Executive Director Park's expression—usually warm and approachable—froze into something far sterner. Thirty years in the industry had carved an unmistakable weight into her demeanor.
"Manager Lee, how are you going to handle this?"
Under her reprimand, Lee's thick lips tightened and jutted forward. Corporate life meant you followed orders.
Saying "I can't" first was the same as admitting incompetence.
When a superior pushed, you moved in that direction—at least on the surface.
"I'll meet with Manager Kim Jang-woo. I'll try to convince him not to resign."
He glanced sideways, eyes flickering as if this were no big deal.
"And?"
When Park pressed again, Lee lifted his shoulders lightly.
"Since his position is vacant now, we'll need a replacement, and there's no one besides Yoojin who can manage the work. Everyone's workload is already exploding since FW orders are starting. Adding more would be too much pressure. If Senior Yoon helps oversee things next to her, I think Yoojin can handle it."
Park didn't respond right away.
He wasn't wrong: a gap in operations wasn't acceptable. Technically, there was no rule against assigning an intern to official tasks. But… wasn't there any other option?
Her finger tapped the table twice—something she always did when thinking.
Something wasn't fitting right. What needed to be untangled here?
"So, will the two interns still be able to attend next week's workshop in Jeju?"
"The Ocean Bay FW orders are mostly processed. Next week they'd only need to review shipments and defects."
At that moment, Yoojin suddenly raised her hand.
Park and Manager Lee both turned toward her.
Lee frowned—speaking without prior alignment in a room full of staff was not something interns did.
But Park nodded gently, giving her permission.
"Go ahead."
Feeling every pair of eyes on her, Yoojin swallowed.
But this, too, was a hurdle she had to cross.
She placed the documents she'd organized over the weekend onto the table.
"Ocean Bay has a total of 35 orders. I sorted the current issues by order. The summary is 16 pages—these 20 orders are the Men's and Women's lines. But the remaining 15—Boys, Girls, and Toddler—don't match across the system, order sheets, or POs. They're inconsistent, so I can't process them."
Park's eyes sharpened.
"What exactly does that mean?"
"It means the 20 orders can proceed normally. But since this workload is too much for one person, especially for a first-timer, I believe it's best for me and Intern Dongha to work together. We're both still in onboarding, so having the two interns handle tasks together aligns with the program's intent."
Tch. There she goes again.
To Manager Lee, Yoojin's confidence was infuriating. An intern should be shrinking into her seat, not talking like she's presenting a school project.
This girl was entirely too sure of herself.
But while Lee's face hardened, Park's expression slowly softened.
Onboarding was designed for interns to work in pairs.
If they were forced to operate separately now, the consequences would fall on Park later.Whatever had been stuck in her thinking suddenly loosened.
Park clapped her hands together once.
"Good. Let's follow the spirit of the onboarding program. Interns Dongha and Yoojin will manage the Ocean Bay orders together."
"Ah… Dongha, you said?"
Lee's reply came out slightly garbled.
"And what about the fifteen inconsistent orders?"
Park's instincts were sharp—one of the reasons she had made it to VP after three decades.
She knew exactly where to probe.
Feeling the weight of Park's expectation, Yoojin touched the pendant around her neck unconsciously.
She let her gaze steady itself on Dongha beside her.
"They should be reviewed jointly by Manager Kim and Deputy Oh Myung-joo.But if Manager Kim's return is delayed… then, like the other orders, we'll need to revise them to match the system."
Lee's eyes darkened.
"Every sales staff has their own way of working. Standardizing all of that to the system isn't realistic. There must be reasons for managing the Boys/Girls/Toddler orders differently."
Park caught the sharp, almost hostile look Lee shot at Yoojin.
Really? Must you strong-arm a junior like that?
She narrowed her eyes.
"Manager Lee, where does most of Samho Apparel's profit come from?"
"SPO… our domestic line."
"Right. Overseas makes volume, but almost no margin. So yes, I know Sales keeps its own back-end documents to protect profit margins. I've tolerated it because it hasn't caused issues—until now. But we currently have no one assigned to these orders, so operations are stalled. That's a problem, isn't it?"
Lee shut his mouth tight.
He had always assumed she was all smiles and small talk. Apparently, she had been watching everything from the background, waiting for the right moment.
"So please work with the two interns and organize the Ocean Bay orders properly.Make sure they can attend next week's workshop without trouble."
"…Understood."
He glanced at Yoojin and Dongha.
Their faces—so impossibly well-formed—revealed almost no readable emotion.
Where was the naïve eagerness expected from 21-year-old interns?
A week of watching them, and he still couldn't decipher their thoughts.
In truth, the team leader had just been outmaneuvered by two interns. He needed to get Kim Jang-woo back somehow.
The discomfort was unbearable—he coughed reflexively.
"All right, team leads, please begin your weekly issue reports."
Motivated by Yoojin's detailed report, each team—Purchasing, Logistics, Production—gave unusually thorough updates.
The meeting stretched on for more than an hour.
When the meeting adjourned, Senior Yoon pulled Yoojin and Dongha aside.
"Yoojin, that was impressive. I could never present like that. How did you even sort all that? I wouldn't finish in an entire weekend."
"I was working until last night… but Deputy Oh's orders didn't match anything, so I gave up eventually.It was overwhelming, but I'm okay now."
Yoojin smiled at Dongha, and Dongha answered with a little wink.
"I'm relieved. The first full spec-sheet review is always hard. Let me see what you organized."
Yoojin handed over her documents.
"Wow… this is thorough. Honestly, this could become our official internal template."
"Really?"
Her eyes curved with genuine excitement.
It was the first time her work had been acknowledged—and confidence bloomed instantly.
"So based on this table, let's divide tasks: You two will share the OB orders. Yoojin, you handle the overseas vendors and factories. Dongha, you take Sales and internal coordination. Splitting the orders evenly now would be too messy."
Dongha's eyes lit up—this meant he would handle Deputy Oh, not Yoojin.
Exactly what he wanted.
"Sounds good to me."
Yoojin nodded.
She preferred interfacing with overseas vendors anyway.
"Dongha, then you'll handle color confirmations and shipping documents. Yoojin, you handle vendor communication. If it gets too heavy, ask Dongha for support."
"Yes."
Once their roles were decided, Yoojin and Dongha exchanged a look.
In just a week, they had become a team again.
As they returned to their desks, Manager Lee called out to them.
Deputy Oh Min-ji was already in his cubicle, eyes scanning them up and down.
"Yoojin, Dongha."
Both approached.
"Do you remember VP Park's announcement? Manager Hwang is meeting with Caramax in Europe. The design team needs fitting models for sample photos. Could you two do it?"
"Caramax is launching a family-casual line this season. This could be a huge contract for us," Deputy Oh added eagerly.
A photoshoot.
In her past life, Yoojin had modeled countless times for magazines as the face of the national ballet company.
She had ignored all offers in this life—but if it was for the company, she could do it again.
Dongha was watching her expression carefully.
Are you okay with it?
Reading his silent question, she shrugged lightly.
"I'm a bit busy with work…"
"It'll only take an hour during lunch. We'll have lunch boxes and drinks ready."
"When?"
"Actually… could you do it today? The samples should've arrived this morning."
Deputy Oh flushed slightly in embarrassment.
She had suggested making them models during last week's office tour…
But asking this suddenly was another matter.