Big Life

Kang Min-Ho’s eyes narrowed at the sunlight peeking through the gap in the curtains in the Bucheon writer’s office. His gaze turned to the clock on the wall

It was currently 8 a.m.

‘I’m slowly waking up late...’

Kang Min-Ho was trying to maintain a daily routine, but it was getting difficult for him to maintain it. As he grew focused on his writing, his bedtime was slowly getting delayed. Kang Min-Ho hopped out of his bed.

He would love to sleep a bit more, but he felt that he would wake up past 9 a.m. tomorrow at this rate.

“Jang Eun-Young! Wake up!” Kang Min-Ho yelled and knocked on the door.

Hearing a groggy response coming from the other side of the door, Kang Min-Ho went to the kitchen and started preparing breakfast. This week was Kang Min-Ho's turn to prepare meals for everyone.

"Yaaawn, what's for breakfast today?"

"Fried eggs, bean sprout soup, braised soybeans, and kimchi," Kang Min-Ho replied.

He turned around and flinched in shock upon seeing Jang Eun-Young's pajamas.

She was wearing a white sleeveless top that showed off her shoulders and her cleavage, along with a pair of pink hot shorts.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”

“Don’t you need to be careful of what you’re wearing around the house?”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Don’t you think that it’s too revealing?” Kang Min-Ho grumbled as he started portioning rice into the bowls.

Jang Eun-Young chuckled softly and pulled out a chair from the dining table.

“It’s too hot these days, what else can I do?”

“It’s fine if you’re in your own room, but just pay attention to your outfit when you’re out and about.”

“Alright, alright. I’m wearing this because Hyun-Kyung won’t be here until tomorrow.”

“Don’t you think that I’m a person as well?”

“When did you start paying attention to my outfit? It’s not like we just met yesterday.”

Kang Min-Ho clicked his tongue as he placed down the rice bowl and sat across from her. Jang Eun-Young crossed her legs on her seat and started digging into her bowl.

“This is delicious, hyung. Where did you learn to make braised soybeans?”

“You taught me how to make it. Remember when I was still living alone in Jongno?”

“...Hmm, did I?”

Jang Eun-Young’s gaze went blank as she dug deep into her memories.

Kang Min-Ho had to live by himself in Jongno after he was discharged from the military, and he was working part-time back then to sustain himself. Jang Eun-Young had yet to get married back then, so she frequented his place to write their novels, eat and spend time together.

“Ah, that’s why it tasted like mine.”

“Dumbo.”

“Who are you calling dumb? You’re dumb.”

After breakfast, the pair made their own cups of coffee and headed to the terrace.

Jang Eun-Young looked at Kang Min-Ho for a while, then slowly started the conversation. “Hyung, are you going to continue staying here?”

“I’ll try to keep staying here for as long as I can,” Kang Min-Ho answered without hesitation. “Isn’t it a great blessing to live in such a nice place without paying rent? Of course, I’ll have to keep writing if I want to keep staying here. I plan to save a lot of money while I’m here, at least to cover the yearly rent for a studio.”

“What about after that?”

“After that? Mm… I’m not sure…” Kang Min-Ho swept his messy hair before muttering, “Um, perhaps I should meet a nice girl, date her, then get married?”

His casual words made Jang Eun-Young go beyond pallid, but she quickly regained her composure and chuckled softly. “Yeah, that’d be great. You’re thirty-five this year.”

“What’s up with that question? Do you want to leave?” Jang Eun-Young sighed and shook her head. “How could that be? I want to stay here for as long as possible, too. It’s just that—I’m not really sure how long we can stay here.

”I was just worried, so I started wondering about what I would do if either you or I had to leave this place for some reason.”

“I think you need more faith. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so worried. This is Writer Ha’s office. Don’t overthink it. Just keep up the good work,” said Kang Min-Ho.

The front door was unlocked, and it opened, revealing Ha Jae-Gun with Rika in his arms.

The two were astonished.

“Writer Ha, why are you here?”

“Hello. Rika and I will be clocking in the office daily from today onward.” Ha Jae-Gun put Rika down on the floor and continued. “I want to start a routine with you guys. I think it’s about time I start taking care of my health before I collapse.”

Jang Eun-Young smiled and approached him. “That’s a great decision. I’ve always thought of this whenever I’m watching you work, but I don’t think I’ll be able to live my life to the fullest if I were to follow your rigorous work hours.”

“Haha, yeah…” Ha Jae-Gun laughed awkwardly and avoided Jang Eun-Young’s gaze.

Kang Min-Ho elbowed Jang Eun-Young.

Jang Eun-Young looked at herself before heading to her room to change her clothes.

Ha Jae-Gun took his seat.

“Summer in My 20s will soon premiere in the cinemas,” Kang Min-Ho said. He had yet to see the movie. He didn’t have any ill intentions, but his comment inadvertently made Ha Jae-Gun’s cheeks twitch.

“Yes, that’s right,” Ha Jae-Gun replied calmly and turned on his laptop. He was still shell-shocked from watching the movie preview.

‘It’s all water under the bridge. I just have to do better from now on.’

It was his first day clocking at work as if he were a corporate employee, and it was all in an attempt to take care of his mind and body. He wanted to get off on the right foot by emptying his mind of distractions.

Ha Jae-Gun steeled his resolve and opened Word. He was planning on working on the scenario with the new idea he had obtained in Donghae City.

After Jung So-Mi had completed the illustrations up to volume four of Oscar’s Dungeon, volumes one and two were scheduled to be published at the same time. In other words, Ha Jae-Gun had quite a bit of free time.

‘What should I name this novel…’

The meeting between a gangster who fled to Donghae after committing a crime and a seaside girl yearning for city life.

He needed a decent title for the novel.

However, he still couldn’t come up with a good title throughout the time he had spent drinking his coffee. At this rate, he would probably waste the entire day thinking of a decent title.

Ha Jae-Gun eventually came up with an intuitive title—Gangster’s Sea.

With that, he started working on the scenario.

‘It doesn’t look bad at all.’

Ha Jae-Gun smiled upon seeing that it was already noon. He felt different compared to when he was only typing tirelessly on his keyboard as if someone were chasing him.

The sunlight flowing into the spacious room through the wide terrace felt much more pleasant than his own one-room studio, and the typing noises his fellow writers produced created a cacophony of pleasant noises as well.

Ha Jae-Gun was comfortable with everything here.

“Writer Ha, it’s time for lunch.”

“Yes, what do you think we should order?”

“I’ve prepared lunch for us. I’m on the roster this week.”

“Hahaha, all right. I’m looking forward to it.”

The three gathered around the table and enjoyed their meal together.

Ha Jae-Gun ate quietly while thinking about his plans going forward.

‘I’ll write the scenario while clocking in at the office. I’ll do the lecture first at the library next week, and after that will be with JoyM… Then I can just meet the editor-in-chief after I’m done with the novel.’

He was already fully prepared for the lectures. After he was done mentally planning out his to-do list, he finished his meal with satisfaction.

“Wow, this blogger is really devoted to Writer Ha,” Jang Eun-Young mumbled while staring at her phone.

Ha Jae-Gun heard his name and asked, “Who is it?”

“They specialize in genre novels, and your novels have special treatment. They even created a category for just your novels alone, and they have reviewed every single volume of your novels. Do you want to take a look?”

Ha Jae-Gun took her phone and discovered that Jang Eun-Young hadn’t lied at all. Anyone could tell at a single glance that the blogger was a huge fan of Poongchun-Yoo.

The name of the blog was taken from one of Ha Jae-Gun’s novels—Pezellon. In fact, the background of the website was covered with the book covers of Ha Jae-Gun’s novels.

‘What, they started reading when my first novel was published?’

Ha Jae-Gun looked through the bulletin board and squinted. The blogger had carefully reviewed all of Ha Jae-Gun’s novels, starting from his debut novel, including the failed ones.

Furthermore, the blogger had reviewed them in the same year they were published. They had been following Ha Jae-Gun right from the start of his journey. The blogger was already reading Ha Jae-Gun’s books even before he had gotten popular.

- This is Writer Poongchun-Yoo’s debut novel. I read this during middle school and even failed my exams for it. It’s still a mystery to me why such a masterpiece did not become popular back then.

Ha Jae-Gun was greatly touched reading the compliments. It was heartwarming to learn that there was a reader who had been quietly cheering for him unbeknownst to him.

He was already a bestselling author with over a million copies sold, along with a movie adaptation of one of his novels; his heart still jumped for joy at the blogger’s sincere support.

‘He’s a writer, too?’

Ha Jae-Gun found a link to the fantasy novel that the blogger had written.

The link brought him to Munpiang, and the novel was titled Martial God Management.

“Ah, isn’t this your phone? I’m sorry.”

Ha Jae-Gun returned Jang Eun-Young’s phone and started reading the novel on his own laptop.

The modern-day fantasy novel was about a once-successful taekwondo national athlete who had gone on a roll by chance.

‘This has potential.’

The novel’s performance wasn’t great, but the writing was quite flavorful. Ha Jae-Gun was convinced that this novel’s quality would improve by leaps and bounds if the writer had a mentor.

‘It’d be great for me and President Kwon.’

Ha Jae-Gun finally decided to leave Pezellon a message.

They were his avid fan, so Ha Jae-Gun wanted to give them some sort of repayment.

Ha Jae-Gun had just left the message, but…

Katok!

Pezellon had already replied before Ha Jae-Gun could even digest his lunch.

- Hiiick! A-are you really Writer Poongchun-Yoo?!

- Hello. Yes, this is Poongchun-Yoo. That was a fast reply.

- Waaaah! I can’t belieave this! I’m sorry for the typos my fingetts are trembling. Ah, I almost fainted when I saw your message. I’m a huge fan of yours! I really like your novels! I’ve read every one of them at least ten times! I started writing a fantasy novel myself after reading your novels! Aaaaaahhhh!

Ha Jae-Gun could feel their screams virtually.

Ha Jae-Gun smiled while writing his reply.

- I’ve read all of Martial God Management and discovered a few decent points. You haven’t signed a contract with any company, have you? What do you think of signing your novel with Laugh Books? I have a contract with them as well.

- Ahh;;; Oh no. Actually, I just agreed to sign with Haetae Media. We’re supposed to meet later, and I’m actually about to leave the house.

‘Haetae Media?’

Ha Jae-Gun frowned. He got worried because Haetae Media was infamous for tricking rookie writers with unscrupulous contracts.

Ma Jong-Goo was there as well.

- Do you mind if I ask for your contract terms?

- Of course, you’re Writer Poongchun-Yoo. I don’t mind at all. I’ll be getting six percent royalties for physical books and 5:5 for ebooks. They said these terms are on the better side for a rookie like me.

“...” Ha Jae-Gun let out a scoff.

Haetae Media probably wouldn’t even promote the novel properly, yet they’re asking for half?

They were tricking Pezellon as expected.

- Who contacted you?

- It’s Deputy Park Kyung-Soo.

Ha Jae-Gun froze and fell into deep contemplation.

There was a chance that he could save his fan’s debut novel if he decided to help him. Unfortunately, there was a risk of encountering an issue, which would definitely be bothersome to handle.

However, Ha Jae-Gun still decided to intervene. He decided to help his fan.

***

“You’ve made a good decision, Writer Lee Yeon-Woo.”

Haetae Media’s Deputy Park and rookie writer Lee Yeon-Woo sat across from each other in a small, cozy cafe in the city center. The nervous Lee Yeon-Woo was sporting a buzz cut. It seemed that he had just been discharged from the military.

“You’ve just made your debut, but the terms you’ve received amidst this recession are amongst the best. I’m going to get into trouble for signing you on such great terms,” Park Kyung-Soo smiled.

There was no way he would get into trouble.

In fact, he was doing this under Ma Jong-Goo’s instructions to tempt Lee Yeon-Woo.

“I see… thank you very much. I really appreciate your help. I don’t really know the industry,” Lee Yeon-Woo replied with an awkward smile.

Martial God Management was a novel that he had finally published after polishing many practice novels. It was doubtful that it would have a stellar performance, but it still had a small fanbase, which had kept him going.

Haetae Media soon discovered him and offered him a contract.

There was only one reason why Lee Yeon-Woo had agreed to Haetae Media’s offer without hesitation. Haetae Media was the company that published the Pezellon series of his favorite author—Poongchun-Yoo.

‘Huhuhu, shall we proceed with the contract signing?’

The sneaky motive started wriggling in Park Kyung-Soo. He had undergone a huge change since last year, and he was starting to resemble Department Ma Jong-Goo.

“Shall we sign the contract, then?” Park Kyung-Soo smiled softly and pulled out the contract from his briefcase.

Just then, Lee Yeon-Woo pulled out his phone and asked carefully, “Deputy Park, I actually know a writer.”

“You know a writer?”

“Yes. Before we sign the contract, can you allow me to make a phone call? I don’t really have any experience dealing with contracts.”

Lee Yeon-Woo pressed the dial button on his phone.

The call went through, and Lee Yeon-Woo spoke for quite a while before handing his phone over to Kyung-Soo.

“H-hello? This is Deputy Park Kyung-Soo of Haetae Media.”

— It’s been a while, Deputy Park. How have you been?

The clear voice that pierced Park Kyung-Soo’s ears drained the color from his face.