this morning.

“Huh? Why? Didn’t you say you have everything prepared for dinner already?”

“Yes, but…. I just thought that you have to work on your novel too, so isn’t it easier for you to focus at home?”

“You’re such a worrywart. I’m not going to write today, I’m just going to rest.”

“Ha Jae-Gun…!”

Would it be better if she told him? If she mentioned it, Ha Jae-Gun might get curious and badger her, asking all about it. While Lee Soo-Hee stomped her feet, unable to decide what to say, Ha Jae-Gun started up his car.

“I’ll see you later. I’ll head to Suwon first, then see you at home.”

“A-alright. Drive safely, Ha Jae-Gun.”

Just as he drove out onto the main road, Ha Jae-Gun’s phone rang. It was a call from his sister, Ha Jae-In. Ha Jae-Gun connected his Bluetooth and answered the phone with a wide smile.

***

“Yeah, Ha Jae-Gun. Director Nam seemed to be quite strong-willed. He said he would definitely turn The Breath into a success. Congratulations. Mm, yeah. It’s not good to stay on the phone for long when you’re driving. Drive safely, I’ll call you again.”

Ha Jae-In hung up and looked at the scenery before her. She was at the construction site of their newly moved house. It was currently a half-finished outline of the grand detached house surrounding a spacious front yard.

‘Have I ever dreamt of living in a house like this?’

It would soon be the third year since Ha Jae-Gun’s career began to take off, and despite that, Ha Jae-In was still surprised by the changing circumstances from time to time. It felt like it was only yesterday when she kept hoping her own younger brother would grow to become more financially stable.

Bzzt!

Ha Jae-In pulled out her phone again, which she had just placed in her pocket, to see the name Ji-Sun, one of her friends who had attended the alumni gathering a few days back.

“Yeah, Ji-Sun.”

— Did you return home safely that day? I didn’t even get to talk to you properly because it was so chaotic that day.

“Yes, I did. That last round was too much, I was slightly drunk.”

— Of course. Your amazing boyfriend came to pick you up, so what’s there for you to worry about for the rest of the night? I almost fainted at the sight of your boyfriend that night. Oh my gosh, he even has a chauffeur. But Ji-Sun, have you seen Sook-Hee’s Kokoa Story?

“No, I haven’t used it for a while. Why?”

— Sook-Hee went off early, saying that she had something urgent to do at home. I went on Kokoa Story the next day, and I found that all the posts she had uploaded had been turned private. All her bragging posts had disappeared.

“Why did she do that all of a sudden? Did something happen?”

— Are you really asking because you don’t know? On the night of our alumni gathering, she didn't leave early because of something urgent at home but because she was jealous of you and your boyfriend. Anyway, I feel so refreshed; the others are laughing so hard in the group chat.

“Don't do that. You guys are being silly.”

— I can guarantee you that Sook-Hee will lay low forever. I'll change my surname if she appears at the next gathering.

Ha Jae-In only smiled wryly without a word. Just then, her phone rang again, it was a call from Nam Gyu-Ho.

“Ji-Sun, I'm sorry, but I've another call coming in. I'll call you again.”

— Alright, call me back when you’re free.

Ha Jae-In pulled the end call button and switched to the call with Nam Gyu-Ho. “Hello, Director Nam.”

—- Have you had lunch?

“Yes, I did. You had lunch, too, right?”

— I had lunch with Writer Ha and the team; we even signed the contract for The Breath as well.

“I know, I just talked to Jae-Gun on the phone as well. Thank you for taking such good care of my brother.”

— I won’t take too long.

Nam Gyu-Ho’s determined voice made her chuckle silently. “What do you mean? It’s fine, even if it takes a while. You’re an outstandingly talented person, so don’t say that…”

— I’m not talking about the game.

“…Pardon?” Ha Jae-In’s smiling face froze, turning perplexed. Unlike his usual self, Nam Gyu-Ho remained silent on the line.

“Then what do you mean…?”

— I was talking about you, Ms. Jae-In.

“Me?”

— I will get the approval before the press conference for The Breath. I don’t wish to make you wait for too long.

Ha Jae-In bit her lips and looked down. It was something she had been feeling anxious about. They hadn’t had the chance to talk about their future, which was currently filled with uncertainty. In fact, this was the first time Nam Gyu-Ho had even brought it up.

— I will definitely get his approval. I'm afraid of losing you, and I would like to call Writer Ha my brother-in-law.

“Director Nam….”

— Will Writer Ha get angry if I call him that?

“N-no….” Ha Jae-In scrunched her tingly nose slightly with a smile. “There’s no reason for him to be angry, no way….”

The sun that had been blocked by the overcast sky finally showed itself. Ha Jae-In raised her hands over her head, the sun warming her freezing hands. She suddenly hoped for spring to come earlier.

***

It would soon be the end of the year.

As usual, Ha Jae-Gun was busy. He was working on both the export copy of the manuscript for The Breath, as well as a new short story for Market Place. He had received assistance from Lee Soo-Hee’s father, Lee Kyung-Wook, as a pawnshop owner and got to add the story to the collection before the year officially ended.

“Thank you for acceding to my interview, Father.”

“Are we all done now? Then set up the chess board.”

“No, sir. I’m sorry, we already played ten games yesterday; please let me off. I’m still feeling exhausted.”

“Stop whining and set it up.”

The consequence of interviewing Lee Kyung-Wook was always chess. After playing countless rounds with him, Ha Jae-Gun unexpectedly gained a lot from the games. In addition to completing his latest short story, he also managed to get closer to Lee Kyung-Wook.

“Does your father not play chess?”

“Of course, my father plays. He taught me chess, after all.”

Last week, both Ha Jae-Gun and Lee Soo-Hee’s families had met officially. As both men possessed blunt characteristics, they couldn't share much information about each other over conversations.

“And compared to you, how is your father’s skill?”

“I think I’m slightly inferior.”

Lee Kyung-Wook’s forehead seemed to shine with the words is that so?

Ha Jae-Gun cheered silently inside, thinking that he had to bring both fathers together for a game of chess in order to escape from this hell hole himself.

“I’d like to see him more often. I hate to be estranged from him after that one meeting last week.”

“He likes hiking, too. I will bring it up to him soon.”

Bzzt!

“Sir, please excuse me while I take this call.”

“Come back soon, I’ll set up the board first.”

Ha Jae-Gun then stepped out into the front yard to answer the incoming call. “Yes, Chae-Rin?”

— You’re doing well, right? Are you busy with wedding preparations?

“It’s still a long time until the wedding. Probably sometime in the summer of next year. Why did you call out of the blue? What about Do-Joon?”

— Tsk, is Do-Joon oppa the only person? I’m disappointed. Anyway, are you available this evening? Do-Joon oppa suggests having dinner together if you’re available.

“Really? Of course, I am. Where shall we meet?”

— I’d like to go to your place if that’s fine with you. I love your basement a lot.

“Okay, tell Do-Joon and come over to my place later.”

— Oh, can I also bring one more person along? They might be appearing on I Live Alone with me, and I hope that you could help me take a look.

“Oh? Who is it?”

Park Do-Joon and Lee Chae-Rin were both confirmed to appear in Ha Jae-Gun's episode of I Live Alone, but as he didn't know of any other celebrities aside from them, he hadn't thought much further on it.

Lee Chae-Rin then said.

— You probably won't know them. She's called Yu-Na, and she's waiting for her debut with a girl group right now.

“Yu-Na?”

— I knew her from way back during my trainee days, but I’m not exactly close to her since we’re in different groups and are busy with our own schedules. We only met recently while filming for Real Theater; I think you’ll like her as well when you guys meet. I’ll tell you more when we meet.

“I’m not sure why you think I’ll like her, but… okay. I’m fine if you bring her over.”

— Thank you, oppa. I’ll call you again later.

“Alright, see you later.” Ha Jae-Gun hung up the call, and then he recalled that Lee Kyung-Wook was waiting for him and hurried back in. However, before Ha Jae-Gun could step into the living room, a text message came in.

- The world today has changed slightly thanks to a certain writer. ^^

‘Writer Kang? What is this?’ He couldn’t understand what Kang Min-Ho’s message meant. Seeing that the message had a link attached to it, Ha Jae-Gun clicked on it, and the screen showed the website of a free posting board from a novel-related community.

[I received my overdue royalties from Haetae Media today. They had been quiet about it for two whole years and suddenly transferred the amount today;;;; Although the amount was less than 400,000 won, I was still surprised that they had made the settlement. This is why I’m sharing this news.]

‘Hmm…?’ An anonymous writer had uploaded the post. Ha Jae-Gun tilted his head from side to side, both surprised and curious. Did Haetae Media really feel threatened by his words that day?

“Mr. Writer! Are we going to play chess tomorrow!” Lee Kyung-Wook yelled after waiting for quite some time. Ha Jae-Gun kept his phone in a hurry. He might be curious about the issue with Haetae Media, but the most important thing right now was a game of chess with Lee Kyung-Wook.

***

While Ha Jae-Gun and Lee Kyung-Wook were playing chess, posts by writers who had signed with Haetae Media were continuously uploaded to various novel-related websites.

[I haven’t said a word until now, but I have also just received the bank transfer three days back.]

[I was speechless when I received the money, so I called them to check, but their answer was ridiculous. They said something like their settlement system had been wonky, and that was why the transfer was delayed;;;;]

[I received slightly over 700,000 won today as well. But that was over the course of three years of sales. How ridiculous;;; (blegh)]

[I had called them to process the settlement for my royalties over ten times and had already given up, but I received mine yesterday as well. I haven’t looked in Haetae Media’s way for so long; what happened to them all of a sudden?]

[Woah, is this for real? I made my debut with Haetae Media, but was ruined, so I’m currently working at a company… But I haven’t received my settlement;;;]

The new employee, Dae-Woo, was reading all the posts during his break in the office at Haetae Media. He knew that the reason behind the mass settlement for the writers was the conversation between the pot-bellied president and Department Head Ma Jong-Goo. Their conversation still echoed in his ears.

"Ugh… Just transfer the money to everyone. It’ll be much more of a problem if Ha Jae-Gun decides to turn this into a huge issue."

"All of them.? What about those who stopped after releasing their debut novel?"

"Why do you keep asking unrelated questions?! Just feign ignorance! If we were to include those writers, then how could the company earn money?! Ignore those writers for the time being."

"I-I understand, sir."

The conversation cracked Dae-Woo up. Thankfully, he was all alone in the office since he was the only one working overtime in the office.

“It’s only a matter of time before I start seeing rumors about Ha Jae-Gun's involvement in all this.” Dae-Woo grabbed his wallet and headed for the door. His assumption was correct, as the newest post uploaded on a certain anonymous website had mentioned Writer Poongchun-Yoo in it.