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

02. 0,001 Percent

"Submit!" Rhea pressed the enter key without a shred of doubt. After completing her application for The Lucky Fans, she went back to replying to emails from various authors, one by one. She didn't expect to be chosen as one of the lucky fans; she was just curious. After all, isn't it better to try than to regret it later?

"Here's your seblak, Miss," Sigit, one of the office boys at ONE Publishing, said as he delivered Rhea's order. Upon arriving at the office, Rhea was immediately hit with a dilemma about whether or not she should apply. It was always like this—so much so that she even resorted to betting by counting shirt buttons.

Just because of a dilemma, lunchtime had arrived and she still hadn't bought anything. In such cases, seblak was the quick fix. Besides, she didn't eat seblak often.

Rhea then wondered, what if she were chosen as a lucky fan? Wow, that would be the dream of an ordinary fan, so far-fetched it seemed like it was out of this world! Hah, it's surely impossible. Even if it were a possibility, the odds were only 0.001 percent.

In reality, Rhea had harbored a small glimmer of hope when she applied. However, at nearly thirty, it was no longer the era for her to watch their V Lives religiously or collect posters she used to get from teen magazines. Her time as a devoted fan had long passed.

However, that didn't mean she had stopped loving Super Junior. Come on, you K-Pop fans will understand this when you reach adulthood. When you realize that reality is too far removed to expect to get closer to your idols. Wait, doesn't The Lucky Fans program offer a chance for ELFs and Hottests to get closer to Super Junior and 2PM?

Since she had a meeting scheduled for that afternoon, Rhea decided to leave the office early. The work hours at ONE Publishing were quite flexible, with no specific start or end times. As long as the work was done, employees could leave. However, Rhea felt like her work was never truly finished. As soon as one task was completed, another would emerge. There always seemed to be more work trailing behind her, even though she knew ONE Publishing had other employees with more free time.

Rhea met up with a friend at a mall she once considered luxurious, but which now felt less so due to the constant influx of visitors, regardless of whether it was a weekday or weekend. Her friend was already waiting in the outdoor food court area, sipping on their favorite iced Americano. Since her friend was an active smoker, they always chatted in the outdoor section while enjoying their drinks.

"Super Junior is holding sign-ups for The Lucky Fans event. Aren't you participating?" Anita asked, after Rhea taking a sip of her favorite boba milk tea.

"I've applied, but I'm not sure I'll make the cut."

"Why?" Anita asked, extinguishing her cigarette and returning to her game. Sometimes, Rhea felt a pang of envy towards her friend's life. Anita didn't need to work hard to make ends meet. Every day, she played games, yet money kept flowing effortlessly into her life.

"I've never been to one of their concerts, I don't have any of their albums, and I don't own any of their merchandise either."

When Rhea decided to become an ELF, she was eighteen and still in high school. Of course, she had a strong desire to attend a Super Show and sing along to Super Junior's songs with other ELFs. However, that opportunity never came. As life moved on, circumstances forced her to suppress her longing to watch a Super Show.

"Does it really matter?"

Rhea nodded. "They asked that question when I was about to submit. I'm sure their staff will choose fans who have put in a lot of effort for their idols, and I'm not one of those people."

"Then why did you apply?"

"Just taking advantage of the remaining 0.001 percent chance," Rhea replied with a broad smile.

After finishing their chat and meal, they parted ways at the bookstore since Anita had to meet someone, and Rhea needed to return to work. Rhea had an appointment with Febby at the bookstore to check the sales of one of their top authors' novels. She searched for the book in the Best Seller section, but it was no longer there. Just last week, she had seen Winter Melody prominently displayed on the Best Seller shelf.

Suddenly, Febby pulled her towards the front shelf, directly facing the entrance. There, a large display labeled Mega Best Seller showcased Winter Melody. They embraced each other, celebrating their happiness after working so hard on the novel.

It wasn't just the author's happiness; seeing the novel they published make it to the Best Seller list was already a significant joy for them. Being included in the Mega Best Seller list made their happiness even more overwhelming. With this success, they could gradually nurture talented writers and help ONE Publishing gain even more recognition.

-ooo-

"This is already in its fifth print run; we need to give a gift to the readers of this novel, something that makes them feel appreciated," Rhea said during a meeting with author Olivia Puspita and the rest of the team.

Olivia Puspita, a talented writer whom Rhea discovered by chance. When she submitted her manuscript to ONE Publishing, both Ella and Ruben agreed that they didn't want to work on it, finding it too ordinary, as they were looking for something new and fresh. However, for some reason, Rhea was confident that the novel would be a huge success. Risking her position as senior editor, Rhea personally reached out to Olivia, guiding her until the young author's novel was ready for print and achieved success.

Rhea didn't have high expectations for the novel, despite the energy and brainpower it had demanded throughout the process. However, no one could have predicted that the novel would now be in its fifth print run, with only five hundred copies being printed each time. This was because Olivia was in the process of publishing a new story, and Rhea hoped that her new novel would achieve the same level of success as the one they were currently discussing.

"I have an idea that might be a bit difficult to realize," Olivia suddenly said. "In this fantasy novel, there are at least seven main female characters, each with their own unique powers. What if we provide a bookmark and a sticker set for each character? Readers are sure to have their favorites."

It was not a bad idea at all. Olivia also showed the designs for the bookmarks and sticker sets she had prepared earlier. After considering the costs involved, they ultimately agreed to go with Olivia's idea.

In the past month, that day's meeting was the shortest Rhea had ever experienced. She was thrilled to get home before six in the evening. However, even when she arrived home, she had to open her laptop again. She needed to check her emails to set up the agenda for the following morning.

A few minutes later, Rhea paused her scrolling and opened an unread message that had been sitting in her inbox for a week. It was an email that had buried her long-held dreams deep within. An email she might never have expected to receive.