The morning sun poured through the cracks in the blinds and awaited entrance into Junmyeon's eyes.

Upon waking, he burrowed himself into the warm, soft sheets. He rubbed the remainders of sleep from his eyes and with a slight groan, he put himself into the sitting position. His eyes were barely open, hair disheveled and flat and a big yawn escaped his mouth, just to return into pout. He remained in this state for a good minute, then ruffled his hair and with a one swift movement he threw silk covers away.

What people don’t actually know about him, is that despite his profession and public behavior, he’s a huge nerd. Under his king sized bed, laid round Spiderman carpet. Bookshelves were decorated with Star Wars action figures, manga volumes and piles of comic books. Right next to his bed, was a framed picture of him and Ryan Reynolds, completed with an autograph from Deadpool actor himself. 

He did a quick stretch, pumping himself up. He glanced at his smart watch placed on a night stand. 5 AM. Junmyeon started to head out of his bedroom but before he reached the door, he stopped in his tracks and moved few steps backwards. On a shelf, two big figurines, guarded by a massive "Avengers: Endgame" poster hanging on a wall. He put his hands into pockets of the pajama and stared at the characters. 

"Mr Stark. Mr Parker. Hope you have pleasant day." His tone was totally serious, despite being a grown man and talking to the action figures of Iron Man and Spiderman. He saluted them proudly and finally then, he left the room. Call it a morning ritual.

The man stumbled through the spiral corridors of his mansion, still half in his sleeping trance, into the kitchen. He the coffee machine and almost face platted into the fridge door, as he tried to grab a handle. The inside of the fridge was loaded with prepackaged food, made especially for him by his personal cook. He took a box with BREAKFAST written on it and noticed a water bottle filled with a yellow liquid. He grabbed it, rising an eyebrow. 

"Since when do I drink lemonade?” He asked himself, a little bit disgusted. He turned the bottle around and saw a sticker attached to it with something written on it.

Since you refuse to take regular pills, here’s your daily dose of Vitamin C, you gloomy dummy. Yixing.

Junmyeon laughed a bit. As a personal psychatrist, Yixing allowed himself to in every aspects of Junmyeon’s life, including private talks on a cliche sofa to small reminders like this one. Not that young CEO didn’t appreciated that. 

He grabbed his coffee mug, didn’t added anything to it and ate his breakfast surrounded by the silence of his massive house. The only sounds were his mouth chewing and coffee mug gently hitting the table. That’s how he preferred his morning. Uninterrupted and quiet.

After that, came a quick trade mill workout and cold shower. The final touch was picking his working outfit for a day. Today he chose a gray suit, decorated with a subtle white stripped pattern. It elegantly combined with a simple white shirt and classic black tie. His hair was gelled up to the side, with an extreme precision. He admired himself in a mirror, placing a smirk on his face. He pointed at his reflection.

"Go get them, you handsome beast.”

The phone in his dress pants started buzzing. Jongdae, his assistant just texted him that he arrived. With one last wink at himself in the mirror, Junmyeon fixed his blazer and with confident step, made his way to the car.

»»————-　　————-««

If there was one thing Joohyun disliked about her job (beside her co-president), it was waking up before the sun decided to set up. Thin sunlight squeezed itself though the white curtains, stinging the side of her face. A small whimper left and she hid herself under the covers. She might have stayed like this longer but her alarm had other plans and cruelly startled her with the blasting sound of Thumbs Up by Momoland. 

"This is the last time I let Seulgi pick the alarm sound…”

The blanket flew across the bed and now she was annoyed. Slowly and reluctantly, she uncovered her face from under her hands. Blink, closing eyes, and blinking again. Streaks of sunlight penetrate the window and blind her. After a while, she swung her legs, but felt no cold since her floor was mostly covered in fluffy carpet.  The room was designed as if it was taken from a vintage French palace. The ceiling was embellished with a crystal chandelier, placing soft sparkles in furniture’s reflection. The dominating colors were light brown, cream and occasional pink. The bouquet with crimson roses was the only thing that distinguish itself from the whole decor. Everything screamed elegancy and femininity- just like her.

Joohyun rubbed her knuckles into her eyes and tried to find her way into her messy hair, pulling it into messy ponytail. She came closer to the door leading to her balcony and stepped onto the yoga mat. Her stretching routine consisted of launches, bends, full splits and many other. After all of her joints popped into the right places, she finally headed out of her bedroom.

The first thing she did was turning on the electric teakettle shaped like Dumbo. She stepped on a plastic step to reach the top shelf with at least 20 different types of tea. Today she decided on classic green tea. Not wasting anymore time, she begun to prepare herself a breakfast. She put rice in a frying pan, adding seaweed, vegetables and mix of sauces. She also went rich on cheese as it melted into the dish. The smell hit her nostrils and she let out a happy sounds. Her eating habits would surprise many people- diet was a no-no in her book, thanks to the great metabolism and effective exercises. Good food and energetic Spotify playlist were the only thing she need to happily start her day.

Next was the face routine. Her dressing table was covered under the bottles of moisturizers, bb creams and toners, alongside the purple vanity case. Her delicate hands payed extra attention to every bit of her baby-like face. She put on light makeup which still made her features pop. She let her long, dark brown hair down, styling them in subtle waves. She made her way to the grand, white wardrobe. Today she picked white, satin dress with puffy sleeves. It wasn’t to tight but it still hugged her figure. The look was completed with a set of black diamond choker and emerald earrings.

Joohyun soothed the dress, checking herself in the mirror. Satisfied, she called Seulgi to pick her up. Passing through the grand hall, she stopped to look at the big photo gracing the living room. The black and white picture presented her and her parents. All laughing at something. The man in the photo presented himself with bright smile, hugging two women on his sides. All three looked really happy.

Joohyun took one last glance, sad smile appeared on her face . Despite that, she grabbed her Miu Miu purse, leaving her house with a bittersweet feeling.

»»————-　　————-««

The K&B Finance Group had its headquarters in the centre of Seoul. The futuristic design was definitely eye-catching: massive glass windows, building’s edges going in different directions, since the previous owner was very art oriented. Because of the early hour, people were coming one by one inside.

Two black cars drove up to the front door. At the same time, five men appeared, all in straight line. Jongdae came out of the first car and walked to the passenger door. Getting out, Junmyeon fixed his blazer and went towards the door without wasting time. Moments later, Joohyun joined him, leaving her assistant behind. All five uniformed man bowed to the presidents.

The couple walked quickly through the main hall, Seulgi and Jongdae kepping up with them. Along the way, several employees said their "good morning", the interns did their over the top 90 degree bows and others were too busy to even acknowledge them. Both Junmyeon and Joohyun now stood in front of two elevator doors, waiting for it to open. The man looked side eyed at his associate. "Hello, Life Ruiner.” He remarked. The woman didn’t even bother to look at him.

"Oh please, it’s only 8 AM. Your life doesn’t seem too ruined for me yet.”

Now they both looked at each other. There was an invisible electric energy between their gazes but not in a good-chemistry way. As soon as the elevators came down side by side, the two run inside each and started to push buttons. 

This was their daily routine. As pre-school as it sounds, these two would turn everything into competition.

»»————-　　————-««

On the top floor, the Finance Manager Sooyung added a final touch to her makeup. Using a small mirror, she had to get disgustingly close to it not to make a mistake. Powder, mascara and eyebrow palette added more chaos to her already messy desk. The PR Specialist Seungwan looked at her from her much more organized desk, sorting all sorts of files. Before she could ask the question on why Always Glamour Park Sooyoung was doing her makeup at work, Minseok, the Foreign Affairs Manager, stormed into the office, his tie half done and briefcase almost falling from his hands.

"Are they here yet?” He asked, out of breath. His head went in different directions, looking for his two bosses.

"Not yet. You are good 2 minutes before them.” Seungwan comforted him and came back to sorting. Minseok plopped down onto his chair and wiped his face from forming sweat. 

"Rough night?” Sooyoung asked him teasingly, applying her red lipstick. 

"Very funny Sooyoung. I had to stay awake till late last night and make billion phone calls with our shareholders in China. I’m pretty sure that by now even my dog can speak Chinese." He adjusted his tie and looked around the office. "Has anyone seen Jongin? He's never late.”

"The last time I saw him, he was on a date in that new restaurant downtown. So he's either knocked up in bed hungover or the lady he brought home hasn't woken up yet and we know he's too nice to leave his house with stranger in it." Seungwan noted surprising harsh and everyone noticed that. It was honestly no surprise. She held a small resentment toward Jongin. Especially because he broke the heart of someone close to her.

The chat was interrupted by a message sound from her phone. Her eyes went wide. "Seulgi says the elevators went up!” She said half whispered.

"Who are you betting on today?” Sooyoung sounded excited as she swept all her belonging into the purse. If the CEO had their routine on competing who would get to the office first, then their employees would bet on them obviously.

"Mr. Kim.” Minseok announced confidently. The girls put their chances on Mrs. Bae. 

From the corridor, the sound of heels was heard. Joohyun walked fast, only nodding to her employees. They held their composure and bowed to her. A second later, Junmyeon stormed behind her, doing the same. The trio leaned to the side to see the verdict of today’s bet. Joohyun quickly opened the door to the office, and before Junmyeon could even grab the handle, the door was shut in his face. He straightened his tie and disappeared behind the door.  

Sooyoung hissed at the sight. "1:0 for Mrs. Bae for know." She sit comfortably on the desk. "You know guys? They may hate each other, but I can't stop thinking about how great I would look at their wedding!”

"Isn't that suppose to be about the bride?" Seungwan asked, trying to crack the way Sooyoung's brain functioned.

"You’re kidding? Their kids would be both beautiful and smart!” Minseok decided to join the conversation.

"Not to mention imaginary.” New female voice joined. Seulgi and Jongdae came out from behind the wall and then disappeared behind their own desk. With that, everyone could now start their day.

»»————-　　————-««

"Didn’t you see I was coming behind you?” Junmyeon asked clearly annoyed. He walked over to his grand desk. Joohyun looked over at him with a forced smile, setting her purse on the desk.

"Of course I saw you. That’s why I slammed the door in your face.” 

"That is some school girl attempt to get under my skin, but don’t trouble your cute empty head, I’ve already prepared myself for that.”

"Oh yeah? In what way exactly?” She asked nonchalantly.

Before she could ask further, she opened her computer and was immediately greeted with a character from some horror movie, full screen, screaming on max volume. Joohyun, being a person easy to be scared, performed a natural reaction by falling from her chair onto the floor, with a ear piercing dolphin pitch. Junmyeon just watched that with a smirk on his face and crossed his arms over the chest. "This way to be precise.”

", dip, jackass..” Joohyun muttered insults under her breath and collected herself from the floor. Now both of them took their seats, opposite to each other. Their office was styled to be very spacious yet everything was organized and neat. There were two black leather couches in the centre with rich wodden coffee table in between, bookshelves behind each desk and few expensive paintings. The window across the entrance covered the whole wall, giving panoramic view at Seoul. 

The day started as usual. Jongdae and Seulgi received their tasks for today and CEO’s spent the next 2 hours looking through documents, answering phone calls and shooting each other dirty looks from time to time. Around 10 o’clock, the intercom on Junmyeon’s desk started beeping. He pressed the button.

"Sir, Director Do came to visit.” Jongdae announced.

"Let him in.” Junmyeon answered without looking up from his work. 

Kyungsoo entered through the door. "Hello you little rascals. You are remarkably well behaved this morning. Did the hell froze over?” 

Do Kyungsoo. The executive director of K&B Finance Group. The right hand of the main CEO's and third most important person in the company. Known for his harshness, which frightens new employees or interns even more than Junmyeon or Joohyun. Despite not being super tall, he graduated from judo school, so newcomers are often afraid to talk to him, in fear of experiencing the moves on themselves. Tactful, diligent and extremely intelligent, he shows his lighter nature only to those around him. People who know him know that his favourite hobby is cooking, he loves his dogs beyond everything and if he is allowed to, he could talk about his wife Ji Hyun, all day long.

"I don’t know, but according to your attire I assume that someone died.” The man behind the desk pointed at his full black suit and shirt. Black hair, glasses’s frames and shoes to match everything. "And I see you also forgot that you are 2 years younger than both me and the witch over there.” 

Joohyun only showed him a middle finger.

"Ah, charming as always, that’s lovely.” Kyungsoo sat down heavily on one of the couches, stretching out his arms.

"Aren’t you suppose to have a meeting with the new interns?”

"Oh don’t tell me about it. I was promised the finest interns chosen from the entrance exam. Half of them had piercing on their faces and rainbow instead of hair.”

Joohyun stood from her desk to grab a file from the shelf. "It's 2019. Have you ever heard about forms of self expression?”

"Yes and so I also expressed myself. I told them to leave, they were to ugly to look at.”

"I will never understand how Ji Hyun puts up with you.”

"Excuse me! My wife is perfect in every way, there’s nothing she can handle. If she wanted to, she would kick my and I would probably thank her for that.”

Junmyeon left his desk and took a seat across his friend. "I envy you Kyungsoo. The more you tell me, the more I think about following your footsteps and finding myself a wife. ”

Joohyun let out a mocking laugh. "Too bad you’re never gonna find one. And if you do, then I can recommend her a good ophthalmologist or a therapist.” She mocked and took place behind the couch.

"Says the girl that managed to scare off all her Tinder dates away.”

She ignored the anger rising. "Wow, you’re as sharp as a marble.”

"At least I don’t have a personality of a xylophone.”

Kyungsoo looked back and forth at arguing couple, reminding himself that at this point, he should have already been used to that. "Am I the only one feeling uncomfortable?”

The next moment, Seulgi barged into the office holding a box. "Mr. Kim? The postman just delivered this.” 

"I didn’t order anything. Is it for me?”

"Yes, but I don’t know what’s inside.” She handed him the box and left. Junmyeon studied it from all angles. It was heavier than it looked. Joohyun was now walking slowly around the room, waiting for him to open it. Like a predator hunting a prey. Her eyes were focused on him, she crossed her arms, slightly clenching her fist. She anticipated something and even Kyungsoo noticed that. He look at her and without saying anything, he asked with his eyes if she planned something. The only answer he received was a small smirk and her signalizing him to be quiet. The curiosity took the best of Junmyeon. He took the lid off and without even properly checking the the content of the box, he heard a silent click and next second he was hit with a decent portion of a whipping cream to the face.

Kyungsoo covered his mouth, trying not to laugh and Joohyun uncrossed her arm, satisfactory smile on her face. Junmyeon stayed motionless, processing what just happened. White substance was in his eyebrows, dripping in pieces onto the floor. Luckily, he managed to successfully save his pants from stains. The girl walked over to him, handing him a napkin. "You look like you need it. You suddenly got pale.” And he aggressively took it from her. She leaned next to his ear and whispered "This is for the computer earlier”.

"Okaaaaay. I'm gonna let you kids play in peace.” Kyungsoo’s phone rang in his pocket. "Excuse me.” He went to the corner of the room, leaving the couple to the another staring contest.

"What are you staring at, you witch?” Junmyeon wiped the remaining cream from his face.

"I simply admire anything that is able to cover that horrendous appearance of yours.”

".”

"Wanker.”

Insults would continue, but Kyungsoo returned, clutching his phone."You! And you! I need you two to put your remaining braincells together for one minute and listen!” Kyungsoo interrupted in a rush. "We have a problem.”

"What kind of problem?” Joohyun asked concerned.

"The PH manager Son called. The Han Finance Corporation wants to open their new centre two weeks before us. That also means the failure of our charity event. ”

 Junmyeon threw the napkin harshly on the table. They've been trying to open their new centre of education and culture for almost half a year now. Everything was well prepared. "Damn it. I’m sure it was-”

"Choi Min Soo. How many times that bastard plans on appearing in my life?” Joohyun finished Junmyeon’s sentence through gritted teeth, her eyes burning with hate. All three exchanged firm glances and stormed out of the room, alarming the whole stuff present.

The couple marched at the front with their subordinate keeping close distance behind them. What they didn’t know was that the meeting they were about to attend, would be the beginning of the bumpiest road they’ve ever had to face.