Big Life

Chapter 138. I’m An Earthling (8)

Jung So-Mi was aware that what he had done just now wasn’t great, but this was her first time doing it. No man had ever made her feel this way, even when she was in middle and high school, as well as during the two years she spent studying at a specialist university.

"I want to know about what… you think of me," asked Jung So-Mi while looking down at her toes.

Ha Jae-Gun gulped rather than answering. He wasn't a fool who couldn't understand what Jung So-Mi was talking about. In fact, he had felt something strange since he was at the A&E.

“You helped me a lot, Writer Ha, while I was living alone here in Seoul. You had always smiled warmly at me, and you had consoled me whenever I needed it. You also recognized and acknowledged my insignificant skills… I can’t express just how grateful and apologetic I am to you.” Jung So-Mi’s breathing quickened.

Ha Jae-Gun stood there solemnly.

He knew how much courage was necessary to say those words.

“Do you still remember it? The day I first visited your studio. You asked me to turn you into canned food back then.”

“Of course.”

“I thought you were weird, asking me to do that out of the blue when we aren’t that close at all. Strangely enough, I felt comfortable. I enjoyed working together with you that day. I was happy.”

Jung So-Mi slowly looked up. Her huge eyes and lips were trembling with both excitement and fear. She had already said everything she wanted to say.

Today, her relationship with Ha Jae-Gun would change completely.

Jung So-Mi knew the consequences, but she remained steadfast and continued. "I like you, Writer Ha."

"..."

"It has been a while since I started liking you. However, I only became certain of my feelings for you when you rushed to me the moment you learned that I got sick."

Jung So-Mi took a step closer to Ha Jae-Gun, and she did not let go of his arm.

"I know that I'm lacking, and I can’t be compared to you as well. I’m young, and I’m still very new to the harsh working society. But still… I want to confess. I'm sorry… I think the fever is making me do all this."

Many different emotions swirled in Ha Jae-Gun's heart. He tried his best to maintain a calm expression out of consideration for her.

Jung So-Mi's eyes were pinning for an answer as she stared intently at him.

"Thank you, Ms. So-Mi," said Ha Jae-Gun after pondering for a long time. "I’m really surprised to know that someone as cute and as pretty as you would like me. It's a miracle for someone like me."

Jung So-Mi's grip on Ha Jae-Gun's arm loosened, and she eventually let go of him.

"I'm sorry, Ms. So-Mi." Ha Jae-Gun looked down. It was courtesy to apologize to the party who had worked up the courage to confess. He had to clearly convey his honest feelings to Jung So-Mi.

"I like you as well, Ms. So-Mi, but I can't see you as a woman."

"Is it because… I'm not charming enough… as a woman?"

"No." Ha Jae-Gun's eyes shone with determination despite the seriousness in his tone. "You’re definitely a charming woman. You won't fall behind others wherever you go. It's just that…" Ha Jae-Gun looked away and let out a sigh before muttering into the empty space, “...my heart; it already contains someone for the longest time now."

"I see…" Jung So-Mi smiled bitterly as she looked down. She instantly discovered the identity of the individual Ha Jae-Gun had just mentioned was already in his heart for the longest time.

"If she weren't in my life, I would have accepted you right away. You’re that charming."

"Thank you, Writer Ha."

"I should be the one who should say that."

A deafening silence descended between them as they stood facing each other.

Jung So-Mi slowly backed away and looked up at him with a smile.

"Ah, how refreshing!" she exclaimed and even stretched.

She then turned around and grabbed a jacket from her closet to put on.

"Please don't nag at me. I'll watch until you get in the car and drive away."

"Hahaha, alright."

"And don't look at my face now. I don’t hold grudges, so don't worry. I won't make you feel uncomfortable as well, so you can just treat me as usual. You know that, right?"

"Okay."

"Promise me, quick."

Jung So-Mi reached out with her pinky, and she hooked it with Ha Jae-Gun’s pinky before stamping the promise between them. She then chuckled lightly.

Jung So-Mi watched as Ha Jae-Gun climbed into his car.

“I don’t regret confessing my feelings to you,” she said.

“…”

“No one knows what’s going to happen in the future, anyway. I’m honestly proud of my feelings for you right now. Of course, I’ll probably be awkward around you for quite a while in the near future, but it’s fine.

”I’ll eventually overcome it. It’s a good thing I did this, or it would have been annoying holding all my emotions because I’m scared to show it.”

Ha Jae-Gun vaguely felt that she said such words because of Lee Soo-Hee, so he only nodded without responding to her words.

“Please rest well. I’ll call you again.”

“Please drive safely, Writer Ha. Thank you for today.”

Ha Jae-Gun’s car drove away and disappeared into the horizon.

Jung So-Mi finally retracted her waving hand.

The moment she turned around to head back to her studio, her phone rang in her pocket.

It was a text message from Deputy Lee.

- Is Writer Ha still with you? How’s the weather up there on cloud nine?

“S-sob…!” Her bottled-up feelings finally burst. Jung So-Mi buried her face in her hands and collapsed to the ground. She inwardly chanted a spell she had heard from over the grapevine—this too shall pass.

***

- Ha Jae-Gun isn’t working on his writing and doing interviews again;;; Why is he just using his mouth as a writer;;;

-The one-piece girl who occasionally appears on the real-time keyword search is called Lee Soo-Hee, working at Nextion. I’m working at a game company and have met her a couple of times for work, but her personality is trash;;;

- It’s said she’s batchmates with Ha Jae-Gun, but I think both of them get along well since they’re both trash. I heard that they’ve been cussing the professors during university, too… They’re nuts.

- Their parents must be digging into seaweed soup and noodles after giving birth to their children. ^^

‘These pieces of shit…!’

Lee Yeon-Woo clenched his fist as he read the increasing number of malicious comments. He had started off in a good mood while looking up articles related to Ha Jae-Gun, but he soon became furious.

‘They are too much…!’

He would have overlooked the normal malicious comments, but these few comments had gone beyond the line. Lee Yeon-Woo stood up and headed up the stairs to the second floor. He spotted Ha Jae-Gun working on his laptop in a corner of his study.

“Hyung, are you busy?”

“No, I’m still alright. Speak.”

Lee Yeon-Woo strode up to Ha Jae-Gun and showed his phone. Lee Yeon-Woo would always consider Ha Jae-Gun’s feelings first, but he just had to bring this up to Ha Jae-Gun’s attention.

“These people are too much. I couldn’t hold it in anymore, hyung.”

“Yeah, they are.”

“What? Is that all you have to say? Hyung, are you just going to let them be?”

Ha Jae-Gun stopped typing on his keyboard and stretched his body, laughing. “Don’t worry, I’ve taken care of them.”

“Like what?”

“I think they’re overstepping as well, so I’ve discussed it with President Kwon. He had raised a case with the lawyers specializing in copyrights issues.”

Lee Yeon-Woo’s face brightened instantly.

“Oh, really? Are you referring to Ko Seung-Sub’s lawyer office? They’re really good at things like that. We should be able to catch all those commenters this time, then.”

“We won’t know until we catch them.”

Ha Jae-Gun saved the document for volume 8 of Oscar’s Dungeon and closed the program. It was now time for him to head over to Nextion’s office.

“It’s time to go. I’ll be in your good hands today again, manager.”

“Please wear warm clothes, hyung. It’s chilly outside.”

As soon as they climbed into the car, a call came in from Oh Myung-Suk. Ha Jae-Gun put Rika in the back seat and answered the phone.

“Hello, editor-in-chief.”

— Hello, Mr. Ha. The English translation for There Was A Sea is completed. I called you just to inform you of this. I’ve sent it to your email inbox, so please review it.

“Ahaha, thank you. I’ll give it a read, but my English isn’t good enough to catch any mistakes. What do you think of it, editor-in-chief? Your English is much better than mine.”

— I think they did a great job of bringing out the emotions of the original work. I’ve had a few people review the translation as well. I personally think that you don’t have to worry about the translation, I will do my best on the overseas marketing.

“I’m always relieved to hear about your honest opinions, editor-in-chief. Please take good care of it.”

The call ended after a while with more short exchanges between them.

Lee Yeon-Woo started the car and said to Ha Jae-Gun, “Hyung, you’re finally going to enter the American market. I thought The Breath would get there first. As a fan of Poongchun-Yoo, I’m slightly disappointed to hear that it failed to get there first.”

“There’ll be a chance for genre novels in the future.”

The air in the car soon warmed up, thanks to the heater.

The streets of the scenic end of March ran quickly past them while on the road.

“It’s a great thing that it entered the American market; the movie hit over 8.2 million viewers, and the original novel is doing well, too. The movie will soon be released in China as well.”

Before Ha Jae-Gun could reply, Lee Yeon-Woo chuckled to himself and continued. “Woo Jae-Hoon deserves it. Fortunately for him, his movie managed to slightly go over the break-even point.”

It was announced that The Himalayas had hit 4.4 million viewers at the box office. It had passed the break-even point, but its income was insignificant.

They also heard from the assistant director that Woo Jae-Hoon was being criticized by the disappointed investors.

“People should always be humble and learn how to listen to others. That’s how our Ha Jae-Gun hyung managed to enter the American market. Well, if there are critics from America, he would probably ask to spar with them as well.”

“That’s enough, manager.”

As Ha Jae-Gun arrived at Nextion’s office, the meeting with Nam Gyu-Ho, Lee Soo-Hee and the members of the planning team started. It was also Ha Jae-Gun’s last meeting with them as the author of the original novel and scenario writer of the game.

He had completed the first season scenario and quests for Oscar’s Dungeon. The response to the game would decide if he would have another meeting in the future with Nextion.

“You worked hard. We’ll probably see each other again during the game test,” Nam Gyu-Ho said as he extended his hand for a handshake.

“Thank you for looking out for me in every way. I look forward to your continued support as always.” Ha Jae-Gun smiled as they shook hands.

Nam Gyu-Ho was amazed that he had never gotten into any conflict with Ha Jae-Gun so far. The efficiency compared to working with Oh Myung-Hoon for Dragon Knights was so high it was outrageous.

Ha Jae-Gun and Lee Soo-Hee remained in the meeting room as everyone else walked out. There were only a few minutes left until 6 p.m., so Ha Jae-Gun asked, “Shall I wait for you downstairs?”

“You can just wait at the pantry.”

“Yeon-Woo and Rika are in the car. I’m afraid they’ll get bored waiting for me.”

“I should be able to leave by 6.05 p.m.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for you then.”

After a while, Ha Jae-Gun and Lee Soo-Hee took the elevator down. Ha Jae-Gun had promised to bring Lee Soo-Hee out for dinner after a meeting, and today was the day he would fulfill it.

“Ah, Team Leader Lee Soo-Hee. You’re looking beautiful as always,” Lee Yeon-Woo said as he shook Lee Soo-Hee’s hands.

He had gotten to know Lee Soo-Hee as Ha Jae-Gun’s manager.

Lee Soo-Hee had also taken a liking to Lee Yeon-Woo’s friendly personality.

“You’re especially beautiful today. Ah, a beautiful dress fitting of the nickname, one-piece girl!”

“Please hold yourself back, Writer Lee. Your outfit looks great as well.”

“Haha, me? I’ve got an alumni reunion today.”

Taking the chance, Ha Jae-Gun hopped into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

Hearing the engine, Lee Yeon-Woo turned around.

“Hop on. Your reunion is at Hongdae, right?”

“Hyung, what are you doing? I can send you home and then take the bus over.”

“Soo-Hee, hop on. Let’s abandon Yeon-Woo and leave on our own.”

“All right.”

“Huuuh? Huhh? Wait, hyung!” Flustered, Lee Yeon-Woo quickly hopped into the back seat.

Ha Jae-Gun chuckled and hit the road.

“Enjoy yourself and be safe on your way back. Don’t drink too much either.”

“I got it, hyung. Thank you so much for sending me over.”

They soon arrived at Hongdae, and Lee Yeon-Woo walked into the crowd.

Ha Jae-Gun turned to Lee Soo-Hee in the passenger seat next to him.

“Where shall we go?” he asked.

Lee Soo-Hee puffed her cheeks and thought for a while before asking, “What about your place?”

“You want to go to my place?” Lee Soo-Hee looked at him wide-eyed and nodded profusely. She wanted to be with him in a quiet place, and there was something she wished to talk to him about as well. “I haven’t been able to look around your house that day either. I saw that you did a great job doing up your basement.

”I want to go there and play billiards as well as pinball.”

“Shall we go to the supermarket to grab some groceries before heading back then?”

“Mm, sure thing. What shall we cook, though?” Lee Soo-Hee clapped happily.

Ha Jae-Gun spun his steering wheel with a smile. His phone in the pocket of his jacket in the back seat rang for quite a while, but neither of them heard its vibrations.