Chapter 11: Ideals and Pursuits
Lisa produced two manuscripts from the things she experienced at the Sports University. The first manuscript was the report on the National Sports Employees Communications Exchange, while the second was an introductory piece on Jungkook. The length of the second manuscript was ... 3 times that of the first manuscript.
She had maintained an objective and fair approach in writing the article, but the end result was like a brain-dead diehard fan gushing over their idol. Lisa was rather resigned about it. Jungkook was not perfect — for instance, his habit of 'teasing reporters' just could not be helped — but she could not write about those things.
She had depicted Jungkook as a 'top scholar among athletes'. Even after removing the qualifier field of 'swimming', when taking the entire professional sports circle into consideration, Jungkook was still deserving of the title of 'top scholar', without question.
An athlete who did not skip classes, had no failures, excelled in every class, while guaranteeing his performance in his sport at the same time — how refreshing! How inspirational!
When she was done with her manuscript, Lisa proudly looked it over twice. She decided that when this manuscript was published, she would first send a copy to Jungkook.
Teacher Taeyang was out for an interview, so Lisa could only go out with a colleague, Eunha, for lunch. Eunha was a Chinese Language major, and she was a fresh graduate just like Lisa. They were also the only two girls among the new hires of their news agency this year. The newspaper agency had given all of the hired fresh graduates a deadline to report for duty. Lisa had indulged in a period of wild fun before graduating, only reporting in for duty right before the deadline was up. In contrast, Eunha had reported in two months in advance.
In short, she had put in much more effort than Lisa.
This was why although they were both newbies, Eunha had already been at Sports Weekly for more than half a year and had more experience than Lisa. Her role in the agency was as an editor. All manuscripts the reporters wrote had to pass through the hands of an editor. For instance, the two manuscripts Lisa had written would first have to be sent to the editorial department for an editor to write a reasoned recommendation for it, After that, a meeting would be called for a selection of the recommended manuscripts. Once the chosen news manuscripts were confirmed, the editors would have to edit the manuscripts according to the quality of the manuscript and the requirements of the publication layout.
In this time and day when paper media were heading towards an inevitable decline, the selection and editorial work involved with producing news had not become any more streamlined. If some change had to be pointed out, it would be: there were fewer and fewer people willing to work for a newspaper agency ...
Neither Lisa nor Eunha planned to eat at the canteen of the newspaper agency. They were girls, after all — they were pickier. The two of them exited the newspaper agency's office building and made their way through two small lanes to enter a street lined with restaurants. Lisa had an arm hooked around Eunha's, and the two girls chatted as they walked. Eunha told Lisa that she had highly lauded Lisa's manuscript on Jungkook when she had written her recommendation for it, so it was likely that the article would be published in the very next issue. Lisa was very happy to hear that, and she proclaimed that she must treat Eunha for their meal.
She did not particularly care about her commission for the manuscript; she was just especially hopeful that this manuscript would be published — it was fine even if she wasn't paid for it!
Lisa and Eunha were discussing what to eat when they passed by a western restaurant. An inadvertent turn of Lisa's head caused her to look through a clear floor-to-ceiling window to see someone.
The man's face was pale and he had neatly-trimmed eyebrows, and the lines of his profile was beautiful. Right then, he was seated before the window, casually perusing the menu while a waiter stood beside him. The afternoon sunlight spilled over him, making him look comfortable and indolent.
Eh, eh, eh! Isn't this Bambam?!
Lisa had a very good memory, and Bambam had also made a deep impression on her. She still remembered the scene of this cool and aloof handsome man devouring lamb paomo at a street-side small restaurant. That image was completely different from his current look and feel.
Eunha saw Lisa stop, so she nudged her and said with a smile, "Unable to move after seeing a handsome guy?"
"No, no." As she said that, Lisa rapped on the glass window, and when Bambam turned to look at her, she grinned at him.
Bambam clearly recognised her and he motioned for them to come in.
Just like that, Lisa dragged Eunha into the western restaurant.
The two girls sat across from Bambam. After taking their seats, they made some introductions, and then Lisa asked Bambam, "You aren't working around here as well, are you?"
He shook his head. "I heard the foie gras here is very authentic, so I came here for a taste."
Again for a taste ... that shocking scene of this gentleman consuming lamb paomo was still fresh in Lisa's mind. She coughed softly behind a hand and then looked at Eunha, "Why don't we have a taste too?"
Eunha hesitated. Foie gras was very expensive, and the two of them were being paid minimum wage. It would be awesome tasting it for this meal, but were they going to just eat mantou with zha cai every day for the rest of the month?
When Bambam heard this, he motioned for the waiter to fetch another two menus. Eunha felt a little dizzy looking at the prices on the menu. Lisa was not much better, sighing despondently as she flipped through the menu. "This is really expensive, and this too ... foie gras is so expensive, I think I'll just have some chicken liver ...do you all have fried chicken liver?"
The corners of the waiter's lips spasmed. "No."
Eunha silently browsed the menu, really wishing she could pretend not to know this fool.
Bambam flashed a brief smile. His smile was very faint, like a gentle breeze brushing across his face, leaving no trace behind. He said, "My treat. Don't worry and eat."
... What a charismatic man! Lisa cast a grateful look at him, but then felt a little embarrassed. "Are you sure that's okay?" It was like she was sponging a free meal off others.
"It's alright. You helped me get Jaehyun's autograph. I haven't thanked you for that yet."
So Jaehyun's signature was worth that much money? She would not be a reporter if she had known this earlier — how much brighter her future would be if she had become a dealer of autographs!
Bambam flipped through the menu as he ordered many things with the waiter. When he flipped to the end of the menu, he was pleasantly surprised. "You have truffles here too?"
"Yes, sir."
"Source?"
"Authentic French black truffles."
"Well," Bambam nodded, "Add some when you fry the foie gras."
"Alright."
Bambam closed his menu and returned it to the waiter. Then, he turned to look at Lisa and Eunha. "What are you two ordering?"
"Uh ..." Eunha stared at him in astonishment. "You weren't ordering for all three of us just now?"
"Ha ..." Lisa could not hold back her laughter.
Bambam was calm, however. "I can eat all of that myself."
Eunha's face turned slightly warm in embarrassment.
Lisa knew Bambam was a wealthy person, and so she had no reservations. She ordered a serving of chocolate apple cake, cream mushroom soup, fried foie gras, orange-infused duck breast, mango shrimp salad, and a cup of mulberry juice. After she was done ordering, she looked at Bambam. "Can I also add truffles into my foie gras?"
"You can add as much as you want. You can even add some into your cream mushroom soup."
Lisa swallowed. "Rich man, let us be friends!"
"Alright."
He replied so seriously and without any fuss that Lisa could only stare blankly at him for a moment before she giggled reflexively. She giggled when she did not know what to say.
When the three of them were done ordering, Bambam picked up a newspaper on the seat next to him and began reading it. Lisa immediately noticed the big words 'Sports Weekly' on the front page.
"You like to read our newspaper?" She was very happy.
"Hn." Bambam nodded lightly, and then looked dubiously at Lisa. "You don't have many articles, and they are all in inconspicuous places. In the last few issues, there were none at all."
"Ahem." Lisa had been prodded at her weak point. Trying to regain some of her dignity, she said, "There'll be some in the next issue!"
He did not seem to think much of her declaration, merely replying airily, "Is that so? You're very confident."
What did that mean? Making it seem like she was just bragging. Lisa explained, "Yesterday, I met Jungkook at the Sports University. You still remember Jungkook, right?"
"Of course I remember him." Bambam closed his paper. "But I'm not interested in him."
Lisa was still trying to promote Jungkook to him, "You might not be interested in him, but who knows if your little sister might be interested in him? He's very handsome, and he has a good figure. Speaking of which, would your sister need Jungkook's autograph?" Autographs could be traded for food — this concept had already become deeply imprinted into Lisa's mind.
He shook his head. "Thank you, but my sister is also not interested in him."
Lisa was a little disappointed.
Eunha drew closer to Lisa and whispered to her, "Lisa, you're really like a multi-level marketer right now."
"Hehe, hehehehe ..." Lisa could only scratch her head and laugh awkwardly.
"But I am very interested in one thing," Bambam said, flipping open the newspaper again, locking onto a piece of text and showing it to them.
It was a recruitment notice — Sports Weekly was recruiting for a number of text editors, website video editors, and reporters.
"So? What does this have to do with you?" Lisa was a little confused.
Eunha did not really know much about Bambam, and so found the key through normal thought processes. "You want to apply for a job at our newspaper?"
"Yes." His manner was relaxed — he even snapped his fingers to emphasize his words; it looked like he was in a pretty good mood.
Lisa said in surprise, "You ... you're joking, right?" He must be joking. He was a financial genius — his only connection with a sports newspaper was probably just as an investor in advertising. Suddenly wanting to work in a newspaper agency ... what devil wind had he been grazed by? Was it so bad to just be a rich man in peace?!
Eunha was more composed than Lisa, primarily because she did not know about Bambam's true identity. If she knew, she may very well eat the stainless steel fork on the table before her in order to calm down. She asked Bambam, "Which position would you like to apply for?"
"Reporter."
Lisa was still looking at Bambam with a dazed uncomprehending look. "Why do you want to be a reporter?"
"The stock market is not doing well." This was his answer.
What the hell kind of reason was that?! Running to become a reporter just because the stock market is not doing well? Those two things were completely unrelated, okay?! Even if you sat around eating, drinking, and fooling around every day, it would still be better than becoming a reporter! You have so much money that you won't eat yourself into the poorhouse anyway! How much money could a reporter earn?
Lisa really did not know where to start criticizing him. She took in a few deep breaths, then said earnestly, "Believe me, it's not that easy to be reporter. The basic salary you'd earn in a month would not be enough to pay for this meal."
Bambam glanced at her. "You think I'm becoming a reporter for money?"
"Uh... well, that's true, no one would become a reporter to earn money, because there really isn't any money to be made ..." Godd*mn, why was there such a feeling of sour bitterness when she said these words ...
With his arms crossed, he leaned back lazily against the back of his chair, looking at them with raised brows. His pose was easy and casual but it was impossible to ignore his existence — this was most probably what they called force of presence. He said, "So, I am becoming a reporter, simply because I want to become a reporter. It's not like I'm lacking money, so of course I can just do whatever I want."
Lisa gripped her fork and stabbed it forcefully into her white porcelain plate, and said angrily, "Handsome, do you know that you're just drawing hatred when you talk like that?!"
Bambam had a skill, and that was the ability to block out any emotions others directed his way. Right then, he was as unmoving as a mountain. He ignored the eye-rolls of the two girls to say, "That's why I need your help. Help me pass the interview to become a reporter."
Lisa felt like rolling her eyes again. "Your resume should be even more glamorous than our editor-in-chief's, right? You still need the help of two ants like us?"
"An overly outstanding resume will reduce the trust an interviewer has for me."
What a lame reason ...
"So," Bambam looked at her, his gaze especially sincere, "Please help me, Lisa."
"Why does this endeavour of helping a financial genius change jobs to become a lackey reporter sound like such an evil thing ... I absolutely won't do it!" At times like this, Lisa decided she needed to defend her honour and maintain her integrity by not joining him in this insanity.
Bambam: "Aren't we friends?"
Lisa: "Let us cut ties!"
Bambam: "..."
He rubbed his jaw and attempted a sugar-coated missile approach instead. "I will treat you all to a big meal when things are done."
Lisa sneered. "Hehe, does this big sister look like the type of person that can be bought by just a meal?"
His brows knitted together. "This ... is really quite troublesome."
Beside her, Eunha quietly raised her hand. "Excuse me, I am the type of person that can be bought with just a meal!"
Lisa looked at her with a betrayed expression. "Where's your integrity?!"
"Eaten."
"..."
Later, Bambam increased the stakes several more times. When the meal count he offered hit '5', Lisa's defences crumbled completely and she agreed to help him.
Lisa asked him whether he was aiming to be a reporter because of Jaehyun. Bambam was silent for a moment before shaking his head to say, "No."