Chapter 46
Another busy day passed at YoonDam Publishing. While teaching Sua about editing, her supervisor, Sung-hoon, was nearby, and in the background, Chae-young was complaining to an author over the phone. Another senior rushed out of the office, saying he needed to go to the printing house.
“Today, I’ll teach you how to layout using this publishing editing software.”
“Oh, okay.”
Sua prepared her notebook to take notes as Sung-hoon, her supervisor, spoke. It had been almost a month since she started working, and she still couldn’t handle the workload of one person.
Managing author manuscripts was fine since she didn’t have any assigned authors yet. Proofreading was essential, so that was okay too, but it didn’t end there.
Editing, printing, schedule management, outsourcing design, and more. There was so much to learn.
YoonDam Publishing was a small place, so editors handled layout themselves. There was software for the job, but Sua, being new to it, took quite some time to get used to it. So, she tried her best to settle in quickly. On days like today, when Sung-hoon taught her, she practiced at home after work, and on other days, she watched instructional videos.
As Sung-hoon paused during their conversation and looked at Sua.
“Do you understand? I might have spoken too quickly just now.”
“No, it’s okay. I’ve read reference books before, so I’m familiar. You mean, rotating this and clicking this icon executes it, right?”
“Oh, you’re doing well.”
Seeing Sua keeping up, Sung-hoon smiled brightly.
“You’ll become our company’s ace in no time. Even though work must be tiring, you study at home too.”
“Uh…”
Blushing at Sung-hoon’s praise, Sua replied, “It’s just words, but thank you.”
“No, really. I’ve seen you for over a month now, and it’s rare to find someone as hardworking and sensible as you. Honestly, I had some prejudice at first because you’re from a chaebol family…”
Sua gave a bitter smile at his words.
If she were a typical chaebol daughter, she definitely wouldn’t be doing this. But Sua wasn’t in that typical situation.
The past month.
Since joining the publishing company, Sua had been busy with work. It was partly because the work was interesting, and partly because she desired to become a regular employee. But most of all…
She didn’t want to think about anything else.
As Sua’s gaze drifted from the monitor to her phone.
Her older brother Jiheon still contacted her almost every day. Sometimes he tried to advise and comfort her, sometimes he demanded money.
The fortunate thing was that Jiheon hadn’t contacted Hyun-oh yet. By advising and comforting her, he could still stall. She had to postpone it as much as possible until the divorce.
There hadn’t been any contact from her younger sister Jisoo yet, but soon… she would get in touch.
As it struck twelve, Sung-hoon closed the program window and looked at Sua.
“Sua, it’s already lunchtime. Let’s stop here for today.”
“Oh, yes. Thank you for today.”
Lost in her thoughts for a moment, it was already lunchtime. Whenever she let her guard down even a bit, this happened.
“Do you want to go out for lunch?”
“Uh…”
Sua opened her diary. She checked the schedule written for today, then raised her head.
“No, I have a lunch meeting today.”
“Oh, with the CEO?”
“Yes.”
Today was the first day Sua would accompany a writer meeting. Although she hadn’t been assigned to any writers yet since she was still a probationary employee, YoonDam had decided to show her how writer meetings were conducted. Sung-hoon nodded.
“Who’s the other party today?”
“Writer Han So-jeong.”
Today’s writer meeting partner was the young writer Han So-jeong. In her thirties, she had recently signed a film adaptation contract for one of her works and had also received a favorable response for her books published by YoonDam, resonating among young readers.
“I’m worried if I’ll do well.”
“If it’s Writer Han So-jeong, you’ll be fine. She’s quite reserved, and she’s close with the CEO.”
“I’ll just sit quietly.”
“Haha. Writers tend to talk about this and that.”
Despite Sung-hoon’s encouragement, Sua’s nervous face didn’t relax easily.
—
“As Sung-hoon said, ‘Writers tend to talk about this and that.'”
As Sung-hoon predicted, So-jeong took a keen interest in Sua, the new editor.
“Sua, your name is so pretty. Like the name of a female protagonist in a novel.”
Tall and slim like a model, So-jeong scrutinized Sua’s face while holding a teacup. Sua lowered her eyelashes at her sudden compliment.
“Oh, really? You’re so kind to say that.”
“Sua, how do you write your name in Hanja?”
“It’s written as ‘빼어날 수에 아리따울 아예 (Exceptionally beautiful).'”
At that, So-jeong clapped her hands in approval.
“‘빼어나게 아름답다 (Exceptionally beautiful).’ Right, Sua is indeed beautiful. Your name suits you.”
“Oh, no… Thank you so much. You’re too kind to me.”
As Sung-hoon had mentioned, So-jeong was modest and cheerful. She was entirely different from the image Sua had of a writer. In fact, Sua had read several of So-jeong’s books before. They were rather melancholic, but in reality, she was lively. Recalling So-jeong’s novels in her memory, Sua whispered to herself.
“I’ve been a fan of yours from the start, so it’s an honor just to meet you.”
“Oh, really? Have you read my books?”
“Yes. I’ve read everything from your debut novel, ‘Friday of Glory,’ to your latest work.”
“How were they?”
So-jeong asked with interest.
“At first, I thought he was an older gentleman. The way he described everyday life in the 1960s was so detailed. Especially the scene where the protagonist, Yeong-suk, gets scolded harshly after going to fetch makgeolli, it brought tears to my eyes without even realizing it.”
Sua’s honest review softened So-jeong’s eyes.
“Thank you.”
“No, I’m the one who should be thankful for writing such good books.”
So-jeong cleared her throat and spoke again.
“No, really, thank you. That scene is the most important to me, so I put a lot of effort into it. It passes by fleetingly in the latter part, and no one pays much attention to it, so I’m really grateful for your praise.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah.”
So-jeong glanced at YoonDam as she sipped her tea. Her gaze conveyed how close the two of them were. Continuing their small talk, So-jeong shrugged.
“I thought YoonDam was just bringing his girlfriend along, but he actually brought an editor.”
Sua’s eyes widened at the unexpected words.
“Girlfriend?”
YoonDam furrowed his brow.
“What are you talking about?”
His rebuke, and Sua’s reaction, made So-jeong also surprised, her lips half open. Her eyes flickered back and forth between YoonDam and Sua.
“Oh, it wasn’t? Oh my, I’m sorry.”
So-jeong raised her hands in surprise.
“I thought you two were dating.”
“Date… Sua is married. Of course, to someone else.”
“Oh… I see. Oh, now that I look, you’re wearing a ring.”
So-jeong blushed, her face turning red from her neck.
“Oh my, what am I saying? I’m really sorry. I misread the atmosphere… Oh, I’m really sorry.”
So-jeong’s apology rambled on.
“No, it’s okay. It’s understandable.”
So-jeong seemed so apologetic that Sua felt embarrassed. Being mistaken for lovers with YoonDam. It was so unexpected that she almost laughed out loud.
“I’ll work hard as an editor in the future. Please take care.”
“Yes, I’m really sorry. Please take care of me in the future.”
So-jeong apologized several times afterward.
—
“The meeting lasted longer than expected.”
On the way back to the office after the meeting.
The lunch meeting, which started with various conversations, eventually delved into discussions about a new novel So-jeong was writing, and by the time it was time to leave, it was already close to quitting time.
“Let’s just leave when we get back to the office.”
“Thank you.”
“Were you more nervous than you thought today?”
YoonDam glanced at Sua while driving. Sua shook her head.
“No, not really. It was nice to meet a writer I admire, and thank you for giving me this learning opportunity. You two seem close.”
“Well, we met in a joint literature club during college, so we’ve been close since then.”
“Ah, I see.”
That’s how they had been close, like siblings, and through that connection, So-jeong had been submitting manuscripts to YoonDam Publishing almost since its inception.
“So-jeong probably said something strange… I bet you were surprised.”
Sua nodded at YoonDam’s words.
“Yes. Oh, I was surprised, but I don’t know why she thought that. It was a bit embarrassing.”
“I used to bring my ex-girlfriend to such occasions, so maybe that’s why.”
“Oh, I see.”
Sua looked out the window as if it were nothing. Thinking about how to spend the rest of the evening, she suddenly heard YoonDam speak casually.
“Also, So-jeong might not have been entirely wrong.”
“What?”
“I’ve actually been interested in you, Sua, even before you joined.”
Sua’s eyebrows furrowed at the unexpected statement, her gaze shifting from the distant clouds to YoonDam.
“Before I joined?”
As if joking, or perhaps being sincere, Sua couldn’t discern from YoonDam’s words.
