Big Life

"Argh…!"

The atmosphere in the basement office was extremely tense.

Yang Hyun-Kyung was pulling out his hair in despair. The chapter list of his debut novel, Slater, which had started its paid serialization service four days ago, was on the monitor.

"How… did the favorites drop by two-thirds instead of just half?!"

When the novel was still free to read, it had over 6,000 favorites, but now it was just slightly over 2,000. There was no way it would be able to meet his expectation of achieving around 300 unlocks every chapter now.

"Stop looking at that and continue writing," Kang Min-Ho said. He stopped typing at his computer for a while and turned around to look at Yang Hyun-Kyung. He was obviously annoyed by Yang Hyun-Kyung's reaction.

"How could you act like a fool for the last four days? I don't want to nag at you, but you don't have any stockpile right now. If you stop writing for even one day, your sales will drop even further."

"Of course, I should stop caring about this and go back to writing my novel, but I'm so affected by it…" Yang Hyun-Kyung trailed off as his head drooped.

Eventually, he continued to complain. "You must be happy, Min-Ho hyung. You get over a thousand purchases for every chapter of Demon Lord Returns, which means you'll earn over 1,500,000 won just from Munpiang alone. As for me… why is it only 300? I’ll barely earn 500,000 won at this rate."

"I'm speechless. You should be thankful that you're already earning that much in a month when there are many writers who are worse off than you are."

"Hoo…"

"Plus, are both our situations the same? I'm now 34—wait no, I'm now 35 in the new year, but I had just released an average novel. You're much younger than me with many more opportunities, so I would say that your debut novel is actually doing pretty well." Kang Min-Ho was trying very hard to cheer Yang Hyun-Kyung up by using himself as a comparison.

"Hyun-Kyung, I think everything else about you is great; you put effort into your writing, and you've got great wits, but your heart is weak. Don't get so easily affected by external factors. You should train your mind a bit more."

"I got it, hyung…"

"You don't look like you got what I said. Shall we take a breather outside? Let's just go, it's almost time for lunch anyway. Let's eat out, I'll treat you to something good. Shall we have ginseng chicken soup?"

"It's fine, hyung. Your situation hasn't picked up yet, and you've got to wait for another two months before your royalties come in." Yang Hyun-Kyung let out a heavy sigh and stood up. He headed for the kitchen and opened one of the cupboards, taking out two packs of ramyun. "We’ve run out of ramyun and rice."

"I'll go to the grocery later," Kang Min-Ho said.

"We need more writers to join us here."

This office was rented with four writers sharing the space and rent in mind. However, the two other writers decided to give up on their writing careers and got themselves an office job, leaving only Kang Min-Ho and Yang Hyun-Kyung.

Thanks to that, Kang Min-Ho and Yang Hyun-Kyung had to pay twice the rent and utilities. The two of them still hadn’t received their royalties, so their pockets were almost empty.

"Does Writer Jung Do-Hyun want to join us here?"

"No, that writer lives in Jinju and said that they do not have sufficient savings to come over to join us in Seoul," Yang Hyun-Kyung said while placing a pot of water on the stove.

Kang Min-Ho looked up at the webbed corner of the ceiling and murmured, "Should I let her join us then…"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Actually, I know another writer. They write mostly in the adult romance genre, but they took a long break after they got married. However, they divorced last year."

"Oh, no…"

"When I mentioned that I’m living in this office, they said that they wanted to move in as well. Naturally, they would pay for her portion of the rent and all."

Yang Hyun-Kyung stopped opening the ramyun pack and said, "Then, tell them to come here as soon as possible. Isn't that great news?"

"The writer is a girl..."

"What?" Yang Hyun-Kyung was in disbelief.

Kang Min-Ho yawned before continuing. "She’s got a good personality; she’s cool with most things, and she’s quiet as well. However, the issue is that there’s bound to be some discomfort or awkwardness if there’s a girl here. Plus, we only have one toilet here, and since she's a girl, we might have to give her the entire common room."

"That's true."

"That's why I'm asking for your opinion—what do you think?"

Yang Hyun-Kyung couldn’t give an immediate answer. He focused on adding the noodles and ramyun powder into the boiling pot. After a while of pondering, he finally replied, "Is she constipated?"

"Huh?"

"I'm all for it as long as she doesn't take too long in the toilet."

Kang Min-Ho stared blankly at Yang Hyun-Kyung before bursting into laughter.

Yang Hyun-Kyung put on a faint, bitter smile and added, "I've got less than 300,000 won in cash right now, so I'm not in the place to be picky about other people. You said they're nice, so I'll follow your decision. I'm fine with living with them, too."

"Thank you, Yang Hyun-Kyung."

"It's nothing. Ah, I've got to add an egg." Yang Hyun-Kyung turned to the fridge and took out an egg. Just then, the sound of the door lock’s password being entered echoed, and the door opened.

"Oh? Writer Ha, you’ve come without notice?"

"Huh? Writer Ha is here?" Kang Min-Ho stood up and headed to the kitchen. A smiling Ha Jae-Gun greeted them from behind the open door.

"I see that you're boiling some ramyun. I'm a step too late."

"Have you had dinner? Please have this first, I'm not that hungry yet."

"No, I already had dinner already, but I'll need both of your help for a bit."

"What is it? Please speak."

"Please come out here for a while." Ha Jae-Gun gestured.

Kang Min-Ho and Yang Hyun-Kyung followed Ha Jae-Gun and stepped out of the apartment. They went over to Ha Jae-Gun's parked car just outside the entrance of the building.

Ha Jae-Gun opened the trunk and said, "I bought too much, and I can’t carry them all by myself, so…"

"Huh? What are those?!" Kang Min-Ho gasped at the things in the open trunk.

There were three huge cardboard boxes filled with groceries—from rice to frozen foods like dumplings and tonkatsu, canned foods like tuna and spam—as well as eggs, milk, fruit juices, etc.

"Don't just eat ramyun. Eat other dishes as well, even if it’s a bit troublesome to cook. The two of you have thinned down a lot since I last saw you two."

"Writer Ha…!" Kang Min-Ho was so touched that tears formed in his eyes. He choked up and couldn't utter even a single word.

Kang Min-Ho had already regarded Ha Jae-Gun as his benefactor after receiving help from him for his novel, but to think that Ha Jae-Gun would even help him with his life.

Kang Min-Ho hadn't even become a famous writer just yet.

Kang Min-Ho’s eyes turned red when he realized that Ha Jae-Gun was both kind and non-calculative.

"L-let me get them." Yang Hyun-Kyung quickly weaved through the solemn atmosphere and picked up the heaviest box with a grunt, and then he headed back up with it.

"Please leave it, Writer Ha. I'll get them."

"There are two boxes left, so let's get one each. Heave ho!"

Ha Jae-Gun and Kang Min-Ho grabbed a box and headed back into the office.

Ha Jae-Gun placed the box down near the fridge and stretched. "Both of your advance royalties should be transferred to you before 4 p.m."

"Advance… royalties?"

Bewildered, Kang Min-Ho and Yang Hyun-Kyung tilted their heads at the same time.

Their novels were published in the paid serialization form, not the traditional paperback books. There was no way that they get advanced royalties for their novels aside from emergencies.

"I talked to the President of Laugh Books. The advance royalties won’t be a lot, but it should be enough to cover your immediate monthly expenses. Just endure for the next two months and focus on your writing until the royalties are transferred in full."

"Oh, my, Writer Ha. This is just…" Even Yang Hyun-Kyung was now at a loss for words, and his nose started tingling. He suddenly found himself to be quite pathetic while he was getting depressed over the poor performance of his debut novel.

After all, such a great writer taking care of his needs.

It seemed that he had gotten a bit too complacent about his current situation.

"Since you’ve already cooked it, you should eat it. However, this will be your last day having ramyun. Please dig in."

"I’ll make sure that we won’t have to eat ramyun anymore."

"Yes, I understand."

Ha Jae-Gun laughed. He then started reading a novel on his phone while sipping on a cup of coffee while Kang Min-Ho and Yang Hyun-Kyung were eating their ramyun.

Yang Hyun-Kyung was also reading some news on his phone with one hand.

"Hmm…?"

Kang Min-Ho's loud slurping noises drowned out Yang Hyun-Kyung's gasp.

"Wait, this is…?" Yang Hyun-Kyung murmured in a louder voice.

With a piece of preserved radish on his chopsticks, Kang Min-Ho asked, "What's wrong?"

"I was just reading the news and spotted Writer Ha's name on one of the articles."

Ha Jae-Gun looked up from his phone at the mention of his name.

Yang Hyun-Kyung shoved his phone in front of Ha Jae-Gun. "Is this… someone else with the same name as you?"

It was an article that announced the winner of the 31st Modern Youth Literature Award. The novel title was Storm and Gale, and the author's name was Ha Jae-Gun.

"Oh, the announcement is out?" Ha Jae-Gun asked with a faint smile, seemingly unperturbed.

Yang Hyun-Kyung's jaw dropped to the floor in shock.

"W-writer Ha…! Is it really you?!”

"Wow, but this is the mainstream novel genre. As expected, a good writer would always perform well. It doesn’t matter what genre it is. Congratulations!" Kang Min-Ho congratulated Ha Jae-Gun amidst the shock.

Yang Hyun-Kyung and Kang Min-Ho were indeed tremendously stupefied. Yang Hyun-Kyung knew very well how tough it was to get selected as the winner of the Modern Youth Literature Award.

"I-I-I majored in Creative Writing, so I'm well aware. Wow… the Modern Youth Literature Award?! Look, I'm getting goosebumps. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm really speechless. You're incredible, the best!"

"Is it that big of a deal? That reward?"

“Are you serious, Kang Min-Ho hyung? There are countless writers who have to spend over a decade in an effort to get selected for this award. This is the pinnacle of recognition in the literary society!” Yan Hyun-Kyung then turned to Ha Jae-Gun and exclaimed, "Wow, you're awesome, really!"

Ha Jae-Gun smiled shyly while scratching the back of his head. Ha Jae-Gun placed a hand on Yang Hyun-Kyung's shoulder and spoke softly, "I'll be grateful if you attend the ceremony."

"O-of course! I will definitely go! I'll be honored to!"

Ha Jae-Gun grinned and looked at Kang Min-Ho, "You, too, Writer Kang."

"You don't have to mention it. Anyway, if we attend the ceremony, will we get to have some good food for dinner?" Kang Min-Ho asked sheepishly.

At that, the three of them boisterously laughed at the same time.

The cold frosty winds were still blowing outside, but the office didn't feel cold at all, even though the heater was off.

Less than an hour later, news of Ha Jae-Gun winning the Modern Youth Literature Award arrived at Haetae Media's office as well.

The first person who heard of it was the potbellied president.

"Now that things have come to this, you have to do whatever it takes to sign a contract with Writer Ha Jae-Gun!" The president yelled at both Ma Jong-Goo and Park Kyung-Soo, whose heads were drooping while sitting in front of him.

They had just reported their failure to sign a contract with Ha Jae-Gun, but the president called them back ten minutes later.

"Sign a contract with him no matter what! Tell him that we’ll give him the best conditions in the industry!"

"Sir, by the best conditions, you mean…?"

"Are you dumb?! 15% royalties for paperback books!"

"B-but sir…!"

Ma Jong-Goo and Park Kyung-Soo's faces turned pale.

They were so shocked that they were at a loss for words.

In the entire history of fantasy and martial genre novels, there were only three novels that got to receive 15% royalties for paperback books. In addition, at that percentage, the book would only be profitable after 10,000 copies were sold.

"This isn't a huge risk! Things have changed a lot since Moonlight Gardener and Lightning Sword. We need to get a stable footing in the ebooks platform as well, so we should be able to recover from that area. Just sign the contract, and give him advance royalties."

Park Kyung-Soo replied cautiously, "Um, sir… I don't mean to look down on Writer Ha, but the Modern Youth Literature Award is entirely in the mainstream novel market; there's no way the readers would overlap, so there's no need to be too concerned—Ugh."

Park Kyung-Soo had to end his piece with a meek grunt as Ma Jong-Goo nudged him with his elbow.

Ma Jong-Goo had been working in this industry for quite a while now, so he knew that Park Kyung-Soo's words weren't the words that the president wanted to hear.

As expected, the president rebuked. "Deputy Park, can’t you see the big picture here? Can’t you see Writer Ha’s future? He would soon receive many manuscript requests for academic use! And now that he has written a proper novel, he should be feeling proud right now. What if he decides to stop writing fantasy and martial arts novels?"

"I-I apologize. I didn’t think that far ahead." Park Kyung-Soo bowed his head low. He was embarrassed.

The president loosened his necktie and said softly, "Attend the award ceremony. Annoy him to the extent that he’ll agree to sign with us."

"Yes, sir."

"What did we gift him for the year-end and New Year's?"

"We sent health supplements and Hanwoo."

"That's too weak. Think of something else that’s even better. He won’t accept the gift if it's too burdensome, so think of something more suitable. Seeing how he had paid for your lunch today, he must have resolved to draw a clear line with us. Make sure you cross that line, got it?!"

"Yes, sir!"

"I'll believe in you. Get back to work."

Ma Jong-Goo and Park Kyung-Soo then scurried out of the office and closed the door behind them.

The president—left alone in his office—wrapped his hands behind his head. He couldn’t help but wonder if he should join them and attend the Modern Youth Literature Award ceremony.