Chapter 10
Chapter 10 – There Is A Reaction
“Hoooo . ”
A sigh came out of his lips .
Jaegun put his head back and looked up at the ceiling . Rika came over and hopped on Jaegun’s knees .
“Humans seem to easily change depending on the situation . ”
Jaegun murmured as he touched Rika’s neck . Hetae Media’s general managers’ call was still in his mind and it made his stomach sick .
His debut in Hetae Media didn’t have good results . But it wasn’t completely on the floor either . It was just average-ish .
Jaegun was relieved and wanted to write till 7 books as he planned . However, that small dream came to a close when he was writing his 3rd book . Jaegun could still remember the depressing night a few years ago, when that message from the management came .
“Writer Ha, Since the results aren’t good, let’s end it at 4 books . ’
A death sentence like judgment for a writer .
It was the end of the series with an early ending .
The paper copies, unlike the electronic books, cost money . Thus, the less popular books are forced to end earlier . The printers don’t care if the ending is good or not . As it is just a ‘project that became a bomb . ’
At that time, Jaegun forgot his pride and tried to hang on to the general manager .
‘I need to write until the 5th book to finish the story . Just please let me write to the 5th . ’
But the general manager’s response was ice cold .
‘You know the market enough so why are you like this? Our publishers are small . We need to produce more popular work to eat and live . If we produce till the 5th book for your series, we won’t be able to pay the next month’s employees . I understand your feelings but let’s try again next time . I have a meeting so I’ll cut off . ”
It seemed as though that phone call was back in his ears .
The hand scratching Rika’s tightened up . Rika then put her face on Jaegun’s chest and rubbed . As time went by, Jaegun calmed down .
“Thanks, Rika . I’m better now, I don’t feel anything . ”
“Meow . ”
“I’ve now met a great editor . I’ve now started to write a selling book now . The poor past is now over . The person whose sad at the past is not me .
Jaegun, regaining his strength, went to the front of the computer and sat down .
When he looked at the clock, it was 6 pm . He started just after noon so he’s been working for 6 hours .
“Wow, Rika . I’ve been working for 6 hours and wrote about half a book . ”
When he checked the doc.u.ment info, it was over 65,000 letters . At this rate, he could be able to finish writing a book it 7-8 hours .
“My neck hurts and I’m tired . I’ll get some coffee as a break . ”
Jaegun pressed on his hurting waist . His hands hurt after writing for 6 hours while typing at a speed of 10,000 letters per hour . He went to the sink and took out the instant stick coffee and turned on the coffee pot’s b.u.t.ton on .
“Dang it, I didn’t do the dishes . ”
Jaegun was lazily going to do the dishes until he noticed a gray mug . It was one of Se Gunwoo’s things . Since it was a cup, he washed it, but he never used it before .
“Now I see it, the cup is actually pretty good . OK . One more . ”
Jaegun put another stick into the mug and poured some hot water to the brink . A strong aroma rose up . A smell stronger than usual came through his nose .
“Hmmm . That’s good . Not jealous of the professional coffees . ”
Jaegun, as a break, watched the internet news and slowly drank his hot coffee .
Even though it was instant coffee, it seemed better than usual . He happily drank everything on the mug .
“Huh?”
Putting down the mug cup, Jaegun looked down to his body and shook his head .
Energy was flowing through him . Just a while ago, his body was heavy like wet cotton and it hurt, but now he felt refreshed like he’d just got a rest .
“Hm? Is it the caffeine?”
Jaegun put down the mug in the sink confused . He didn’t notice the white marks left on the bottom of the gray mug .
“Ha, well now my condition is amazing . Let’s finish it by 2 am . ”
Jaegun started to hit the keyboard again .
The words on the screen filled as fast as light . The one cup of coffee from Se Gun Woo’s mug gave him the new energy .
“Editor, Are you busy?”
Starbooks publisher’s office .
Editor Gwon Tewon was just back from a trip and was checking the writer’s book schedules . Employee Jung Somii was just coming to her .
“Ah . Somii, yes, it’s fine . Go ahead . ”
Tewon moved his gaze from the monitor to Somii and answered . He was the kind of person who was never condescending to any underlings . Somii who was a new employee for about 6 months laughed meekly and continued .
“It’s about the, Martial Rankings, by Writer Ha . ”
“Yes . What about Writer Ha?”
“He finished all 10 book of the series and sent them . So I was wondering what I should do with this . ”
“WHattt?!”
Tewon unawarely stood up .
“He really sent all 10 books of the series? Seriously?”
“Yes . I’ve checked it . He finished from the 4th book to the 10th and sent 7 books of content to us . ”
“Wow . I can’t believe this . What happened? How long has it been since he sent us the 3rd book and now he finished the 10th book? How could this be?”
Tewon shook his head and sat back down .
It has only been 10 days since he has gotten the 3rd book .
The Jaegun Tewon knew was a writer who finished a book in about a month . It was surprising that that Jaegun sent the 3rd book in a week .
But now, sending 7 books in 10 days, it had to be books that he’d written earlier and saved .
“Did you read some of the books?”
“Yes . Not all of them, but I’m now on the 8th book . ”
“You read a lot . How did you feel?”
Somii put her two hands on her chest and said with a small but confident voice .
“I thought it was fine . The story is clear and the plot twist is good . I have to see about the story, but until now I don’t see any holes in it .
“Really? Did something happen to Writer Ha this year?”
“It must be a year of success for him . ”
“Yes . Anyway I get it . I’ll check it and reply back so you can just leave it . ”
“Yes . Thank you . ”
Somii returned back to her seat .
Tewon alone, he put his chin on the desk and went into his thoughts .
Jaegun’s books have been getting good reviews . After the 4th book was printed, the plan was to increase the print by a 1000 copies . Now it was going to be 4000 copies per book .
Usually after a book goes out, it takes about 1 month until the next one is released .
It was to help the writer, but it was also to help the readers adjust themselves on the time period after the books are released on the market .
But that was during the time when books were printed only in paper copy .
Now the electronic market existed . If the series was already over, wouldn’t it be better to print them all and then put them on the internet? That could be the shortcut to greater success .
‘What would the original writer be thinking of right now . ’
Tewon pulled out his phone . And then on the long list of contacts, he pulled out Ha Jaegun’s and pushed the call b.u.t.ton . After a brief beep, Jaegun picked up the phone .
“Yes, Editor . ”
“Writer Ha . You wrote this before, right? How did you finish till the 10th book in only 10 days?”
“Haha, how was the book? It has to be good . ”
“The Publisher’s employee said that it was fun . But I didn’t get to read it yet, but it must be good . Oh and Writer Ha . ”
Tewon stopped for a second and check his afternoon schedule .
Since he got the final book of the series, it was time to make the contract for the next work .
If Jaegun somehow signed with another publisher, that was bad news . Now Jaegun, in the editor’s opinion, became a writer that could not be let gone .
“Are you good for dinner today? I only said that I wanted to meet you a couple of times, but I haven’t seen you in a while . ”