Chapter 125. There Was A Sea (7)

— Hello, Writer Ha. I hope you haven’t had dinner yet?

“Yeah, we’re still cooking dinner. Anyway, why did you call? Aren't you back in your hometown?"

The person on the other end of the line was Kang Min-Ho.

They had been seeing each other daily at the writer's office, so there was really no need for them to call each other on a normal basis. On top of that, Kang Min-Ho went back to his hometown, so it was a surprise that he would call Ha Jae-Gun.

— Um… I was just watching the sea and suddenly thought of you, so I decided to give you a call.

“Haha. Why would you think of me when you’re doing something so romantic like watching the sea? Shouldn’t you be thinking of some beautiful woman instead?

— I know, right? Hahaha…

Kang Min-Ho’s voice sounded unusually low. His laughter also sounded unnatural, more like self-mockery. Feeling the worries Kang Min-Ho was concealing, Ha Jae-Gun asked, “Please tell me what’s bothering you.”

— My family is urging me to get married.

Surprisingly, Kang Min-Ho spilled the beans relatively quickly.

— They nagged me and said that I was thirty-five, but I still had no girlfriend, so they arranged a blind date for me. I’ve already met the lady once, and now I have to meet her again before I head back to Seoul. She’s the daughter of my father’s friend.

“Mm, I see.”

— At first impression, she seems pretty nice and kind. She’s not bad at all, but…

“You don’t feel that way for her, right?”

— Truthfully speaking, yes. I don’t feel that way for her. She seemed to be more interested in how much I earn through royalties instead of the content of my novel. Ah, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not trying to undermine her or anything, as it’s natural for women to consider the man’s financial situation if they are looking forward to marriage. I definitely understand that.

“Yes, of course.”

— I suddenly thought if all the women in this world were like that. Writer Ha, I’ve barely managed to see the light at the end of the tunnel at my age as an ink slinger, and my future is still quite uncertain. I guess my income will still fluctuate throughout my entire life.

Ha Jae-Gun silently listened to Kang Min-Ho’s rants. He hadn’t realized it at first, but it seemed that Kang Min-Ho had drunk quite a bit.

— However… I wondered if there’d ever be a woman who would support an ink slinger like me, who would probably never get to own a beautiful house or car. It’s quite pathetic of me, right?

Ha Jae-Gun was suddenly reminded of Jang Eun-Young.

The two of them had known each other for a long time after meeting for the first time at a literary class back in high school. He could vaguely guess the strange air that was flowing between them.

— Would I ever meet a woman like that?

“I think—no, there’s definitely someone like that.”

Ha Jae-Gun changed his reply from a guess to one with certainty. Kang Min-Ho was probably waiting to hear the name Jang Eun-Young from him, and that could be why he called Ha Jae-Gun in the first place as well.

However, Ha Jae-Gun didn’t speak her name and instead said, “I think you’ll be able to find someone like that if you look around you more closely.

— …

The silence that followed made Kang Min-Ho’s breathing sound louder as well. Ha Jae-In was about to ask Ha Jae-Gun where the seasonings were kept but returned to the kitchen after seeing him talking with a grim look on the phone.

— Thank you, Writer Ha. I’ve gained some courage thanks to you.

Kang Min-Ho sounded refreshed.

— I’m sorry for taking so much of your time. Have a good night, and I’ll see you again when I return.

“Cheer up, Writer Kang. Everything will turn out fine.”

— Thank you, have a good rest.

Ha Jae-Gun fell into deep thought after the call.

The silence from Kang Min-Ho at the end could be due to fear. What if things went wrong after he confessed? What if their relationship broke down because of it?

Kang Min-Ho was afraid of the ramifications, and he wasn’t sure if he could take the fallout if things went wrong.

“Jae-Gun, are you done talking on the phone?”

Ha Jae-Gun was pulled back to reality by Lee Soo-Hee’s voice.

Lee Soo-Hee was holding a ladle and a small dish in hand with an apron wrapped around her waist. Ha Jae-Gun stared at her blankly. Of course, he was still concerned about Kang Min-Ho.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Uh, no… It’s nothing. What is it?”

“Can you taste this for us? It tastes fine to Unni and me, but we’re not sure if you’d like it.”

Ha Jae-Gun sprung up and closed in on her. Lee Soo-Hee held out the ladle for him gently. Before taking a taste, Ha Jae-Gun blew onto the ladle a couple of times, making Lee Soo-Hee chuckle.

“It’s not hot. You don’t have to blow on it.”

“Mm… It’s just nice. Delicious.”

“Right? Dinner’s almost done now, so you can come over.”

The three of them sat around the table and enjoyed dinner together.

Ha Jae-In didn’t once bring up any topic that would put her brother in a pickle, except the fact that her continuous chatting with Lee Soo-Hee had shown Ha Jae-Gun that she was extremely pleased with this female friend of his.

After dinner, the three had a cup of coffee each, and only when Lee Soo-Hee had finally gone to use the bathroom after finishing washing the dishes did Ha Jae-Gun say to Ha Jae-In.

"It's already 9 p.m., it's too late for you to drive back home, so stay over tonight."

"Can I?"

"What's with that question? My house is your house. I'm going to talk about work with Soo-Hee for a while more and send her back home."

Lee Soo-Hee returned from the bathroom. She was already prepared to leave as she had already picked up her coat and bag.

"Tonight was fun. Thank you for the delicious meal, Unni."

"I’m sad to see you leave so soon, Ms. Soo-Hee. Let's meet again soon, okay?"

The ladies bade their goodbyes while Ha Jae-Gun took his car keys and walked to the foyer.

Lee Soo-Hee held him back and tightened her grip on him before shaking her head.

"I've called a taxi, it'll come in a minute."

"Why did you do that? I'm going to send you back either way."

"You're going to let your sister stay alone in this huge house?"

"Ms. Soo-Hee, I'm fine. Jae-Gun's car must be more comfortable as well."

"I've already called for one, so I'll just take the taxi back today. It won't take me too long, either. Please rest well, and I'll see you again," Lee Soo-Hee insisted politely.

Ha Jae-Gun followed her out of the house and grumbled disapprovingly, “You’re making me feel apologetic when we’ve agreed to meet up today.”

“If you feel bad, then buy me a delicious meal after the meeting.”

“That’s a given, but is there anything else you need to tell me about the work?”

“Mm, I’m not so sure how things will turn out from here on as well. I’ll call you again once I’ve got the meeting date set.”

A taxi was already waiting for them at the main gate. Lee Soo-Hee was about to open the door to the back passenger seat, but something popped into her mind, prompting her to look at Ha Jae-Gun.

“I think I’ve told you before in passing. Anyway, our director is good at his work, but he’s quite straightforward, and he speaks in a light-hearted tone. As long as you keep that in mind, I don’t think you’ll have much difficulty with him.”

“All right, thank you for the advice.”

“I’m going now. Have a good time with your sister.”

Ha Jae-Gun watched as Lee Soo-Hee’s taxi drove out of his sight before finally returning to the house. He then saw Ha Jae-In wiping the table with a complicated look.

“Why are you cleaning the table when there’s no dust on it?”

“One will be the dumbest man alive if they ever lose such a great woman.”

“What’s that about?”

“Yeah, I know, right? I’m going to shower first, smart writer Ha Jae-Gun.”

Ha Jae-In took a fresh set of clothes and headed to the bathroom.

Ha Jae-Gun sat on the sofa and thought of Lee Soo-Hee. He recalled why they agreed to meet today and took out his phone to check out Nextion’s homepage. He wanted to check out what kind of games they had been releasing.

***

The traffic was unusually heavy this morning. While the car was crawling along the streets, Nam Gyu-Ho was breathing short and heavy breaths in the back seat.

“I’m sorry, Director. I’m not sure why the city roads are so congested today.”

“Isn’t it natural for the roads to be congested at this time of the day?”

“Ah, yes… I see.”

“Anyway, just make sure we arrive as soon as possible.”

When they finally arrived at the office, it was already thirty minutes past the agreed meeting time. Nam Gyu-Ho opened the door in a hurry and alighted even before the car could come to a complete stop. Nam Gyu-Ho’s demeanor had always been the epitome of composure, but he was now running toward the elevator.

The elevator doors opened, and a few people walked out.

Nam Gyu-Ho failed to recognize any of them, as he was in a rush.

‘I’m going crazy.’

Nam Gyu-Ho gnashed his teeth. The workload had increased, and the traffic made him late for the appointment.

Bzzt!

It was a call from Lee Soo-Hee. This was the third call from her.

Nam Gyu-Ho picked up the phone and said, “I’m in the elevator heading up.”

— Writer Ha waited for quite a while, and he had just left.

“What? He left?”

— Yes, he has an interview with a newspaper and said he’ll be late if he waits any longer.

Lee Soo-Hee’s business-like voice sounded colder than usual.

“Urgh.”

Nam Gyu-Ho wiped the sweat off of his forehead. He suddenly noticed his own reflection off the glass on the elevator wall, and he could see that he was truly annoyed.

“All right, I’ll be in the office soon.”

— Okay. I’m heading for a meeting with the server team now.

As Nam Gyu-Ho stepped out of the elevator, he met the marketing team leader.

Nam Gyu-Ho brought him to his office and asked to hear the entire story.

“...We kept telling him about the traffic congestion and asking for his understanding, but Writer Ha said that he couldn’t wait any longer, as he had an interview with a newspaper company. I couldn’t hold him back.”

“Did he say anything else?”

“Nothing. He was reading a book with a stoic look while waiting for you. I couldn’t figure out his thoughts at all.”

Nam Gyu-Ho licked his dried lips and stared into space.

It wouldn’t be strange if Ha Jae-Gun were angry. After all, Nam Gyu-Ho was the planning director of Nextion, the largest game development company in South Korea.

“I’m not some crude venture company who creates adult-themed Go-Stop games, was thirty minutes that long of a wait?” Nam Gyu-Ho scoffed.

The team leader kept quiet as he knew that it was a rhetorical question.

“What do you think?”

“Pardon?”

“We’re going to pay him millions just to buy his IP and make a game out of it, but he ups and leaves when it’s just a thirty-minute delay in the schedule? Is he that much of a big deal? What do you think of him?”

The team leader fixed his glasses silently, seemingly in distress.

Nam Gyu-Ho’s gaze remained on him, so the team leader had no choice but to speak after much hesitation.

“Um, after seeing him today and also from what I’ve heard from Team Leader Lee, I don’t think Writer Ha Jae-Gun is a money-driven person.”

“...?”

“He’s probably willing to let his novel be adapted into a game not because of the money but for the joy and honor. If someone or something doesn’t sit well with him, he’ll leave, no matter how much money you throw at him. Plus, he should have earned billions alone this year.”

Surprise briefly flashed across Nam Gyu-Ho’s face. He knew that one of Ha Jae-Gun’s novels had been adapted into a movie and had even become a bestselling work, but to think that he had earned billions this year alone…

It was unbelievable.

“Do writers earn that much these days?”

“The market for genre novels has been growing exponentially, but every writer can earn that much.”

“We should probably give a raise to all our writers in the planning team before they decide to quit and change careers to become writers themselves.

”All right, I’ve roughly understood just what kind of a person he is, so arrange another meeting with him outside. I’ll apologize and buy him dinner as well.”

“Okay, I will convey that to Team Leader Lee Soo-Hee.”

The marketing team leader left the office, and Nam Gyu-Ho started arranging his remaining tasks on hand.

Roughly an hour later, a message from Lee Soo-Hee came through the internal messenger app.

-I’ve just contacted Writer Ha Jae-Gun. He’s busy next week and will also be going down to Donghae the following week to monitor the filming onsite, so he can’t confirm his schedule for the time being. He said he would contact us again when his schedule opens up in half a month’s time.

“...?!” Nam Gyu-Ho was shocked, his expression saying, ‘Look at this punk?!’ The corner of his lips was trembling at the ridicule he was feeling.

“Is he really busy? Or is this a matter of pride?”

Whichever it was, it didn’t matter to Nam Gyu-Ho. What was important was the process and whether things would work out or not. After some pondering, Nam Gyu-Ho pulled out his phone and personally gave Ha Jae-Gun a call.

— Hello, this is Mr. Ha Jae-Gun’s manager, Lee Yeon-Woo.

“May I speak to Writer Ha Jae-Gun, please.”

— I’m sorry, but who is this?

“He’ll know if you tell him that it’s Nam Gyu-Ho from Nextion.”

— He’s currently in an interview.

Nam Gyu-Ho gulped and asked, “When will the interview end?”

— It’s a relatively in-depth interview, so it would take at least three hours. Mr. Nam Nam Gyu-Ho from Nextion, right? Is that all I have to convey?

Nam Gyu-Ho scoffed reflexively. Mr. Nam Gyu-Ho from Nextion? It was his first time being addressed like that.

“Please tell him to call me back as soon as possible.”

— Writer Ha has a lecture right after the interview as well, but I’ll make sure to let him know.

Nam Gyu-Ho sprung up immediately.

“Look, Mr. Manager? I must talk to him today, so please make sure he gives me a call.”

— I will let him know.

However, the manager only repeated his words like a parrot.

Nam Gyu-Ho loosened his necktie roughly when the call was ended unilaterally without hearing a definite answer from the other party. His eyes were wide open in anger, glistening like glass reflecting light due to the lenses he was wearing.

An hour, two, and three hours later, he still hadn’t received a call. It was only when Nam Gyu-Ho arrived home after work and was lying in bed that he received a message.

-This is Ha Jae-Gun. I’m sending you a message instead of making a call since it’s late after my lecture ended. I told Team Leader Lee Soo-Hee about my schedule earlier. I’m unavailable in the near future, so I’ll contact you again half a month later.

“Hahaha…!”

Nam Gyu-Ho burst into laughter while looking up at the ceiling. He climbed out of bed and headed to the kitchen, taking out a bottle of liquor from the cupboard. He was no longer sleepy.