Big Life

“Yes, so please share a couple of those encounters with me.”

Ha Jae-Gun scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed look.

Da-Seul coolly described some of her sensitive encounters so far.

“There are many other sisters who go for those, too; of course, it’s all for the money. They would collect extra money other than the portion they receive for the field trips. Once they’re done, they would return back here for the next group of customers.”

“Mm, I see.”

“I don’t go for those, though. I’m not struggling that much. There are also some customers who would visit bars like these first before heading out for field trips; I avoid them, too. They would ask to go for round three somewhere else after getting drunk, and they’re exhausting to deal with as well.”

Ha Jae-Gun took out his pen and memo pad to write down all the key points.

Da-Seul picked up a piece of cucumber to chew before continuing, “But there are also those who do it in the karaoke room, too.”

“In the karaoke?”

“There are places that prohibit them, but there are other places where they permit them. They would order soju, sashimi, and fruit platters, and then they would start putting up their pants for trade.”

“What… does that mean?”

“The ladies would start selling their pants before doing it. They would take off their pants if you gave them 50,000 won. How would any man resist that? Those men would have been quite drunk, so they would go crazy at the sight of that. If the men gave another 100,000 won, they would go all the way.”

Thanks to Da-Seul’s explanation, Ha Jae-Gun was able to obtain first-hand information on the customers that these karaoke helpers often encountered.

Ha Jae-Gun kept his ears perked up, so he wouldn’t miss out on any of the shared information. His hand, which was rapidly jotting down notes, soon turned white from the pressure he was putting on his pen.

“Ah, I’m feeling cold,” Da-Seul muttered and rubbed her arms, trying to warm herself up.

Ha Jae-Gun paused for a moment and said, “Let’s change seats. The cold wind seems to be stronger on your side.”

“Just sit down.” Da-Seul stood up and walked around the table. She then pulled the chair next to Ha Jae-Gun and sat down. The light makeup scent in the air tingled Ha Jae-Gun's nose.

"I saw that you were writing quite fast, your handwriting still looks quite decent," Da-Seul commented as she took a peek at Ha Jae-Gun's memo pad. She leaned closer to Ha Jae-Gun, and then she strapped both her legs over Ha Jae-Gun's thighs.

Ha Jae-Gun stiffed from her sudden actions.

"It's warmer this way. Why, am I heavy?"

"Umm… it's nothing. It's fine." Ha Jae-Gun could feel Da-Seul's breath on his cheek.

Despite Ha Jae-Gun getting slightly flustered by the current situation, Da-Seul continued nonchalantly. "Where did I stop? Do you have anything else you want to know?"

"Ah, yes. Can you tell me more about your encounters with rude customers and what happened?"

The interview resumed. Da-Seul started sharing her own encounters with Ha Jae-Gun as if she were talking to her long-time boyfriend.

Ha Jae-Gun felt awkward at first, but he gradually got used to it. Even the other customers around them didn’t seem to mind them as well. The other tables seemed to be pretty occupied with their own conversations as well.

"Thank you, I think this is good enough." Ha Jae-Gun closed his memo pad and ended the interview.

There were two empty bottles of soju on the table. Three to four glasses of soju were what Ha Jae-Gun had throughout the interview, and the remaining one and a half bottles were cleared by Da-Seul.

“You must be tired, right?”

Da-Seul placed her head on his shoulders and let out a soft sigh before answering, “No, I’ve mentioned it the last time. It’s nice since I feel like a celebrity.”

“Haha.”

“I really want to become one, though. Can you guess why?”

“Because you can earn a lot of money?”

“There’s that too, but—Sigh, forget it.”

Da-Seul lifted her head and took one of the soju bottles. However, Ha Jae-Gun snatched it from her and filled up her glass personally.

“You’re a very nice guy, oppa. You’re so considerate.”

“Not really.”

“What’s your name? I don’t usually ask this, but I’m suddenly curious.”

“You didn’t even tell me yours, so why are you asking for mine?”

“But my name is Da-Seul.”

“I know that’s a pseudonym.”

“Tsk, forget it. I’ll just call you oppa.” Da-Seul picked up the glass and brought it to her mouth.

Ha Jae-Gun was getting worried. He had no idea about her alcohol tolerance, so he was worried because she had drunk quite a lot of liquor by now.

“I want to see my mother,” Da-Seul blurted out randomly as she placed her glass down.

Ha Jae-Gun flinched and looked at her side profile. Da-Seul sighed, and her sigh seemed to contain her memories and complex emotions.

“There’s that song[1] about becoming a singer just to find the person you love. The song sings about listening to their own song, seeing them on TV or the internet, and hoping that the person would contact them.”

“I think I know that song...”

“That’s why I want to become a celebrity. My mother will definitely recognize me once she sees me on TV. I’m sure of that, even though she abandoned me, but… If I were to become a popular celebrity… she would definitely contact me.”

Da-Seul’s head drooped as she bit her plump lips. Her eyelids were starting to become filled with hot tears, so she took a deep breath.

“Sorry, I think I’m not feeling my best today. I wonder what’s wrong with me...”

Ha Jae-Gun passed her a piece of tissue. Da-Seul took it and started dabbing away the tears in the corner of her eyes.

“I was actually quite tired after meeting a rude customer today. I ran out frustrated, but I saw your message, so I immediately replied.”

“...I see.”

“Let me stay like this for a while.” Da-Seul rested her head on Ha Jae-Gun’s shoulder once more.

The atmosphere suddenly turned solemn, and Ha Jae-Gun turned to look at the ceiling. His shoulder felt heavy, but it wasn’t because of Da-Seul. It was because of the story she had shared with him tonight.

‘I’ll never… let this novel become a joke, ever. I promise.”

The novel now had a new purpose. Now, he wanted to write a novel that could support her mentally.

In the corner of the noisy bar, Ha Jae-Gun silently poured himself a glass of soju.

***

The employees at Nextion's mobile development team had solemn looks on their faces after the meeting just now. It was the same for Team Leader Lee Soo-Hee.

She looked like she was in a daze—like an empty shell.

"Cheer up, Team Leader."

"I'm fine. You're the one who has done the most work, Ms. Hye-Mi. Anyway, I’m going to the washroom."

However, Lee Soo-Hee stepped out and headed to the rooftop instead. The rooftop was designed as a place of rest for all employees, but no one else was up here due to the cold weather.

"Phew…"

Lee Soo-Hee let out a sigh as she got herself a cup of coffee from the nearby vending machine.

Another game that she had been developing was on the verge of getting canceled. A game being canceled wasn’t rare in the game development industry, but the sadness she felt this time was much stronger than before.

'Ha Jae-Gun's scenario was great…'

She knew that Ha Jae-Gun had put his heart and soul into the scenario that he had created, so she didn’t feel good to know that it would end up being thrown away.

Lee Soo-Hee took out her phone. She looked up Ha Jae-Gun's name in her contacts and called him.

— Hey, Soo-Hee.

"That's fast. Are you working right now?"

— No, I'm actually outside right now.

"I see."

Loud music and singing could be heard on the phone.

Curious, Lee Soo-Hee asked, “Where are you at? Are you in a karaoke room?”

— Huh? Yeah, I’m in a karaoke room. I’ve got something to do here.

“Funny. What else can you do in a karaoke room aside from singing? Are you with Jung-Jin?”

— No, not with him. Someone else.

“All right. Anyway, when are you going to treat me to a meal? You said you’d treat me for congratulating you on winning the Digital Literature Award,” Lee Soo-Hee teased with a pout.

Ha Jae-Gun groaned before replying.

— Ah, right. I should. When are you available?

Lee Soo-Hee was disappointed at the hesitation in Ha Jae-Gun’s voice.

She was looking forward to hearing him ask her out today.

All of a sudden, a voice made Lee Soo-Hee’s eyes widen.

— Oppa, let’s have another can of beer each.

— Wait, I’m on a call.

She definitely heard another girl’s voice on the other end of the line just now, and Ha Jae-Gun had replied to her as well. This meant that he was with a woman in a karaoke room.

— Hello? Soo-Hee?

“Yeah? I’m listening.”

— It’s going to be tough today, how about tomorrow?

“Tomorrow? Hmm… I’m not sure, I’m busy these days. I’m not sure if I have any other appointments tomorrow. I’ll have to check my schedule in the office,” Lee Soo-Hee lied to save her pride.

She lied—Lee Soo-Hee had no appointments today or tomorrow.

— Sure, let me know when you’re free.

“Okay. Bye.” Lee Soo-Hee hung up and plopped down on the bench. She placed her hand on her chest and felt her pounding heart as she desperately tried to catch her breath.

‘She must be just an acquaintance...’

She tried convincing herself, but she couldn’t calm down at all.

Lee Soo-Hee ended up opening the gallery on her phone. She entered a password, and the very first picture appeared in her eyes. It was a photo of Ha Jae-Gun and herself during their university days, and they were smiling brightly.

***

‘Haaa, I’m getting tied down here again.’

Ha Jae-Gun was at a cafe in an arcade building situated downtown.

He sighed endlessly as he read the novel he had written.

‘The female lead’s dialogues are so bad, and the emotional scenes are annoying me. She feels like she’s only a female in name because she’s acting more like a man.’

It wasn’t just Ha Jae-Gun who thought that way. Even Professor Han Hae-Sun, whom Ha Jae-Gun respected a lot, had sent over a similar review of his novel the day before yesterday. She mentioned how the female protagonist’s behavior was crude and the fact that she had found it difficult to get immersed in the story.

‘Rika, what should I do? I need your help.’

Ha Jae-Gun suddenly recalled the mysterious lights that shone from Rika’s eyes.

‘I need that power that allowed me to feel So-Mi’s emotions. What should I do? I can’t ask her over out of the blue, and I can’t bring Rika all the way to Star Books’ office and sit next to her. It’s going to be ridiculous, and I’m not working on the fantasy novel I have contracted with them.’

Ha Jae-Gun bent down and messed up his hair in frustration. He was experiencing a crisis, and he didn’t expect that he would one day desperately need to feel a woman’s emotions.

“Isn’t his hair shorter than in the photo?”

Two women from a nearby table were whispering and stealing glances at Ha Jae-Gun. However, the anxious Ha Jae-Gun couldn’t feel their gazes at all.

“I think he got a haircut, so I think it’s him. Look here, he looks exactly the same.”

“What if he’s just someone who looks similar?”

“What’s wrong with you right now? Are you backing out after losing the rock-paper-scissors? Go on, hurry up.” One of the two young women approached Ha Jae-Gun carefully with her phone.

She tapped lightly on his table and said, “...Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

Ha Jae-Gun stood bolt upright. A strange blushing woman, whom he was seeing for the first time, was standing right in front of him.

“How can I help you?”

“I’m really sorry, but… I just want to know if this is you?” She showed him the photo on her phone.

Ha Jae-Gun looked at her phone and saw the Book of the Month corner from Navin’s web portal in the book category. It was the interview with Ha Jae-Gun, the author of the book Foolish Woman.

“Ah… Yes.”

“R, really?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

The woman covered half of her face in shock and excitement. Then, she turned around and signaled to her friend from the other table.

“It really is Writer Ha Jae-Gun.”

With that, the two women stood side by side before Ha Jae-Gun. After verifying that he was really Writer Ha Jae-Gun, the two started speaking at the speed of a bullet train at the same time.

“I was doubtful at first, but I’m happy to see you. Ah, this is so awesome. I like you a lot.”

“I went to purchase Foolish Woman immediately after reading your interview. You don’t know how much I have cried over your novel. I’m reading A 90’s Kid on an ebook right now, and it’s entertaining as well.”

“How have you been raising that cat? It’s a Russian Blue breed, right? I have one Russian Blue, and it’s a female cat, too.”

“Ah, I should have brought my book along, but I left it on the desk. I have to get your autograph, at the least.” The woman, who was stomping her foot in excitement, took out her phone and asked Ha Jae-Gun earnestly, “Could I take a photo with you?”

“Ah, okay… Sure.”

When Ha Jae-Gun answered, she immediately grabbed the part-timer who was passing by them and handed them her phone.

“Excuse me, could you please take a photo for us?”

“Sure.”

The two women flanked Ha Jae-Gun and bent down to match his sitting height. One of them covered her mouth like a teenage girl, and the other posed with a V sign using her fingers.

The part-timer tapped on the phone, and the camera emitted a flash.

After thanking the part-timer, the owner of the phone said, “I even followed you on Twitter. My handle is Dallae Bonbon. I’ll be happy if you follow me back.”

“Ah, sure.” Ha Jae-Gun nodded.

Now that he thought about it, he could remember revealing his Twitter handle in the interview with Navin. He had created it a long ago, but he rarely used it, so he had long forgotten about its existence.

“Okay. I’ll do it when I log in.”

“Kyaa, I love it! Thank you so much. I’ll tweet this photo, too!”

The small commotion got customers from the surrounding tables looking in their direction. They were all wondering about Ha Jae-Gun’s identity and why the ladies were making such a fuss.

Ha Jae-Gun was happy, but he was also a bit embarrassed as he sat there in a mixture of embarrassment and amazement. He just couldn’t believe that he would be recognized by strangers in public.

‘Navin’s power is truly great. I didn’t expect that people would start recognizing me.’

All of a sudden, another voice could be heard.

“Please give me your autograph, too, Writer Ha Jae-Gun.”

Did someone else recognize him?

With a hopeful look and a bright smile, he turned around and saw Lee Soo-Hee. She had extended her hands toward him while holding a copy of Foolish Woman.

1. There's a song titled "The Reason I Became a Singer (가수가 된 이유)", by Shin Yong-Jae. ☜