Pulling at the Roots

2:14AM

Location: Unknown, Seoul

Date: ?/?/2012

A breeze blew into the bedroom. It ran across the crumpled bed sheets, causing shivers to run across a man’s bare chest. It was a little past two am, and soon he would be forced awake. On the opposite wall from his bed, a clock held time in its hands. Thirty seconds till two fifteen, it read. His body counted every second till he could make his escape… Another breeze floated into the room, just as the clock turned to the 2:15.

His eyelids fluttered open. The alarm in his body went off.

Every night, it went off, signaling that it was time to his leave. The moon’s light still flickered through the bedroom and there was no sign that the sun would be taking its place anytime soon. Assured by the stillness of the night, he kicked away the drowsiness. With a slight hop, he got out of bed and began to dress himself. His shoes were here, and his shirt was thrown over there, but he managed to fully arrange his clothing.

His eyes, though barely open, searched through the room for any left behind traces of himself. He always made sure that he was untraceable when he left. He quickly scanned the floor and when he was sure he gathered all of his belongings, he made his way to the bedroom door. His footsteps were light and inaudible. He practiced enough hiding and escaping to master the skill of the quiet escape. His body was trained to do this, almost accustomed to it.

With one last glance at the unarranged bed, his leather shoe stepped out the door and he waved goodbye…

He would’ve been gone, if she hadn’t woken up.

“Babe, where are you going?” called an unknown woman. Although she was barely awake, she sat up to call to her leaving lover. A blanket, wrapped around her body, hid her from him. Her face was hidden behind the shaded darkness of the room.

“I’m going to get a glass of water. Go back to bed babe,” he replied, “I’ll be there in a minute.”

The woman, obviously not aware of what was happing, just smiled and nodded her head. Her hands brushed the hair out of her face and drowsily, blew a kiss to her leaving lover. She then wrapped the blankets tighter around her body and laid back into a deep slumber.

“How gullible,” he thought. He smirked at the sleeping beauty. Without another glance, he shut the door behind him and walked out of her life for good.

He was Lee Howon: genius, billionaire, debonair.

His name was known here and there by only a few of Seoul’s greatest businessmen. But although he was not greatly known, Mr. Howon was incredibly remembered. Howon was unforgettable. He wasn’t rather special; instead, he was different. He was intelligent, in a different frame of mind, charismatic, in an almost ridiculous way, and talented, in almost every shape and form. Yes, Howon was remembered.

Time: 6:32AM

Location: NPH National Bank, Seoul

Date: 4/16/2012

“Morning,” Hoya mumbled as he walked past his coworkers. With only a slight wave, he slowly walked past each person in the hall. His feet trudged down the bare, white halls, barely making progression in distance. He was exhausted, but he had no time to lie down and die here. He just had to make it to his office.

After the long stretch against the carpeted office floor, Hoya made it to his office. He collapsed onto the single couch the corner and closed his eyes for a tiny nap. The sound of his office door opening, and the taps of footsteps on his wooden, office floor interrupted his nap. Hoya knew exactly who it was.

“Long night?” asked a familiar voice. The owner of this voice took a seat on the other side of the couch. A slight cough escaped his lips. The cough pushed down the obvious bursts of laughter that were ready to escape his lips.

“Incredibly long,” Hoya mumbled back, “I swear, the female race is slowly growing more and more intelligent. I must applaud them for that.” Hoya sighed and sat up to face his friend. Hoya briskly clapped his hands together once and shook his head.

On the sofa, Woohyun, Hoya’s coworker and long-time friend, casually sipped coffee. “So I’m assuming that you didn’t take anyone home last night?” Woohyun asked.

Hoya smirked at his friend. “Come on, Woo. Of course, I did. I couldn’t leave such a prime bar like that without something, or rather someone, wrapped around my arm.” Hoya grabbed at the cup in Woohyun’s hands. Without much of a fight, Woohyun gave the coffee to his exhausted friend.

“Then what was the problem?”

Hoya sighed into Woohyun’s cup. “Women are getting smarter.”

“What?” asked Woohyun. Woohyun was familiar with Hoya’s lack of social knowledge, but Woohyun always made sure that he understood what his friend was talking about. Did Hoya just question women’s intelligence?

“Bro, women are suddenly figuring out all of my tactics. They know. They all know man!” Hoya spat, “This girl immediately saw though my ‘I have cancer. Can I spend my last few hours of life in your bed?’ act! It was pure gold! How could she?!”  

Woohyun shook his head, “I still wonder how we became best friends.”

Hoya laughed and pointed at his best friend, “Don’t give me that crap, Woo. You and I both know that we were the best wingmen in the Upper East Side. Till your fell into a cold-blooded, trapping, vagi—“

“Quiet bro!” Woohyun shushed, “We have a meeting in fifteen minutes. Why don’t you fix your suit and hair? You look like a mess.” Woohyun smirked at his friend and tapped his friend once on his knee before getting up. Before leaving the room, Woohyun said, “Oh, and while you’re at it, wash that mouth of yours.”

Hoya smirked and gulped down the rest of the coffee. He tossed the cup into the trashcan on his way into his private bathroom. After a few quick minutes of prepping his face, Hoya stared at himself in the mirror. His muscular face twinkled against the now foggy bathroom mirror. He was exactly the same as he was last year: handsome, muscular, intelligent, and most importantly, single. Unfortunately, he couldn’t say the same about his sad, best friend.

Woohyun fell into a woman’s trap a few years ago. After a one-night stand too many, Woohyun fell for the girl of his dreams, almost literally. But that was a story for a different time.

Hoya didn’t necessarily dislike the girl. In all honestly, Hoya really liked her, or rather, he appreciated her existence. Her name was Hyomin and she was a pretty amazing girl. She was chill enough to hang out with the guys, and even snagged a few girls for Hoya to take home. (It was a particularly dry night at the bar, and no fish were biting for Hoya) The two were actually quite good friends. But, Woohyun falling for this girl went against all terms of the bro code. It was something Hoya couldn’t accept right away…

“Poor Woohyun. When will he realize that he needs more than one woman to survive?” Hoya laughed while adjusting his tie, “Oh well, more women for me.”

With a quick wink, Hoya left for his meeting.