Hobin entered the cafe across the street. It was fairly empty except for a group of people at one corner while a pretty girl in her early twenties stood behind the counter. Hobin flashed a smile at her which made the girl blush a little.

“An americano,” he winked at her. The girl was flustered to be receiving attention from the handsome man who had just walked in. ​​

“Are you new here?” she breathed.

“How do you know?” Hobin asked, feigning to be surprised. “I am new here and I barely know anyone.”

“I can tell that you’re not a local,” she explained. “I know almost all the people in this neighborhood. They come in here quite regularly. Especially the kids from that school.”

“Do a lot of kids come here?” he asked casually. 

“Yeah,” she replied. “The elementary school isn’t far. Plus, the students of Dalton High hang out here all the time.”

She lowered her tone to add, “See that kid over there? He’s from Dalton High too.”

Hobin frowned and turned around to see a teenager with dark hair and very familiar brown eyes. The boy looked hardly older than fifteen and was talking to a couple of men who were twice his age. There was a cool expression on the boy’s face as if he was the one ordering them around.

“Shouldn’t he be in class?” Hobin queried.

“He’s one of the infamous twins,” she shrugged. “It’ll be a miracle to see them in class. They’re more interested in…let’s just say they have interests which are beyond the comprehension of normal education.”

Hobin could not make head nor tail of her words but he did not bother to ask. He was there on a different mission. Turning his attention back to the girl, he said, “Why don’t you join me for breakfast? My treat.”

The girl hesitated. “I’m supposed to be working…” she said but Hobin’s expressive grey eyes twinkled at her. He was so handsome that she could not help ogling at him. His auburn hair coupled with his charming smile were irresistible.

“I-I guess I could spare a few minutes,” she stammered. “I’ll prepare the croissant and your coffee, sir.”

“Call me Doctor Hobin,” he told her. The girl blushed hard and nodded. Hobin went on to sit at a table which was close to the other table where the teenager was seated with the other men.

“A fall in profit by 0.004 percent?” the boy was saying in a cold tone. “0.004 percent? Explain yourself, Mr. Namgi.”

The boy crossed his arms and leaned back. He had multiple piercings on his ears and his long hair was tied into a half bun. The boy looked more like a delinquent but there was an aura about him which felt familiar. He emitted an air of aristocracy and elegance which contrasted with his rowdy look.

The man named Namgi was sweating profusely at the question he had been asked. He glanced at his partner before speaking up.

“Our revenue increased from last month!” he claimed. “Minyoon’s albums sold for five billion dollars! It’s just that the concept change led to some costs increasing-”

“Which costs?” the boy gritted.

“Er…the rent of the location increased!” Namgi squeaked.

“The rent for the shooting spot was fifty thousand per day,” the boy pointed out. “And we got a bargain deal for thirty thousand per day and used it for only four days. Our costs should have decreased.”

“The owner charged us extra for taxes on rent…”

Namgi braced himself for the explosion.

“TAXES ON RENT? THE WHOLE PACKAGE INCLUDED THE TAXES!” The boy shouted at him. “HE DARES TO CHARGE US EXTRA FOR THAT?”

Hobin, who was reading a newspaper, was surprised to hear the boy shout at men much older than him. Both the men were cowering in front of him as if they were about to be eaten by a monster.

“CEO!” Namgi exclaimed. “We didn’t know-”

“Send him a warning that Starry Entertainment will be buying his damn land!” the boy threatened. “Bankrupt his company if needed but buy that land! How dare he cheat us? Buy it at a quarter of its price and show him who’s the boss!”

The boy glared at them, his words were absolutely final. “Show him the might of our company, otherwise don’t even bother to come back to work!”

“Aye!” Namgi squealed while the other man cowered behind his partner. “We’ll get to work, won’t we Gong?”

“Yes!” the man named Gong claimed. “We’ll buy it at a quarter of the price!”

Just then the girl arrived, carrying two cups of coffee and a couple of croissants. She sat across from Hobin, who was still curious about the kid.

“That’s Hwang Yoonmin,” she told him. “The CEO of Starry Entertainment.”

“CEO?” Hobin frowned. “At that age?”

“Well, his brother, Minyoon is the only idol they manage,” she stated. “And he’s the most popular idol in the country right now! They don’t have an office but work virtually to promote Minyoon. Their business is quite profitable. The older brother is the idol while the younger one is the brains. They started it only two years ago as fun but seeing how popular Minyoon became, they turned it into a business. They might just be high schoolers but it’s not surprising. I heard their parents have a lot of money but they live abroad now. The brothers had to stay back because of school. Their elder sister and aunt are their guardians.”

Sister? Hwang Yoonmin? Hobin frowned but did not bother. He had better things to do. Turning around, he focused on the girl.

“How long have you been working here, sweetheart?” he asked.

The girl was flattered to be getting attention from the handsome man. “One year,” she replied.

“You work so hard,” he sighed.

“Are you a first year resident at the hospital?” the girl asked.

“I’m a full time doctor,” he stated. “Psychiatrist to be exact.”

“Woah!” the girl exclaimed in awe. “You must be a genius!”

“I am,” Hobin smirked. He glanced at his watch and groaned.

“This thing stopped working,” he sighed. “Do you know what’s the time?”

“Oh,” the girl said. She glanced at her own watch and said, “It’s 10 AM.”

Hobin stared at her wrist with interest. “You know, my mom has that watch,” he said. “She cherishes it a lot. And it looks pretty on your hand.”

The girl giggled at the man’s flirtations. “You wanna take a closer look?” she asked.

“May I?”

He took her hand, pretending to be interested in the watch whereas he was secretly scanning her memories. His true purpose was not to flirt with the pretty girl, although it was an added bonus, but to scan her memories. While he was checking Soobin’s memories, he came across a brief moment when he noticed the deceased child standing outside this cafe. Soobin did not notice at that time but the child was running past this place and he was holding a file. It was a day before he died so that boy must have lived nearby. The girl sitting next to Hobin was on duty that day and might have glanced at the child.

Scanning through the girl’s memory, he zeroed on a moment when the boy had briefly stopped in front of the cafe. He looked scared and worried. The file on his hand had the image of a smiling sun on it. The boy scanned around before his eyes widened in shock as if he saw something. He then sped off, running for his life.

Hobin saw enough. He let go of the girl’s wrist and smiled at her. 

“A pretty watch looks even prettier on the wrist of a beautiful girl like yourself,” he winked at her.

“I have more,” the girl whispered in a dreamy voice. “At my house. Wanna head over there after my shift end-”

“HWANG YOONMIN!”

Yoonmin, who was in the middle of scolding his secretary, froze as he heard the familiar voice. Hobin let out a groan, annoyed at being interrupted. Everyone looked at the entrance where they saw a petite woman standing next to the Nation’s Heartthrob, Hwang Minyoon, pulling his ear.

Yoonmin’s cold persona slipped and now, he was cowering behind Namgi.

“S-sister!” he squeaked.

Jina pointed at her other brother, glaring at him. “YOU ARE DEAD!” she threatened before chasing after him.