Haneul sighed as she shuffled through the papers. That was one contract down and three more to go. Managing your own business was much more hectic than she had originally imagined it to be.

She shook her head. She was new to all of this. There would be moments of doubts and insecurities. She couldn't afford to give into them. Not right now when she was just at the starting line. She had the entire race to go. She had so many people depending on her to succeed.

She made herself a cup of coffee and sat down with a new stack of papers. She read and highlighted terms to be re-negotiated or changed. After a point the words began to blur so she looked away to her window, blinking to clear her eyes. Twenty pages done and ten more to go.

The view outside was breathtaking.

Yuri said that was the real reason Haneul didn't quit even under the stress. The Manhattan skyline that stretched across the French window was a view to kill for. The fiftieth floor was too high up for an office and they had gotten a sweet deal for the space. She was glad. Maybe the view really was the reason. Haneul had to remind herself that she was working so she could ultimately quit and go travelling.

She hadn't really explored New York, now that she thought of it. She hadn't even really explored Manchester or Paris though she had been there on business twice within the past year.

They did say youth was wasted on the young.

She reached out and lifted up the photo frame that had been lying face down on her desk for the past two months. Jongdae was a singer now. He was doing what he loved. He was about to go on his first world tour. She had texted him. Turns out he still had the same number. He was doing okay. He was happy.

She had too many thoughts in her head. She still had ten pages to go. It was eight thirty already.

"I ordered lemon tea and a sandwich from Tea Point. You can tell me you love me" Yuri said, poking her head into the cabin. "I love you. And I also reviewed the contracts you sent me so you can go over and see what can be negotiated or not. Try to get the prices for cotton down. That's the entire point of buying it locally from Manchester. We were supposed to have a higher profit margin" Haneul said. she handed Yuri the file without looking up from the file she was reading.

"Workaholic is an understatement. Didn't I give these to you at five thirty last night?" Yuri asked. "Maybe. Kinda. I don't remember. Can you send the kid interning in Legal to my cabin? Tell him to bring that report he wrote on export laws in Eastern Europe" Haneul said, closing the file. "Sure. Send him over in ten. By the way, I booked your flight to Prague for Sunday night. The conference begins Tuesday so I squeezed in a lunch meeting with Kris Wu" Yuri said. "Kris is married. Don't look at me suggestively" Haneul said, giving a look in return. "To Stephanie Hwang. I know. Missed opportunities" Yuri said, walking away.

Haneul looked to her photo frame. In the drawer below the frame lay a concert ticket and a backstage pass to Jongdae's first solo concert to be held in Tenessee. She had bought them impulsively and intended on returning them. But maybe....

"Hey Yuri. Book me a ticket to LA for the 24th to 26th of next month"

"So I heard you started your own business in New York" Kris said. He reached for the menu, briefly glancing at the contents. "It's not a great thing. We supply textiles to fashion houses that are based in the city" Haneul explained. "Doesn't that business have a lot of entry barriers?" Kris asked, waving to the waiter who came to take their orders. "I'll have the mushroom fusilli pasta in red wine reduction. And..." he turned to Haneul. "I'll have the Cobb salad without tomatoes please" she decided. "Sure ma'am. excellent choice. May I recommend a glass of white wine to go along with the food?" the waiter asked. she looked to Kris who shrugged. "Okay. Thank you" she said and the waiter nodded in acknowledgement before leaving.

"Right. Back to where we were. Yeah there are a lot of entry barriers but we were smart about the deal. So one of Yuri's classmates wanted to start up their own brand. I started him off on a boutique and he went ahead to win a couple of competitions. So things set off and we rode on that success and approached a few other small time fashion houses. Big ones do business with traditional vendors and we're not established yet so we can't give them fancy offers but maybe in another five to eight years down the line" Haneul explained. "Sounds like a risk" Kris noted.

"It's not as glamorous as your job. How's Tiffany taking to you spending your entire day on the beach with bikini clad models?" Haneul asked teasingly. "I'm a professional photographer!" Kris protested indignantly. "Yeah sure. I saw the instagram post with Karlie Kloss. You're working with Victoria's Secret Models now?" she asked with an eyebrow raised. "Yeah. Tiffany is pretty cool about the entire deal. Makes me suspicious some times" he said, taking a sip of his water. The waiter placed their food and wine and left wordlessly.

"Well she knows you've liked her since high school. There's no ways you'll go astray now" Haneul pointed out. "High school was a good time" Kris remnisced with a sile. "We got separated in college though. That was sad." "Would happen eventually. I have to take appointments with you to meet you now" Haneul said with a grin. "And I have to fly all the way to New York" Kris rebutted. Haneul raised her hands in defeat before digging into her salad.

"Speaking of high school, I spoke to Jongdae a few days back" Haneul said. Kris swallowed his pasta carefully. "He seemed happy. He's going on his first world tour. And I'm going to his concert in LA" she added. she looked at Kris who maintained a neutral face. "That's great. I haven't talked to him in a long time so I'm happy he is doing okay" Kris said after a pregnant pause. Haneul smiled, she knew he had connected the dots and had many questions. But she was happy he wasn't asking them because to be honest, she didn't know the answers herself.

"So long boring days of business meetings ahead?" he asked her. "Yeah..." she groaned. "Well you take care of yourself then" he said. She nodded, picking up the meaning between the words.

She would be okay.

Don't you dare let our best memories bring you sorrow.

- Lost Stars, Adam Levine/Keira Knightley