Daniel Kim

"Mr. Daniel came to the office yesterday," Matthew whispered in Noah's ear.

Noah glanced at Matthew. "And you're just telling me this now?"

"I thought Mr. Daniel had already informed you," Matthew replied. He believed that as best friends, Noah and Daniel would have already communicated about it.

"Apparently not," Noah replied dryly. "Where is he now?" He asked.

Matthew hesitated for a moment before answering. "He's at Mr. Elijah's house," he said, knowing that the three of them had been best friends since childhood and were practically inseparable.

Nodding, Noah glanced at his watch, "Let's go there in thirty minutes," he said.

"But sir, aren't you-" Matthew's words were cut off when the dressing room curtain was opened and Grace appeared behind it, wearing an adorned wedding dress.

"How is it?" Grace asked with a bright smile on her face.

Noah's response was not as happy as the other groom would be. His eyes were cold and his lips were pressed into a thin line as he inspected Grace's appearance. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke up, "It's fine." His tone was curt and lacked any enthusiasm.

Grace's smile faltered, and she looked at Noah with confusion and disappointment. "Just fine? Don't you think it's beautiful?"

Noah's expression remained unchanged as he replied, "It's adequate."

"Should I try another dress?" Grace asked, hoping his response would be more positive.

"Do you plan on spending the whole day trying on dresses?" Noah's sarcastic reply immediately drained the colour from Grace's face.

Embarrassed by Noah's response, Grace glanced around at the nearby staff who quickly averted their eyes and pretended not to have heard anything. It was clear they had been trained to maintain professionalism when dealing with VIP customers.

"Then I will try another one," Grace pretended to be ignorant although her heart already hurt.

"Up to you," Noah said as he stood up.

"Where are you going?" Without hesitation, Grace reached down and grabbed the hem of her wedding dress, lifting it up slightly as she hurried towards Noah to intercept him.

"I told you before, I don't have my whole Saturday just to accompany you to try on your wedding dress," Noah glared down at Grace's hand that was holding onto his arm.

Grace quickly released her grip on Noah's arm, feeling embarrassed and ashamed of his behaviour. "I'm sorry," she muttered, her eyes downcast.

Noah didn't even bother to reply as he left the boutique, leaving Grace standing there alone in her wedding dress.

Grace felt a pang of sadness in her heart, knowing that this was just the beginning but this was her choice, a choice to a loveless marriage.

<><><><>

The bell was continuously pressed by Noah's driver. Noah, who was in the car, had grown impatient when Elijah didn't open the gate for him.

"Didn't you call him before we came here?" Noah glared at Matthew, ready to blame him.

"I did, sir. Mr. Elijah answered the call and was informed that you were on your way here," Matthew anxiously explained. Noah's mood was very fragile these days and he was easily angered. Joking around with him was no longer an option.

Noah let out a frustrated sigh and muttered under his breath. He hated waiting, especially when it was for someone who knew he was coming. After a few more moments of waiting, Noah decided to take matters into his own hands. He got out of the car and approached the gate. He pressed the bell button himself.

Seeing a glimpse of Elijah at the main door, Noah heaved a sigh of relief. As they walked towards the house, Noah couldn't help but feel annoyed by Elijah's little joke of not opening the gate right away. "You enjoy making me angry, don't you?" Noah muttered under his breath, but Elijah just chuckled in response.

"Surprise!" Daniel exclaimed, standing up from the sofa when he saw Noah and Elijah entering the room.

"Why didn't you inform me beforehand?" Noah playfully smacked Daniel's shoulder.

"Ah, this person is no fun," Daniel said, looking at Elijah.

"Don't you know? He was not born with a sense of humour," Elijah replied.

Noah just rolled his eyes and took a seat. "How long will you stay this time?"

"Until your wedding day," Daniel grinned, "don't feel burdened, I would do anything for my best friend."

"Bullshit," Noah scoffed. "How's the company?"

"I'm doing my best, so it would be better to raise my salary," Daniel crossed his legs, pretending to be demanding.

"I will Mr. CEO," Noah smiled.

Matthew, who was standing at the main door, was surprised to see the smile on Noah's face. He almost forgot that Noah could smile because nowadays all he could see was frown on his boss' face.

"Oh anyway, the girl that you hired as a personal assistant, since you are not at the company these days, can she be mine while I'm here, after all CEO is higher than a manager, right?" Daniel was serious but he was asking in a joking tone.

Noah fixed his posture upon hearing that. "My PA?" he asked just for confirmation.

"Yup," Daniel paused. "I guess she must be someone special since you hired her to be a PA for a manager," he chuckled.

But the expression on Noah's face didn't look good. "Nothing special about her," his tone was low.

"She is cute though," Daniel's statement not only made Noah frown but also made Matthew restless.

"Really?" Noah asked, his eyes a bit sharp.

"Totally, she is my type," Daniel once again formed his charming smile and leaned on the sofa.

"I need to see this PA that both of you talked about," Elijah said, joining their conversation.

"Didn't you say that you wanted to stop as you already found the love of your life?" Daniel smirked, repeating the words Elijah had uttered yesterday.

"Ah, come on, just wanted to see which girl had caught the interest of Mr. Daniel Kim, who has remained abstinent for five years," Elijah said, backing himself.

"Should I bring her as my partner to your wedding?" Daniel said, looking at Noah.

Noah immediately stood up and answered, "No!"