Chapter 218: Laugh, Why Don’t You (6)
“Be careful of your behavior in public.”
“Gosh, no one"s gonna look. Why is our CEO so shy.”
“That’s why I asked to meet at the swimming pool.”
“We can’t always do this, so why don’t you cheer up? Let’s go.”
Hyun Sung-Beom felt like his heart was going to explode. He recalled the words from a senior reporter named Cha Hyung-Jin, who told him over a drinking session that exclusives are chanced upon without notice.
“Have you had lunch?”
“I starved myself just to eat with the CEO, but I’m also on a diet currently.”
“You don’t have any more weight to lose.” Dong-Myeong and Bo-Ra walked down the street together as they chatted.
The moment Hyun Sung-Beom was about to secretly chase after them, a call from his senior Cha Hyung-Jin came in on his phone, and the camera app was deactivated.
“h.e.l.lo, senior. I’ll call you back in a bit.” Hyun Sung-Beom said into the phone with his eyes still on his target. As usual, Cha Hyung-Jin sounded as sarcastic as ever.
— Why? Seems like you got yourself a scoop?
“Yes, I did.”
— Really? What is it?
“I’ll call you back soon. You’ll definitely fall from your chair after seeing this.” The camera turned back on. In the middle of the shot was Dong-Myeong and Bo-Ra standing side by side.
Hyun Sung-Beom clenched his teeth and continued to go after them stealthily. It was a great feat for him as a reporter, but Bo-Ra had just provoked the wrong person.
***
There was a vending machine and a chair at the end of the corridor of EBC Radio Station. Ha Jae-Gun would rest there whenever he had time left. Even now, he had some time left before his program started and was getting a coffee for himself.
‘d.a.m.n, I left my wallet in the car….’ Ha Jae-Gun was in a pickle as he rummaged through his pocket for a 100-won coin. He looked around, hoping to see someone he knew in the area, and his eyes grew.
“h.e.l.lo, Mr. Ha.” Park Hye-Sang approached him with a smile. She still looked prim and proper, as expected of the representative announcer of EBC Broadcasting Station.
“h.e.l.lo, Ms. Hye-Sang. It’s been a while.”
“Yes, it has. It’s a new year, too. Are you here because of Writer’s Night?”
“Yes, that’s right. What about you?”
“I’m here as a guest instead of a show host for Baroque Music.” Park Hye-Sang smiled, her eyes turning into a pair of crescent moons. She pointed at the vending machine and asked, “Are you getting coffee?”
“Ah, yes… You’re here for coffee as well, right? But I forgot to bring my wallet….” Ha Jae-Gun searched his empty pockets again.
Park Hye-Sang unzipped her wallet and stepped forward. “You looked like you were getting coffee.”
“Ah, you already saw me…? That’s embarra.s.sing.”
“You paid for mine the last time, so let me buy you one this time. They sell cold coffee here. Do you want that?”
“Yes, please.”
Two cups of coffee were made one after the other. Park Hye-Sang was about to bend over to get coffee while grabbing the ends of her skirt, but Ha Jae-Gun was a step ahead and pulled them out first.
“Thank you.”
“I’m the one getting a free drink, so at least I should do the serving.”
The two of them sat beside each other on a long bench. Park Hye-Sang’s eyes were glued to the condensed window as she said, “You’re going to get married this year?”
“Yes, that’s most likely the case.”
“Your fiancée is beautiful. Everyone on social media is fussing about why she’s just an employee at a game company.”
“Haha, that’s true. Unlike her looks, she’s not good at showing her good points unless it"s her own expertise.”
“You must send me a wedding invitation.”
“I definitely will. I can’t imagine everyone else’s reactions if Ms. Hye-Sang comes.”
It had dawned on him that they had aged another year, so the two of them looked quite at ease while conversing. There were loud and soft footsteps ringing from the end of the corridor occasionally, but aside from that, the cup of coffee they were having in the quiet and cozy lounge was delicious.
“Ms. Hye-Sang, what have you been doing….”
“Then, Mr. Ha, are you going to….”
Both of them broke into a chuckle as they started at the same time.
“Please go ahead, Mr. Ha.”
“It’s nothing, so please speak first, Ms. Hye-Sang.”
“Mine isn’t that important. I was just curious about what you have been working on recently.”
Just as Ha Jae-Gun was about to answer her question, the producer stepped into the corridor and waved his hand at Ha Jae-Gun. It was a signal that they were ready for the broadcast.
“I’m sorry, but I think I have to head in first. I will reply to you over the air later.”
“Sure, Mr. Ha. Good luck.” Park Hye-Sang raised her fists, cheering for him.
Ha Jae-Gun raised his fists in response as well, then stood up to leave. His footsteps were filled with energy.
***
“Honey, please peel another apple for me.”
“I am already peeling one, ma’am.”
A cla.s.sic scene was playing on the TV in the dark living room. It was deep into the night, and most people were sleeping. Many apartments outside the terrace had their lights turned off, with the exception of a couple.
“You should sleep now,” Oh Myung-Suk said as he returned with a plate of apples. Chae Yoo-Jin took the plate with a smile as she stayed lying on the sofa. “I’m watching this so that I can fall asleep.”
“Is this Casablanca?”
“Yeah, I can watch it over and over again. Ingrid Bergman is so pretty.”
“I find the ending so lonesome that I couldn’t bear to watch it again,” Oh Myung-Suk replied and looked at the organized living room.
It was an apartment that both of them had settled down in. They had used the day to deep clean the entire place. The 38-pyeong apartment was not small, but instead of hiring someone to clean the place, Oh Myung-Suk still chose to clean the entire place personally for the sake of Chae Yoo-Jin and their unborn child.
“Won’t watching this be bad for the child?”
“Gosh, that’s needless worry. It’s not even a horror movie.”
“How can they learn about farewell even before coming out into the world?”
“Uh, mm… That sounds quite plausible.” Chae Yoo-Jin mumbled as she caressed her womb and eventually turned the TV off.
She leaned on Oh Myung-Suk’s shoulder, smiling. She was the happiest woman in the world right now. “I have a feeling that I’m always forgetting something.”
“You must be forgetting to sleep. Let’s go to sleep.” Oh Myung-Suk held Chae Yoo-Jin’s hand and gently pulled her up to her feet. As she was about to head to the bedroom, she clapped her hands out of the blue.
“Ah, I just remembered. Writer Ha’s radio is today.”
“Ah, Writer’s Night?” Oh Myung-Suk quickly turned on the radio. Ha Jae-Gun’s broadcast was important to him as well. He had been so busy cleaning the entire day that he had completely forgotten about Ha Jae-Gun’s radio broadcast.
“Hurry up and get the correct frequency. It’s about to end soon.”
“Wait a bit, it’s coming soon.”
[…The next thing your readers are looking forward to would be your new work. What have you been working on recently?]
[Mm, yes. Firstly, I have been working diligently on the remaining short stories to add to the Market Place collection. I’ll be able to combine all of them into one book after adding three more of those short stories.]
[As a reader, I’m also looking forward to your new work. Although the novel hasn’t been released yet, one of the short stories was changed into a three-part drama, right?]
[Yes, that’s right. I rewrote the completed short story into a scenario for the drama.]
Oh Myung-Suk and Chae Yoo-Jin sat back down on the sofa, listening intently to the radio show. The voices of the host and Ha Jae-Gun alternated throughout the night.
[The drama has received a lot of positive responses. Although it was a one-act play, the viewership ratings sprung up to the double digits. Wait, I"ve got some information here… Yes, it’s 14%. How did you feel at that point in time?]
[I was surprised. I had my previous work, Summer in My 20s, turned into a movie. I think this is the power of the t.i.tle.]
[Power of the t.i.tle? What do you mean by that?]
[Everyone around me says the same thing, that I have a bad naming sense for my work. The original t.i.tle for Market Place was The Market and Its People. It was rejected for being too old-fashioned, and hence, Market Place is the official t.i.tle now.]
The host burst into laughter. Even Oh Myung-Suk and Chae Yoo-Jin laughed out loud as well. They could even imagine Ha Jae-Gun’s serious look behind the scenes.
[Are you working on something else aside from Market Place?]
[I’m preparing to adapt The Breath, which was published under my pen name Poongchun-Yoo, into other media forms. I’ll be able to share more when plans for The Breath are finalized. Other than that…I have something else I’ve started working on, but it’s still quite ambiguous to share at this stage.]
[Ambiguous?]
[I began thinking about people’s malice recently. It might be the same for everyone. I have met a lot of people throughout my life, and not all of them are friendly. It made me unknowingly reflect on the malice that I’ve felt so far.]
“Have you heard anything about this writing from Writer Ha ?”
“No, not yet,” Oh Myung-Suk replied with a serious look. One of his cheeks twitched, as he never knew that he would one day hear news of Ha Jae-Gun’s new novel through the radio rather than in person or during a call.
However, it was natural for him not to be updated, as he had been busy finding an apartment to stay with Chae Yoo-Jin as well as organizing things with her, so he only had the time to call Ha Jae-Gun a couple of times to ask how he was doing.
Oh Myung-Suk felt apologetic toward Ha Jae-Gun.
[People’s malice… Just hearing about this makes shivers go down my back. Is it going to be a full-length novel? I’m curious about its genre as well.]
[Nothing’s firmed up yet. I am currently gathering all the malice I’ve felt from everyone I’ve met so far and trying to shape the characters first. It’s only after that that I can consider the genre or storyline.]
[Seems like the main character is definitely a villain?]
[You’re indeed sharp.]
Oh Myung-Suk held a pen in hand and diligently summarized Ha Jae-Gun’s words so that he could get straight to the point when he met Ha Jae-Gun to talk about the new work. Ha Jae-Gun’s voice continued to flow through the speakers.
[In fact, there are two editors whom I like, and I am learning from them. I need to discuss this with one of them, but he’s been extremely busy lately, so I couldn’t contact him.]
[Why don’t you say something to him using this opportunity.]
[Thank you. Um, our dear Editor-in-Chief, Oh, it’s been a while since we met and had drinks. I miss you. Please accept my pour, and pay for all the drinks.]
Oh Myung-Suk stopped writing and sn.i.g.g.e.red. Chae Yoo-Jin hugged him from beside him and said, “I can’t meet Writer Ha because of the baby.”
“Yeah. Hmm, people’s malice…That sounds scary.”
Oh Myung-Suk looked at the clock and gathered the time for the radio show to end. He began drafting an email to be sent to Ha Jae-Gun. Although Oh Myung-Suk had been chased out of the house, he was still the editor-in-chief of OongSung, and Ha Jae-Gun was their most precious writer.
It was about time for him to make a move.
***
“No, absolutely not.”
“Why not, senior? Just why?”
Hyun Sung-Beom was at the rooftop of the office building of Weekly Trends headquarters. His senior from the same entertainment department Cha Hyung-Jin was with him and was taking out his third stick of cigarette to puff.
“Do you know how much advertis.e.m.e.nts they paid us at DongMyeong?”
“How does it matter? Should reporters be wary of such things when writing articles?”
“The boss hates it! Don’t you know that our boss is extremely close to CEO Lee Dong-Myeong? Why are you so clueless? Do you want to get blamed for everything?”
“Sure, I’ll take on full responsibility.”
“Ah, seriously, Hyun Sung-Beom…!” Cha Hyung-Jin blew out white smoke from his mouth. He sneaked side glances, seemingly having something to say, but eventually, he did not come clean and changed the topic. “Put your hand on your heart.”
“What are you going to say now?” Hyun Sung-Beom asked.
“Just do it, brat.”
With a grim look, Hyun Sung-Beom put his hand on his chest as instructed. “Done. What now?”
“It’s hot, right?”
“Of course, I’m so mad now.”
“Your heart is originally hot, stupid!” Cha Hyung-Jin threw out his cigarette b.u.t.t and yelled. “I’ve said this countless times, but you’re not the type to become a reporter. Do you think you’re just purely getting a scoop here?”
“What exactly do you want to say, senior?”
“I understand that you’re prepared to take responsibility and face the consequences. But I’m asking why must you reveal this? Is it because of Ha Jae-Gun?”
“…!”
“Seems like I’m right. Otherwise, you would have denied it immediately. You should calm down, brat!”
Hyun Sung-Beom took the cigarette from Cha Hyung-Jin and smoked it out in less than thirty seconds.
“You should smoke something better. And I still haven’t changed my mind.”
“Hey, Hyun Sung-Beom!”
“Just don’t tell the chief first. I’ll get going first.” Hyun Sung-Beom left the rooftop without hesitation.
Hyung-Jin still could not stop his junior and stood there in a daze. He watched as Hyun Sung-Beom left in the distance, and his past self surfaced in his eyes.
The scoop made it into the breaking news at around noon that day. The article written by Reporter Hyun Hyun Sung-Beom quickly dominated the major portal sites and social media.