“ARE YOU SURE you don’t want me to come by later? I can finish early and pick you up.”

“What do you mean finish early? You can’t do that! You’re  a freaking CEO. You’ve got a company to run.”

Nicole giggled at her guy best friend while he just shrugged as he pulled the car over. “That company practically runs itself. They don’t really need me. My old man just gave me the job because a young, handsome bachelor as CEO creates buzz.”

She gave him a sympathetic smile and patted his cheek lovingly. “Poor you, they only want you for your body.”

“Right?” Jinwoon rolled his eyes. “ing bastards.”

“Must to be living under the I’m-so-attractive-and-rich-that everyone-loves-me curse.”

He gave out a long sigh, feigning dejection. “First World problems.”

She shifted on the passenger’s seat and turned to face him. “Why is that not a real issue? I mean, rich people are having a tough time living in this world obviously. Should I buy a Lamborghini or a Bugatti as a gift for my son on his sixteenth birthday? Which top expensive preschool  should I enrol my two-year-old daughter to? I have thalassophobia and would never go anywhere near an ocean but should I buy a yacht just in case? Imagine having to live with that constant dilemma hovering over you like a cloud every single day. That !”

“A thalassophobic buying a yacht!” A loud chortle burst from Jinwoon’s lips. “That is definitely something a rich person would do.”

Making fun of rich people had always been their thing; an inside joke between the two of them. Having been born into wealthy families, they both have been raised to socialize with a certain crowd whose status are akin to theirs. They were always forced to attend high profile events, filled with people with silver spoon stuck up their asses. Nicole and Jinwoon would sit at the corner side by side during those days, their shoulders shaking from silent laughter as they make up ridiculous dialogues with funny accents in sync to the movement of the mouths of people talking in the distance.

“Rich people are stupid.” Nicole said, breathless from laughing.

“They .” Jinwoon replied, beaming.

Finding themselves sliding back into this old routine, a sense of relief washes over the both of them.

They sat there, grinning at each other when suddenly the coffee shop in front of them opens and a stream of people rushed inside. This brought them back to reality as Nicole jumped and said, “I should get in. My shift’s about to start.”

All of a sudden, Jinwoon’s feelings was replaced by a strange one. It still stuns him at times that the reality they were in wasn’t where Nicole was dressed in fancy dresses and sparkling shoes, her dark hair, perfectly curled, cascading down her back; but in a mere white shirt and black pants, a name tag pinned on her chest and an apron wrapped around her waist, her now blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail.

He had always wondered how things had turned out this way, and what had happened during the time they were apart. He had vague knowledge about those things. Nicole had kept them from him. Jinwoon wasn’t sure why.

Nicole stepped out of the car and peered at him through the window. “Don’t bother to pick me up later okay? Honestly, I’ll be fine. I can just ride the bus, it’s perfectly safe so don’t worry.”

“Hey Nic wait!”

Nicole wheels around and was startled to see a