Big Life - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Cheer Louder 

“Did you come to get a bottle of soju? I could have…”

“You’re an editor.”

“…Yes?”

Jaegun, extending his hand, took away the bottle that Somii was holding. He was completely taken back inside, but he was saving his words because Somii might get embarrassed.

‘What year is this…’

Even though Somii was the junior, she was still an editor.

It wasn’t the 90s, he couldn’t understand that Somii was serving and he didn’t want to see it either.

Jaegun continued to take bottles away from Somii and put them close to his chest. Seeing that from far away, Assistant Manager Go was embarrassed and disconcerted and quickly ran over

“Oh, sir, sir. You can say this to one of the workers here. Don’t come and get it yourself.”

Assistant Manager Go had no choice but to be this way in front of Jaegun.

It was a good idea not to anger or irritate a writer with good sales. It was one of the basic obligations and responsibilities.

Jaegun was just stolid. Looking calmly at the waist bent and talking Go’s face, he spoke.

“I can take Somii away, right? She’s my editor so I have things to discuss about writing.”

“Yes, su, sure. Somii, go talk to Writer Ha.”

Assistant Go nodded his head a couple of times and immediately backed up.

Hugging the bottles near his chest, he tapped Somii’s shoulder with his shoulder.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yes, yes, sir.”

Somii, still looking at the situation, reluctantly followed Jaegun. Looking at her taking off her shoes and climbing up, assistant Go wrinkled his forehead as if frustrated.

“Assistant Go.”

“Ah, editor.”

Assistant Go turned back with a surprised face. Tewon, who came in late because of his work, was right in front of his eyes.

“You’re here now? The traffic was bad, right?”

“I spoke about this last time, right?”

Tewon ignored Go’s question and replied.

Assistant Go blinked his two eyes as if he didn’t understand. Tewon, following his gaze to where Jaegun and Somii was sitting, continued his words.

“If you order even one more to Somii about something that isn’t work related, you should be prepared.”

Go shuddered.

This face of the editor was unknown to a 2-year veteran like him. The person that always took care of all employees smoothly was looking down at him with cold eyes.

“Did you understand my words?”

Tewon fixed his glasses and asked for confirmation.

Assistant Go unknowingly swallowed once. He put down his burning face and answered.

“I, I understood. I’ll stop it in the future.”

“Go do your work.”

Assistant Go, feeling timid, turned around and went away.

Tewon still stood in that place. He was stuck in thought with both his eyes on Jaegun.

‘Should I stop today.’

Secretly, he was planning to use this spot to talk about a sequel with Jaegun. It was because of the representative’s orders to contract with Jaegun no matter what.

But he stopped today. He wanted to respect Jaegun’s decision to participate in the Digital . He had already gotten over expectation results with the Ranking series.

‘I already mentioned a sequel so, well, I can talk about it after the contest.’

Tewon turned his body, brooding over his personal trust about the writer Ha Jaegun. And to meet the other writers not present yet, he moved his steps to the parking lot in front of the restaurant.

“Have another drink. You can drink, right?”

“Your real name is Ha Jaegun, right? Since I’m looking at you loosely, you’re really handsome. Do you hear that you’re handsome a lot?”

Two female writers sitting next to Jaegun were tossing questions at Jaegun. Everyone’s face was red because of the drinks.

It was already 2 hours since the writer’s meeting had started.

There was no your spot or my spot.

Writers who had drunk over their limits were carrying their bottles and greeting each other. It was chaos.

And in that time, there were two conspicuous groups that were growing.

It was the group of the Ha Jaegun and the fantasy writers on the left and the Oh Myunghoon and the romance writers on the right.

‘So loud…!’

Glimpsing at the loud Jaegun’s groups, Myunghoon was grinding his teeth. From a while ago, he was discomforted.

Myunghoon came here first to lower Jaegun’s confidence.

But he failed. Jaegun was getting attention like he was getting. He could not accept that Jaegun dared to create a group as big as him.

“Writer Oh, are you going to write a romance as your sequel as well?”

The female writer next to him asked with sending a flirty look in her eyes.

Many female writers pulled by Myunghoon’s handsome and rich face haven’t left and were still around him.

“Writer Oh? Did you hear me?”

Myunghoon ignored the female writer’s question and stood up. He couldn’t end the writer’s meeting like this.

‘You’re not going to crumble on your own I see. Then I’ll personally get a broomstick and sweep you out…!’

Myunghoon in two hands held a bottle and a cup. And then with a resolute face, he started to walk towards Jaegun’s group.

“Ah, Writer Oh? You’re coming over here?”

The female writer next to Myunghoon and then went to Jaegun first saw him and said. With that sentence, Jaegun also lifted his head.

“Oh Myunghoon? You came here, too?”

“That’s what I wanted to ask, boy, I just saw you.”

Two glances met in midair.

Both people, underneath their strong gaze, had a string of a smile.

The writer’s around them were talking to each other and saying ‘they knew each other?’, ‘they must be friends’ and other words.

“Sit here, Writer Oh.”

“Excuse me.”

Somii, who was sitting across from Jaegun, moved to the side to make room. Myunghoon leisurely sat down and gave the bottle to Jaegun.

“I didn’t know I would meet you here. In this place.”

Myunghoon gave a strange emphasis on the “In this place.”

Jaegun responded with a calm smile and took the bottle. Now there was no reason for him to be mixed up with Myunghoon’s provocations.

“I’ve heard. So you’re doing well?”

“I got lucky. How are you?

“Don’t even ask. It isn’t easy making a work in to a drama. It was a completely different world from one to ten.”

Jaegun caught that Myunghoon was already going to take control of the atmosphere by laying out self-praise. So he didn’t say anything and smiled and drank.

Myunghoon changed the topic and asked when Jaegun didn’t show much reaction.

“That’s that, but you, you wrote a lot in a short time? The 2 StarBooks fantasy books you made, I heard they are both 10 books?”

“Yeah, It’s the time where you write well. It must have been that time.”

“Yeah I guess; fantasy is easy to write down quickly. There’s no reason to think in depth about fantasy as well.”

Myunghoon nodded his head as if he knew everything.

The writers around him couldn’t hide their displeasure. Jaegun, acting as their representative, shook his hand and answered.

“You haven’t written a fantasy and you don’t know how to write one.”

Myunhoon’s face hardened slightly. Unlike the Jaegun in the past who bitterly smiled, this Jaegun countered immediately.

“Haha, I haven’t written one, of course. But isn’t it fantasy that if you make up your mind, you can write quickly?”

“No, Myunghoon. How would you know if you haven’t even written one before? Isn’t that thought a bit complacent for a writer? You are a writer?”

Instantly, Myunghoon wrinkled his nose. Jaegun was following his way of speech that he used when he was being sarcastic with others.

Jaegun shamelessly laughed and lifted the bottle up.

“You want another drink?”

“No, I have to drive. I brought my car.”

Myunghoon, waving his hand, answered.

On his face, he was smiling barely, but inside was already completely ripped.

One solid strike was hit. It could be told by the writers around who were very quietly grinning as if they were saying you deserved it.

Sighing burning, hot breath as quietly as he could, finally Myunghoon answered.

“Yes, I am a writer. Therefore, as a writer, I am recently writing a work that has quality to not shame the name of a writer.”

“Ahah, you are?”

Jaegun replied absentmindedly as he was pouring the person next to him a drink. Myunghoon continued saying stuff that no one asked.

“Just, at this time there is a Digital Contest. I saw the other awards so I feel like I’m going to win it pretty simply. Probably have one more one on my career.”

Myunghoon didn’t say that it was the Digital Literary Contest. It was going to be shameful if he didn’t win.

“Think about using the effort that it takes to writing 10 books of fantasy into one book. You know that feeling because Jaegun, you and I are all language students, right? Ah, you might not know because it’s been awhile since you wrote a novel like an actual novel.”

Noticing the mind fight between the two people, the writer’s around them all were shutting their mouths. Jaegun matched Myunghoon’s glance in the quiet air. And he stuck out his cup as if nothing happened.

“I hope you do well.”

Jaegun had no other thoughts of uselessly talking with Myunghoon anymore.

He declined saying childish things because of petty pride and atmosphere. He could respond with the result that he put hard work and effort in to.

“Thanks, man. You sell well, too.”

The cups met in midair like they were going to break.

Swallowing the drinks, the two people didn’t break their glance away from each till the end.