ALL BARK NO BITE | SADISTIC BEAUTY SPINOFF

Chapter 55

~ 5th Floor, Main Office, Baleine Books Tower, 184-3, Ihwa-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Wookyung was in the middle of a budget meeting for the editorial expenses. The monthly journal was a hit and their mailboxes were getting flooded. Advertising offers had begun pouring in, encouraging them to reassess competitor advertising rates and to reformulate their own rate card. Wookyung, for one, was relieved to see the engagement it had garnered from their target audience of 13+ and it could be enjoyed by any and everyone. He had already started preparing to diversify the content-

-Adding newer sections to make it appealing to more and more people for subscription. He had finally refocussed the team's attention on more serious, literature of the pure and long novel variety. It was a bit tedious to make the shift from one-shots and amateur genre fiction since they were decidedly new to the game, not that those were a problem but not the company image he wanted to build. Not to mention people usually rushed to the older, more established houses...

But the reward all lay in the quality of their services. To treat each new project as their first and last work. That's what he kept reiterating to his team of editors and they had really pulled up in the last couple months or so, moving forward. Things were going well as far as the publishing was concerned... but... Wookyung lay back in his chair at the head of the long, meeting desk as everyone else filtered out, his head and body hurting from not sleeping well.

He seemed to have...

Relapsed.

His sleep cycle was asunder... once again. Even if he slept at 10 or 11, he'd be entirely unable to sleep or he'd involuntarily get up after 1 or 2 hours of shuteye... tormenting himself for no reason. He hadn't told Ryeo about the problem yet, staying in bed as he lay awake, listening to music, reading and trying not to make too much noise. He already cared way too much and this would burden him even more. Not to mention he couldn't bear another visit to the hospital... the drips, stainless equipment

But what was the remedy...??

Falling asleep gave him nightmares...

Staying awake made him crave pills...

And Byun Minho... he thought about him regardless of whether he was awake or asleep...

Even if the company was doing well and everything was going smoothly, he knew that he had ultimately... lost. Lost the chance to hold him, pull him into his chest, smell his sweet hair and kiss his soft lips. All of these things... he once had... a fair chance was given to him but he screwed up... and now this was his purgatory. Stuck between heaven and hell. To be so close to where he was and yet be unable to follow. To see his face light up but not for him...

And what was he going to make of this company... when it was built for him in the first place. These books, this building and his house and all this money he earned...

His feelings... his thoughts and his spirit...

What should he do with himself... now that Minho was not by his side...

"Good evening, Boss!" Jung Junha knocked on the frosted door and Wookyung looked to the side, realising that he had been staring at the ceiling for ages now. "Come in" he said and Junha quickly shuffled inside the hall, a fat folder under his arm and a couple in his hands as he balanced a cup of coffee on top of them. "You okay? Tired?" he asked as he placed the cup in front of Wookyung, setting the folders down next to him "From marketing" he said

"Haaaa..." Wookyung groaned as he sat up, rubbing the longer hair at the back of his head "I need a break" he announced to the air and Junha let out a laugh as he first locked the main door from within, then closing the blinds on the window, shutting everyone out. "Do you want to go to your room... lie around for a bit?" he asked, looking at him intently "Maybe a nice shower... some good food?" he asked and Wookyung sat up, his broad shoulders drooping "I need a break from life, like I don't want to do this-" he waved his hand in the air.