Here he is, sitting on a couch in his balcony looking at the sky with his empty gaze. The fog coming from his coffee is slowly disappearing. It is still cold the morning and no one is in sight, not even his maid, so he has to brew his own regular cup of coffee. He cannot wait. But still he does not drink the fluid from it, not even a sip. In fact, he does not touch it at all.
It’s been a week since his father died and the atmosphere is still gloomy, bleak and unhappy. He is missing his only company in this big house, in his life, in this world. He realizes how alone he is right now. And now he is left to deal with a heavy responsibility, his father’s company. As the only son of an industrialist, he is bound to be the next one to take the charge of running it as the only heir. He hates it, always. His father did his best to educate him and he is so smart a guy to cope with all the lessons he dislikes. It is never his passion but now he is forced to actually do something about it. No way out to escape it.
He takes a heavy long sigh before he stands up and gets inside.
The coffee is left on the table. Still untouched

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Here he is, sitting on the center chair in the middle of a meeting where everyone is shouting and yelling: asking him questions, demanding answers. Company is in a mess right now. It is not his fault. But now, he has to give solutions. He is the head of the company, he takes decisions. But he is too inexperienced to make sense of all the issues faced by his company. And he is constantly under pressures. Those are deliberately given by people who create schemes to let him down from his position. He knew it but cannot do anything about it. He is weak and still is a child. And slowly the company is in the verge of collapsing if nothing significant is done to let it sails safely. But he cannot trust anybody. All people do there is attacking him. What to do?
He takes a very long heavy sigh before he stands up and gets out from there while all eyes are piercing at him followed by insults and sly smile and laughs as well as hurtful remarks.
The papers and documents on his table are left untouched.

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Here he is, sitting on a chair in a fancy restaurant. A smile is blooming from his lips when he sees someone approaching. It’s been awhile since the last time he lets out a smile and it feels awkward. He can feel it.
The girl takes a seat facing him and calmly taking her order, a cup of tea.
She looks at him hesitantly while he looks at her deeply and dearly. Her pretty face delights him. He has been missing her after weeks of not seeing her. After a short silent moment, he opens his mouth.
“How are you? I miss you so much. I am not able to contact you these days” asks him sincerely.
“I’ve been busy with work. No time to see you” answers her looking a bit uncomfortable, trying her best to avoid his affectionate gaze.
“No time to answer my calls and reply my messages too?”
Cecil looks a tad bit nervous. But she simply ignores the question and does not answer it, thus continues sipping her tea.
“You get quieter since the last time we met. Is there something wrong?”
“No” answered her with a soft sigh.
Her answers get shorter and colder. Danny knows there must be something. But he does not want to ruin the atmosphere by forcing his opinions and moves on to another topic.
“I feel so alone at home now. The house is big but there is no one to talk to, to eat together too, to spend time with too” said him sadly, waiting for a response.
“Of course, what can you expect? After dad gone, you must accustom yourself with being alone at home. And you are not a child; do not whine and cry just because you don’t have a company to live with. That is life, people come and go. But we keep living it. What is the problem in that?” such an unexpectedly cold response he does not wish to hear.
“You can live together with me. Let’s get married” proposed him enthusiastically.
Cecil suddenly chokes. Now the reaction surprises Danny as much as the sudden proposal surprises Cecil.

“Did you just propose to me to marry you? Wow how romantic?” said her with sarcasm in her tone and expression.
“I am sorry. I am so stupid for asking you such proposal in this manner? I am just very confused lately” said him apologetically.
“Sure. But you don’t expect me to say yes to such reckless proposal right?”
Danny gulps guiltily. Feel so awkward in front of the girl he loves. Something is totally changed in her. She is not as warm as she usually is. And again the hint of rejection scares him.
“Don’t say that darling. Forgive me if I rush everything but you must know that my intention to marry you soon is mainly because I truly love you. And I know you love me too so...”
“I think I have to go” cuts her quick before Danny could finish his words.
“Why, where…, let me drive you…”
“No, I bring my car. Don’t trouble yourself. Let’s meet up another time. I have an important appointment”
“Oh, okay” smiled him to her after planting a peck on her cheek on the other hand, she does not bother to kiss him back.
“Bye” finally she said.
He waves at her while she completely ignores it as she quickly turns away. He lets out a long sigh and comes back to sit on his chair and finishes his coffee. Feels so alone and friendless again and It suffocates him. Another disappointment

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Danny walks his way to a hotel where he is supposed to attend another meeting with a client. He is expected to face the battle to win over the trust of people in the company. And he will do it no matter what. He will prove his worth. He will save the company.
His steps are firm. He tries to gain confidence and is resolved to give his best shot. He looks ahead with determination.
But when he just got his confidence and optimism back on the track, something distracts him. What he sees slaps him hard, breaks him to pieces, and ruins her soul.
It’s Cecil. She is with another man walking hand in hand laughing and bickering affectionately. They go upstairs and enter a room with no suspicion that there are eyes that follow them without a single blink.
Danny loses his sanity. He forgets about the meeting and what his main purpose in that place. He follows and keeps following until he arrives to their door and just knocks it.
“I must have seen wrongly” him trying to console himself.
But he is right. The girl who opens the door is no one but Cecil.
His eyes get wetter as his anger reached its peak. Cecil got shocked to get caught red-handed.
“Danny. What are you doing here?” asked her trembling.
Danny looks at her with disbelief and he is in the verge of bursting into tears.
“Who is it babe?” asked a man’s voice from inside.
Cecil loses her voice because she is too scared. Tears flowing from her cheeks and it only disgusts Danny more.
He wipes her cheeks using his thumb and makes Cecil feel even awkward and guilty at the same time. She looks at his face, it is completely red.
“Danny, say something. You scare me” begs her.
But Danny refuses to utter a single word. He just leaves after punching the door behind Cecil hard leaving some cuts on her fist and bloody marks on the door. Cecil cannot do anything and stands still there watching his back until it disappear.

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It’s been months, and Cecil never come to his house to meet him or tries to beg for his apology. He understands why the change in her attitude the last time they meet. There is no longer love for him in her heart. There are no longer mutual feelings between them. His proposal is rejected. Again, rejection, another rejection
Danny laughs. He pities himself. He cannot believe at this point in his life when everything goes wrong, when he got no one in her side, when he is so alone and lost, when all the pains in the world are stabbing him, he loses the only precious thing left ,his motivation in life. The girl he always loves betrays him and is unfaithful to him.
He spends his time to sleep and sleep. He hardly leaves his bed all day and night long. He refuses to go to the company. He cannot cope with the pressures anymore. And his heart and body is so weak that he knows he can collapse anytime. Meanwhile there are so many calls come which are all ignored completely by him.
His friend, Mark, who is his employee, who he trusts to be his manager, is the only one who he cares to meet.
“What happens to you? You shouldn’t be here man. You should just go to your ing company and do something about it. People are busy trying to drag you down while the company suffers from loses” urged him.
Danny looks at him with no interest or concern in his eyes. It feels so numb already, he cannot respond to him.
“What is wrong with you? You should not let that girl ruins your life like this”
He sighs and approaches his worried friend.
“I am ruined since the very beginning, don’t you realize it? I am tired man, so tired” said him weakly before he falls on the floor. He got no energy left after skipping his breakfast and lunch.
“Man, come on. You can do better than this. I know you can save the company if you try. At least do it for your late father’s sake”
Danny does not answer. He is lost in his thought again.

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Danny woke up early today. He took a bath and dressed himself up in a blue suit. He shows up in the company. He tries his best to gather up his courage and builds up his confidence before meeting people in the company. It is tough but he wants to give himself a chance that people refuse to give. He knows he can do it but somehow he has no idea how. Mark is right, he must do something for his father sake.
Finally, he faces them but still their goal is always to let him down and today is just the same. They refuse to acknowledge him and laugh at all his idea and proposal. Every eye on him but none has belief and expectation of him. Those piercing eyes try to make him feel smaller and smaller. Those eyes want to see him fall.
He stands up from his place and leaves the room. He cannot stand it anymore. He feels there are no human inside there.
If the day is already bad enough for him, he must hear the news of Cecil’s wedding in the afternoon and accept an invitation in the evening.
He totally loses his mind. All the feelings mixed up together for worst. He does not know what to expect from his unworthy and lonely life anymore. He bursts into tears and screams. No one is in his side, no one.

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He stops his car near a big house where a wedding reception is taking place. Its Cecil’s wedding and he got his invitation in his left hand and a beautiful diamond ring he plans to give her for their wedding gift in his right hand, gripping it tightly.

Cecil is looking like an angel in her beautiful and elegant wedding dress. She is glowing and looking so happy and it makes Danny’s heart hurt even more. She smiles and laughs brightly with her groom. He approaches them on stage and goes to take Cecil’s hands and startles both her and her groom.
“Danny!”
“Hi, Danny, nice to meet you, Thanks for coming. It’s an honor to me and Cecil to have you here”
He does not respond to him nor does he say anything to Cecil. He just looks at her deeply trying to show how disappointed and angry he is.
He hands her the ring and gives the invitation back. Cecil looks flustered and confused since is worried of what people may think about it. He creates such a scene in her wedding.
Seeing how uncomfortable and nervous she is, he lets go of her hands and just leaves. People who are present cannot stop their tongues from wagging and start gossiping. They try to create their own versions of the story.

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Danny gets into his car, sits there for a moment. He is drown in his thought but cannot make sense of anything. He is afraid if he is in the verge of insanity right now. He is completely lost it now. His gaze is empty so is his mind and heart. He gets out from his car and looks at it for a while. He takes a pause and stands there for minutes and does nothing until suddenly he bangs the car’s door and places the key on its roof and just leaves it there.
He walks and walks aimlessly. He does not bother to look here and there. His eyes are on the road he walks on. He bumps to people and gets constantly yelled and swear at. But he is numb; he does not feel the pain and the hurt anymore. He continues walking but with no direction. He lets his feet decide themselves where to go. And without he realizes, he ends up getting into a bus that he has no idea where it will take him. He just does not care if he got lost, because he already is.
He is too tired, too depressed. What he needs is a rest, so he lets himself escape the real world and get into a deep slumber while the bus continues running till it arrives to its last destination. It was so dark out there.

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A very loud honk sound wakes him up from his dream. He looks here and there and just realizes that he is sleeping in a bus and now the bus stops and everyone goes out. He looks confused but follows the other. It is still very dark outside. He looks at his watch. It is 01.00 am. Then he looks around. He does not know where he is until he sees several more buses coming. He is at a bus station right now but which bus station he still got no idea. It’s not that he is actually interested to know at all.
An inter-city bus stops in front of him, waiting to pick more passengers there. People get inside one by one. There are about six to seven people there and again he just follows them and finds a seat near the window. Again, he has no idea where it will take him and he cares too little about it to ask the others.
The bus departs and the people start to find their comfortable position, taking out neck pillows and blankets from bags and are ready to spend their journey in slumber. So tomorrow they will wake up to find out the bus arrives to their destination.
Danny does not sleep. He is done with it. He just sits there in a sad pitiful manner. His mind is full but he does not know what he is thinking about. It is just a feeling of sadness and grief that consumes him and nothing else.
Suddenly the driver pulls the break and it was so sudden that everyone almost falls from their seats. Some complains are heard from the angry and disturbed passengers.
The bus stops because there is someone outside to pick up. He can hear a chirpy endless naggings from the outside. A girl it is. And her voice literally breaks the night and also the sleep of the other people inside the bus who find her voice so annoying that they cannot be in peace. She is not even on board but her voice makes a great impact already. Again the complaints are heard.
But Danny’s mind is so occupied that soon, he cannot hear her again even when she gets nearer and nearer to him, and still with that constant talking.

“AHJUSSI, what is it? I have waited for two hours for your bus and they said the bus will always come on time. Huh, on time my ”
“And it is in the middle of the night and you expect a girl like me to wait there. Do you know how dangerous for someone as beautiful as me”
“Thank God I know karate. I will absolutely kick anyone who dares to come near me”
“Inter-city bus is so lame that they cannot be as on time as bus express. Do not excuse yourself with traffic and all. What traffic can slows you down in the middle of the night”
“I’ve been a loyal customer of this bus company, and they never let me wait this long”
“Another driver usually come on time, why can’t you?”
“I have booked for a ticket online since ten days ago to get the best service and look at what I get here”
“Please take care of my luggage; you should be careful not to throw them okay”
“I have to come back home safely with them. My father, grandpa, uncle, Cindy and Andy are all waiting for the gifts I have packed inside”
“You know these gifts are quite expensive for a grad student like me. Yes, you should congratulate me. I have just graduated from my college. I am Seoul university graduate. My parents will be so proud of me once I arrive home to inform them. My neighbors will be so envy because none of their daughters and sons can go to study as far as Seoul like me. Yes, I will be the most educated one in my village, ha-ha”
“AIGOO, this is so tiring. Oh people are already sleeping. What about me…OH POOR ME”
“AHJUSSI, my ticket is here, where is my seat. I cannot deal much with the air conditioner, so could you please turn it down for me”
“There are many empty seats, you can pick one” said the bus conductor annoyed.
“HEIIII, I will not sit but in my own seat. I have booked for the perfect seat and you want me to just sit anywhere. A-N-D-W-E, andweyo…” emphasized her.
Endless talks make all the eyes naturally on her, a unique talkative girl has woken them up and they know they cannot go back to their sleep unless the girl shuts . But she only speaks and speaks nonstop. And they give up and start taking snacks.
She approaches the place where Danny sits and checks the number of the seat then looks at her ticket again.
She taps his shoulder and calls for him.
“AHJUSSI….”

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