Taeyong was in awe; less than 24 hours prior Haneul was asking him questions about his collection seemingly having a long way to go with her portfolio proposal. Yet, there they were, in Johnny’s office, reviewing her final and completely polished report. It was evident upon her face that she was nervous and highly anticipating their reaction. Johnny did not hide his satisfaction at her outstanding work.

“You really captured the essence of this collection Haneul.”

“Thank you, Boss!”

“Stop calling me that.” Johnny said unamused as he shot Haneul a playful look. “But really, props to me for scouting such a competent PR exec.”

It was then Haneul’s turn to shot him an unamused glare, but she soon ended up chuckling like a child. Taeyong remained speechless at her laugh, bemused by the melodious sound of her giggle or even the delighted expression that ornated her face. As if sensing his scrutinizing gaze, Haneul looked up to Taeyong and immediately his unreadable façade braced the frontier.

Haneul’s face fell, only because her anxiety sprung up like a metal spring. Taeyong took notice of her changed demeanour and immediately started nibbling at his bottom lip. At the end of the day, this project had to ultimately please the artist himself. Once again, the two of them engaged in an eye-contact fest, only this time, Haneul could not decipher any sentiment from his pupils, not even any sort of indifference. Johnny took notice of their sudden exchange and cleared his throat subtly to break the ice.

“So, Tae, what do you think?” Johnny asked on timing.

Taeyong shifted his attention to Johnny and consciously seized the report once again. Really, he needn’t think nor scrutinize it again, but he felt like he needed to buy time in order to find the right words. Never had he ever worked with such a detailed and tailored plan of action which actually reflected every effort of his work. His silence though, seemed to have created doubts in Haneul.

“This really has to match what you want Taeyong, if you don’t like it, I can always make changes-”

“No no no, it’s... perfect.”

Haneul’s eyes widened only the slightest bit before she broke into yet another huge grin. Taeyong stared at her once again, only this time he fixated on her smile instead of her eyes. Her beam was like a breath of fresh air to his rusty daily routine. A part of him truly wanted to hate her, for absolutely no reason, he really wanted to, this would ease his journey so much more, but he could not, because obviously he had no reason to. She was competent, polite, respectful, cheerful, outgoing, hardworking and genuine – everything he wanted to be.

After the details about the budget and schedule were grossed over, Taeyong and Haneul exited Johnny’s office with a picture-perfect portfolio ready. Once again, Taeyong held the door