Chapter 301: (1)

A soft cla.s.sical melody was playing in a cafe on a random afternoon.

You seem to have gained weight, senior.

Ha Jae-Gun greeted as he pulled out a chair at the table to sit.

A faint, embarra.s.sed smile appeared on Seo Sang-Dos face, who stood awkwardly and said, Please don't call me that, Writer Ha.

I should, when you're obviously my senior. So what's wrong with it?

As you know, I'm not even an inkslinger

I think it's time for you to stop with the self-reproach, don't you think?

The blaring of horns sounded loudly outside the cafe. They had decided to meet in a cafe located along the main city streets so cars could be seen lining up the roads, creating a jam.

Ha Jae-Gun glanced outside briefly and wondered silently as to why Seo Sang-Do had asked to meet him not in Gyeongju but in Seoul.

Writer Ha.

Yes, senior. Please speak. Their eyes met.

Seo Sang-Do looked more determined than ever, as he had already made his decision before coming out to meet Ha Jae-Gun. Opening his bag without hesitation, he took something out from inside and placed it on the table.

Please accept this.

What is this? Ha Jae-Gun asked, looking at the doc.u.ment envelope. It was a commonly seen brown paper envelope.

Seo Sang-Do opened the envelope and pulled out the doc.u.ments stored inside.

I mentioned it before, right? What I said back at the hospital in Gyeongju.

...

Ha Jae-Gun did not reply as his heart pounded heavily. What Seo Sang-Do brought with him was the copyright transfer contract. It was clearly doc.u.ments related to Seo Gun-Woo's posthumous works; he planned to hand over all of his father's works to Ha Jae-Gun.

I have included all clauses into the doc.u.ment; all you have to do is sign them, Writer Ha.

But, Senior, I

You may also take your time to review it if you have any doubts.

I'm not referring to that. I just Hot breath escaped Ha Jae-Gun's mouth as he said, I cant accept this.

Why not?

Why? Of course, its his work and legacy that you should be taking over as his son.

Not at all. Seo Sang-Do shook his head unyieldingly.

No matter what, my fathers works must go to you, Writer Ha. Its fixed; it's fate.

Fate? Thats

Writer Ha, do you still remember what I told you back in Gyeongju? Seo Sang-Do asked, but he quickly answered his own question, I told you that my stomach would flip whenever I see you, that you remind me of the past that I didnt want to recall, which is why I hate you.

...

That is why I can say that I can give you the copyrights without any regrets. I hoped that all traces of my father, who was hovering around me like a ghost, and that your existence would leave me alone. But! Seo Sang-Do broke off as his emotions surged. He pulled out the straw from his cup and gulped down half a cup of coffee.

Seo Sang-Do took a moment to calm himself down before continuing, Im not trying to hand over my fathers works out of shame. Its purely because youre my fathers son.

Son?!

I'm his biological son, but his son as a writer is you, Writer Ha. You have protected and saved his works until the end. As youve said, you have preserved it, which would have been impossible if I were in your shoes. After all, I'm an incompetent man who does not have the strength and will, so Seo Sang-Do pushed the papers toward Ha Jae-Gun with trembling hands.

This should be yours

Senior

Please, I hope that you can hand my fathers works to the readers. Please dont refuse anymore. Ill definitely see this to the end, no matter how hard you try. It wouldnt be a contest since I have a lot of time on my hands as Im unemployed.

Seo Sang-Do then pulled out a pen and offered it to Ha Jae-Gun respectfully.

Seeing how Ha Jae-Gun was still hesitant, he forcefully placed the pen into his hand and added, I hope you will fill up the rest of

Great Life

as well.

Senior

I will wait for the day until Writer Ha puts the finis.h.i.+ng touches on my fathers incomplete posthumous work.

Something was caught in Ha Jae-Guns throat as he lowered his gaze. The tip of the pen was lowering on the paper nervously. He had been looking at

Great Life

for the longest time now. There would be no turning back the moment he signed the doc.u.ment, and he had to finish it no matter what.

The sense of mission made Ha Jae-Gun feel afraid.

Elder, can I really pull this off?

Ha Jae-Gun asked subconsciously.

It had become a habit of his after writing for so many years, even though it had been a while since he had heard a reply.

Creaaak.

The cafe owner opened a window, and a breeze blew in. The cool breeze grazed Ha Jae-Guns nose, bringing a faint smile to his face. He decided to take this as getting permission from Seo Gun-Woo.

I will do my best. Ha Jae-Guns hand that gripped the pen was filled with strength, and he penned his signature on the doc.u.ment. I cant guarantee that I wont ruin Senior Seo Gun-Woos work, but I will definitely do my best.

Thats more than enough, Writer Ha. Seo Sang-Do smiled brightly. It had been a long time since he had smiled so brightly.

Ha Jae-Gun couldnt help but smile in return, and the thick, spring air enveloped them.

***

The entire book?

Thats right. The works stored in the memory stick were initially entrusted to Chairman Oh Tae-Jin in the first place, anyway. Senior Seo Gun-Woo would definitely hope for OongSung to take charge of them.

Oh Myung-Suk nodded with his mouth tightly shut. It was hard for him to speak when he was sharing the same guilt that his father bore.

I understand, Mr. Ha, Oh Myung-Suk finally said when his coffee turned cold. I will take over planning and editing; I will do everything in my power, just like how I did when working on your novels.

Thank you, CEO.

Ha Jae-Gun and Oh Myung-Suk both bowed at each other, showing their grat.i.tude.

However, bitter smiles were plastered over their faces.

A lot has happened.

Indeed.

Has Mr. Sang-Do already left?

Yes, I had just dropped him at the bus terminal earlier before coming over.

Seo Sang-Do returned back to Gyeongju and had decided to stay in the old house where the late Kang Byeong-Has granddaughter was staying. As he was reminiscing about the past earlier, he told Ha Jae-Gun that he'd write once again.

The house, which had been covered in overgrown weeds and had withstood the pa.s.sing of time, would soon be revitalized. It would become livelier with each pa.s.sing day, thanks to those who had found their way there.

He will have to come back to Seoul again in the near future.

You mean Mr. Seo Sang-Do?

Yes. He will have to take charge of the mausoleum once its done. I will bring him back.

Ha Jae-Gun already had a rough sketch of the blueprint for Seo Gun-Woos mausoleum in his mind. He planned to buy the entire land surrounding the grave, also to build a memorial hall and provide a s.p.a.ce for poor writers to live and write.

Then Mr. Ha, what are you going to name it?

Self-a.s.sembled Milky Way, Ha Jae-Gun replied in a heartbeat, as he had already made the decision.

Im going to use the t.i.tle from one of his works, which is also my favorite. Even if Senior Seo Sang-Do objects to it, Im still going to push ahead with it. I built the mausoleum after all.

Hahaha.

They laughed between jokes. After chatting for a while longer, Ha Jae-Gun looked at the time and stood up.

Are you leaving already?

I have disturbed you for too long when you must be busy with work. Give me a call once youre free again; I want to have some pufferfish with you.

Oh Myung-Suk sent Ha Jae-Gun off to the bas.e.m.e.nt car park. Before Ha Jae-Gun could get into his car, he turned around and asked cautiously, Is Chairman Oh Tae-Jin doing well?

He is traveling the entire country with my mother. We called yesterday as well, and he sounded quite at peace. You dont have to worry any longer.

Ha Jae-Gun nodded. This time, it was Oh Myung-Suks turn to ask, Are you going back home now, Mr. Ha?

Its been a while since Ive seen the other writers, so Ill be heading to the Bucheon office.

Vroom!

Ha Jae-Guns car started, and it soon drove out onto the road.

Oh Myung-Suk stood rooted to the ground, watching as Ha Jae-Gun drove off.

Thank you, Mr. Ha, for giving me the chance to make up for it.

He was too embarra.s.sed to say it in front of Ha Jae-Gun.

Oh Myung-Suk only turned around to leave when Ha Jae-Guns car was completely out of sight. He suddenly missed his family, so he dialed the number of his younger brother, whom he hadnt met in a while.

***

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

The phone vibrated, but the bushy-haired man did not give it even a brief look. He only stared at the TV, pouring himself another gla.s.s of soju after emptying it earlier.

He was currently watching the live broadcast of current affairs.

[So a.s.semblyman Kwon Sung-Deuk ended up facing intense prosecution scrutiny. The 300 million won embezzlement of the aides salary was just the tip of the iceberg, isnt that right?]

[Yes, theres no way it can be called a coincidence since he was preparing to run for the presidential candidacy, so many were showing sympathy for him back then. But nowwith the revelation of him accepting billions won in bribes, well, theres no way he can get out of this.]

[On top of that, its even related to the Korea-China cultural exchange project. How embarra.s.sing is this? According to a reporter from the prosecution office, most of the charges seem to have been proven true as well. Report Yoon, what do you foresee will happen?]

[Well, I can only say that everything is now over. Everything was planned carefully and exposedno, sorry, revealed by a.s.semblyman Kwon Sung-Deuks aide after all. So the issue now is whether he will be stripped of his role.]

[Thats how serious the issue has become.]

[If the prosecutions investigation reveals everything to be true, itll turn into a serious crime. Its not something we can treat lightly, especially with the upcoming presidential election.]

A picture of Kwon Sung-Deuk appeared on the screen. The man stared numbly at the face of the man he had known personally. However, he no longer cared about what was going to happen to Kwon Sung-Deuk. He wasnt particularly affected when his biological father was almost buried by society, so what more was there to say for Kwon Sung-Deuk, who was just another man to him?

Young man, why are you drinking so much so early in the day? The lady boss, in her forties, served him a pot of hot soup even though he hadn't ordered it.

The man only nodded to express his thanks before downing another gla.s.s of soju.

You drank a lot yesterday, too, so why dont you stop drinking for a day? Itd be great if you ate well. You're looking more and more gaunt as the days go by, so I have no choice but to say something about it.

The man remained silent.

The lady boss wasnt expecting an answer either; she let out a soft sigh and turned around. Had it been a year? The man would come to the restaurant every day for drinks and wouldnt say anything except when he was ordering.

Thus, the lady boss hadn't been able to find out who he was and where he was from.

The only thing she could guess was that he had come from Seoul.

That Seoul man is at it again. This time, it was the mans neighbor, a lady, who dropped by the restaurant to hang out.

The lady boss slapped her lightly on the shoulders and said, Lower your voice; hell hear you.

Just what kind of person was he before, not working and just hanging out all day? Its amazing that he hadnt put his meals on tabs before.

In fact, the man had always paid for his meals whenever he ate at the restaurant, and he had never once taken the chump change for his payments. As his expenditure piled up, the lady boss grew slightly fond of him. Sometimes, even when it was closing time, she would still wait for him to finish first before closing the shop.

The next-door lady squinted and said, But hes still nice... The way he dresses makes him look like a beggar, especially his haircut, but he cant fool the real deal. Youre single, too, so why dont you ask him out for a date?

Look at this fool. Leave if youre going to be noisy. Stop interfering with others business.

Creaaak.

The two women flinched, exchanging glances. The man pushed his chair back and stood up. As usual, he left the money for his drinks on the table and stumbled out of the shop.

Shwaaaah!

The sound of waves cras.h.i.+ng against the sand filled the air as soon as he stepped out of the restaurant. The man hummed a melody as he walked along the sh.o.r.e. It was a melody that the love of his life liked, and he recalled their university days, which were slowly fading away thanks to the alcohols effects.

There was no longer any anger or sadness. Those numbed emotions did not recover but remained dull, and thus, he was at peace. He felt satisfied if he could stay this way for the rest of his life.

The man walked and stopped only upon seeing a lighthouse. His eyes grew wide upon spotting a woman walking toward him.

I found you. Those were the first words she said to him with a smile. The man stared at her, expressionless. The lady smiled brightly, waiting quietly for his response.

However, the man turned slightly and walked past her.

The smile on her face disappeared, and she went up to block his path in spite. Im hungry, Mr. Myung-Hoon.

Move.

I havent eaten anything on the way here.

I said move.

The rough waves crashed against the sh.o.r.e, scattering debris. Even though she was drenched, Hye-Mi did not move an inch. She had taken a flight just to meet this man. She had even resigned from her job as soon as she heard about his plight.

Feed me some food, Mr. Myung-Hoon. Please? Hye-Mi gently grabbed him by the sleeves.

Oh Myung-Hoon frowned deeply and shook her hand off. Please, go away!

Hye-Mi clenched her jaws. Despite seeing the tears in her eyes, Oh Myung-Hoon still yelled at her, Are you a r.e.t.a.r.d?! Do you still not know why I approached you after all this while?! Please think through if you have a brain! I just used you because you were valuable to me!

I know.

Oh Myung-Hoon was at a loss for words.

Hye-Mi wiped the tears off and said, I know everything.

Yet you still come to me?

Cant we at least talk over some food?

Please! Oh Myung-Hoon pulled his hair as he finally felt the effects of alcohol.

Reuniting Hye-Mi had only made him recall the ugly memories one after another.

Oh Myung-Hoon collapsed to the ground as all strength left his body.

Hye-Mi quickly helped him to his feet.

I'm trash.

Youre not.

I am a piece of trash.

Stop it, and lets go eat something.

I havent thought of you as a woman, not even once.

Dont lie.

Oh Myung-Hoon's neck bent of its own accord as he buried his nose into her shoulder. He felt her warmth, and his sobs grew even stronger as a violent tremor ran across him. I! I really! No, Iwhy am I like this?! I Im not even human!

He had yet to recover the emotions that he had left in the river when he threw himself off the bridge, but Hye-Mi had brought it back to him today. Oh Myung-Hoon couldn't stop crying, terrified that he wouldn't be able to die and would have no choice but to continue living his life.