Big Life

Chapter 148. Tremble in Fear (7)

“Editor-in-chief, are you not going to have lunch?”

“Please go ahead. I’ve got to deal with something first.”

The employees streamed out of the office.

Left all alone, Oh Myung-Suk leaned back in his seat and started reading Gyeoja Bathhouse.

‘Pfft.’ Oh Myung-Suk chuckled lightly as he flipped to the twentieth page.

He could tell right off the bat from the first part of the story. There were no superfluous sentences in the text, making immersion even better for the reader. The narrative excluded long-winded descriptions aside from visual descriptions, which meant the story picked up faster.

The book wasn’t that long, either.

Compared to Ha Jae-Gun’s genre novel, Gyeoja Bathhouse was only around 70% as long. Oh Myung-Suk finished reading the manuscript in around an hour, and he grinned once he was done.

‘It’s great as usual.’

Was there any compliment better than this? As the editor-in-chief, it was the best compliment he could give to Gyeoja Bathhouse. Ha Jae-Gun did not disappoint him this time as well.

Oh Myung-Suk checked the wall clock, it was already past 1:30 p.m.

Instead of picking up his phone, Oh Myung-Suk accessed his inbox. It should be early evening for her right now. Unsure that she might be busy with something else, he thought it would be best to forward the manuscript to her for now.

After sending the manuscript along with a brief portfolio of Ha Jae-Gun, Oh Myung-Suk turned his attention to some of his other tasks.

Bzzt!

He was about to focus on those tasks when his phone rang.

It was a call from Chae Yoo-Jin, his friend and agent.

Oh Myung-Suk finished reviewing the document on hand and signed it before answering the call.

“Yes, Yoo-Jin.”

— I just read Gyeoja Bathhouse. Wow, I’ve got a good feeling about this.

Chae Yoo-Jin was loud. The sound of sloshing water made Oh Myung-Suk realize that she was taking a bath. It had been a long-standing habit of hers to read while soaking in the tub.

— It’s just what I was looking for. Stories like this will definitely sell in the American market. When will this get published in Korea?

“I’ve just gotten the manuscript, so probably in a month?”

— It has to sell well in Korea.

Chae Yoo-Jin mumbled. Novels in Korea had to succeed in Korea first to make their entrance into overseas markets easier. The more popular a novel was in its country of origin, the easier and more confident Chae Yoo-Jin would be in promoting it to other countries.

“It will. It’s Mr. Ha Jae-Gun’s novel, after all.”

— You seem to really like him a lot. You still call him Mr. Ha when you’re talking to me.

“I just got used to calling him that way. Anyway, how about stepping out of the bathtub before you catch a cold?”

— You knew?

“I could hear the splash.”

— You’re picturing my voluptuous body, aren’t you?

Oh Myung-Suk, who was 38 years old this year, smiled silently. He used to get embarrassed at her mischievous jokes often in the past, but now, he could casually laugh them off. That was how long they knew each other. His love for her, which failed to bear fruit, had long been buried in the deepest recesses of his memories.

— I’m still as firm now since I’ve been doing Pilates regularly. If you don’t believe me, you can check it out yourself once you meet me.

“I’m really going to check it out.”

— Oh my, I’m scared. I dare you to, I’ll be waiting.

Their laughter got mixed up through the line. As their laughter died down, Chae Yoo-Jin continued.

— Thanks for trusting me. Don’t worry about the US market, and leave it to me. Let me know again once the publish date is fixed.

“All right. Rest well.”

— Yeah, have a good day at work.

Oh Myung-Suk hung up the call and made himself a cup of coffee. He stood by the window and enjoyed the scenery outside as memories flooded him.

The coffee tasted extremely bitter, as it had no sugar in it.

***

“Writer Ha, please write a scenario for me.”

With a shot glass in his mouth, Ha Jae-Gun stopped and looked at Yoon Tae-Sung, sitting across from him and was grilling some meat over the fire.

“I would like to direct your next movie. I desperately require your clean scenario again this time.”

Ha Jae-Gun and Yoon Tae-Sung met over dinner, as it had been a while since they saw each other. Yoon Tae-Sung was holding a copy of the manuscript of Gyeoja Bathhouse.

“Do you really like it?”

“Does it look like I’m trying to ride on your fame by working on your next novel?” Yoon Tae-Sung joked and chuckled.

Ha Jae-Gun downed a shot and shook his head.

“I’m quite worried since it’s my first time writing a movie of this genre. It’s a bit funny because I wasn’t really worried while I was writing it. I’m just grateful, and I trust you enough without having to mention it at all.”

Having worked together for There Was A Sea, their personalities were well-matched. A good relationship would lead to maximum efficiency, so Ha Jae-Gun greatly appreciated Yoon Tae-Sung for sticking to the original work.

“The casting is going to be tough.”

“I think so, too.”

Yoon Tae-Sung poured a shot for Ha Jae-Gun. The main characters of Gyeoja Bathhouse were all elementary school students. The most worrisome of all was the little girl, as she would have to give off an aura different from the older brother, who was currently undergoing puberty.

It wasn’t described explicitly in the novel, but it would become clear once it was adapted into a movie.

“We should open an audition for child actor casting, but we will have to hurry. It’s not easy to find a girl who is innocent like the girl in the story while showing subtle emotions in unexpected ways.”

“I feel sorry after listening to that. Maybe I should have set the main characters to be the age of high school students?”

“If they were high school students playing in a bathhouse, this novel would have turned out to be a comedy.”

The two men shared a toast and burst into laughter. As they had another shot, Yoon Tae-Sung snapped his fingers upon thinking of something.

“But Writer Ha, about the naggy female high school student.”

“Ah, yes.” Ha Jae-Gun looked into Yoon Tae-Sung’s eyes and nodded.

The naggy high school girl Yoon Tae-Sung had just mentioned was one of the many characters in Gyeoja Bathhouse. She was a juvenile who would often smoke at the abandoned building near the bathhouse. She had a petite figure, and she played an important part in the story’s development.

“There’s a particular actress I would like to give this role to. I was able to see her in it immediately when I read the manuscript.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Ah, she appeared in my latest short film, Girls’ War. She’s a rookie, and her name is Hong Ye-Seul.”

“Ahh, I see.” There was nothing Ha Jae-Gun could comment on since it was his first time hearing her name. Yoon Tae-Sung picked up his phone and looked for a photo of the actress he had mentioned, but he ended up with a frown.

“Damn, I forgot to transfer her photo to my phone. Anyway, she looks pretty cute. She’s like a cat.”

“Did you discover her yourself?”

“It was a coincidence. I found her when filming There Was A Sea. We’ve got a few AWOLs for the extras, so we got her amongst a few others to fill in.”

“Oh, is that so? I’ll be able to recognize her then.”

“You wouldn’t have noticed her. She was so outstanding that I cut out all the scenes that showed her face in the movie. However, you’ll see her when you attend the Girls’ War movie preview.”

“That’s great, then.”

The two men filled their glasses. Was it because Yoon Tae-Sung had mentioned that the actress resembled a cat? The face of a certain woman surfaced in Ha Jae-Gun’s mind.

***

[Monster Writer Ha Ha ae-Gun’s latest novel, a horror mystery]

[Game and movie adaptations of Gyeoja Bathhouse confirmed ahead of publication]

[Nextion’s Planning Director Nam Gyu-Ho: I’m confident in the China market as well]

[While busy in China, Park Do-Joon still sends messages of encouragement to Ha Jae-Gun on social media: Jae-Gun, let’s drink ^^]

[Gyeoja Bathhouse dominating real-time search keyword rankings, why?]

“Hmm.”

Nam Gyu-Ho was reading the news on the internet with his phone as he sat in the back passenger seat. He had just returned from China, and the view of the Incheon Airport was getting smaller as they drove away.

“Does this guy not have a manager?”

“Who are you referring to?”

“Ha Jae-Gun. He should use a better photo on his profile. Does he not know how to smile?” Nam Gyu-Ho clicked his tongue as he looked at Ha Jae-Gun’s profile photo on the website. In his eyes, Ha Jae-Gun’s face was slowly being replaced by a woman’s face.

“Hmm… Remove Jae-Gun’s impertinence and give him some elegance… the result is her face.”

“Pardon? I didn’t catch what you said.”

“I’m just mumbling to myself. Don’t mind me.”

Bzzt!

Nam Gyu-Ho’s phone rang. It was a call from Lee Soo-Hee. Nam Gyu-Ho answered the phone as he looked out the window.

“Hello.”

— You must be exhausted, Director.

“I’m still alright after getting a good rest last night. How is the scenario for Gyeoja Bathhouse doing?”

— It’s halfway done. I think you’ll like it.

Unlike a novel with a fixed ending, there were bound to be multiple endings to a game. It was especially so for such horror adventure games where the players had to make choices at every moment.

“What did Writer Ha say about it?”

— He was satisfied with it. It’s perfect, he says.

“That’s good. Let’s work on the development and launch it soon.”

— Are you returning to the office?

“Yes, um… no.”

Nam Gyu-Ho changed his mind and pressed on his nose bridge.

“I have to go somewhere. I’ll see you in three hours.”

— I understand. See you later.

Nam Gyu-Ho hung up the call and ordered, “Chauffeur Kim, let’s head to Suwon first. Do you still recall the academy we visited before?”

“Ah, yes, Director.”

Nam Gyu-Ho leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

His light smile appeared in the rearview mirror.

***

“You’re really here.”

“Oppa, what kind of first greeting is this?” Lee Chae-Rin pouted.

She was now at an independent theater for the movie preview of Yoon Tae-Sung’s short film, Girls’ War.

Park Do-Joon had asked Ha Jae-Gun about it as well, so he dropped her a call a few days ago. While they were on the phone, they brought up the movie preview, and Lee Chae-Rin said that she would attend because she would be free by then.

“I think it won’t be that long since it’s just a preview.”

“Yeah, he said it’s thirty-two minutes long.”

“Let’s have something delicious after the movie, Oppa. Yu-Ri said she’d come over after her shoot with Jwi-Market. I should send Do-Joon Oppa a picture to provoke him a bit.”

“Do-Joon should be enjoying all the good food in China now as well.”

Bzzt!

Ha Jae-Gun answered the call that had just come in.

“Yeah, noona.”

— Are you busy?

“No, I’m good. What about you?”

— I’m very busy. Thanks to the great writer’s lecture, students have been signing up with no end in sight. Even ten of me wouldn’t be enough to deal with how busy things have been getting here.

“You should hire another lecturer and a chauffeur as well.”

— Anyway, that’s not what I called to talk about. Director Nam Gyu-Ho just dropped by earlier. I called to tell you that.

“Director Nam…?” Ha Jae-Gun asked, perplexed. Why would he drop by Ha Jae-In’s academy when he had just returned from his business trip in China?

— He dropped off presents he bought from China: alcohol, tea, and many other things. I think they’ll last for a year, at the very least.

“Oh, really?” Ha Jae-Gun found it questionable. It wasn’t weird that Nam Gyu-Ho would send gifts to his family, but handing it personally? And handing it over personally to his own sister, at that?

“Is he gone?”

— No, he went up to the rooftop for a smoke. We agreed to have lunch together.

“You’re having lunch together?”

— He came all the way here, so I asked out of courtesy if he had lunch yet. Then he suggested we have lunch together. Ah, he’s coming down. I’ll call you again, Ha Jae-Gun.

“Oh, okay.”

Ha Jae-Gun was still tilting his head to the side even after hanging up, finding the situation weird.

Just then, Lee Chae-Rin tapped on his shoulder lightly, “Oppa, the director is here.”

“Ah, okay. Let’s go greet him.”

Ha Jae-Gun and Lee Chae-Rin walked to Yoon Tae-Sung. Yoon Tae-Sung was having a conversation with the assistant director when he noticed the two.

He smiled brightly at them.

“Thank you for coming, Writer Ha.”

Yoon Tae-Sung was so happy that he held Ha Jae-Gun’s hand.

He noticed Lee Chae-Rin beside him and asked, “This is… AppleT?”

“Oh my, how come you recognized me without my makeup? Thank you.”

“I’m an AppleT fan, so it’s not strange at all. I’ve memorized all of your songs as well.”

Yoon Tae-Sung immediately started dancing and humming to a song by AppleT. His awkward and stiff dance made his upper body and lower body move independently from each other.

Ha Jae-Gun and Lee Chae-Rin burst into laughter at the comical sight.

“Ah, but Writer Ha, the female lead couldn’t make it today. She has part-time work at the convenience store today and couldn’t get away.”

“Ah, I see.” Ha Jae-Gun nodded slowly. Was she trying to make ends meet while working at the convenience store? The life of a rookie actor did not feel foreign to him.

“Anyway, you should check her out through the movie later. Please go on in. I’ve reserved good seats for you.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you after the movie then. Lee Chae-Rin, let’s go.”

Ha Jae-Gun and Lee Chae-Rin took their seats somewhere in the middle of the audience. Time passed, and the seats in the theater started filling up. Soon, the lights in the theater dimmed, and music started playing.

The title, Girls’ War, appeared on the screen, marking the start of the movie.

‘This should be fun.’

Ha Jae-Gun kept his eyes on the big screen.

The back view of a girl filled the screen in replacement of the title. She donned a white blouse, a neat navy skirt, and heels. The camera followed after her as she hurried somewhere.

‘She must be Hong Ye-Seul.’

The opening of the movie showed the back view of her taking a town bus, changing to the subway, and then going into the elevator of a building somewhere and pressing the button.

How pretty she had to be for Yoon Tae-Sung to compliment her to that extent?

Ha Jae-Gun’s expectations were extremely high.

“Hello! Please take care of me!”

The girl arrived at the office, and her energetic voice rang aloud. The camera finally moved from behind her to show her side profile, and her face was revealed to the public.