Gaining Reaction [Part 1]

The next morning, Jaegun was able to let out a relieved sigh after checking his bank account on his phone.

A down payment of about 2.1 million won had been deposited.

Thank god...!

He had received the royalties he would get after publishing the first and second series as an advance fee. Although he couldn’t shake the feeling that it didn’t mean much, he felt much better since he had been so desperate for money.

God really helped me this time.

Today was his father’s birthday.

He’d thought he was going to have to go empty handed, but now he was able to buy a gift because of the down payment.

“Rika, I’m so sorry, but please stay home for one day. I can’t take you with me since my parents really don’t like animals. I’ll come right back.”

“Meow,” Rika replied, as if she understood. She hopped on the bed and curled up on the pillow.

Jaegun rushed to wash, got dressed, and left the house. His family’s house was in Suwon, about an hour and a half away by subway.

It’ll be better to give him cash instead.

Jaegun had thought about buying a gift, but he changed his mind. He didn’t want to risk getting something that his father didn’t like.

His relationship with his father was completely different from that with his mother and sister. His father was always cold to him, and even when Jaegun was young, he had never offered kind words.

After getting off at Suwon Station, Jaegun withdrew 300,000 won and put it in an envelope. He also stopped by the bakery and bought a fresh cream cake. His father wouldn’t eat the dessert—it was for his mother and sister, who enjoyed sweet things.

Jaegun arrived at his family’s apartment building and pressed the bell. The sound of slippered footsteps came closer, and the door opened.

“What happened? How come you’re this early?”

His sister, Jaein, looked back at the clock on the wall. It had just passed 2 P.M.

Jaegun laughed and took off his shoes. “What were you up to?” he asked.

“I was resting since it’s my day off.”

When he looked at the kitchen, he quickly found out that she was lying.

Galbi-jjim was boiling in a pot, and the dining table was covered with the ingredients for making japchae. It was clear she had been cooking since the early morning.

“Did you eat lunch? No, probably not. Sit down.”

“Where’s Mom?”

“She went hiking with Dad. They should be coming back soon. Eat first.”

“Okay.”

Jaegun pulled out the chair and sat at the dining table.

Jaein made rolled eggs, fried ham, and took out spicy fermented squid and kimchi, then scooped rice. Instantly, a delicious meal had been created, all of which were Jaegun’s favorite side dishes.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“Eat. Tell me if you need more rice.”

His sister’s cooking, which he hadn’t tasted in a while, was still the same. It held deep flavors that no restaurants could recreate. Jaegun had suggested a few times that Jaein should start a restaurant, and he’d meant it. She was that good at cooking.

“Is it good?”

“Why are you asking when you know the answer?”

“Remember to eat properly even though you live alone.”

“All right.”

“It’d be better if you moved back home, but...”

“You know Father doesn’t like me.”

“That’s why I couldn’t finish the sentence, dummy.”

“Jaein.”

“Huh?”

Jaegun put down his spoon for a moment. After he swallowed the bite in his mouth, he continued. “I think things are gonna go well.”

“Yeah? Something happened, didn’t it?”

Jaegun looked down and smiled shyly.

Slapping Jaegun’s thigh, Jaein rushed for an answer. “Seriously, don’t make me wait. Tell me. Now.”

“The editor praised my writing.”

“Really? It’s the editor you mentioned before over the phone, right? The one famous for being strict.”

“Yeah. He said it was fun to read. He even gave me a big down payment. Oh, so here.”

Jaegun took out the cash envelope from his chest and handed it to Jaein.

“This is money I wanna give to Father, but you should give it to him since he wouldn’t take it if I did.”

“Okay...”

Jaein took the envelope. “How much is this?” she asked, feeling the thickness. She peeked inside. “Whoa, it’s 300,000 won!”

“Don’t look too surprised.”

“Hey, take some out. You can only give him 100,000 won.”

“Agh, Jaein. Don’t.”

“You need to worry about your life first. Don’t push yourself. No need to act prideful in front of me.”

Jaegun shook his head, pressing down Jaein’s hand.

“I’m not trying to act prideful. Think about how miserably I’ve been living. Would I really care about that?”

“Jaegun...”

“300,000 won? This is nothing. Soon, I’ll bring 3 million, no, even 30 million won. Please don’t say anything. Just accept it. This isn’t pushing myself. I can give to our father.”

Jaein dropped her head, startling Jaegun. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently.

“You’re trying to cry again. Don’t cry. If you cry, I’m gonna leave.”

“I’m not crying. I just got dust in my eye.”

“Don’t lie. Dust, my ass.”

When Jaein lifted up her head, she was smiling bitterly. Her nose was red.

“You’re amazing, my brother.”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m a kid. You’re only three years older than me.”

“Only three years? Hey, I’ve eaten at least 3000 more bowls of rice than you, all right?”

“So that’s why you’ve gotten this fat.”

“Hey, are you kidding me? I’m exactly 50 kilos! You come here right now.”

“Ugh, I was joking. I can’t breathe!”

Jaein had her arm around Jaegun’s neck from behind. The sound of the doorbell came from the entrance door behind them.

“You should be grateful for Mom and Dad.”

Jaein went to the entrance and opened the door. Jaegun also stood up, looking toward the entrance. Their parents were walking in, wearing hiking clothes.

“Hello.”

“Oh, Jaegun. You came early today!”

As soon as his mother took off her shoes, she ran and hugged Jaegun.

Behind her, his father was slowly taking off his hiking shoes. He cleared his throat.

“Why are you so thin? You still only eat ramyun every day, don’t you?”

“No, I eat well. Why are you so skinny then?”

“Are you making fun of me? I’ve gotten so fat these days. Honey, Jaegun’s making fun of me, isn’t he? He says I look skinny.”

Father didn’t answer. After taking off his shoes, he walked to the living room and passed Jaegun with a straight face.

“Ugh, that man... You understand. He drank makgeoli.”

“I’m totally fine.”

“I’ll go check on him. Play with your sister.”

Mother tapped Jaegun’s butt and followed Father into the room.

The door closed, and the conversation between Father and Mother could be heard. The voices slowly became louder and shortly changed to raised voices.

“Do you really have to be like this even on your birthday?! How would that make Jaegun feel? Can we please just be civil today?”

“Who cares about how he feels? Did anyone tell him to come here? Just seeing his face makes my blood boil! Writing? Ha! A man who can’t even figure out himself keeps trying to write novels with other characters. That pathetic bastard doesn’t deserve to eat. Make him leave! Tell him to go back to his writing!”

“Quit it!”

Jaegun was slowly moving toward the entrance. Behind him, Jaein was putting on her shoes, looking like she would cry at any moment.

“Jaegun...”

Jaein had no words for her brother.

She hadn’t expected their father to be this merciless even on his birthday. He couldn’t handle that his son had taken the path of a writer instead of what he had wanted for him, and that anger clearly still burned within him.

And now, they were all confirming that bitter reality once again.

“Please give my best to Mom. I’m leaving.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll come visit soon when I don’t have work.”

“No need. I’ll call you.”

Jaegun then left the house, turning his back on Jaein’s teary gaze. But as he headed to the subway station, he didn’t feel depressed. His footsteps were powerful and confident.

Wait and see, Father.

Jaegun clenched his jaw while calming his mind.

Before, after an encounter like this with his father, he would drop everything and look for soju. That’s how much it affected him. But it wasn’t the case anymore. Now, he could see the future that had always seemed so blurry.

So he walked in a rush—to go back to his studio apartment and write the next book of his wuxia series.