Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop

Seungwoo’s first run of writing seminars is so successful that he prepares for a second run. This surprises the journalist who oversees his newspaper column, so she investigates further until she comes across Yeongju’s writing on the bookshop blog. The journalist offers Yeongju her own newspaper column on books. She is surprised to hear that Seungwoo suddenly wants to join her meeting with Yeongju and discuss an extension on his contract. The journalist teases that she knows the real reason that he wants to keep writing for the newspaper. After the meeting, Seungwoo invites Yeongju to have lunch.

They go to a restaurant that specializes in pollock stew. They bond over the best ways to enjoy the meal, then they go toward the subway station together. When Seungwoo observes that Yeongju is cold, he invites her to a teahouse. There, he says she can ask him questions about his life. She learns about his work as an engineer focusing on quality control. Seungwoo shares an anecdote about a work trip to the United States, where he found a Korean restaurant that served jasmine tea. The experience inspired him to drink more jasmine tea when he returned home because it reminded him of the comfort that restaurant gave him when he was going through a hard time.