Big Life

“Yeah, noona. I just finished looking at the Osaka Castle. It’s awesome. We should bring Mom and Dad on a holiday here as well. Photos? I’ve taken a lot of them, of course. I took some of myself, too. I asked some passers-by to help me. Yeah, please look after Rika for me. Yeah, bye.”

Ha Jae-Gun hung up and hurried over to Osaka Business Park station. It was now 1 p.m. He was hungry as he did not have lunch yet, so he decided to take his time to have lunch upon arriving at his next destination, Tempozan.

‘I should visit all the places I wanted to see today first since this isn’t my trip, but Lee Ye-Ji and Han Joo-Hee’s.’ To Ha Jae-Gun, this trip wasn’t just for his own benefit. The two female characters from his novel were with him on this trip, and they were the main characters on this trip.

He had been viewing and experiencing everything here from the girls’ perspectives every moment since he stepped on Japanese soil.

This was the girls’ first overseas trip. What would the two young ladies do on their first trip? What would they be interested in, listening to, and feeling?

‘I’ll have to take the Chuo Line to Osakako station to get to Tempozan… That’s the last station on the line. All right.’ Ha Jae-Gun verified the route he had to take and boarded the subway.

Who could have known that the little Japanese he had learned back in university would end up helping him out? He wasn’t fluent in the language, but he could still hold basic conversations. If he didn’t know the language at all, he couldn’t have traveled alone without a guide.

Ha Jae-Gun felt thirsty upon arriving at Osakako station. Was it because he was immersed in the fresh scent of a foreign country? Thinking back, he hadn’t been able to drink a sip of water after touching down in Japan. The fact that there was no water purifier, which was so common in Korea, played a role as well.

‘Let’s have a cup of coffee.’ He had been walking around for a while, and his legs felt stiff. However, Ha Jae-Gun walked into the small cafe next to the convenience store rather than walking into the convenience store.

“Hello… Please give me one iced americano.” Ha Jae-Gun took a bar table seat by the window and started writing notes. He entered this cafe thinking that it was a dainty little cafe that would appeal to the girls.

‘Yeah, let’s have Ye-Ji confess to Joo-Hee in this cafe.’

Ha Jae-Gun’s phone rang while he was engrossed in writing his novel.

It was a message from Lee Soo-Hee.

- Writer Ha, is your trip to Japan going well?

- I just arrived at Tempozan after visiting Osaka Castle. I’m having coffee right now.

- Wow, you’re traveling according to a proper itinerary. Are you heading over to Kaiyukan first?

- Yeah, I’ll go over after resting at the cafe for another thirty minutes or so. It’ll only take me five minutes by foot, anyway, then I’ll grab lunch afterward.

- I would have been able to meet you if my work trip was on the same dates as your trip, what a pity. Enjoy your visits and eat lots of good food, okay? I’ll message you again.

- Yeah, thanks.

Ha Jae-Gun ended his conversation with Lee Soo-Hee. He continued drinking his coffee and started resting.

When the third group of customers entered the cafe, Ha Jae-Gun picked up his bag to leave. He felt conscious because the cafe was small, and it only had a few seats.

‘It would be much better if Soo-Hee were here with me.’

Lee Soo-Hee was the model for his character, Han Joo-Hee. Although he did not have Rika with him to get connected with her emotions, having her at Tempozan and seeing her reactions in real life would help him quite substantially.

Ha Jae-Gun put behind his regret and started hurrying to the center of Tempozan. Tempozan was actually an amusement park facing the beach, with various popular attractions like the Kaiyukan aquarium, Ferris wheel, tour boat, and the marketplace.

He was most interested in the Kaiyukan aquarium.

Lee Ye-Ji and Han Joo-Hee would visit the aquarium first, and then they would go shopping at the marketplace. Afterward, they would finally take the Ferris wheel to enjoy the night view.

This was the course Ha Jae-Gun had set, and it was what he had in mind for the girls in the novel. Just as he was about to pull out his wallet upon arriving at the entrance to Kaiyukan, his phone rang once again.

“Yeah, Lee Soo-Hee?”

— Why do you sound surprised?

“Because you called out of the blue. Aren’t you supposed to be working now?”

— I’ve completed it in a heartbeat, of course.

“You’ve ended work? But isn’t it just 2 p.m.?”

— Yeah, I’m done for the day. I’ve got some urgent business to do in Japan.

“Huh? In Japan?”

Was Lee Soo-Hee the kind to make jokes like these? Ha Jae-Gun was unsure how he should respond to her and remained silent for a while.

Lee Soo-Hee chuckled.

— Writer Ha, your left shoelaces are undone.

Ha Jae-Gun immediately looked down. Indeed, his shoelaces were undone. However, instead of tying up his shoelaces, he looked around, and it didn’t take him long to find her behind him.

“Soo-Hee…?!”

Lee Soo-Hee was smiling at him playfully and was tilting her head from side to side.

Ha Jae-Gun looked at Lee Soo-Hee blankly.

“You look really uneasy seeing me here?”

“No, I’m just surprised… why are you here?”

“I’m on a business trip. I wanted to give you a surprise.”

“Ahh…” Ha Jae-Gun nodded. He could see that Lee Soo-Hee was donning a black coat and heels instead of the comfortable clothes that tourists should wear.

“I must have succeeded, then? Huhu, I’m so excited.”

Lee Soo-Hee’s hair fluttered along with the sea breeze, and she couldn’t stop laughing. Ha Jae-Gun started laughing as well, and happiness was written all over his face. He felt happy to see her in a foreign country.

“Now I, Team Leader Lee Soo-Hee, will do my best to serve Writer Ha,” Lee Soo-Hee replied and even saluted like a soldier.

Ha Jae-Gun returned the gesture in kind. “Wow, I’m honored! I’ll be in your good hands, team leader!”

“Stop overreacting. Let’s go in now.” Lee Soo-Hee spun around, heading toward the entrance. Ha Jae-Gun watched as she walked away in her clicking heels and pondered for a while before calling out to her.

“Soo-Hee, wait here for a bit.”

“Why? Where are you going?”

“I’ll be back soon.”

Ha Jae-Gun hurried into the marketplace and bought a pair of black flats. Thankfully, he still remembered her shoe size. Walking in flats would be much more comfortable for her than walking in heels.

“Where did you go?”

“Change into these flats.” Ha Jae-Gun handed her the paper bag.

Lee Soo-Hee’s eyes widened upon verifying its contents.

“Did you buy this for me?”

“We’ll have to walk for quite a while, and I’m sure your feet will start hurting.”

Lee Soo-Hee took the shoes, looking both touched and perplexed. Ha Jae-Gun only knew half of the big picture. It was true that flats were much more comfortable than heels, but flats had to be broken in for them to be comfortable.

“Quick, change into them.”

“Huh, mm…” If it were someone else, Lee Soo-Hee would have said her piece without hesitation. However, she couldn’t bring herself to say it to Ha Jae-Gun, as she didn’t want to see him disappointed or feel apologetic.

“Where should I change into them?”

“Just change them here. The nearest bench is a distance away.”

“How can I do that here? It’s embarrassing…”

“What’s so embarrassing when you’re just changing shoes? Here.” Ha Jae-Gun crouched and placed the flats in front of her.

Lee Soo-Hee’s face turned red as she held onto Ha Jae-Gun’s shoulder, changing into the flats.

“See, it was easy, right?” Ha Jae-Gun stored her heels in the paper bag and smiled brightly.

Lee Soo-Hee slapped his shoulder and turned around.

“The aquarium here that runs underground takes quite a while to explore, and it's an entire tank. We’ll be able to see deeper sea creatures as we travel further down,” Lee Soo-Hee explained.

“I saw sharks earlier. What if they harm the otters we saw on the upper floors?”

“Of course, they have cordoned off each floor with nets.”

“Ah-ha.” Ha Jae-Gun enjoyed the aquarium while listening to Lee Soo-Hee’s explanation.

Lee Soo-Hee mentioned that it was her third time visiting the aquarium, and that was how she knew so much about the place.

“Wow, I haven’t seen this area before. Come over here, Ha Jae-Gun.” Lee Soo-Hee smiled brightly and grabbed Ha Jae-Gun’s hand upon discovering a new tank.

Her neck soon turned red when she realized that she had grabbed his hand naturally and unknowingly.

‘It’s more awkward if I let go now…!’ Lee Soo-Hee eventually decided to pull Ha Jae-Gun along instead of letting go of his hand.

Ha Jae-Gun didn’t find it a big deal despite getting dragged around by Lee Soo-Hee awkwardly while listening to her explanations throughout their tour.

It was only when they arrived at the end of the tour and had to stamp on each of their notepads that they finally let go of each other’s sweaty hands.

“We’re going to look around in the marketplace now, right?”

“Yeah, but are you okay?”

“I’m done with work for the day, remember? Don’t worry, Writer Ha.” Lee Soo-Hee understood that Ha Jae-Gun was here to gather information and do research for his novel, so she decided to be his guide.

There was no one else who could be a better guide than her.

From a certain point on, Ha Jae-Gun started paying full attention to Lee Soo-Hee. More accurately speaking, he was focused on following her gaze. As he viewed Lee Soo-Hee as Han Joo-Hee, Ha Jae-Gun thought over how his character would think, and he recorded every view they shared.

‘I think I can understand her emotions even without having Rika around…’ Ha Jae-Gun thought as he watched Lee Soo-Hee, who looked beautiful in flats.

He felt that he could feel her emotions throughout their tour in Tempozan.

Perhaps it was because they had known each other for so many years now.

Perhaps he was also getting drunk from the sunset and night view that was slowly coming into his eyes.

Regardless, Ha Jae-Gun was satisfied with today’s tour.

‘I might even finish my manuscript before returning to Korea.’

His confidence soared thanks to Lee Soo-Hee, and he thought that he could complete his character Han Joo-Hee even without Rika’s help.

Ha Jae-Gun finished writing in his notepad and caught up to Lee Soo-Hee.

“Soo-hee, we should grab some—” Ha Jae-Gun couldn’t finish his sentence because he saw Lee Soo-Hee biting her lips, seemingly in pain.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

“Ah, no. It’s nothing.”

There was no way Ha Jae-Gun would buy that.

Ha Jae-Gun looked down and saw her standing on one foot.

“Ah, I’m sorry.” Ha Jae-Gun had forgotten about the pain that new shoes would bring. He helped her sit at a table in a nearby cafe.

“Which side is it?”

“The left…” said Lee Soo-Hee.

Ha Jae-Gun crouched and took off her left shoe. He was so quick that Lee Soo-Hee couldn’t stop him. Ha Jae-Gun held her feet covered in black stockings and started looking around.

“Where is it?”

“Near the Achilles tendon… and my little toe.”

“I’m really sorry. I should have bought a pair of slippers instead of thinking of your fashion.”

“No, I thought I would be fine as well. It was my mistake because I wore it immediately, but I really liked them.”

Ha Jae-Gun took out an ointment and a bandaid, which he had been carrying around with him in case of emergency.

Lee Soo-Hee fanned at her flushed face.

“Can I tear the stockings?”

“Huh?!” Lee Soo-Hee looked down immediately in astonishment to see Ha Jae-Gun looking up at her with a serious look.

“We should put some ointment and bandaid on it. I’m tearing it, okay?”

“J-Jae-Gun.”

Ha Jae-Gun proceeded to tear the stockings near her little toe and Achilles tendon, and he saw blood oozing from those areas.

“Look, there’s blood.”

“I-I’ll do it myself.”

Ha Jae-Gun didn’t listen to her. He applied the ointment personally and even stuck the bandaid on nicely. He also didn’t forget to buy her a pair of slippers that would fit her.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Yeah… Thanks.”

Ha Jae-Gun finally let out a sigh of relief and stood up.

“Where are you staying? Let’s have dinner, and I’ll drop you off.”

“We’re leaving already? Are we not going to ride on the Ferris wheel?”

“Let’s call it a day. I mean, you’re injured.”

“No way.” Lee Soo-Hee shook her head vigorously.

There was no way she would end it here with him today.