Big Life

Chapter 290: The Game Starts Now (1)

Lee Young-Shik, the CEO of a publishing company specialized in cultural travel in Paju, Gyeonggi-do was busy watching the live broadcast of entertainment news on TV. There was a serious expression on his face as he stared, unwittingly transfixed on the screen.

[The Breath has achieved over 18 million viewers. It’s the moment when the number one spot in Korea’s movie history has changed owners. Reporter Hyun, what’s the performance or responses overseas?]

[Yes, it’s still as explosive. In North America, the movie has already topped daily sales with over $80 million dollars on the first day of release in over 4,200 cinemas.]

[You’re saying that the momentum is still going strong, right?]

[That’s right. After ranking top for two weeks in North America, it has earned 1 billion dollars worldwide on its third consecutive week. It’s already in the top 10 on box office rankings.]

[Globally?]

[Haha, yes, globally.]

“Come in.” The door opened, and the editor-in-chief entered the room. He was here to inform Lee Young-Shik that it was time for lunch.

However, Lee Young-Shik spoke first, saying, “Give me just five minutes. I want to finish watching this.”

“I understand, CEO.”

[...It seems like we can say that the movie will easily climb up to fifth place globally. If this momentum is maintained, I think it’s possible for us to see it go up to the third place.]

[Third place? That’s amazing. Which movie is in third place at the moment?]

[Harrison Potter and the Holy Grail of Death Part Two. It was a highly popular movie not only in Korea but also in the rest of the world, achieving over 1.33 billion dollars in cumulative revenue.]

[We’ve seen a lot of news that there’s the possibility for The Breath to take over the Harrison Potter series. So you’re saying that it’s not a lie?]

[That’s right. I personally think that The Breath would be able to take over third place. First place is Avatar, and we have Titanic in second place.]

“What do you think of this, editor-in-chief?” Lee Young-Shik asked, pointing at the TV.

His editor-in-chief cocked his head to the side, not understanding the point of his question.

“I’m asking about The Breath. The novel has sold a lot, right?”

“Ah, yes. The novel has been selling like hotcakes after the movie’s release. I saw that it has sold over fifty million copies last week.”

Lee Young-Shik nodded and got up from his seat. As he picked up the cardigan hung on the clothes hanger, he said, “I don’t think it’s time for us Literature Travel to be treading just the literary world. We had a deficit last quarter, too.”

“Are you saying that you want to start a genre label?”

“What are your thoughts?”

“I strongly agree with it. I felt that readers’ attitude toward literature has been changing quite significantly in the last few years.”

Lee Young-Shik and his editor-in-chief stepped out of the CEO’s office together. As they discussed what to have for lunch, Lee Young-Shik’s phone rang in his pocket. He turned flabbergasted upon seeing Oh Tae-Jin’s name appear on the screen.

“Aigoo, how have you been, Chairman!”

— That’s former Chairman to you. Anyway, how are you? You sound quite energetic.

“I’ve been doing pretty well, and it’s all thanks to you for looking out for me so far.” Lee Young-Shik bowed to the air as if Oh Tae-Jin was there physically before him.

Lee Young-Shik actually regarded Oh Tae-Jin as his life's benefactor.

— I’m sorry for calling you out of the blue, but I have something to tell you. Can we talk about it over a meal?

“I’m available anytime, Chairman. I'm available tonight for dinner or even now for lunch.”

— Hoho, you’re always the same. Will you really have lunch with me right now? I’m actually quite in a hurry as well. I’m sorry if this is burdensome.

“Please don’t say that, Chairman. I’ll be there in an hour if we’re meeting in Seoul.” Lee Young-Shik hung up. Then, he summoned his chauffeur and got into the car with a grin on his face all throughout, which showed how much he admired Oh Tae-Jin.

“It’d be my first time meeting him after his retirement…” Lee Young-Shik mumbled.

“Are you talking about Chairman Oh Tae-Jin?”

“Yeah. I’m glad that he still sounds healthy over the phone.” Lee Young-Shik smiled as he leaned against the headrest. He had worked for Oh Tae-Jin for over twenty years since the early days of Oongsung Group before he eventually decided to go independent to run his own publishing company, Literature Travel.

“He’s a great man. He has never discriminated against any of his employees. He values compassion and skills, giving everyone fair treatment. There’s so much for me to learn from him.”

“With all due respect, that’s what I think every time I see you.”

“Hoho, you punk. Nothing but just flattery. Oh right, let’s stop by the department store for a while before going over. The Chairman likes red ginseng, so let's grab some.”

“Yes, sir.” As the car accelerated, an email arrived in Lee Young-Shik's inbox. The attached manuscript was titled Five Dreams.

***

“I apologize, Chairman. I’m not really keen on tears…” Lee Young-Shik apologized profusely, stealing glances at Oh Tae-Jin’s expression. The manuscript of Five Dreams was in his hands, which he received from Oh Tae-Jin earlier. He started reading on the way to their meeting place and had just flipped to the last page.

“Alright, so what do you think of it?” Oh Tae-Jin asked from across the table, which was filled with pufferfish dishes.

Lee Young-Shik replied firmly, “I personally think that it’s the best Korean novel I’ve ever seen in the market in the last ten years. No—not just ten, probably over twenty or even thirty years.”

“Is it that good?”

“Not just good.” Lee Young-Shik sang high praises. “I’ve read all of your works and was even deeply impressed by them. However, Five Dreams is entirely different on its own. I even feel that your literary achievement has arrived at its peak with this. It’s so amazing that there are no other words I can use to describe it. It’s an honor for me to read such a great piece of work before it is published.”

“Hohoho…” For some reason, Oh Tae-Jin chuckled bitterly. It was natural for him to have mixed feelings, but Lee Young-Shik looked puzzled as he didn't know the reason behind Oh Tae-Jin's bitter chuckle.

“Chairman? Did I perhaps make a mistake…”

“No, it’s not. Thank you so much.” A smile returned to Oh Tae-Jin’s face, changing the atmosphere. He then reached out a patted Lee Young-Shik on the shoulder and added, “I’ll leave it to you then.”

“Pardon? Chairman, what do you mean?”

“I’m leaving Five Dreams in your hands. You’re the CEO of your publishing company, aren’t you?”

“Whaaat?!” Lee Young-Shik freaked out, raising his voice by leaps, drawing the attention of the customers around them.

“I-I’m sorry. Chairman, I was just too shocked…! I, I didn’t misheard you, right?”

“Seriously, you just had two shots of alcohol, so how come you're already drunk?”

“I-I’m not…! I just thought that your novel would of course go to Oongsung! But you… you just handed it to me like this…!” Lee Young-Shik’s excitement couldn’t be contained.

Oh Tae-Jin picked up the bottle of alcohol and then reached out with both hands. Lee Young-Shik reached out with his cup politely, accepting a pour from Oh Tae-Jin.

“I’ve always wanted to let you handle one of my novels. Who else but you would appreciate my work this much?” Oh Tae-Jin said.

“Chairman…!” Lee Young-Shik’s eyes were filled with hot, emotional tears. “I’ll begin the editing work immediately today! I’ll personally work on this. Literature Travel will put its best foot forward on this project. I’ll do my best not to disappoint you!”

“I hope it sells so that I can save some face before you.”

“Whatever do you mean? It’s a great novel to go on the bestseller list even without marketing! Five Dreams is a masterpiece, Chairman!”

“Thank you. Let’s have a toast.”

The two men shared a cheerful toast. Lee Young-Shik turned away to drink from his cup as a tear rolled down his face. As expected, Oh Tae-Jin deserved his respect for his entire life and even that amount of respect still wasn't enough.

***

“Hello, Elder.” Ha Jae-Gun put down his bag and sat down in front of Seo Gun-Woo’s tombstone.

Meanwhile, Rika took a walk around the grave, doing her usual patrol. “It wasn’t easy filling up the gap for Great Life. I’m not sure if I’m also feeling uncomfortable because I have yet to hear from your son. If I still don’t hear from him this year, I plan to look for him on my own.”

Ha Jae-Gun pulled out alcohol and some dried snacks then served a glass to Seo Gun-Woo before having a cup on his own. “I’m making a lot of money now, and I've been thinking about what I should do with them. That’s why I wanted to meet your son to discuss this. It’s…”

“Meow,” Rika replied in Seo Gun-Woo’s stead.

Ha Jae-Gun stroked Rika’s neck and continued, “I want to establish a literary circle in your name. I’d like to establish it somewhere near your resting place. I really hope I can meet your son soon—for Great Life and for the literary circle's sake.”

Bzzt!

Ha Jae-Gun pulled out his phone. It was a call from Park Do-Joon, whom he had agreed to meet up with later. They had agreed to meet to try out The Breath Online after dinner.

“Yeah, Do-Joon.”

— Where are you? I’m with Tae-Bong hyung, Chae-Rin, and Yu-Na at your house. Lee Soo-Hee says that you went out on a walk with Rika.

“Oh, you guys are fast. I’ll be back soon.”

— Come back soon. Tae-Bong hyung and I have already set up our laptops. We've already installed the game.

“Alright, I’ll be back in twenty.” Ha Jae-Gun hung up and quickly packed up. He then spotted the copy of Five Dreams that he had placed in his bag. “Oh right, Elder. I forgot to tell you something.”

Ha Jae-Gun pulled out Five Dreams and said, “This novel really touched my heart recently. It’s written by Chairman Oh Tae-Jin, and it’s a great read. There’s so many things I’ve learned from it. I’ve already read it, so why don’t you read it too? I’ve been wanting to recommend this to you.”

Ha Jae-Gun politely put down Five Dreams on the tombstone. Just then, the quiet Rika stood up and smacked the book away with her front paw.

“Rika, what’s wrong?”

“Meow.”

Ha Jae-Gun could feel the anger in Rika’s cry. He placed the book back into position, and Rika scratched at it once more. A sharp claw mark was left on the book cover.

“Rika, do you want to get scolded? How can you ruin a good book? You've never been like this, so why are you throwing a tantrum here today?” Ha Jae-Gun scolded Rika as he picked her up. He bowed at the tombstone one last time before turning around to leave.

Ha Jae-Gun arrived back home and saw the basement lounge all prepared. Six laptops were laid out on the long table in the corner, and everyone was in their own seats, waiting for Ha Jae-Gun.

“Lee Soo-Hee and I will take the kingdom state.”

“C.Y. will be taking Yullon, the commercial state.”

“Tae-Bong hyung and I will take the Imperial state, then. Honestly, I didn’t really like them even in the original novel.”

Everyone laughed at Park Do-Joon, who was grumbling while creating his character.

It had been exactly ten days since the official release of The Breath Online. Ha Jae-Gun was somewhat relieved that there were more positive reviews than negative ones.

“Oh, right, Jae-Gun. I saw the news on the way here. Writer Ha Jae-Gun’s estimated wealth is over 600 billion won. Is that true?”

“Why are you asking that out of the blue?”

“Seems like it’s real. Wow, you’re really enjoying the life of passive income with huge amounts of money rolling in when you’re sleeping or eating, enjoying life.”

Pulling back the grumbling Park Do-Joon, Woo Tae-Bong chimed in, “I heard that The Breath Online will soon be released in China and Taiwan. Is that true?”

“Yes, that’s why my wife looks so concerned. She should be there personally in Taiwan to lead the release but she couldn’t because of Eun-Chae.”

“Why are you poking at me again?” Lee Soo-Hee elbowed Ha Jae-Gun at the waist.

Ha Jae-Gun winced slightly then stood up, heading to the TV that was left turned on, even though no one was watching it. “I can turn the TV off, right?”

“Yeah, we’re all playing the game, anyway. Turn it off and come back already.”

Ha Jae-Gun picked up the remote control left on the bar top. Just as he was about to press the power button, a video began playing on the TV.

[...Wu Dawang’s election as Vice President of the Central Military Commission has in fact confirmed his succession to the presidency. The Central Committee meeting held in Beijing by the Chinese Communist Party…]

~

‘Hmm?’ Ha Jae-Gun narrowed his eyes. The face surrounded by camera flashes on the screen was extremely familiar to him.

“Jae-Gun, what’s wrong?”

“Hey, Do-Joon. Come here for a bit.” Ha Jae-Gun gestured behind him while his eyes remained glued to the TV screen.

Park Do-Joon grumbled while walking over, wondering why Ha Jae-Gun called for him.

“What’s the matter?”

“I'm talking about him. We met him in China back then, right?”

“Huh…?” Park Do-Joon’s eyes grew as well. Their reactions piqued the interest of everyone else, and they gathered around.

“Right, Do-Joon?”

“Yeah. I think his name was Han Sanping? But didn’t they say he was an entrepreneur in the content industry?”

“What are the both of you talking about?”

“Wait, Chae-Rin.”

Soon, the scene of Wu Dawang standing on the podium and making his speech played. The words, "the level of censorship is up to the reader," along with his speech, made both Ha Jae-Gun and Park Do-Joon’s jaws drop.

“Hey, Jae-Gun… wasn’t that the line you said to him on that day?”

Ha Jae-Gun did not reply, as he was even more shocked than Park Do-Joon. The advice he had given to Wu Dawang the day when they met was playing on the screen through Wu Dawang’s mouth.