The weather is getting warmer but summer's air wouldn't stop Hyunji from squeezing herself dry while preparing the draft and applications for her senior cases. It's near the end of her associate year working with Junsang. After three years of graduate school, and two years of training in the Judicial Research and Training Institute following the passing bar exam, she managed to land an elusive role at this large commercial law firm.

It's a rare chance to actually live this reality. Few were fortunate enough to get the chance to commence their careers like what she had now, and it felt like a dream came true. All sleepless nights and coffee-fuelled cram study sessions were paid off, she finally got there. 

And yet, the hard work wasn't over. She's definitely aware that it was just the beginning. When she was a fresh graduate lawyer, she expected to experience the interesting and challenging works that was ahead of her. She was excited to start building professional relationships with her clients and colleagues, only to find that in reality, this all was about competing for work. 

As a junior associate of one of the ultra-elite law firms in the country, she wasn't allowed to handle her own case yet. She spent her days working on all the files her seniors required for the court trials and litigations. She made sure that Chaerin, one of her respected mentors and whom she followed the most, had everything she needed in researching all aspects of a case including previous pleadings and relevant laws while the woman represented the clients before the judge, and juries.

It's really hard for her at first, but this certain friend of her had inspired her that sometimes hard work was not enough to achieve what she'd been dreaming of. It's not only about her ego. This person once said that though she—being one of the best and brightest law students and a true high achiever—might have been a great adornment for her remarkable CV, didn't mean that it would be the key of the smoothest path through her carrier journey. She didn't want to get ahead of herself, there had yet a lot to learn, and being a learner was all she did through these years.

Lee Chaerin was a great lawyer. A very thorough and demanding person, but a great teacher. It's like having a love-hate relationship with her, although sometimes feeling frustrated with all the work of unreasonable deadlines, what Chaerin told her to do always made sense. No work was in vain, as well as all her efforts.

"Are all the files I asked for done?" The senior asked as soon as Hyunji put down a pile of research and data files on the case that Chaerin was currently working on.

The woman took one of the top bundles of files and scanned the contents quickly, shifting her gaze from the paper she was holding and Hyunji in turn.

"Uh, yeah," Hyunji nodded firmly, "I compiled the names of all the fabric factories in the Incheon area. 80% of them employ immigrant workers, but only 60% of these factories actually have the official permission." She explained.

Chaerin was currently working on a human trafficking case that indicted several agents sponsoring immigrant workers. The association of labor workers came to consult and Junsang was now working to fight for their rights in the court. "And I've also highlighted some information that I think will be important to you, so you can read the sections I've marked."

Sipping her leftover black coffee from this morning, Chaerin nodded in satisfaction and raised her thumb. "Great! I know I can always count on you for this," she said, then added, "Anyway, we're meeting a new client at 4 o'clock. Which means, it would be the next two hours. What do we have for lunch?"

"Um, actually," Hyunji tilted her head with a grimace, "I have an appointment for lunch."

"A date?" Chaerin asked nonchalantly, eyebrow raised.

"No, no. It's a friend from college, she's visiting the office and we're going to have lunch at the cafeteria." Hyunji told her, "You can come and join us if you want to,"

"Well, I'll skip. I think I'll just have Kyungsoo or Dahye come with me then. Off you go," Chaerin sushed her jokingly, asked her leave immediately. She gave her a slight bow and left the room, returning to her desk to check if Seulgi had left a message on her cell phone.

And sure enough, 3 messages and 7 missed calls were displayed on the screen as soon as she opened the home screen. This morning Seulgi texted her to have lunch together. Since Hyunji still had enough work to do, they agreed to eat at the cafeteria in Junsang.

"Hey, is everything okay?" 

Seulgi gave her a light smack on her arm, "Why do you always ask me the same thing everytime I see you?!"  Hyunji shrugged in response, a light chuckle released from her small mouth. "Everything's okay, I am not in any trouble. You happy? I just want to see my friend, that's all. Now take me to lunch."

Seulgi hooked her hands on the crook of her arm and let Hyunji led the way. It's been a month since the last time they met and that last meeting she spent listening to Seulgi's complaints about her boyfriend for three hours.

That girl was really into her boyfriend, Jun Jaehyun. They started dating early last year, but since then she'd lost count on how many times he'd made her cry. The reasons were varied; sometimes because Jaehyun suddenly gave her a cold treatment and didn't reply to her messages all day just because they had a fight about pineapple topping on their pizza. Sometimes because Jaehyun went out with his friends but didn't tell her about it and made her wait for hours at his apartment. Sometimes because Jaehyun forgot to celebrate the many days of their relationship, and so on, and so on.

Hyunji knew better not to say anything. Giving Seulgi a piece of her mind wouldn't change anything. She had no idea how many times she had told this friend of her to end their relationship, that she deserved a much better man than that bastard Jaehyun. But Seulgi was too stubborn, she never wanted to listen even though she had to sob every day.

"Whoa, indeed Junsang, they are indeed in a different caliber." Seulgi commented as soon as she tasted her food. Once they filled their trays with delicious food from Junsang's cafeteria, they sat down at one of the tables for two in the corner of the glass wall.

"No wonder you love this office so much," she added.

Hyunji agreed automatically. The cafeteria at Junsang was made to be as comfortable as possible for its workers with its high-quality food. Seemed like it's because people here were relatively busy that the office wanted to make sure people could save time for eating by staying in the office and getting back to their jobs quickly. It's effectively cunning.

Seulgi started to talk about her activities. Hyunji deliberately diverted their attention to talk about anything else so that Seulgi didn't have to mention about her boyfriend. She just knew, once Jaehyun's name came into the scene, this conversation would never end. Seulgi told her about the gossip in her office. She worked as a legal team in a multinational electronics company, and being there for more than five years allowed her to know a lot about insider scandals; from colleagues to their superiors. It almost got Hyunji wondering every time how she could get such information, but Seulgi has always been like that. She was always the one who knew all the juicy stories going on around them, and Hyunji was no longer surprised.

"I was thinking to tell you about that—Oh my God, is that Kim Taehyung?"

Hyunji immediately turned around, following Seulgi's finger pointed at the door. Kim Taehyung, the man Seulgi talked about walking into the cafeteria. He waved at Hyunji when he caught her gaze, his smile growing wide.

"What is he doing here???" Seulgi lowered her voice, half whispering as if she didn't want anyone to hear the question.

Hyunji subconsciously drew closer and lowered her voice, "He started working here a month ago,"

"Seriously? I can't believe he even follows you here,"

"He doesn't follow me here." She protested, throwing back her head just to have enough space pointing her friend's face with the chopstick.

"Oh, shut up. That guy has had a crush on you since graduate school. He always came to all gatherings and kept asking you out. And now that he's showing up here, you're saying he's not following you?"

Hyunji waved her hand, dismissing the stupid accusation, "He passed the bar exam last year, what's wrong with him being here? All fresh lawyer graduates want to come here."

"Why don't you date him if you're so adamant to defend him? You've been rejecting him during school, now he's a lawyer like you. He's handsome too, so what are you waiting for?"

"I don't date colleagues, you know that." she reasoned with a shrug.

"In your case, you just simply don't date, period," she suggested, Hyunji blew her a raspberry. "You  need to start dating again, Girl. You deserve better. You're cute, you're nice and everything. Stop thinking about Sehun, the world is full of men who will make you happy."

Hearing that, Hyunji dramatically scoffed. Look who's talking, how could she bring her past up all of sudden just because she was trying to state the fact about a mere colleague? "Hey, this has nothing to do with Sehun." she refuted,  "And save that first sentence for yourself, you're the one who deserves someone much better."

Seulgi blew her a raspberry back. "Anyway," as if deliberately ignoring what Hyunji just said, she continued, "We're going to have a welcoming party at Yixing's place tonight. I'll text you the address, and bring some wine. The kids want to have that Pinot Noir you brought to Baekhyun's the last time."

Hyunji stopped eating instantly. Her heart felt like it stopped beating when she heard that familiar name. Welcoming party for Yixing? Why didn't anyone tell her he was back?

"I didn't know he's back. When?" she asked after a moment of silence in shock.

Seulgi's face suddenly changed. She looked a little nervous as if being caught saying something she shouldn't have said. Hyunji narrowed her eyes, looking at her suspiciously.

"He didn't tell me either, I swear. Baekhyun told me that Yixing came back to Seoul a week ago, so we're going to his place to welcome him home."

Hyunji looked down silently, returning to eating her meal. They weren't in a good term when Yixing left for the States. He once asked her if