Big Life

“Thank you. Here’s the money.”

Ha Jae-Gun and Lee Soo-Hee both alighted from the taxi outside the apartment entrance. Ha Jae-Gun quickened his steps and opened the door to his house. The sleeping Rika approached them with her tail raised.

“Have you been resting well? I’m back with Lee Soo-Hee.”

“Hello, Rika. You remember me, right?” Lee Soo-Hee waved at Rika from behind Ha Jae-Gun.

Rika didn’t seem particularly averse to seeing Lee Soo-Hee, but she wasn’t that welcoming either. Rika slowly walked in circles before returning to her cat tower.

“I think she dislikes me.”

“That actually means that she likes you. She’s usually haughty. Come in.”

“Okay.” Lee Soo-Hee took off her shoes and entered the room.

Ha Jae-Gun closed the door behind him and hurried to his desk, turning on his laptop. After opening the novel’s draft on the screen, he quickly went back to put on his shoes.

“I’ll go grab some beer and snacks to go with it. You can start reading it while I’m out.”

“Is there a convenience store nearby?”

“There’s a small neighborhood mart. I’ll be back.”

“All right, go ahead.”

Now it was just Lee Soo-Hee and Rika alone in the house. Sitting at the desk, Lee Soo-Hee asked Rika, “You must have been bored to death the entire day, Rika, since Ha Jae-Gun only knows to write his novel all day. He doesn’t really play with you, right?”

Lee Soo-Hee then looked at the screen.

She put down her bag and started reading the first sentence of the novel.

“Huh, what’s this? The male protagonist is a total copy of Park Jung-Jin.”

The level of immersion was significant right off the bat. Lee Soo-Hee was totally engrossed in the novel even before she got to scroll to the next page.

She had drunk quite a lot, and entering a warm house made her feel slightly relaxed and tired, but the interesting developments in the novel kept her awake.

“How was it?”

Ha Jae-Gun returned with a large plastic bag just when Lee Soo-Hee had read about fifty pages of the novel. Lee Soo-Hee turned around with a smile. “I’ve just read up to when the two of them met. It’s interesting.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but…” Lee Soo-Hee paused for a while before continuing carefully. “I’m not sure if it’s because you had mentioned it to me earlier, but the female protagonist does feel quite crude. Even as a woman, there are certainly some parts where I couldn’t really relate to her.”

“Sigh… I guess that’s the issue,” Ha Jae-Gun muttered. He sighed and sank to the floor. Both Professor Han Hae-Sun and Lee Soo-Hee had pointed out the same issues, and the issue was finally becoming clear to him.

“Maybe you should take it easy while doing your revisions. You’re good at writing, anyway.”

“Thank you. I should, but—sigh…” His next sigh became even heavier. He was grateful for Lee Soo-Hee’s encouragement, but it didn’t do much to console him.

‘Look, Rika. He invited me over, but his mind is just full of work. Aren’t I right? Your oppa is only concerned in his writing.’ Lee Soo-Hee grumbled inwardly and took a can of beer from the plastic bag. She was planning on just drinking a can out of courtesy before going home.

‘I came here for nothing.’

Ha Jae-Gun seemed to be fully focused on his novel. Lee Soo-Hee couldn’t help but think that she could be getting in his way. Lee Soo-Hee popped open the can of beer and looked at the cat tower.

Rika was lying on the top of the cat tower with her back facing her.

‘Does he not care about me at all?’ As a question that wouldn’t receive an answer popped up in her mind, Lee Soo-Hee took a sip of the beer.

All of a sudden, Rika raised her head. A beam of light flashed, and Ha Jae-Gun and Lee Soo-Hee’s figures were reflected in Rika’s eyes. It lasted only for a moment, but their figures in Rika’s eyes had become noticeably clearer during that time.

‘Oh? This is?!’

The gloomy Ha Jae-Gun suddenly looked up in surprise. He stared alternatingly between Rika and Lee Soo-Hee with wide eyes.

“Jae-Gun, what’s wrong? Does your head hurt?”

“W-wait a minute.” Ha Jae-Gun placed a hand on his forehead and staggered toward his desk, sitting down in the chair. He stared at Rika lying on top of the cat tower.

‘It’s connected? This is Lee Soo-Hee’s emotions, right?’

Rika seemed to be smiling as she looked down at Ha Jae-Gun from the cat tower.

At the sight, Ha Jae-Gun revealed a wide grin.

“Soo-Hee, I have a favor to ask of you.”

“A favor?”

“I just thought of a way to describe the female protagonist’s emotions. But just give me two hours—no, an hour. I’ll quickly finish my revisions up, and I’ll let you have a look at it again.”

“Oh, work on it, then. I’m leaving now.”

“No!” Ha Jae-Gun raised his voice unknowingly and jumped out of his chair. He grabbed Lee Soo-Hee by her shoulders and spoke to her earnestly, “You must stay here with me.”

“Why… should I?”

“I was wondering how I could better describe the female protagonist’s emotions, and it came to me while I was looking at you. So stay for a while longer. You’ll be a huge help if you’ll stay, really.” The look of conviction in Ha Jae-Gun’s eyes was sincere.

Lee Soo-Hee seemed bewildered after being caught by her shoulders.

“I…” She started breathing roughly, and she barely managed to speak. “So you’re saying that… I’m going to be helpful even if I just stay with you?”

“Yeah, just keep tabs on me, make sure I work.” Ha Jae-Gun squeezed Lee Soo-Hee’s shoulders as he repeated.

Lee Soo-Hee looked down at her feet and nodded. “Okay.”

Ha Jae-Gun’s face lit up upon hearing Lee Soo-Hee’s consent.

“I can stay for another two hours.”

“Thank you. Make yourself at home. You can watch the TV or use that new laptop over there. It’s connected to the Internet.”

“I’ll entertain myself. Just go and focus on your novel.” Lee Soo-Hee urged and pushed Ha Jae-Gun toward his desk.

Ha Jae-Gun then sat down and opened his drawer, taking out Seo Gun-Woo’s brown horn-rimmed glasses. He turned around to look at Rika and made a decision.

‘Just two hours! I must use your ability to the fullest! I must check through all the female protagonist’s scenes while Soo-Hee is still around! Start!’

Tadadadak! Tadak! Tadadadak! Tadak!

His ten fingers started dancing away on his keyboard as he started transferring over the emotions that he could feel from Lee Soo-Hee onto the female protagonist in his novel.

Lee Soo-Hee’s emotions that were being conveyed through Rika were still fresh.

It was raining beneath the gloomy gray afternoon sky. The emotions depicted a girl who was earnestly waiting for someone whom she wanted to meet. The affection and excitement perfectly suited the novel’s atmosphere.

Ha Jae-Gun got completely immersed in the novel world that he had created with the help of Lee Soo-Hee’s emotions.

‘Rika, I can think of this in a more positive light, right?’

Lee Soo-Hee grinned as she sat down with her legs crossed.

Her proud and delighted gaze stayed unmoving on Ha Jae-Gun’s back.

***

How long had it been?

‘Hmm…?’

Lee Soo-Hee’s eyes fluttered open, finding the room still brightly lit.

Lee Soo-Hee came to her senses and sat up.

‘Oh my, look at me.’ It was already past 2 AM when she checked the time on her phone. She seemed to have fallen asleep inadvertently because of the warm floor, the alcohol in her system, and the recent heavy workload at work.

Lee Soo-Hee looked at Ha Jae-Gun, afraid that he would see her messy look.

However, Ha Jae-Gun was lying still, with his head on the table as if he were dead. It seemed that he had fallen asleep while working on his novel.

“Jae-Gun, sleep on your bed.”

“Mm…”

“Wake up, go sleep on your bed.”

Lee Soo-Hee grabbed Ha Jae-Gun’s arms from behind and under his armpit to raise him to his feet. With Ha Jae-Gun still asleep, they staggered a couple of steps and then fell onto the bed.

‘He must be exhausted. Well, he had some drinks, too, after all.’

However, alcohol wasn’t the only reason that Ha Jae-Gun had fallen asleep. Sharing emotions through Rika would always exhaust him. He collapsed even before he could make himself a cup of coffee using Seo Gun-Woo’s cup.

‘I should clean up his room before leaving.’

Lee Soo-Hee pulled up her stockings that had rolled down to her thighs while she was moving Ha Jae-Gun earlier. Then, she started cleaning the room.

Rika seemed to have taken a liking to Lee Soo-Hee somehow, and she started following her around the house.

‘He would probably be eating ramyun in the morning again.’ Lee Soo-Hee started washing some rice to cook after she was done cleaning up.

She opened the fridge and saw that there were barely any ingredients available. She had no choice but to boil a pot of tuna kimchi stew. She also made a plate of egg rolls and covered it with plastic wrap.

‘Goodnight, Jae-Gun. Your novel will be a huge hit this time as well.’

Ha Jae-Gun was deep in his sleep, so he couldn’t feel Lee Soo-Hee covering him up with a blanket. After organizing everything, Lee Soo-Hee turned off all the lights in the room. She only left the tiny dim light of the night light and quietly left the house.

***

“You really live up to your name, Ha Jae-Gun.”

“...Pardon?”

Ha Jae-Gun was at Professor Han’s office at Myungkyung University of Arts, Room 403. He was about to take a sip of his coffee, but Professor Han’s comment surprised him.

Professor Han smiled and said, “This is the best novel I’ve ever read out of all four of your works. Its completeness is high, and it's entertaining at the same time. It would be a huge hit in the literary world.”

“I’m at a loss for words, Professor.” Ha Jae-Gun was serious.

He did think that he had done a good job, but he had never expected to hear such a compliment from Professor Han, who was famous for being stingy with her praises.

“You must have worked hard. You’ve grown a lot, and it looks like you’ve gone through a lot. I can see that you have truly been reborn as a true writer,” Han Hae-Sun said while patting his shoulder.

Ha Jae-Gun looked down and bit his lip. He felt a tingle in his nose because he could clearly feel the warmth of Professor Han’s words.

“Look at this.” Han Hae-Sun held out her phone.

Ha Jae-Gun’s eyes widened upon verifying the content on the screen. He stared at her. “Professor, this is…!”

“Join it.”

Ha Jae-Gun gulped.

Han Hae-Sun had just shown him a poster containing the contest details for the upcoming Modern Youth Literature Award. It was an award with a long and deep history. Every year, the award would only be given to one novel.

The majority of the awarded works were published and became best sellers. Many of the works were turned into movies and dramas as well, and the prize money was an astounding thirty million won.

“If your work manages to win this contest, then you’ll be treated better than the treatment you would receive from the mainstream literary circle. I think your novel is good enough for this contest.”

“But, Professor, I don’t really wish to get an award for it. Plus, I’ve already won the Digital Literature Award…”

“Why are you saying that when you clearly know what it means to join the literary society?”

“...”

“I’m not asking you to join the literary world. I’m saying that you should show your work to more people. The people who had read the awarded work will read your other works as well. There are even people out there who won’t even regard a book as a book unless it has received an award.”

“Yes, Professor… I understand.” Ha Jae-Gun nodded. He had decided to follow her suggestion. There was no reason for him to worry since he had nothing to lose.

“But it doesn’t have a title, and I also don’t think that I’ve seen the title just yet. Do you still not have a title for it?” Han Hae-Sun asked as she flipped through the pages once more.

Ha Jae-Gun took the empty cup to the sink and answered, “I decided on a title for it while I was on the way here.”

“Really? What will you call it?”

“Storm and Gale.”

Han Hae-Sun looked at him in shock.

Ha Jae-Gun leaned against the sink and said without confidence in his voice, “A karaoke helper like the rough winds and the gale… That’s how I decided to name it. I thought the double meaning fits the novel as well. Does it sound weird?”

“Pffft…!” Han Hae-Sun tried to suppress the laughter that was forcing its way out of her, but she eventually burst out into laughter. She kept laughing until she had to hold her stomach and bend forward.

“Is it really that weird, Professor?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s just that—the title is just like you. Very Ha Jae-Gun-ish.” Han Hae-Sun waved her hands after barely managing to stop herself from laughing.

Han Hae-Sun fixed her glasses and showed Ha Jae-Gun a thumbs-up. “I like that title. Go like the storm and the gale.”

Ha Jae-Gun revealed a dazzling smile. Overwhelmed with emotions, he bowed deeply to the professor he respected the most in this world.