~Chapter 1 - Preparation for War~

It was Monday, the first day of the business week and the day that virtually everyone hates. Xi Luhan, an employee of the EXO Galaxy Tech Company, was no exception. It was those Sunday nights that he hated the most, when he was overcome with a sense of dread knowing that the next day, he'd be back at work. Then those negative feelings would carry over to the next morning, and he'd continue his suffering from there.

However, on this Monday morning in particular, Luhan didn't feel as terrible as he usually did. In fact, he was practically bursting with energy and pep, ready for his eyes to sting from staring at a computer screen for an extensive amount of time and ready for his fingers to cramp up from hours of working at a keyboard. That may sound unappealing, and it was just as unappealing as it sounded, but it didn't bother Luhan today - not one bit. He even decided to go out of his way to buy a box of donuts today and share them with his co-workers, as a way of sharing his happiness with everyone else. What could lift someone's spirits so high, to the point where the fact that it was a Monday didn't bring them down?

The reason was none other than Luhan's visit to his cousin's house the previous day, where they had spent some quality time together and bonded the way family should. There really was no time like family time. His cousin even bought him a great, useful gift that he brought to the office today, and he couldn't wait to set it on his desk and use it.

Luhan drove to his workplace singing his favorite song on the radio, parked his car perfectly in the lot, and made his way to the office entrance, humming a cheery tune. His happy little heart was bubbling with anticipation, ready to see the joyous faces of his co-workers once he revealed that he had bought them donuts. As soon as he opened the door, Luhan loudly greeted his fellow programmers and software developers:

"Good morning, everyone! I bought donuts!"

Contrary to his expectations, it was like his co-workers didn't even hear him. They continued to silently tap and click away, too engrossed with their work to notice Luhan's presence. That wouldn't lower his high spirits at all, and his smile even grew wider in spite of his co-workers' nonexistent response. He was in an especially fantastic mood today, so he decided to repeat himself for their sake:

"Good - "

"Be quiet, Luhan. Can't you see that we're all working?"

Kris made his way to where Luhan was standing, on the other side of the room. He was tall, well-built, and intimidating. He was also Luhan's superior and one of the co-founders of EXO Galaxy Tech alongside Suho, who was currently nowhere to be found. Luhan searched the room for any signs of his shorter, kinder (but also stricter) boss, but to no avail.

"Where's Suho?" Luhan asked Kris, who bent over to peer into the open box of donuts in his employee's arms and inspected them like they were recently delivered hard drives from a shady company that Chen (another employee) had ordered from.

Kris shrugged in response to Luhan's inquiry and sent a look to Luhan that made the latter remember why he didn't like work so much. "He might be coming in later than usual. He said that he has something important to discuss today." The co-founder's sharp eyes flickered to the donuts in the box. "Where'd you buy those donuts? They look so unappetizing. Definitely not my style - and probably no one else's either."

"Don't eat them then." Luhan quickly closed the box and strode past Kris to where his cubicle was. "Would any of you like some?" He opened the box again and directed it at his surrounding co-workers, who hovered over it curiously. "Have any of you seen a donut before? Get back if you're not going to eat any."

"That looks really greasy, Luhan. I don't know if it'll be okay for any of us to eat that without developing health problems later."

"I like the shine that the grease gives off, but I wouldn't put that thing anywhere near my mouth."

"Luhan, is that going to stink up the office if you keep it around?"

The doe-eyed employee scowled, turning away from his co-workers and placing the box of donuts on his desk. If a Monday itself couldn't ruin Luhan's mood, then his fellow employees at EXO Galaxy Tech definitely could. "Stop criticizing my donuts if you're not going to eat them. They haven't done anything to you - they were only freshly made this morning."

"Why are you getting all defensive over greasy donuts?"

"I'm not! You're just being too critical!"

"It probably tastes disgusting."

Luhan spun around, prepared to speak his mind about the excessive criticism of his donuts, when he saw who it was exactly, that was standing next to his cubicle. Oh Sehun, the youngest employee of EXO Galaxy Tech and Luhan's worst enemy, was munching on one of his donuts. 

"Tastes like crap." Sehun commented, a few crumbs dropping out of his mouth. He took another mouthful out of the donut, chewing unceremoniously, before finalizing his opinion. "Only Luhan could find crap like this to buy."

Only a hissing sound emerged from Luhan, that sounded much like hot air escaping from a balloon or someone trying to contain a scream. He jabbed a finger in front of Sehun's expressionless face, his own reddening and contorting with each passing second. It was an understatement to say that Luhan hated Sehun, but he didn't have a word in his vocabulary that could express exactly what it was that he felt toward the younger man.

"Is Luhan okay? He looks kind of constipated." Chen pointed out as he peeked over the edge of his cubicle to watch the scene unfold.

Everyone present in the office stopped what they were doing to observe the infamous duo that were known for their arguments and ceaseless squabbling. They would even compete with each other for the most ridiculous things, from who could type faster on a keyboard, to who could drink the most water (which resulted in an empty water dispenser on a particularly hot day and a very upset Suho). To say the least, it was entertaining to witness the two going at it, and there were occasionally bets made to see who would emerge victorious for the day.

Luhan, still shocked and angered by Sehun's actions, was absolutely speechless. All he could do was point at the blank-faced man and mouth obscenities at him. Gettin