An Amazing Gift [Part 3]

One hour... Two hours... Three hours... Four hours...

Jaegun didn’t even notice the passing of time.

Sweat dripped down both temples, and his ten heated fingers had turned red.

Tak!

“Huu...!”

After pressing enter on the last line, Jaegun let out a sigh and leaned back.

When he finally looked around, the room was pitch dark. The world outside the window had already descended well into the evening, with the moon high in the sky.

“Oh my god. Did I work for hours without taking a break?”

When he looked at his watch, he saw that it was past 7 P.M. He couldn’t even recall when he’d started working. Remembering that he’d had a phone call with his sister, Jaegun checked his phone history. The call had been around 11 A.M.

“Eight hours...? Wait, what’s wrong with me?”

He had been completely focused, with not a single stray thought in his mind. He had never written with such passion in his life—he’d almost forgotten about his own existence.

This is fun! The writing completely changed after the revision!

While reviewing the revised text, Jaegun clenched his fist. He felt strangely bold, somehow sure that his editor would appreciate it.

Jaegun had never felt so confident before. Without hesitation, he sent the text to his editor’s email.

Immediately after sending the email, he heard Rika’s crying sound from behind him.

“Oh Rika, I’m sorry. You must be hungry.”

Jaegun was too; he hadn’t eaten a proper meal all day. He quickly put on his clothes, intending to take a walk and buy food for Rika.

“It’s 45,000 won.”

“Excuse me? Is this that expensive?” Jaegun asked shamelessly as he stood at the cash register in the pet shop.

The girl, who appeared to be a part-timer, smiled and answered. “That price is quite affordable for that size. It can be cheaper if you buy it online, but it wouldn’t be a big difference.”

“Ahh, it’s more expensive than I expected...”

“Would you like to buy it?”

“Yes, yes. Here.”

His hand trembled as it pulled out cash from his wallet. He couldn’t help it—he was poor. Rika was cute, but the reality was cruel, and 45,000 won could get him rice and ramyun packets.

“Come again.”

Jaegun left the store, looking dazed. Rika was looking up with her two bright eyes, as if asking him what was wrong.

“Are you making fun of me?”

“Meow.”

“Never mind. What would you know? It’s okay. My sister always told me not to save money on food. You have to eat well to live well. Since you’re now my family... family... Haah, let’s go. I should go home and eat some ramyun.”

With that, Jaegun decided on his dinner and turned around. He walked quickly toward his apartment, constantly talking to the cat on his arm.

“I’m out of eggs. I should get some on the way home. Cracking an egg in ramyun adds protein. It’s the best. If you dunk rice in it, it makes you full enough. You don’t need anything else.”

Vzzz!

The phone in his pocket vibrated. Jaegun pulled it out, thinking it’d be either his best friend Jungjin or his sister. But his eyes widened in surprise.

Why’s he calling me at this late hour?

It was from his editor. He was calling Jaegun back only about thirty minutes after he’d sent the revised text.

Feeling anxious, Jaegun answered. “H-hello?”

“Mr. Ha. Did you revise this in just one day?”

“Huh? Yes, but why? Is there something wrong?”

Jaegun’s voice grew quiet. He clenched his eyes shut, wondering if the editor was implying that it was even worse than before. What would Jaegun do if the editor still didn’t like it, even when he’d thought it was good?

However, the editor surpassed his expectations entirely.

“Wait, why didn’t you write like this before?!”

“Excuse me?”

Jaegun straightened his back, looking shocked at his editor’s bright voice on the other end of the call.

“The story completely changed after you edited a few main settings and flows. It was fun to read.”

“It was... fun?”

“Yes, it was really fun. Do I sound like I’m lying?”

“N-no. No way.”

His editor wouldn’t lie to make him feel good. Jaegun, who had known him for nearly five years, was very well aware of that. If the editor said it was a fun read, then that must have been what he truly thought.

“There are a few typos and grammar errors. It’s not anything serious. I’ll just send this to the editorial department. Is that okay?”

“Oh, yes. That’d be easier for me.”

“We should work on it tomorrow and send it to the printing press. I’ll try to publish the book within four to five days. Oh, by the way, Mr. Ha. I feel awkward and bad for saying this right now, but if you need money, would you like an additional down payment?”

“Down payment? That would be amazing,” Jaegun said excitedly. After spending 45,000 won on Rika’s cat food, he had barely any money left.

A down payment was an advance fee, and the concept was to receive upfront a part of the royalties that you would normally earn after the book sells. If he were a more established writer, he might have requested a higher down payment without hesitation. However, that wasn’t the case for Jaegun. Since he wasn’t a widely selling writer, he couldn’t confidently request a larger amount.

“Okay. We gave you 500,000 won last time, right? I’ll give you the rest of the amount according to the guaranteed number of copies for the first and second series. It’ll be deposited by 10 A.M. tomorrow.”

“Oh, thank you so much.”

“No, thank you for such an interesting read. I look forward to working with you, Mr. Ha. This will do well.”

“I hope so.”

“Trust me. It’ll work out. You should rest tonight.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Jaegun hung up the call. He froze on the spot, a bag of cat food in one arm and Rika in the other.

My writing was fun to read...?

It had been five years since he had published his first book.

He had written three more series since then, but they had all flopped. He couldn’t even find a single positive review on the internet.

He had received real praise for the first time today. This was a significant moment. Being highly praised by an editor notorious in the industry for comments as sharp as a blade and brutal as winter stirred an indescribable and heart-ringing emotion.

Tears fell from both of Jaegun’s eyes.

As the hot tears trickled down, Rika lifted her head. The cat raised her paw and gently nudged Jaegun’s chest, as if trying to offer consolation.

“Rika... He said it was fun to read.”

“Meow?”

“He said my writing was fun to read. He rarely gives positive comments... Seriously, you have no idea how he is... Hrgh... He said... It was fun to... Herghhh...”

The tears dripping down his cheeks were becoming larger and larger.

Jaegun dropped the cat food on the street and tightly hugged Rika in both of his arms.

Rika stayed quiet and still, letting out the occasional meow as if congratulating him. For the first time in a while, the weather no longer felt cold.