a/n: The past = iitalicized.

“What happened to your face again?” Haemi sighed, plopping down next to her childhood friend. She dug through her backpack for cotton swabs and disinfectant to treat his wounds. Since his fights became a regular routine at school now, the girl just got used to carrying around these basic medical supplies in her bag.

Sehun sat back for her to finish, his eyes following her movement closely. From their close range, he could see right through the cuff of her long-sleeve uniform. Before she could finish cleaning up his wounds, Sehun caught her arm abruptly. He proceeded to pull the sleeve up, revealing the freshly bandaged cuts on her wrist. Her body automatically tensed up as his expression grew darker. 

“Again?” he hissed, his grip tightened around the girl’s arm.

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“Oh Sehun!” his manager barged into the author’s luxurious loft, located on the very top floor that overlooked a gorgeous city’s skyline. He casually prepared tea for his manager, partially to calm the man down first.

“I can’t keep hiring new editors! So please do me a favor and stick with one!” he emphasized the last word. It wasn’t so much about hiring new editors, it was the fact that each one of them had filed a complaint against Sehun consecutively. The company could only do so much to cover up his inappropriate acts. 

“I scheduled a meeting with your new editor. She’s the best in the business, I heard. Please keep this one until your book is finished,” the look in the man’s eyes screamed anxiety, and Sehun was responsible for most of that stress. 

“Speaking of which, she should probably arrive soon…” he added, glancing down at his watch. Another new face just meant more opportunity for Sehun’s creativity to flourish. How exciting, he thought to himself. His mind could only think of the different ways to torture his new staff, or how long it would take for them to quit. Just the thought of it made Sehun anticipate the upcoming meeting. 

Haemi arrived in front of the unfamiliar building, the height of it already made her anxious. Just one meeting, she told herself. She was only doing this for Mina. Knowing how close her friend was to a promotion, this project would be extremely beneficial. She just didn’t expect to meet her ex-husband again like this. 

She nervously pressed for the top floor with her hands clutched tightly onto the elevator railing. Fighting off her height phobia, the girl straightened up once she reached his floor. Haemi took a deep breath, bringing her hand up slowly to ring the doorbell. Who knew it was this difficult. 

“You must be the new editor!” a man greeted her at the entrance, she was just relieved that it wasn’t Sehun.

“My name is Ahn Bohyun, HUN’s manager,” he introduced himself as he led Haemi down a long hallway. Her eyes wandered its way around the loft, its simplistic designs caught her attention immediately. But for some reason, it felt lonely…

The manager led her over to a dining area where she spotted Sehun for the first time. He didn’t seem to notice her just yet, with his attention glued on the piece of steak that he was having. 

“This is Park Mina, your new editor,” Bohyun announced before the editor could explain the current situation. They were still unaware at the fact that Mina is currently in labor. 

“Actually Mina is-“ the girl barely said a few words, but it was enough for Sehun to recognize her voice. She stopped mid sentence when the writer abruptly pulled himself up from his seat, eyes fixed on her.

“…Mina is currently on maternity leave. I’ll be replacing her for the time being until she is ready to work again. My name is Oh Haemi.” the editor continued while trying her best to dodge the piercing daggers in his eyes.   

“I see you kept my last name,” he smirked. Bohyun was taken back by his casual speech. He knew how rude Sehun could be at times, but never expected him to interact with a stranger like