Jen cleared while staring at the plain, tiled floor. ‘Love affair?’ she thought, ‘it was just a hug… What did it matter if I hugged him anyway? Hugging Luhan isn’t a crime…’ However, she still felt guilty for some odd reason. It was something about the look it Kai’s eyes when he walked in… it was as if he had been betrayed and something else… Something else flickered in his eyes but Jen didn’t know how to define it.

Jen heaved a sigh and looked to Luhan who was gathering his things. He still appeared to be in his same forlorn mood but after the hug, something about him was… different.  “Lu-,”

“I’ll be out in a minute,” he said, cutting her off mid-sentence.

“That’s not what I was going to ask…” Jen said.

Luhan didn’t respond but only sighed quietly and went back to packing up his things – his face was slightly flushed red from the exertion considering he hadn’t fully recovered yet.

“Do you need help with that?” Jen asked softly, feeling herself becoming awkward due to Luhan’s silence.

Luhan just shook his head ‘no’ and with much effort, he picked up his bags and headed towards the door. “That’s okay, I can handle it.”

“Ah, okay then,” she replied and followed Luhan out of the room and out of the hospital. She was thankful that Luhan was okay… well at least for the most part. Since his father’s visit, Luhan appeared exceptionally downcast – his physical state was okay but his mental state was an entirely different story…

The two approached a sleek black car parked in front of the hospital and knowing that it was Kai’s car, they put their bags in the trunk before climbing into the car.

The car ride back to the college was extremely awkward – no one said a word to each other. To Jen’s right, Luhan sat silently staring out of the window – his face looked angelic in the warm glow of the sunlight but… he was more like a sad angel – a desolate, broken angel.

She sighed and looked at the passenger seat where Kai sat. He, like Luhan, was staring out the window too but his emotions were much harder to read. He remained emotionless for the most part, however, his jaw was tightly clenched and he kept his eyes concealed behind his usual pair of dark sunglasses.

She wanted to say something… anything to break the tension in the air. It was so heavy it could literally suffocate you. However, before she could think of anything to say, they arrived at the college.

Both Jen and Luhan got out of the car, once again being greeted by the crisp, noon air. The car’s trunk promptly popped open and they grabbed their bags; Jen walked back around the car to Kai’s door.

“Ka-,” Jen began.

“Drive,” Kai said to the driver as he rolled his window up, not bothering to acknowledge Jen’s existence.

Jen watched in shock as the car pulled away from her and down the road. ‘What’s his problem?’ she wondered. The car drew farther and farther away until it disappeared into the distance. Jen then turned around to at least see if Luhan was still around but he was nowhere to be seen.

‘So they both just left…’ Jen thought disappointedly then picked up a cup of noodles from the café on her way back to her dorm room and slurped them hungrily – she didn’t realize that she hadn’t eaten for almost an entire day. Jen walked into her dorm hall and then into her room where she finally relieved herself of her bags and sat down on her bed, still eating her noodles when her phone ringed:

“Yeoboseyo?” Jen answered, putting the noodles down on her nightstand.

“Jenny-ah, it’s nice to finally hear from you,” her mom said.

“Eomma!” Jen said excitedly and sat up on her bed, sitting ‘Indian style’, “How are you and dad doing?”

“We uhh… we’re doing okay,” her mom said hesitantly before quickly changing the subject, “How is college? Did you snag yourself a rich one yet?”

“Mom!” Jen shouted embarrassedly, “You know I don’t care about the money.”

“Aish… You know your mother just had to ask,” her mother chuckled, “I would’ve expected you to be dating by now.”

“It’s not that easy,” Jen sighed, “besides, I should be completely focused on school right now. If my grades slip, I’ll lose my scholarship.”

“Well a rich boyfriend would happily pay your tuition,” her mother mumbled.

“Mommm~!” Jen whined. She could practically hear her mom smiling goofily from over the phone.

“Okay, okay I’m done,” her mom chuckled lightheartedly, “I know it must be getting late over there… I don’t want to keep you all night with my rambling. I’ll call you soon okay? Probably after our company meeting tomorrow.”

“Wait… company meeting? Wasn’t the last meeting to discuss lay-offs?” Jen questioned in fear that her parents might lose their jobs like they almost did last time when the company had to fire quite a few people.

“No, no… not this time. Some company representative is coming here to tell us about some merger that’s supposed to be happening,” her mother answered.

“Oh, oh okay. Well now I should stop my bombardment of questions,” Jen chuckled, “goodnight eomma.”

“Goodnight my daughter, sleep well,” her mother replied then hung up the phone.

Jen listened to the dial tone for a few moments before hanging up as well. The second that her mother hung up, she had already began to miss her. It wasn’t as difficult to deal without her before but now hearing her voice changed things – it made her miss her even more. She longed to be back in Korea with her crazy parents and her best friends Ga In and Baekhyun.

Jen laid down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling in deep thought. ‘I promised myself I would just law low but I keep seeming to get myself in more and more drama,’ she thought with another sigh as she turned to lay on her side, ‘maybe it’ll get better eventually…’

---

~The next day in Korea~

Kai’s P.O.V:

“That flight completely drained me,” Kai complained to his assistant, “get me an espresso.” He was being followed around throughout the huge Kimpo airport by two of his personal assistants – both of which were female. Kai preferred having female assistants for obvious reasons. I mean, what guy would want a bunch of male assistants anyway?

“What kind, sir?” one assistant asked.

“You ask me that every time and I always say the same thing,” Kai said impatiently, “get me the usual.” He picked up his luggage off the conveyer belt and handed it to the other assistant. “Take this to the hotel room and unpack everything. I don’t want to have to do anything tonight.”

“Yes sir,” the assistant said with a bow before leaving.

Kai watched her walk away with a erted smirk before heading toward the airport’s exit. “Now what?” he complained as his phone began ringing and he answered it with a huff. “Yeoboseyo?”

“Kai, where are you? Are you going to be late?” the CEO of W&M Inc. asked impatiently.

“I’m on my way,” Kai answered, trying to maintain his professionalism but he found himself becoming irritated, “I just landed at Kimpo’s airport.”

“Palli, don’t keep us waiting,” the CEO said before hanging up.

Kai hung up angrily and jammed his phone back in his pocket. “Aish!” he hissed, “I’m merging with your pathetic company and yet I get no respect.” He slapped on his sunglasses and then he heard the ominous thunder of footsteps and immediately knew what was happening – paparazzi.

‘Here we go… I should’ve known they’d be here,’ he thought irritably seeing a vast sea of people with cameras and microphones headed his way. They all had the same basic look – the reporter always wore a business suit while their camera guy dressed in casual attire… it was always the same. Paparazzi were always the same. They were like leaches ready to bleed you dry of any information you had but Kai knew exactly how to handle them.

“Kai, one question! How does it feel to be so young yet so successful?” one reporter asked, “is it stressful?”

“I can’t take all the credit for my success. My parents built this company with their hard work and efforts while I’m just doing my best to uphold that. I, too, get stressed like anyone else but at the end of the day, I really enjoy what I do and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Kai answered with a smile.

The reporters nodded their approval of his answer and another reporter stepped forward to ask a question. “So what is going to happen today with this merger?”

“I don’t feel comfortable releasing too much information considering our two companies are still in talks but please always anticipate a bigger, better Seoul Enterprises,” Kai smiled and nodded showing that he was done answering questions then started walking away.

‘Man am I good or what?’ Kai thought conceitedly as he straightened his tie, ‘I have them practically eating out of my hand.’ Then he felt someone tap his shoulder and he looked over to see that the reporters were still hot on his trail.

“Excuse me Kai, but can you answer another question?” a reporter pressured, shoving their microphone towards Kai’s face and he firmly pushed it away with a small smile – that smile, however, was extremely forced as Kai wanted nothing more than to slap the microphone right on the ground. How dare they put that grotesque thing near his face without his consent?!

“No, answer my question!” another reporter interjected, “Kai, are you dating anyone at the moment?”

“Is there anything you can tell us about Seoul Enterprises?” a reporter questioned.

“I’m done answering questions until the press conference tonight,” Kai said firmly and tried to maneuver around them but the reporters constantly tried to corner him in – they were relentless this time for some reason… probably because he hadn’t been to Seoul in a long time.

A few airport security guards rushed over to assist Kai so that he could safely get to his car without being too harassed by the press. Kai immediately got in the car and it hurriedly pulled off before the paparazzi could surround the car. “Damn paparazzi wouldn’t even let me get to my car,” he grumbled, “and where is my espresso?!”

“Right here, sir,” his assistant said nervously and handed it to him.

Kai sipped it and looked slightly disappointed. “It’s a bit too cold for my taste but it’s okay I suppose.” He took another sip and got comfortable in his seat, looking out the window to see the W&M Inc. headquarters growing closer. He smirked to himself thinking that he could easily settle this merger and anything else he needed to – he always did. People wanted to hear about the good in everything and not the struggle it takes to get there… Kai knew that. He exactly what they wanted to hear and that’s why he was so good at manipulating people just how he wanted; it was no wonder his parents always sent him off on business deals instead of going themselves… if anyone could settle a business deal, it was Kai.

---

Kai stepped out of the car and took off his sunglasses, throwing them back in the car. “Well, here goes nothing…” he mumbled while looking up at the tall building looming before him.

He walked towards the building’s entrance and frowned. ‘No doorman?’ he thought in shock and took out a tissue using it to cover the door handle and then opened the door, quickly throwing the tissue away. ‘Disgusting,’ he thought and then was greeted by a W&M employee. “Kai?” he asked.

“Ne,” Kai answered with a nod, not directly looking at the employee to maintain his indifferent stature.

“Right this way, sir,” the employee said then bowed and walked down a hallway.

Kai nodded and followed the employee down the hallway. ‘This building is pretty nice but… not as nice as Seoul Enterprise’s headquarters,’ he thought conceitedly as he observed his surroundings. The tile was white granite and the walls were a warm tan color with several scenic paintings decorating them.

They took a left and came upon nicely crafted, wooden double doors, which were opened by two employees; and they walked into a ballroom with a stage at the front. Everyone in the room turned around and stared directly at Kai as he made his “grand entrance”. The employees were dressed nicely and were seated at dining tables – it appeared more so as a party than a business meeting. It seemed rather odd to Kai that they were being so formal but he supposed they wanted to make a good impression… and why wouldn’t they? They weren’t merging with just any company – they were merging with Seoul Enterprises… the leader of the business world.

“Ah, our guest of honor has finally arrived,” the CEO of W&M said cheerily as he walked up to Kai and put his arm across his shoulders.

“Ahh ne,” Kai smiled insincerely, “I’m happy to be here, sir.” He felt disgusted that the CEO was being more of a “friend” to him than a business associate but he’d deal with it for the sake of maintaining his professional stature.

The CEO walked with Kai on the stage and directed him over to the microphone. “Are you ready to give your speech?”

Kai nodded with another smile then shook hands with the CEO who promptly went back to his seat afterwards.

“Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for taking time out of your busy schedules to make time for me and I apologize for being a bit late,” Kai began with a bow, “Now, today I would like to officially announce W&M Inc.’s merge with Seoul Enterprises!”

The crowd erupted with cheers and clapping and Kai waited for them to calm down before continuing.

“With this merger, we hope to bring more global exposure to W&M Inc. and with this, both our companies gain – this means better pay and better resources for everyone. Of course none of this is set in stone yet but this is Seoul Enterprise’s goal with this merger and I hope everyone finds this as useful as I do for the benefit of us all. As you may already know, we have merged with quite a few other companies, like ShimTa, and they all have experienced exponential increases in their sales and stocks. To grow towards a better future, we need to work together and with us helping each other, I know we can accomplish more and expand more over the years to come.”

The crowd again erupted with even more cheers and clapping as Kai’s speech came to a conclusion. Kai bowed deeply to the crowd and the CEO came back up on stage and shook Kai’s hand vigorously before stepping up to the microphone to say his own speech but before the CEO began – footsteps were heard to Kai’s right… female footsteps.

“Congratulations oppa,” said a familiar voice.