The sky was still dark, the sun had not even shown itself. However, Sehun found himself waking up at five in the morning out of habit. Getting out of bed, he brushed his teeth and cleaned up before doing a brief workout. After the session, he proceeded to the shower where he scrubbed himself extra clean and taking several minutes more than usual in the bathroom.

Today was just like any other day but there was something that made this particular day special to him. Yesterday, Sehun was told by his boss that one of the higher ups wanted to meet him today, without providing any particular reason why. He was left stupefied for a moment.

Sehun's boss who proudly smiled and patted him on the back told him, "it's most probably related to the presentation you made last week in front of the big bosses. Maybe he liked your idea."

That had comforted him, though he still felt nervous. Sehun knew Kim Dalbong, one of the firm's partners. He made the majority of the firm's important decisions, Sehun was told. Other than that, Sehun knew nothing else about him and why would he want to summon someone like him. Nonetheless, he had a good feeling about today.

Putting on his crisp white shirt, Sehun stood in front of the full-length mirror to make sure he was presentable enough for the unexpected meeting.

Locking the door, he head out for the day.

***

The fluffy pancakes that she normally enjoyed, tasted bland this morning. Namjoo, who was an enthusiastic foodie, could not bring herself to eat the dish to her heart's content. It was all his father's fault, she grumbled as she sat in her chair by the large dining table sulking to herself.

"Are you sulking again?"her father spoke up. His utensils hung mid-air as he glanced in her direction. Namjoo heard him letting out a low sigh. "Even if you choose to go on an empty stomach, that wouldn't change my mind."

She bit her lower lip, trying to hold back the words she wanted to spit out but could not. However spiteful she felt at that moment, she could not, for the life of her, act rude towards the father who she respected.

"It's not like that. I'm just feeling full this morning,"Namjoo said as she looked at her father, trying to make the most pitiful face she could muster. Unfortunately, he was busy chewing on his food.

Namjoo put down her fork a little too loudly to get his attention. "I need more time, father. Please understand. I have my dreams, too,"she begged. Frustration was an understatement to what she felt now.

"I have already given you five years. That's too long already, why are you still asking for more?"he replied. The older man muttered almost inaudibly, "there's no more time to waste."

Puzzled, she asked, "what do you mean?"

Namjoo could sense that he was hiding a big secret from her lately, but he always evaded her questions by escaping the room or talking about that one topic that she could not stand.

"He's a good man. This time, the candidate is not just anyone, Namjoo. Please meet him first,"he said without answering her question.

"That's not the problem-"she started, but was unable to finish off her sentence when the man got up. "I'm done with this conversation. Don't forget to get ready for this evening. Mr Lim will pick you up sharp at twelve."

With that, he left the room. Namjoo stared after her father's disappearing figure, quietly fuming to herself. "I won't,"she grumbled, gripping her fork tightly as if she was about to kill someone with the fork.

***

Switching off his computer, Sehun got up from his desk. It was lunch hour already. Roughly an hour and a half to go until he was su