Sejeong's skin got a wave of chill as she slapped cold water onto her face. She stared into the mirror. 'He can never know,' she whispered to herself. As she locked eyes with hreself in the mirror, her decision solidified until there was no doubt. Yes, it was a dream come true that Jooyoung was a fan of her work, but she had her own reasons why she had to hide her identity, and she wasn't about to risk it all for some 5-seconds-of-fame.
Just then Sejeong's phone rang: Minju.
"Hello?"
"Hey where are you? Manager Seo is asking about where you are, lunch ended 15 minutes ago!"
Sejeong gasped and jolted at the time. 'Crap!' Manager Seo was a known ass when he wanted to be, but that also meant that he was just as competent and recognized for his talents. He was only thirty, a few years older than Sejong, but he'd already climbed the ranks into a manager.
"I'll be right there Minju. Tell Manager Seo that I had a stomachache or something. I have massive constipation!"
Sejeong ran full speed back to the office. Trying to hide the fact that she was out of breath, she made her way to her desk and tried to act as if nothing happened.
"Ms. Sejeong?" She felt a chill climb up her spine and turned around to find Manager Seo, arms crossed, and directly behind her.
'Gosh, is he a ghost or something? I didn't hear any footsteps...'
"Yes, Manager Seo?"
"I believe we have something to discuss, please come see me in my office."
Sejeong glanced over to Minju who shrugged in response. Sure, she was late 20 minutes but it couldn't possible be that big of an issue. Right? She dragged her feet and quietly entered Manager Seo's office.
"Make sure the door's closed," he said.
'God, it is serious. I'm getting a warning, no, worse, I'm getting fired aren't I!' While it was good that Sejeong had a wild imagination for her books, it also meant that she had a tendency to overthink.
"I'm here to talk about—"
"Constipation!"
"...What?"
"Manager Seo, I'm really sorry that I was late, but I really have bad constipation, and, and—"
"Ms. Sejeong, I'm not here to talk about your constipation. I wanted to let you know that 'Daisy' will be holding a meet-and-greet next week."
Manager Seo was one of the very few people that knew about Sejeong's second identity. When she did her interview, he immediately recognized her voice from their phone call meetings.
"Oh...a meet-and-greet? But doesn't that mean I'd have to reveal my face! This wasn't apart of the contract Manager Seo! You know where I stand about hiding my identity."
"I tried to stop it, really, Ms. Sejeong. But the higher ups are desperate to advertise the new book store. That's why the meet-and-greet will be held there. You can wear a mask the entire time and the staff will take every measure to make sure your privacy is respected. And also, we will make sure that you receive the 'appropriate' compensation for your troubles."
Sejeong's tightly woven frown loosened at the word. "Compensation? How much?"
"Twenty," Manager Seo's lips turned into a slight smile, "I know you'll take it."
God damn. He was right.
If there was anything that could make Sejeong move it was money, and twenty thousand was no laughing matter.
Sejeong held her breath and let out a loud sigh.
"You have to promise me that my identity will be protected, okay?"
"Of course we'd do our best for you," Manager Seo grinned and softened his gaze towards her, "our best seller author." He stood up from his chair and made his way closer to her.
"Can I ask you something?" he asked, leaning on his desk behind him
"Depends on what you want to know."
"Why do you bother working here? I know how much you made off your books. You could retire by now, not lift an entire pencil for the rest of you life, and yet, here you are, working in the same publishing company that you practically established."
When Sejeong first contracted with Blue Bird Media, they were a small firm that was barely scraping by. That's probably why they published her in the first place, a nobody, because they were just as desperate as her.
"Because..." Sejeong paused, "because the world needs more authors that know the real world."
Sejeong couldn't read Manager Seo's expression. Confusion? Shock? Curiousity? Either way he seemed satisfied with her answer.
"You always manage to surprise me," he said with a smirk.
"Sorry, what was that?"
He gestured for her to leave and made his way back into his chair, "Nothing, you may go back to your station."