Big Life

- Huh? Why are you suddenly going to Japan for a holiday?

Lee Soo-Hee replied with trembling hands, and she soon received a reply from Ha Jae-Gun.

- It’s because of the novel I’m writing right now. The character goes on a trip to Japan, but because I haven't been there before, my description isn’t that great.

- That's totally a work trip, not for leisure at all.

- Well, I'll be doing both together.

- When are you going next week?

- After the 11th, so on Friday.

Thankfully, Ha Jae-Gun's travel dates matched her work trip.

Lee Soo-Hee covered her own mouth, and she barely stopped herself from laughing out loud.

- I've bought a travel guidebook for Osaka. I saw some good tourist spots that I could use in the novel, like the Kitano Ijinkan-Gai and Tempozan Market Place. However, I thought you would have a few other better recommendations; that’s why I came to ask you.

-Good job. I’ll send you a list of restaurants and tourist spots. Are you traveling alone?

- I wanted to bring Rika along, too, but I didn’t expect that there would be so many things to do just to get pets on the plane.

- Japan’s quarantine rules are indeed quite strict. All right, I got it. I’m still at the office, so I’ll contact you later after work.

-Thank you.

Lee Soo-Hee didn’t mention that she would be going to Japan as well and ended the conversation there. She wanted to surprise Ha Jae-Gun by turning up out of the blue.

Lee Soo-Hee was already laughing just imagining Ha Jae-Gun’s shock.

***

There were only two people in the huge office at Bucheon.

Kang Min-Ho and Jang Eun-Young were at their own desks, typing away on their keyboards.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“What do you want to have for lunch later?”

“I said that I’ll be going home today, didn’t I? I’ll be heading out soon.”

“Oh, right. I’ll have to eat alone then since Hyun-Kyung also went back home.”

“Do you want me to have lunch together with you?”

“No, time’s going to be tight for you to catch the train.”

Kang Min-Ho stopped typing and turned around to see Jang Eun-Young’s short hair.

“Why did you suddenly call me hyung? You haven’t done that in so long.”

“Because we sound closer that way…”

“You’re grown more mature now, so why don’t you just call me oppa?”

“I’m not used to it. It feels weird,” Jang Eun-Young replied calmly while still typing on her keyboard.

Kang Min-Ho shook his head and returned back to his own computer. They met during high school at a literary class, and Jang Eun-Young had been addressing him as hyung since then. It had to be known that it had been twenty years since then.

Was it because she had an easygoing personality?

It didn’t seem like that to Kang Min-Ho.

Thinking back, Kang Min-Ho seemed to be the only person that Jang Eun-Young used to call hyung.

“Hyung, do you want some coffee?”

“I’ve already had some.”

Jang Eun-Young headed to the kitchen and made herself a cuppa. Blowing her hot drink, she looked at her phone and gasped. “Wow, The Breath is doing really well. It’s ranked first on the Navin store.”

The Breath was now ranked first for two weeks straight. Starting from Munpiang, The Breath was now available on most major platforms, including KokoaPage and Navin Store.

Kang Min-Ho turned off his laptop and stood up.

“It’s performing tremendously great at KokoaPage...”

“Hyung, Navin Store ranks are based on sales, right? And KokoaPage is based on clicks?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Then, how much does Writer Ha earn every month?”

“I think it should be around two hundred fifty to three hundred million won this month. He should earn around a hundred million next month because the marketing for his novels has already ended.”

“...” Jang Eun-Young’s jaws dropped, and she shook her head. Two million won was all she was hoping to earn every month, so the numbers that Kang Min-Ho had listed were too far-fetched for her.

“I’m so envious.”

“Don’t be; just work hard on writing your novel, dude.”

“How can you call a lady a dude?”

“You call yourself a lady, yet you’re calling me hyung? I’m leaving now.” Kang Min-Ho put on his coat and picked up his bag.

Jang Eun-Young’s eyes, which were filled with regret, followed Kang Min-Ho’s fingers.

“When will you be back?” she asked.

“Probably in a few days. Why? Are you bored because you’ll be all alone?”

“Yeah, I’ll be very bored, so hurry up and come back. Buy some delicious food on your way back, too.”

Kang Min-Ho put on his shoes on the porch while Jang Eun-Young stood behind him, patting away the dust on his shoulder. She didn’t forget to straighten out his wrinkled collar as well. “Hyung, you should at least try to look neat.”

“You picked this for me, didn’t you?”

“You should at least iron it. You could have told me earlier, and I would have done it for you.”

“All right, I got it. Take care of the office. I’ll call you later.”

“Be careful on the way,” Jang Eun-Young said.

Kang Min-Ho left the office and closed the door behind him.

The office instantly went silent.

Jang Eun-Young’s soft sigh sounded deafening.

She was still in disbelief—she couldn’t believe that she had to work alone in the office for the next couple of days. She looked out the window into the sunny world outside, and for the very first time, she had the urge to run out of the quiet office.

‘How can I leave the office? I don’t even have enough money to survive, so I should just focus on writing.’

Jang Eun-Young forced herself back to her desk.

A few moments later, the chime of the digital lock echoed.

‘Did Kang Min-Ho forget something?’ Jang Eun-Young thought it was Kang Min-Ho.

She turned to look at the door but found someone else.

It was Ha Jae-Gun, and he was smiling at her with Rika in his arms.

“Oh my, Writer Ha.”

“Hello. Are you alone here?”

“Yes, they returned home for a few days. Why are you here, Writer Ha? Didn’t you say that you’re working on your novel and won’t be visiting here anytime soon?”

“I’m getting writer’s block staying at home all day, so I came to visit while taking a break.” Ha Jae-Gun put Rika down.

Rika walked elegantly toward Jang Eun-Young.

Jang Eun-Young reached out to Rika to greet her, and Rika leaped lightly onto her lap and stayed there.

“Rika, how are you? Did you miss me?”

“She seems to like you, Writer Jang.”

“Looks like it. Is it because I give her treats often?”

Leaving Rika with Jang Eun-Young, Ha Jae-Gun headed to his desk and turned on his own laptop.

Jang Eun-Young suddenly asked, “Writer Ha, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“About Kang Min-Ho hyung’s novel—Demon Lord Returns—is it really doing well? He should be receiving quite an amount in royalties, right? He won’t let me know, and I can’t even ask him first.”

Jang Eun-Young’s voice sounded quite worried for Kang Min-Ho.

Ha Jae-Gun smiled and nodded. “It’s doing well, you don’t have to worry about it.”

“I’m a little relieved to hear that from you, Writer Ha.”

“Are you that worried?”

“He’s already thirty-five, so he should at least be financially stable. I know that he’s a hardworking person, and he has been unable to live on his own terms because of his marriage. He has also grown so thin over the years.”

“Well, once he’s doing better financially, he’ll definitely gain all his weight back.” Ha Jae-Gun chuckled. He deduced why Jang Eun-Young was very concerned about Kang Min-Ho, and they looked quite compatible with each other as well.

‘Wait, I shouldn’t be worrying over others’ romance right now…’’

Ha Jae-Gun immediately fell into a sea of worries as he looked at the manuscript of his mystery novel. He was at a loss. What should he do to spice up these female characters in his novel?

‘Should I discuss with Writer Jang Eun-Young instead? Since she’s a girl…’

While Ha Jae-Gun was locked in his own worries, Jang Eun-Young was caressing Rika on her lap, muttering silently to herself, ‘Rika, please help our Kang Min-Ho hyung do well such that he’ll want to hang out with me more often. Got it?’

Jang Eun-Young met Rika’s bright eyes. She couldn’t withstand Rika’s cuteness and ended up pulling Rika into her arms for a tight hug.

And that was how Ha Jae-Gun and Jang Eun-Young’s thoughts were connected…

Rika’s eyes shone brightly as her head rested on Jang Eun-Young’s shoulder.

Her eyes projected clear images of both Ha Jae-Gun and Jang Eun-Young.

‘Hmm…?!’ Ha Jae-Gun tilted his head backward and opened his eyes. It didn't happen often, but this unique feeling wasn’t unfamiliar to him anymore. He was certain that this was the beginning of the emotions exchange through Rika.

'Rika, this is… Is it really happening?!'

'Meow.'

Meanwhile, Rika had taken her seat by the windowsill and was looking at Ha Jae-Gun. Ha Jae-Gun looked at where Rika was earlier—he looked at Jang Eun-Young.

Meanwhile, Jang Eun-Young decided to stop working on her novel for the meantime.

'Wait, wh-why am I short of breath…?!'

This hot, sticky, and pungent-like feeling… Ha Jae-Gun suddenly remembered the first time he stumbled upon porn. Right now, he could feel the same feelings he felt back then.

The way his heart pounded, the tingling feeling from his lower abdomen, and how he couldn’t sleep for the next three days—those feelings came back to him almost too vividly.

‘Ugh… Right, I forgot that Writer Jang specializes in adult romance novels…!’

Anyway, it was a great opportunity.

He shouldn’t waste even a minute of this special time that Rika had created for him.

Ha Jae-Gun took in deep breaths and calmed himself down.

His ten fingers reached out and moved at full speed.

‘Yes, let’s go…!’

Tadadadak! Tadak! Tadadak!

Jang Eun-Young’s emotions were pouring out into the Word document through his fingers, replacing the unnatural and awkward actions and thoughts of the female characters one by one.

‘How is he able to get into the groove so easily? Not everyone can become popular writers, I guess.’ Jang Eun-Young clicked her tongue as she looked at Ha Jae-Gun.

However, she could never imagine that she was the one who helped Ha Jae-Gun with his writing. Ha Jae-Gun didn’t even realize that Jang Eun-Young was looking at him because he was focused on revising his novel.

Soon, thirty minutes… and an hour had passed, but his fingers hadn’t stopped for even a single second.

‘This is going great! It was a great choice coming out here! Rika, the best cat! Thank you, Writer Jang Eun-Young!’

Jang Eun-Young’s emotions, as well as her unusually bold, tomboyish, and easygoing personality, were a striking fit with the character in his novel, Kang So-Yeon.

Ha Jae-Gun kept working, oblivious to the passing of time. Not only did he manage to finish revising the current draft he had, but he even managed to draw up new story developments for his novel.

Thanks to Jang Eun-Young’s emotions, fresh and diverse story developments that were truly suitable to the female characters in his novel filled up his Word document.

~

“Um, Writer Ha. Are you not going to have dinner?” Jang Eun-Young asked as she massaged her stiff wrist.

Ha Jae-Gun didn’t reply. He was too engrossed in his work.

However, he finally turned around when Jang Eun-Young tapped his shoulder.

“Yes?”

“Writer Ha…! A-are you alright?” Jang Eun-Young turned pale and covered her mouth in shock.

Ha Jae-Gun’s face was covered in sweat, and his complexion was a sickly blue.

“What?”

“Why are you sweating so much? Are you sure you’re not going too far? You look really pale, too.”

“Ah, I think I got too focused on my work. I’ll go ahead and wash up.”

Ha Jae-Gun staggered to the bathroom and washed his face with cold water.

However, he immediately returned to his seat and placed his hands on the keyboard.

However, Jang Eun-Young instinctively grabbed the back of his chair.

“Writer Ha, please take a short break first.”

“But I’m feeling fine...”

“You’ve been working nonstop for the past six and a half hours. I don’t feel comfortable with that. Please eat something light, even if you have no appetite. You can continue working afterward.”

“Hmm… should I do that instead? Please wait a moment.” Ha Jae-Gun quickly sent out his revised draft to Myung-Suk’s email and stood up. His stomach made noises with impeccable timing.

Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t really eaten anything after his breakfast earlier.

“Writer Jang, what do you feel like eating? I’m not picky with food,” he asked.

“Let’s head out for dinner instead of ordering in. We can take a short walk, too. There are quite a few restaurants at the arcade here.”

“Sure, let’s do that. Rika, I’ll be back after dinner, alright?”

Ha Jae-Gun left the office with Jang Eun-Young, but his mind was filled with nothing but his novel. Ha Jae-Gun massaged his throbbing temples, and he finally remembered that he had forgotten Seo Gun-Woo’s cup at home.

‘Had I brought the cup along, I would have had no issues with my stamina. But since it’s an important item, I should just use it at home.’

The only item from Seo Gun-Woo that Ha Jae-Gun would bring out with him was the horn-rimmed glasses. It would be a huge problem if he lost the glasses or if it got damaged. He very much wanted to use it only at home, but he had no choice but to bring it along with him because he would often go to the library to read. Of course, he was extra careful while handling the glasses.

“How about tonkatsu and udon?”

“Sure, let’s go in.”

Ha Jae-Gun agreed to Jang Eun-Young’s suggestion without hesitation. He was desperate to finish his meal quickly and return to the office to work. With that, they entered the restaurant and ordered their meals.

~

“How does it taste?”

Ha Jae-Gun slurped his noodles as if he were a vacuum cleaner. He chewed and swallowed before saying, “It’s great.”

Jang Eun-Young frowned and said reproachfully, “Please eat slowly. You’ll get indigestion at this rate. You’re only thinking of working on your novel right now, right?”

“No, I have always been a fast eater.”

Bzzt!

Ha Jae-Gun’s phone vibrated, and the screen showed a call coming from Oh Myung-Suk.

Ha Jae-Gun answered the phone immediately, “Hello, Editor-in-chief.”

— Writer Ha, just what sorcery did you use?

“Sorcery?”

— Your descriptions of the female characters and story developments have changed completely! You should have written it this way right from the beginning!

Even Jang Eun-Young could hear Oh Myung-Suk’s loud voice from across the table.

Ha Jae-Gun smiled shyly. He covered the microphone of his phone and whispered gratefully to Jang Eun-Young, “If you have something you’d like to eat, please order it.”