Big Life

Chapter 101. Learn What You Don’t Know (6)

“Why are you here?” Ha Jae-Gun asked in a daze.

The beautiful young woman who was smiling brightly at him was Lee Soo-Hee.

“…Do you two know each other?” Kwon Tae-Won asked, bewildered.

Ha Jae-Gun looked at Lee Soo-Hee blankly and slowly nodded.

"She's my university classmate, and she’s also a team leader of Nextion—Ah…!" Ha Jae-Gun gasped and looked at Kwon Tae-Won. "President Kwon, you should have met her, too. Back during the Modern Youth Literature Award ceremony..."

"Ah! Really?" Kwon Tae-Won put his hand to his forehead and looked into his memories, seemingly taken aback. However, Ha Jae-Gun was right. He definitely caught a glimpse of her back then.

However, he could also remember being so occupied with the constant calls coming to Laugh Books that he didn’t have the time to look around during the ceremony.

"It's no wonder I found you familiar, Team Leader. We probably met back then."

"I'm disappointed. I remember you clearly, President Kwon."

"I apologize. My eyesight is really bad, and there's a reason why I’m wearing these glasses…!"

Lee Soo-Hee laughed and waved her hand. "I was just joking, so don't mind me. Please take a seat, Writer Ha Jae-Gun."

"Yeah—no—Yes,” Ha Jae-Gun replied in honorifics and pulled out a chair next to Kwon Tae-Won to take a seat.

Lee Soo-Hee started the meeting with official introductions.

“Let me officially introduce myself again. I am Lee Soo-Hee, team leader of Nextion’s mobile planning team.”

“I am Seo Hye-Ran, section chief of JoyM’s business support team. I’m also in charge of the lecture.”

“I am Kwon Tae-Won, President of Laugh Books and Writer Ha Jae-Gun’s manager.”

“I’m… Writer Ha Jae-Gun...”

Everyone smiled pleasantly at each other. The atmosphere softened when Ha Jae-Gun introduced himself.

The meeting proceeded swimmingly under Lee Soo-Hee and Seo Hye-Ran’s lead.

As Lee Soo-Hee handed the contract over to Seo Hye-Ran, she said, “Don’t be too pressured by the topic. You can talk about your experience as well. Things like how you ideate your novels or even habits will do.”

“Okay, it’s great that we still have quite a bit of time to prepare. I’ll think about it,” Ha Jae-Gun said.

“I wanted to give you more time to prepare, and that’s why we contacted you early. Anyway, whatever you think lightly of could be of great help to others, so I hope you’ll do a good job,” said Lee Soo-Hee.

Silence immediately descended.

She got too engrossed in Ha Jae-Gun, and she blushed upon belatedly realizing that both Kwon Tae-Won and Seo Hye-Ran were around as well.

“No. Pl-please do a good job, Writer Ha.”

Ha Jae-Gun barely managed to stop himself from laughing.

He thought that there was no need for her to act so professionally.

Lee Soo-Hee needed some time alone to forget the embarrassment, so she excused herself and went to the washroom.

“Writer Ha, you must be happy to have Team Leader Lee. She’s a reliable friend, after all,” Seo Hye-Ran muttered after Lee Soo-Hee disappeared into the washroom.

Ha Jae-Gun was confused.

He looked straight at her and blinked blankly.

Seo Hye-Ran continued. “Team leader Lee has been actively pushing to get you on board, not only at the main headquarters but also to the JoyM board of directors.”

“Really?”

“Yes, would you take a look at this?”

Seo Hye-Ran took out her tablet PC and opened a presentation file.

Ha Jae-Gun was surprised after reading through its contents.

It had a list of all his activities in great detail.

Following his profile was a list of all his published novels alongside a short synopsis, their sales performances, and even market responses. The presentation even included the novels that got adapted into a webtoon and movie, as well as his radio and TV appearances.

The information was organized quite meticulously as well.

“You’re saying that Soo—no, Team Leader Lee made all these?”

“Yes, all by herself. It looks clean, and the presentation itself is very persuasive as well. She’s really good at PPT, and she used her prowess to do all these.”

Ha Jae-Gun was impressed as he flipped through the document with over fifteen slides. Lee Soo-Hee should have been extremely busy with her own work, but she still made sure to work on this.

“Can you please send a copy of this to me?” Ha Jae-Gun hurriedly asked while Lee Soo-Hee was still in the washroom. He wanted to keep the presentation file as a souvenir.

“By email?”

“Yes, you can remove all the information related to your company. I just want the parts with my own information. Would that be possible?”

Seo Hye-Ran smiled sheepishly. “Internal documents shouldn’t be leaked externally…”

“If there are any other events that Ms. Seo Hye-Ran from JoyM’s business support team requires me to attend, I will be happy to attend.”

“Oh my, you’ve got yourself a deal.”

Seo Hye-Ran smiled and reached out for a handshake.

Meanwhile, Lee Soo-Hee finally emerged from the washroom.

Ha Jae-Gun and Seo Hye-Ran quickly returned to their usual expressions.

Lee Soo-Hee didn’t notice anything suspicious from the pair.

“I’ll have to head back to the office now, so I’ll take my leave first.”

“I will also have to head to the writers’ office now.”

Seo Hye-Ran and Kwon Tae-Won both left the meeting, leaving only Ha Jae-Gun and Lee Soo-Hee behind.

Ha Jae-Gun fiddled with the cup of diluted coffee and said softly, “Thank you.”

“Hmm? What for?”

“For looking out for me...”

Lee Soo-Hee stiffened. She turned away and broke into a soft chuckle. “I’m doing it all for myself. I was using you—my great writer friend—for the sake of improving my reputation at work, so what’s up with the thanks? Team Leader Lee Soo-Hee here is dragging our popular Writer Ha Jae-Gun to hold another bothersome lecture.”

“Damn, now that I’m hearing it from you, you’re actually the devil. I shouldn’t have thanked you.”

“That’s right, I’m the devil. Huhu.”

Lee Soo-Hee covered her cheeks and smiled. She was happy that things had turned out well. After all, she originally wanted Ha Jae-Gun to be the first-choice lecturer instead of having him as a backup.

‘I need to let them recognize Ha Jae-Gun’s existence naturally. Especially to the planning director who thinks that there’s no one else as outstanding as himself.’

The background music playing in the cafe had stopped.

The part-timer was looping the playlist on the computer.

Watching the part-timer work, Ha Jae-Gun suggested. “Shall we have dinner?”

“It’s not even 5 p.m. yet; isn’t it too early?”

Ha Jae-Gun rubbed his hands together and nodded. “I’ll let you decide then. We can go watch a movie together and then have dinner afterward, or we can have a light meal and then go for a second round of drinks afterward.”

“Are you treating me now that you’re going to get a huge sum of money from the lecture? I’m going to have an expensive meal, then.”

“Whatever you like. Let’s leave this place first.”

The warm breeze outside welcomed them as they stepped out of the cafe.

Lee Soo-Hee took off her cardigan and hung it on her arm.

Ha Jae-Gun then asked casually, “Have they broken into your feet now?”

“Huh? Oh…”

Lee Soo-Hee furrowed her brows and laughed as she looked down at her feet.

She was wearing the flats that Ha Jae-Gun had brought for her in Japan.

“Of course. Let’s go.” Lee Soo-Hee lightly slapped Ha Jae-Gun’s shoulder.

The sun was setting as the pair walked leisurely down the street.

***

The weather wasn’t that great recently, and the high humidity only made the weather worse.

As usual, Ha Jae-Gun was reading in the library’s archives room. He had been looking up reference books related to creative content for the lecture.

He was learning something new today as well, and he was progressing consistently.

“Custodian, that weird man is back again,” the part-timer said as she gestured at Ha Jae-Gun with her eyes while scanning the books that were due to be returned.

The library custodian, Lee Mi-Joo, stared deeply at Ha Jae-Gun, who was reading a book at an alarming speed, while wearing his horn-rimmed glasses.

“Is he focusing on non-fiction books today? Wasn’t he reading a ton of fiction books before? When did he arrive today?”

“He arrived early this morning as soon as I opened the doors. I think he has read over thirty books already, but I’m not sure if he actually read them properly.”

“Hmm…?” Lee Mi-Joo tilted her head. She had found him familiar before as well, but she was much more certain of it today. She couldn’t hold it in any longer and approached Ha Jae-Gun while pretending to organize some books.

‘I’ve definitely seen him somewhere before.’ Lee Mi-Joo went closer and peeked at his face.

Ha Jae-Gun smiled faintly as he quickly flipped through the pages of the book.

Lee Mi-Joo’s eyes widened, and she muttered, “Ha Jae-Gun…?”

Ha Jae-Gun looked up when he heard someone call out his name.

Lee Mi-Joo’s lips trembled ever so slightly when they made eye contact.

She hadn’t recognized him with the horn-rimmed glasses, but Ha Jae-Gun’s smile was identical to the smile he had on the photo she had seen in the interview article posted on the corner—Author of the Day—on Navin.

“Are… are you Writer Ha Jae-Gun?”

“Ah, yes. That’s me.”

Lee Mi-Joo covered her mouth in shock.

Lee Mi-Joo loved reading books, and that was how she decided to become a library custodian. She was an avid fan of Ha Jae-Gun’s novels, which had swept the awards in the Digital Literature Award and Modern Youth Literature Award.

“S-su-sum…!”

“Pardon?”

“I-I enjoyed Summer in My 20s a lot! Ah, I’m not sure what I should say, but I’m looking forward to the movie adaptation as well. Ah… I’m feeling so hot! Ah, it’s an honor. It’s really an honor. Really! Ah, and I also enjoyed your other novels as well! Please don’t misunderstand.” Lee Mi-Joo had raised her voice so much. She totally forgot the fact that she was a library custodian, and they were in a library.

Ha Jae-Gun revealed a weary smile and put his index finger to his lips. Lee Mi-Joo covered her mouth at the gesture, but the excitement on her face didn’t disappear at all.

“I-I’m sorry. I apologize for disturbing you.”

“No, it’s fine.”

With that, Lee Mi-Joo turned around and ran out.

The part-timer felt that something was off, and she asked, “Officer, what’s wrong? Did you know him?”

“I’ll tell you later. I have to go and look for someone.”

Five minutes later, Lee Mi-Joo and three other people returned to the archives room.

Of the three people, two were section chiefs from the administrative support department and information archives department, while the last person was the director of the library, who would never appear arbitrarily.

“I deeply apologize for the disturbance.” The elderly director in his fifties started and bowed deeply at Ha Jae-Gun.

Ha Jae-Gun turned around, wondering what they were here for.

“I am the director of this library, Lee Jung-Bae.”

“Mm, I see. Hello, I’m Ha Jae-Gun.” Ha Jae-Gun bowed in return. He was flustered when a man who looked to be around the same age as his father greeted him politely.

“I heard from our employee here that a renowned writer is a frequent visitor of our library, so I decided to come here personally to see you. Have you experienced any inconvenience during your visits here? Please let us know. We will do our best to accommodate your needs.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I’m very comfortable with my current situation right now. I’m also fine with the selection of books so far, and there are still many books that I haven’t read yet,” Ha Jae-Gun said politely and let out a sigh inwardly.

Should he not visit this library in the future?

He was afraid to inconvenience other people with his presence.

The director nodded and said, “I would like to offer you some tea, is it okay?”

Of course, Ha Jae-Gun wanted to reject the offer. However, the two people behind him were staring intently at Ha Jae-Gun.

The director nodded at him and gestured with his hand, saying that Ha Jae-Gun should follow them for now.

‘Hooo, seems like I have no other choice.’

***

Ha Jae-Gun sat down on the sofa in the director’s office, and he absentmindedly listened to the old man’s words.

The gist of the conversation was about holding a lecture for passionate parents.

As expected, they had a motive for their approach.

“...In other words, if a great writer like you could give a lecture at our library, we will—we will be able to promote the development of our local district’s community! We’ll also be able to increase the value of this place, which is a gathering place for local residents! And… yes! That’s it!”

The director’s voice got louder in his speech, and he inadvertently spat saliva everywhere during his speech.

Ha Jae-Gun looked hesitant.

Lee Mi-Joo saw that, so she said, “Please, Mr. Ha. If you could give a lecture here, it would be a great source of pride for our library.”

“Mm…” Ha Jae-Gun nodded with a positive look.

The theme was—Living a Beautiful Life Through Creativity—the contents of the lecture would overlap with the creative content lecture he was supposed to give for the game development company.

Since this lecture would be held much earlier than the one with JoyM, he could use this chance to gain experience. He also wouldn’t be under any significant pressure.

“I understand. It’s presumptuous of me, but I’ll give it a try.”

The director was ecstatic upon hearing Ha Jae-Gun’s words. He smiled brightly and said, “Thank you so much. Do you want another cup of tea? And can I get a photo with you if possible?”

“Ah, sorry. Let’s take the picture another day.”

Ha Jae-Gun kept trying to stop the group from sending him off, but the employees still followed him to the entrance until he got into his car.

If Ha Jae-Gun’s plan for the day were just to stay at the library, he wouldn’t have driven his car today. Today was Summer in My 20s movie preview. He was scheduled to attend the movie preview as the writer of the original novel.

‘Hooo, I hope it turned out well.’

Ha Jae-Gun’s anxiety was ignited when he inserted the car key in the ignition and started the car. He would be lying if he said that he didn’t have any expectations.

He was confident of his movie production, but he wasn’t sure about the details of the adaptation, so he could only hope that they had done a great job.

‘I think they did a great job since they’re great actors, and the director is great as well.’

Ha Jae-Gun entered the address into the navigation application and grabbed the steering wheel. He felt good about the movie preview, and it was probably because of what happened at the library earlier.

Ha Jae-Gun felt so great that he even started whistling while driving.