A yawn escaped from me as I pushed the blanket off of me and dragged myself to the bathroom to take a quick shower. I slightly jumped as the cold water hit my body, surprising me and awakening my sleeping mind and body. I wrapped a towel around me after I finished taking a shower and went to my closet to put on some clothes. I wore a maroon long-sleeve button down shirt tucked in a black pencil skirt. After changing, I dried my hair as I sat in front of my vanity mirror and applied a light makeup on before I went outside of the bedroom carrying my purse and phone.

“Good morning” I said as I spotted Wheein sitting by the kitchen counter with her phone, a plate of pancakes and a mug of coffee in front of her.

She glanced briefly at me then went back to her phone. “Good morning. Headache?” she asked just as I walked past her, grabbing a mug for myself while I placed my phone and purse on the counter.

“Nope.” I filled my mug with coffee she prepared in the coffee maker, catching the aroma from the coffee that made me instantly close my eyes from satisfactio.

“Dizziness?” she asked from behind me.

“Nope. I’m all good doc, don’t worry.” I pulled my mug with coffee and sat beside her on the kitchen counter.

She chuckled at me but pouted when she saw me steal a slice of her pancakes.

“I made you a plate. Why are you stealing mine?” she said as she pushed another plate of pancakes in front of me.

“You already poured honey on yours and my stomach is already complaining” I said before taking a sip from my coffee. I sighed as I took another whiff from my coffee, inhaling caffeine into my system.

She grabbed the honey syrup bottle with her left hand and poured some on my plate of pancakes, spreading it on my plate while her emerald-cut silver diamond ring on her ring finger brightly reflecting back the sunlight that got inside the kitchen.

“Thank you.” I smiled at her as I placed my mug down before she gave her attention back to her phone.

“Any scheduled surgeries today?” I asked her and started devouring my pancakes now.

She finished typing something on her phone, put it down and slowly turned to me before she answered my question. She shook her head as she said, “Nope. You? Any meetings?”

“I’ll probably be home late” I said, stuffing more pancakes in my mouth as she stood up and walked away from the counter to somewhere from behind me. “We’re finalizing another paper today and will be submitting it right after we finish it” I said as she walked back and sat beside me, handing me a paper towel.

“Why do you eat like a kid?” she asked, chuckling at me.

“What?” I asked, raising my eyebrows at her, blinking my eyes innocently, and ignoring the towel she’s handing to me.

She rolled her eyes and motioned for me to come closer. I dropped my fork to completely face her and leaned my face closer to her as I caught the scent of her perfume. She held a hand on my shoulder to steady me while she wiped my chin and the corner of my lips with the towel, her eyes focused on the task while I just stared at her eyes.

“Lipstick” I whispered, saying the word without moving my lips.

She looked up to my eyes briefly then glanced back down to my lips again. “I know. I’m wiping your chin not your lips” she whispered, continuing with the task.

When she was done, she playfully pushed me back and crumpled the towel to place it beside my plate, then went back to finishing her pancakes.

“Thanks.” I softly laughed at her as I went back to my own plate of pancakes as well.

“Want me to pick you up later?” she asked me just as we finished eating our pancakes and drinking our coffee.

“No, it’s okay. I still don’t know what time we’ll finish later” I said, walking to the sink with my plate and mug.

I pushed my sleeves up to start washing the dishes. Wheein stood beside me, passing her plate and mug, before she grabbed the towel by the sink and proceeded to dry the utensils I just washed.

When we were done, I dried my hands while she grabbed her purse in the living room, placed her phone inside it, and opened her arms wide when she saw me coming towards her. I smiled, walking into her arms, and wrapped mine around her shoulders as she was wrapping hers around my waist.

Wheein always gives the best hugs. Out of all the hugs I have ever received, hers are always consistent. She hugs you so tight, lingering for a few more seconds, then gently rubs a hand on your back before she untangles herself from the hug. She hugs like it's the last time you’ll ever see each other. She hugs as if telling you that she's here to protect you, but at the same time, seeks comfort and security from the hug too.

"Text me when you're done. I'll pick you up," she whispered when we slowly pulled from the hug. 

"I'll be late. You don't have to" I said, shaking my head at her. 

"Exactly. You'll be late. And I insist, Yong. I'll stay at the café across the university" she said, as she walked backwards to the door. "I'll see you later." She waved a hand when she reached the door and went out without letting me protest at all.

I sighed, smiling at the now closed door before I went to the kitchen to grab my purse and phone.

It's been a year now since Wheein and I lived together. Our breakfast routine has become really familiar to both of us that it feels like we’re dancing with our eyes closed but are fully confident that we won’t step on each other’s foot.

The first one to wake up will automatically prepare a simple breakfast and coffee. It can be unfair sometimes; I would've to prepare breakfast for two consecutive weeks. Sometimes, Wheein would wake up earlier than me for consecutive days too. It really depends on our schedules. We could really be busy with work sometimes, but neither of us complained.

Wheein is a neurosurgeon at Seoul Medical Center. She's really good that sometimes people from all over the world would come here just because their doctors recommended her. She would sometimes travel to a different province or country for conferences and meetings too. 

I, on the other hand, worked as the VP for Research and Development at Seoul National University. I am also a part-time professor handling research course subjects under the Department of Industrial Engineering. Like Wheein, I often travel both inside and outside the country as I constantly engage myself in various research works. I also monitor research works of my fellow professors in the university, which could be a pain in the sometimes but will always be satisfying once we finish it.

When I went out of our penthouse, I immediately went down to the lobby and out of the building to wait for a taxi. I normally drive to the university. But since I'll be having a meeting that would surely end late at night later, I opted not to drive myself to work for today. I could already anticipate the aching muscles and exhaustion I'd feel later tonight. Wheein also wouldn’t let me drive if I know I’ll be exhausted. So I left my car in our penthouse building and rode the taxi to the university.

Eyeglasses sitting on the bridge of my nose, laptop in front of me while my screen was projected for all the people sitting in the rectangular table to see as I sat at the head of it. Cans of pineapple juice sitting beside all of the laptops on the table as my eyes scanned all the words on our journal paper, checking all the arguments word by word. My colleagues’ attention was on the projected screen as they watched me correct miniscule details of the paper.

“Done,” I said once I was able to run through every word and punctuation on the paper. “Mr. Lee, will you fill out the needed information before we finally submit the paper?” I asked, directing my gaze at Mr. Lee, the head of this research project.

He nodded his head as I stood up from my chair for him to sit down on it. I moved to the side and stretched my limbs.

Finalizing a research paper can be really exhausting, mentally draining to be specific. We’ve been in this room since earlier this morning; writing, reading, and yawning as we compiled and finalized the paper. I’ve been known to be really meticulous with my work and sometimes professors hate it when I call for a meeting like this. But they can’t blame me though. Months of work