The Lucky Fans (LEE JUN HO'S FANFICTION // ENG VER)

01. Looking for the Lucky Fans

January 6th, 2023

Rhea picked up the desk calendar and glanced back and forth between it and the stack of papers on her desk. The woman looked perplexed; hadn't she just enjoyed the end-of-year holidays? As far as she remembered, all her work had been wrapped up before the break. So why was her desk already overflowing with a new pile of paperwork, with only her desk looking this cluttered? Not too worried, she opened her pink laptop and began typing up several articles nearing their deadlines.

"Hi, Rhea!" Ella, the youngest member of Rhea's division, arrived with a plate of potato donuts. Ella's home wasn't too far from the office—just a two-minute walk would get her there.

"Here, I made you some special potato donuts to boost your energy for the day," Ella said, placing a plate with three powdered sugar donuts next to the chocolate milkshake Rhea had bought on her way to the office.

"What's this? I thought I'd finished all my work before the end-of-year holidays. How did my desk end up with such a pile?" The employees at ONE Publishing returned to work on January 2nd, but Rhea was just coming in that day after taking extra leave to attend various women's empowerment events, where she had been working as a freelance journalist for the website that hosted her articles.

"Oh, those are some novel manuscripts that I've already reviewed with Ruben. Okta said they need your approval before going to print." Ah, right. Not only is Ella the youngest member of the division, but she also joined ONE Publishing just two weeks before the end-of-year holidays.

Rhea picked up one of the manuscripts from the pile and skimmed the title. Ella and Ruben, junior editors on Rhea's team, each had a target to find at least three manuscripts per month. An editor's job wasn't just to review and revise writer submissions; they also had to scout for manuscripts that met the company's criteria and negotiate with the authors.

Meanwhile, Rhea, as a senior editor, did more than just approve manuscripts worthy of publication; she was also the final gatekeeper for the debut works of talented new authors. Manuscripts that had already been reviewed by Ella and Ruben would undergo another round of scrutiny by Rhea before receiving her approval.

Then Rhea, Okta, Andy, and Febby would hold a weekly meeting to discuss the progress of these manuscripts. In each meeting, they would review up to two manuscripts. Once they reached an agreement on the discussion outcomes, Rhea would contact the authors for a final meeting, during which she would present the royalty contract and other payment details.

"Okay, we'll have a meeting after lunch. Tell Ruben not to come too late in the day," Rhea said to Ella, who responded with a double thumbs-up. Rhea then picked up a manuscript and began reading it.

Although her job involved re-checking manuscripts already processed by her team, Rhea didn't read every manuscript from start to finish. Typically, she focused on the key points. If any revisions were needed, she would leave sticky notes on the manuscript.

-ooo-

For Rhea, the most comfortable place in the world was undoubtedly her bed. After a long day at work, plus the traffic on the way home, her bed was the reward she looked forward to at the end of each day. After dinner and tidying up, Rhea checked her phone and reviewed her emails, making sure of her schedule for the next day. "Thank goodness, I don't have any meetings tomorrow. I can sleep in a bit," she thought.

She took out her laptop, neatly stored in her bag, and started working again. In addition to being a senior editor, Rhea also worked as a content writer, focusing on topics related to women's empowerment.

But before diving into her writing, Rhea opened Spotify and began playing Raining Spell for Love by Super Junior to keep her company through the night. At twenty-seven, she still adored Super Junior just as much as she did ten years ago. Despite the influx of newer, more handsome boy groups, Super Junior remained her number one.

In her bear-patterned pajamas, Rhea got out of bed, grabbed a comb, and stood in front of the mirror, eagerly anticipating her favorite part of the song performed by Dong Hae.

Eoreum gateun biga simjange bakhyeon na bwa...

I kkeuchi eomneun Raining Spell

Naege doraoneun jumuni doendamyeon

Doraondamyeon...

On momi jeojeodo gyeondil su isseul tende...

Rhea gazed at her reflection in the mirror, imagining herself singing on stage surrounded by fans. She wonder what it feels like to be an idol? It must be tough.

-ooo-

"What pops into my mind after reading the title of this manuscript is an image of a woman in a hijab standing in the middle of a tulip field. Could you make it simpler, Dy?" Rhea asked during the meeting with representatives from each division, discussing a manuscript set to be published titled Muslimah di Negeri Kincir.

Following Rhea's suggestion, Andy began showcasing his Photoshop skills to create the novel cover based on Rhea's idea. "Try enlarging the silhouette of the woman a bit more," Rhea instructed. Andy adjusted the design as requested. While the design Andy had created was already quite good, Rhea felt it was a bit too complex for the drama-romance novel they were working on.

"Ah, I like this concept. It's simpler and fits well with our target audience of women over 25," Rhea said. Okta agreed with Rhea's idea, and it was clear why she valued Rhea so highly and paid her more than other employees. Andy immediately saved the file to be printed later.

"Why don't you just handle it yourself, Rhe?" Okta asked, already packing up her things.

"I don't want to work like a slave under your orders," Rhea replied, jokingly.

"You're impossible," Okta laughed, before leaving Rhea alone in the meeting room. With ten minutes of free time left, Rhea decided to use it to check Instagram.

Her eyes widened when she discovered a post on Super Junior's official Instagram announcing that her favorite boy group, along with 2PM, would be creating a variety show titled The Lucky Fans as a celebration for both second-generation groups that had survived for over a decade. Rhea read the terms and conditions carefully and found nothing that would make her hesitate to give it a try.

"Let's give it a shot. Maybe I could actually meet Ye Sung," she mused, clicking on the link from the post. Besides, Rhea had been eager to visit Korea and had already prepared a lot for it.

The link led Rhea to a webpage where she needed to answer several questions. A wave of doubt washed over her as she read through them. The questions seemed to hit her like a harsh slap, shouting that maybe she shouldn't apply after all.