Big Life

“You want me to go over to your house?”

— Yes, I’d love to have you over.

What was up with the sudden invite? Ha Jae-Gun looked at the window to stare at his own reflection in a daze.

— I’m sorry for putting you in this perplexed situation without context.

“Yes… I’d be lying if I weren’t flustered,” Ha Jae-Gun replied slowly.

Ha Jae-Gun could somewhat guess Nam Gyu-Ho’s motive behind the invitation; it was definitely not business-related. It had to be something personal and related to his beloved older sister.

— Um, Mr. Ha.

“Yes, I’m listening. Please speak.”

— I don’t think I should tell you over the phone. Are you available for dinner tonight?”

— If it’s difficult for you to meet tonight, then maybe next time…

“No, it’s fine. I can meet you later.” Ha Jae-Gun replied immediately, as it had to be something related to Ha Jae-In. Plus, he could feel that Nam Gyu-Ho was trying to muster up courage.

“Where shall we meet later?”

— What would you like to have for dinner? I’ll arrange it according to your preference.

“I’m not a picky eater. You’re much more experienced than I am in terms of food, so I’ll leave it to you.”Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs N(o)vᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt

— Okay then. I’ll contact you again in a bit.

Ha Jae-Gun hung up the call and began writing a message to Lee Soo-Hee. Just then, the screen changed, and a call from Lee Soo-Hee appeared.

“Yeah, Soo-Hee.”

“No, I was just about to send you a message.”

— Ah, really? What were you going to say?

Lee Soo-Hee’s side was quite noisy as Ha Jae-Gun could hear overlapping voices of employees talking about planning, dungeons and characters.

“I feel apologetic hearing that you’re working overtime because of me.”

— You just have to give me a massage next time. But I can’t get the massage tonight, either. I left the USB with the proposal at home; otherwise, I would have gone to see you even if it’d be much later tonight.

“We just can’t meet for a day. You don’t have to be sorry; just make sure you have your dinner later.”

— Thanks for understanding. Alright, I’ll call you again later.

Ha Jae-Gun hung up and chuckled. Did Lee Soo-Hee have to work overtime because things had turned out this way? His footsteps as he headed to the bathroom felt lighter than before.

***

“I apologize for asking you out at the last minute,” Nam Gyu-Ho apologized as he poured a glass of alcohol for Ha Jae-Gun.

They were currently in a small room of a tuna restaurant sitting on tatami mats. Ha Jae-Gun took over the bottle and poured a glass for Nam Gyu-Ho in return.

“Even I think it was a bit of a stretch thinking about it now, asking you to come over to my place out of the blue… Let’s drink first.”

The two men shared a toast and chugged down the cold drink. Nam Gyu-Ho did not once look at the fresh and delicious-looking tuna laid out on the table before him but continued to fill their glasses. It was evident that he was feeling anxious.

“Please feel free to speak your mind.” Ha Jae-Gun put down his chopsticks and added, “I’m ready to hear what you have to say. So please don’t worry and speak comfortably.”

“That’s very nice of you, but…” Nam Gyu-Ho trailed off and chugged another glass. Ha Jae-Gun took out a pair of new chopsticks and placed some tuna on Nam Gyu-Ho’s plate. “You’ll get drunk easily if you drink at this speed.”

Nam Gyu-Ho felt a little more at ease, allowing him to go straight to the point.

“Actually… I was with Ms. Jae-In when we met my father coincidentally on the streets. No, I think it'll be more appropriate to say that my father caught us red-handed."

“…?”

“I went to the academy to meet her, but my father was there as well…”

“Director Nam, please wait a moment.” Ha Jae-Gun cut Nam Gyu-Ho off, surprised at what he was hearing. “I’m not sure if I understood you correctly, but by your father, you mean the Chairman? but why would he visit my older sister at the academy…?”

“It seems like she hasn’t told you about it. There’s a story behind this.” Nam Gyu-Ho then proceeded to share the encounters Ha Jae-In had with his father. Ha Jae-Gun’s expression changed at every moment as he listened in amazement.

“…This was what happened after she saved my father, who collapsed on the streets from a myocardial infarction.”

“Wow, I never knew.”

“I’m ashamed to face you, Mr. Ha. I should have introduced her to my father before all this happened.” Nam Gyu-Ho frowned deeply, blaming himself for the situation he had put them in.

Ha Jae-Gun stared at the light reflected in the glass absent-mindedly, recalling the tears on his older sister’s face a few nights before while they had drinks. How much did she suffer silently without being able to tell her own younger brother?

“I think having you around would be of great help in persuading my father.”

Ha Jae-Gun looked up.

Nam Gyu-Ho puffed his chest and continued confidently. “Mr. Ha is a writer who has achieved unrivaled status in Korea. This is unprecedented, plus you have achieved all of your current wealth and honor without any help from your family.”

"It was the biggest blessing in my life that I had met someone like her, and just being around her makes me…” Nam Gyu-Ho trailed off as he began choking up.

Ha Jae-Gun was so shocked that he kept himself sitting upright the entire time. Nam Gyu-Ho’s words were overwhelming.

“She made me a better man.” Nam Gyu-Ho muttered. He chugged another glass of cold alcohol. Nam Gyu-Ho didn’t come off as the heir of a large corporation but as a man in love. Ha Jae-Gun was moved to see him being so honest about his feelings.

“I’d love to marry Ms. Jae-In regardless of what it takes. I can’t imagine how my life would be without her.”

“Please calm down.” Nam Gyu-Ho's perfect image was crumbling.

But thanks to Ha Jae-Gun, he was able to understand his more humane side, which he had never fully understood before. Of course, it was unclear whether it was a good thing or not.

“I’ll definitely provide my assistance if you need me.” Ha Jae-Gun smiled and raised his glass with his heart feeling full. There was no way he couldn't smile here. He could tell how much Nam Gyu-Ho loved his older sister, and he was happy to know it.

“Please don’t worry too much. Everything will be fine. And thank you for telling me everything.”

“I’m just feeling sorry for not telling you this earlier.”

The two men shared a toast and continued drinking. They only belatedly realized how sweet the alcohol was that night.

“You’re very drunk now; let’s end it here tonight.”

Ha Jae-Gun supported Nam Gyu-Ho as they walked down the busy streets of downtown. If one were to drink beyond their limit, the alcohol would drink one rather than the other way around.

That was how Nam Gyu-Ho looked in Ha Jae-Gun’s eyes right now...

“Director Nam, I’ll hail a taxi for you. I’ll send you straight to your house before leaving.”

“Director Nam, how about going to my house instead?”

“It’s not too far from here, and I live alone, so it’s not much of an inconvenience.”

Ha Jae-Gun headed to the bus stop immediately and hailed them a taxi. Nam Gyu-Ho kept talking about different topics throughout the drive.”

“Yes, you said this earlier as well.”

Nam Gyu-Ho turned his attention to the driver and continued triumphantly. “There’s a woman I love; she’s extremely pretty, clever, and nice. I might get married to her soon, too.”

“Really? Congratulations.”

At the end of his laughter, Nam Gyu-Ho's head tilted and drooped.

Ha Jae-Gun quickly caught his head.

Soon, soft snores started to pervade the car, as Nam Gyu-Ho had fallen asleep.

“I’m sorry for being so noisy while you’re driving, mister.” Ha Jae-Gun apologized as things grew quiet in the car.

The driver smiled as he looked at Ha Jae-Gun through the rearview mirror. “No, he’s quite the quiet drunk. But… are you Mr. Ha Jae-Gun?”

“Ah, yes. That’s me.”

The driver grinned. He was glad to see Ha Jae-Gun.

He lowered the volume of the radio and said excitedly, “My daughter is a huge fan of yours. She’s in year three of high school this year, and she kept going on about how she wants to become a famous writer like you. I’m sorry but can you take a photo with me before you alight later?”

“Yes, of course.”

Ha Jae-Gun smiled and looked out the car window to see the outside world enveloped with street lights.

Nam Gyu-Ho slept soundly while snoring.

~

The next morning…

“Director Nam is absent from work today?”

“Absent? Are you sure it’s not because he’s been working outside and decided not to come into the office today?”

The team members from the planning department were gathered in the lounge, chattering amongst themselves.

“Team leader Lee, what if he's just sick?”

“But he looked quite healthy yesterday. Is he down with a cold? Did his immunity go down after a trip to Taiwan?”

“I’m not so sure about that.” Lee Soo-Hee glossed over her reply and took a sip of her coffee. She could still hear Nam Gyu-Ho’s dry voice over the phone from earlier.

“Yeah, Jae-Gun.”

— You're free, right?

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. Did you sleep well? I was so tired yesterday that I only left you a message and fell asleep right afterward.” Lee Soo-Hee said as she stepped out of the lounge and into the corridor. “I was about to send you a message. Did you get a good rest?”

— No, I actually met Director Nam last night.

“What…?”

— We drank till late, and I brought him back to my place. He’s still asleep in the room now.

Lee Soo-Hee’s jaws dropped. So Nam Gyu-Ho’s absence wasn’t because of a cold or flu but because he drank too much last night.

— I’ll tell you more when we meet. I called just in case you're worried. I was so busy that I couldn’t look at my phone last night and fell asleep immediately.

— All right. Have a good day at work.

Lee Soo-Hee hung up the phone. She was still dumbfounded, but she was grinning at the news. To think that Ha Jae-Gun and Nam Gyu-Ho would spend the night together. She couldn't stop laughing, just imagining what the two were like while completely drunk

“Team leader Lee, we’re ready for the meeting.”

Nam Gyu-Ho was right. She was confident that she could run the meeting better than anyone else in the room due to her affection for the creator of the original work.

***

“Yu-Na, are you ready? We should get going soon.”

“Yes, oppa. I’m wearing my shoes now!” Han Yu-Na put on her shoes in a hurry and stepped out of the house.

Today was the day for both her and Lee Chae-Rin to record the song for their upcoming unit debut, C.Y.

She had been running on tight schedules recently and hadn’t been able to get a good night’s sleep, but she didn’t feel tired at all. Everything was going smoothly, like a dream. She even offered a prayer of gratitude to a god for the first time in her life.

Just as her manager hopped onto the vehicle, her phone rang. She was stupefied to see the name on the caller ID. However, she didn't answer the call and put her phone away into her pocket.

“Who is it?”

“It’s nothing. Let’s go, oppa.”

Her manager stepped on the accelerator, and they began driving off. Han Yu-Na kept ignoring the call that continued ringing throughout the ride. However, she didn’t expect that the person calling her was already waiting for her at her destination.

1. Term that refers to large family-owned business conglomerates. ☜