Sea stepped out of Jimmy's office, hugging the stack of books tightly against his chest. Each step back to his desk felt heavier than the last.

He had barely sat down when a voice chimed in beside him.

"You're the new intern, huh?"

Sea looked up. It was Tek—the young editor who had just been scolded by Jimmy earlier. His brown hair was slightly tousled, glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose, and he was holding a lunchbox he hadn't even opened yet.

"Yes. I'm Sea. Today's my first day," Sea replied politely, still a little cautious.

Tek smiled and held out a hand. "I'm Tek. Just graduated in Modern Literature last year. By fate or by chance, I ended up interning in the Teen Novel Division too. Only officially got hired a few weeks ago."

Sea shook his hand, and they both sat down. After a few pleasantries, Tek glanced at the tall stack of books on Sea's desk and raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? You chose to read all these yourself? That's some serious overachieving for day one."

Sea gave a small, sheepish laugh. "Not exactly... This is a task from P'Jimmy. Ten books. I have to read and submit a report on each one—in two days."

Tek nearly dropped the lid of his lunchbox. "Two days? Ten books?! That's insane!"

Sea gave a weak smile, unsure how to respond.

"I mean, when I was new, I got assigned a few books too—but it was spread out over time, and I had guidance. I've never heard of anyone getting dumped with ten books in two days." Tek rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "Maybe because you didn't major in literature, he wants to test your foundation?"

Sea lowered his gaze. "Yeah... I studied Communications. But I did take some basic literature courses in uni. And also..." — he smiled faintly, lowering his voice like a quiet confession — "The person I like studied literature."

Tek chuckled. "That's so romantic. But honestly, P'Jimmy may seem harsh, but he's super logical. I've never seen him yell just to vent or blame someone unfairly. If someone makes a mistake, he calls it out—but it's always on point. Like earlier? I deserved that scolding. My uni friends keep dragging me out for drinks till early morning lately."

Sea nodded, feeling a little more reassured. Tek leaned over to eye the stack again, then winked.

"If you're really strapped, you can probably find summaries and reader reviews online. Just piece them together and add some reflections. No one's got time to read ten books in two days."

Sea chuckled but didn't reply. When Tek turned back to his own desk, Sea sat quietly, flipping open one of the books. Pale pink cover, not too thick—probably has the shortest story of the lot.

Maybe Tek's idea wasn't so bad after all.

Two Days Later

Sea stood at Jimmy's desk, both hands holding a neatly bound stack of printed reports. He handed it over, then stood silently, waiting, too nervous to speak.

Jimmy didn't say a word. He took the file and began flipping through. The sound of each page turning echoed in the quiet room, pounding like thunder in Sea's ears. With every page turned, Sea's chest tightened.

Finally, Jimmy closed the report—not gently, but not harshly either—and set it flat on the table.

"Do you think this report meets my standard?"

Sea looked up, then lowered his gaze again. "I think... it still has flaws. But I did my best within the time I was given."

Jimmy gave a dry chuckle. "That's your best?"

He leaned forward slightly, his voice deepened now.

"So your best is copying and pasting other people's opinions from the internet about books I asked you to give your own thoughts on? If that's all, I could just ask AI to summarise it."

It felt like a whole bucket of icy water was just poured all over Sea. He looked down, cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"I... I know it was not the right thing to do. But ten books in two days—I really couldn't finish them all. I tried compiling reader comments and added in my own reflections..."

Jimmy cut in; his gaze sharp as a blade. "Then why didn't you say so when I gave you the task? You didn't think the assignment was unreasonable?"

Sea froze. The thought had never crossed his mind. Wasn't an intern supposed to follow orders from their supervisor?

Jimmy stared at Sea; his tone now firm but not harsh.

"You think interns aren't allowed to push back? You need to learn to say no to unreasonable demands. Just because I'm your superior doesn't mean you can't challenge me."

Sea blinked.

Jimmy continued, "You'll be working with all kinds of authors in this job. Some easygoing, some demanding. If you agree to everything just to keep them happy, are you going to let them publish unrealistic details? Let them slide when things need fixing? If you don't learn to say no to what's unreasonable, you won't survive in this industry."

Sea looked at him, his eyes slowly shifting from confused to resolute. The shame that had flared earlier faded like fog under sunlight.

He took a breath and spoke clearly, "Then... can I ask for one more week? I'll read each book properly and rewrite every report. I promise I won't cut corners this time."

Jimmy was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.

"Alright. Remember this: not every demand is worth accepting. A good editor knows where to draw the line. Now go. Call Tek in for me."

Sea bowed his head. "Thank you."

As he turned to leave the room, he caught a glimpse of Jimmy again—head down, eyes focused on the computer screen, brows furrowed in concentration. Just like three years ago. The same man who had handed him a glass of water in the infirmary, with a voice that was never gentle, but always steady.

Sea smiled softly.

He wouldn't let Jimmy down.

In the week that followed, Sea threw himself into his task with everything he had. He carried the books with him everywhere—reading while walking, typing notes whenever he had a moment. He carefully recorded his own impressions, line by line, thought by thought. Sometimes he forgot to eat lunch. Most nights, he was the last one to leave the office.

On Friday night, when he typed the final line of his new report, the clock read past 8 PM. He stretched his back, eyes sore and tired—but his heart felt light.

As he shut the laptop and began packing up, he looked across the room—and saw the lights in Jimmy's office were still on. It was unusual; by now, the floor was usually empty.

Sea hesitated for a moment, then gathered his courage. He wanted to say goodbye to Jimmy. He walked to the office, and gently knocked on the glass door.

No answer.

He turned to leave.

But suddenly, from inside—a loud crash.

Sea's heart jumped.

He rushed to the door, flung it open, and called out—

"P'Jimmy?!"