The Textbook of a Lover - Chapter 5

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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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5.
Do Ah sat by the window of the café and checked the time.
The café she was in now was a fifteen-minute walk from the office.
It wasn’t terribly far, but it occupied that awkward middle ground—not convenient for office workers to visit during lunch hour, yet close enough to slip away unnoticed.
“This location is so like Kyungjun. No one notices, and escape routes are plenty. Though I have to admit, he’s always been meticulous about looking after himself.”
They say enemies meet on a single-plank bridge—and of all people, she’d ended up with Kyungjun as a client.
It made her uneasy, yet at the same time, she was oddly glad.
She finally had a chance to face that man directly, rather than perpetually running from him.
Today, she was determined to settle the matter of the stolen money once and for all.
Do Ah was centering herself, breathing steadily, when the café door swung open with a click.
Kyungjun appeared moments later, his expression flat and indifferent as he scanned the space before spotting her. He walked straight toward her table.
For someone who’d gone to such lengths to avoid her, Kyungjun showed remarkably little shame or contrition.
He dropped onto the sofa and immediately pulled an envelope from his pocket, thrusting it at her without ceremony.
Do Ah caught it reflexively, snatching it from his hand.
“What is this?”
She opened the envelope and tilted her head, confused. There was nothing inside but a single sheet of A4 paper covered in dense text—no cash, no bills, nothing but words.
“Read it.”
At his words, Do Ah unfolded the paper.
[Settlement Agreement]
Kyungjun hereby settles all monetary disputes, demands, and claims between himself and Do Ah by making a payment of two million won (₩2,000,000) on this date. Following said payment, should Do Ah contact Kyungjun privately or engage in any invasion of his personal privacy, legal action may be taken.
“What? Two million won?”
Do Ah’s eyes went wide.
Her voice was thick with disbelief.
Kyungjun lifted his chin slightly, as if he’d made some great decision, and spoke to her with that insufferable arrogance.
“I’m conceding. I lose. Here’s the money—sign this, and never show your face to me again.”
With that, he reached into his bag and pulled something out.
She reached for the envelope, wondering if it really contained two million won—
Snap!
Kyungjun slapped her hand away.
“Sign first if you want the money.”
“What?”
“Why would I just hand it over? I need you to sign something—a receipt, at minimum.”
Do Ah alternated her gaze between the envelope and the document, her eyes narrowing as she spoke. “So you’re telling me you’re handing over a mere two million won and demanding I sign a legal agreement?”
Kyungjun’s expression suggested this was the most obvious question in the world.
The sight of that shameless face ignited something in Do Ah—a volcano of fury she’d kept buried suddenly erupted.
“Are you serious? That refrigerator I gave you was worth more than two million won!”
“So what? Legally, I have no obligation to repay you anything. The fact that I’m offering two million won at all—you should be grateful for that.”
So what? What do you mean, so what?
He was reducing thirty-two million, seven hundred thousand won to two million and expecting her gratitude?
He was right about one thing: someone like him would never willingly return money.
But the Do Ah of old—the pushover—didn’t exist anymore.
“Listen to me, Kyungjun. That bridal gift you defrauded me out of under the pretense of marriage came to thirty-two million, seven hundred thousand won. I’m going to recover every last cent of it.”
Kyungjun let out a scornful laugh.
“And how exactly do you plan to do that? Show up at our company again and throw a tantrum? You think your antics hurt me? All that’ll happen is you’ll look like a madwoman. That’s it.”
Funny—so that’s why he’d hidden away in his office like a coward during her protest, too afraid to even glimpse the lobby?
Do Ah savored his fear, but privately, she felt a sting of disappointment that despite everything she’d done, she’d inflicted no real damage.
“You think I’ll let you push me around forever? If you won’t settle this fairly, you’d better prepare yourself. You’re about to learn what real client abuse looks like.”
With that, Kyungjun quickly swept the envelope from the table and left.
As his figure disappeared through the door, Do Ah’s heart began hammering harder than before.
‘Surely I haven’t actually made things worse for myself…?’
* * *
A few days later, dusk had already settled outside the office windows. In the mostly empty office, Do Ah sat alone at the only illuminated desk, mechanically clicking her mouse.
Suddenly, the office door slid open with a soft sound, and a voice reached her.
“Do Ah, more overtime?”
Do Ah looked up at the unexpected voice and found Seon Yeong standing there.
“Yes. Manager, what brings you back? I thought you were heading straight home after your client visit?”
“I was planning to, but I left something behind.”
Seon Yeong scanned the office briefly, then tilted her head slightly.
“But why are you always the one doing overtime? Na Hee finishes up and leaves right away. Aren’t you both working on the same project?”
That’s what I’d like to know, Manager.
Why does everyone else get to leave on time while I’m stuck here every single night?
The events of four days ago replayed in Do Ah’s mind like a film strip.
“You said you wanted ideas to capture the younger demographic, not a campaign that chases away all your existing customers. You really have no sense of balance.”
“This is so outdated! Way too outdated! How do you even work in advertising with taste this dull, Do Ah?”
Since Kyungjun had explicitly declared his intention to abuse his client power, he’d already rejected Do Ah’s proposals four times over.
And as if determined to crush her spirit, he seized every opportunity to pick apart her ideas and hurl insults.
If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have landed this job in the first place—yet here you are, acting superior.
That wasn’t just venting; it was absolute truth.
Back in university, she’d found it frustrating watching Kyungjun and Na Hee drift aimlessly through their fourth year without direction.
So she’d quietly added their names to an advertising competition she was entering, and then worked tirelessly on the project herself. It placed second.
On the strength of that credential, Do Ah and Na Hee were hired by ABE, while Kyungjun eventually landed a position at Hyun Shin Department Store after some job-searching.
‘That’s not even the half of it. I must have written dozens of cover letters and résumés for him.’
All that sacrifice had come to nothing—like tending a crop only to feed it to a dog.
Now Kyungjun was using the very career she’d built for him to crush her under his heel.
‘If I’d known, I would’ve gone to a major corporation’s in-house team instead of an agency. Better yet, why did I ever take those deadweights to the competition in the first place? Mind your own business, Do Ah.’
But spilled water couldn’t be gathered back, no matter how much regret pooled in her chest.
While Do Ah wrestled with self-recrimination, Seon Yeong had located what she’d come for and was preparing to leave.
She glanced at Do Ah with an apologetic expression and said, “I have something to attend to at home, so I’ll head out first, okay? You finish up and go home soon too.”
Once Seon Yeong left, the office fell silent again.
Do Ah gazed up at the ceiling and exhaled a long, weary sigh.
“What am I doing with my life? I can’t even get my money back—instead, I’m being harassed because of it…… Do Ah, you’re pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.”
Even as she choked back tears, her hand continued clicking the mouse without pause.
Then, a message notification suddenly popped up on her screen.
[Kyungjun, Hyun Shin Department Store Marketing Team 1: You’ve revised the proposal by today, right? I need to present it in tomorrow’s meeting, so come by in the morning and brief me on it.]
Ugh—
If he were standing in front of her right now, she’d smash the back of his skull.
* * *
‘I never thought I’d come back here.’
Do Ah now stood in front of the Hyun Shin Department Store Lobby. Today was the day of a meeting that would include the client and the entire team.
Just one week ago she’d been here, and the place hadn’t changed at all.
The floors gleamed so brightly they seemed to shine; the ceilings soared impossibly high; the ornamental sculptures were just as elaborate, and people rushed back and forth with the same hurried energy.
‘Surely no one will recognize me?’
One week ago, she’d worn a ridiculous wig and dark sunglasses, wielding a megaphone to send this lobby into absolute chaos.
That person, now dressed in a neat blouse and a knee-length skirt, crossing the lobby with quiet composure—no one could have imagined they were the same.
Still, she wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible.
She swallowed the tightness in her chest and turned toward the conference room for partner companies when—
A voice cut across the lobby’s center, cold and low, like a blade sliding through her heart.
“What are you doing here?”

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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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