Chapter 273: How Far Can I Go (5)

“Huh? Is he really Korean?” The reporter opened his eyes wide to see the man who stood up from his seat. The man had black hair and yellowish skin—an Asian.

“So he’s really Korean? Eden Smith is really a Korean-American?”

“I-I think so.”

The EBC reporters were all in shock, their jaws dropping to no end. They were one of the few who had obtained permission to enter the restaurant prior to the awards ceremony day.

“h.e.l.lo, I am Eden.” The Asian man spoke into the microphone in English, and there was a hint of a smile tugging at his lips as he said, “However, my surname isn"t Smith; it"s Cooper.”

“...?!”

“I coincidentally hold the same name as the author who wrote The Malice. I am Eden Cooper, the editor-in-chief of the U.S. publishing company Open House. Due to personal circ.u.mstances, Mr. Eden Smith is unable to attend the awards ceremony, and I am here to accept the award in his stead. I would like to convey his sincerest grat.i.tude to everyone present.”

“Ah… So that"s how it is.” The EBC reporters finally understood what was going on, and they felt like they had wasted their time coming here. Of course, they wouldn"t back down so easily.

“Please leave us a comment! What is Mr. Eden Smith’s nationality?”

“He will be revealing this in the near future personally through the media.”

“Is he not a Korean-American? Is the main character in The Malice a reflection of himself?”

“As I"ve mentioned, I have no idea, so I am unable to answer your questions.”

Editor-in-chief Eden refused to answer the reporters’ questions. As he headed down to the first floor to share a toast with the judges, a series of flashes burst in his direction. The horde of reporters rushed in like a huge wave, seemingly in a frenzy.

***

- I can"t watch you any longer. How dare you bring such trash of a writing to me and waste my precious time?

- Just how confident are you in your writing? Do you want to show off how you have destroyed the established literary circle? Making such poor and ugly moves to show your work to the world.

- Don"t be mistaken. You"re still not a genius. You"re just an aspiring writer who has better grammar than normal people.

- Stop talking back and rewrite it! Listening to your argument is a waste of time! I"m your mentor! Get lost!

“Ughhh…!” Ha Jae-Gun groaned. A chill traveled down his spine as he quivered uncontrollably. “Ughh… Ughhh…!”

It hadn"t been that long since he laid his head on the table next to the bed and closed his eyes, but he was already having a nightmare. The expletives directed at him kept echoing in his mind. Ha Jae-Gun could only helplessly accept the verbal abuse directed at him.

“Jae-Gun, Jae-Gun,” Lee Soo-Hee said, shaking Ha Jae-Gun with a worried look. She was in deep sleep, and Ha Jae-Gun"s groaning had awakened her. She cast a worried look at Ha Jae-Gun and tried her best to wake him up. “Jae-Gun, what"s wrong? Wake up.”

“Umm…?!” Ha Jae-Gun"s eyes shot wide open. He saw the concern on Lee Soo-Hee’s face and muttered, “Was it a dream…”

“Were you having a nightmare?”

Ha Jae-Gun nodded, letting out a heavy sigh. He couldn"t recall the face of the person hurling verbal abuses at him, and the scene faded quickly as he tried to recall that scene.

"Was that… the Elder’s memory?’ A strange feeling stirred in Ha Jae-Gun as he recalled the scene. Whenever he made literary achievements, he"d always have such dreams.

‘Who… would curse at such a great writer like the Elder?’ Ha Jae-Gun fell into deep thought.

Lee Soo-Hee cast a concerned look at Ha Jae-Gun and remarked, “Are you not feeling well, too? At this rate, you’d be visiting the hospital after me.”

Ha Jae-Gun finally looked up. He had totally forgotten about Lee Soo-Hee’s situation because of the nightmare. In fact, Lee Soo-Hee wasn’t feeling well.

“Let me take a look, Soo-Hee. Has your fever gone down?”

“I feel better now, and it was all thanks to the nursing of my great writer,” Lee Soo-Hee said with a smile.

However, Ha Jae-Gun wasn"t relieved at all. He touched her forehead and said, “You still have a mild fever. You should use today to rest up.”

“What about dinner? You haven’t been able to eat anything else except porridge because of me.”

“I like porridge. Ah, I should heat it up first. Stay in bed.”

Ha Jae-Gun laid Lee Soo-Hee in bed and headed downstairs to the kitchen. As he placed the pot of porridge on the stove, he fell into deep thought once again, wondering who was the other person he saw in his dream.

“You’re still thinking about your dream.” Lee Soo-Hee pointed out, hugging him from behind. She had followed him down secretly.

Ha Jae-Gun turned around with a smile and said, “I told you to stay in bed; why did you follow me down?”

“I need to move about a little to get better faster. This is fine. What did you dream about anyway?”

“I want to tell you about it, but I can’t recall much of it…” Ha Jae-Gun scratched the back of his head.

Lee Soo-Hee looked at him in silence for a while. Then, she smiled and pulled out her phone. “Wake up from your dream and look at this!”

“Hahaha…”

“You know that this is reality and not a dream, right?”

“Of course,” Ha Jae-Gun replied as he read the article on the phone.

The article talked about Eden Smith being awarded the Prix Goncourt for The Malice. The photo showed Eden from Open House accepting the award on behalf.

Lee Soo-Hee kept her phone and then pulled Ha Jae-Gun into a hug once more. “I’m really sorry that you couldn’t go to France because of me…”

“I said I’d bite you if you repeated that one more time, right?”

“But I’m really sorry. I never expected that I"d fall sick, even though I’ve been healthy for the entire year. I told you to go to France alone and not to worry about me, but you didn"t listen to me at all.”

“No matter how prestigious the Prix Goncourt is, my wife is more important than it,” Ha Jae-Gun said, placing his forehead on Lee Soo-Hee’s forehead before kissing her on the lips.

Ha Jae-Gun’s phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

“Wait, it’s editor-in-chief Oh Myung-Suk. h.e.l.lo?”

— h.e.l.lo, Mr. Ha. How is your wife doing?

“Thank you for the concern. She’s feeling better now, and she can even cook her own porridge to eat now.”

— That’s great. I was extremely worried when I saw how worried you were at the hospital on that day. I was also worried that the two of you would fall sick together.

After a few more lines of small talk, Oh Myung-Suk went straight to the point. Ha Jae-Gun nodded, gave a short reply, and listened to Oh Myung-Suk intently. Ha Jae-Gun’s bright smile didn"t disappear throughout the call.

On the same night, a new post was uploaded on the forum—A City Full of Malice.

The forum administrator had posted it, and it contained information that would certainly stupefy the members.

***

“There’s still no news from OongSung?!”

“Yes, Director… There’s nothing from them yet.” Woo Jae-Hoon’s manager replied, looking fearful.

Woo Jae-Hoon grabbed his head with both hands, frustrated.

“d.a.m.n it. Is Gyu-Won hyung and One Film doing things right? The man has been awarded the Prix Goncourt, so how come he still can’t be reached? We don’t even know him!” Woo Jae-Hoon yelled, feeling disturbed.

He had been singing high praises of The Malice countless times through various media channels and even on live broadcasts.

Although he did express his desire to do a movie adaptation, it was also true that Woo Jae-Hoon had acknowledged it to be a masterpiece. However, the "ungrateful" author of The Malice had never given even a single line of reply to his love calls.

“Any human should have a conscience… They should have heard from the publisher already, but huh?! I’ve even sung so much high praises of the novel! He should at least write an email expressing his grat.i.tude if he didn’t want to call, right!”

Slam!

Woo Jae-Hoon succ.u.mbed to his anger and punched the table. His fear-stricken manager retreated a step more.

Just then, the TV in the living room began showing the news. The first piece of news was announced by the newscaster.

[Eden Smith, the winner of the Prix Goncourt, will be visiting Korea and meeting his readers. According to a representative from OongSung Publication Group, this meeting with readers was requested by the writer himself…]

“...?!” Woo Jae-Hoon stared at the TV in disbelief. Eden Smith, who had been unreachable had just announced a fan meeting with his readers in Korea? Woo Jae-Hoon was in utter disbelief.

“I think there’s an official announcement in the forum.”

“G-give me my phone. Where’s my phone?!” Woo Jae-Hoon immediately accessed the forum, and he soon realized that everything the news had reported earlier was true.

“A fan meeting at OongSung Publication Group HQ’s multipurpose hall…? Accepting applications on a first come, first served basis…?”

Woo Jae-Hoon’s eyes grew the widest as he read till the end of the post. There was a notice that all 500 applications had been filled up.

“Wait what? It hasn’t even been a few hours since the announcement was made and it’s already closed?!” Woo Jae-Hoon bit his lips anxiously, pacing around the living room. He then realized that there was only one way for him to do it, so he pulled out his phone. He reached the conclusion that instead of going through One Film, it would be much more effective for him to knock on their doors personally.

— h.e.l.lo, this is OongSung Mysterium’s editorial department, Heo Yeong-Eun.

“Ah, h.e.l.lo. I am movie director Woo Jae-Hoon.”

— Sorry? Ah, yes… h.e.l.lo.

“I just wanted to ask, is the writer of The Malice really holding a fan meeting? Is this true?”

— Yes, it is.

“Is the writer a Korean? Or a Korean-American?”

— I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that.

Woo Jae-Hoon let out a frustrated sigh. He then nodded his head and said, “Please do me a favor. I saw that the applications have closed, but can you please slot me in as well? No, Please give me two slots for the fan meeting.”

— I don"t have the power to do so…

“Then please put me on the line with someone of that authority.”

— I’m sorry, but I cannot do that.

The continuous refusal made Woo Jae-Hoon’s blood boil. He was the once-legendary movie director who was praised by countless in the industry.

“Look here, Ms. Heo Yeong-Eun…!”

Woo Jae-Hoon’s nostrils flared like raging fire as steam came out of them. He tried his best to suppress the anger in him as he asked in a squeaky voice, “Please do me this favor. Even just one slot is fine. I’m not a normal fan; you should know that very well. I’m sure you’ve watched a couple of my movies before.”

That remark had completely destroyed his pride as a once-famous movie director. Regardless, his desperation seemed to have worked. The lady sounded like she was put in a difficult position as she replied.

— Let me ask if it’s possible and I’ll call you again.

“How long do I have to wait? I’m sick and tired of waiting.”

— I should be able to get back to you in thirty minutes.

“Okay, I’ll be waiting.”

The call ended and Woo Jae-Hoon threw his phone on the sofa, plopping down. He picked up the copy of The Malice beside him, begging in earnest that he would be given a slot at the fan meeting.

***

The office atmosphere at OongSung Publication Group was more hectic than usual, as it was the day of Eden Smith’s fan meeting, the man behind The Malice. The five hundred applicants were lined up from the door and through the hallway. Once their ident.i.ties were confirmed, they entered the hall with much antic.i.p.ation.

‘Why is he so late…?’

Woo Jae-Hoon grumbled inwardly as he stood at the end of the huge hall, staring at the entrance. The CEO of One Film, Lee Gyu-Won, who had agreed to join him, had yet to arrive.

Just then…

‘Hmm…?!’ Woo Jae-Hoon was astonished. The man who had just walked through the door of the hall made Woo Jae-Hoon widen his eyes in shock. It wasn’t Lee Gyu-Won, but Ha Jae-Gun, the person he hated the most in this world.

‘Why is that punk here? Is he interested in the award-winning writer as well? No, maybe he’s just pretending. He must be boiling with anger inside and acting all cool on the outside.’ Woo Jae-Hoon interpreted the situation at his own convenience while gnashing his teeth.

Meanwhile, people in the hall began recognizing Ha Jae-Gun and approached him. He was soon surrounded by fans, giving his autograph and taking pictures with them in smiles.

‘He’s everywhere. Does he think this is his own autograph event? It"s funny seeing him dancing around so happily after getting so much attention.’ Woo Jae-Hoon let out a barrage of curses silently as he turned around and left.

A familiar-looking man walked past him just then, and a smile immediately bloomed on his face.

“Aigoo, is that you, a.s.semblyman Kwon Sung-Deuk?”

“Oh, Director Woo Jae-Hoon?”

Kwon Sung-Deuk and his aide stopped in their tracks, and Kwon Sung-Deuk reached out for a welcoming handshake. Woo Jae-Hoon shook it gladly and replied, “I never thought to see you again here. You must be busy with the nation’s affairs, so why are you here today?”

“Hohoho, this is part of my job too. The Prix Goncourt award-winning author came all the way to Korea to meet his fans, so how can the a.s.semblyman of the C.B.C. not come down personally to take a look? I’m planning to listen to his speech and explore more ways to develop Korea’s content industry.”

“As expected of you, a.s.semblyman. I truly feel insignificant seeing you working so hard for the country’s sake.”

“Let’s not stand around here and grab a seat instead. I have a seat right there in front, so Director Woo should come sit with me.”

“Thank you so much.” Flattered and feeling like his status had just risen to the next level, Woo Jae-Hoon straightened himself and followed behind Kwon Sung-Deuk.

“Right, I just saw Ha Jae-Gun here.”

“Is that so…? Hoho, I wonder why he would show up here when he’s so busy writing?” As an a.s.semblyman, Kwon Sung-Deuk had to speak politely in public. But internally, his hatred for Ha Jae-Gun was on the same level as Woo Jae-Hoon.

“Maybe he’s here to promote his books which aren’t selling that well these days? Don’t writers usually compete with superficial things if they can’t win with their works?”

“Hahaha, Director Woo… Anyway, he is still a writer after all. Since he’s here, he should listen to the award-winning writer’s story and build his own literary knowledge if possible. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“It would be great if Writer Ha Jae-Gun could stop being arrogant just because he had won a few literary awards in Korea. He should strive to spread his name globally with a prestigious award like the Prix Goncourt.”

“Maybe that day will come in a few decades.”

Sung-Deuk and Woo Jae-Hoon both broke out into laughter. By now, the line of attendees had soon filled up most of the seats in the hall behind them.

Around ten minutes later, the doors to the multipurpose hall closed, and the white lights along the side of the halls turned off. Instead, a beautiful, dazzling woman stood on the podium.

“Director Woo, isn’t that Announcer Park Hye-Sang?”

“Yes, that’s right. Wow, it seems like the face of EBS is running the event today.” Woo Jae-Hoon was deeply impressed, and then he looked around. Could Eden Smith be sitting in the hall somewhere? Or was he waiting in a separate room?

Park Hye-Sang finished her opening and was currently introducing The Malice to the audience, but Woo Jae-Hoon was not paying attention to her.

“...That’s all for the introduction. It’s now time for our readers who have been waiting to meet the writer that you’re all curious about.”

Woo Jae-Hoon subconsciously swallowed. It was the same for the nervous audience as the hall turned silent. Hye-Sang smiled brightly despite the silence and said, “Please come out, Writer Eden Smith.”

Murmurs filled the entire hall.

Everyone stuck their necks out, wondering about Eden Smith"s ident.i.ty.

And that was when someone from the audience stood up…

“...?!”

“...!”

Woo Jae-Hoon’s eyes flipped. The person who stood up from his seat and was now heading to the stage was none other than Ha Jae-Gun.

Ha Jae-Gun walked toward the podium calmly, but the 500-strong audience was both perplexed and focused on him.

“I-isn’t that… Ha Jae-Gun? Why is he up there?”

“I’m not sure either, a.s.semblyman… Is he trying to help interpret in real-time?”

Ha Jae-Gun shook hands with Park Hye-Sang and grabbed the microphone from her before walking toward the middle of the stage. He stared straight at the audience and calmly said, “h.e.l.lo, everyone. I’m Writer Ha Jae-Gun.”

The audience, including Kwon Sung-Deuk and Woo Jae-Hoon, couldn"t quite grasp what was going on. Why was Ha Jae-Gun on the stage?

Meanwhile, the murmurs in the hall grew louder.

Ha Jae-Gun remained silent for a while, taking a deep breath. The faces of the people he was grateful for flashed across his eyes one after another, starting with Seo Gun-Woo. Full of joy, he said, “I…am the one who wrote The Malice; I am Eden Smith.”