𝐎𝐡 𝐌𝐲 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 ✿

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟑: 𝑳𝒐𝒘𝒌𝒆𝒚

The next day, Lisa found herself seated in the meeting room alongside Yeji, who had managed to come up with fresh ideas for the advertisement campaign, complete with a revamped tagline. Her boss, however, was absent. The woman had given her call early in the morning, issuing commands and ignoring her greetings. “Tell Yeji to present the ideas to everyone and take notes of their discussion.” 

Obediently, she made notes of it and waited for the clock to creep around 11 a.m., preparing herself for the meeting.

When the meeting finally began, managers and supervisors from various departments also took their seats around the long oval table, staring at the projected slides. Lisa could sense the tension. The room was quiet; no one offered any feedback, and most wore questioning frowns. 

Yeji was one of the few team leads who was friendly with her staff, which didn’t sit well with some of the more rigid managers—especially not with Ms. Suzy. Now, in Jennie Kim’s absence, they seemed eager to show their displeasure. Highlighting any smallest issue they could find. 

More than once, Ryujin emphasized the potential benefits of the proposed changes, explaining that the new content would be profitable and highly attractive to their target audience. Yuna, the youngest member of the team, agreed, demonstrating the diverse taglines would cater to various customer preferences—if only they were given the chance to move forward with it.

Lisa thought it was good. Compared to the previous sentimental emotions this was innovative. 

Maybe others think so because she saw the managers exchanging glances seemingly convinced by the presentation. Yeji’s team was pushing hard to get this campaign approved and launched. They knew Jennie would not be pleased if she found out about any delays. They had to start working before Friday to have something concrete to show their boss, or risk facing the CEO’s wrath.

“Well, don’t you think it’ll be too costly to add different varieties and taglines?” Ms. Bae Suzy’s tone was sharp, each phrase wrapped in an obvious dispassion. She was notorious for showing little interest in anyone at the office, especially not someone she considered beneath her position like Lisa. She rarely even acknowledged her presence, focusing instead on Yeji with a dismissive look. 

But Lisa knew what was coming next. Ms. Suzy always had a way of dragging her into the conversation when she least wanted it. “What do you think, Ms. Manobal?” the woman asked, her eyes gleaming in premeditated intent.

The room’s attention shifted to her. She glanced up from her notepad, feeling the weight of their stares. Ms. Suzy had set her up perfectly—placing her in a situation where any response could be used to undermine her. It wasn’t the first time the woman had tried to remind Lisa of her ‘place,’ insinuating that she didn’t belong in this room, sitting among the high-class people like them, but rather standing outside like a servant, waiting on orders.

“Ms. Bae,” Mr. Jackson Wang, the chief marketing officer, said, taking her side. “ I think we all know why Ms. Manobal is here so please could you leave her out.” 

Ms. Suzy let out a low derisive scoff and crossed her arm. “Naturally, we wouldn’t want to upset Miss Kim’s faithful lapdog, now would we?” shifting her eyes to the girl who had been concentrating on her writing notes contemptuously, she added. “Tell me, Ms. Manobal, are you writing that down, too? So you can report it and have me fired like you did the others?”

Her fingers paused over her notepad. She wasn’t here by her own will. Jennie Kim never trusted anyone or anyone’s choices. That is why she was sent here—this was her job. Being loyal to her boss didn’t make her a lapdog, and yet, Ms. Suzy seemed to relish twisting things to suit her narrative. She sighed inwardly. It was baffling how a grown woman could stoop so low, letting her frustration and hatred get the better of her.