8:00 AM.

    A silver watch on a slender wrist showed.

    Right on time.

`    With a satisfied sigh, he made his way up the winding staircase in quick, successive steps without having to look at his footing, in an unconscious display of practiced familiarity earned through countless journeys made on the very same flight of steps. He passed by two burly men, who gave him courteous bows in acknowledgement--- which he promptly returned with one of his own, before resuming their posts in an almost catatonic state, as stiff and unmoving as the large marble columns behind their wide bodies.

        The man he worked for resided in a large estate outside of the city; a thirty- minute drive away from the heart of the metropolis, Seoul. The house was lovely, with its dark panelled walls and large windows, giving the whole place a rustic feeling. Anyone with half a mind can immediately tell in a glance that the owner of the house devoted a large amount of money and a great deal of careful planning on having it built.

    
    The are was surrounded with age-old trees that provided convinient shading from the scorching sun during midday, and sparse neighborhood--- one being the closest was a few hundred meters away. It ensured peace to those who lived in the vicinity, without having to worry about neighboring houses blasting music, enough to wake the dead.

    
    But of course he was not about to go telling that to the man. He had far more important and pressing matters to discuss with his client other than appraisal and architecture  of the impressive manor, especially that it concerned his behavior the previous day and reducing the whole staff into a flurry of jumbled and panicked mess, wondering where the boss had gone to. The mere recollection of the happenings the day before sent dull throbbing on his temple that he'd have to deal with copious amiunts of caffeine later on.

    As he reached the lavish landing at the top of the stairs, he was faced with a dark mahogany double- door, leading to his destination--- a full balcony facing the east, with a perfect view of the dense woods some distance away.

    He was fairly certain that he would be able to find the man he looked for, seeing as how he had an uncanny fondness of the outdoors. May it be a short, desultory stroll down the streets or a slip of opportunity to soak in the warmth of the sun before he slipped inside the waiting car was a common happening, which was a bit unusual for a man of his stature and importance.

    It would have been fine; nothing wrong for a bachelor in his prime to act differently from the rest of his peers--- if not for the constant threat to his life, with someone out there intent on having him killed and permanently eradicated. This inevitably made their already difficult job, a whole lot harder.

    What with being on the constant look out, not for possible hired gunmen lurking in every corner, but for their own boss who had the tendency to sneak and wander about any given moment, without any notice. It made him an easy target and they could only keep him alive for longer, which was no easy feat considering the man had little regard for his own safety. This attitude forced everybody on their toes.

    He could only hope whatever he says gets through the thick head of the incorrigible man.

    Probably not.

    The guy had a knack for appearing guilty when he was being the receiving end of sensible pleas and sound advices, then wholly forgetting about the whole ordeal the next moment.

    But still, he felt compelled to try just because.

    He gave a small, cursory bow at a maid to just exited with the door falling shut behind her, before he straightened the front of the black suit he wore and steeled his resolve in doing his job.

     A step towards the door was taken, when a hand on his shoulder caused him to stop midway. And flinch. Defensively.

    Instinct screamed at him to launch a barrage of assault to whoever was the owner of the hand, but as he caught sight if the distinctive shock of dirty blonde hair, he stopped--- a second away from popping the intruding appendage from its joint.

    When a perfectly groomed eyebrow raised at him in wordless query, he immediately pulled back and smiled in what he thinks is a polite and unoffensive manner.

    "Too much coffee, I presume Mr. Kwon."

    Lee Chaerin, a woman in her early twenties regarded him with mild interest, sharp eyes coolly watching him, though the hint of undeniable taunt laced in her voice told otherwise of her effort to conceal her amusement at his reaction. Absently, she pushed her eyeglass higher up the bridge of her nose.

    It suited her; the rimmed glasses and sleek suit she poured herself in, added to the dispaly of power and intelligence seen on the way she carried herself--- poised and precise in every movement that comes to her as naturally as breathing air. And was she empowered. Scary even.

    "Quite the opposite in fact," He replied with a strained smile, eager to be away from her. It did not account that he and his men were exposed to her on a daily basis as they reported for duty. One withering glare thrown their way, and even the biggest and loftiest members of his team cowered.

    Which was perfect for reigning in and controlling their flighty, young boss.

    "Hm, that makes two of us." She said in an unisterested tone before she fixed him with a pointed look. "Other matters aside, I take it you are here to talk some sense into the boss' head, am I correct?"

    "Yes. Although I have to guess that you already did it?"

    "With little effect, I must say" Chaerin said, shifting from one heeled foot to another as she continued. "But I trust that he'll listen to you. Now come, we've wasted enough time for idle chatter when there is a lot to accomplish today."

    The words began and ended with semblance of finality in her voice that there was no room for argument, and did as he was told with heavy steps, and followed behind her. Careful in placing distance between the two of them.

    He stepped into the bright and open space of the balcony that overlooked the wide piece of land and further up the east where the sun had risen three hours ago, and found Chaerin producing a stack of folders and ledgers that seemed to magically appear out of thin air, waving one of it in front of a man leaning on the balustrade. His head was turned the other way, not even bothering to cover the fact that he was not, at all, listening to what his secretary was rattling off regarding his schedule and meetings , as well as reminders for the day.

    "You are one hopeless man, " Chaerin said in relinquishment, dumping the folders into the nearby table laden with bread and eggs and slices of fresh fruits. "Choi Seunghyun."

    He turned to her and with a small smirk, he replied. "Tell me something I don't know." A jibe and he added. "And cut me some slack, will you? Today's a beautiful day and I haven't had my coffee yet."

    "That makes three of us then." Chaerin said with a smirk of her own and pointed, with a tilt of her chin to where he stood.

    The job of someone like him was to provide safety and security to their clients by always being around in close distance for them to be able to prevent harm coming their way. But the tricky part of the job was also to be invisible at the same time, without drawing unnecessary attention to themselves.

    When two heads expectantly turned to his direction, where he stood near the door as he silently observed from afar, uneasiness settled in him of being the center of unwanted attention. Years of practice taught him how to hide his uncalled for emotions perfectly, especially the trivial ones.

    "Good morning, Choi Seunghyun- ssi." He greeted and gave a deep bow, the collected mask of professionalism effortlessly slipping into place.

    There was no immediate response of the same nature but instead, a drawn out sigh was heard in those few seconds before a reply came, but it came with a rather disappointed note in it.

    "How many times did I ask you not to call me that, Jiyong?"

A/N: I edited and edited and edited this one until it made no sense anymore. So here it is. I hope it wasn't boring (or maybe it is *sigh*). Oh, and  comments are appreciated, they help a lot in writing. :)