— Mr. Ha, I’m contacting you from the Chinese Embassy in Korea. I left you a message because you didn’t answer your phone; I’ll be waiting for you to contact me.1

“Hmm…?”0

Ha Jae-Gun stopped typing on his keyboard and frowned lightly. Why would the Chinese Embassy in Korea reach out to him? What would it be about? 0

Ha Jae-Gun didn’t take too long to think as a call from Oh Myung-Suk came in, which Ha Jae-Gun answered in a heartbeat.0

“Yes, Editor-in-chief.”0

— You've been stuck at home these days; it must be hard on you.0

“You sound happy, Editor-in-chief. It's not that tough or frustrating staying at home. It's nice to play with the cats and work on my novels quietly.”0

— I'm waiting for Human's Malice. I'd be happy if you could send me a synopsis of it.0

“Editor-in-chief, I'm really not giving you an excuse, but I need to begin with character development first. I don't have anything substantial to give you right now, even if I want to.”0

— I'm just saying it. Just treat it as subtly urging you to start on the novel.0

Ha Jae-Gun headed to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee and said, “Actually, I often write better when you urge me, but this is about malice, so writing it is taking a toll on me.0

— It's rare to see you whine, Mr. Ha. Maybe we can meet for drinks when you face writer's block?0

“I'd love that. There are many instances when something just comes to me while we're talking about different things. Oh, right. Editor-in-chief.”0

Ha Jae-Gun recalled the text message he had received a few minutes ago and changed the topic. “I received a message from the Chinese Embassy in Korea.”0

— The Chinese Embassy? What did they...0