“Good morning, sir.”

I bow a few more times after each greeting. I didn’t realize how far the executive’s office is until now that I need to greet every employee I pass by. I breathe heavily and try to soothe my worries with every release. The tie’s a little uncomfortable on my neck.

“I need to breathe,” I whisper to myself, pulling my necktie a little just so a little more air would be able to pass through. I never really thought I would be wearing a suit and tie to the office. Ever since I established my small advertising company, I enjoyed the fact that the team can dress up casually but not exceeding the house rules regarding the office attire.

“Coffee, sir?” Jen, my sister’s secretary, asks while holding the clipboard where the scheduled jampacked day is at.

“Uh, just water? Perhaps…” She turns, her stilettos clinking hard on the tiles.

The room is very spacious. It’s probably the whole level of the building. The marble floor looks as exquisite as I can remember and the walls and ceilings are porcelain white. They sure do a good job keeping it clean and looking new even after all these years.

I look around and the couch that sits adjacent to the huge office table made of high-grade wood coated with walnut finish brings back precious memories of the time when my mom would take us here to fetch my dad who refuses to leave unfinished business every Friday.

“I don’t want anyone disturbing us on weekends. I will finish this.”  Was what he would always say.

My sister and I will play with the glass chess that my father keeps because sometimes his friends would come over to play with him in his office. His secretary would sometimes take us out to get our ice cream fix if mom would take longer than usual at her favorite salon.

I take another deep breath and close my eyes hard. I bring my hand to my face and starts to gently press the pressure points on my head.

Jen’s presence cannot be denied when her shoes are all that I can hear in this huge room that we are in.

“Here’s your water, sir.” She places it on top of the table. She bows and struts her way out of the huge office and she’ll probably take her time outside.

To stand at the top of the empire and lead hundreds of people isn’t what I’ve always wanted to become. It’s at the far end of the list but how ironic can life be, that even when I tried hard to veer away from the chances of holding the empire in my hand, my end game was still here.

“Jungsoo, it’s fine with me if you’re still not ready to take over the company because it can wait… I can still…” My sister’s voice rings my ears and my heart hurt3. To try and comprehend her understanding of my choices will be far beyond me in this lifetime.

As I watch her lie on the hospital bed, holding her belly gently where the tiny form of life springs; where her husband paces the old hospital floor; and where my niece pleads with her eyes not meeting mine, I knew right then what I had to do.

“Is this what you really want