Chapter 169: Make It Up, If Theres None (13)

Hyung, are you taking some drugs?

What drugs? Why?

It's just that you've been like a beast recently. Anyway, Im going to shower. Look away, said Jang Eun-Young before hurrying into the shower.

Drenched in sweat, Kang Min-Ho sat on the edge of the bed and pulled out a cigarette. However, he put it away upon recalling that his girlfriend didnt like the smell of cigarette smoke.

I need to save even more money

Kang Min-Ho thought as he looked around the small motel room. He had been doing his best to save money, but he still needed more funds to build a home with Jang Eun-Young. He didnt want to get a bas.e.m.e.nt room for them; he wanted a two-bedroom apartment as their newly-wed house.

He didn't mean to move out due to the awkwardness of publicly displaying their affection. This issue could easily be resolved if they left the office occasionally. More importantly, it was because Kang Min-Ho had started to become more wary and began to walk on eggsh.e.l.ls while around the others.

'

There are new writers joining the office as well

'

It was an issue that concerned Kang Min-Ho's conscience. Both Jang Eun-Young and himself had somewhat established themselves as writers and had the capacity to pay for their own daily meals and monthly rent.

Lee Eun-Ha moved into the office through Ha Jae-Gun's decision, and he had heard from Kwon Tae-Won that two more writers signed with Laugh Books were joining the office as well.

It marked the start of Kang Min-Ho's worries.

Wouldn't it be much better to leave the office for the new writers instead? At least, they would have to change from living in the office to clocking in and out of the office like normal office workers do.

The bathroom door opened while he was still trying to find a solution to his worries.

Jang Eun-Young stepped out of the steamy bathroom, wrapped in a towel.

"

Ah,

that was so refres.h.i.+ng. Hyung, go have a shower, too."

"Yeah"

"Hyung, are you tired? Shall we change accommodation and stay out tonight?"

"No, we have deadlines to handle, too. I'll go shower."

The sun beat down on their heads the moment they stepped out of the motel.

Jang Eun-Young continued drying her hair with her hands and asked, Everyone in the office already knows about our relations.h.i.+p, right?

Weve spent so much time with them. Even if we didnt explicitly tell them, they should have noticed it already.

They walked out of the alley and onto the main road. As they walked on the street, Jang Eun-Young suddenly said, I can put in fifteen million won right now.

...What do you mean all of a sudden?

What else? We need to get our own house, of course. Jang Eun-Young smiled at Kang Min-Ho, who was looking quite dumbfounded.

Do you really think I'm that naive? I mean, Youve been walking on eggsh.e.l.ls recently.

Jang Eun-Young reached out and held Kang Min-Hos hand.

If you're worried about something, share it with me. Do you really think you're alone?

Im sorry.

If you are, lets go for anchovy noodles.

Are you never getting tired of it?

The couple grabbed a table at the noodle restaurant they frequented and ordered their meals. Jang Eun-Young was reading the news articles on the Internet when her eyes suddenly widened.

Seems like

Oscars Dungeon

is also doing well in China.

Really? Did it go on the news?

It hit 6th in sales on the China App Store and obtained over a c.u.mulative number of forty-one million downloads, which is about seventy percent of the entire market share in China. The market there must be huge.

Jang Eun-Young showed her phone to Kang Min-Ho.

Kang Min-Ho stared at the news blankly and stuck his tongue out. I cant even imagine how much Writer Ha is making at this point. Is

Gyeoja Bathhouse

releasing next? How is that going?

The movie and game will be released in China first. The novel will be released through OongSung in the US, I think?

Bzzt!

Kang Min-Hos phone rang.

h.e.l.lo, Writer Ha. Why did you call?

Did you enjoy the movie with Writer Jang?

Pardon?

Ah,

yes

Haha.

We enjoyed it a lot. Kang Min-Ho minced his words and chuckled awkwardly. He had totally forgotten that he had told everyone else that they would go to the movies earlier when they left the office.

Where are you now? Im at the office at the moment, and I have something to tell you.

Ah,

were nearby. Well be back after having a bowl of noodles which weve just ordered. Well be back soon.

You dont have to rush your meal, so please take your time. When you come back, just go to apartment number 1701 in the same building.

1701? Why there?

Youll find out once you're here. Ill see you later then.

The call ended, leaving Kang Min-Ho looking perplexed.

Jang Eun-Young had just placed chopsticks on the bowls of noodles that had just been served. She looked up and asked, Whats the matter?

He has something he wants to tell us, and he asked us to go to 1701 instead of the office.

Why there?

Im not sure either. Maybe a company has decided to establish a partners.h.i.+p with Laugh Books, and he wants to introduce us to those people?"

They thought long and hard, but they couldnt seem to come up with an answer. The curious couple made quick work of their noodles and left the restaurant.

***

Didnt he say to go to the 17th floor?

Oh, right. I got used to pressing the floor for the office.

Kang Min-Ho and Jang Eun-Young soon arrived at the 17th floor. 1701 was located right at the end of the corridor. The couple quickly headed to the apartment, where its door was left wide open.

Oh? Theres no one in here, though? Kang Min-Ho murmured as he stood outside and peeked into the apartment.

Jang Eun-Young peeked over his shoulder from behind, and a soft gasp escaped from her lips. Wow, this place is huuuuuge. Is this a gym of some sort?

Yeah, I thought our office was huge, but this place is much more s.p.a.cious.

Just then, both of them heard approaching footsteps from inside the apartment. Ha Jae-Gun soon appeared from one of the rooms near the living room, and a young lady in a formal suit followed behind him.

Oh, youre both here? Come in. Ha Jae-Gun smiled, looking delighted. Kang Min-Ho and Jang Eun-Young stepped into the apartment, looking puzzled.

What do you think of this place?

Pardon? Kang Min-Ho could not understand the meaning behind Ha Jae-Guns question.

Ha Jae-Gun then grinned and looked at Jang Eun-Young. Its literally what I asked. What do you think of this place, Writer Jang?

Its s.p.a.cious and looks good to me. How big is this apartment?

The young lady standing beside Ha Jae-Gun stepped up to explain. Its 59 pyeong in total. There are four rooms and two bathrooms; theres also a separate dressing room.

Wow so its 60 pyeong rounded up. Thats huge. Jang Eun-Young continued looking around the apartment, letting out small gasps of exclamation.

Meanwhile, Kang Min-Ho seemed to have guessed Ha Jae-Guns intentions and narrowed his eyes.

Um,

Writer Ha, is this possibly

Haha,

you found out? Ha Jae-Gun grinned.

Jang Eun-Young then caught on.

The young lady was a property agent, and this huge place was going to be the new writers office.

Since there will be more writers joining from Laugh Books into the current office, it will become much more inconvenient, so please move here. This is entirely my office, after all. Even if youre forced to work with people from other companies, theres nothing for you to worry about either.

Writer Ha, weare extremely grateful but this Kang Min-Hos mouth was so parched that he could not continue his sentence.

As if expecting such a response from Kang Min-Ho, Ha Jae-Gun added immediately, Its not for free. Youll have to pay 100,000 won per month per person.

Writer Ha Even Jang Eun-Youngs heart ached at Ha Jae-Guns thoughtfulness. They would never be able to get such a great place like this at 100,000 won per month.

Moreover, the couple knew that Ha Jae-Gun had requested a small amount as rent out of consideration for them. This was why they felt much more grateful and apologetic at the same time.

Writer Yang Hyun-Kyung and Lee Yeon-Woo will be moving over here as well. Director Lee Eun-Ha will be commuting to and fro here for the time being. So aside from me, therell be a total of five of you here.

Ha Jae-Gun had been taught repeatedly by his father since he was young that personality came before ability. It was the greatest a.s.set that couldnt be compared to any wealth or treasure, so Ha Jae-Gun did not wish to lose any of the writers.

Aside from any financial gains or losses, this was never a losing business. Whenever he was going through tough times, these people gave him emotional support. And there was no knowing if he would receive any more help from them in the future.

But if possible, please keep staying with Laugh Books. Otherwise, Id get reprimanded by President Kwon for stealing his writers.

Jang Eun-Young and Kang Min-Ho both laughed bitterly at Ha Jae-Guns joke. Saying thank you to him over a thousand times wouldnt be enough for the goodwill he had shown them, and they thought itd be much better to stay silent.

***

On that same night, the smell of grilled pork belly filled and wafted out from the new office that Ha Jae-Gun had gotten for the writers. A huge group of people had gathered in the new office.

The writers, Director Yoon Tae-Sung, Lee Eun-Ha, Jung So-Mi, and even Kwon Tae-Won had gathered to enjoy the meat and alcohol.

Everyone, lets drink to celebrate the establishment of Ha Jae-Guns team! yelled the drunk Lee Yeon-Woo after jumping to his feet.

Ha Jae-Gun waved at him in embarra.s.sment. Stop spouting nonsense. You're drunk, so sit down.

Ah,

hyung, why? Im not drunk, really.

Hick

. Lee Yeon-Woo whined and put on an innocent-looking face.

Seated beside Lee Yeon-Woo, Lee Eun-Ha joined in and raised her gla.s.s high. I think his ideas great. I want to be part of Writer Ha Jae-Guns line, so Ill join in the toast.

Lee Eun-Has words got everyone bursting into laughter. A round of toasts continued, and the group returned to talking over each other.

Thank you for looking out for Eun-Ha, Yoon Tae-Sung said softly to Ha Jae-Gun while looking at Lee Eun-Ha sitting across from him and chatting excitedly with Lee Yeon-Woo.

She mentioned that its hard for her to focus on work at my place. Shes really a talented person, just that her time isnt here yet.

Of course, I understand. I believe that Director Lee Eun-Ha will soon s.h.i.+ne. And strictly speaking, I'm grateful to her. She shared her life experience with me without hesitation, which allowed me to add another short story to my latest work.

Ha Jae-Guns gaze suddenly turned serious.

It just came to his mind that the movies Lee Eun-Ha had worked on were similar to

The Market and Its People

. He rubbed his chin and mumbled, If the novel ever gets the chance to get adapted into a movie, then Director Lee Eun-Ha can

Pardon? What did you just say?

No, its nothing. Ha Jae-Gun decided to keep this to himself for the time being.

This wasnt something that would happen in the near future, so there was no need to get so excited over it this early.

Bzzt!

Excuse me, I have to take this call. Ha Jae-Gun left the office with his phone ringing in hand. Upon arriving at the last window in the corridor, he answered the phone, h.e.l.lo, editor-in-chief.

h.e.l.lo, Mr. Ha. Are you having dinner?

Oh Myung-Suk sounded quite happy over the phone. Ha Jae-Gun wondered if the man had good news for him as he replied, Ive just moved offices, so were having a meat party now.

I see. Am I disturbing your fun?

No, its coming to an end. Please speak.

First, I would like to update you that I still cant find any traces of the bereaved family of the late Mr. Kang. I think youll need to wait a little longer on that. And

The faint sound of Myung-Suk flipping through some doc.u.ments came through the line.

Mr. Ha, are you possibly interested in TV dramas?

TV dramas?

I know Producer Ahn Jong-Won from MBS Broadcasting Station. He has been begging me to arrange a meeting with you for a while now, and his wish is to work with you on a production with your scenario, even if it were a one-act play.

Ah,

I see Ha Jae-Gun did not know how to reply to the unexpected news.

Ha Jae-Gun didnt have any experience in TV dramas. He was interested, but he couldn't quite make a decision.

What do you think about this, editor-in-chief?

My opinion?

You know that Ill always ask you this first. Do you think I can pull it off? Im not sure how broadcasting stations work either.

Its not that much different from what you're used to, actually. You can just do what youve done so far. If its a one-act play, the length wouldnt be an issue, so I think its not a bad idea to try it out once.

Hmm, I see But what kind of scenario should I use for it?

What about the latest one youre working on at the moment? Maybe you could adapt one of the short stories in

The Market and Its People?

Will that be alright?

Of course. I think both the security guard and glutinous rice cafe seller stories are good episodes. I think using the rice cake seller story is better because it has romance. It might be much more popular with the public.

Ha Jae-Gun looked out of the window and into the night sky. He imagined the happy looks on his family members faces as they sat in the living room watching the drama he had written, which allowed him to make a quick decision.

Thank you, editor-in-chief. Please help me arrange a meeting with that producer.

Ha Jae-Guns intention was conveyed to the producer through Oh Myung-Suk. The next morning, a few people related to the producer had learned of Ha Jae-Guns intention to work on a TV drama.

However, not everyone looked upon the news kindly.