LIGHTNOVELWORLD Ch78 - Will That Day Come?
Jeong-oh and Jiheon had dinner at Guk-soon’s restaurant.
Ye-na, who had already eaten, sat next to Jeong-oh, continuously trying to engage her in conversation. There was one reason for this: to prevent Jeong-oh and Jiheon from talking to each other.
Thanks to his rather unkind daughter, Jiheon had no choice but to endure a lonely meal, eating in silence.
Even when it was time to leave after cleaning up the restaurant, Ye-na insisted on walking instead of getting in Jiheon’s car. In the end, Jiheon said goodbye to everyone in front of the restaurant.
Another day without any progress.
However, Jiheon couldn’t bring himself to leave and drove his car in front of Jeong-oh’s house.
He thought it might be better to look for a room nearby since he would be coming and going every morning and evening anyway.
‘Or maybe not. Should I wait a little longer?’
Eventually, he would get married, so it would be better to find a place where they could all live together.
‘Should I buy a building and renovate it?’
What started as a simple thought about getting a room had now evolved into considering purchasing a house and even hiring a contractor for renovations.
As his mind raced ahead, his heart naturally followed. Thinking about life in a new house filled him with excitement and warmth.
A pretty wife, a caring mother, and a cute daughter, all of whom would be even happier in a new home.
A cute daughter…
The daughter who had continuously turned away from him led him back into the depths of despair.
Would there really come a day when we could live in the same house, laughing and chatting together? Would that day truly come?
‘Maybe she takes after her mom; she really makes her dad worry a lot.’
Just like Jeong-oh, Jiheon thought that Jeong-oh and Ye-na resembled each other.
He received a message from Jeong-oh after 10 PM.
[Did you get home?]
“No. I’m in front of the villa.”
[What? Ugh, I can’t stand this.]
Saying she couldn’t stand it, Jeong-oh immediately ran out. As soon as Jiheon reunited with her, he asked about Ye-na first.
“Is Ye-na asleep?”
“Yeah. That’s why I came out.”
Hoo. Jiheon let out a heavy sigh and looked at Jeong-oh.
Seeing his pitiful gaze, Jeong-oh asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, just…”
“……”
“I’m jealous.”
Jeong-oh chuckled softly.
“Is it because Ye-na only likes me?”
“Yeah.”
“Someday, you and Ye-na will be partners. You both have similar tastes.”
Jeong-oh encouraged him with kind words, seeming to understand his feelings. Jiheon smiled bitterly.
***
Will that day really come?
“Honestly, I’ve never felt jealous of anyone in the world. But you have everything I could be envious of: Lee Jeong-oh, Lee Ye-na, and your mother.”
“Are you jealous of my mom too?”
“Of having such a good family.”
Jiheon’s answer made Jeong-oh feel deeply moved.
I want to become part of your family soon.
Even though he had a lot, he sometimes looked so sorrowful as if he had nothing, and she wanted to love this man a lot.
The Next Day.
Jeong-oh went to work with Jiheon as usual.
Seeing Jiheon looking dejected after meeting Ye-na, who had been so cold to him, made her feel pity. Since she thought that for the balance of their family dynamics, if the daughter was cold, the mother should be warm, she agreed to accompany him to the office.
Even though it felt like he was deliberately acting pitiful to lead her into the car.
“Here, here! Let me off here.”
Still, she had to be cautious. Jeong-oh insisted that Jiheon park stubbornly near the office.
“This will look even stranger. Just say we met nearby…”
“Thanks. I’ll see you at the office later.”
Ignoring Jiheon’s persuasion, Jeong-oh got out of the car and hurriedly walked away.
As Jiheon followed closely, he noticed her fierce gaze, and he eventually drove off first. Jeong-oh sighed and looked around, checking for any colleagues who might be nearby.
And, as expected, he spotted Assistant Manager Go Eun-joo in the back. Her hair stood on end.
‘Did she see? What if she did?’
Assistant Manager Go had an expression that showed little change. Even after noticing Jeong-oh, she looked as if it was too much trouble to run over, simply waving her hand as she walked elegantly toward them.
Her every step exuded a certain aloof grace. As she waited for Eun-joo, Jeong-oh felt cold sweat trickling down her back.
“Good morning, Assistant Manager Go.”
“Not really.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to go to the office.”
She didn’t see me!
Her typical sardonic response filled Jeong-oh with gratitude. Although she wanted to sprinkle flower petals on Eun-joo’s path, she couldn’t express it too openly, so Jeong-oh settled for making small talk while internally sighing in relief.
“Haha, right? At least today is Friday, so that’s a relief. We can rest comfortably this week.”
“Who knows?”
“……”
“I have a feeling we’ll be working over the weekend.”
However, Eun-joo’s response remained cold until the end.
Then, an hour later, Jeong-oh realized that Assistant Manager Go Eun-joo had excellent instincts. The AE in charge of Dawan Liquor rushed in.
“Team Leader, have you seen this?”
The AE, holding a tablet PC, showed the screen to Mi-ran. Deputy Manager Park Young-gwang and Jeong-oh also stood beside Mi-ran.
It was an advertisement for a new beer product. However, the package design was very similar to the new product being prepared by Dawan Liquor.
Although the brand image was different, the design wrapping the brand was similar enough to cause confusion at first glance. The advertiser hadn’t registered the package design as a trademark, so it wasn’t protected by law.
“This is a product launching today and will be widely available in stores nationwide. The advertisement will air on all media tonight at 10 PM.”
Mi-ran rubbed her forehead in exasperation. Because the advertiser had failed to decide on the package design, the filming for the advertisement had already been delayed, and now this issue had arisen just after the design was finalized.
“This being a new product makes it even more problematic. Does the advertiser know?”
“Of course. They’re probably in a meeting right now.”
The AE answered Jeong-oh’s question.
“Does the director know?”
At Mi-ran’s inquiry, the AE shook his head.
“Let’s go see them together.”
Mi-ran took the lead, and the AE followed. The remaining team members exchanged gloomy glances.
After modifying the package design more than ten times and barely passing the advertisement draft, such a disaster occurring just two days before filming on Tuesday was frustrating.
In thirty minutes, Team Leader Mi-ran and the AE returned with Jiheon.
“We’ve decided to change the package. We can remove everything except the trademark. However, the designer will send a reference color, so they ask us to use that for the color. We need to send the first draft by 6 PM tonight. Let’s try to get approval in one go if possible.”
Jiheon spoke decisively. Sighs could be heard from all directions. The weekend was about to vanish just like that.
Jeong-oh also felt disappointed. She wouldn’t be able to keep her promise to go to Gunsan with Ye-na. Realizing this, Jiheon quietly spoke to Jeong-oh, who was heading to the conference room.
“Just go.”
“Excuse me? Where?”
“Go to Gunsan and don’t work this weekend. This isn’t a task that requires a copywriter.”
“Ugh, Director. Let’s keep work and personal life separate!”
The advertiser was likely so picky that they’d want to modify the TV ad every time the package changed, so it wasn’t necessary.
Jeong-oh, frustrated by Jiheon’s favoritism, entered the meeting.
After finalizing the campaign concept and advertisement drafts, the Production Team 1, which had stepped back, also attended the meeting.
“It’s easy to say, but how are we supposed to change it in just a few hours?”
Team Leader Ahn Chan-seob complained. His frustration wasn’t aimed at the team members but at the client.
Everyone else felt the same way. They had already gone through numerous production meetings, and the ideas were running low.
After a long silence, Mi-ran was the first to speak up.
“We’ll have to add color or patterns around the trademark. This is tough. If we make it too eye-catching, they’ll say we’re ruining the identity, and if we make it less visible, it’ll feel like we did nothing.”
“Ah, how about fake art!”
Drawing inspiration from Mi-ran’s suggestion, Jeong-oh spoke up.
“What if we use fake art, which looks like the brand logo from a distance but reveals a message or other images up close? I think it would fit well with our ad.”
“Hmm, that could work if done well.”
Deputy Manager Park Young-gwang supported Jeong-oh’s idea. Eun-joo and Gi-hun nodded, seeming to agree.
“I’ll give it a try.”
“Alright. Let’s create it and talk again later. I’ll report to the director,” Mi-ran instructed. Thanks to Mi-ran and Jeong-oh, the meeting concluded quickly, although for the designers, it was just beginning.
After the meeting, as Jeong-oh was tidying up the foam board with the previous product package draft attached, Gi-hun approached her.
“Let me take that. I’ll clean it up.”
“No, hurry and go work on your part. You need to take care of yourself, Gi-hun.”
“Oh, this is nothing.”
Gi-hun easily snatched the stack of foam boards from Jeong-oh’s hands.
“Honestly, when I first saw that ad, I was blank, but thanks to you, I feel like I got a spark of inspiration. I truly admire you, Jeong-oh.”
Though he said “admire,” there was more affection and admiration in his eyes than respect.
“Not at all. It’s nothing.”
Jeong-oh awkwardly replied.
Eun-joo silently watched the two. She felt a bit sorry for Gi-hun.
Every time she saw Assistant Manager Lee Jeong-oh, his mouth would be agape, and there were stars in his eyes.
What to do, that’s love.
Song Gi-hun, you’re going to get hurt like that.
“Assistant Go, do you have something to say?”
Noticing Eun-joo’s suspicious gaze, Gi-hun asked. Eun-joo shook her head.
“No. I don’t.”
Fine. It’s not my business anyway.
She didn’t want to be the one meddling in someone else’s complicated love life. At work, she just wanted to focus on her tasks, but she almost fell into the folly of thinking of her teammates as family due to Assistant Lee Jeong-oh’s strange influence.
Ugh. I’ve been too sentimental lately. Individualism is much more comfortable.
Eun-joo shrugged and left first.
The draft sent at 6 PM received feedback relatively quickly. However, it wasn’t approved in one go. The advertiser said they would review the second draft in the morning. The designers were stuck with overtime.
The other team members discussed the rationale for incorporating fake art and the modifications needed for the advertisement due to the package change. Jeong-oh wouldn’t be able to leave until after 10 PM.
Jiheon, who had disappeared for a while, was waiting for Jeong-oh with his car parked in front of the company. Jeong-oh quickly ran to the car, trying to avoid being seen.
“Quick, quick, let’s go. Fast!”
As soon as she got in the car, Jeong-oh shouted while lowering her seat back. Jiheon chuckled at Jeong-oh’s behavior and started the car.
Only after they had driven far from the company did Jeong-oh raise her seat back again.
“I just got a call that Ye-na is asleep. Why were you waiting if you weren’t going to see her anyway?”
“Still, I should take you home. And…”
Jiheon answered Jeong-oh’s question as if it were obvious, then cleared his throat. Jeong-oh instinctively sensed that Jiheon was about to broach a delicate topic.
“Can I go in for just a moment?”
“Huh? To our house?”
“Can I just take a quick look at Ye-na while she’s sleeping and then come out?”
The director, who had always shown a stern and reliable demeanor at the office, now looked like a soft-hearted beast, waiting for her permission with shining eyes.