The moment he stepped on the podium, it was as if nothing ever happened. It was as if the CEO of ROYELL, the charismatic young man going by the name Oh Sehun, was never gone. His mere presence was enough to bring the needed reassurance that everything was going to be perfectly fine. That was what his name meant already. Just the hearing of his name, and one knew that the letters making up ROYELL would be shining in glory.

It took years, bloody years filled with pain and suffering, for the name Oh Sehun to reach such status. It took a hauntingly long time, seemingly endless years, for Oh Sehun to become an unforgettable figure. There were so many things that needed to be casted aside, so many wishes and desires that needed to be thrown away, for the sake of becoming someone worth being. It took suffering to become someone worth respecting. Sehun spent those years walking down a destined road, never questioning the path that was paved for him the moment he was born. It was always the bad things that taught people how to shine.

“A good afternoon, everyone,” Sehun said as he looked around the room, completely unaffected by the flashing lights of cameras and hundreds of news-hungry eyes looking at him, “thank you all for coming to this conference today.”

It had been Chanyeol’s idea, as always, to use a conference as a means of showing the world that Oh Sehun was back. It was the easiest and most effective way to make a statement. Everyone else just followed the lead and agreed on the suggestion. Everyone, as always, excluded Byun Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun had not been there on the first board meeting, had not been there on the second board meeting, and nobody really expected him to be there on the day of the conference. There was no way of getting in contact with him, and soon it reached to the point where nobody really tried anymore. It was a world that would not stop for anyone.

“I know there has been a lot of rumors going around recently, about me and my temporary leave, but I just want to use today as an opportunity to clear up everything,” Sehun flashed a confident smile at the intensified flashing of cameras, “I had some personal matters to attend to. Now that these matters have been taken care of, I’m back to resume my work as the CEO of ROYELL. I apologize for all the worry and doubt that might’ve come up because of my sudden absence.”

Kyungsoo and Chanyeol remained cautious about the way the public viewed this whole matter, and the concern leaked out of their wary eyes from time to time when they thought no one was looking. Sehun always saw it. The only person, who showed something akin to indifference, was Kim Jongin. Kim Jongin was not one to worry about petty things. As long as the result was flawless, nothing else could bother Kim Jongin. Sehun was always grateful for having such a reliable CFO, who would never let rumors and drama get the better of him. Jongin only believed in what he found worth believing.  

“Yes?” Sehun said, gesturing for the reporter, who was eagerly waving his hand, to speak.

“It seems to me that your absence was too sudden, and all this while we haven’t heard anything from you. What exactly is the reason for your temporary leave? Does it have anything to do with the turmoil between the shareholders?” The young lady with black-rimmed glasses asked.

Sehun nodded his head in understanding, “I can understand your question. I’ll have to apologize that I can’t tell my reason for being temporarily absent, but I can assure you all that my absence was agreed on. Also, I want to clarify here that there’s no such thing as unrest between the shareholders. We all get along very well and find working with each other pleasant. This matter had nothing to do with the other shareholders, who have been nothing but supportive of my decisions ever since I became the CEO of ROYELL.”

“Then how about your relationship with the CLO of ROYELL, Byun Baekhyun? It’s said that you two don’t get along well and he’s also not present today,” Another reporter asked, and Sehun instantly recognized him as one of Seoul’s top magazine reporters.

“There’s no such thing,” Sehun said, remaining calm, “I can confidently say that we both want what’s best for ROYELL. We might have some disagreements sometimes, but they are always fruitful and functional discussions for the sake of ROYELL’s well-being.”

Byun Baekhyun was a topic that always came up, no matter what the occasion was. Sehun held no particularly positive thoughts regarding him, seeing how Byun Baekhyun was always causing ruckus everywhere he was, but he remained someone Sehun had known practically his whole life. Sehun could never hold any hatred towards someone who was like an integrated part of his life. Their fathers were the founders of ROYELL, and ever since Sehun and Baekhyun were young, they had both been put together and been shed with the same light.

When they were young, it was a light that bonded them together. As they got older, it was a light that put them against each other. That was what light always did to people, it seemed.

“Then, can we ask when the Incheon project will start?”

There was a flash. A flash of something inside his head, in front of his eyes, and it momentarily caught him off guard. It was infuriating, because Sehun was not someone who permitted himself to be caught by surprises. Sehun demanded complete control over himself. Sehun demanded for his thoughts to never stray, his heart to never beat differently, and his soul to always stay as clear as day. Yet, at the thought of Incheon, at the thought of demolition and burning life down to ashes, something gnawed at him. Something that he could not put into words, for it was too weak to reach him completely, but it was there. It was there, like ants walking on his heart and leaving little footprints on the beating organ.

It was not absent, just haunting him.

“It’ll start as planned,” Sehun said emotionlessly, hiding his slightly shaking hand behind his hand.

»

“Lu Han, how are you feeling today?” Minseok asked gently as he took place on the seat next to the bed, “Do you still get those headaches?”

Minseok watched how Lu Han slowly moved his head to look at Minseok, a small strained smile dancing weakly on his lips. The paleness of his face was not pretty at all, and although Lu Han’s eyes glistered, they did not shine anymore. The car accident did not take away Lu Han’s life, which Minseok was eternally grateful for, but it did take certain things from Lu Han away. It did take certain things away that left Lu Han empty.

Minseok had been so close to going crazy when he got a phone call from the hospital, saying that Lu Han had gotten in an accident. He had feared the worst, for he did not had a clue what had happened to his good friend. Yixing and he got to Seoul as quickly as possible, rushing towards the hospital as fast as their feet could take them. There was no time to spare when it came to the well-being of their dear friend.

They had found an unconscious Lu Han, who had been hit by a car. He was alive, but broken.

Lu Han had opened his eyes very soon, surprised when he realized he was in the hospital. What happened after the realization was chaos. It took excessive soothing to calm him down. Minseok and Yixing had never seen Lu Han so distressed, so lost. And he kept on calling Shixun’s name. He kept on calling Shixun’s name, as if that was all that mattered. As if his own well-being meant nothing. As if the headaches, the intense pain coming from his back and the bruises all meant nothing.

It was awfully painful to see how Lu Han cared so much more about Shixun than himself.

“Hey, Minseok,” Lu Han spoke out softly, “I’m sorry you had to come all the way to visit me. You really don’t have to, you know, I’m doing fine.”

Minseok watched how Lu Han pushed himself to sit up, hissing unwillingly when his back complained about the sudden movement, and could only yell inside his mind that Lu Han was not doing fine. He was not doing fine at all.

The doctor said that Lu Han injured his back, something about a herniated disc and possible treatments if the symptoms would worsen, but all Minseok could think about was that Lu Han was in pain. Lu Han was in pain and there was nothing anyone could do. There was nothing anyone would do, because the only person who could ease the pain was gone.

Yixing was the one to find out where Shixun was. Or rather, where Sehun was. It was not that difficult, with the face of an almost unrecognizable Shixun plastered on the front covers of newspapers and magazines like he was a celebrity everyone adored. Headlines like The prince of hotels strikes again and The reasons why Oh Sehun went missing decorated pictures of him in an unpleasant way that made Minseok want to tear those newspapers and magazines up.

Lu Han could not see this.

If Lu Han were to see how Shixun was now Sehun, shining and blinding, Minseok was not sure whether Lu Han could take it. More importantly, Minseok was not sure whether Lu Han could take the fact that Shixun, or Sehun, not once came to visit him. Like Lu Han was nothing in his life anymore. Like their promises were never made. Like they never happened. Like Shixun never existed. Like their paths never crossed.

Minseok reached out for Lu Han, helping him to find the least uncomfortable position for his body, while saying warmly, “You know I’ll come to visit you no matter what. You would do the same. Yixing really wanted to come along, but he still had urgent things to do. I promised him to send you his greetings.”

“Tell him I miss him,” Lu Han said nicely.

Minseok nodded his head, “I will. And I’ll tell him that you’ll be back soon.”

Lu Han chuckled a little at this, “The hospital probably wants me gone as soon as possible.”

That was not the truth. The truth was that the doctor wanted to have a thorough check-up in a few days. The truth was that Lu Han wanted to leave as soon as possible. There was something about hospitals that frightened the people who laid on those hospital beds, fearing for their future without having any control over their present. Lu Han was one of those people who believed that hospitals killed people. Not intentionally, not openly, but secretly. Staying in a hospital drained you from everything good, leaving you drowning in the bad. Slowly, you would die without really knowing why.

“Is there anything you want me to bring for you?” Minseok asked instead, “I can take it with me the next time I come to visit you.”

“Minseok, you won’t bring me anything,” Lu Han said, but never accusatory, “I asked you so many times to bring me some fried chicken but you never do, continuously nagging at me that I should eat more healthy, especially in a situation like this. You won’t even bring me any newspapers or magazines. It makes me feel like I’m not part of the world anymore.”

This caused Minseok to stiffen. Minseok did not want Lu Han to see those front covers, those articles about someone that meant so dear to Lu Han but was so far away now. Minseok did not want Lu Han to hurt any more, but maybe he could check every newspaper, every magazine thoroughly before giving it-

“You don’t need to hide it anymore, Minseok, it’s too burdensome,” Lu Han said while reaching out for Minseok’s hand, “I know already.”

Minseok looked up to meet a pair of hurt eyes, dark eyes that were filled with so much sadness that he wanted to look away so dearly. It was not pretty, not at all, and it made him feel sick. It made him feel sick because Lu Han knew the cruelty of it all, and yet was the one comforting Minseok at the moment. Lu Han knew that the Heaven has decided to be cruel to him, yet accepted it so submissively.

“Lu Han-”

“One of the nurses showed it to me,” Lu Han said honestly, “saying whether I knew that the person I came into the hospital with was the CEO of ROYELL, General Manager Oh. He’s kind of popular, it seems.”

Lu Han was bound to know the truth as some point. No lies or hiding could prevent Lu Han from realizing that Shixun was no longer around. It was only a matter of time before Lu Han would get to know that Sehun was alive and well, living happily without him.

“Maybe there’s a reason-” Minseok tried, but there was no reason he could think of.

“This was bound to happen, Minseok,” Lu Han said, and the older male remained silent as he watched the pale male fight the tears filling the corners of his eyes, “I already knew this would happen…”

Minseok stood up from his chair at this, reaching out for Lu Han and embracing the other in a warm hug. It could never compare to one smile from Shixun, one I love you from Sehun, but it was enough to keep Lu Han alive for now. It was enough to convey to Lu Han that there were still people who cared about him, loved him, and would never leave him. It was not strong, but enough for now.

“I never thought it would hurt this much, Minseok,” Lu Han said as he cried in Minseok’s shoulder.

“I know, Lu Han,” Minseok said, patting Lu Han’s head gently, “I know you must be hurting.”

Minseok knew, but there was nothing he or Yixing could do.

»

Baekhyun threw the beer bottle away without much care, kissing the girl sitting next to him like it was his last day on earth. There was nothing pretty involved, no lovely feelings or beautiful thoughts. There was just anger, unhappiness, and the feeling of being stolen of. There was just the ugliness that clouded his mind, taking his breath away. Kissing pretty women seemed to be the only way to survive this.

People did not understand why he fooled around with female celebrities, why he acted like nothing mattered. People thought he was being immature, that he did not know what living really meant. They thought Baekhyun was wasting his life drowning in ignorance, causing chaos everywhere for the sake of having a little fun.

It was complete nonsense. Those superficial judges knew nothing at all.

Because Baekhyun knew very well what the heaviness of the world was.

He sighed before pushing the woman away, too tired of putting this act up. All he wanted was to be alone, drowning himself in alcohol and dreams. That was the only thing he wanted right now, so he chased the girls out of the karaoke room, throwing some money at them as a way of saying thank you.

He clumsily reached out for another beer bottle, the dizziness of being drunks lowly catching up to him, when the door opened. He thought it was one of the girls who did not know what giving up, and was about to throw some nasty remark at her, when he looked up and saw an old man standing in front of him.

Mister Lee’s loyal assistant.

“Drinking isn’t good for the health, mister Byun,” He merely said before taking a seat in front of Baekhyun.

“What are you doing here?” Baekhyun said through gritted teeth, “Didn’t I tell mister Lee already that I’m not doing this anymore? If he can’t keep up with his part of the deal, why should I still cooperate?”

“It’s unfortunate things ended up like this, but mister Lee isn’t one who loses a fight,” The old man said with a cold smile, “and he’s also not one who isn’t prepared. Mister Lee doesn’t take risks that might become too big to control.”

Baekhyun laughed at this, “Then tell me, what does he have in mind? Sehun’s alive, stealing the spotlight more than ever and there’s no way he would fall for the same trap twice. I’m dead if he ever gets to know the truth.”

The old man did not speak, but instead threw something on the table. It was a dark yellow, borderline brown document envelope, thick and heavy.

It caused Baekhyun to look up in surprise, “What’s this?”

The assistant merely smiled, coldly as ice, “Something that could pull Oh Sehun down. From the beginning, mister Lee never wanted Oh Sehun dead. He wanted the CEO of ROYELL gone.”

»

“Ever since you’re back, the shares have been rising continuously,” One of the shareholders said with satisfaction.

Sehun smiled at this, “I promise it’ll continue to rise.”

“That’s the General Manager Oh we know,” Another shareholder said, giving Sehun a small applause, “keep it up. We all believe in you.”

“Thank you all so much for the support,” Sehun said while looking around, finding comfort in Kyungsoo’s, Chanyeol’s and Jongin’s assuring looks, “and I’ll make sure I won’t disappoint any of you. The Incheon project will start soon, so-”

Sehun was rudely interrupted by the sudden opening of the door, solidness hitting the wall harshly. Baekhyun wore a playful grin as he walked inside, boldly like he owned the room. It was exactly this attitude that earned him so much dislike, but it never seemed to hit him.

“What’s the meaning of this, Byun Baekhyun?” Sehun said with knitted eyebrows.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Baekhyun said playfully, looking at Chanyeol, who was sitting on his usual seat, intently before walking towards the other end of the table, “I had certain things I needed to confirm.”

“Like what?” Kyungsoo said, the unhappiness painted on his face, “You haven’t showed up for several meetings and now you just barge in like you’re the person everything revolves around. Do you not know what it means to know your place?”

If those words hurt Baekhyun, he did not show it, for the grin stayed plastered on his lips, “I know my place very well. I’m the CLO of ROYELL, after all. I still have some influence with this position, I believe. And as I said, I apologize for my lateness.”

“What did you need to confirm?” The shareholder sitting next to him asked curiously.

“Ah, yes,” Baekhyun said, eyes widening in feigned excitement as he put a big envelope on the table, the paper material worn out slightly, “I think as the CLO, I know better than anyone else that evidence needs to be trustworthy. Otherwise it would be nothing but rubbish. And I was very surprised when I realized that the evidence I have in my hand is completely trustworthy.”

“What are you talking about?” Jongin asked, not understanding what he was getting at.

“We all thought that General Manager Oh had serious personal matters to attend to,” Baekhyun said as he held the envelope, “but this is evidence that our CEO spent those weeks fooling around. The most surprising thing of all, though, is that he’s been interfering with our Incheon project.”