Big Life

Chapter 294: The Game Starts Now (5)

“Oh ho…?! Jung-Jin, calls are suddenly coming in through my phone and house phone too. I’ll call you back later.” Ha Jae-Gun quickly hung up the phone and put Eun-Chae back in her cot before answering the many calls that were coming in.

Laugh Books’ Kwon Tae-Won, Oh Myung-Suk from OongSung, the writers at the office, Ha Jae-In, his family members, and even his beloved wife Lee Soo-Hee began calling him one after another.

They were all shocked by the news showing on TV and were calling him about it.

“I’m not sure either, Soo-Hee. I need to look into this. Yeah, I’ve got another call coming in. Please tell our brother-in-law not to worry about me. See you later.” Ha Jae-Gun ended the call with Lee Soo-Hee and answered the next incoming phone call.

The caller was Teencent Pictures’ Lin Minhong.

“Hello? Mr. Lin?”

— Hello, Mr. Ha. I’ve called you a couple of times, but you've just answered me.

“Sorry, I am experiencing a wave of incoming calls. I have just heard about it after watching the news on TV. What’s happening?”

— I am with CEO Mao Yen now. The head of the Central Publicity Department, Mr. Liu Bao, had also contacted us earlier. According to him, Vice President Wu Dawang is feeling quite unhappy, and the reason was as reported on the news.

“What should I do?”

— Mr. Ha, I think you’re mistaken. We’re not asking you to do anything. We’re calling to apologize for this unfortunate incident.

Lin Minhong then quickly added,

— We hope you won’t get upset over this. This is an utterly embarrassing situation for me personally. It's also embarrassing for us, as a corporation in China with whom you entrusted your work. We will do our best to resolve and rectify this situation. But please just know this…

“Please speak freely.”

— You’re the best writer in Korea, Mr. Ha. Please remember this as we face the true meaning behind this cultural exchange.

Ha Jae-Gun quickly understood the meaning behind Lin Minhong’s words. Ha Jae-Gun was worried that he would not be participating, regardless of whether it was due to the conflict with the selected few veteran writers or the public's opinion.

— Hello? Mr. Ha?

“I am listening, Mr. Lin. I understand, and thank you. I will do my best not to disappoint you.”

— Thank you, Mr. Ha. That alone is enough. Thank you so much.

Lin Minhong expressed his gratitude multiple times before finally letting Ha Jae-Gun off the phone. As soon as he hung up the call, Ha Jae-Gun turned his house phone on silent mode and then plopped down on the sofa.

Bzzt!

‘Who is it now?’ Ha Jae-Gun’s head throbbed before he checked the caller ID. He couldn’t bring himself to turn off the phone if it was Lee Soo-Hee. He picked up his phone, and then his face relaxed immediately when he saw the name on the screen.

“Professor Han Hae-Sun!”

— Oh? You sound more energetic than I expected.

“I’m happy to hear from you, Professor. Professor, what should I do? I’m having a headache and can’t think of anything.” Ha Jae-Gun could only whine when he was with the professor; she was the only person whom he could confide in without worries.

— True. It’s quite ridiculous. Even I, famous for Smashing Literacy, couldn’t even predict such a situation.

Hae-Sun let out a regrettable sigh and said,

— You met Hyung-Bin at the meeting, right?

“You’re referring to Mr. Seo Hyung-Bin, right? Yes, of course.”

The two had graduated from the same university. Ha Jae-Gun was long aware that their personalities and literary tendencies were well-matched, almost like close siblings.

— I had a meal with Hyung-Bin a while back. He said he had thought it over for a very long time and thought that he should pull out from the list.

“...He’s pulling out?”

— Yes, from the Korean representatives.

The smile on Ha Jae-Gun’s face disappeared without a trace. Seo Hyung-Bin had received eleven votes and was ranked second behind Tae-Jin. Ha Jae-Gun congratulated him from the bottom of his heart, as he had always given high regard for his personality and work.

Professor Han Hae-Sun’s following words cleared up his confusion.

— He asked me to convey this to you. If he pulls out, he wants you to take his place.

“Wait… Professor?”

— Hyung-Bin said so himself—he couldn’t bear to see the literary world stained with so much personal emotions. He could no longer withstand the messy literary world, especially when a writer who had been proven to have plagiarized last year was still roaming about in the industry.

“...”

— Objectively speaking, you’re also a much better writer than he was, so he said not to refuse it. This is his personal decision, and the responsibility that comes along with it was all on him, so he said you shouldn’t dream of refusing it.

Hae-Sun said with a smile at the end, but Ha Jae-Gun couldn’t smile at all. Instead, he took a deep breath and said, “I do have the right to refuse.”

— Right to refuse?

“I voted on Mr. Seo Hyung-Bin. One of those eleven votes was mine.”

— Huhu, I see, but it's no use. Hyung-Bin also said that he had voted for you.

“...!”

— Now you know what his stance is, right? The writer who has the right to fill his spot on the name list is only you.

Ha Jae-Gun was at a loss for words and gritted his teeth. The silence continued, but Han Hae-Sun did not press on, knowing full well what Ha Jae-Gun was feeling now; she could even imagine what expression he had on his face right now.

***

“Hmm?” Kim Chun-Shik held onto his textbook, and unconsciously looked at his wristwatch as he entered the classroom of the creative writing department at a certain university in Seoul. Indeed, he was on time; he wasn't too early or late.

“So why is the classroom so empty?” Kim Chun-Shik asked as he looked around the empty desks in the room. There were only eight or nine students in the room when there were supposed to be dozens of students. Moreover, these students were from the Korean Language and Literature department, which meant that they were here for the essay theory class.

To make matters worse, the remaining students seemed uneasy.

“Hey, what day is it today?”

A student sitting at the back by the window replied dryly, “...It’s Tuesday, Professor.”

Kim Chun-Shik stared at him blankly then scrunched his nose and clicked his tongue. “Anyway, students these days have lost their fundamentals. Not only are they lazy, but they're disrespectful as well. What kind of nonsense is this mutiny that they're trying to do here?”

The moment he turned around with a frustrated look, Kim Chun-Shik froze.

A large poster was stuck on the whiteboard.

[All Year 1 students from the Creative Writing department, including Kim Na-Eun, demand the resignation of Professor Kim Chun-Shik. We refuse to attend all his classes.]

“T,-this…?!” Kim Chun-Shik’s eyes widened in shock, his teeth chattering. Refusing to attend class? What was going on? He turned around and asked the students present, “W-what’s this? Do you guys know anything about this?”

“I’m not sure.”

“It was there when I stepped into the classroom.”

The students showed no interest in the poster stuck on the board, nor did they show interest toward Kim Chun-Shik, who was boiling in anger. The students only hoped for time to pass quickly, wishing for the class to end sooner.

Kim Chun-Shik checked the class attendance and announced that today's class would be a self-study period before leaving the classroom. He rushed to the teaching assistant, demanding an explanation. Kim Chun-Shik's face turned pale after hearing the reason behind the boycott.

“Goo Byung-Min and Ji Suk-Yil…?!”

“I-I thought you’d already known about this, professor…!” His teaching assistant fumbled, looking as if she was about to cry, at a loss for what to do.

Kim Chun-Shik turned on his computer and looked up his name on the Internet. It was as he was told; he was being criticized by a few writers who had attended the meeting.

[Writer Ji Suk-Yil’s SNS post stirs controversy: Kim Chun-Shik and a few other writers exerted influence. I’m ashamed to be a senior to writer Ha Jae-Gun.]

[Writer Goo Byung-Min: I can no longer betray my conscience. Senior Seo Hyung-Bin’s decision to step down must be related to this]

“Have these damn old fools gone mad…!” Kim Chun-Shik’s lower jaw trembled so much and even his fingers were trembling as well to the extent that he couldn’t even hold the mouse properly. There were only insults no matter where he looked.

Grrr…!

“Ughhh!” Kim Chun-Shik grabbed his abdomen as he stood up. His irritable bowel would always act up whenever he was furious. He flung the office door open and rushed to the washroom.

Just as he had lowered his pants and sat down on the toilet bowl…

“Hey, have you heard about the controversy around Professor Kim Chun-Shik?”

He heard a few students’ voices outside his cubicle. Hearing his name, Kim Chun-Shik couldn’t even concentrate on his business and held his breath.

“Ah, the person who made a huge fuss at the cultural exchange meeting with Ha Jae-Gun?”

“It’s damn funny, isn’t it just gossip?”

“It’s not. Both writers Goo Byung-Min and Ji Suk-Yil even made a declaration with a conscience after Seo Hyung-Bin decided to pull out from the representatives.”

“Wow, impressive. The students from creative writing are all calling Kim Chun-Shik 'old geezer.' Definitely not labeling him for no reason.”

“This is a real black comedy. What had Kim Chun-Shik written, anyway? All the novels he had published combined won’t even amount to Ha Jae-Gun’s sales in a day.”

The students giggled as they left the washroom, leaving Kim Chun-Shik covering his ears as he remained in his cubicle. He flinched and immediately turned his phone to silent mode when it rang out of the blue.

Creeeak.

Kim Chun-Shik finally escaped the washroom after almost an hour. His legs felt weak, as he had sat on the toilet bowl for too long. He had been softening his actions afraid that he’d get discovered by the students, but his phone rang out of the blue.

It was a call from the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Culture.

“Yes, Deputy Minister… This is Kim Chun-Shik.”

— Hello, Mr. Kim. Um… It’s kind of awkward for me to bring this up but… you're aware of the current situation, right?

Kim Chun-Shik’s teeth chattered. “Yes…! I am well aware…! A few writers who are envious are insulting me with fabrications and instigations…!”

— Sigh… You must be in a tight spot. How can such a thing happen…

The deputy minister trailed off, finding him pitiful. However, it was still mere pretense to a certain extent as the deputy minister continued with an unyielding tone.

— Mr. Kim Chun-Shik.

“Yes, please speak.”

— Please excuse me for saying this, but since we also have the public opinion to consider… could you…

Kim Chun-Shik’s cheekbones trembled as if on the verge of crumbling. He was not a fool, so he could deduce that the deputy minister was about to ask him to pull out from the three Korea representatives.

“Are you asking me to step down of my own accord?”

— Mr. Kim, I…

“Why should I? Why should I step down? I got on the list through fair voting, so why should I resign from the spot?”

— Of course, you did get the spot through fair means. However, the public's opinion is getting worse by the minute. We suggest you make a concession considering the possible adverse effect on your public image. I'm actually in a tight spot as well.

The deputy minister sounded like he was almost begging. However, Kim Chun-Shik couldn’t care less about anyone else.

“I should be the victim here. I don’t care if you’re in a tight spot; how is it related to the situation at hand now?!” Kim Chun-Shik yelled.

The deputy minister was a hot-tempered man as well, so he replied in a fit of rage.

— Sure, Mr. Kim. Let me ask you since we are on the topic. What work do you have under your belt that can represent Korea?

“W-what…? Are you insulting me right now, Deputy Minister?

— No, I’m asking for facts. Do you have anything presentable after the essay that you published twenty years back? I know that the three or four novels you have released didn’t perform well either.

“Look here, Deputy Minister!”

— Do you know what I heard that day? I heard people asking if you voted for yourself that day. Regardless, the public response isn’t good, so shouldn’t you read the room and step down willingly?

“F-forget it! I’m hanging up!” Kim Chun-Shik roared and hung up the phone. He was on the verge of losing it from the embarrassment, but he was still thinking back wondering about the identity of the one who had put him in a tight spot.

After all, they were not lying.

***

“Father has rented a studio somewhere else, so I haven’t been able to see him much as well.”

“Ahh, I see…” Ha Jae-Gun nodded. He had just asked Oh Myung-Suk about how his father, Oh Tae-Jin, was doing these days.

“It’s already April.”

“I know, right? Time passes so quickly.”

Oh Myung-Suk and Ha Jae-Gun met for lunch, as it had been a while since they last met.

Even after becoming the CEO of OongSung Publication Group, Ha Jae-Gun didn’t feel much change from Oh Myung-Suk. Of course, the man had become much busier than before.

Ha Ja-Gun found it a pity that Oh Myung-Suk could no longer be his editor.

“It’s become much more chaotic. It must be hard on you, Mr. Ha.”

“No, it’s fine. I think many people must be exasperated because of me.”

The final three Korean representatives for the Korea-China cultural exchange were Oh Tae-Jin, Ha Jae-Gun, and Kim Chun-Shik. The spring breeze soon began blowing, and it seemed to be calming down the chaotic public opinion.

“Anyway, since you’ve given out some of your precious time to me, I’d like to hear from you what kind of novel I should be writing next.”

“Haha, sure, you’re referring to what novel you plan to write next for the cultural exchange.”

“I wanted to ask for the old Chairman’s advice too, but it’s too bad.”

“…” Oh Myung-Suk looked down, unable to give a response to that. He had suspected his father’s novel to be a work of plagiarism, and thus their relationship was now estranged, but Ha Jae-Gun didn't have to do that..

Just then…

Bzzt!

“Sorry, please excuse me.” Ha Jae-Gun pulled out his phone which was vibrating in his pocket. The caller ID made him leave the table; he had saved the number under the name: Questionable Reader.

“Hello?”

— Excuse me. I’m Choi Hyun-Ju, police chief at the Gyeongju Guncheon patrol station. Is this Mr. Ha Jae-Gun?

Ha Jae-Gun was shocked upon hearing the female’s voice and their identity.

“Ah, yes, that’s right. What is this about?”

— Do you know Mr. Seo Sang-Do?

“Sorry…?”

— I gave you a call, seeing that the only text message he had on this phone was sent to you.

Ha Jae-Gun turned stiff, even forgetting Oh Myung-Suk’s presence at the table. The shock was even greater when he heard her words, and it was exacerbated when he heard that the sender of that text message was Seo Sang-Do.

— Hello? Mr. Ha Jae-Gun? Mr. Ha?

“Yes, I heard you… I’ll go over right now.”