Chapter One

Kang Seulgi has been living the life she was always expected to have. She has a nice corporate job, some fancy cars, a big house in the heart of Seoul along Seongbuk-dong, and a pet turtle. What more can a chaebol like her ask for?

Her routine of a life starts at six in the morning. An alarm isn’t actually needed but she still bothers to set it every night even if her body is already accustomed to wake up at exactly that time. In three years, she has done this every day, and it is like a program in her system, ready on startup.

She wakes up a minute before her alarm goes boom. She stares at the blinking red numbers by her bedside table. It read fifty-nine minutes past five in the morning. One more minute and her routine is starting. She closes her eyes and counts her breathing. Any time now.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

She opens her heavy eyes again as she presses the reset button on her trusted digital alarm clock. It has done its purpose perfectly well. She gets up from her fitful slumber and goes for the bathroom door.

She is conceited. She knew her face still looks dashing even if she just woke up. Her body is as tight as ever. Her muscles show how they are well-maintained as she sees her body through the big mirrors that surround her vanity place. She is one proud of a Kang.

She prefers cold showers in the morning. She believes it gives her the jumpstart she needs for the day. It her in. The coldness she needs to numb her already frozen emotions. Keeping it at hold for the last three years. It pricks her skin, almost too piercing. The inkling drapes of little cold rains coming from the shower and sinking through the layer it keeps. She knows she cannot find her way back to square one.

It’s six thirty-two when she puts on her dress shirt, custom-made for her, is too bright for her liking. It resembles the color of butter in her fridge. If it weren’t for the suit she is putting over it, she would reconsider not coming to work and firing her stylist.

As if on cue, she picks up at the first ring when her phone she receives a call. It must be her very insistent stylist and friend, Park Sooyoung. “I don’t like it.” She says instead of greeting the cause of her early irritation.

“It will look good with your complexion, Seul! We’re doing bright hues this week.” Sooyoung says before hanging up.

She looks at the mirror. A tie would be an overkill. So she leaves two buttons open. She fixes herself more until there’s nothing else left to fix. Today is just another day at work, she reminds herself.

She doesn’t forget to feed her turtle with some fresh lettuce. “Bye, Slow-gi.” The name is a combined form of her name and the word slow. It fitted Slow-gi too well.

It’s exactly seven o’clock when she grabs her keys from where it is always kept. She selects her Maserati for a day like Monday.

While waiting for the traffic light to go green, she checks her schedule. More like skimming the whole thing. It’s always the same every single day. Meetings here and there, papers to sign, and more documents to read. It is an endless pit of no return.

Today, she is meeting the new president of marketing department. And as vice chairman of the company, she’ll have to work closely with this new employee for her upcoming museum project.

She arrives at the entrance of the building. The valet is waiting at the side for her arrival. She goes out of her car and suddenly, everybody is bowing their heads to her.

Her secretary comes out