(I was especially hungry when writing this)

RJ sank down into the tub water, hissing from the heat. Once accustomed, her muscles relaxed and she was in heaven. The hotel room was glorious with a wonderful view of the skyline. One queen bed with Egyptian sheets (according to the labels) and a bathroom with a bathtub, a shower and enough room for another bathtub. The nicest hotel she has ever stayed in.  

"Your breakfast is here, miss," said a voice behind the front door. 

RJ launched herself out of the tub, threw on a robe and answered the door. "Good morning!" She greeted the woman. "Come in!" She moved aside and the woman pushed the cart inside. 

"Here is we have a ham and Wilton cheese omelette with a little basil sprinkled on top. On the side is four strips of bacon, cooked perfectly for a bit of crunch but still chewy to bring out the flavour. The chef made muffins this morning, so you have a banana muffin straight from the oven. A tall glass of fresh orange juice with a few strawberries on the side." The woman was removing silver domes as she spoke, a new feeling of need plastered RJ's face. She kept shut, but had it been open even slightly, the mouth watering smells would have caused a waterfall.

"Thank you for bringing this to me!" RJ said, reaching to her wallet.
 
"Oh, no miss." Said the woman. "This is included in the room fees."

"Oh," RJ beamed getting even more ideas. But some things had to be settled first. "Then here is a tip for you and for the chef. Send a special thank you to the person who made this wonderful meal!" 

"Thank you, miss!" The woman smiled, putting some of the money in her wallet and the rest in the pocket of her apron. "Call the desk when you are finished and someone will take the cart. Have a good day!"

RJ waved, unable to say good bye due to the food already stuffed in .  She wasn't from the upper class, so why not continue being herself? She was alone in the room and just pigged out on her breakfast, an action she would later find ridiculous but unregretful. 

The phone rang and she picked up, putting on her shirt. "Hello? Riley Jean Mays speaking," she said as professionally as she could into the phone. 

*Hey there, R-miss Mays! * said the familiar voice of Kang Daesung. *how do you like the hotel? *

"Oh, it is beautiful! But Mr. Kang, don't you think this is a bit much? No offence, but I think you spent more on me than you needed to."

*Nonsense! I haven't spent a penny! The hotel belongs to He-Jin- I mean the boss' sister, and I have a few free room coupons under my belt. * 

"Wow! Thank you for being so kind." 

 * Of course! My pleasure. A car will arrive soon to bring you to the company. My boss, Kwon Jiyong, will be there to greet you, take you on a tour, and eventually talk about the work contract. I hope you come with an open mind and a clean slate to start anew * 

"Yes, sir!"

 * See you then * 

"Goodbye."

 

Daesung put down the phone and sighed. He pushed himself off the desk and walked towards the door. He looked back at Jiyong, typing away at his computer. They heard a knock and Daesung answered.

"Sir," said Jiyong's secretary. "Here are her files. We have work history," she said, putting an envelope on his desk. "Volunteer jobs," tossed down another, "family," another one, "and travel information from the past two years." Another one bites the dust.

Jiyong waved goodbye to Daesung and picked up the files. "What about the notes from Noel?" He asked. '28 already,' he thought. 

"She has those."

"Can you-"

"I already called and requested they be sent over."

Jiyong smiled. "You are the best." He said, opening file drawer. "Please call a meeting with the informants team. Also, have floor eight do some research on Riley Jean Mays. Have them dig up as much as they can on her in the past 7 years."

"On it," said his secretary. "But why seven? You usually go with only five."

"I want to know what happened before the city war six years ago, and I want to know what I can about what happened after she lived here for two years."

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"Oh my goodness! The poor boy!" RJ laughed, leaning back in her seat. "What about the rest of the recital? Please tell me he continued."

"Oh, he did," said the car driver. "His nose was all red and snotty and tears were falling down his face, but he continued on. Afterwards, he bawled his eyes out and swore never to do ballet again!"

"Aw! How old is he now?"

"The young age of 16. Still a pain in the , but he is my pain in the ." Laughed the driver. The man looked pretty old to have 16 year old boy. He could have been her funny grandpa. But you know what, RJ isn't one to judge, so as long as he loves his kid, everything is fine.

The car stopped in front of an eleven story building covered in glass. It wasn't the tallest building in the area, but it had a grand feel to it. The front door was a large spinning door and a normal door beside it with a handicap symbol stuck to the window. Above the doors was the word Horizon (not to be confused with Horizon utilities). The parking lot was almost full, and most of the cars were like the one she rode; black with tinted windows. It seemed somewhat strange, but the scene didn't stick out like a sore thumbs, like she expected there to be those cars. Not seeing them would have made for a very different feeling. Before the lawn met the sidewalk, there was a big piece of concrete with the company name in colours. Beside it was a copper coloured rooster statue face the direction of the slab.

"The boss will be right inside," said the driver. "I was nice talking to you, young lady."

"And to you, sir!" RJ smiled, got out of the car and walked towards the front doors.

"Riley!" Said a voice the minute she stepped inside. She looked around, but nobody was approaching her, so she didn't know who said it.

"Yes?" She said quietly, looking around. Nobody answered, so she took another step forward. "Yes?" She said a little louder.

To her left, from the earth green sofas, a man jumped over the couch and came stumbling her way. "There you are! Sorry, I fell asleep and couldn't get up because of all the magazines. H-How are you?"

The man had heavy bags under his eyes. Even if he looked pristine, he gave off an air of exhaustion. Seeing him in a suit made RJ enjoy the eye candy. His hair was slicked back, but it wasn't drowning in hair gel. He wore a dark grey suit and had on a crimson, patterned tie. He looked dressed to impress.

Meanwhile, Jiyong was trying hard not to collapse.

"I'm doing quite well. You must be Mr. Kwon. How are you?" Said RJ, shaking the man's hand.

"Huh? Oh! Yes, I'm doing well. Nice to see you again- I mean, wait, no. Just nice to see you." He chuckled nervously. "Diane?" He called, walking (rather quickly) to the pretty receptionist. As he leaned against the desk, his back to RJ, the receptionist saw the panic in his eyes and the tremors in his hand. "Think you can book me a reservation for the Fan restaurant two months from now?"

"Kim's birthday?" She asked, typing away at her computer.

"Right on the nose, darling!" The receptionist offered a heartfelt smiled and Jiyong turned back to RJ. "N-Now, let me give you the tour of the company." He said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Our very own Noel designed the layout for the front foyer. She said the layout remained professional while giving a sense of invitation. A lot of company members have young children, so that door on the left is an indoor playground, kept separate from random onlookers and people who walk in."

RJ followed the direction of his words while Jiyong looked at her, taking in her pretty features in the spilt second of calm. She turned back to look his in the eyes and he was snapped out of his daze. "How was the ride," he asked, leading her to the elevators.

"Oh, it was lovely! The driver was so kind. He really loved to talk about his kid." Replied RJ. They stepped into the elevator and he pressed the button for the tenth floor.

What caught her attention immediately was the fact that there were twelve buttons; ten for above ground and two for a basement. There were eleven floors above ground, for sure. She couldn't have counted incorrectly four times. No way.

"Hmm. Unfortunately, the old man lost his only son 15 years ago. I really wish I could help him out, but the shock just froze his brain to keep thinking his son was still alive." Jiyong mentally slapped himself. 'Stop talking!!' "There was a accident that stole his son away from him."

RJ felt the air become a lot more depressing. 'Way to start the tour off' she thought to herself.

"The old man was in a daze when I found him many years ago. He was kind to me, so of course, when I finally got this company going, I hired him. Gave him something to do. I didn't want him rotting away in loneliness."

"That's lovely," RJ commented, giving Jiyong a warm smile. 

Unfortunately, the smile did more harm than good. Jiyong, already tired and nervous, felt his heart shudder at her smile. He felt the shiver of impending doom race down his spine, and replayed dangerous memories in his mind.

"Hearing your story makes me a lot less nervous," said RJ, looking up at the numbers in the elevator. "I came here to do my best, never sure I'd succeed. But meeting you in person, having you tell me such a wonderful story, it makes me a little more confident." RJ moved a strand of her straight hair behind her ears and smiled again. "Thank you."

Oh, how his heart hurt so badly. "I must apologize," said Jiyong. "I meant to greet you with a proper face, no sleepy eyes, no pathetic posture." Jiyong stood a little taller, pulling his hands out of his pockets. "I must apologize, miss Mays, for my terrible appearance today."

"No, no need to apologize. A full-time CEO is a big responsibility that will come with late nights."

"I'm used to late nights," Jiyong sighed. "Just not used to looking this gross."

RJ chuckled. "You don't look gross, sir. You are being too hard on yourself."

A small smirk pulled at his lips, but he was too tired to really smile. "I have no boss, so I have to be. How else am I going to keep this company in check?" The ding from the elevator signalled their arrival and they stepped out. 

"There are five company heads, each managing two of ten floors allocated to a different section of the company." Said Jiyong, motioning to the five large offices at end of the hall. "If you decide to work here, your floor will most likely be the seventh or eighth floor, the tech wing. The head of that department is Seung-hyun." He pointed to the second office from the left.

"The tenth floor is managed by me , that one is my office," he said, pointing to the left-most set of doors. "On this floor, a lot of ideas are gathered and tossed around until a discussion date is decided. If the ideas demand a lot of change, or requires individual member input, the five heads, the sub-managers and the in-officer workers gather in the meeting room to the right." 

"This is a wonderful place to work," she commented, looking around at the different doors on the tenth floor. "Working here might be really nice."

"It is, trust me." Jiyong opened the door to his office and revealed a big room with a mahogany desk in the centre.

No more nervousness, no more awkward fiddling. His brain, in full view of RJ, had finally come to terms with the harsh reality that lay before him. Riley Jean Mays, a beautiful woman indeed, was nothing like the woman Jiyong had lost some many years ago. His brain fed him lies, making him believe RJ could replace her, but being so close, talking to her, that wasn't the case. His beating heart, brought back to life by senseless hope, slowed considerably. 

 "My office, the best place in the whole building. I like to spend my time looking at the people walking by and napping in my lovely leather throne," he said, putting his hands behind his head.

"In all this fun, how do you find time to work?" RJ laughed, sitting down in one of the chairs in front of the desk

Jiyong loved those kinds of responses. They were sarcastic and humorous, just what he-

'No. Stop right there. I have had enough.'

 "I think you'd fit in just fine here. But I think I've told you quite a lot about the company. Enlighten me on your life story."

"Oh, that's much too boring." She waved the idea away. "You wouldn't find it very intriguing."

"My colleague got to talk with you, but I've been blabbing all morning. Tell me a little about yourself."

RJ recalled Noel explaining Jiyong's personality, and she highlighted that he was a VERY lax person. Make jokes if possible, kind of guy.

"Well, I may not look it, but I am competitive boxer."

GD raised a brow and stopped, really giving RJ a good once over. 'What? No. Not possible.' 

"You may be saying 'what?' or 'not possible'."

'Is she a mind reader too?' GD thought to himself, trying to hold back a smile.

"But I assure you, I beat many people on Wii boxing, and I hold the champion title." RJ readjusted her jacket. "I'm also great at tennis."

GD could no longer hold his smile. Even as he tried to cover it up with his fingers, his eyes gave it away. "Can I assume you are also good at bowling?" He asked.

"Unfortunately, no. My talents lie elsewhere, in the land of Wii skiing and Wii yoga. I accidentally sent the remote flying into the television while bowling."

"You are not the only one," Jiyong chuckled, opening a drawer in his desk. He pulled out a stack of paper and a pen and put them on the desk in between them. "Personally, I think you'll be a great asset to the team. Your work history says a lot, and you seem like you'd work well with people, so I'd be happy to give you the job.

Jiyong explained her work and the little tidbits of the contract. RJ read through it and would ask question where ever she needed a little clarification. She would pull the paper down to just under her eyes, giving Jiyong a view of her pretty brown eyes behind her glasses. When she put the paper back up, her whole face was covered, but Jiyong would still be looking in her direction. He wasn't one to not take the time to appreciate a pretty face.

Noises from outside of the office grew louder and would fade periodically. Jiyong was getting pretty annoyed and wanted to tell his men to shut up, but he needed to deal with RJ first. The noises would stop sooner or later. As long as they didn't bring the mess into the office right at that very mome- 

"Alright!" Said RJ, putting the contract on his desk. "Ready to sign."

"Really?" Jiyong beamed, passing her the pen. "Like I said, you will fit in just fine here. This company treats it's members like family. No harm will come your way-"

As if on cue, a man violently pushed the doors open and stumbled inside. His face was bruised and bloody and he was panting. Three other men and a woman came in not long after.

"Boss, boss please!" The man pleaded, getting on his hands and knees. "I didn't do anything!"

Jiyong tsked and stood up from his chair. The air around him was threatening and suffocating and RJ found herself quite scared of her new boss. "Of all times to come in, it's right as I'm explaining how safe she will be," he said, motioning to RJ. "Get him out of here." Jiyong waved to the others and they approached the man. The bruised man scrambled over to Jiyong and grabbed at his sweater.

"Please, boss. I wasn't my fault. I swear, it wasn't m-"

Jiyong, in rage and disgust, punched the man painfully hard in his face. With a thud, the man landed on the floor, unconscious and barely breathing.