Big Life

“Oppa!”

— You scared me; I almost went deaf just now. Why are you so loud?

“I love getting calls from my manager these days. It means that I’m getting more work and that I have to go out for work again.”

— You should acknowledge your greed as a workaholic. I’m worried that you’ll collapse from all the work you’re taking up, Hong Ye-Seul. Are you at home?

“Yeah, I’m having coffee with Kim Na-Yeon unni. What about you, oppa?”

— I’m almost there. Cdown in five. We should quickly finish up the interview and autograph event before going to the tourism office.

“Alright, see you in a bit!” Hong Ye-Seul grinned and hung up the call. She had stayed up late through the week, but she didn’t feel an ounce of exhaustion at all. Her determination to go on TV shows for even a second more was as firm as usual. She was determined to keep this up until the day of the long-awaited reunion.

“Don’t push yourself too much, Ye-Seul,” Kim Na-Yeon said as she brought the cups to the sink. “I know why you’re doing this, but I’m still worried for you.”

“I’ve been taking my vitamins and my meals regularly.”

“Sure, would you even listen to whatever I said? It’s great to be young.”

“The way you said that will make everyone think that you're old. I have to go now, so I can’t have lunch with you today. I’m sorry.”

“I’m grateful to see you pop by whenever you have time. You’re coming back tonight, right?”

“Yeah, if you’re not asleep yet, we can have supper together!” Hong Ye-Seul grabbed her bag and went out of the house again. She took the elevator down to the carpark, to see her manager already waiting for her downstairs.

Hong Ye-Seul jumped into the backseat of the car.

“Um, Ye-Seul.”

“Yeah, oppa.”

“About the rumor that has been going around recently…” Her manager began carefully.

Hong Ye-Seul’s face stiffened.

“It’s getting worse as the movie gets popular. Of course, I don’t think it’ll get any worse than this if we leave it alone, but the department head and CEO are worried.”

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not.” Her manager slowly drove out of the carpark and continued, “As the department head had mentioned, your job in the past is all water under the bridge now; it’s all in the past. So don’t feel burdened, and if there’s anything you need help dealing with, just tell us. I’m always on your side.”

“Thank you for saying that, oppa,” said Hong Ye-Seul.

Her manager smiled as he looked into the rearview mirror.

Hong Ye-Seul was smiling, albeit it was a bitter smile.

“Let’s talk about something more realistic.”

“More realistic?”

“You said that you becan actress just to find your mother, right?”

“You weren’t serious about it?”

“N-no, I am. I was just surprised that you brought that up.”

The now-serious manager nodded and said, “Let’s talk about that today, during the interview, after your autograph event.”

“Aboutbecoming an actress just to find my mother?” Hong Ye-Seul guessed her manager’s intention. He wanted her to create a more humane side to her own personality to bury the rumors of her being a karaoke helper in the past.

“You planned to talk about that on the shows before, anyway.”

“Yeah, that’s true…” Who knew that she would use her desperate desire to find her mom in a situation like this? Although it wouldn’t make much of a difference, a bitter taste still lingered in her mouth.

“Don’t think about anything else. You just have to row when the tide comes in. Your era is starting, so you must stay alert if you want to be able to own a magnificent building in Seoul.”

“Alright, oppa. I know what you’re getting at.”

***

“Why is it that you haven’t improved a single bit? Is this an egg roll?”

“Just handthe spoon. Don’t eat it if you’re unhappy with it.” Park Do-Joon reached out to snatch the spoon from Lee Chae-Rin. But Lee Chae-Rin was faster and stepped back, sticking out her tongue at him.

“Go ahead.” Park Do-Joon put a piece of the ruined egg roll into his mouth and replied softly, “Look at you, agreeing to publicize our relationship after getting so popular with C.Y.”

“I’ve said it’s not because of that. I was angry at you for that kiss scene with Hong Ye-Seul; that’s why I wanted to announce it right away.”

“Others might think that I did it for real. Are you going to do this every tit happens while I’m acting?”

“It’s just a joke. I don’t care. You can announce it on TV if you want.” Lee Chae-Rin wiped off the sauce stain on the corner of his mouth with a grin. Her lovable face almost made him smile as well.

“You’re about to smile, right?”

“No.”

“My stomach's going to hurt; stop it.”

“We’ve been dating for so long, but Do-Joon is still the sas ever. It must be great that you’ve always been the same.”

“Yeah, Tae-Bong hyung. I’m just having a simple meal with Lee Chae-Rin. Yeah, I know, I won’t eat too much. Yeah, see you later.” Park Do-Joon ended the call and let out a sigh before standing up to put his half-finished bowl into the sink.

Lee Chae-Rin hugged him from behind and said, “I know now, oppa. You’re nervous because of today’s schedule.”

“I’m not...” Park Do-Joon denied it outwardly, but Lee Chae-Rin’s guess was right. He couldn’t suppress his nervousness as it was an event that numerous prominent figures would be attending. He was afraid that he might make a mistake somewhere.

“Ah, don’t hug me, it’s hot.”

“Sorry, but the main character of today’s meeting is Ha Jae-Gun. I’m just a calafare. I just have to keep quiet during the meeting and leave after that.”

“I hate hearing that. How can that line be coming from Park Do-Joon?”

“Go brush your teeth and go to sleep early. Even if you sleep now, you still won’t be able to sleep until the public broadcast, that’s two hours later.”

The couple finished washing the dishes and went to brush their teeth together. While Park Do-Joon was wearing his outer coat, Lee Chae-Rin lied down on the sofa, scrolling on her phone.

“Are you not going to sleep?”

“It’s going to drop if you keep looking at it. I’m going now.”

“Oh, my, oppa!” Lee Chae-Rin suddenly jumped up, her face turning pale. But Park Do-Joon did not even once look back while wearing his shoes as he knew that Lee Chae-Rin would often kick up a fuss even if it weren’t a big deal.

“It’s crazy, really…!”

“Why? Did it drop out of the top 10?”

“I’m not joking; look at this.”

“...?!”

Park Do-Joon looked at Lee Chae-Rin’s phone, speechless. It was the breaking news of a certain woman he had forgotten long ago.

[Breaking News, Celebrity Chae Bo-Ra charged with attempted murder and blackmail]

“O-oppa, why are you huggingout of the blue? It isn’t like you.”

“Wait a minute.”

It didn’t matter to him what happened to Chae Bo-Ra, but Park Do-Joon recalled the existence of the people who were precious to him through her.

“Mm, oppa smells good.”

There was also his manager, Woo Tae-Bong, who was like his own blood brother, and Ha Jae-Gun, a close friend with whom he could share all his feelings with—their faces flashed across his eyes.

It was a blessing for him to have so many good people standing by him. He expressed his gratitude to fate and all of them who had made him who he was today, and in return, he hugged Lee Chae-Rin even tighter.

***

He was currently at the Korea Tourism Organization Center located in Seoul. The meeting was held to discuss the exchange of cultural content between Korea and China. It was thanks to his connection with Ha Jae-Gun that Hyun Sung-Beom was able to grab hold of a ticket as an interviewer to be present at the venue.

Ha Jae-Gun was smiling while shaking the hands of the visitors.

“Thank you for givinga seat at such an honorable event.”

“I’m extremely happy to see CEO Ren Xue and CEO Mao Yen again at such an important event. Ms. Yang Ying, you’re indeed stunning, as they said.”

Ha Jae-Gun’s greetings were immediately translated by the interpreter on site. Everyone smiled upon hearing the translation; even Mao Yen winked at Ha Jae-Gun, showing everyone their close relationship.

After Ha Jae-Gun, the Korean delegates began to shake hands with everyone else. They were the Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Director Yoon Tae-Sung, Park Do-Joon, and even Hong Ye-Seul.

The official discussion began after the greetings.

“No, it's okay,” Ha Jae-Gun quickly replied with a flustered look, “I wasn't alone. There’s Director Yoon here who did a great job with the movie, and the actors have put in a lot of effort as well. On top of that, there’s Teencent Pictures’ CEO Mao Yen, who has cup with a great local marketing strategy that contributed to the movie’s huge success.”

Ha Jae-Gun wasn’t being humble. It was a fact that all the success they had seen right now was not based on his efforts alone, so he couldn’t take all the credit.

Liu Bao showed a satisfactory smile while looking at Ha Jae-Gun. Ha Jae-Gun smiled awkwardly in return as he looked at Liu Bao, who seemed to be of a similar age range as his father. Liu Bao’s soft expression made Ha Jae-Gun feel at ease while thinking that the man had to be a nice person.

The pleasant discussion continued amidst a warm atmosphere.

As tpassed, the subjects of their conversation naturally narrowed down to two people at the table, Ha Jae-Gun and Liu Bao.

Liu Bao’s questions were mostly directed at Ha Jae-Gun in his capacity as a writer. Ha Jae-Gun answered them with conviction while looking at both Liu Bao and the interpreter alternatively.

Ha Jae-Gun wasn't alone. The members of the Korean delegates were equally impressed with Liu Bao, who coff like a professional critic to them. Thanks to his opinions, the assistant secretary of the Ministry of Culture broke into a cold sweat, blaming himself for not studying enough on the movie and before showing up.

“...That's how much interest he is showing toward Mr. Ha Jae-Gun. The head of the Central Publicity Department, Mr. Liu Bao, thinks that the original written by Mr. Ha is the main content.The most update n0vels are published on Novᴇ(l)Fɪre .ɴᴇt

"He also thinks that it will hold the highest value going forward.”

“I’m feeling so shy that I can't raise my head properly. Thank you very much.”

Liu Bao then added a few more words to the interpreter. The interpreter nodded and gestured to the staff standing at the back. A stack of A4 papers was then delivered to Liu Bao.

“I’m an old man, so I prefer to read from papers. I hope to ask for your understanding. I bought and printed it out, so I’d appreciate it if you could understand.”

“What do you mean…?” Ha Jae-Gun asked with a confused expression, not understanding what he meant.

Liu Bao smiled and pushed the stack of A4 papers to Ha Jae-Gun. Ha Jae-Gun took the stack, but perplex only grew more evidently on his face as he couldn’t read a single line from it since it was entirely in Mandarin.

“Can I ask what this is?”