Chapter 197: What? Dragon Rider? (3)

"Why did you do it, father? You should always be careful. Don"t you know that it"s dangerous for you to run all of a sudden like that?"

"Enough. I"ve heard enough from Department Head Bae, so stop it."

The father and son were in a hospital"s VIP ward. Nam Gyu-Baek looked disgusted as he lay on the bed.

Nam Gyu-Ho had rushed over after receiving a call from Department Head Bae. He was now loosening his necktie and wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"Please listen to him, Father. You"re no longer in your youth, and Mother is no longer around as well, so you only have him who can help you on the side. Please don"t let others worry about you!"

"Alright, alright! Why are you raising your voice so much today?"

"Ha…!" Nam Gyu-Ho let out a sigh and stepped out of the ward.

As soon as Nam Gyu-Ho stepped out, the anger Nam Gyu-Baek showed on his face disappeared immediately.

"That punk, since when did I say I was right? There was no need for him to raise his voice…" Nam Gyu-Baek mumbled softly.

Meanwhile, Department Head Bae, standing by the bedside, carefully added, "Um… he just has difficulty expressing himself, but he"s the most worried about you."

"I know. I"m just grumbling."

"I"m sorry for overstepping."

Nam Gyu-Baek looked out the window and remained silent for a while. His dull eyes took in the scenery of Namsam Tower, Han River, and Woomyeon Mountain.

"The president has aged a lot…" Department Head Bae thought to himself as he watched silently. It was pitiful to see Nam Gyu-Baek"s shoulders droop. Would it be less pitiful when it was said that he originally had a thin physique?

Nam Gyu-Baek was originally a tall, healthy and dashing man. However, he had been watching that young man slowly turn skinnier day by day.

According to his memory, Nam Gyu-Baek had been going downhill ever since he sent off his wife.

"Look here, Department Head Bae."

"Yes, President," he snapped out of his thoughts and replied immediately.

Nam Gyu-Baek was still admiring the scenery outside as he added, "How long have you been working with me?"

"It"ll soon be fifteen years."

"That"s long enough to move the mountains. So many things have happened, the thought that you"d be feeling exhausted by now came to mind."

"Of course not. It"s a blessing and the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"Don"t say things you don"t mean."

"I"m being honest. It was all thanks to your grace that I was able to send my children to university, didn"t hear a single nagging from my wife, and was able to live confidently as the head of the household. You"re the best person in this world." Department Head Bae bowed down ninety degrees to express his deep grat.i.tude.

Nam Gyu-Baek spotted white hair sprouting from the top of his head and finally realized how much time had pa.s.sed. A small and bitter smile formed on the corners of his mouth.

"Anyway… letting the lady leave like that… it"s tugging at the back of my mind.” Nam Gyu-Baek mumbled, changing the topic of their conversation. The face of the woman who had helped him when he had collapsed from a seizure appeared vividly in his mind.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think too much about it as I was too caught up in the moment.”

“You don’t have to apologize, but I still feel uncomfortable. I should repay her for the help received, but without her contact number, there’s nothing else I can do.”

“Maybe we might be able to meet her again. She might be working near Director Nam’s office, too.”

“Hmm.” Nam Gyu-Baek slowly turned his head to the side. He looked at the door, which his son left, and added, “When did you say your eldest son is getting married?”

“It’s been moved up, so he’s getting married late next month.”

“That’s great. Nam Gyu-Ho should get married soon, too. That pathetic punk has no thoughts of succeeding the family line. Is he planning to die of old age as a bachelor while working his entire life?”

Nam Gyu-Baek had never considered the woman whom his son liked as a bride and potential daughter-in-law. There had to be a good reason why Nam Gyu-Ho still couldn"t introduce her to him.

Nam Gyu-Baek was convinced that she had to be with great flaws.

***

At the same time, Nam Gyu-Ho stood outside the ward in the hallway, his face still contorted, unable to relax. His father’s love for his mother wasn’t incomprehensible. However, there was nothing he could do with the frustration he was feeling.

“If he doesn’t want to remarry, then he should at least go back to dating…”

The wealthy father and son pair were worried about each other being alone with a wall between them.

Nam Gyu-Ho shook his head disapprovingly and headed toward the vending machine. On his way over, his phone started ringing. It was a message from Ha Jae-In.

- Did your problem get resolved? I’m sending a message because I’m worried.

- Yes, thankfully, it ended well. I’m sorry for making you come all the way here and return without meeting up. I’ll repay you ten times for this.

Nam Gyu-Ho replied to her with a message instead of returning a call. He was afraid that the emotions that he still had problems processing would be revealed over the phone.

- That’s too much; you don’t have to do that, but just treat me to ten cups of coffee for the one cup I missed today. ^^

- I have no issues treating you to a hundred million cups.

Nam Gyu-Ho opened the photo alb.u.m on his phone after sending out that message.

Ha Jae-In’s refreshing face appeared on the screen, making him smile until Nam Gyu-Baek"s cough came through the door.

***

Tadadadak! Tadak! Tadadak!

The typing sounds in the Bucheon writer’s office were nonstop today.

Lee Yeon-Woo’s fingers danced across the keyboard.

‘Seems like all his worries had disappeared.’

Jung So-Mi smiled and glanced at Lee Yeon-Woo from across the table. Lee Yeon-Woo had been struggling for a while due to the sluggish sales performance of his novel. Thankfully, he had recovered since the last drinking session with Ha Jae-Gun.

“Yes! I’m done!” Lee Yeon-Woo yelled as he entered the last period in the doc.u.ment. He immediately covered his mouth as he turned around and looked at Jung So-Mi.

“Sorry, I was so excited after finishing it that I didn’t realize…”

“I’m fine, the other writers aren’t around either.”

Only Lee Yeon-Woo and Jung So-Mi were in the work area. Rika and Nun-Sol were each curled up beside Jung So-Mi’s mouse and on her lap.

Lee Yeon-Woo stretched and looked toward the bedroom, mumbling, “It’s almost time for lunch, but is Jae-Gun hyung going to skip his meals again?”

“I guess so. He hasn’t come out yet, after all,” Jung So-Mi replied as she turned around to look at the door to the room where Ha Jae-Gun was holed up. It seemed that they could see him through the door, with his eyes shining and typing away on the keyboard.

“I think he’s feeling burdened because it’s the ending of his novel.”

Ha Jae-Gun was currently working on the last volume of Oscar"s Dungeon, which he had spent several nights on. Ha Jae-Gun was always on edge, aside from when he was sleeping. It was no wonder that even Rika knew not to disturb him.

"Shall we have lunch just by ourselves then?"

"Sure, let"s go," Jung So-Mi replied and stood up from her seat. She very much hoped to have lunch with Ha Jae-Gun, but it ended in a failure today as well. In fact, it had already been a few days since Jung So-Mi had a proper conversation with him despite being in the same office.

However, Lee Yeon-Woo was in a good mood. As he opened the door, he suggested in an energetic voice. "Deputy Jung, there"s a delicious chicken galbi restaurant in Bupyeong. Do you want to go there?"

"All the way to Bupyeong?"

"It won"t take too long if we drive. Shall we?"

"I"m sorry, I"m tired, so I"m hoping to have lunch at the arcade nearby." Jung So-Mi smiled apologetically.

Despite being rejected, Lee Yeon-Woo was still all smiles. "Let"s go to that restaurant next time, then. What would you like to have for lunch?"

"Anything is fine. Please decide on the menu, Writer Lee."

"I noticed that you enjoyed the noodles last time; let"s go there again then."

"You don"t have to think about me; feel free to choose something you"d like to eat."

However, there was no way Lee Yeon-Woo would not take her preference into consideration. No, he was bound to take her preference into consideration. The reason had embedded itself deep in his heart without him realizing it.

“Shall I tell you a gag that has been trending lately? When boiling bibim noodles, it can"t splash onto your arm. Do you know why? Because your arm would turn into bibim noodles, too.[1] Hahahaha!"

"Oh my, it"s so funny that I should be rolling on the floor laughing. You must have learned it from Writer Kang, right?" Jung So-Mi chuckled, even though she truly had no idea how to respond to such a joke.

Her response made Lee Yeon-Woo happy. As someone who always viewed others as they were, Lee Yeon-Woo admired her honesty a lot.

"If only I did better…" Lee Yeon-Woo only had that in mind the entire time they were eating noodles.

Was it an inferiority complex? He felt inferior next to Jung So-Mi. The latter was nice, cute, and pretty. She was also good at her work, and she had a bright, sunny demeanor.

His novels, which were his main source of income, were struggling. Strictly speaking, Ha Jae-Gun was the reason he was still alive.

What if the office that also provided for his food and accommodations, as well as his job as a manager, disappeared? He would have nothing left.

"Writer Lee, your noodles are turning soggy. What are you doing not eating them?"

"Ah, yes. I"ll be eating them now."

Jung So-Mi served him a portion of the lunch. Lee Yeon-Woo hurriedly picked up his chopsticks and steeled his resolve that he would grow up to be an incredible person.

Immersed in his determination, he put a huge mouthful of noodles in his mouth but ended up spitting them out as the noodles were too hot.

***

"How was it? Are you still in pain?"

"I feel better after applying some ointment."

Lee Yeon-Woo entered the pa.s.sword as he rubbed the insides of his mouth with the tip of his tongue.

As soon as the door opened, he saw Ha Jae-Gun in the living room, drinking some coffee while stroking Rika on his lap.

"Oh, Jae-Gun hyung. You"re done?"

"Just done. Have you had lunch with Ms. So-Mi?"

"Yes, we had clam noodles[2]. You should have lunch too, hyung."

"I"m heading out for lunch, I have an appointment with someone."

"Where are you going? I should drive you over."

"I"ll go on my own. I"m going to meet Director Nam, and I"m not sure how long we"ll talk."

Ha Jae-Gun soon finished his coffee and put Rika down.

Lee Yeon-Woo spotted the part under Ha Jae-Gun"s chin that looked darker than usual and blurted, "Jae-Gun hyung, are you not going to shave?"

"Oh, right, I almost forgot. Thank you."

Ha Jae-Gun touched the p.r.i.c.kly mustache and headed to the bathroom. Ha Jae-Gun stiffened the moment he saw himself in the mirror. He couldn"t believe that a few nights of staying up late would make him look so haggard.

"Why did he not help me?" Ha Jae-Gun blurted those words unknowingly. The memories where both of them used to exchange opinions, debate, and seek better answers to their questions freely every moment got more and more blurry.

It was much worse when he was working on fantasy novels. Seo Gun-Woo never said a single word or gave a single piece of advice when Ha Jae-Gun was working on fantasy novels.

In fact, throughout the time Ha Jae-Gun wrote the last volume of Oscar"s Dungeon, he had never once felt Seo Gun-Woo"s presence.

"I"m worried, elder… Can I end the novel here?" It was a rhetorical question. Was it real that he was able to hear Seo Gun-Woo"s voice in the first place? Or was it just his illusion?

Looking back now, Ha Jae-Gun hadn"t been able to differentiate. As if trying to wake from a dream, he turned on the tap and washed his face with cold water.

***

"It"s interesting. If this is the final ma.n.u.script, can I update it immediately?"

"Ah, update?"

"We need to prepare for the latest season of Oscar"s Dungeon. That"s why I have been waiting for that last volume for so long." Nam Gyu-Ho asked in return, thinking that he was stating the obvious.

"This ma.n.u.script you brought today is over half a volume"s worth, right? Please let me know once your ending is confirmed."

"I understand. I"ll do that."

The two picked up their chopsticks. They were having tofu hotpot for late lunch.

After portioning a plate of the food for themselves…

"There"s something I would like to tell you, Director Nam…"

"There"s something important I have to tell you, Mr. Ha…"

The two men started talking at the same time and stopped themselves immediately. They looked at each other awkwardly for a while. Ha Jae-Gun finally raised his hand and let Nam Gyu-Ho speak first, "Please go ahead."

"No, you should speak first, Mr. Ha."

"I think mine would take longer to discuss. Director Nam is better at going straight to the point, so please speak first."

"Mm, alright then." Nam Gyu-Ho put down his chopsticks and took a sip of water to moisten his parched throat, with a hunch, knowing what Ha Jae-Gun was about to bring up. As he had expected, today"s lunch would turn into a tough fight.

Nam Gyu-Ho cleared his throat a few times. His eyes turned serious, and he looked at Ha Jae-Gun before saying, "About The Breath…"

1. I’m sorry, I can’t come up with a dad joke for this part and translated it accordingly from the raws. But! I will accept suggestions from our readers. The best-fitting dad joke will come in the chapter! ☜

2. This is how the dish looks: Here ☜