No human being should be a goldfish.

Winter pondered, while gazing upon the appealing Los Angeles landscape by the window at the 4th floor of the medium-sized commercial building she was in, as her eyes wandered to the Hollywood sign situated on Mount Lee nearby.

Being in the show business industry for 23 fruitful years, Winter had gone through a lot and hundreds of realizations came with it. Desiring fame was like being a goldfish inside a small round fishbowl – and isolated.  Living that kind of life was golden, bright, and shiny. But in the reality of this life, there’s always a price to pay.  Just like the lonely goldfish inside a small round fishbowl, her life was constantly under surveillance and every word she said was subject to scrutiny. It’s crazy how people paid more attention to her life than they should. Just imagine, even from her go-to customized Starbucks drink down to her favorite brand of underwear she was using – just name it – her fans and admirers knew it all too well. She reached that level in her career where once a person mentioned her name everywhere, everyone gushed how talented and charming she was as an actress, all in exchange of her freedom and privacy.

Because who would have thought that she would be the first Korean actress who would reach the international scene as a main role in all her successful worldwide box office movies? Honestly, Winter expected that she would reach the top because she just knew that she would ever since she was younger. In which, she received few criticisms when she’s about to jumpstart her career that she’s an arrogant wannabe actress; but Winter believed that that right term for her was an ambitious and sophisticated actress. She knew she’s that talented and she’s just using it well. She worked her off so damn hard that most people didn’t know how many sacrifices she made behind the camera just to be where she was right now even if it costed her own happiness.

The strangest part about being a celebrity was that she didn’t get to give first impressions anymore. Everyone already had an impression of her before they met her. People thought they knew her too well just basing off what they see on the camera – judging every action she made every now and then. Even though she received a lot of stalking issues before, which caused her to move a lot between her different expensive condos or mansions, no matter how hard they would try, those people still didn’t know everything about her true self – her biggest secret.

Dazzling and charming as ever even in the age of 40 (wherein all honesty, she looked like she was just in her late 20s), Winter was screaming elegance in her all-white fashion outfit – from her blazer to her stilettos; she’s rocking it like a hot, single, wealthy CEO of a massive tech company. But no matter how scintillating her outfit could be, it’s not as bright and shiny as the diamond ring on her ring finger.

“Congratulations again on your engagement,” Park Seo Joon, her manager ever since the beginning of her career, extolled while holding two cups of coffee in both of his hands, as he walked towards the actress appearing behind her. Even though he’s now in his 50s – happily married to an actress and a great father of two, he’s still good looking in his signature neutral colored button-down polo shirts and dark jeans ever since Winter could remember their first day working with him as her manager since 1997. “How long you’ve been engaged? Is it five days ago? Or four?” he tried to remember as he handed her the other cup of coffee.

Winter smiled, helping him out. “It’s been three days.”

“Oh, right!” Seo Joon exclaimed. “It’s the day you tweeted that you have the biggest secret to reveal but you quickly deleted it,” he sipped his coffee, shaking his head lightly as he released a hearty chuckle. “You don’t know how much trouble you gave me that day. I’ve been dodging the media for days and I did some explaining to the higher management until 3 am in the morning.”

“I’m sorry,” Winter laughed. “Ever since you became my manager, all I ever gave you are headaches.”

“Well, you’re partly right,” Seo Joon agreed, smiling. “But no matter how stubborn you can be, I know how talented you are and how far you can go in your career. That’s why I chose to stick with you and watch you grow. And now, look at you,” his eyes quickly scanned her from head to toe, nodding with approval. “You are the best of the best. You are Winter Kim.”

Winter smiled from the warm compliments. She always received compliments from different kinds of people all the time. But hearing it from people who’s always there for her during the easiest and hardest times in her life and career felt different – it hit her home. “Thank you, really,” she whispered above the lid of her cup, gazing back at the Los Angeles view by the window.

“Of course. Always a pleasure,” Seo Joon smiled, joining her to cherish the view and they stayed in comfortable silence, sipping their coffee for a while. But for a minute, he got distrac