Big Life

— Pardon? What do you mean by that?

“Actually… Wait a moment.” Ha Jae-Gun stood up and left the apartment, walking into the cold winter with strong winds blowing outside.

“About Writer Min-Ho and Writer Hyun-Kyung.”

— Yes, what about them?

“They have an office, but it’s in the basement, so the environment is quite poor. The place is small, and ventilation is poor, plus the heater isn’t working well, too.” Ha Jae-Gun changed hands to hold his phone. The coldness was biting his hands.

“I’m not sure what size of an office you were going to get for me, but it doesn’t matter if it’s too far.”

— No, Writer Ha. It’s not about the budget but rather—hmm, do you work with them often? Does working with them help you with your writing?

“I don’t work with them daily, but I do go to them whenever I have writer’s block. Conversing with them helps me with ideation as well. I only write alone when I have to be hyper-focused, but otherwise, working with them occasionally does have its own benefits.”

Ha Jae-Gun wasn’t lying. An improvement in the work environment of the other writers would be beneficial to him as well. Even today, it was thanks to Jang Eun-Young that he was able to come up with a new idea for his next novel.

Furthermore, there was nothing bad about trying to build a good relationship and bright future with those writers.

“And we could take it as we’re canning each other as well. That’s an advantage,” Ha Jae-Gun jokingly said, making Kwon Tae-Won chuckle on the other side of the line.

— Actually, the office I was looking to get you is located at Bucheon.

“Ah, Bucheon? That’s not far.”

Bucheon was around thirty minutes by subway, and the journey would shorten if he were to go there by driving. If the writers stayed there, then Ha Jae-Gun didn’t have to worry about anything.

— But I think it would be slightly small if we’re going to use the place with a few people. If we invest a bit more, we can get a larger officetel, but…

Kwon Tae-Won paused.

— I’ll be honest with you, Writer Ha. I don’t really care if you sign your novels with me or not. You may continue to use the office while writing the things you want to write. However, if you end up having another great idea for a new fantasy or martial art genre novel, I’ll be extremely grateful if you would sign that with me. That’s my stand as both an individual and as the President of Laugh Books.

Ha Jae-Gun listened to Kwon Tae-Won in silence.

Ha Jae-Gun and Kwon Tae-Won had gone through thick and thin over a long period of time as a writer and editor, respectively. Therefore, Ha Jae-Gun didn’t have to express his gratitude. It would only make things awkward, after all.

— However, the other writers are different from you. I’m not sure how their next novel will turn out, so I hope you’ll understand my standpoint.

“Of course. I fully understand.” Ha Jae-Gun instinctively understood what Kwon Tae-Won was trying to say, and he asked, “How about asking them to sign their next novel with Laugh Books as a condition for their moving in?”

— Their next novel?

"It'll definitely be hard to ask them to commit immediately since it’ll become burdensome for both parties. How about letting them move in for the time being while they are still releasing their novels with Laugh Books right now?”

— If they could do that, that’d be the best for me.

“I understand. I’ll ask them for their opinions, then.”

— I’m really sorry for the trouble.

“I'll just have to use my lips, anyway. I'll call you again then. Oh, right. I think Ms. So-Mi wants to do more illustrations, so you should contact her if we need more illustrations."

— All right, I'll try calling her after office hours.

"Okay. Hope you have a great work day, goodbye."

— You too, I'm always grateful to you.

Ha Jae-Gun ended the call and headed back to the shabby office. As soon as he opened the door, the room immediately went silent.

Ha Jae-Gun chuckled inwardly and walked over to the writers before saying, "Everyone, do you have any intentions of signing your next novel with Laugh Books?"

"Next… novel?"

“President Kwon will prepare a larger and better officetel for everyone if you sign your next novel with Laugh Books." Ha Jae-Gun didn’t bother to explain the details that weren’t related to them.

Kang Min-Ho and Yang Hyun-Kyung's jaws dropped while looking at each other. Even Jang Eun-Young, who was typing away quietly at her keyboard, stopped working and turned around to look at Ha Jae-Gun.

"If you don't like Laugh Books' work culture, there's nothing much I can't do about it. Anyway, please give it some thought—"

"I'll do it!" Kang Min-Ho yelled out even before Ha Jae-Gun could finish his sentence.

He had been wanting to sign his next novel with Laugh Books, as he was satisfied with the President's personality and marketing efforts, aside from everything else they had offered.

"Me, too. I’ll be with Laugh Books until the end." Yang Hyun-Kyung raised his hands.

Taking advantage of the silence that came afterward, Jang Eun-Young asked, "Um… does Laugh Books accept romance or nineteen-plus adult novels?"

"Laugh Books accepts novels from many different genders. You just have to put in more effort in your writing." Ha Jae-Gun grinned and headed back to his own seat.

Jang Eun-Young grinned. She slapped herself on her cheeks. An officetel as an office! She wanted to scream in excitement, but she forced herself to keep her excitement suppressed.

“I’ll take it that everyone understood the conditions, and I’ll be working on my novel now.” Ha Jae-Gun placed Rika on his lap and continued with the ideation of his novel.

Seeing how Ha Jae-Gun immediately put his focus into his work, the others followed suit and started writing with determination.

The only sound that echoed in the quiet office afterward was typing noises.

***

"You've worked hard, Mr. Do-Joon."

"It's the Producer and Writer Ha who worked hard. I'll take my leave now." Park Do-Joon smiled and bowed before leaving. His face distorted the moment he stepped out of the studio.

'Ah, I'm so tired.'

It was already past 11 p.m. The rigorous schedule had kept him awake since dawn.

'Seems like I can't go home tonight as well.'

He was scheduled to fly over to Gangwon Province by 3 a.m to film the next drama.

It was Park Do-Joon's eighth year in the acting industry. He made his debut as a magazine model and took up many different cameo roles in dramas to build up his portfolio and popularity.

His first main character role in a drama was last year.

He was twenty-seven years old back then.

The drama was a huge hit, and it solidified his identity as a true actor.

Park Do-Joon headed to the washroom and stood in front of the sink. While he was checking himself out in the mirror, Park Do-Joon dialed his manager's number.

"Hyung, where are you? You went to change the tires? Why are you always missing? Call me when you're done. I'll be resting. Okay, bye."

Do-Joon left his handphone on the shelf next to the sink and washed his face with cold water. His drowsiness did not go away completely, but it somehow kept him awake.

He pulled out a disposable towel and wiped his face. He stepped out of the washroom and bumped into someone else.

"Ah, f—" Park Do-Joon stopped himself from completing the cuss word and glared at the other party with a distorted face. He bumped into Ha Jae-Gun, who was picking up the script that had fallen to the ground.

"I'm sorry."

"...Please watch where you're going," Park Do-Joon reprimanded and walked away.

Ha Jae-Gun smiled bitterly. It was actually Park Do-Joon’s fault that they bumped into each other because he stepped out of the washroom while wiping his face. Ha Jae-Gun had moved away to avoid Park Do-Joon, but Park Do-Joon moved away as well, and that was how they bumped into each other.

'Hmm, but I seem to have seen him somewhere before. Is he a celebrity?' Ha Jae-Gun wondered as he washed his hands with cold water. Ha Jae-Gun didn’t have the habit of watching television, so he couldn’t really recognize a celebrity unless they were an extremely popular one.

'Oh, this is…?' Ha Jae-Gun found a handphone on the shelf by the sink.

The handphone had to belong to the man from earlier, so he stepped out of the washroom with the phone. Thankfully, the man was getting a drink from the vending machine at the end of the hallway.

"Um, excuse me." Ha Jae-Gun called out to Park Do-Joon.

Park Do-Joon frowned slightly in response. He was too tired, so he didn’t really want to speak to anyone. He wanted to rest quietly while waiting for his manager's return.

'He doesn’t look like he’s working here… So annoying.'

Park Do-Joon assumed that Ha Jae-Gun was going to ask for an autograph from him, so he prayed that the approaching Ha Jae-Gun would get the hint and walk away if he were to turn away from the latter.

However, Ha Jae-Gun extended over Park Do-Joon's phone and asked, "Is this your phone?"

"...?!" Park Do-Joon was about to bend down and grab his drink from the dispenser, but he stood up straight and patted his pockets.

"Ah, did I leave it back there…?" Do-Joon murmured awkwardly as he took his phone from Ha Jae-Gun’s hand. It seemed that he was indeed exhausted.

"Thank you."

"It's nothing."

After returning the lost phone, Ha Jae-Gun headed for the vending machine as well and took out his wallet. However, all he had were 10,000 won bills. He had no small change.

Park Do-Joon saw the disappointment on Ha Jae-Gun's face and pulled out his wallet.

"What would you like to have?" he asked.

"I'm good."

"I have small change, so just take your pick."

"I'll have a cup of coffee, then."

Do-Joon inserted the coins and pressed the button for coffee.

There was a thud, and a can of coffee dropped into the dispenser.

Park Do-Joon picked it up and handed it over to Ha Jae-Gun.

"Thank you for the drink."

"No problem."

There were two long benches facing each other near the vending machine.

Ha Jae-Gun sat on one of the benches, while Park Do-Joon sat on the opposite one.

Park Do-Joon wanted to sleep, but his eyes kept glancing at Ha Jae-Gun, who was reading the script in his hands.

"Excuse me," Park Do-Joon broke the ice.

"Yes?"

"What do you do?"

"I'm a writer."

"What program do you write for?"

"No, I write novels."

"Ah-ha, a novelist…" Park Do-Joon nodded and looked up at the ceiling. "So, what program have you appeared in?"

"Writer's Night."

"Wow, so there's a program like that? Anyway, you… you don't know me?"

Park Do-Joon finally took the opportunity to establish his identity as an actor in their conversation. He was usually sensitive about his own popularity and how others viewed him, so he couldn’t stop his curiosity and decided to ask.

Ha Jae-Gun looked apologetic as he replied, "I'm sorry. I seem to have seen you from somewhere, but I can't exactly recall where."

"Oh, so you don't watch TV that much." Park Do-Joon seemed cool about it, but he was slightly uncomfortable inside.

Park Do-Joon couldn’t understand how someone like himself—who had appeared in five different advertisements on TV so far—was still fairly unrecognizable. To make matters worse, the two of them seem to be around the same age.

"Mr. Ha Jae-Gun, it's about time you go on standby," Jo Seo-Kyung called out from the other end of the hallway.

Ha Jae-Gun nodded back at her and didn’t forget to say goodbye to Park Do-Joon.

"Thank you for the drink. I should get going now."

"Good luck."

Park Do-Joon watched as Ha Jae-Gun walked further away from him, and he lifted his chin higher, seemingly dissatisfied.

He couldn't understand how the man he had just met was being addressed by others in such a respectful way despite his young age; just what novels had he written?

Bzzt!

Park Do-Joon's phone rang.

Park Do-Joon immediately stood up and answered the call because it was from his manager. Park Do-Joon was relatively tall at 185 cm, and he headed for the nearby elevator with his long pair of legs.

***

"I'm sorry for being late, Do-Joon," said a man in his early thirties in the basement parking lot. He opened the door of the backseat for Park Do-Joon. As soon as Park Do-Joon entered the car, he leaned his exhausted body into the seat.

"Hyung, turn on the radio for me."

"Isn't it better for you to just rest while on the road?"

"I can't sleep if it's too quiet. I'll treat it as a lullaby."

The manager gave in and turned on the radio. However, what came out was the high beats of the latest K-POP songs. Park Do-Joon frowned slightly. The manager saw Park Do-Joon’s frown through the rearview mirror and turned down the volume.

However, Park Do-Joon was still frowning.

The manager couldn’t help but ask, "Should I turn the volume down even more?"

"That’s enough."

The engine started, and they drove out of the parking lot onto the dead streets in the middle of the night. They weren’t in a hurry to arrive at the next filming site, so the manager wasn’t driving that fast.

"Ah, hyung! Have you heard of Writer's Night?" Park Do-Joon asked out of the blue just as the vehicle passed the tollgate.