Chapter 126. There Was A Sea (8)

The pantry next to Nextion’s planning team was filled with the team members of the planning team. Amongst those who were there to start their day with a cup of coffee were Lee Soo-Hee and Hye-Mi.

“Team Leader, what should I do?”

“What do you mean?” Lee Soo-Hee looked up from her phone while reading the news of newly released mobile games.

Hye-Mi shrugged, then looked around discreetly to make sure no one was watching them before muttering, “About Writer Ha Jae-Gun. He didn’t get to meet the director and just left, right? Is that going to be the end for Oscar’s Dungeon?”

“Well, I’m not sure.”

“Did the director not say anything?”

Lee Soo-Hee smiled reproachingly and asked, “You’re quite the curious one, aren’t you, Ms. Hye-Mi? You weren’t like this before, but you’ve gotten quite nosy these days.”

“Ah, r-really…? I’m just curious…” Hye-Mi murmured, flustered at Lee Soo-Hee’s remark. However, Hye-Mi had to report back to someone with news concerning Ha Jae-Gun.

“Anyway, this is definitely the director’s fault, right?”

“What use is there to find fault in others when the negotiations have broken down?” A long sigh was mixed in Lee Soo-Hee’s reply. Lee Soo-Hee thought that the matter was Nam Gyu-Ho’s fault.

Nam Gyu-Ho had suggested arranging the meeting for yesterday, and Ha Jae-Gun had also made known that he was ready to meet anytime before 3 p.m., as he had somewhere else he had to be.

Even Lee Soo-Hee thought that it would be best to delay the meeting to another day because she was aware of Nam Gyu-Ho’s tight schedule. However, Nam Gyu-Ho’s motto had always been to strike while the iron was hot, so he didn’t take her advice.

“Let’s not delay it to another day and meet at 1.30 p.m. Our discussion should take at most thirty minutes anyway since the team leaders can discuss the details with him.”

And this was the result of his stubbornness…

He had attempted to fit Ha Jae-Gun into his extremely tight schedule, and he failed spectacularly.

‘Hmm…?’

Lee Soo-Hee suddenly realized that the pantry had gotten awfully quiet. She looked around in surprise and spotted Nam Gyu-Ho walking into the pantry with his hands in his pockets and standing before the coffee machine.

His stiffer-than-usual expression made everyone fall silent. With a hot cup of coffee in hand, he turned around and approached Lee Soo-Hee.

Lee Soo-Hee stood up from her seat and said, “Good morning, Director.”

“Just stay seated.” Nam Gyu-Ho pulled out a chair and sat across from her.

Hye-Mi stood up and left them alone to talk while the other employees rushed back to their desks as well.

“You don’t look so well today, Director,” Lee Soo-Hee spoke first after the pantry was cleared.

Nam Gyu-Ho stared out the window silently and brought the cup to his mouth.

His eyes widened in surprise instantly. “Ah, hot!”

“You should have been more careful. Did you scald your lips?” Lee Soo-Hee asked, pulling out a sachet of wet tissues from her pocket.

Nam Gyu-Ho pulled out three sheets of wet tissue and patted his lips with a groan.

“I’m not sure where my mind has gone.”

“Did you not sleep last night?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Nam Gyu-Ho looked down, crumpling the wet tissue in his hand. His anxiousness had influenced Lee Soo-Hee, making her feel nervous.

“I called Writer Ha yesterday.”

“...?”

“I received the same response that you told me yesterday, so I wanted to ask you for a favor.”

“Please speak.”

Nam Gyu-Ho lightly touched his red lips and explained, “I need to meet Writer Ha Jae-Gun as soon as possible. He suggested we talk again half a month later, but with this mess right now, I don’t think it’s good for us to drag this out for too long.”

Nam Gyu-Ho pulled out his phone and showed her a post from Laugh Books that stated Oscar’s Dungeon had gone into another batch of reprints.

Nam Gyu-Ho scrolled down to the bottom of the post and tapped on the number of comments shown.

“According to my middle school nephew, they would call those who still haven’t heard of Oscar’s Dungeon a spy. Even female high schoolers like the novel, just because Writer Ha is close with actor Park Do-Joon.”

“Yes, I believe there’s that trend.”

“Sometimes, things like this are better indicators than market statistics. It occurred to me that I may have underestimated Writer Ha.”

Lee Soo-Hee smiled slightly.

Nam Gyu-Ho continued. “In conclusion, I don’t want to lose Writer Ha, and neither do I want to wait for half a month. He’s probably doing this out of consideration for our employees’ working hours, but please let him know that it doesn’t matter when or where—I’m open to meeting him as long as he has the time. Thank you.”

With that, Nam Gyu-Ho stood up.

Left all alone, Lee Soo-Hee pulled out her phone and sent a message.

- Jae-Gun, can we talk right now? Are you free?

A call came in from Ha Jae-Gun in less than thirty seconds.

Lee Soo-Hee smiled and answered the call.

“That was quick.”

— I could have called you earlier, but I was brushing my teeth. What’s up?

“Um, well…”

Lee Soo-Hee calmly conveyed Nam Gyu-Ho’s words.

After listening, Ha Jae-Gun replied without hesitation.

— It’d be great if that’s possible. I understand that your working hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., so I was going to schedule it with that in mind.

“Ah, really?”

Nam Gyu-Ho’s strategy proved effective.

Lee Soo-Hee felt relieved, and she felt as if a stone had been lifted from her chest.

— It should be fine after 9 p.m. I could meet him before I head to Donghae. Let me know what he thinks.

“Okay, Jae-Gun. Thank you.”

— I should be the one thanking you. You’re the one helping me earn more money.

Lee Soo-Hee ended the call and gulped down the coffee in her cup before heading to the washroom with light steps. She was all smiles, even while brushing her teeth.

***

“Jae-Gun hyung, are you not tired?”

“I’m fine, but you should be quite tired, I’m sorry.”

The additional filming for I Live Alone had just ended a while ago. Ha Jae-Gun and Lee Yeon-Woo took a thirty-minute nap in the car earlier, and they were now on the road to the next destination.

“Do you even get ten minutes of screen time on the show? Why did they have to film you for over three hours just for that?”

“It made me wonder how bad it was for Do-Joon. I can’t even imagine how bad it is for the other celebrities.”

The night deepened as the time neared 9 p.m. The cold autumn rain was beating against the car window. Lee Yeon-Woo increased the speed of the wiper and changed the topic of their conversation.

“I never knew that Nam Gyu-Ho was a director. I only found out when I looked him up on the Internet. He’s thirty-seven this year and still single.”

“Really?”

“He’s quite good-looking, but I don’t like his style. You know, the style that’s commonly found among student council presidents? Ah, we often have those kinds of students in school. Their every gesture and expression is bursting with confidence and energy.”

“I think I understand what you mean.” Ha Jae-Gun laughed, nodding in agreement.

Lee Yeon-Woo laughed as well, but his expression soon turned serious as he muttered, “Anyway, I don’t care whether he’s the director or not. If he has made an appointment, he should have turned up on time; how dare he stand the great Writer Poongchun-Yoo up?”

“You’ve already said that over ten times. Stop it.”

Lee Yeon-Woo parked at a carpark near the sashimi restaurant where Ha Jae-Gun was supposed to be for his next schedule.

Lee Yeon-Woo took the umbrella and was about to alight the car first, but Ha Jae-Gun stopped him.

“Don’t. You can go back first.”

“I’m fine, hyung. I can just work on my laptop while waiting for you in the car.”

“I’m not okay with it, so listen to me. I’m sure you’re tired, and you didn’t even get to eat properly earlier. Head on back and have dinner with the others.”

Ha Jae-Gun took out a 100,000 won cash cheque and slipped it into Lee Yeon-Woo’s pocket.

Lee Yeon-Woo was flustered and confused. “Why are you paying me a salary if you’re going to keep giving me money like this?”

“Just know that I’ll reduce your pay the moment you start earning enough to pay for your own meals. Leave immediately after I alight. I won’t go in until you drive off.”

Ha Jae-Gun took the umbrella and alighted. Lee Yeon-Woo rolled down the window and stuck his head out before saying, “Hyung, I’m really not hungry. I can keep waiting here…”

Ha Jae-Gun frowned and stared at him with a grim look.

Lee Yeon-Woo shut his mouth and sat back properly in his seat. “Gosh, I got it… Hyung, I’ll be going first, then. However, feel free to call me after your meeting, I will come down immediately—”

“Say another word, and I’m going to fire you immediately.”

“Ahhh~ Alright, alright! I’m going, I’m going now!” Lee Yeon-Woo turned pale and stepped on the accelerator even before winding up the window.

Ha Jae-Gun watched him drive away into the distance with a smile and turned around to enter the restaurant.

“Welcome, Jae-Gun.” Lee Soo-Hee sat on the inner side of the private room, and waved at him.

Ha Jae-Gun’s eyes widened in surprise as he took off his shoes and stepped into the room.

“Why are you here so early?” he asked.

“I was afraid that there’d be no seats since I couldn’t make a reservation earlier. But the director and marketing team leader will be here soon.”

Ha Jae-Gun was about to sit across from her, but he stopped and pointed at the seat beside her. “Wouldn’t it be better if I sat beside you instead?”

“...Hmm? Uh, I guess so?”

Ha Jae-Gun sat down beside her and took off his coat.

Lee Soo-Hee adjusted her seating position and shifted her toes to face away from Ha Jae-Gun. Was it because Ha Jae-Gun was the one sitting next to her?

She found it strange that the opposite seat was empty, and she was flustered that Ha Jae-Gun was sitting next to her.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been here,” Ha Jae-Gun muttered while folding his coat and placing it beside him.

“It’s been a while?”

“Yeah, back when I was releasing my novels with Star Books, I’ve been here once with President Kwon and Ms. So-Mi. I remember it clearly since it was the day they offered me an exclusive contract with them.”

“I see.”

“They’re good people. You’ve met them, too.”

Lee Soo-Hee only nodded in silence.

However, Lee Soo-Hee didn’t want to acknowledge Jung So-Mi.

For some reason, Lee Soo-Hee found Jung So-Mi’s existence annoying since she met her back at Ha Jae-Gun’s studio.

“She did well with the illustrations for Oscar’s Dungeon,” Lee Soo-Hee said after a while.

Ha Jae-Gun grinned and said, “So I was thinking of having her draw the original images as well.”

“The originals, too…?” Lee Soo-Hee was surprised.

She was about to say something, but the door to the private room was opened.

The marketing team leader and Nam Gyu-Ho walked into the private room.

“Please take a seat, Director.”

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Ha Jae-Gun stood up along with Lee Soo-Hee.

Nam Gyu-Ho quickly took off his shoes and climbed into the room.

He bowed and extended his hand over to Ha Jae-Gun.

“Hello, I’m Nam Gyu-Ho, planning director at Nextion. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Yes, hello. I’m Ha Jae-Gun.”

Ha Jae-Gun reached and shook his hands. Their eyes met, and Ha Jae-Gun calmly accepted Nam Gyu-Ho’s sharp gaze.

“I’m really sorry about the previous incident,” Nam Gyu-Ho said as he took a seat across from Ha Jae-Gun. “I unknowingly disrespected you. I truly didn’t expect the traffic to be that congested.”

“It’s alright.”

“I thought it would have been great if you had waited slightly longer that day.”

“I wanted to do so as well, but it was already well past 2 p.m. And even if we had gone through with the meeting, there was no way we could have had a proper conversation in less than thirty minutes.”

Nam Gyu-Ho narrowed his eyes. Ha Jae-Gun had never broken eye contact and was replying calmly to him. Ha Jae-Gun was smiling slightly, but his eyes showed little emotion.

“So, Director. Shall we start by ordering some food?”

“I’ve ordered a sashimi platter, Team Leader Park.”

“Oh, really? Team Leader Lee is indeed quick-witted.”

Soon, the table was filled with sashimi and other food items that Lee Soo-Hee had ordered. The group entered full-fledged talks with the marketing team leader, kickstarting the conversation.

He started off by sharing Nextion’s domestic and international market share, the establishment of Oscar’s Dungeon development team, and the gamification of certain elements in the original novel.

Meanwhile, Ha Jae-Gun picked up a piece of sashimi and dipped it into the sauce, chewing on it. To be honest, Team Leader Park’s explanation was so boring that it sounded like a rite of passage.

Nam Gyu-Ho had to step up as a relief pitcher.

“That’s enough. The night is short, and we have a lot to discuss, so let’s go straight to the point.” Nam Gyu-Ho wiped his hands with a wet towel and said bluntly, “I wish to hear your opinions, Writer Ha. You should know enough about our company by now. I’m not trying to boast, I’m just telling you the truth.”

“I understand…”

“Oscar’s Dungeon has been a huge hit in the genre novel market, and the momentum will continue for quite a while.

”It’s important that the original novel is good enough to be made into a game, but something else that I view as important as that is how big of a hot topic it’ll become.

”I want the game to be installed on the phones of each and every one of your readers, including those who have never played games before.”

Lee Soo-Hee grew increasingly uncomfortable as she watched Nam Gyu-Ho speak faster and faster as the seconds went by. Once Nam Gyu-Ho got going, he wouldn’t care about the other people around him and would speak as fast as a bullet train to share all of his thoughts.

“We are prepared to do everything to make the game a reality. Before the game is released, we’re also considering creating a webtoon as a form of marketing content. This idea is from Team Leader Park.”

Nam Gyu-Ho gestured to the man next to him and showed credit.

Team Leader Park smiled shyly and nodded lightly.

“Thank you for liking my novel,” Ha Jae-Gun said as he looked at Nam Gyu-Ho.

Nam Gyu-Ho smiled amiably and shrugged lightly.

It was time to hear Ha Jae-Gun’s answer.

“Since we’re on the topic of webtoon, have you already read Oscar’s Dungeon?”

“Of course, I’ve read it up til the latest release.”

“Then, you should have seen the illustrations, too. I wish to have the artist of the illustrations work on the webtoon as well, including the original images, if possible.”

Nam Gyu-Ho could barely hold in his laughter, but he ended up laughing with his arms crossed.

Meanwhile, Lee Soo-Hee looked down. She should have brought this topic up with Ha Jae-Gun before Nam Gyu-Ho arrived.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, I apologize for laughing out of the blue. The artist’s illustrations were good, but those illustrations aren’t up to par with the standards of our company, especially if you want the artist to create the original images as well.

”They don’t seem to be a known artist, too, so I suggest you reconsider.”

Nam Gyu-Ho picked up his chopsticks and added, “Is this because you still need a bit more experience in society? You have quite the naive side.”

Lee Soo-Hee’s heart sank.

Nam Gyu-Ho probably didn’t mean anything when he said those words, but it was unclear, as his social skill was probably only eight or nine out of ten.

Fortunately, Ha Jae-Gun took it lightly and smiled.

“I’m asking because I’m not sure how this works. I’ll hear about that in more detail from the team leaders in the future. However, if we ever decide to make a webtoon, I hope that we can use the same artist who did my illustrations. I’m sure we can make up for the lack of direction with a great storyboard.”

Team Leader Park stepped up to answer. “Sure, Writer Ha Jae-Gun. I’ll make sure we’ll come to an agreement on that.”

“Thank you. I don’t have any further objections on this matter.”

Ha Jae-Gun accepted the results of their discussion, and the work conversation ended there.

Nam Gyu-Ho snapped his fingers and called the server.

“Bring us two bottles of beer and four cups. Let’s enjoy some soju bombs.”

Nam Gyu-Ho personally mixed soju and beer into each cup with a 3 to 7 ratio.

He handed the first glass to Ha Jae-Gun and said, “Please have one. Can you drink soju bombs?”

“Well, I have enough experience to drink this at the very least,” said Ha Jae-Gun. It sounded like a light-hearted joke, but it was actually covered in thorns.

Nam Gyu-Ho’s eyelids briefly twitched, and no one noticed it.

“It was really nice meeting you. I hope everything goes well for us in the future.”

“I hope for the same as well.”

The group of four held up their glasses and made a toast.

Nam Gyu-Ho tilted his head back and gulped down the entire glass. Ha Jae-Gun finished his glass almost at the same time. Their eyes met, and they smiled at each other, but their smiles contained many different contrasting thoughts.