Big Life

"...Everyone, please go back in."

Ha Jae-Gun watched the writers go back into the office with an expressionless face.

Won Ji-Yeon cut a sorry figure as she stood there alone.

“Writers should be in the office writing s. Please return.” Ha Jae-Gun entered the password and grabbed the door knob.

Just before Ha Jae-Gun crossed the door, Won Ji-Yeon went down on her knees behind him and exclaimed, “P-Please forgive me, Mr. Ha…!”

“Are all of you not going to come in? I’m going to close the door now.”

Ha Jae-Gun was treating Won Ji-Yeon as if she were invisible.

Won Ji-Yeon still continued begging Ha Jae-Gun, rubbing her palms together. “I was out of my mind; living has become too hard on me that I made a grave mistake. I’m sorry, I’m really sorry! It’s all my fault. Please, I beg of you, Mr. Ha…!”

Huge droplets of tears dropped from her eyes.

Jung So-Mi scrunched her nose as she stood amongst the other writers. Putting aside the crime Won Ji-Yeon had committed, Jung So-Mi felt pity for the woman who was kneeling there begging for forgiveness.

Her sobs rang loudly through the corridor. A few neighbors who alighted from the elevator were curious about the sobbing and loitered around to watch.

“I’ve made it very clear that day,” Ha Jae-Gun mumbled as he took off his coat. He was slowly warming up. Thanks to his ability to keep his emotions in check, Ha Jae-Gun added, “I said I would wait until midnight that day, but you never contacted me.”

“I-I… I was too scared and horrified…! I spent the entire night thinking how I should best apologize…!” Won Ji-Yeon tried making up excuses that couldn’t even work on Ha Jae-Gun.

Ha Jae-Gun smiled coldly and cut her off, saying, “And I’m not the only one who can punish you, Ms. Won Ji-Yeon. You should already have made enemies everywhere, so I hope you will stay strong and get through this.”Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs N(o)vᴇl(ꜰ)ire.nᴇt

Ha Jae-Gun finished his piece and walked into the office.

Won Ji-Yeon collapsed to the floor with a thud. There was no room for forgiveness.

Darkness filled her eyes in an instant.

“Let’s go in, too,” Kang Min-Ho said and urged the others back into the office.

Kang Min-Ho took one last look at Won Ji-Yeon before closing the door behind him.

“Why are you doing this here?”

Two middle-aged ladies approached Won Ji-Yeon and started asking her questions.

Won Ji-Yeon wiped off the tears on her face and stood up. She wobbled toward the elevator while the passers-by cast strange looks on her.

Grabbing tightly onto her light wallet, she felt tears about to force out of her eyes.

The money she had at the moment was not enough to pay for her meals, let alone the rent for her studio. After giving it much thought, Won Ji-Yeon took out her phone and dialed the number of a senior writer whom she knew with trembling fingers.

— Yeah, Ms. Won Ji-Yeon. I was about to give you a call, too.

Her senior said with vigor as soon as they answered the call.

Sounding suspicious, Won Ji-Yeon replied cautiously, “W-what is it?”

— Oh, you first. Why did you call?

“I uh… I’m quite tight these days, so I’m really sorry, but I was wondering if I could get advanced payment…?”

An unexpected laughter came through, then the senior writer said,

— Of course. Is 500,000 won enough?

“Y-Yes, I'd be extremely thankful if you could.” Won Ji-Yeon smiled warmly.

However, her smile immediately collapsed.

— I’ll transfer it to you in ten minutes. You don’t have to come to work tomorrow.

“…Pardon?”

— Don’t you understand Korean? I’m paying you more than enough, considering all the work you’ve done up until now. Since you’re in need of money, too, I should just take the chance too. Aren’t you thankful?

“S-senior, what are you s-saying…?” Won Ji-Yeon grabbed her phone tightly, trembling uncontrollably.

The elevator arrived on the ground floor and opened its doors. Notified of her dismissal, she had totally forgotten that she had to take the back door to avoid the group of reporters that had gathered out front.

— Do you know how much the producer and Writer Kim got reprimanded because of you? Wouldn’t it be unfair and wrong for Local Culture TV to lose Writer Ha Jae-Gun because of someone like you?

“S-senior…!”

— Fuck, don’t call me that!

Won Ji-Yeon’s leg buckled beneath her as she flinched in fear.

The call ended. Won Ji-Yeon stood dazed in the middle of the lobby, where countless people walked through. A few reporters snooping outside the entrance discovered her and pressed their camera shutters at her.

***

[Chae Bo-Ra’s official statement: I will punish Won Ji-Yeon for my fans]

[Won Ji-Yeon refused admittance by Writer Ha Jae-Gun, teases public with petty media play again?]

[Chae Bo-Ra sheds tears at the press conference: I never knew she would get back at me for a warning I gave in the past]

[Responses from Chae Bo-Ra’s close friends: ‘Bewildered,' ‘Bo-Ra was always an angel, she can’t breakdown’]

[Chae Bo-Ra’s fan cafe members increase in numbers, endless comfort and encouragement from fans]

[Tele-interview with Writer Ha Jae-Gun: I don’t have enough time to write; I don’t wish to join in the fight without evidence]

If he were at home and not at the pork rice soup restaurant, he would have thrown his phone at the wall. It had been almost ten years since he became an actor, but he was always learning the powers of media play.

“Madam, please give me another bottle of soju.”

He was currently in a shabby restaurant somewhere in Jongno. If it weren’t for Ha Jae-Gun’s recommendation, he wouldn’t have visited such a place in this life. It was cheap, and the food was delicious; the best part was that he didn’t need to be conscious of others while he was here.

“You punk, how can you be drinking in broad daylight even if you don’t have any work lined up?” Woo Tae-Bong sighed as he stepped into the restaurant and sat down across from Park Do-Joon.

Park Do-Joon didn’t even look at Woo Tae-Bong and filled his own glass with soju.

“Chae-Rin is very worried about you. You should at least give her a call.”

“I’ll be meeting her later in the evening anyway. Hyung, do you want some drinks?”

“Who’ll drive if I drink? Yimo, just give me a bottle of soda.” Tea-Bong filled his glass with soda and raised his glass.

Park Do-Joon clinked glasses with him and said casually before drinking, “Bo-Ra knows of my relationship with Chae-Rin.”

“…What?”

“I told her to apologize to Ha Jae-Gun, but she told me that instead. How did she know?” Park Do-Joon asked, then emptied his glass.

Woo Tae-Bong’s face turned serious, and the gears in his mind began running. After a while, he finally said, “Could it be Woo Jae-Hoon? You’ve been hanging out with him for so long before. He’s close to Cho Cheol-Won from See&Good, so he connected him with Bo-Ra from ICU Entertainment.”

“That’s quite possible.”

“Hey, Park Do-Joon, eat something while you drink.”

“I don’t have the appetite.” Park Do-Joon shook the empty bottle and ordered another bottle for himself.

Woo Tae-Bong took off his coat and loosened the tie around his neck. “I can’t stand this any longer. I’ll just call a substitute driver, then. Let me have a glass.”

“I’m sorry, hyung, for not listening to you.”

“Wow, the high and mighty Park Do-Joon knows to apologize as well? The world has changed indeed.”

With a bitter smile, Woo Tae-Bong continued. “I know how much you like Writer Ha, so it's not strange that you're angry. But you must know this—the most important person here isn’t him, but yourself.”

“I know.”

The TV hanging on the wall was showing news about Bo-Ra’s press conference. It showed Bo-Ra sniffling before the incessant camera flashes.

Park Do-Joon looked down with a disgusted look.

“That bitch is going to sweep away the best actress award this year.”

“Just forget about it, alright? That is how the world rolls.”

“I will. I just want to try one last thing.” Park Do-Joon raised his finger.

Woo Tae-Bong’s face turned white instantly. “One more thing? What kind of scary news is this?”

Just then, Park Do-Joon’s phone rang. Woo Tae-Bong's eyes widened in shock when he caught a glimpse of the name on the screen—Won Ji-Yeon.

Park Do-Joon calmly picked up the phone.

“Did you meet him?”

— I’m on the way over…

“Do your best. Don’t worry about the expenses. I’m warning you again, but if this goes to Ha Jae-Gun’s ears, I’m not going to let you off.”

— Yes, I will keep it in mind. Thank you a lot for giving me the opportunity.

“I’m adding this in case you’ll get mistaken, but I’m not doing this out of pity for you. It’s just because of this ridiculous situation you’re in.”

— I-I know… I’m sorry…

“If you are, then do well from now on.”

Park Do-Joon then hung up the call.

Woo Tae-Bong then asked with his hands on the table, “What happened? Why did you contact that assistant writer?”

“I just introduced her to Oh & Jang Studio. I should do everything within my means to help.”

He hated Won Ji-Yeon as much as he hated Bo-Ra. From Park Do-Joon’s perspective, both ladies were the same kind of trash. He did not like it, but there was nothing else he could do about it.

“Does Writer Ha know about this?”

“Didn’t you hear the conversation just now? Of course, he doesn’t know. Don’t tell Ha Jae-Gun about this, hyung. He’s not going to like it once he finds out that I’m doing this because of him.”

“You really love your friend, eh?” Woo Tae-Bong said, sticking his tongue out.

***

“Nun-Sol, get down. Go play with Rika noona instead.” Jung So-Mi put down the pen that she was playing in her hand.

However, Nun-Sol stayed curled up on Jung So-Mi’s lap like a huge lump of snow. “My legs are cramping. Both you and Rika are taking turns sleeping on my lap, so I can’t stretch them. Quick.”

Jung So-Mi couldn’t hold herself back and grabbed Nun-Sol, kissing him all over. The door to the bathroom opened behind Jung So-Mi, and Ha Jae-Gun walked out of the bathroom.

“You really like Nun-Sol.”

Jung So-Mi turned red with embarrassment and put Nun-Sol down. She looked down and headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

“I’ll make us breakfast.”

“You don’t have to. You have early appointments today, so please rest.”

“It’s not hard to cook rice. Please give it to me.”

“I’ll have to meet them to hold discussions first.” Ha Jae-Gun smiled.

Of course, the huge news had spread all over the internet. Of course, Oh Myung-Suk would accompany Ha Jae-Gun to the meeting.

“You’ve been busy working on your s; you must be all over the place.”

The two of them collaborated and quickly finished preparing their breakfast. While the stew was boiling, they prepared egg rolls, seasoned vegetables, braised mackerel, and cucumber kimchi.

“Shall we start waking the others up?”

“Let’s dig in first. They should still be tired after writing the entire night.”

Ha Jae-Gun and Jung So-Mi sat down and started eating breakfast.

Jung So-Mi was flustered as her hand almost automatically reached out to grab a piece of the egg roll for Ha Jae-Gun. Her body had moved faster than her mind.

“Um, Writer Ha. Can I ask you something?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“That assistant writer… You’re not planning to forgive her, right?”

Ha Jae-Gun stopped feeding himself and looked up. Jung So-Mi waved her hand in a hurry and added, “No, I was just asking out of curiosity since she cried so much that day. I was just wondering if she had been reflecting a lot on herself due to the mistake she made…”

“Did you see those as tears?” he asked.

“…Pardon?”

“Please eat.” Ha Jae-Gun smiled and ended the conversation.

Jung So-Mi couldn’t continue the conversation and resumed eating.

“I’m sorry; please keep eating.” Ha Jae-Gun put down his chopsticks and stood up. The name that appeared on his phone was Oh Myung-Suk. Ha Jae-Gun smiled, thinking that Oh Myung-Suk would be picking him up from the office and answered the phone.

“Yes, editor-in-chief.”

— Mr. Ha, I’m extremely sorry, but I think I’ll be slightly late to the meeting tonight due to an unforeseen circumstance.

Ha Jae-Gun’s eyes narrowed. How could Oh Myung-Suk be late for such an important meeting today when he was always the one to be on time or even early?

What on earth happened? What was this unforeseen circumstance?