“You think the dead we loved truly ever leave us?” –J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

With a cup of steaming black coffee to his lips, the Kwon Enterprise heir peered out from where he sat at the back of the well-established cafe, the tinted glass providing the privacy for their customers from the strolling crowd walking the streets. As much s he was enjoying his rejuvenating bout of hot brew, Jiyong scowled as he took a glance at his watch; 10.04AM, Choi Seunghyun was late.

His phone chimed from where he had set it on the wooden table, signalling a text from Youngbae, no doubt the man was making sure Jiyong showed up for his appointment. Jiyong’s lip involuntarily quirked upwards at the sight of his best friend’s name.

Dong Youngbae; his friend of a decade and a half, the amount of gratitude he had for the other man’s loyalty, the shorter man would probably never know. It wasn’t merely the fact that Youngbae had literally been by his side for the past fifteen years, it was the camaraderie offered, the unwavering faith and support Youngbae had in him, the all-nighters they pulled together, especially during the earlier times where Jiyong had to craft his name out in the brutal corporate world.

Those who wear the crown, bear the crown. Who said a crowned prince hadn’t had to prove his worth?

And of course, Jiyong would never forget how much of a friend Youngbae was during the… dark times as he would have called it; the part of his past that was buried for good, six feet under, a place he swore never to re-visit or return to…

Only to be jolted rudely back into reality at the shrill ringing on his phone. Jiyong rolled his eyes, knowing that it was most likely Youngbae calling, the man was probably in what the former dubbed as ‘mother hen’ mode, angsty in the lack of response to his text messages.

“Before you start, I’m already at the cafe, don’t worry mum, I’m not the one’s that late, Choi is.” drawled Jiyong snarkily.

Youngbae merely gave a chuckle at Jiyong’s dry tone, “Good, now make sure you get Choi Seunghyun on board for our upcoming Peace Minus One fashion campaign. The man’s the best in the industry, we can’t afford to lose the chance to work with him, he’s notoriously hard to get.”

Jiyong grumbled under his breath, knowing what was at stake. Peace Minus One was his ultimate pride and joy; a clothing label empire that he had solely built single-handedly with no help from his influential family name.

The label has been a huge success domestically and Jiyong was now ready to take it up a notch; to push the brand to be in the upper tier in the domestic market (it was currently number seven in ranking and Jiyong wanted to in the top three), as well as to take the very first step in breaking into the international market. What he needed though, was a very accomplished campaign collection that would set him apart from his competitors, for Peace Minus One to be the talk of the town, and for that to happen, he would need to have the best. The best designer, the best collection, the best photographer, the best everything.

And Choi Seunghyun was just that. Just at thirty years old, the man was one of the most highly sought after photographers in the fashion world; known for his eccentric personality, famed for his astonishing ability to portray images in such a dynamic way that no one was able to mimic.

“Are you even listening to me?” asked Youngbae shrilly into phone and Jiyong winced at the loud volume.

“Are you trying to make me deaf?” grumbled Jiyong as he rubbed his ears gently. As nice of a voice Youngbae had, the Kwon heir hadn’t appreciate the loud burst in volume.

Youngbae rolled his eyes, not that Jiyong would have possibly seen, “I said, Choi comes from a pretty illustrious family. You know that famous winery, the one with the calligraphy logo? It belongs to them apparently. His family is a pretty private bunch, and from what I know his parents are active in charity works, his older sister is a pretty renowned doctor in the cardiology field but I couldn’t find much about their youngest, only that she graduated with a degree in art. The Chois are notoriously protective of their youngest daughter, I wonder why?”

Jiyong shrugged, indifferent to Youngbae’s musings, being in this blue blood world had long taught him that sometimes, it was the richest that are the weirdest lot and it was best to keep his nose out of their business, it was none of his concern, really.

“I don’t know, maybe their youngest is exceptionally hideous looking or maybe she has some sort of atrocious deformity or defect that they don’t want the media to let known.”

Youngbae groaned, “I swear Ji, you’re such an as*hole sometimes.”

Jiyong gave a quiet chuckle, he loved nothing more than to rile Youngbae’s feathers.

With a quick sip of his coffee, his keen eyes picked up on a tall imposing man striding towards his direction. “I gotta go, seems like Choi finally arrived.”

Hanging up, Jiyong pocketed his phone as he stood, his hands outstretched, “Good to finally meet you Choi Seunghyun.”

With a lazy smirk, Seunghyun met Jiyong halfway, “Likewise, Kwon Jiyong. And please, call me TOP.”

Seunghyun took a quick inventory of the aristocratic man before him. Oh, to finally meet the infamous Kwon Jiyong in the flesh, it has been a long time coming.

Blond; that was a first thing TOP had noticed about him. A shade so pale that it instantly reminded him of Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter series, albeit an Asian version what with the man’s dark roots blending in with the platinum blond. At that TOP’s subsconscious gave a frown, he really needed to learn how to say no to Yoona and her puppy face out whenever she insisted on Harry Potter night. Blimey, Merlin help him that woman takes fangirling to another level!

The next prominent thing TOP noticed was the confidence the man eluded; the poise of a regal crown prince, the cold guarded look in the other man’s eyes; a predator’s eyes and it was then did the Choi family’s only son acknowledged that there might have been some degree of truth in regards to the Kwon Enterprise heir after all.

With a smirk, Seunghyun sat himself down across Jiyong, giving a quick order of an iced coffee to a serving waitress before focusing his attention once more to the man before him, “So my manager informed me that you would like me to participate in your label’s upcoming campaign for the spring summer collection next year.”

Jiyong gave a brief nod, “Peace Minus One is planning to go global and I need my upcoming campaign to be of a different scale together. Word on the street is that you’re the man for the job.”

Giving a quick nod of appreciation to the waitress that brought him his coffee, Seunghyun gave his beverage a little stir before taking a sip. “Suppose that I am, but why should I work with you?”

Jiyong cocked his brow at the man’s attitude, unfazed by the latter’s arrogance, “Why not?” questioned Jiyong, “We’re prepared to pay good money.”

Seunghyun smirked at his answer, “But I don’t need the money, Mr Kwon. Or can I call you Jiyong?.”

Jiyong frowned, the man was a little more difficult than he had initially expected. Not to mention, there was something about the man sitting across him that unnerved him, that had his internal alarm system on edge. Perhaps it was the cocky, brow raising demeanor, or maybe it was the annoying smirk that was perpetually plastered on the other man’s face… but if Jiyong was to be honest, it was that... look he caught in the other man’s eyes when the latter thought he wasn’t looking that unrattled him the most. It was a look that suggested the man sitting before him knew each and every one of his darkest, unspoken secrets, the skeletons that Jiyong hid in his closet. It was the look of the man with an upper hand, of someone who knew something that he didn’t and Kwon Jiyong hadn’t liked it one bit.

Seunghyun took another sip of his cold brew.

“You see the thing is, for any business deal to happen, both parties need to take away something from the table. You give me what I want and I’ll give you what you want.”

Jiyong arched his brow at that, not liking where the other man is headed, “So what it is that you want exactly, Mr Choi?”

“TOP.” corrected Seunghyun distractedly, Mr Choi had sound so old and Seunghyun was a name reserved for those dearest to him, before giving a serene smile, “I want my sister, Bella, to headline the advertising campaign, let her come up with the concept of your campaign.”

Jiyong fought a sneer, using connections to pave a wannabe’s way into the advertising industry. Surely Choi Seunghyun hadn’t thought being a renowned photographer that was all the rage to be equivalent of holding all the bargaining chips in his hand? The man didn’t think of him, Kwon Jiyong, to be that much of a fool, did he?

“Surely you can’t possibly think that I could agree to that? It’s ludicrous.”

Seunghyun merely smiled, having expected that response, “Then I believe we’ve come to a stalemate. That’s my terms.”

Jiyong frowned, displeased at the turn of events, but more so than anything, he hadn’t liked being cornered, coerced to the whims of someone else.

“An impasse it is then.” said Jiyong firmly, holding his ground. He hadn’t risen to where he stood in the brutal dog-eat-dog corporate world by being soft. “I won’t risk my entire label on a newie with no prior experience whatsoever just because a little heiress wished to try her dainty hands at advertising, no matter how big a reputation her older brother has in the fashion i