Author: Cheong Ye
Translated by: Slin Jung
Publisher: Wildfire, 2026
Original title: 오렌지와 빵칼, 2024
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The thrilling high-concept Korean bestseller about conforming to society’s standards, where one woman decides she has HAD ENOUGH
Oh Young-a, a warm-hearted schoolteacher, lives to please – smiling through people’s demands, moulding her hobbies and even her heart to match what others deem to be “right”. But beneath her cheerful facade, the weight of constant self-restraint festers, dragging her into a haze of depression and numbness. Desperate for relief, she turns to the Seohyang Medical Research Centre’s cutting-edge four-week emotion regulation treatment, promised to sculpt her into a better version of herself.
What follows is chaos – but also liberation. The treatment unravels her carefully curated control, unleashing a torrent of suppressed desires, biting truths and long buried anger. Young-a curses, speaks her mind and revels in the guilt-ridden thrill of her bad behaviour. When she seeks answers, the Centre offers none, urging her to wait it out. But why return to a life of stifling conformity?
As Young-a embraces her raw, unfiltered self, she begins to dismantle the weight of the exhausting expectations and ideals imposed upon her.
Why would you ever go back when freedom feels this good?
Source: Amazon