“Go home.”

Aera dropped her head in disappointment after being pushed away by her boss. She didn’t understand why it was so hard for him to accept her help, but she figured it wasn’t her place to push him either. With her own lack of knowledge, it may make things worse.

~~~

The next morning already started off strange. An ominous feeling followed her around since waking up. It was difficult to describe, but it felt as if something very bad was going to happen today. To start things off, Baekhyun finally showed up to work after disappearing for a full week. He had also been avoiding the board of directors since the incident. It was revealed that the student he assaulted at the resort was in fact, one of his main investors’s son. 

Before even clocking in, the company was already hectic the moment Aera walked in. She overheard the other departments talking about the incident, surprised herself when the student’s identity was revealed. Her initial thought was to immediately check on her boss.

Meanwhile, Baekhyun attended a meeting held by the board of directors as soon as he arrived at the company. It seemed as they are currently stuck in a difficult position after his investor expressed the plan to pull out a major portion of his funding. The directors proposed contradicting ideas ranging from suspending Baekhyun’s activities to pressing legal charges against him. Before any major actions were taken, his publicity team suggested that Baekhyun should personally apologize to the family. After much consideration, the directors had all decided to postpone the hearing until Baekhyun delivery his apology to the family. 

Aera arrived in front of the meeting room just as they were dismissed. She caught a glimpse of her boss who looked extremely frustrated. After everyone had left the room, Aera quietly made her way in to see him.

“Let me come with you,” she firmly demanded.

Feeling exhausted from everything, Bekhyun decided to not fight back. He didn’t give her a reply nor did he stop her from following him. Viewing this as an opportunity to offer her support, Aera followed behind without another word. As they reached his car, Baekhyun turned to her before letting out a long sigh. Slightly offended, she responded to him by securing the passenger seat. She made up her mind to not let him push her away like yesterday. 

After a surprisingly long drive, they pulled up to a modern mansion surrounded by tall trees. It felt as if this building was hidden inside an actual forest. Aera’s eyes lit up upon seeing the futuristic building. The building was three story high, completely glass proof and accompanied by a reflecting pool right in front of the entrance.

“Wow…” she unknowingly said out loud.

Baekhyun scoffed at her innocence. 

The pair passed through security before being taken to the main house. They were told to wait in a designated area until further notice. After almost half an hour of waiting, an employee notified Baekhyun that the director was ready to see him. 

“Finally,” Aera pulled herself up, but was quickly denied from coming with Baekhyun. 

“Sorry ma’am, I was only directed to take Mr. Byun. Please wait here and notify our staff if you need any refreshment.”

“I-“ she wanted to protest, but they had already left without her. 

The staff led Baekhyun to an empty study on the top floor then proceeded to dismiss herself. After a few minutes, the door opened again. Baekhyun stood up out of respect and greeted his investor with a 90 degr