People had this preconceived notion that the business industry was like a war zone; To survive you had to fight tooth and nail, constantly battling against your competitors to stay on top or be destroyed. Sehun had believed it himself as a child. Now, after years of being personally involved in his father’s business he knew that was wrong. It was not a war zone; it was a game, a game that was not carried on in the shadows but out in the open, in full view of the other players. There were no second chances. Either know how to play or get played.

His father had always said "Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move fall like a thunderbolt." When he was a kid he thought it was nonsense, a dramatic proverb his father used to keep him in line, but after actually watching how his father operated he finally understood. He’d met a plethora of business men but his father was by far the coldest of them all, leaving even his own son clueless as to what went on behind those seemingly cruel eyes. Sehun was closer to him than anyone, except for maybe his personal assistant, and he hardly knew the man.

“Your thoughts are your greatest weapon and they needed to be protected,” He told Sehun, drilling it into his head constantly. Eventually, Sehun didn’t need to be told anymore. He understood; to be on top you had to keep them guessing, to make them fear you. An angry man is frightening but a quiet one is terrifying.

He learned well from his father; following him to every ceremony, every board meeting, every charity fundraiser. Sitting next to his father, impassively watching the empire his father built expand before his eyes.

Of course, being so actively involved in the company meant he was constantly in the public eye. He was never alone, save for when he was at home (which was seldom), and that meant just about everything he said or did could be heard or seen by somebody.

He kept his life extremely private which made it nearly impossible for people to get the gossip they desperately wanted. He didn’t date. He was single and planned to keep it that way. Woman were only a distraction he didn’t have time for.

When his father passed away suddenly and he was left to run the business at the young age of twenty-two, people expected him to fail; most men would have, but he hadn't spent the last fifteen years being a shadow to his father for nothing. He knew every inch of the company and exactly who to trust. His father had been old and stubborn but Sehun was much more willing to change if it would benefit him. Within two years, he had rebuilt the company in his own image, tripling their profits and becoming one of the number one technology conglomerates in the world, spanning across the globe.

Magazines were praising him as "This Generations Rockefeller." He had people waiting months just to go to lunch and he made it onto nine different Forbes lists. His life was going exactly how he planned.

That was until he met a grad student by the name of Park Chanyeol.

His company was the leading power in technology in Korea and as such they had a certain public image to maintain. They donated millions to universities and schools every year and even had quite a few rather generous scholarships. Of course people assumed he was just kind and philanthropic; That’s exactly what he wanted them to believe. "Constantly striving for innovation," was the company’s motto and what better way to embody that than to support the people that would one day take their place. It was all very good press.

Along with the donations and scholarships they hosted a yearly convention for developers and innovators to showcase their brand new ideas and prototypes. If he saw anything that caught his eye he would buy out the project. Occasionally people were stubborn and didn’t want to be bought out but it was an easy enough solution to just offer them a place at his company. The contract usually included a salary ending in six figures that was very hard to resist.

All in all the convention was a great way to scoop up the best new technology before the other companies got it and still make a good impression on the public. It was to this year's convention that he was headed now.

They had received over 6000 applicants this year, everyone claiming they had the best new creation. Most of them were tired and boring, rehashes of existing products but some had piqued his interest. After weeding through the trash he selected just over 200 people to take part in the event. If half of them worked out as well as promised, he was about to add another zero to his bank account before the quarter end.

He straightened the cuffs on his collar as the car pulled in front of the hotel. A check in the mirror confirmed not a hair out of place as he fixed his tie. He wasn't just the brains behind the operation; he was the poster boy. If he looked tired or stressed people’s faith in the company would waver, resulting in drops in their stocks. As good as he was at what he did, he still needed his investors.

His driver opened the door and he stepped out into the onslaught of camera flashes. He didn't smile or wave, merely tucked his hands into his pockets and strolled in like he owned the place which - technically - he did.

He was scheduled to speak in half an hour but public events tended to bore him, so he made his way to the dining room to kill some time. He sat down at the bar and motioned to the man behind the counter. "Double scotch. Neat, please." The bartender nodded at Sehun and busied himself preparing it.

"Isn't it a little early?"

He turned to his side, almost shocked to see a man sitting a couple stools down he hadn't noticed. He caught himself at the last moment, schooling his face into one of bored indifference as he looked from the drink in front of the man and back to him. "Apparently not for you," Sehun said as he cocked an eyebrow up.

The man blinked, looking down at his drink and back at Sehun with an embarrassed smile. "Oh, yeah, that. I don't normally drink. I'm just here for the convention and needed something to calm my nerves,” he said with a weak chuckle.

Sehun studied him. He seemed about the same height as Sehun, his legs dangling far enough to almost touch the ground, even slouched over as he was. He was wearing slacks and a dress shirt but it was clear they were cheaply made, even from this far away. His black hair was gelled back but loose strands dangled on the sides and his ears stuck out awkwardly. He wore a pair of ragged glasses that kept dropping down his nose so he needed to push them back up constantly. Sehun had a hard time believing he had accepted this man into his convention. "You're a participant here?" The bartender returned with his drink as the man responded.

"Yup," The man nodded as he took a sip of his own drink. He recoiled from the taste and Sehun had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. Clearly he did not belong here. "I developed a new eye tracking software for hands free devices. I'm here to try to sell it but to be honest I'm sort of freaking out. I heard the guy that runs this is a real hard ."

"Oh?" He turned in his chair to face the man, barely keeping his lips from pulling into a frown. Was this guy stupid or something? He was bad mouthing Sehun to Sehun. Did he come here without any clue who the man he was trying to pitch his idea to actually looked like?

The stranger shrugged, looking down at his drink. "I mean I get it. He was still so young when he had to take over the company so he feels the need to prove himself, ya know? It's understandable. It's just that most of the people he's approved in the past two years have been university funded students." He looked up, a sad smile playing on his lips. "My university didn't approve my proposal so I did everything myself. It's not quite up to par, you know?"

Sehun should have been offended. This guy was criticizing him right to his face without even realizing. Normally that would have bought him a one way ticket to the curb. As it was, Sehun realized he hadn't ever bothered to check where the funding for his applicants came from. It had him curious. "So how much did your project cost you?"

The man shrugged and brought his hand up to scratch his neck, tilting his head down and away from Sehun's view. "I spent my savings on it. About three million won."

"Oh, well that's not bad."

Apparently this was the wrong thing to say because the man looked at Sehun like he had a second head. "It took me YEARS to save that money. Now I spent it all on this based off the sliver of hope this guy will see what I see. If he doesn't I'm literally screwed. I won't even be able to afford rent."

Sehun had never had to worry about money in his life so the thought that three million won could ruin someone's future was odd to say the least. He had shoes more expensive than that, after all. Still, he was curious to hear more. This was a good chance to learn what the people he wanted to recruit were like. The more he knew the easier it would be to buy them out or sway them to join his company.

"I see. If it's put you in such a bad spot why did you do it in the first place?" He swallowed his drink in one shot, sliding the glass across the bar as he waited for a refill. "Why did you risk everything for this?"

The stranger seemed to think for a moment, head tilting to the side in a way that reminded him of a child deep in thought. He shrugged, turning back to him with a half-smile as another drink was placed in front of Sehun. "I guess I never really thought about it. I wasn't focused on the chances of failure. I just knew what I wanted and worked hard to get it." He shrugged again, turning back to the bar with a smile.

Sehun was annoyed. That was hardly an answer. He didn't explain why he risked his apparent livelihood or why he wanted to develop software. Sehun probed deeper. "But surely you know why you pursued this field in the first place?" He took a small swig of his scotch, suddenly wanting this drink to last a bit longer.

The stranger nodded and did the same, sipping on his own drink. "Yeah, cause I like technology. I've been taking things apart and putting them back together since I was a kid. Why wouldn't I do it as a job if I could make money and love it?”
"But you never once considered the chance you could fail?"

He turned back to Sehun, a smile pulling on his lips. Did this kid ever stop smiling? "Of course I knew I might but it was never an important factor for me. I couldn't live my life knowing I'd given up on my dream because I was afraid." He chuckled quietly, shaking his head before looking back at Sehun. "I'm a lot of things, but I'm no coward."

Sehun was speechless for a moment. He had to say he admired this kid’s perseverance. Always having been quite driven himself, his demeanor had gotten him far. Sehun had every chance to just take what was given to him and ride the coat tails of his father’s success but he’d wanted to make a name for himself that wasn’t eclipsed by his father’s shadow.
He wasn't sure what it was but he saw something of himself in this kid. Once you got past the lack of confidence and generally awkward demeanor, it was clear to see this guy was dedicated. That could get you much farther than inherent skill; Sehun knew this much. This guy might not be much to look at but he had the attitude to get him places.

"Well, cheers to you then." His lips pulled into a small smile as he brought his glass up. The stranger grinned toothily, bringing his own glass up to clink against Sehun's. The CEO brought his glass to his lips, swallowing the harsh liquid like water. He wiped his mouth, grinning back at the stranger as he got up. He dropped some money on the counter, pausing to look at the man. "Sorry, I never caught your name?"

"Oh, Chanyeol. Park Chanyeol."

"Well its been a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Park Chanyeol." He found that to be true, holding his hand out to shake Chanyeol's. He had genuinely enjoyed talking to this man, if only for the insight it had offered.
Chanyeol clasped their hands together, shaking Sehun's arm a bit too vigorously for his taste. "Same to you. I hope to see you around."

Sehun smiled, laughing quietly to himself. "Oh, I'm sure you will."