𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 1

"Sometimes the past doesn't knock. It just walks in like it owns the place."

There are days that you remember in detail for no reason at all-the first time it snowed when you were seven, the smell of fresh paperbacks on your school library shelf, the exact shade of pink the sky turned the moment you realized you loved him.

And then there are days that change everything. You remember every second of those because the universe insists on it.

Today felt like both.

The glass doors of Verity Communications swished open with a hush, and just like that, I had officially entered the rest of my life.

Well-maybe not the rest of my life, but at least the part where I stopped being broke, directionless, and constantly questioned at every family dinner. My blazer was from an outlet mall, my shoes pinched at the toes, and my nerves were tap dancing up and down my spine-but I was here.

I clutched my tote bag like a security blanket and stepped onto the marble floor. The lobby looked like something out of a K-drama: clean lines, high ceilings, and people who looked like they belonged in Vogue's Seoul edition. The receptionist barely glanced up before handing me a visitor badge.

"You're the new executive assistant for Mr. Xu," she said, scrolling on her tablet. "25th floor. You can take elevator B."

"Thank you," I said, because that was all I could say. My heart was thudding too loud in my ears for anything else.

Xu. Mr. Xu.

That was the CEO, right? I had looked him up before the interview-of course I had. Everyone in the industry knew about Xu Minghao. A millennial business prodigy. Graduated early. Built a communications empire before most people finished grade school. Charming, ruthless, the face of ten different business magazines, and apparently allergic to smiling in press photos.

I didn't pay attention to the name before. It sounded familiar, sure, but it couldn't be that Xu Minghao. Not my Xu Minghao.

Because my Xu Minghao smiled like summer was his secret. He used to leave notes in my coffee sleeves and kissed me like the world would end after midterms.

𝙳𝙾𝙽'𝚃 𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙶𝙴𝚃 𝚃𝙾 𝚅𝙾𝚃𝙴 𝙽 𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂 (⌒‐⌒)