Big Life

‘Hoo…!’

Ha Jae-Gun grabbed his head in frustration. He had been stuck working on the story development for the sixth volume of Oscar’s Dungeon for quite a while now.

If he weren’t at the writer’s office and were alone in his own apartment, Ha Jae-Gun would have already been screaming his head off and slamming his fist on the desk.

‘Elder, I wanted to make Oscar leave the guild, but it seems like a boring turn of events now that I’m looking at it.’

Ha Jae-Gun looked up and asked inwardly.

‘It’s not Oscar’s fault that he absorbed the dragon’s artifacts in the dungeon. But the guild master was jealous of Oscar, who gained tremendous power. I will need something that can link the two of them.’

[Oscar will look like a pushover if he decides to endure the absurd treatment of the guild master, and introducing a third character at this point in the story will look random. Try to look for another way; focus on Oscar and the guild master’s personalities.]

The elder didn’t give a definitive answer.

How much more should Ha Jae-Gun contemplate this issue?

‘Maybe I’m not feeling as desperate as when I wrote The Breath…’

Ha Jae-Gun looked at the empty Word document on his monitor and got lost in his thoughts. It looked like he had been agonizing over this part of the plot for a long time, but it actually hadn’t been too long since he started working on Oscar’s Dungeon.

‘Let’s sit on this for a while more. Let’s be desperate about it until I get a definitive answer. I still have some time, anyway.’

Ha Jae-Gun didn’t have to rush since he had already completed the manuscripts up to volume five of the novel. Ha Jae-Gun headed to the window and stood there to drink his coffee. The warm sunshine in late spring was boring down on him.

‘The weather will turn hotter soon.’

Ha Jae-Gun wiped the sweat off the back of his neck and massaged it.

Ha Jae-Gun was in a suit today, like the day when he recorded A Writer’s Study. He was also wearing a light green shirt and a red necktie that Ha Jae-In had picked out for him.

‘They said to arrive by 11.10 AM, so why did I put myself through this by wearing it out first?’

Ha Jae-Gun felt uncomfortable in the suit. Ha Jae-Gun thought that suits were only suitable for those who were used to wearing them. The temperature today was reported to be higher than normal, which made him want to take off his outfit.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t really show up to the movie press conference in his birthday suit.

“Um, Writer Ha,” Jang Eun-Young called out from behind him.

Ha Jae-Gun turned around to see not just her but Kang Min-Ho and Yang Hyun-Kyung as well.

“What is it? Why are you all here?”

However, their expressions looked quite serious.

Ha Jae-Gun’s face turned serious as well.

“Did something bad happen?” he asked with a frown.

“We have to tell you something,” Jang Eun-Young said.

She signaled Kang Min-Ho with a glance.

Kang Min-Ho took out something that he had been hiding behind him.

It was a small box.

“What is this?”

“It’s a small present from us to you.”

“A…present?”

It wasn’t even his birthday, so why a present?

Ha Jae-Gun was dumbfounded. He stared alternatingly at them and the small box.

Kang Min-Ho explained, “We prepared this on our own. We have been indebted to you all this time. It’ll be shameless of us, but we hope to receive your continuous support in the future as well.”

“What… What did I do to deserve this…”

“Please accept it, Writer Ha.”

Ha Jae-Gun reached out with slightly trembling hands. His eyes were dazzled by the bright light the moment he opened the box, and he felt as if he were looking directly at the sun. The small box contained a luxurious-looking silver metal wristwatch.

“Try it on. It should fit nicely since I measured your wrist while you were asleep.”

Jang Eun-Young was right.

The watch fit Ha Jae-Gun perfectly.

Ha Jae-Gun silently admired the watch for quite a while.

“I apologize. We couldn’t really afford something better yet, hahaha…”

“Do you like the design? Eun-Young noona picked it,” Yang Hyun-Kyung asked.

“Hey, of course, he’ll like it; my eyes are great. It suits his current outfit as well. Look, Min-Ho hyung. I was right when I told you that we should give it to him before he leaves for the movie press conference, right?” Jang Eun-Young said.

Ha Jae-Gun smiled. He was so touched that a tingling sensation came up to his nose. He had to gnash his teeth to stop himself from tearing up.

He knew that they were starting to earn quite a bit of money, but Ha Jae-Gun was aware that they had to have paid quite a hefty sum to buy this watch, even if they had divided the total between the three of them.

“I’ll wear it for the rest of my life,” Ha Jae-Gun said and continued. “I’ll wear this forever; thank you so much.”

Ha Jae-Gun choked, unable to say anything more.

This was the best present he had received from the three of them.

“Writer Ha’s nose has turned red. I wonder why~?” Jang Eun-Young teased and sniggered as she got closer to Ha Jae-Gun.

Ha Jae-Gun pressed both his eyes and tried to come up with a lame excuse. “No, something—no, the dust from the window got into my eyes.”

“Lies, the window is closed.”

“Thinking back, I get allergies during the change of seasons. Ah, I should go wash with cold water. Cold water is best to treat allergies, so my eyes should get better after a cold water wash.”

Ha Jae-Gun escaped to the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

The three burst into laughter and high-fived each other.

***

The movie press conference for Summer in My 20s was held at Newdon Cinema’s Apgujeong branch.

It was scheduled to start at 11 a.m. so as to expand and maximize the promotional effects for the movie by using the reporters who would be releasing articles about the movie press conference onto their respective platforms.

“Oh, announcer Park Se-Yoon is the emcee for the event.”

“He has gotten quite popular recently. He’s got good wits, and he’s quite adaptable.”

Reporters were discussing Park Se-Yoon.

It couldn’t be helped because an emcee was crucial here.

Park Se-Yoon had recently become a hot pick in the film industry, as he could neatly organize the reporters’ complicated and dynamic questions and convey them to the directors and actors. Meanwhile, he could also fix their vague answers and convey them accurately back to the reporters.

Park Se-Yoon was the most well-known announcer in this regard. His ability to lead the atmosphere with appropriate humor was also a pleasant bonus.

“How much does it cost to hire him?”

“Isn’t seven million won the maximum?”

“I heard it was eight million won from Reporter Park.”

“Wow, he’s popular indeed. Must be great to earn eight million for just a few hours of work. I suddenly find my 10-year-long career as a reporter to be quite disappointing.”

There were five seats on the platform. Starting from the left—Chae Bo-Ra as Lee Ye-Ji, Yoo So-Young as Han Joo-Hee, Park Do-Joon as the male lead Lee Jin-Hyeok, and Director Yoo Jae-Hoon.

The last seat to the right belonged to the author of the original novel, Ha Jae-Gun.

‘Hooo, I’m too nervous.’

Ha Jae-Gun was trying hard to suppress his pounding heart, but it wasn’t really working out. It couldn’t be helped because this was on an entirely different level compared to the A Writer’s Study.

Camera flashes were endless as countless reporters gathered in front of them. It was tough for Ha Jae-Gun to even keep his eyes open. As a newbie to such events, Ha Jae-Gun felt overwhelmed and burdened that he was already exhausted.

‘Thankfully, there aren’t that many questions for me.’

Ha Jae-Gun was thankful for that. Most of the questions were directed at the actors and directors, so Ha Jae-Gun still hadn’t received even a question.

Ha Jae-Gun wasn’t upset at all. He desperately wanted the event to come to an end sooner, and he shuddered at the thought of how ridiculous he would sound if he were asked a question while he was nervous.

“Were there any difficulties or challenges when acting as the male lead?” Park Se-Yoon asked Park Do-Joon.

Crossing his legs, Park Do-Joon replied with a serious look, “It was tough to act after Lee Ye-Ji’s death happened because before that, the poor student, Lee Jin-Hyeok, was mistaken as the rapist. However, after Lee Ye-Ji’s death, he exploded at the people who were pushing the blame onto him, saying that he was part of the reason why Lee Ye-Ji chose to commit suicide…”

Park Do-Joon trailed off as he could not organize his thoughts and answer.

Park Se-Yoon jumped to his rescue, helping Park Do-Joon complete the rest of his answer.

“And that’s when Han Joo-Hee came to you, right? She wanted to find out why her friend died after going on the trip with her to Japan.”

“Yes, that’s right.” Park Do-Joon smiled brightly at the rescue and continued. “Han Joo-Hee hated Lee Jin-Hyeok from the start. As someone who was always upright, she wouldn’t fall for someone like Lee Jin-Hyeok, who was quite the free-spirited playboy. However, Lee Ye-Ji’s death made her realize that he was the only one who could help her, so he decided to investigate the case together with Han Joo-Hee.”

Park Do-Joon took a breather for a moment before continuing. “It was hard to empathize with Han Joo-Hee from there on since Lee Jin-Hyeok liked Han Joo-Hee at first, who was the queenka[1]. However, he discovered some suspicious points about her, and he was torn between his fondness and the suspicions he had of her. That conflicting feeling was hard to portray, and I’m still struggling since we’re still filming.”

Ha Jae-Gun nodded in agreement inwardly as he listened to Park Do-Joon’s answer. He was able to relate the hardships the actors had to go through when expressing those complicated emotions they had read through the novel and scenario.

After all, the actors had to be immersed in the story.

The question and answer segment continued on for a while, and the movie press conference session was soon nearing its end.

While the director was receiving all the attention from the reporters, Ha Jae-Gun accepted only one question from the floor.

“As the writer of the original novel, how do you feel about the scenario?”

“Mm, it was great. I was relieved when I saw that Writer Baek Dong-Il did a great job in adapting the novel into a movie.”

“I see, thank you. Ah, Director Woo Jae-Hoon, will the movie be premiering in the summer as scheduled?” the reporter redirected their attention back to the director.

Ha Jae-Gun wiped the sweat off of his forehead. He was glad to know that his role lasted only a total of five seconds despite the length of the movie press conference.

When the movie press conference finally ended, Ha Jae-Gun looked at his wristwatch.

‘Should I head over to Sinchon right away?’

Today was also the day of the alumni gathering.

He had to attend since Park Jung-Jin had been nagging him to attend since last year.

“Writer Ha.”

The surroundings were so chaotic that Ha Jae-Gun didn’t hear that someone was calling out for him.

While Ha Jae-Gun was looking for Oh Myung-Suk among the sea of people, a hand tapped his shoulder. “Excuse me, Writer Ha.”

“...Hello.” Ha Jae-Gun turned around and was taken aback.

Park Do-Joon was standing behind him and towered over him.

Ha Jae-Gun was only 176cm tall, so he had to look up slightly at Park Do-Joon, who was 10cm taller than himself.

“I still haven’t properly introduced myself since we met at the broadcasting station. Let me formally introduce myself, my name is Park Do-Joon.” Park Do-Joon reached out his arm for a handshake.

Ha Jae-Gun shook Park Do-Joon’s hand and said, “Yes, hello. I’m Ha Jae-Gun.”

“Are you busy today?”

“Today?”

“I would like to thank you properly for returning my phone. I felt that just a can of drink wasn’t enough. I would also like to hear your thoughts on the movie. I’m actually quite free today.”

Park Do-Joon’s tone sounded polite, and he didn’t sound shy at all.

Ha Jae-Gun let go of the handshake first and smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, but it’ll be difficult for me to join you today.”

An expression that seemed to say—how dare he?—flashed across Park Do-Joon’s face. The most popular actor had asked him out for a meal, but he actually refused the offer? Park Do-Joon’s overflowing conceit was starting to pop up.

“I’ve got a reunion that I must attend. Don’t worry about our previous encounter. Anyone else would have returned your phone to you as well.”

“Hmm, I see.” Park Do-Joon nodded in understanding while observing Ha Jae-Gun’s expression. He did not get too upset because Ha Jae-Gun truly looked apologetic, despite being quite prideful.

“Park Do-Joon oppa, the director is looking for you,” Bo-Ra, the actress playing Lee Ye-Ji, called out to Park Do-Joon and approached them with a smile.

Ha Jae-Gun still hadn’t introduced himself to her. However, as a rookie actress who had just turned nineteen, she wasn’t really that interested in the writer of the original novel, so she never once made eye contact with him.

“Bo-Ra, have you greeted the author yet?”

Bo-Ra quickly checked out Ha Jae-Gun at Park Do-Joon’s prompt.

He bowed slightly for the sake of formality and spoke in a rough voice, “Hello. You know me, right?”

“No, I don’t know you.”

Bo-Ra frowned. However, before she could even say anything, Ha Jae-Gun bowed slightly toward Park Do-Joon and walked away.

Bo-Ra pouted upon being ignored. “He’s quite a showoff. Right? Why put up airs?”

“You’re worse.”

“Oppa, why are you doing this to me?”

“Don’t talk to me.” Park Do-Joon ignored Bo-Ra, who was chasing after him and walked over to the director.

The reporters who had yet to ask their questions quickly swarmed him.

1. A queenka is the most popular girl in school. AKA Queen card, Queen bee. For males, they are called kingka. ☜