Minzy lifted the box from beneath and put it on the surface of the table, “This is heavy.”

Haru was at home that night, it was to the disconcerting and thrilling sight of Minzy sitting in her living room amidst some boxes. There were a lot more boxes than she'd really anticipated. “Are we done?” she asked, a little hopefully.

“Yes, we are finally done.” Minzy assured her. “Total of 12 boxes.”

Oh, God. So all of these boxes were her stuff. Taking a deep breath, Haru summoned a smile. “Great,” she said, determined to be positive about this. “I’m moving tomorrow. I should be excited.”

“Is Sehun coming? Tomorrow?” Minzy asked, reaching for the tape.

Haru shook her head, “No. He's not. I didn’t ask him too,”

“Why not?”

Haru shoot her a wan look, her lips shut tight in a thin line, slightly cocking her head to the side. She looked as if she didn't want to answer her.

“Okay, I won’t ask why,” Minzy nodded while smiling sheepishly, as she moved past Haru to the kitchen.  

Haru was staring at all the boxes. This is it. So, this was really happening. She’s moving out. From her space. She couldn't tell if she was going to miss this space of hers. This place hold a great sum of her memorable memories. But she will be a better place, now. At least that is what she hoped so.

///

She moved the last box towards the lift, panting. Luckily for her, the lift was empty. She pushed the box inside and pressed her floor level.

“Wait!” she heard a voice. She pressed the button to stop the lift from closing. Then, entered a an attractive young man, probably in his 20’s with short black hair.

“Thank you.” he said, without sparing her a look but kept his eyes on her box briefly. He turned to the side, his eyes widen, and he hesitated a while before pressing his floor level.

“New tenant? To the 23^rd?” he asked, his voice rasp and rough.

“Yes,” Haru answered, and she noticed that his floor was one level below hers. Then she turned to look at his face, taking in his features. He looked innocent, and he has a striking resemblance to Sehun, only his facial features looked more softer. He raised his eyebrow when he realized Haru was staring at him for quite a while.

“I’m sorry.”She startled, taken aback, “You look like someone I know.”

He wordlessly nodded his head, and looked elsewhere.

He wasn’t friendly, she thought.

“I get that all the time,” he said suddenly, still not looking at her.

Haru smiled a little, feeling a little awkward, not knowing what to respond. “I’m Haru, by the way.” She introduced herself.

“Luhan.” he answered, in a word.

There was a long silence and neither did anything to end it. Finally she’d ask, “Do you mind if I ask you something?”

He nodded, looking at her.

“How much do you pay for your rent?”she asked, slowly.

He looked at her, slightly confused, “My unit is smaller than yours,” he said, “So the rent is also lower than yours.”

“Lower than mine?” she gaped, opening wide, “Don’t you think it’s a bit too weird?” She asked, “I mean, I thought apartments in center of Seoul are pricey. This is way too cheap.”

“Cheap?” He asked, in disbelief. “This is cheap?” he asked again, making sure he didn’t hear her wrong.

She didn’t notice the mocking vibe in his tone, but rather engrossed with rent. “Yes. This is way lower than what I expected.” She said innocently, cocking her head. “Is our country’s economy not doing well?” She asked quietly to herself.

Luhan took a deep breath, and shut his eyes for a few seconds in annoyance.

A spoiled princess, he thought.

The lift stopped at his level, and he briefly glanced at Haru. “Later,” he said, and with that he exited swiftly, not even waiting for her to respond.

“Later.” She responded, into the thin air before the door of the lift began to close.

///

She couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned all night. She got up from her massive bed and walked towards the wall. It was made out of glass. She kept the blinders open and she could see all the buildings and all the light and excitement the city have to offer. She smiled in content then turned briefly behind her, and realized the space was way too huge for just a single person. She  glanced at her bed, and it looked enormous. Her old bed wasn’t even half the size of this one, she thought.

One of her kittens meowed and walked in circles surrounding her leg. She picked it up and stood, facing the wall, looking at the view. “Look. We made it,” She whispered to her kitten, “We made it doll, this is our dream. We’re finally here.”

//

Haru had her head on the kitchen counter, arms wrapped over her head, when a voice that was becoming far too familiar drawled, “I like this couch. Its comfy.” Sehun said.

He sat on the leather sofa with his feet on the low table poised between sofas. She couldn’t see his face, he was looking at the other side. He was wearing a gray T-shirt and dark skinny jeans, his black jacket was hung over the end on the sofa.

Looking at him, she straightened. “Do you want coffee?” she asked. He nodded as he watched her, studying with interest, his black eyes sparkling.

“Let’s watch a movie,” he said, smiling.

“What movie?” She asked, pouring the hot coffee into a mug she used to serve him with whenever he visits her.

His mug. His eyes went half-lidded with amusement.

“Something interesting,” he said. Then he added, “I’ll pick.”

Her phone beeped. He glanced over as the loud intrusive beep disturbed his concentration as he scrolls through the choices of movies in Netflix. She fumbled and unlocked it. Her screen saver a picture of her cats flashed into sight, and quickly vanished as it was replaced by the home screen. It revealed a new mail message. She tapped it open, and read the content of the mail.

 Dear Kim Haru,

Thank you for your application for the position of nanotechnologist at Zeus Group.

 As you can imagine, we received a large number of applications. I am sorry to inform you that you have not been selected for an interview for this position.

The Zeus selection committee thanks you for the time you invested to apply for the nanotechnologist position.

We encourage you to apply for future openings for which you qualify.

Best wishes for a successful job search.

Thank you, again, for your interest in our company.

Best,

HR Director for the Zeus Employee Selection Team. 

She felt a sharp pain this time, sudden, and so real. She felt her face began to heat, and her eyes starting to tear up.

“Is Daisy okay?” he asked, not looking at her, his eyes fixed on the telly. “Looks interesting,” he added.

"I don’t feel like watching a movie", she said, her voice steady and calm despite her watery eyes.

He turned to face her as though he felt something was wrong. He didn’t smile, just raised an eyebrow in confusion.

She fought the unwanted urge to say anything, and kept her poker face. Striding towards him, she handed him the mug, her fingers trembling. She avoided looking at his eyes and he noticed it.

It was unnerving, she was never quiet, always chatty. He sipped his coffee and watched her, “Something wrong?” he asked finally. “Nothing,” she insisted, turning half away from him to hide her face.

“Are you sure?”

She didn’t speak, but shook her head slightly, and it unnerved him more. She walked away from the living room, not wanting to cry again in front of him.

“Haru,” he called, walking towards her. He eyed her, curiosity burning in him, “Tell me what’s wrong,” he asked her softly.

“I got rejected by a company,” her voice cracked and she was trying her best not to break down, “Again.”

He looked at her, his brows furrowed with confusion, not understanding why she' s so upset with it. “Then try again,” he said easily. “Do your best next time.” He said it as a matter of infact, as if it was a simple solution to a math problem. 

Try again. Do your best next time.

Haru huffed, slightly annoyed at his comforting method, but didn’t want to make eye contact with him. She nodded and turned away without saying anything. Sehun grabbed her wrist, turned her to face him and saw her red beaten face. There was an uneasy silence, made worse that he didn’t try to fill it like he normally would, “Did I offend you?” he asked,  concerned.

Her hand remained in his, the tight grip felt supportive and comforting as she stood face to face with him.

“You think I didn’t try my best?” She asked him back, and Sehun saw tears in her eyes. “Everyone wants me to work very hard. I have been working very hard,” her lips quivers and tears rolled down her face. Sehun opened his mouth to comfort her,  to reassure her but she cut him off.

“I wanted this so bad, but I can’t make it. Do you know how it feels? To give your best and yet still you’re not the one. You’re still lacking something. You’re still not good enough.” She snuffed her runny nose, “I pretend to be strong, but I’m just a girl who can’t stop crying,” she wipes her eyes fumingly, “I don’t know what to do next.”

Her hot, salty tears were falling from her face, and Sehun was frozen, watching her crumble in front of him. He wasn't sure what to say. Her eyes flashed up to meet his,  and he saw something unguarded in them now, behind the tears.

Her next breath was shaky as she stepped back, her gaze locked on her feet. “I’m sorry,” she apologized, trying to release his grip on her hand. He refused to let her go, instead his grip on her hand tightened.

“What you do not see in yourself, others see in you.” He cooed.

He peered at her a moment, then said softly, “You’re tougher than you think you are. You can do whatever you want if you believe in yourself. So don' t give up. Don' t think you' re not good enough.” She looked at him, her eyes b with tears.

“Those who persevere despite all they've been through. Those who still believe there is good in the world. People like me need the light the most." He said, his thumb caressing her hand, "Today is a bad day but tomorrow will be better, the day after, better still. You will go on.” He said comfortingly, offering her a gentle smile.

Haru was silent a moment, looking at Sehun who stood only inches away from her.

A soft smile to easy her worry.

She leaned forward suddenly, resting her head against his hard rock chest, and her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. She relaxes into him, her eyes shut close, her tears ruining his shirt. His body went rigid and he tensed up upon the sudden contact, his eyes blinking several times.

It took him a while to relax to her and when he tried to hug her back, she coiled away from him, rubbing her eyes.

“So, what' s the name of the  company that rejected you?” he blurted out, awkwardly, quickly retrieving his hand from air.

She gulped slightly, and handed him her mobile. He took it from her, looking at the screen. He smiled lightly, seeing her wallpaper, but his smile disappeared almost a second later and it was replaced by a serious hard look.

Zeus Group of Companies.