Big Life

Chapter 137. I’m An Earthling (7)

"I'm scared. Please stay where I can see you."

Jung So-Mi sounded weak, but her grip was firm as she held Ha Jae-Gun’s wrist in place.

Ha Jae-Gun gulped unconsciously. Was it just because she was sick and scared? Regardless, Jung So-Mi gave off a different air than usual.

"I'll stay here," Ha Jae-Gun said as he patted the back of her hand reassuringly. "I won't go to the washroom either, so don't worry and get some sleep."

A faint smile formed on Jung So-Mi's face, and she slowly closed her eyes. However, she kept on holding Ha Jae-Gun’s wrist.

Ha Jae-Gun stayed by the sleeping Jung So-Mi's side.

After the bag of IV drip was cleared, Ha Jae-Gun gently pulled her up and piggybacked her. The A&E always needed available beds for their patients, so he knew that they could not stay here for too long.

'...?'

Jung So-Mi woke briefly as she felt the movement. Still drifting in and out of consciousness, she let Ha Jae-Gun piggyback her, put her in the car, and send her all the way home. It all felt like a dream.

"Ms. Jung So-Mi, what's the password to your door?"

"6…4…1…5."

Ha Jae-Gun carried Jung So-Mi on his back and pressed the numbers.

The door soon opened, and he quickly laid her in bed.

Jung So-Mi's soft and even breathing signaled that she had quickly drifted back to sleep.

'Her place is quite small.'

It was Ha Jae-Gun's first time stepping foot in her studio, and he took the chance to look around. Her place was much smaller than his old studio. There was a bed, a bookshelf, and a workstation that occupied most of the space in the studio.

'I probably should make some porridge for her.'

Thanks to his long-time experience of independent living, Ha Jae-Gun was confident in making a pot of vegetable porridge. Ha Jae-Gun rummaged through the fridge and tossed the ingredients into the pot, boiling with the rice.

It was unknown whether it was because of the fragrance of the food or her pleasant dream, but Jung So-Mi started smiling in her sleep.

***

'Mm…'

Jung So-Mi felt uncomfortable, as her back was drenched in sweat.

Jung So-Mi frowned and turned around. As her eyes opened, she spotted someone's silhouette through her blurry vision.

'Writer Ha…?'

Her blurry vision soon came into focus, and she saw Ha Jae-Gun sleeping on his folded arms at the head of her bed.

He’s here…?'

Jung So-Mi looked at the wall clock that showed the current time; it was well past 10 PM. Her head spun as she tried to sit up in her bed.

'My gosh, my face!'

Jung So-Mi was shocked to see her own reflection in the mirror on the wall. Her hair was in a huge mess, and her face looked pale and haggard. She was embarrassed to show herself to Ha Jae-Gun in such a state.

Jung So-Mi carefully got out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

She couldn't even turn on the shower, afraid that she would wake Ha Jae-Gun up. She changed into a fresh set of clothes and had a call with Deputy Lee before stepping out of the bathroom. A huge cloud of condensation escaped into the room.

'He even made porridge?'

Jung So-Mi smiled and turned on the stove. While she heated up the porridge, she opened the small table and laid out her utensils. She even made egg rolls and kimchi stew for Ha Jae-Gun to eat together.

"Hm…? When did you wake up, Ms. So-Mi?" asked Ha Jae-Gun. He woke up when he heard noises coming from the kitchen.

Jung So-Mi chuckled as she watched Ha Jae-Gun trying to stifle a yawn.

"Just a while ago."

"How are you feeling? All better?"

"I got a fever reducer shot and an IV drip, so I’m fine. I don’t really get sick, but when I do, I recover rather quickly."

"You remember everything."

"I was just dreamy, not passed out. Huhu."

Jung So-Mi laid out the dishes she prepared one by one on the table.

Ha Jae-Gun got out of bed and wanted to help her.

"I’ve recovered, really."

"You shouldn't push yourself."

"I'm definitely not~ pushing myself. You couldn’t eat properly because of me, right? I'll bring out a bowl of rice for you."

Jung So-Mi sat down across from Ha Jae-Gun after setting everything down. Ha Jae-Gun had a bowl of rice, while Jung So-Mi had a bowl of porridge.

"Thank you for the food."

"Same here, thank you for the food."

Ha Jae-Gun was starving, so he immediately started eating.

When he took a bite of Jung So-Mi’s food, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Your food has your mother's touch," Ha Jae-Gun remarked.

"Ah, really?"

"Yeah, it tastes like the food your mother made for me back at the bed and breakfast. She even said that you take after her a lot, so you're good at cooking as well."

“I won’t deny that."

"Hahaha."

After finishing their meal, Ha Jae-Gun insisted on washing the dishes.

Meanwhile, Jung So-Mi began peeling some fruits for dessert.

"I'll just have this and leave after," Ha Jae-Gun said and raised his cup.

He failed to notice the trembling in Jung So-Mi's eyes.

"Don't leave in a hurry. Take your time and rest before leaving."

"You won't be able to rest properly if I stay here. I should leave."

"Is it because of Rika?"

"Rika is resting well at Suwon."

Jung So-Mi put down her cup and fidgeted with her fingers. She had finally recovered, but how come he was already leaving? She wanted to spend more time with Ha Jae-Gun.

"Ah…!" All of a sudden, something popped up into her mind, and she dragged the bag from the corner of her studio toward her. She pulled out her tablet and asked, "I totally forgot that we were supposed to discuss the webtoon. Would you like to look at the draft for episodes 10 to 16 of the webtoon for Oscar's Dungeon?"

"Ah, I totally forgot about it. Let me have a look."

Ha Jae-Gun took the tablet and slowly reviewed the webtoon she had drawn.

There was a hint of admiration from the smile on his face.

"It's good. It's interesting, and I like the directing as well."

"Is it really good? I'm glad. I did my best, since Team Leader Lee Soo-Hee said that the marketing plans will probably get pulled up. Is it because there are existing models for reference? She wanted to see the webtoon for up to episode sixteen as soon as possible."

Ha Jae-Gun smiled bitterly and nodded. Whenever Lee Soo-Hee said that something was urgent, it would definitely be urgent, as she had never been the type of person to make haste, especially when working.

Ha Jae-Gun thought that he should pick up the pace as well.

"Both of you have known each other for a whole time, right?" Jung So-Mi asked casually after taking a sip of tea.

Ha Jae-Gun nodded. His eyes were still transfixed on the screen.

"Mm, yes. That's right. We've been friends since university."

"You do look quite close together."

"Our habits and tendencies are quite similar when it comes to writing. I learned a lot from her, and she takes care of herself quite well as well."

"I think so, too. She seemed amazing."

"Ms. So-Mi's talent is quite amazing, too," Ha Jae-Gun answered with a smile.

Jung So-Mi couldn’t probe any further, but she really wanted to know how Ha Jae-Gun felt about Lee Soo-Hee. Were they really just friends, or was she a member of the opposite gender in his eyes?

However, Ha Jae-Gun was tactless, he only talked about work.

"For episode seventeen, we can start with Oscar obtaining a dragon's artifact in the dungeon, and then we should end the episode with a hint about his conflict with the guild master."

"Yes, I was thinking of that as well."

"The webtoon's story development is faster than the novel, so in the next episode—wait a minute. I should grab my laptop from the car, too. We should write this out in a document."

Ha Jae-Gun quickly stood up. He put on his shoes and stepped out of the studio.

Jung So-Mi chuckled softly. Ha Jae-Gun had just said that he would leave, but now he was on his way to grab his laptop from his car. Ha Jae-Gun was still the same workaholic Ha Jae-Gun whom Jung So-Mi had known long ago.

"Now, shall we start?"

Ha Jae-Gun returned with his laptop, and the two of them started working.

Jung So-Mi worked on her desk, while Ha Jae-Gun worked on the dinner table while seated on the floor. The two were talking to each other while typing away on their keyboards.

"Writer Ha, what do you think of this?"

"Oh, it looks good. Did you come up with this storyboard? You're doing well. Are you sure you still need a storyboard artist?"

"I'm getting sliiiightly better now. Writer Ha, you're working on volume 8 now, right?"

"Ah, I was just reviewing the plot I planned out. As I mentioned earlier, the development is going pretty fast, so I'm getting anxious. Have I been playing around too much?"

Ha Jae-Gun sighed with reproach and began typing away on the keyboard.

Jung So-Mi stole glances at Ha Jae-Gun from her seat. Now that she had recovered, her heart was pounding hard. She was in disbelief after realizing that she was alone with Ha Jae-Gun in her small studio.

"I'll work for an hour before leaving," Ha Jae-Gun said, with his eyes still on the laptop screen.

"You need to rest. I'm not sure if you'll rest when I'm here working on the storyboard format, but I think you'll keep working if I continue staying here."

"I'm really fine…"

"I don't believe you." Ha Jae-Gun looked up with a smile.

He finally saw what Jung So-Mi was wearing. She was in a fluffy sweatshirt and a pair of shorts. Her feet intertwined with each other had on a pair of white socks. The embroidery at the ankle looked familiar.

'Have I seen this scene in my dreams before?'

He felt a sense of deja vu upon realizing how pretty her legs were. He clearly felt the same way when he was alone with Jung So-Mi before, but he couldn't recall when it happened.

'Ah…!'

The Deja Vu kept on bothering him.

Jung So-Mi kept changing the position of her legs while working. She would put her legs up on the chair to hug them, sit on the chair cross-legged, or even put them back down and wriggle her toes. Her legs were restless.

Ha Jae-Gun was a man.

Jung So-Mi was a cute lady. Her small yet slim figure was just chef’s kiss.

The beautiful leg line from her ample thighs to her ankle was impeccable.

'If only I had a chair, too.'

Ha Jae-Gun had never seen Jung So-Mi's legs in their glory before at the writer's office. He wouldn't have been this distracted if they were sitting on the same level.

Ha Jae-Gun forced himself to focus on his laptop and hurried on with the rest of his work. Some time passed, and he was finally done writing the plot for two episodes.

Ha Jae-Gun sent it via email and turned off his laptop.

"Ms. So-Mi, I emailed you what I made."

"Ahh, okay… Are you leaving?"

"Of course. I need you to rest early." Ha Jae-Gun said and packed his laptop.

Jung So-Mi was so anxious that she wanted to stomp. She sprung up on impulse and blurted, "Would you stay if I lay in my bed instead?"

"...?" Ha Jae-Gun tilted his head to one side, obviously dumbfounded.

Jung So-Mi was so surprised by her own words that her face turned red.

However, she remained steadfast and continued. "Didn't you say that you're going to leave because I'm not resting? So if I rest, are you going to continue working here? I mean, it's weird to stop work mid-way.

”Of course, I know you must be uncomfortable here because my place is so small, but you were already working, so…”

Ha Jae-Gun smiled in understanding.

However, he still stood up and picked up his bag.

"I'm not feeling uncomfortable in any way. I just want to leave you alone and let you feel really comfortable while you’re resting. Anyway, I’m leaving. Don't throw out the porridge; finish it up."

The studio was small, so the foyer wasn’t that far.

Ha Jae-Gun’s departing figure filled Jung So-Mi’s eyes.

Bzzt!

Ha Jae-Gun paused while putting on his shoes.

He pulled out his phone and answered it upon seeing that the caller was Lee Soo-Hee.

“Yeah, Soo-Hee. No, I’m outside right now. The webtoon? I was working on it with Ms. So-Mi, too. Yeah, no, I’m not home. Yeah, I think things will go according to plan. Anyway, how come the marketing schedule was pulled up so early?”

Jung So-Mi gnashed her teeth upon seeing Ha Jae-Gun talk with Lee Soo-Hee on the phone. It was clear from the way he talked on the phone that they were long-time friends, which made Jung So-Mi feel uncomfortable and anxious.

Ironically, those feelings inexplicably turned into courage.

"Yeah, I'll call you later."

Ha Jae-Gun hung up the phone and put his phone back in his pocket.

Jung So-Mi took a step forward.

She seemed to have heard a certain voice coming from somewhere, saying that if she let go of this opportunity, there wouldn't be any more chances for her to confess her feelings down the road.

Under the urging of the mysterious voice, Jung So-Mi grabbed Ha Jae-Gun’s arm.

Ha Jae-Gun flinched and turned around. "Ms. So-Mi?"

"Writer Ha… what do you think of me?"