Life always revolved around money for two kinds of people – those who had plenty of money and those who had none. Oh Sehun was the kind of person who was born with so much money that everything in life automatically had a price tag attached to it – humans included. He saw values above things and people’s heads. It made his whole life unconsciously revolve around money, even though he had plenty. The thing is – you could never really have enough money in your hands when everything in life was measured in numbers. 

“Your work efficiency, I’ve been informed, is below what you’ve promised me, far below. I’m not getting the results you had promised I would get from you, and you even managed to lose the deal with Marie-Antoinette Hotel,” Sehun played with the golden coin, not even bothering to look up at the employee, “So give me a reason why I would ever want to keep you?”

“I’m so sorry, General Manager, I should’ve handled the matter better!” The employee pleaded, “Please, give me another chance!”

A sigh escaped his mouth as Sehun, spinning the coin around on his desk, “I’m not into charity, Kwon Hyungsik. I expect at least 100% of my employees, and you gave me less. Shares are on the point of dropping, which means you’ve failed. I don’t permit failures.”

Their conversation is cut off by the sudden knocking on the door. Seconds later the door is opened and a young, handsome man walks into the room, eyes glistering with the kind of confidence that automatically permitted him to step right into the room.

“General Manager Oh, it’s time for your next meeting,” The young man said, politely but laced with warmth.

Sehun gave the person an acknowledging expression before glancing at the employee in front of him who was close to having a panic attack, “You’re fired, Kwon Hyungsik.”

Kwon Hyungsik was close to opening his mouth and beg for mercy, but the stern expression of General Manager Oh together with the indifferent look of the young man standing beside made him swallow those pleads and bury his anger. Once General Manager Oh made a decision, nobody could bring him to change it. Begging for a second chance would just be throwing the last bits of pride away in the ocean. So he muttered a soft meaningless I’ll be taking my leave then before walking out of the room.

Sehun watched him leave before letting out a sigh, “I need to have a good talk with Chanyeol about the kind of people he selects. Clearly there is something wrong with his judgment of good employees these days.”

The young man chuckled at this, “Sehun, please don’t treat Chanyeol so harshly. He’s doing his utmost best.”

Sehun scoffed at this before looking up to meet the other’s eyes, squeezing the other’s hand that lay comfortably on his shoulder, “Time for my next meeting, huh?”

The other smiled at this, “Yes, Sehun, the most important one of today.”

“I’ll have to agree with that,” Sehun said with a soft grin, “because these days it’s insanely hard to get to have lunch with the one and only Do Kyungsoo. I’ve made sure to reserve at a presentable Italian restaurant this time.”

Kyungsoo’s smile brightened at this, “You know I would love to eat anything, as long as it’s with you,” he said as he leaned down slightly to wrap his arms around Sehun’s neck, “but thank you.”

“Everything for you,” Oh Sehun said with a charismatic smile.

»

Sunny days meant people going to the beach. Sunny days meant ways to earning quick money.

“Hey, hey, hey, you handsome young man, aren’t you thirsty with the sun shining so brightly?” Lu Han quickly takes a water bottle out of the box lying on the ground next to him, “why don’t you buy a bottle of water to cool down?”

The stranger stopped in his track to look at Lu Han, eyes glued to his face before grinning, “Sure,” he says, already fishing his wallet out of his jean pocket, “how much, beauty?”

“5000 Won,” Lu Han said without the slightest bit of embarrassment, eyes shining with the kind of innocence that was meant for selling.

The stranger’s eyed widened in shock at this, “You sure know how to steal money, beauty.”

Lu Han smiled sweetly at this, not admitting defeat, “Come on, I carried all these boxes on my own with the sun digging holes into my skin. I need to earn a living too, handsome boy.”

The stranger raised an eyebrow before shaking his head, a fake sigh escaping his mouth, “I don’t think-”

“Don’t be so serious, handsome boy!” Lu Han yelled frantically, panicking when he saw the other slowly putting his wallet back into his pocket, “5000 Won and I’ll give you a kiss on the cheek.”

This triggered the other’s interest, seeing how the stranger’s expression turned into one of contemplation. A grin grew on his lips as he eyed Lu Han from head to toe once more, “Alright, sure, why not,” He took out some bills out of his wallet before handing it to Lu Han way too easily, “here you go, pretty boy.”

Lu Han gleefully accepted the money before giving the stranger the water bottle. He intently groaned when he saw the expectant expression of the other, hoping he would have taken it as a joke. But 5000 Won dollars was still worth kissing some handsome stranger’s cheek so he quickly pecked the other’s cheek before throwing the other another honey-dripping smile.

“Enjoy your day!” Lu Han said cheerfully, the seller’s smile already on.

“How about you give me your number?” The stranger asked as he opened the water bottle, thirst hitting him and he made sure to drink as handsome as possible.

Lu Han no doubt found him at least slightly attractive, with the big brown eyes and chocolate colored hair, but then he saw the watch wrapped around the other’s wrist and it was not any brand he knew, so the decision was too easy. Way too easy but Lu Han had to make things clear from the beginning, because he did not have time to have useless things drag on.

“I’m sorry, I don’t give my number to customers,” Lu Han said, always with the smile.

The stranger looked quite offended, but instead of arguing with the other and hurting his pride more with it, he decided to just turn away and leave, much to Lu Han’s delight. Some customers could be really clingy and annoying these days, and he was happy to not have encountered any today. He quickly slipped the bills in his pocket before glancing around eagerly, hoping to find another person that would be willing to buy crazily expensive water. A grin appears upon seeing an insanely handsome young man walking across the beach, hands in the pockets of his trousers and that dress shirt looked illegally expensive.

“Mister,” He said as he quickly grabbed a water bottle before rushing to him, “would you like to buy a bottle of water? It’s really hot today and you always need to keep yourself hydrated.”

Mister insanely handsome with the gelled hair and fierce eyes glanced at him nonchalantly before looking down at the bottle in his hands. A sigh escaped the tall male’s mouth before he said, “How much?”

Lu Han was about to say 5000 Won but the glimpse of the Cartier watch caught all his attention, “10000 Won.” It was always a risk to put the price so insanely high, but sometimes Lu Han would test his lucks and go for an all-or-nothing, “How about it, handsome?”

The young man scoffed at this, “Greediness has its limit, you know. I could have you arrested for being a cheat.”

This caused Lu Han’s smile to stiffen the slightest bit, “Prices skyrocket when the demand is high. Come on, 10000 Won for some much needed hydration. I’ll even give you a kiss on the cheek if you want.”

The disbelief in the stranger’s expression was quickly replaced by a knowing and disgust tinted one, “Gold-diggers will always be gold-diggers, it seems. You know what,” The stranger swiftly grabs and opens his wallet, flashing his cards to Lu Han while he randomly takes some bills out of it, “here you go,” He says before rudely throwing the money against Lu Han’s face, money bills hitting the skin mercilessly before dropping on the ground, “pick it up from the ground like a beggar if you dare.”

And then mister handsome pressed his lips harshly against Lu Han’s, softness meeting softness.

Lu Han was too shocked to do anything, to even fully realize what was going on. All he knew was that before he could even move a finger, the other already moved away, eyeing him with a cold grin. It was eternity summarized in a second, ending with a bitter aftertaste.

“You…” Lu Han began softly, eyes wide in surprise.

Mister handsome glanced down at the money bills spread around them, a harsh chuckle escaping his mouth, “There you go, the money you want so much,” He said before snatching the water bottle out of Lu Han’s hand and walking off, leaving Lu Han flabbergasted.

»

Sehun glanced down at his ringing cell phone, a soft smile appearing on his cold expression upon seeing the caller ID. He smoothly pressed on the answer-button before placing the cell phone against his ear.

“Missing me already?” Sehun said teasingly.

“I’m just calling to see where you are right now. One call and you didn’t even bother with staying for some coffee,” Kyungsoo said gently, “Did something happen?”

Sehun’s grin widened at this, “Scared I might be having someone else outside?”

“Stop fooling around, Sehun, you know I would never think that,” Kyungsoo replied calmly, a soft chuckle following, “Where are you right now?”

Sehun glanced around, letting the breeze glow at him gently, “The beach. I’m almost there.”

“The beach? You must be enjoying yourself, General Manager Oh,” Kyungsoo said amusedly.

Sehun thought back about what happened minutes ago, meeting the type of people he loathed the most, and all of a sudden he was so consciously aware of the water bottle he held in his hand. He scoffed intently before a sigh slipped, “Don’t even talk about it.”

Kyungsoo must have sensed his unhappiness, “Take your time doing what you need to do, I’ll be waiting for you at home.”

Sehun smiled a little at this, “I’ll see you tonight. I have a surprise for you, so be prepared.”

“Alright,” Kyungsoo said excitedly, “I love you.”

Sehun smiled contently as he thought about the ring he was going to pick up, the one he had asked the well-known and highly respected Lee Minhyun to specially make for him. A custom-made and one of a kind ring that only Do Kyungsoo would be able to wear. He had planned on proposing to Kyungsoo for a while, and he was determined to make it perfect. Absolutely perfect.