Big Life

“Please, stop.” Oh Tae-Jin pleaded, burying his face in the darkness. “I’m not asking to be treated with respect. My mask has already been taken off, and I've been exposed as a thief. I just have a favor to ask—as an old man who’s lived twice as long as you.”

Oh Tae-Jin still couldn’t raise his head. “It’s the last thing I want to do in this life, so please don’t stop me.”

“Sorry, but I can’t allow that.” Ha Jae-Gun did not listen and instead took a few more steps closer. The veins on his hands popped as he tucked his hands away in his embrace.

“Go home. I don’t want to have any issues with you.”

“I already have an issue with you.” Ha Jae-Gun’s voice then grew louder. “Why do you think I’ve been here day and night waiting for your arrival? Like I’ve said, it’s because I believe that you will eventually find your way here.”

“…”

“And that’s how we are able to meet here. You actually want me to leave when we've just met? What kind of guilt do you want me to bear that you’re suggesting something so ridiculous?”

“Look…!”

“Are you not going to spare a thought for your brilliant son? Have you ever thought of what he’s been going through every single day lately? Not just work, he couldn’t even eat a single bite of food; he’s been reduced to almost skin and bones now. He doesn’t even look a single bit like a human being.”

A drop of tear fell onto the grass, but it did not belong to Oh Tae-Jin. It was Oh Myung-Suk’s tear standing by the bushes behind the grave. Oh Myung-Suk had been desperately hoping that there would be no urgent need for him to reveal himself, as no father would want his son to see him crumble to the worst.

Just then, a strong gust of wind blew in. The chirping of grasshoppers cut through the silence, and Oh Tae-Jin dropped to his knees.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Isn’t it a simple issue?” Ha Jae-Gun replied, his eyes fixated on the grave.

Oh Tae-Jin looked at Ha Jae-Gun, his pale face full of questions.

“I believe that the answer will come to you if you think carefully about what will make Senior Seo Gun-Woo happy.”

“…”

“I’m sure he is wishing for you to put down all the burden you’ve been carrying in your heart and live a comfortable life from now on. Isn’t that natural?”

Oh Tae-Jin did not give any response and only looked down.

Meanwhile, Ha Jae-Gun dropped down on one knee, crouching down before Oh Tae-Jin. He slowly pulled on Oh Tae-Jin’s arm, saying, “Both of you are still great friends now.”

“Sobbbbb…!” Oh Tae-Jin had promised that the bawling he had in Pohang was the last in his life before coming to visit Seo Gun-Woo. However, there was still a considerable amount of regret and guilt within him.

“Will he… will he forgive me…! Will he… really forgive me…”

“There’s nothing for him to forgive.”

Oh Myung-Suk squeezed his nose bridge while hiding in the bushes. Thankfully, his father’s sobs were loud. Oh Myung-Suk’s grief grew in the silence with the deepening night.

***

“Is it all over now?”

“Yeah, it’s over.” Ha Jae-Gun replied listlessly upon returning home.

Lee Soo-Hee smiled weakly, touching his chin. “It’s my first time seeing you not shaving for so many days. It’s interesting feeling the stubbles.”

“Soo-Hee.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m sorry.” Ha Jae-Gun grabbed Lee Soo-Hee’s wrist, which was touching his chin, and said, “I didn’t mean to lie to you. I wasn’t sure how I could clearly explain the situation to you, and I thought you’d be worried as well! My head was all over the place, too!”

“You don’t have to apologize. I’m fine…”

“I swear that this will be both my first and last time lying to you.” Ha Jae-Gun felt something caught in his throat all this while. He had never been the type to show it often, but he knew very well how much Lee Soo-Hee depended on him. He pulled Lee Soo-Hee’s slender figure into his embrace and said, “I’m really sorry.”

“I already said it’s fine…” Lee Soo-Hee replied, burying her face into his chest as her nose tingled. Her husband had never once broken his promises so far, and she felt a wave of relief deep in her heart, knowing that everything had been resolved.

“Go have a shower; I'll prepare dinner.”

“Okay.”

“Make sure you shave as well. Otherwise, you might scratch Eun-Chae when you rub faces with her.”

“Hahaha.”

After Ha Jae-Gun stepped out of the shower, they enjoyed a delicious dinner. It had also been a while since Ha Jae-Gun also pulled out Seo Gun-Woo’s cup. Fatigue had been accumulating within him over the past few days while he was trying to locate Oh Tae-Jin.

He didn't want to sleep early tonight to cheer Lee Soo-Hee up.

‘Hmm…?’ Ha Jae-Gun looked at the cup curiously. He had emptied the entire cup of hot coffee, but his energy didn't seem to recover at all.

Had he accumulated too much fatigue? Was that why a single cup of coffee was no longer effective?

After much pondering, it didn't seem like a plausible reason to Ha Jae-Gun. He had stayed up for nights in the past while working on his novel, and the fatigue accumulated then wasn't of normal levels either. However, no matter how tired he was, a single cup of coffee was enough for him to recover fully.

‘Could it be…’ A different thought came to Ha Jae-Gun's mind, and he turned around, heading to his study. He went to a corner of the room and pulled out the old laptop stored away.

He hadn't used much of Seo Gun-Woo's laptop ever since he stopped rushing for time to complete his novels. He couldn't exactly recall when he had stopped using the laptop completely.

Tadak! Tadadak! Tadak!

“What are you doing? Writing?”

“No, I'll just be a while, so wait for me in the room.”

Around ten minutes later, Ha Jae-Gun stopped typing on the laptop, allowing silence to fill the room. His speculation was spot on. The ability to type 10,000 characters in an hour was gone as well.

‘Then, the other items are also…’

This time, he put on the horn-rimmed glasses that he had used recently and pulled out a book from the shelves.

But before he could flip the page, Ha Jae-Gun let out a long sigh. There wasn't any difference from when he read without the glasses.

“Meow.”

“Rika…” Ha Jae-Gun looked at her, taking off his glasses. Rika jumped onto the table, looking at him. Her glittering eyes seemed to be speaking to him, asking if the era of relying on Seo Gun-Woo’s keepsakes was long gone.

“I think I know what you’re thinking, Rika.”

Ha Jae-Gun picked Rika up and hugged her. A peaceful mouth appeared at the corners of his mouth, convinced that the Elder was at peace and could finally rest in peace.

***

“Are you really going alone?”

“Yeah, this is my problem,” Oh Tae-Jin replied firmly as he put on his necktie.

Oh Myung-Suk stood behind with an extremely awkward look.

“I must go on this path alone. You can wait at home with your mother and your child.”

“But, Father… at least allow me to send you to the hotel. At least allow me to accompany you on the way to the venue…” Oh Myung-Suk trailed off.

Oh Tae-Jin shook his head as he placed his hands on Oh Myung-Suk’s shoulders.

Oh Myung-Suk hadn’t seen a gentle smile on his father’s face in a long time.

“There’s nothing for you to worry about now, Oh Myung-Suk.”

“Father…”

“I just feel sorry, as the company will most definitely receive some form of damage.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Father. I’ve inherited the company from you in the first place anyway. Even if we can’t avoid taking a hit, I will do my best to handle it well.”

Oh Tae-Jin patted the shoulders of his trusty eldest son, and then he turned around to leave. Oh Myung-Suk watched as his father left, and a smile naturally appeared on his face. He suddenly found that his father’s back was as broad as before.

“Let’s go to the hotel.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Dozens of reporters were gathered at the venue, and Oh Tae-Jin’s car had just arrived at the venue of the press conference. Oh Tae-Jin followed the path that the security guards had opened up for him, and he stepped up onto the podium.

“Hello, my name is Oh Tae-Jin, and I am the former chairman of OongSung Group. I’d like to first convey my gratitude for taking time out of your precious time to listen to this old man.” Oh Tae-Jin ended his introduction. He was prepared to forget the use of the title “Writer” on himself until the day of his death.

“I…” Oh Tae-Jin looked at the group of reporters gathered before him. The reporters all perked their ears, paying close attention to him. All of them had the same questions: why did Oh Tae-Jin decide to recall and stop selling his bestsellers, including Five Dreams? Also, why did he decide to pull out from the Korea-China cultural exchange program and enter seclusion?

“I… Oh Tae-Jin…” Unlike his determination, the words wouldn’t come out of his mouth smoothly. Oh Tae-Jin closed his eyes and pictured his eldest son’s face. He was determined to become a father his son could be proud of, and he did not wish to have any ounce of guilt within him. His courage, which had been slightly weakened, strengthened once more.

“I have plagiarized.”

“...?!”

“...?!”

The chaotic venue instantly became silent.

The reporters’ eyes grew wide, looking at each other.

“Five Dreams and The Last Trip weren't written purely by myself. I had plagiarized both of them from a writer named Seo Gun-Woo. Five Dreams was originally Self-Assembled Milky Way, and The Last Trip was originally Childhood Memories, and I have plagiarized over seventy percent of the content of those two manuscripts.”

A commotion began as soon as Oh Tae-Jin finished his explanation. One of the reporters quickly threw a question after doing a quick search on their laptop. “What novels has Writer Seo Gun-Woo written? I can't find anything about him on the Internet.”

A reporter asked a follow-up question, “Did he publish under a pen name? Or is he related to you, Writer Oh Tae-Jin?”

The press conference became even more chaotic as the reporters bombarded Oh Tae-Jin with questions. Hearing that the reason for his recent decision was because of plagiarism, and on top of that, the fact that Oh Tae-Jin himself was a legacy in the Korean literature world, made it even more difficult to believe.

The reporters, who were usually aloof aside from seeing large events, were frozen on the spot. It took a long while for the reporters to calm down.

Oh Tae-Jin finally found a chance to speak when the commotion died down. “He was an old friend I made during university. He had come up to Seoul to meet me after living in seclusion decades ago. He wanted to entrust me with his work.”

Oh Tae-Jin scanned the room, seemingly recollecting the events of that day. The reporters were busy typing away on their laptops, taking notes of Oh Tae-Jin’s words.

“A reporter asked this earlier: how come Writer Seo Gun-Woo hadn’t published any novels, even though he was a writer? It’s because he was never satisfied with his works. His works were amazing in the eyes of everyone else, including myself, but it was nothing more than petty lines in his eyes.”

A bitter smile tugged at the corners of Oh Tae-Jin’s mouth. “He finally had a change of mind in his older years, so he came to me since I am his closest friend and the CEO of a publishing company, so he handed this to me.”

Oh Tae-Jin raised the memory stick in his hand for the reporters to see.

“Writer Seo Gun-Woo came to me with all of his completed works stored in this tiny memory stick, which he had written over the years while living in an old inn in Pohang. And…” Oh Tae-Jin trailed off. The shutters flashing rapidly did not miss the tears welled in his eyes. “However, he passed from a hit-and-run accident right before my eyes after handing me the memory stick. Of course, the culprit was caught and did their time, but…”

Tears trickled down from Oh Tae-Jin’s eyes. He looked down at his feet without wiping away the tears and continued, “I followed in the culprit’s footsteps. I took advantage of the fact that Seo Gun-Woo hadn’t shown the memory stick to anyone else but me. I formatted the laptop in his bag and hid the memory stick away.”

Oh Tae-Jin candidly revealed the entire truth, all the while saying his apologies internally. However, what was the point of apologizing in front of the reporters now? It was now just pure cowardice and self-pity, and killing his own friend twice.

“…That is all.” There was no further excuse.

Oh Tae-Jin’s eyes were blinded by the constant flashes, but he accepted it all. This was something he had to go through. That night, the memory stick found its way to the hands of the person who deserved it the most, and the memory stick was handed to Ha Jae-Gun a few days afterward.