note: before reading the story, I’d like to remind that the whole universe in this story isn’t fully based on the real universe we’re in. This universe is completely made by me.

—

Beijing, 2018.

It was one fine morning in the midst of Fall season, the warm season. The heart of Beijing had already got up, starting the beautiful day with a cup of hot tea, biscuits, and two slices of peanut butter and jam, some were starting with loud honks, screeching tire, and traffic. A few miles from the downtown, in an elite sector of the city, a big house with an old European style was seen very clearly. This area was known as the most expensive place in Beijing where most CEOs of many companies lived. And this house—or mansion—was the biggest among all.

A male figure, covered in white thick blankets, was still lying on bed in one of the rooms in the mansion. The birds outside were busy chirping, flying to one branch and another only to make the leaves fall. Ignoring the chirping birds, he grabbed the blankets up to his neck, getting more comfortable underneath.

The sun light slipped in through the windows, falling right on to his face as if telling that he really had to get up.

A knock on the wooden door was the first sound ever heard, followed by a female voice in low voice calling a name, “Lu Han, breakfast time, darling!”

That didn’t make the guy budge an inch, eyes still closed tight.

“Lu Han,” the voice came out of the door as it was opened, revealing a face of a woman in her late 40s. When her eyes caught a sight of the male, her expression immediately changed to the serious one. “Wake up, Lu Han!” she quickly took steps to the bed, grabbing the blankets off the guy which left him groan softly.

“Dad is waiting for breakfast! Come and wake up!”

“I have no morning class, Mom,” without even opening his eyes, the guy called Lu Han turned his body around and grabbed his blankets once again.

“Wake up and keep him company, young man!” not going to give up very soon, his mother grabbed the white shirt Lu Han was wearing in order to make him sit.

Lu Han finally put his feet on the floor after ten minutes of struggling with his mother standing next to the bed. That was just like one of the other days for Lu Han, a 23 years old college student.

—

Sometimes Lu Han hated his life if he had to be very honest. Not only that his mother who always nagged him every time he woke up late or sleep late, but the fact about him being the first heir of the family company was kind of burden for him. Not that he didn’t want to be sitting on the high level of an industrial company structure—he actually wanted to be one once he graduated his business course—but because the tight family rules were made ‘to prepare him to be a Boss’ or those lines he became tired of hearing “you’re the heir of the company, so you have to—” or “you can’t do that—”, et cetera.

Lu Han walked down the elegant spiral stairs, occasionally combing his hair with his fingers. He was now wearing a blue light shirt and long jeans, the same outfit he wore the day before for breakfast session. He hadn’t taken shower, of course, since he had no class in the morning. Going down with a casual formal outfit, he only washed his face and brushed his teeth. He even planned to get back to sleep later.

Lu Han’s legs headed to the dining room, the dining table was already set with breakfast. His mother, in yellowish dress with roses, sat on one of the chairs with Lu Han’s younger sisters who were busy playing with their phones sitting across her. There were two left chairs and Lu Han made it one as he took a seat next to his mother.

“I thought Dad was already waiting,” Lu Han looked around, recalling the last piece of memories he still remembered when his mother woke him up.

“He’s coming,” his mother tilted her head a little to the oldest son, fixing Lu Han’s light brownish hair. “Did you dye your hair again?”

Lu Han flashed a wide grin. “Yes, what do you think, Mom?”

A sigh escaped his mother’s mouth, Lu Han could easily tell what she was thinking. “Is this now a trend in Korea?”

“I think so,” the son proudly wiggled his eyebrows as he ignored his mother’s unpleasant reaction. “Oh yeah, speaking of Korea, do we receive any letters from Yonsei? I think we should at least know the news today.”

“There’s no letter coming, yet.”

“Ah,” Lu Han scrunched his nose in slight disappointment. “Is my proposal not accepted? Most of my friends already got accepted yesterday, some did two days ago.”

Before his mother could reply, low footsteps were heard, making the two turn their head. Lu Han’s mother quickly asked her younger daughters to stop playing with their phones as a well dressed man in formal walked in the dining room, followed by two other ones. The two guards stopped as the first man entered the room, making his way to the left chair.

“Good morning,” he radiated a smile to his family members.

“Good morning, Dad,” Lu Han and the two girls replied almost at the same time. It was just like one of the tradition in the house.

Without waiting any longer, the father started the breakfast session as usual. The session today was a bit different, Lu Han could tell. His father looked somewhat worried even though he still smiled when his twelve years old sister asked why. Also when his seventeen years old sister told him about her days in school he was pleased to hear that.

“So, I have an announcement,” his father ended the breakfast session with his own. By the end of the breakfast, Lu Han’s father would always inform his family members about the company—which the kids found boring—or about any recent news, it depended.

“I failed,” he continued after a while.

“Uh, what happened, Dad?” Lu Han briefly broke the silence.

“I hope this isn’t too late to be informed but for the past two weeks, our company has lost profits up to 30 percents,” the CEO sadly informed, intertwining his fingers, “our partner in Japan took the management and said that they would take care of the whole company in their hand.”

“Is that real–”

“Lu Han,” now the father turned his head to the oldest son, making Lu Han gulp an invisible saliva as the glare was shot right into his eyes. “If that really happens, I’d like to send you to Japan in order to keep our eyes on them, I don’t want to lose the whole company my grandfather built. I want you to help me with this.”

That made Lu Han drop his jaw in disbelie