….

  April 4th, 2010.

  .

  ["So, how is the new pce treating you?"]

  Gwendolyn's voice crackled through the phone, intrusively. ["Wait-! I even call it just a house? Seems like you have gone all-in on this work from home philosophy."]

  Regal chuckled, leaning ba his chair. "Oh, now you are asking? It's beeen days since I moved in, Gwen. Are you always te to che?"

  There was a faint note of modignation in his voice, the kind of subtle pint that wasirely unserious.

  …and Gwendolyn caught onto it immediately.

  She also uood the reason behind it - they had both been sed with work tely, their packed schedules leaving little room for more than the occasional quick meetings.

  Regal let the pause linger for a beat, then added with a smirk she could practically hear. "And what's that I am hearing, jealousy? You could always get one for yourself, you know. sidering how much you love napping in your office."

  Her ugh crackled through the li that ent, but he didn't dwell on it.

  Resting his neck, his thoughts flickered to their first meeting in her not so 'professional' appearance.

  That image had stuck with him, more than he cared to admit.

  ["Regal?"] Her voiapped him back, impatient but curious. ["You there?"]

  "Yeah." He replied quickly, clearing his throat. "Still here. What were you saying?"

  ["About your new pce…"]

  "Right, the new pce."

  His gaze drifted to his surroundings.

  The new pce was undeniably a step up from his previous ft.

  Spacious, almost to the point of excess for someone living alone.

  But, of course, it wasn't designed just for him.

  This was more than a home - it art of his work, a blend of personal and professional.

  The building wasn't far from his previous apartment, but the differen yout was striking.

  This ft had a proper kit, a living area, a bedroom with an attached bathroom, and, most importantly, his office.

  The first thing aiced upoering was the workroom.

  A loangur table domihe space, surrounded by chairs, and a projeounted on the wall.

  The room had seen its fair share of activity retly, serving as the venue for the final reading sessions.

  Papers, ptops, ay coffee cups told tales of long hours aed discussions.

  At the back of the space was a door leading to the living quarters, nothiravagant, just practical and funal.

  For most visitors, the iitial part of the ft preseself as strictly a workpce, a space focused entirely on work. But ohat door opehe atmosphere ged. It was there his house truly began.

  Regal g the clock.

  Eight hours.

  That was all the time left before shooting began, with yesterday marking the finish of three reading sessions he had pnned.

  "Anyway." Regal said, breaking the silence. "I got an iing message today. It's from a publishing pany. Apparently, they are ied in buying the ic adaptatihts to the web novels."

  ["Huh…"] Gwendolyn's voice sounded deliberately ued. ["What's new about that? Didn't you say you have had a few offers before?"]

  "Yep, nothing unusual." Regal replied, his tone equally nont.

  For a moment, her of them spoke, but then Gwendoly out a soft whistle. ["So… what did you decide to do?"]

  Gwendolyn tried to sound offhand, but the words came out a little too carefully measured, betrayihoughts - though she was usually posed, the sudden shift in the versatio her feeling unsteady.

  She had inally po address this ht, to ask him directly for the rights as she boated with Maggie, but wheuation came t it up to him, uainty crept in.

  Would he think she was using their retionship to her advahat thought alo her mind spiraling, filling it with doubt.

  So instead of tag the subject head-on, she had decided to take a more cautious route.

  A professional one.

  As part of her pn, Gwendolyn had made Maggie send a colboration email, not from her personal at, of course, but through Everleaf Publishing's official els.

  The email had been addressed to the author 'LIE12o', rather than tag him directly as someone she knew personally - just like any other panies approached and got rejected.

  By now, that email should have reached him.

  If the publishing pany Regal mentioned right now was indeed Everleaf, then he was teasing her. And if that were the case, it meant he was fully aware of her little ploy and was dragging it out for his amusement.

  "Nah, not telling." Regal responded with a sly grin, his voice holding just the fai hint of mischief.

  ["Agh! Just say it already!"] Gwendolyn's patienapped as she burst out.

  Regal's grin only wide that. "Why so eager, Gwen? You seem awfully ied in this for someone who just acted like it wasn't a big deal."

  Gwendolyn groaned inwardly, trying to mask the flicker of uhat crossed her mind.

  The truth was, other than direg and writing, Regal had been quietly sidering another add-on to his career, something that had been on his mind for some time now.

  He was nearing the pletion of [Solo Leveling] and in the middle of [ORV], which had quickly gaira and was now drawing hat rivaled [Solo Leveling].

  Soon, he was certain it would surpass it.

  It had been a slow burn for [ORV] pared to the quick rise of [Solo Leveling].

  But fal, the potential of both stories in the ic world was undeniable.

  The thought of adapting them into ic writi like the logical step - and that was the reason he even awakened [Drawing] talent.

  For that vision to materialize, the groundwork had to begin immediately.

  The soohe better.

  Regal had long wished for the dream of owning a publishing pany, ohat put 'creators' first.

  The idea of holding onthts and having trol over his work wasn't just a business strategy, it rinciple.

  In an industry where intellectual property was often swallowed whole, owning was everything.

  Initially, it had been a long-term goal, something to tackle further down the line.

  Yet, meeting Gwendolyn had ged his perspective in more ways than one.

  Falling for her had thrown his carefully paced pns into overdrive.

  Suddenly, the idea of waiting didn't seem as appealing.

  The thought of building something meaningful together with her, both personally and professionally, was too entig to ignore.

  But ironically, just like Gwendolyn, he was also a little hesitant in bringing up the topic.

  He knew Everleaf Press had only retly found its footing after weathering a difficult period.

  Gwendolyn's efforts in cashing out the success of [HP] had brought the pany bato a stable position, and he didn't want to jeopardize that by rushing into something as ambitious as a new publishiure.

  There was always the safer route, colborating with another pany for this one project.

  It would mean fewer risks fwendolyn and Everleaf.

  But Regal didn't like the idea of someone else reaping the rewards of what he created.

  If it were Gwendolyn, though, that was a pletely different story.

  Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that bringing this up now might e across as selfish.

  Pushing the idea too soon, no matter how well-iioned, didn't feel fair.

  Gwendolyn had her own pns and priorities, and he respected that.

  For now, he would keep things lighthearted.

  …well, at least that's what he thought.

  Leaning further bato his chair, he asked. "You wouldn't happen to have any inside information about this publishing pany, would you?"

  He imagihe look on her face, eyes widening, which made him chuckle to himself. But that thought faded quickly.

  Now that the email had e through, everything ged.

  The hesitation he had been nursing just melted away in one swift motion.

  He didn't bother thinking that way anymore. It broke his reservation on relying on her in one full go.

  His attention shifted to the ptop s, where an email from a 'certain' pany remained open, staring back at him.

  It seemed his girlfriend was just as ambitious in her own field as he was in his, a trait he found himself admiring more with each passing moment.

  What caught him off guard, though, was how perfectly this ambition lined up with Gwendolyn's oirations for Everleaf.

  Whehought about it, though, it made perfect sense.

  Gwendolyn, with her venturesome trait, was always looking to think bigger, to pave the way for a future that wasn't just reactive but proactive.

  She envisioned Everleaf not just as a pyer but a dominant for new, uncharted territories - ics.

  And now, he realized, it was his turn to make it a reality.

  A flicker of focus crossed his face as his gaze drifted toward the ptop oable.

  The s dispyed his author's email at, 'LIE120', with a freshly posed message.

  His index and middle fingers rested lightly on the keyboard, poised over the enter key.

  The cursor hovered over the paper rocket i, the symbol of a message ready to send.

  Then, without hesitation, he pressed the key.

  The faint chime signaling the email's departure echoed in his mind as he straightened up, sliding one hand casually into his pocket while the other still held his phone.

  "Hey Gwen…" He said, his voice calm but resolute.

  "Maybe we should stop beating around the bush about these kinds of situations, especially if it es up again iure." A soft smile tugged at his lips, equal parts teasing and sincere.

  ["What are you tal–!"]

  CREAK–!

  Gwendolyn began to respond, but her words were abruptly cut off as the door to her office swung open without warning.

  ["GWEN!"] Maggie's unmistakable voice carried through the room, brimming with urgency.

  "Huh, looks like you are about to get busy. I will call you ter, babe."

  ["Wait! Regal–"]

  Reizing the void uanding what was about to happen, Regal chimed in and ehe call before she could finish her question.

  ….

  ["Huh, looks like you are about to get busy. I will call you ter, babe."]

  Gwendolyn blinked, her brow furrowing in fusion. What is he on about?"Wait! Regal–"

  Tut–!

  She tried to stop him, but it was too te.

  "Tsk…" Her tongue clicked before tossing her mobile onto the desk with an exasperated sigh.

  "Who were you talking to? No, wait, never mind that." Uo catch Gwendolyn's annoyance, Maggie strode to her desk with a tablet in hand.

  "I just got a response from the author, LIE120!" She reported excitedly, tapping the s for emphasis and holding it out for the party to see.

  Gwendolyn g the s, her i piqued for a sed.

  But her focus quickly shifted as her thoughts drifted to the so-called author's st line she was talking to, causio mutter under her breath with a frustrated pout. "That idiot. Pying around with me."

  "...I just wao wish him luck for tomorrow's filming, and I ended up doing everything but that..."

  Her self-pining was lost on Maggie, who was clueless about the situation and simply shrugged, unsure of the details but more than willing to move on.

  She was curious, sure, but the email in her hands was more pressing now.

  She had her own focus to shift to.

  …..

  Meanwhile, Regal stared at the now-bnk email s on his ptop, the cursor blinking like it was mog him.

  "Maybe I should have just expi to her properly." He muttered, his fingers idly brushing the ptop's touchpad. A faint grin tugged at his lips. "She won't actually bite me the ime we meet… right?"

  The thought hung in the air.

  But Regal wasn't oo dwell. He gave his head a quick shake, as though tossing the notion out entirely.

  The deed was done, and there was no going baow.

  He reached for his wired earphones, plugged them in, and hit py on the song he had been listening to before the call.

  .

  ….

  [To be tinued…]

  ★─────??★??─────★

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