The Textbook of a Lover - Chapter 41

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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41.
The Digital Strategy Team manager was the first to begin reporting on the online mall’s performance.
“……The Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate has risen eleven percent compared to the previous month. The rate of abandonment at the payment page has been particularly high.”
“Have you checked the page loading speed?”
“Yes. The average is 2.3 seconds, which is about 0.3 seconds faster than the industry average.”
“If speed isn’t the problem, then there must be an issue with the payment flow itself, wouldn’t you say?”
“That’s not possible. Our payment process has never drawn a single complaint in customer surveys…….”
Cha Kyung’s finger came to a stop on the tablet.
‘That’s not possible.’
The moment those five words struck his eardrums, the empty lot from last night flared back to life in his mind.
Wide-open, innocent-looking eyes.
Looking directly into those eyes, Seong Do-ah had simply erased her own heart from existence.
It was cruel beyond measure.
Already downbeat since morning, Cha Kyung’s mood plummeted even further below rock bottom.
The sacrificial lamb for that foul temper naturally became the Digital Strategy Team manager.
“What do you mean ‘that’s not possible’?”
“I apologize? I meant our payment process wouldn’t have affected the abandonment rate…….”
“Can you stake your career on that?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I’m asking if you’d bet your position on it.”
Frost suddenly descended over the conference room.
Cha Kyung’s tone was always sharp and cold, but today his edge was particularly honed.
He’d spoken with some firmness, true enough—but was that really something to stake a career on?
The employees held their breath and kept their mouths shut, praying the matter would end quickly, but Cha Kyung’s barrage didn’t stop there.
“Competing department stores complete their purchases with a single fingerprint scan. E-commerce platforms are already pushing ‘One-Second Payment.’ And yet you sit there assuming, based on nothing but a survey, that it has no impact?”
“Executive Director, I apologize for my inadequacy. I’ll investigate that area more thoroughly.”
“There’s no such thing as ‘impossible’ in this world. How do you expect any progress if you work with such careless assumptions?”
“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind going forward.”
The manager withdrew, wiping cold sweat from his brow. Cha Kyung, by contrast, felt slightly relieved.
‘Impossible? With no evidence? Just gauging another person’s heart on nothing but your own whim?’
Having sacrificed one subordinate, Cha Kyung found his mood marginally improved and waited for the next item on the agenda.
Right on cue, the Marketing Team leader smoothly opened his mouth as if to refresh the atmosphere.
“Executive Director, we’ve confirmed the date for the Abe advertising preview.”
“Go ahead.”
“It’s been set for next Tuesday. The time is ten in the morning, and we’ve arranged to hold it in the Main Office 4th Floor Small Conference Room.”
“How many people from Abe will be attending?”
“The Abe CEO, team leaders from each department, and some operational staff from each section.”
“Give me the list.”
Cha Kyung ran his eyes down the report he’d been handed.
[Creative Team, Associate Seong Do-ah.]
Those three words lingered in Cha Kyung’s field of vision for one beat longer than necessary.
As Cha Kyung stared at the roster, the Marketing Team leader asked carefully.
“Is there anything that needs to be changed?”
“No. Keep it as is.”
With that brief word, the meeting moved on to the next item. The chill that had gripped the conference room moments before began to lift away, layer by layer.
* * *
A small mountain rose up on the bed—a pile of clothes that Seong Do-ah had shed.
She stood before the mirror, buttoning up the fifth blouse before pressing her forehead with her hand halfway through.
“I really need to go shopping. Why do I have nothing to wear?”
Even as she said this, her fingertips drifted toward a pale mint dress.
Adjusting angles before the mirror in contemplation, Seong Do-ah soon let out a long sigh and pressed her head.
“This isn’t a spring picnic. You’re going to work. Get it together, Seong Do-ah!”
In the end, she settled on the ivory shirt she’d been wearing since her first year at the company and black slacks.
Nothing beat them for practicality and comfort.
“Today you’re going to an advertising preview at Hyunsin Department Store. Don’t let your mind wander on pointless thoughts.”
Seong Do-ah had been assigned to deliver the presentation at the mid-stage advertising preview being held in the Hyunsin Department Store Conference Room.
In attendance would be all Abe staff involved with Hyunsin Group’s advertising, the CEO, and from Hyunsin’s side, Marketing Team staff and several executives.
And Cha Kyung was to be one of those attending executives.
The realization struck her suddenly—that’s why she was being so particular about her clothes right now.
She deliberately chose an outfit that was not merely plain but almost shabby, to convince herself otherwise.
“How could it be? There’s no way someone that accomplished would fall for someone like me. He wouldn’t lie, but…….”
It was obvious he’d mistaken a different emotion for attraction, or it was just some fleeting feeling that would evaporate soon enough.
“If I got swept up in this, I’d only end up hurting myself.”
Seong Do-ah steeled herself to remain unmoved and centered, turning toward the entrance when doubt crept in once more.
“My lip color is too dull. I look like a patient. Should I change to something brighter?”
She found herself muttering unconsciously as she peered into the mirror above the shoe rack.
Startled by what her unguarded heart had revealed, Seong Do-ah bit her lip firmly as if to fortify her resolve, then shut the front door with a decisive bang.
* * *
Outside the Hyunsin Department Store Conference Room, the morning was bustling.
“Is the projector set up?”
“Working on it now, Deputy Manager.”
“Why are the seats arranged differently from the floor plan? Get the plan over here.”
“I’ll check the sound system.”
Amid the commotion, Seong Do-ah opened her laptop and reviewed her presentation materials once more.
She’d memorized them enough for them to be burned into her brain, yet the anxiety refused to leave her entirely.
“Seong Do-ah, want to run through a rehearsal for a moment?”
At Deputy Manager Jung’s request, Seong Do-ah took her place before the screen.
From her lips flowed perfectly prepared remarks that matched the slide transitions precisely.
“Seong Do-ah, come here a second, would you?”
Just as Seong Do-ah was beginning her next line, Hye-jung called her over.
“What’s missing, ma’am?”
“This isn’t what I’m looking at. You’re the presenter today—your face has zero life to it! Look in the mirror. How do your complexion and lip color look?”
So that’s why—she’d deliberately done a rushed makeup job, not wanting to look her best.
Seong Do-ah’s face in the mirror was truly pale and lifeless.
“Come with me.”
“But the client will be here soon…….”
“Ten minutes. Let’s go.”
Before Seong Do-ah could protest, Hye-jung grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the restroom.
Hye-jung opened her own cosmetic pouch and began removing makeup from inside.
“You really don’t have to go this far…….”
“Don’t move. You’re distracting me while I’m applying makeup.”
At that, Seong Do-ah had no choice but to sit still and let Hye-jung work on her face.
The dull makeup was wiped away, replaced with a brighter foundation and spring-toned contouring that bloomed fresh across her skin.
“This is a bit…….”
“This is how it should be.”
Finally, Hye-jung applied a vibrant apple-red Lipstick to Seong Do-ah’s lips, the shade so vivid it seemed ready to drip with tart-sweet juice.
“You look beautiful.”
Isn’t that too red?
Unable to voice her concern to a satisfied Hye-jung, Seong Do-ah emerged into the hallway with an embarrassed expression.
“Oh, Seong Do-ah.”
“You look great. You should wear makeup like this all the time.”
“You’ve got real presenter energy now.”
As if she’d deliberately gone to all this trouble. Seong Do-ah, flustered, couldn’t muster a proper response to the praise.
Once she stepped into the conference room, she kept her head down, eyes fixed on her presentation materials, when the door to the small meeting room soon opened and Hyunsin Department Store staff began filtering in one by one.
The first person she encountered was Kyung-jun. The moment he spotted her, his brows furrowed sharply.
He stared at her openly for a moment with that penetrating gaze, his expression turning into something indecipherable before he passed her by.
“Ah, Seong Do-ah. You’re the presenter today, right? That must make you nervous.”
It was Park, the Marketing Team leader at Hyunsin Department Store and Kyung-jun’s superior, who addressed her.
“Looks like the presenter really put in effort. You seem quite different today.”
“You think so? I feel like I look completely different.”
“Your boyfriend is here, after all!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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