The Double or more Life of the Fake Heiress (Mirabella)

Summer was sure her paper deserved to be on the cover. But when she spotted the bold headline, her smile vanished. This wasn't her paper's theme.noveldrama

She glanced over at Professor Joen's assistant nearby and headed his way. "I think there's been a mix-up with the journal," she said.

The assistant stopped what he was doing. "No way! This is the right one. I flipped through it before you arrived, and your paper is definitely in there."

Summer felt a jolt of surprise. The assistant, noticing her skepticism, grabbed the journal, flipped a couple of pages, and held it up. "Look, this one's yours."

Her eyes landed on the open journal. Sure enough, her paper was right there.

"Being the second article shows just how important your work is," he remarked with admiration. He wasn't just trying to butter her up; getting published in a journal like this was a big deal. No wonder Dr. Joen had taken on another student.

But Summer was too caught up in the fact that her paper wasn't on the cover to appreciate the compliment. A week back, she had casually asked her professor about it. He was tight with the journal's editor. How did her paper not make the cover?

Standing there, Summer felt dazed. She took back the journal, still feeling a bit off, and without a word, left the office. The assistant watched her go, confused. A paper in such a top-tier journal, yet she didn't look pleased?

*

Summer rode the elevator up to the eleventh floor, where Joen's office was. "What's up?" Joen asked, puzzled to see her again.

Summer pressed her lips together, trying to hold back her disappointment. She handed Joen the journal and quietly asked, "Professor, have you seen this issue yet?"

།

Joen, who spent most of his time buried in Tab work, only occasionally glanced at academic journals. He took the journal. "I haven't had a chance. Is there a problem?"

Summer's grip tightened on her fingers, staying silent. Joen noticed the cover analysis and, flipping through, was surprised to see Summer's paper listed second.

Understanding why Summer came to him, he cleared his throat. "Looks like they made a last-minute change, putting your paper second."

"But... you said it would be first, didn't you?" Summer knew she shouldn't be confronting Joen, but she couldn't help it. It felt like her rightful recognition had been swiped away. Who wouldn't be upset?

"The editor did mention that earlier..." Joen casually browsed through the first article. Although bioinformatics wasn't his main field, he knew enough to get the gist. The first

article was basic but had highly

directional content, explaining its top spot.

"Summer, it's not that you're not outstanding. It's just that this issue happened to

feature a particularly unique article," Joen explained.