Eunbi walked ahead, clutching her laptop.
Jin-Seo followed close behind her, trailing into the conference room. It was empty, save for the two of them.
Setting her laptop on the table, Eunbi asked casually, “Jin-Seo, why the look on your face?”
“What look?”
“Like you’ve been chewing on something bitter.”
Jin-Seo was flabbergasted. She had no idea why Eunbi had been picking fights with her all day for no reason.
“Chewing on something? I’m not chewing on anything.”
“Exactly.”
“…….”
“You aren’t, yet you have the face of someone who is.”
“…….”
“Jin-Seo. Let me give you some advice for your own sake. You really should work on your facial expressions.”
“…….”
“It’s not like I’m a higher rank than you because I did something wrong, is it?”
At the mockery wrapped in a faux-thoughtful tone, Jin-Seo clenched her fists.
In a way, was this a relief? At least she had managed to discern Eunbi Chae’s true colors quite quickly again.
*Yes. That’s Eunbi Chae for you.*
*You might think you’ve broken my spirit.*
‘An ajumma never despairs!’
It had been seven years since she began living as a mother in this land. If she leveled up every New Year, that made her Level 7. Her life was complicated enough without someone bullying her. She wouldn’t allow it.
‘I’ll have to put in more effort!’
Jin-Seo felt her fighting spirit burning.
A moment later, the team began to filter into the conference room. A Task Force had been formed for this pitch. Guk-Sun Go, swamped with work, was pulled from Team 2, while Copywriter Eunbi Chae and Graphic Design Team Leaders Si-Nae Jo and Yu-Ri Jo from Team 1 were assigned to the project.
Once the members were gathered, the Account Executive (AE) briefed them on the bidding details.
“The day before yesterday, Team Leader Mi-Ran Seong from Production Team 1 and I visited the client. Sori Telecom, a budget carrier, has developed a new app called ‘Me & Talk.’ They plan to launch a brand advertisement in sync with the app’s release. Think of ‘Me & Talk’ as a simple video calling app. Conventional video calls usually have a slight delay, right? They say ‘Me & Talk’ incorporates technology that dramatically reduces that lag, performing well even in areas with weak signals.”
*Video calls.* Jin-Seo’s eyes lit up.
Since she was a working mom who left Ye-Na in her mother’s care, she used video calls often. She couldn’t do it openly, so whenever she absolutely had to, she would sneak into the emergency stairs or a quiet corner—places that often had weak signals.
‘I hope a good app comes out of this.’
Fluttering with excitement, she began to brainstorm ideas.
In the middle of the briefing, the door clicked open. Jin-Seo’s heart skipped a beat. Ji-Heon Jeong entered, and the room fell silent.
The AE stopped mid-sentence. Ji-Heon gestured for him to continue. “Please, go on.”
“Oh, right.”
As the AE resumed, Ji-Heon sat down next to Eunbi. As luck—or perhaps a very strange coincidence—would have it, the only empty seat was next to Eunbi, directly in front of Jin-Seo. Her focus wavered.
Jin-Seo stole a glance at the pair. Eunbi was smiling, looking like a woman so head-over-heels she didn’t know what to do with herself. A woman in love looked beautiful. They looked well-matched.
*Are they serious?*
Of course they were. No need to ask. That’s why they were getting married.
Seven years ago, the Ji-Heon Jeong she knew was a man extremely vigorous in that regard. He hadn’t cared about the place—whether it was the bed or anywhere else. He was a man who loved to tease; his nature couldn’t have just disappeared.
*If anything, he’d be more intense, not less.*
A woman he’d been dating for a few months couldn’t win against someone from his past.
*Besides, I’m not even a person who exists in this man’s memory anymore.*
Jin-Seo resigned herself and turned back toward the AE. However, one of her cheeks felt strangely hot, as if someone were staring right through her.
*Gasp!*
The moment she turned back, she met eyes with Ji-Heon. Jin-Seo quickly lowered her head to hide in her notebook.
*No, why are you looking at me!*
If you’ve come to a meeting, focus on the meeting—why look at me? With your lover sitting right next to you, no less!
She feared her reaction had been too exaggerated. He had lost his memories of her; perhaps he hadn’t been looking at her at all. Jin-Seo chided herself and lifted her head. Fortunately, no one noticed.
“Text messaging and gaming services will be added, and news and shopping will open sequentially. The app is in beta, so we haven’t accessed it directly. Sori Telecom will contact us soon. Please pay close attention to security. Our competitors are Gwangya Communication, Lulu Media, and Max Planning.”
After the briefing, Eunbi asked, “What is the scale of the bidding?”
“5 billion won for three months, covering both ATL (broadcast) and BTL (out-of-home) advertising. Production costs are separate.”
“That’s good.” Ji-Heon, who had been listening quietly, said with a smile.
Every eye in the room shifted to him. Even then, Jin-Seo felt awkward, as if Ji-Heon were still staring at her. *What’s so good about it? Why are you saying such burdensome things while looking at me?*
It felt like he was glaring at her, or examining her minutely. Jin-Seo was on pins and needles the whole time, terrified someone would notice.
*
Every time she went to work, she felt like she aged a year.
It was well past 9:00 PM when Jin-Seo finally arrived home. Ye-Na, who had been waiting, welcomed her enthusiastically.
“Mommy!”
“Ye-Na, you’re still awake?”
“Yeah! I was waiting for you. Let’s sleep soon.”
Ye-Na pulled on her mother. Jin-Seo beamed at Guk-Sun, who had followed behind, and went into the room.
“Mommy, I laid out the blankets.” Ye-Na said, her eyes heavy. She was such a thoughtful daughter.
“Good job, my princess. Let’s sleep.”
Jin-Seo lay down immediately. Ye-Na embraced her tightly, sniffing her mother’s scent. Jin-Seo gently stroked her hair.
“Did you meet Do-Bin today?”
“Yeah. But Mommy, you know what?”
“What is it?”
“Park Do-Bin keeps following me around. It’s so annoying, I could die.”
Ye-Na lifted her head. Even while saying it was annoying, a clear smile lingered on her lips in the darkness.
*Oh, so cute. She’s so pretty, it’s no wonder she’s popular.*
Ye-Na was the strength that kept Jin-Seo going.
“Did you teach Do-Bin how to play Baduk today?”
“Mommy, the teacher is the one who teaches Baduk. We’re both learning from the teacher.”
“That’s right. My apologies.” Jin-Seo sighed.
*I wish I had a teacher who could teach me about life, too. Someone who could give me the right answers whenever a problem arises.*
After putting Ye-Na to sleep, Jin-Seo went to the kitchen and grabbed a beer. Guk-Sun, who had finished hand-washing the laundry, walked out, glared at her daughter, and placed some dried squid in front of her.
*Sigh.* It was a night where her sigh grew heavy even with her favorite snack right in front of her.
“Are you going to sink the floor with all that sighing?” Guk-Sun asked grumpily.
“Mom, should I just quit the company?”
“Sure. Quit.” Guk-Sun answered easily. “Quit everything. I should quit the restaurant, too—”
“No, why would you quit? You should just do it with me.”
“What use are you? You can’t even cook a pot of rice properly.” Guk-Sun pointed out. “If only you had inherited even a bit of my cooking skills.”
“You said it was better not to be good at cooking, Mom. You said my hands would suffer later.”
“I said that because I was worried you’d have to endure a difficult life with in-laws.” Guk-Sun’s tone softened. “Because I had nothing to pass down, I passed down my own fate. I did.”
Jin-Seo felt she had said something unnecessary. Her mother had lived her life doing the best she could, and it pained her to see her mother feeling sorry for that. The mother who raised her alone was the sun and the path for Jin-Seo.
Although she had ended up following the same path, Jin-Seo was determined to prove through her own life that it would never be a tragedy. Because she was Guk-Sun Lee’s treasure and her pride.
“Why? Is the company no good?” Guk-Sun asked with concern.
“No, it was just something I said on a whim.” Jin-Seo laughed it off.
If asked if the company was bad, she truly had nothing to say. Aside from Ji-Heon, every condition was superior to her previous jobs. Ji-Heon Jeong. He alone was just too overwhelming.
*
The weather was getting hotter.
Thinking it was too early for the air conditioner, Jin-Seo pulled out the electric fan. Her two children, Do-Bin and Do-Yun, sat in front of it and sang, their voices scattering against the fan blades. Jin-Seo chuckled.
She picked up Do-Yun, brushed his teeth, and washed his face. Do-Yun was easy. The problem was Do-Bin. Sensing his mother’s plan, he had hidden.
“Park Do-Bin. Come out now. It’s time to wash up.”
“Wash where?” The sound came from the closet. Jin-Seo approached.
“Everything. Brush your teeth, wash your face, hands, and feet.”
“Can’t I just wash my face and not brush my teeth?”
“How can you even say that? Absolutely not.”
*Whoosh!*
“Aaah!”
As Jin-Seo opened the closet, Do-Bin pushed past her and ran away. He threw a tantrum, trying to slip out of her grasp.
“Mom, just today. Just this once.”
“What do you mean ‘just today’? Do you want the cavity bugs to eat your teeth?”
“I don’t want to! I won’t brush my teeth!”
Faced with the thrashing, Jin-Seo finally resorted to her final method. She dropped her voice to a tone so terrifying it would put *Hometown of Legends* to shame.
“Are you going to brush your teeth, or are you going to get hit by Mom?”
“……I’ll get hit.”
“You, come here.”
“Aaah!”
“Why! You said you’d get hit, so why are you running!”
As the second round of tag began, the front door opened. Seung-Gyu returned from work and tried to sneak into the bedroom, but Do-Bin chased after him and hid behind his father.
“Park Do-Bin, come here now. Are you not coming?”
“Dad. Save me. Please save me.”
“Come here while I’m being nice!”
“That’s not being nice!”
Seeing his wife with bloodshot eyes, Seung-Gyu instinctively turned humble and admonished Do-Bin.
“Do-Bin. You have to listen to Mom.”
“I don’t want to! Mom said she was going to hit me!” Do-Bin wailed. But An Jin-Seo was not one to back down.
“If you keep doing this, I’ll tell your friend Ye-Na. I’ll tell her that Park Do-Bin doesn’t brush his teeth and is super dirty.”
At that moment, a miracle occurred.
“Mom, I’ll brush my teeth.”
As if the name ‘Ye-Na’ had a magic spell cast upon it, Do-Bin turned docile. Taking his mother’s hand, he walked into the bathroom on his own. Seung-Gyu’s eyes widened.
*My goodness. Our child has changed. I can’t believe this is my son who eats his own boogers in secret.*
As Jin-Seo came out of the bathroom, exhausted, Seung-Gyu asked urgently.
“Who is Ye-Na?”
“She’s a friend from Do-Bin’s Baduk academy. She’s really pretty, smart, and sensible, too. The director there praises her a lot.”
“Oh. A wonderful child, then?”
“Yes. I hope they stay close friends.”
“Yes. They really should.”
For the first time in a while, Seung-Gyu felt an overwhelming sense of excitement.