Chapter 2

                                    

                                          
Cale Henituse sipped his sweet coffee, content and happy that it was more than just a cup filled with steaming milk.
A popular pop song rang through the speaker. Cale had a vague memory of meeting some members of the group once while he visited an event with his father. The only reason why he remembered them was because it was in the middle of winter with everyone wearing thick clothes, yet those small stars had short dresses and heels on while they traversed the snowy grounds.
He pitied them, as it was obvious from the first glance that they didn't choose their wardrobe for this event.
A pair of girls passed his table. Cale didn't pay them any mind. His eyes were solely focused on the entrance of a small company on the other side of the road. The building was nondescript, one of many in the concrete jungle surrounding them.
A quick look at the expensive Rolex on his wrist told Cale that it was almost 9 PM, a blasphemous time to still be working. His significant other probably never heard of the words 'work-life balance'.
Cale smiled a helpless smile.
The minutes went by and no Kim Rok Soo was in sight. Various men and women left the building in different stages of exhaustion as well as despair, yet the one he was waiting for hadn't made his appearance yet. Cale was getting impatient. Just when he was thinking of calling it quits for today, the doors of the company opened and a familiar figure exited.
The same maroon coat covered him from the harsh winds. Cale beamed and stood up. Thanks to his smart thinking, he had already paid and could leave whenever he wanted. With long, hurried strides, Cale crossed the street.
A fleeting check in the reflecting windows nearby boosted Cale's confidence and he finally caught up to Kim Rok Soo.
"Hello there, stranger. Funny that we met again so soon," he winked at the man.
No reaction. Tough audience.
"You remember me, right?" Cale added after a second. Pretty red-brown eyes blinked at him until the other answered with a calm voice that did things to Cale's insides that shouldn't be talked about in polite company.
"You are the one from the store, I think."
Cale almost tripped over his feet after narrowly avoiding a collision with another passerby. He took a deep breath and continued the conversation, "Bingo! That's me. We couldn't really talk that day so when I saw you today, I decided to try my luck. My friends call me Fortuna, the god of luck, you know." Cale chattered on.
Naturally, those words were dirty lies.
As if Vicross would praise him without directly insulting him along the way. Rosalyn was far too polite for that but he caught her snickering at his expense more than a few times. Talking about Alver and giving compliments in the same sentence is an even bigger lie than the one Cale just used.
Kim Rok Soo frowned, "I thought your name was Cale?"
"You remember?! Yes, that's –"
Dong.
His joyful sentence was abruptly cut off.
Cale, full of excitement and happiness, didn't pay attention to the road ahead and directly walked into a lamppost. 
Some pedestrians stopped for a second with genuine concern on their faces until they decided that Cale wasn't anywhere near critical condition and therefore not their problem. 
The only good thing out of the embarrassing situation was that Kim Rok Soo stopped walking as well. The handsome man leaned over with furrowed brows that Cale interpreted as concern. His hand hovered awkwardly in the air as if he couldn't decide whether Cale needed help getting up or not.