CHAPTER 1

            “They’re at the lobby, on the way to the meeting room.” Jihyo reminded Sana, who was now tidying up her desk from organizing the files. Sana took the last gulp from her coffee and threw it into the steel can. She stood up and fixed her clothes, walking to a tray holding some whiskey in a glass container. “Sana, it’s way too early to drink, don’t you think?” Jihyo took a step towards her, but she knew better than to stop Sana from indulging into alcohol.

            “Just enough to get through this godforsaken meeting.” Sana groaned and downed the glass of whiskey in one gulp. It stung , scratching it harshly. She remedied the pain by coughing lightly. She put the glass down and made her way back to the desk, when her phone rang.

            “Great.” Sana complained and answered it.

            “Hi, sweetheart.” A gentle voice on the other side of the line greeted. Sana despised the endearment. It reminded her so much of her father, after all. “Don’t call me that so casually, we aren’t married yet.”

            “Fine. Hehe.” A giggle was heard on the other side. Myoui Mina’s. She was the heir to one of the three elite corporations in Japan. A “distant” childhood friend of Sana’s. Their relationship was exclusively platonic, but contracts bind them to each other. They were to have a contractual marriage, married on paper to please the press, basically. When asked for a reason why, all Sana responds with is, “It’s good for business.” When it truth, it’s something far beyond that. It was something personal.

            “I’ll see you in a bit? We’re on the elevator now.” Sana squinted her eyes, but at the mention of the fact that they were in the elevator already, she grabbed the folder and made her way to the meeting room booked for the occasion. “Did you really call me just to tell me that?” Sana was clearly annoyed. Mina knew she was overstepping boundaries, but she didn’t mind it too much. “Why, can’t I call my wife-to-be when I want to?” Mina mocked.

            “If you’re thinking I’m actually falling in love with you, you’re mistaken.” Sana’s voice was absolute, cold. She didn’t like unannounced calls for anything other than business. Mina sighed, knowing Sana was being her stubborn self. “I know. Bleh” The line hung up.

            Sana burst into the meeting room. It was colder in it compared to the hallways. She didn’t mind, she was used to it. She took the seat on one end of the long meeting table and laid out her copy of the files, marked with revisions and concerns in red ink. She didn’t have to wait too long, since only after a few minutes, the Myoui family entered the room with their legal personnel.

            “Good Morning, Mr. and Mrs. Myoui.” Sana greeted with a bow. Not a crack of annoyance could be seen on her face. She has perfected the art of professionalism. A tall, slim figure stood beside the two parents. Her hair sat on her shoulders elegantly. She was wearing a black off the shoulder dress, which hugged her figure perfectly. A black swan, if you may. “And of course, Myoui Mina.” Sana plastered a smile on her face to please the folks.

            “I’m sure you’ve been informed that we’re here to discuss your marriage with Mina?” Mr. Myoui put his arm across Mina’s shoulder. Sana nodded and offered them chairs to sit on. “I am. I’ve looked over the contract myself, and I have a few things to discuss.” Sana drew up her papers and discussed the details to the Myoui clan.

            The meeting went on for just over an hour. Final revisions were made to their contract, and Sana has managed to sweet talk Mr. Myoui into naming her more shares of their company. For her, all that mattered was expanding the corporation. A marriage was just the tip of the iceberg of what she would do for it. When the meeting was adjourned, the two parents went off, with Mina asking to be left behind for a few minutes to talk to Sana.

            “I’m busy, Mina.” Sana stated, in disapproval of the other girl staying. “Seriously, you have to lay off work a bit. All you do is work.” The blonde-haired girl said with a genuine feeling of concern. Sana didn’t even bat her a glance before making her way to the door. Mina pouted and had no choice but to tail Sana and continue on her futile attempts to converse with the stubborn girl.

            Sana didn’t exactly hate Mina. She’s technically like this to every other friend she has recently. Distant and cold. The blonde was used to it by now. “Have you heard from Momo at all?” Mina inquired as they left the meeting room. Sana was silent. She halted in the middle of the hallway and turned back to face Sana. “Momo Hirai?” she confirmed. The blonde nodded and grabbed her phone from her handbag, navigating through a list of articles before showing one to Sana.

            Sana grabbed the phone and inspected the photo. It really is her. She thought. Sana sighed and returned the blonde’s phone. “It’s about time she returned.” Sana pretended like she didn’t care, but in truth, she was worried. She just wouldn’t admit it. “Aren’t you worried? She never reached out to us during her break. Hell, I didn’t even know she was going to vanish for a year.” Mina interjected and matched Sana’s pace.

            Sana wanted to say yes, but that would mean expressing her emotions, so she resorted to staying silent and looking dead straight ahead. “I know you are.” Mina sighed. She wanted to care, but Sana has erased any sign of feeling in her brain. She didn’t want to feel anything anymore. She was incapable of feeling anything other than anger and frustration towards work.

            To some extent, Sana was aware of this. She did it so she wouldn’t attach herself to anyone, or anything anymore. Relationships, especially. She didn’t do strings. To her, relationships are nothing but a waste of valuable time. The time she could be using to make the company grow wouldn’t ever be wasted on something as useless as a relationship. All of this, because of her. A distant thought echoed in her mind. She furrowed her eyebrows and forcefully wiped the echo clean, treating it as if it was a bad, invasive thought.

            The two of them entered Sana’s office. The blonde took a seat on a leather chair. She was intently staring at Sana. “What?” the older girl shot a glare to her. “How long are you going to keep this up?”

            “Keep what up?”

            “Your act. Acting as if you didn’t care about anything, as if you didn’t have humane emotions. As if you didn't know love. I don’t know you anymore, Sana.” Sana stayed silent. An unreadable look was plastered on her face. Her eyes were mundane, and her lips were far from forming a smile. It haunted Mina. I miss the real you.

            “What do you mean? This is me. I’m not acting.” Sana’s tone shifted drastically. Her voice was  heavier and colder. Mina didn’t utter another word and just kept staring at Sana while she scanned through documents on her desk. Bull, she finally muttered under her breath. She sighed and stood up, walking towards the door .“Alright, I’m leaving. I’ll keep in touch, Sana-chan.” Sana didn’t bother acknowledging what Mina endeared her. In defeat, Mina had to walk away.

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            “I’m home!” A girl shouted from outside a door to a seemingly empty house. The sound of luggage thudding echoed through the big, empty space. “My angel? Where are you?” The girl called out with squinted eyes. Seeing that a response didn’t come for the next few seconds, she grabbed her luggage and climbed the stairs to a hallway, where she slowly opened a door to reveal a bedroom.

            “Angel…” The girl whispered. She slowly poked her head inside, smiling at the sight t