As usual, when the clock hits 5 p.m. the city streets would get crowded by the zombie-like crowd that are rushing towards every direction of the city. After a full day of work and school, all everybody wants to do is get away. But for those that work the weird hours and night shifts, their workday was just starting. For the weirdly insane ones like Jae, the workday doesn't start at 8 and end at 5. It starts at sunrise and lasts until whenever his brain stops working, which is usually around 10 p.m. He wasn’t one of his lucky employees who clock in and out and have a life outside of this building. His whole existence has come down to maintaining the company. So many lives depend on his decisions and leadership and Jae has used that as an excuse to work himself as a machine.

Most would imagine how much his secretary or Joon would hate him, but he didn't even need them. He usually stayed locked in his own office by himself, sometimes not even turning the light on after the sun has set and the moon has taken over. Those working the night shift front desk and the security men knew the true hours the executive director leaves the building. His messed up hair covering half his face, his cigarette sticking out his lips, his untucked shirt and messed up tie swinging left and right along with his coat. It was a sad scene for the night crew to witness watching the lonely looking figure that runs the company walk across the hallway in the middle of the night.

“ She should be here in like ten minutes” Joon, who was staying late today to listen to Seung's presentation, said, glancing at the clock on the wall. Sungi sitting by the corner and reading his book glanced up at the clock, 7:30 p.m. Usually, he and Joon would be on their way home by this time but today was special. From the clock, he turned his eyes to Jae standing by the wall to wall window behind his desk. The boss he hasn't driven in days looked startlingly different than the Jae that used to sit in the back of his car at least twice a day.

“ Are you coming home tonight?” Joon asked slowly raising his eyes to the window

“Mrs. Kim wanted me to ask” he added, but there was no response from the man standing and glaring at the dark city and the flickering colorless lights that have decorated it. Slowly raising the whisky glass he had in his right hand. Jae took a sip.

“ I guess that’s a no '' Joon turned his eyes back to his phone as Sungi returned his back to his book. The silence that filled the room afterward has become the norm. Their boss never had to come out and say it, the distance he was trying to form between him and his two closest friends was easy to notice. The day he told them he would go to work by himself, Joon knew it was just the beginning but he didn’t think it would come to this. The man he knew like his brother has slowly pushed him away to a point Joon can’t even tell what Jae was thinking.

“ huh,” Joon sighed as he placed his phone down on the table. His always observant eyes had made out the small pill case sitting by the edge of Jae’s desk. The dark blue case was new. He has never seen it before. .did he get some new medication? Joon asked himself as he sent his questioning eyes to the man standing by the window. His eyes were lucky as he caught a small glimpse of Jae's colorless pale face and his empty-looking eyes.

“Did you get a new medication?” Joon asked and he finally got Jae’s attention as the ghostly figure turned and glanced at the pill case by the edge of his desk and then at Joon.

“ What is this one for?” Joon asked, following the question sungi brought his eyes up to the tall figure by the window. Jae slowly started walking back to his desk. His right hand bringing the whisky glass up he took the last sip. The glass didn’t make any sound as he threw it onto the pile of paper on his desk before he opened his drawer and threw the pill case in.

“Jae” Joon called out

“ It's just supplements to balance my diet” Jae taking his coat off and throwing it on the table sat down.

“What diet?” Joon sarcastic smile was beyond adorable

“ you mean lack thereof” sungi added from the corner

“ You’re killing yourself slowly. you know that right?” the anger in Joon’s voice was direct and clear.

“ and?” Jae raised his dark eyes that, surrounded by the heavy dark circle under them, looked beyond scary. Before the startled Joon or Sungi said anything, Jae’s secretary walked in, leading Jae’s lawyer and main accountant. The new faces were able to cut the tension as they started the mildly positive discussion about the game last night as. Jae removing himself from the topic has walked to the other corner and started pouring himself more whisky. Not just Joon and Sungi, even his lawyer and accounts have noticed his slightly shaking hands the poured the whisky 3/4 into the glass. Even the two men that walked in minutes ago have noticed how much Jae has started drinking. If not his pills, it was either a cigarette in his lips or a glass in his hands. There was no moment he was without something in his system.

“ Is he okay?” the accountant leaning to Joon asked

“ Does he look okay?” Joon asked glancing back at Jae by the other side of the room

“ Has he seen her since he came back?” the lawyer not even trying to sugar coat his question asked. Joon’s fierce eyes glared right at him.

“I guess that’s a no” the lawyer leaned back

“ You need to do whatever you need and just in make it happen” the accountant wasn’t afraid to say what he thought needed to be said

“ I’m really worried about him,” the lawyer leaning back in whispered. The truly worried look on his face was across all the men in the room.

“He seriously might be over here” sungi jumped into the conversation

“ Huh” they all sighed as their quick minds started contemplating the very possible reality that Jae was actually over Hyeon. All the men across the table started remembering all the dream-like memories of Hyeon and Jae they have witnessed. The way Jae used to look at her was the first thing they all remembered. There were no words that could describe the way Jae used to look at Hyeon. No poet or writer could describe it. What they all could do was remember what they felt the moment they noticed how much Jae couldn’t even control his imprisoned eyes when she was around him. The lawyer has even gasped as his heart fluttered when he first noticed Jae’s enslaved and madly in love eyes unblinkingly glued to Hyeon.

“ well he has to be” the account with a guilty sounding voice whispered as all eyes turned his way

“ He has asked me to figure out how much his stocks would be affected if he proposed

“ Hello” cutting the account, Jae’s secretary walked in followed by Seung and her assistant.

“ what?” The lawyer was the only one whose mind was working enough to ask, as all kept their eyes on the account. Joon needed a second to process what the accountant was talking about.

“ I thought you knew” the account leaning whispered at the bewildered Joon who from the account ascended his dangerously angry-looking eyes Jae’s way. Jae walking back to his desk has a glance back to notice the way Joon was staring at him. One look and he knew Joon was angry at him. It was no surprising news, Joon has been angry at him about every damn thing he has been doing since he got back.

“Are you kidding me?” the lawyer asked not even able to hold it in.

“Sorry “ he apologized at the confused-looking Seung as he covered his mouth and sat down. For the next 30 minutes, as Seung goes on with her beautiful presentation all the men across the table were lost in their thoughts and the news broken to them by the accountant.

“ any questions' 'bringing all attention back to her Seung asked. She expected surprised looks but the bewildered and blank stares she got wasn’t something she expected at all. The project that she has been working on for a while, she had thought would get a better reception by these men before she took it to shareholders.

“ so it’s like a foundation” the account who has been listening asked as he started flipping to the project proposal that was handed to all of them

“ Yes,” Seung smiled at him.

“We will be streamlining all the donations we currently hand out into one foundation with a focused target area” she added glancing around the table and landing at Jae, who with his right hand twirling his glass was reading the 4th page of the proposal. How nervous and anxious she was, nobody has noticed as she had a couple of drinks before they got her. She needed the courage to stand in front of Jae and present the main reason she has dragged him back to Korea. The presentation she has practiced over hundreds of times she had thought went well but from the looks across the table, maybe it wasn’t that great.

“ So you would yearly take the 35,000, 000?” the account asked

“ well that’s how much the company currently gives away in various charities here and there” Seung clicking back on the remote took the presentation slide back to the budget picture. Jae’s right hand stopped swirling as he sent his eyes to the big projector screen in front

“ We collected all the donations from every company Jk corporation owns or has a majority share on”

“ We also added any personal donations made by management for special cases” she added as she noticed Jae's ever so focused eyes read the data collected. She has done a fine job at gathering the data he never even knew about.

“ We can have a bigger impact if we created our foundation and used that money to make big changes rather than small donations here and there” she added with a smile but Jae's eyes not even turning her way turned back to the project proposal on his desk. She finally gets to see the business Jae that everybody was so scared of. There was a reason he was called “ the devil on the 11th floor” and she was going to find out why one day.

“ Is there a specific cause we’re going for?” the lawyer that has paid attention to the last ten minutes or so asked?

“ Our goal is to fund grassroots organizations that are doing the work” rolling her sleeves Seung gave him a small smile

“ but if it has to be I would love it if we could focus on foster kids or youth”

“ I am standing right here because I had a person that cared about me” seung’s words forced all the glance up from the project proposal they were glued to

“ I wouldn't be here without having that one person” she added focusing her eyes on Jae who, form what it seems like, was intentionally keeping his eyes to the line he was reading

“I want to give others what she gave to me” nobody needed to see Seung’s tea