I woke up with dark circles around my eyes though.

It was definitely not a good idea to sleep late and then wake up in between to converse with Jin-Yeok.

I yawned so many times, even when the maids were getting me ready, putting on the finest suit that had been prepared for this very occasion on me. And yes, there was a waistcoat in it too.

I felt so groggy that it was only after they had finished that I opened my eyes and saw the masterpiece I had become.

I stared at my reflection in the body-sized mirror, and for a moment, I felt my breath hitch. I fell for myself, yes. I looked perfect.

"Ha, I knew it was a good idea to grow my hair out," I muttered out loud and then touched the mirror.

I look great, and I don’t look like someone who has multiple scars in their heart.

The door opened and then Ki-hoon walked in.

As soon as he saw me, he looked stunned but that stun in his eyes melted into warmth.

"Perfect," he muttered but I heard it loud and clear.

That word made me blush.

"Is it time to leave already?" I asked and he nodded.

"I came to tell you that we’ll go ahead while you have breakfast," he said, "But... I find I don’t want to leave without you."

"Wait, I’m having breakfast alone?" The thought of the empty, quiet dining hall made me feel strangely lonely.

"We can’t have you moving around on an empty belly," he insisted, his hand rising as if to touch me before he hesitated. "But we can’t delay our schedule either. So, the car or the table?"

"Of course I’ll eat in the ca—" I paused.

I looked at the pristine white of my sleeves. One drop of coffee, one stray crumb, and the ’masterpiece’ would be ruined. I tasted the strawberry on my lips—sweet, waxy, and perfect.

"Five minutes," I pleaded, holding up my hand. "Just give me five minutes to eat here. I’ll be fast. Promise."

Ki-hoon smiled—a rare, genuine expression that reached his eyes. He reached out, his thumb brushing the skin just beside my eye. I worried he was ruining the meticulously applied shadow, but he was just... lingering.

"Alright, I’ll wait." He reached for me and brushed the skin close to my eye, intentionally smearing the eyeshadow. "And the others will as well."

I was worried he had ruined the makeup, but seeing him smile, I forgot about it right away.

I walked outside with him and from the top, I found them waiting at the foot of the stairs.

They were all on white and looking like princes from a fairytale. Suddenly, I felt like a fairytale princess because I knew that they were all waiting and those eyes only looked at me.

Seo-Jun was leaning against the banister with a restless, hungry energy. Min-Cheol just kept checking his reflection with a boyish grin, waiting to impress me, probably. And Jin-Yeok, the calm center of the storm, was checking his pocket watch.

Once they noticed me, they looked up.

"See, I told you he’d come with us," Seo-Jun said and Min-Cheol rolled his eyes.

"No one’s competing with you, old man." He shot back, sneering at him. "Of course, Hyung would want to come with us."

"We shouldn’t worry about being late," Jin-Yeok said, keeping his little pocket watch in his pocket. "After all, the main characters always arrive later."

I hurried down the stairs with Ki-hoon and stood before them, feeling like the world could throw anything at me but nothing was going to ruin this day for me.

I ate as quickly as I could, though I couldn’t stuff myself as I usually do. And it was a shame we couldn’t do that morning exercise, but I guess it couldn’t be helped.

I’d say I was flexible plenty but that would just be me deceiving myself to get out of exercising every morning, haha.

While I ate, I watched them work on their tabs doing the final checks they should’ve done on the venue online.

Their assistants and secretaries were taking care of the in-person inspection.

Once I was done, I cleaned my lips with the napkin to make sure there weren’t any stray crumbs.

But I felt like I had just wasted the time and effort put into making my lips look extra glossy in the most natural way.

"Are you done?" Jin-Yeok asked but I shook my head and got up.

"I... I’ll be right back."

I hurried up the stairs, skipping one as I hopped up the polished wood.

I got to my room and found the maids cleaning up. As soon as they saw me, they stood frozen.

"May, April, Amber, someone help me." I squealed and sat on the dresser. "I think I messed up the makeup already."

April came towards me and then looked at my face in the mirror.

"It isn’t ruined." She said, her voice having more life than it normally did. "But if you’d like, we could touch it up a bit."

I nodded frantically.

"Yes, please. And make it fast."

I don’t want to make them any later than they already were.

They did their magic in just one minute and I hurried down, breathing heavily.

"Alright," I wheezed. "I... I’m done."

I bent down, my hand on my knees as I tried to catch my breath. Then, I stood straight, throwing my head back.

"Ha, I made it in time." They all looked at me and laughed.

"Gosh, what’s this comedy this early morning?" Seo-Jun asked, cackling.

"You’re in such a good mood," Jin-Yeok said.

"Hyung, what’s making you so excited?" Min-Cheol asked and I huffed.

"Hmph, what do you mean what’s making me excited? Of course, it’s because you’re about to finalize your hard-earned efforts." I said and began walking forward. "Now, let’s get going. You can’t blame me for going late if you’re just him to stand there and watch me pant."

"I’d rather have you pant underneath me," Seo-Jun muttered and my face heated up.

"Shut it, you pervert."

They laughed and I finally freed the heaviness from all that running with one big huff.

"By the way, where’s Jie-Yu?" I asked and Jin-Yeok answered.

"She went ahead."

"Really? Why?"

"I gave her an assignment that’ll help her." He said, placing his gloved hand over my back. "Now, no more chatting. Let’s go."