Emil would have stayed in Town N if it weren't for the highly competitive salary.

He used to think he stood a chance being a zoo keeper, preferably working in the Nordic animal zone. He received his first pet puffin on his fifth birthday. The bird had sheer black feathers, a white face and a yellow, sharp beak. Lukas, knowing how Emil had an infatuation with bow ties, adorned the little creature with a red ribbon around its neck. The bird squawked incessantly and thrashed about the first time Emil attempted to hold it. Nonetheless, it was a gift from Lukas so it always meant something. He didn't know that the puffin he owned was the last one on earth. Nor did he realise how much trouble Lukas went through to get this extinct species for him. His dream to work for the zoo never came true.

When Emil was in middle school, his brother's boyfriend joined the military. Mathias was an obnoxious and incredibly loud guy with spiky blond hair and drooping blue eyes. With an inconceivable amount of confidence and sense of justice, he believed he could take charge of everything, and perhaps one day, owned an army of his own. He had an extremely optimistic outlook of life and showing off his physical capability was just his thing. Somehow, he managed to convince Lukas to tag along with him. When Lukas left for military training, Emil thought he might follow him when he graduated.

His plan changed when Lukas insisted that he continued his studies in college. Lukas said he didn't want the entire family to be soldiers. Their cousin, Tino, was a war veteran and he came back with PTSD a few years back. Lukas wanted Emil to live less dangerously. Fair enough, he could never counteract his brother. Lukas got him admitted to a prestigious college in the local area. He went along with his brother's wishes. He took economics and finance even though he didn't like them a bit. In all honesty, he had no directions of life whatsoever.

After the first year, he decided that he needed a break, so he went for a gap year. He applied for an intern position in Town H. He figured he had never once left his own district for the past eighteen years. He desperately needed a new change. He was living with Tino and his husband, Berwald, then. They were expecting a child that summer. Yes, male pregnancy had been made possible a century ago after Honda Technology Ltd. invented a drug that allowed homosexual couples to reproduce. Homosexuality wasn't even a controversy anymore. In a world full of artificial intelligence, anti-aging cosmetics, interplanetary internet and blooming impossible technology, people were far too occupied to bother with one's sexual orientation. Tino and Berwald of course supported Emil's choice. Emil thought he was being the third wheel if he stayed anyway, so he packed his stuff, dropped a message to Lukas, borrowed Mathias car and left.

Currently, he was working for this international corporation that had investment all over the world. The company targeted Asian stock markets and from time to time, it funded various technological projects. Emil had his own mini-office, much to his astonishment. His boss was the one who hired him. The only questions he asked in the interview were 1) Are you, like, gay? 2) Do you, like, mind working overtime?

The first question was meant to tease him. His boss, also the chief executive officer of the company, was a snarky, arrogant bastard. An Asian at that. He had choppy black hair and dark brown eyes. He kept his bangs long enough to cover his bushy eyebrows. He was quite good-looking, which Emil had to admit. He probably caught Emil staring so he asked if he was gay. Poor Emil. He blushed so immensely he felt like a volcano had just erupted on his head. He really did consider dashing for the door but the Asian man only smirked at him and clarified it was a joke.

He got employed right away.

Leon Wang-Kirkland was his name. His boss was gay. Very gay. So damn gay Emil could never understand why those pathetic girls at the office still fawned over him, believing that they could get a date from him or something. Leon was a major flirt. He never hesitated to use this skill to his own benefit and manipulate his subordinates. Emil was appalled when he first learnt that it was a norm for everyone to work overtime. Worse still, they were willing to endeavour for Leon even though he was clearly violating the law of maximum working hours. Emil's job duties were never specified and he found himself courageous enough to apply for an unknown post simply because of its attractive remuneration. Only when he got tricked into signing the contract did he realise all those "rudimentary office tasks" actually ranged from arranging Leon's documents, handling his clients, writing proposals, answering phone calls to running errands, helping him fix his suit before an important meeting, being an audience for him to grumble to whenever a trade didn't turn right and babysitting his spoiled-rotten princess. Basically, he had to do whatever Leon asked him to, even cleaning the toilet.

He couldn't deny that despite his cockiness, Leon did have a charm or two. He was ten years older than Emil. He got married at eighteen and had a daughter. He graduated from college and got his master degree in accounting and global finance at twenty-two. By twenty-four, he inherited his father's company. Emil went over to his place a few times to babysit his daughter at the weekends. The girl was a passive-rebellious ten-year-old. She was basically a female replicate of Leon's younger self. Her complexion was lighter than her father's though. She had long, black hair which she usually let down loosely over her back. There was a weird curl sticking out of her right bang. Emil swore he saw a face in that curl. She never spoke much in front of Emil and she kept her head down most of the time. She brought along her stuffed panda everywhere. She named it "Xiang", which Emil had to learn later it means "Fragrant". Emil spent a good hour trying to break the ice during their first encounter. The girl normally didn't cause much trouble, but she had a temper like her parents. Whatever she wanted, she had to claim it. If she didn't get it, she would make your life a miserable hell. Emil couldn't blame her because Leon was never good at raising kids. All the value he cared to indoctrinate his child with was always about money and success. The poor girl was trained at a young age to follow her father's province. Emil sometimes felt sorry for all the supplementary classes she had to attend and the high scores she had to attain at school.

Emil never met Leon's husband in person. He had seen his face in many family photos in Leon's gigantic cottage. The man was of Korean descent. He was a head taller than Leon and looked pretty goofy. Somehow, his cherubic grin reminded Emil of Mathias. Almost in every picture, he was laughing and hugging his family. He, too, had charcoal black hair and a curl that defied gravity. Emil overheard Leon talking on phone once. It was not a pleasant conversation. Leon's face was completely red with anger. His eyebrows were creased. He was slamming the table and barking into the mouthpiece. Emil only caught the name "Yong Soo".

"Emil, Honda Technology Ltd. just sent in their new project proposal this morning," Leon said, not looking up from his computer screen. "We're, like, going to fund their project and collaborate with them in investigating DrugIM66X. The estimated profit can be up to trillion dollars. I want you to, like, read through the proposal carefully and arrange a meeting with their senior manager next week. This is super important."

Emil didn't reply. He was far too busy sneezing. The 300 square feet office room was located on the thirtieth floor of a commercial centre. Emil could see the cloudless, blue sky clearly through the pristine glass windows. Leon's desk occupied a large proportion of the room. His chair was large and fluffy. Everything was made of glass or crystals. The air-conditioner was at full blast, the way Leon liked it.

"Emil!" Leon growled.

Emil rolled his eyes and replied, "Yes, got it."

"Listen when I'm, like, speaking to you, okay?" Leon looked up from his computer. "You're, like, always spacing out."

"You know why," Emil said. For his record, he had been working eight hours a day. He was severely sleep-deprived and not to mention he hadn't got enough supplies of liquorice for a while.

"I sleep, like, seven hours a day and I think that's pretty enough," Leon said.

Emil grunted. He walked over to the table and took the binder from Leon.

"Don't forget to, like, finish the annual financial report," Leon reminded and returned to typing his keyboard. "You didn't finish it yesterday."

"Right," Emil sighed and walked towards the door.

"Wait."

He kept his hand on the knob and turned back. Leon continued typing and didn't look at Emil.

"Do you have any idea what school girls like nowadays?"

"Huh?" Emil tilted his head and frowned.

"What school girls like nowadays," Leon repeated. "Like, what kinds of toys, books, things they prefer."

Emil raised his brows curiously. Leon peeked at his subordinate and added, "It's Leona's birthday next week. I wanna, like, get her a present."

"Oh." Emil nodded. His lips curved slightly upwards.

oOo

Leona stood at the school gate and looked around. W Academy was never her favourite place. It was a private school for the local elites and higher-class. The previous school her appa sent her was so much better. The teachers were less strict and there were fewer regulations. Girls there wouldn't make fun of one another's fashion and appearance. Boys would never talk excessively about academics and competitions.

She held Xiang close to her chest. A hand tapped her shoulder. She spun around and smiled.

"Hey, wanna come over to play computer games at my place?" a boy with light blond hair and hazel eyes asked. He held out a beautiful purple orchid. The girl giggled and accepted it gratefully. She stuck it into her hair. His tie was missing and his shirt was slightly dishevelled. He was also sweating, apparently having run from the court.

"We've just finished basketball," another boy with brown hair butted in, holding a basketball in his hands. She wished she could join them, but since she broke her elbow last time from swinging on the monkey bars, her dad wouldn't allow her to ruin any parts of her body again, especially her hands, which she needed in order to play the piano flawlessly.

"Come on, we can do homework together!" the third boy said, his dark eyes sparkling with glee behind his glasses.

"I can't…" the girl replied.

"Why? Did your crazy father arrange another after-school class for you again?" the second boy asked. If he remembered correctly, she had done dancing on Monday, swimming on Tuesday, piano and drawing on Wednesday, singing and drama on Thursday and what else…

"No…I don't have any classes today but I need to wait for my grandpa."

"You can make a call and ask if you could do revision with your classmates," the first boy suggested with a bright smile.

The girl brooded over this. It didn't hurt to try. After all, Yao was always more lenient. He might actually agree to let her hang out with her friends for a while. She just needed some grovelling and sulking. She dug into her pocket and pulled out her mobile, the latest and most advanced model in the 22nd century. She punched the first number and a shimmering, black car pulled up outside the gate. She glanced at the vehicle and dropped her toy.

Leon hopped out of the driver's seat and fixed his tie. He slammed the door. Juggling the keys, he walked towards his daughter with a hand jammed in his pocket. Leona took a timid step back. Her classmates all looked up at her father.

The man stopped in front of the little girl. He glimpsed the boys nonchalantly and bent down to pick up her toy. He dusted the stuffed panda and handed it back to her.

"D-Dad?"

"Grandpa is busy today. I, like, finished work early so I'm the one picking you up," Leon said and held out his hand.

The girl didn't take it. She looked at her companions and then back at her father.

"Can I, like, go over to my friend's place and play computer games?"

"No," Leon said. He grabbed Leona's hand and shot the three boys a glare. "Yo, you three, stop bugging my daughter after school and teaching her to skive off. She has, like, a lot of stuff to do. She can't play with you guys."

Leona gasped. The three young boys gawked at Leon with pale faces. They whispered something to one another and ran off. Leon dragged Leona towards his car. The girl climbed into the front seat with a scowl. Leon hopped into the car and buckled his seatbelt. He started the engine. The car sped away.

"Why would you say that?" she asked, glaring up at her father. Leon caught her gaze through the rear-view mirror.

"Say what?"

"Say that to them," she said. "They will never hang out with me again!"

"Good," Leon said hoarsely. "They look like a bunch of delinquents to me."

"What?"

"Those three boys are, like, always getting into trouble and breaking school rules," Leon said. "I don't want you to, like, talk to them again."

She wanted to retort that he used to be a delinquent too. It was not even a family secret that both her parents got into pretty much trouble in their teens. Her appa was notorious for groping people and playing pranks on others. Her dad was a pyromaniac punk who went around lighting firecrackers and toying with explosives.

"They're my friends," the girl said. "And they're not delinquents. They never do anything bad."

"If you want a friend, I can pick one for you," Leon said coldly.

"I don't want it," the girl replied with a stoic face, squeezing the panda tightly. "Where's Grandpa Yao?"

"I told you he can't pick you up today."

"Why?"

"You ask too many questions, Leona."

"Soo Jin," the girl corrected.

"Now don't you start it." Leon frowned. He never liked calling her that name and he regretted ever letting Yong Soo pick it. He had no idea why she would prefer it over "Leona".

The girl pouted and leant her head against the window.

"How's your test?"

"Ninety-five," she muttered monotonously as buildings and roads flashed past her eyes.

"Who got the highest?"

"Jason. He got ninety-eight."

"Then that's not good enough," Leon said. "You could, like, do better next time."

The girl lowered her head. She had long gotten accustomed to his father's ridiculous expectations and she knew it was her responsibility to uphold the family's reputation. Anything that wasn't the best was considered meaningless. She remembered pulling an all-nighter doing revision before the test. Still, she couldn't achieve what he wanted.

Leon grabbed a bag of gummy bears from the dashboard and shoved it into her hands. She blinked.

"I mean, you did fine but there's always room for improvement," Leon said. "Not giving you pressure or anything, sweetheart. I, like, believe in your capability."

She tore open the wrapper silently and stuffed her mouth with the candies.

"Where are we going?"

"A hotel," Leon said. "Since I'm, like, off early today, we're going to have a family dinner."

"Just the two of us?" Leona frowned.

"Yes."

"What a nice family dinner," she thought.

oOo

After three hours of staring at those tiny words on the computer screen, Emil decided that he had had enough. He shut his eyes and rubbed his temples. He loosened his tie and laid his head on the desk where documents piled up like mountains and engulfed his vision. His brain was shutting down every minute. He could see nothing but stars. He took a nap for around thirty minutes before a hand slammed his desk.

"Stop slacking off," Leon said, putting down a mug next to his head. Emil sat up and yawned, his dark circles more visible than ever on his pale, translucent skin.

"I'm freaking tired," Emil grumbled. He never cared with the language since he knew Leon wouldn't mind.

"Mr. Steilsson," Leon faked a serious tone and stared down at him, "if you keep falling asleep during work, I'm afraid I'll, like, have to fire you."

"Great!" Emil beamed and bounced up. All the energy and spirits seemed to have returned in a flash. "When are you gonna fire me?"

"Just kidding." Leon laughed and patted his back. "The contract is a year long. Don't you, like, forget."

Emil grunted and slumped back down on his chair. Leon always had a way to send him to heaven and then kick him down the abyss in a second flat. The Asian winked at him and walked back to his own enormous office.

Emil took a sip of the hot tea Leon left him. Too sweet for his taste. Leon loved to pour lots of milk in it. He shook his head and started typing the remaining part of the report.

It was eight-thirty when he finished the report. Emil printed out the proofread version and stapled the stack of paper. He rubbed his exhausted eyes and went out of his small office. Most of his colleagues had either headed out for dinner before coming back to follow up their work or went home. Emil knocked on Leon's glass door, but the man inside didn't hear it. He had his back facing Emil and a phone held to his right ear, his left hand on his hip.

Emil stood close to the door. Oblivious to his presence, Leon continued talking to his husband on phone.

"Please, can I see Soo Jin on her birthday?" From the other end of the line came a begging voice. "We haven't seen each other for a long time da-ze!"

"No," Leon said promptly. "I'm not, like, allowing you to see her anymore. She's staying with me. Have you filled in the documents?"

"But Leon! I don't want a divorce!" Yong Soo whined. "You know it's never the best solution da-ze. I still love you and Soo Jin."

"For the last time, Yong Soo, I'm, like, telling you, her name is Leona, not Soo Jin."

"Leon, I've already cleared my debts and found a decent job! Can we go back to living together? Please?"

Leon frowned. He looked out of the glass windows. The lights from those densely-packed buildings and skyscrapers formed a stunning painting of glittering dots and lines. Three years ago, they peered down at the same picture from the mountain. It was a cold night. They were trapped in a hut on the hill because of a snowstorm. Leon remembered smacking Yong Soo's head and scolding him for suggesting family camping without caring to check the weather. Leona had fun running around building snowmen though.

"I'm not lying…" Yong Soo said. "I really did clear my debts…I'm now working at Alfred's company…The pay is good. And I've quit gambling…and even drinking! I'm getting much better, believe me da-ze!"

Leon stayed quiet and thoughtful for a moment.

"You know…I really wanna fix all the times I've made you upset…" It was clear that Yong Soo was sobbing. "Why won't you give me a second chance?"

"I've given you too many chances," Leon said. It was not like he never tried to keep this family intact but at times he believed he had been too merciful.

"She wants to see me," Yong Soo said. "And I've already prepared her gift da-ze! Can we meet up? At least, let me see her. Even an hour is fine. I just wanna let her know that her appa still remembers her birthday and cares about her."

Leon sighed and leant his forehead against the glass.

"I miss you. Both of you…"

"I'll think about it," Leon eventually said.

"Really?" Yong Soo exclaimed mirthfully. "Oh please, call me back."

"Right."

"Salanghae." (I love you)

"Bye," Leon muttered and hung up. He slid his phone back into his pocket.

Emil knocked on the door. Leon turned around and beckoned to him. Emil nodded and entered the office.

"Sorry to interrupt," Emil said. "Here's the report."

"Put it on the desk," Leon ordered.

"Is everything okay?" Emil asked, noticing that Leon hadn't switched on the lights in his room. For someone who couldn't endure darkness, it was rather unusual.

"Yea," Leon said with a faint smile.

oOo

Leon never liked to drop by his parents' place. Whenever Yao saw him, he would want him to stay for dinner and what followed was usually a long, aching conversation or worse, a pointless lecture. Both his parents were in their forties but thanks to the success of the cosmetic industry, they managed to retain their youthful appearances and suppress the curse of aging. Arthur was a handsome British man with messy blond hair and green eyes. He had a pair of exceptionally thick brows that resembled two caterpillars and which Leon had unfortunately inherited. His major hobbies included finding things to complain and picking on others' flaws. Yao was a feminine Chinese man with long, black hair he tied in a ponytail. In all his life, he had been mistaken for a girl for four thousand times. It didn't help that he had a morbid obsession with girly stuff like plushies and dolls. Due to work, Leon had no choice but let his eccentric parents take care of Leona. He tried to minimise his contact with them but usually, Yao would drag him into their apartment and started nagging him.

Today was no exception. Yao pulled Leon into their house because Leona had locked herself in a bedroom sulking.

"What's going on?" Leon looked at Arthur and Yao accusingly, as if looking after his daughter and pleasing her had become their responsibility.

"Isn't it obvious?" Arthur said. "She's upset."

"What have you two, like, done?" Leon interrogated.

"Leon, can we talk for a moment?" Yao said solemnly. He dragged Leon to the dining table. Leon reluctantly sat down and crossed his arms.

"What's it?"

"She's stressed," Yao said. "You're pushing her too far."

"What?"

"Look, champ, you're forcing her to take classes she hates," Arthur said. "Why do you insist that she must rank first in class?"

Leon frowned. It was funny how Arthur put it as if it was his entire fault.

"I just want her to aim higher," Leon said expressionlessly. "She can, like, do so much better."

Arthur sighed.

"When you were young, I always told you that it was meaningless if you didn't rank first. But I was wrong. I wasn't supposed to pressure you so much. You should give her more freedom and let her do things she wants."

"You never let me do what I wanted when I, like, stayed at your place," Leon pinpointed.

Arthur looked at his son bitterly.

"Leon, her birthday is coming up," Yao said. "Are you…going to do anything about it?"

"Sure, I've already prepared her present," Leon said and shrugged. "If she wants a party, I can throw her one."

"No… I mean…how's it going between you and Yong Soo?"

"Things are good," Leon said. "We're trying to settle it. He still refuses to sign the divorce documents."

"Are you…sure this is the only way out?" Yao asked worriedly. "How about Leona? Does she know this?"

"She doesn't, like, need to know," Leon said. "And of course, I'll have her custody."

Arthur and Yao exchanged a look.

"Don't you think it's better for you two to make up and stay together?" Yao said, shaking his head in dismay. "If Yong Soo doesn't want a divorce, it's obvious that he realises his mistake and he still cherishes this family."

"I'm not taking that risk," Leon said.

"Leon," Arthur cleared his throat, "we just want you to think more carefully and make a wise choice."

"What? Like the choice you made?" Leon quipped.

He didn't even want to mention their contemptible past. Arthur had an affair with a French colleague when Leon was barely five. Yao couldn't take it and resort to his ex-boyfriend. In those days, Leon came home from school every day just to see his parents argue and toss things at each other. One by one, the furniture in their house shattered and disappeared. Sometimes, Arthur returned drunk and beat Yao. They fought. They bawled at each other. They got so loud the police had to intervene. Leon would hide in his closet at night, cried his eyes out and wailed until his throat went dry. Yao fell into depression and got hooked on opium. The family eventually fell apart. Arthur filed for divorce and forcibly took his son away. Leon only saw Yao again after ten years and at that point he was already in high school. The year his parents decided to get back together, he and Yong Soo started dating.

"It…was never the best one," Arthur admitted remorsefully.

"But…we did sort things out in the end," Yao added with a painful smile. He wanted everything to turn out alright for his son. He didn't want him to end up the way he and Arthur had. It was unfair. He and Yong Soo deserved so much better.

"I can tell," Leon remarked sarcastically and stood up. "I'm, like, going to get Leona home."

He turned away from his parents and walked out of the kitchen.

"Leon," Arthur called out. The younger man stopped but didn't look back.

"We're sorry. We know we ruined your childhood," the blond said with agony in his voice. "But you have no right to ruin hers."

Leon only snorted and walked upstairs.

oOo

Leona's room was decorated in lavender wallpapers. Rose of Sharon scattered across the wall. Her dad liked crimson, but her appa liked purple. And those flowers were painted by her appa when they first moved into this house.

The girl scanned her writing. Content with her essay, she closed the exercise book. The clock on her study desk read 22:00. She checked her phone, glad that her friends were still texting her despite Leon's threat. She replied their texts and bounced onto the bed. She hugged Xiang and gave the furry toy a kiss on the head. She patted her little companion and started typing on her phone.

When Leon entered the room, the girl was hiding under the blanket.

"Appa, I wanna see you! When can I see you? Can I come over? I wanna eat the kimchi and sweet fried chicken you make. Dad is forcing me to take lots of classes… I hate them! I wanna play with my friends… I wanna ride on your shoulders. You have to take me to the theme park again and watch dramas with me! Oh and tell me more jokes about-" Leona trailed off and peeked out from the blanket. Leon stood by the door with a frown. The girl gasped and whispered to her phone, "Dad's home. I'll call ya later, appa!"

She hung up and stared glumly at Leon. The man, still wearing his black suit, walked towards his daughter's bed and sat down. Neither of them said anything for minutes. Leon stared at the ground contemplatively. Leona looked at her phone and hugged Xiang tightly.

"Leona, I've got you something," Leon piped up. He pulled out a gift from his suit jacket and handed it to Leona. The girl took the gift and started unwrapping it.

"Seriously?"

She cocked her brows at him.

"What? You don't like it?"

She stared at the Justin Bieber CD in horror. She was so damn sure her appa's K-pop music was a thousand times better than this.

"Don't young girls these days like his music?" Leon scratched his head cluelessly. He made a mental note to remind himself to get back at Emil later.

"Never mind," Leon said and put aside the CD. He smiled at Leona and ruffled her hair. "Tell me what you want. I'll, like, buy it for you. Even if you, like, want a pony or a car, that's fine. Just name it."

Leona blinked at her dad and leant forward.

"Can I see appa?" she said. "I miss him."

Leon's smile faded. He furrowed his brows and stared into his daughter's imploring eyes.

"I'm afraid not."

"Why?"

"Because…" Leon sighed and averted his gaze. "You see, your appa and I are having some problems…We have to, like, fix these problems between us. For the time being, it's, like, better for us to stay separated."

"What problems?" the girl asked.

"Problems that children wouldn't understand," Leon said. He stroked her hair and smiled. "Why don't you, like, tell me what you want? A new toy? A new cell phone? Or-"

"I want nothing but to see appa," the girl insisted. "I want to see appa."

"Leona!"

"Appa will never shout at me," she said, her eyes brimming with tears. "He will never force me to learn those stupid things. He will let me hang out with my friends. He will make me laugh. I want to live with appa! I'm going to his place on my own!"

"Stop it, Leona!" Leon shouted furiously. "Stop being so stubborn!"

The girl burst into tears and tossed her precious panda at him.

oOo

Emil knew it wasn't the best time to ask for a vacation, but since Lukas had asked so nicely, he decided to confront Leon.

His boss was in the worst possible mood. He slouched in his chair, seemingly lost in a daze. He didn't even blink when Emil walked up to him.

"Leon." Emil coughed and placed a letter on the desk. "I want to take a few days off."

Leon didn't respond. He was still staring at the wall hollowly.

"Leon?"

Emil waved his hands at Leon. The Asian blinked. His eyes finally focused on Emil.

"What?"

"I want to take a few days off," Emil repeated.

"Huh?"

"It's written on the contract that I get permitted to have ten holidays a year," Emil said. "I've already finished this week's work."

Leon looked at him in puzzlement. He then took the letter and glanced at it for a long moment. It was the first time Emil saw him this distraught. He crossed his fingers and started betting on his luck.

"What're you going to do?"

"My brother called yesterday," Emil said. "He's got a break from the military. He wants me to go back home for a few days."

Leon nodded. Surprisingly, he didn't reject Emil's application. However, after signing approval on his form, Leon glared at the silver-haired boy and stood up abruptly.

"Damn it, Emil," Leon snarled and grabbed Emil's collar. Emil gasped. His heart skipped a beat when Leon leant in so close their noses almost collided with each other. "You fucking suggested I buy that stupid CD! She hates Justin Bieber! She even said Yong Soo's goddamn music is better than that!"

Emil resisted the urge to laugh. Leon's frustrated face was completely priceless. His cheeks were burning red. The vein on his forehead almost popped out. His gaze pierced right into Emil's amethyst orbs.

"Well…you asked me what girls like nowadays," Emil explained, "so I looked up the internet. That's what they say online…"

"A bunch of crap, that is," Leon growled and released Emil. He stomped back to his desk and cursed. "She wouldn't, like, stop whining about it. And I, like, asked her what she wanted, she started throwing a tantrum. Geez, I've given her everything. The best education. The best house in the town. The best luxuries. That brat is just never grateful."

Emil scowled.

"Leon." He knew he was in no place to lecture him, but Leon was just as downright obstinate as his daughter. "Have you ever asked what she really wants?"

"What?"

"What she genuinely wants," Emil elaborated. "When I babysat her last week, she told me everyone went to the school festival with their parents. She got many awards that day and had to give a speech."

"I know," Leon said. "I didn't go that day but I asked someone to videotape the whole ceremony. She didn't even, like, get to finish the speech."

"She stopped halfway because she realised that you and Yong Soo weren't there."

Emil took the signed form from Leon and folded it neatly. He looked back at his boss and said, "You know, there's something you can't buy with money."

With that, he walked out of the office.

A/N:I honestly don't think I should start another new story without finishing the existing ones but it's just so, so, so tempting. That's one of the reasons why I always want to avoid going to the cinema. Whenever I watch a film, I get impulsive and want to start a new story. So pathetic.
I have no idea how this is gonna go. It might turn out really stupid or crappy but seriously I just write what comes into my mind. Sorry if this is bad :( Should I even continue this?