Julian attended university in Boston, but his internship was in New York City, so renting an apartment was unavoidable.

New York was outrageously expensive.

Even sharing a tiny apartment downtown could easily cost four or five thousand dollars a month. Julian couldn't afford that, so he settled for a cheaper place out in the suburbs along a direct subway line.

The commute took nearly an hour each way.

Still, at least he didn't have to transfer trains, which made it barely tolerable.

Because the apartment complex sat right beside a subway station, it was packed with exhausted office workers.

The package lockers downstairs were permanently overflowing.

Julian left before sunrise and came home long after dark every day. Home delivery rarely worked, and by the time he got off work, the Amazon pickup counter was already closed.

Eventually, he started shipping everything directly to the office.

His package arrived on the third morning.

Delivered to the company mailroom.

Taking advantage of the fact that the big boss hadn't arrived yet, Julian hurried downstairs to pick it up.

He had ordered a fairly popular original JK uniform set online.

The plan had been to open it safely at home.

Unfortunately, the shipping box had the brand name printed directly across the front.

Worse—

the label clearly displayed his full name and the last four digits of his phone number.

Julian: "……"

A social death sentence.

Thankfully, the mailroom wasn't crowded that early in the morning.

Julian immediately hid in a corner and started frantically peeling at the shipping label, trying to erase the evidence like he was disposing of a body.

Unfortunately, the adhesive clung harder than a couple in the honeymoon phase.

Julian scratched at it for ages without making any real progress.

The moment he finally managed to peel up one tiny corner—

a voice suddenly sounded behind him.

"Julian? Picking up a package too?"

"Huh—?"

Julian jerked upright in panic.

His hand slipped.

The label flattened itself back down beautifully.

His full name and phone number remained proudly visible on the box.

Julian: "……"

Fuck. He really wanted to swear.

The person speaking was Luke Carroll, Samuel's personal assistant.

Luke had a friendly face and an easygoing personality.

Of course, people with bad tempers generally didn't survive very long working under Samuel Frost anyway.

Fortunately, Luke wasn't nosy.

Julian quickly flipped the package over before answering, successfully hiding the contents.

Luke was there to collect something for Samuel.

After giving the pickup code to the staff, he stepped aside while Julian resumed mutilating the shipping label.

By the time Julian finally destroyed the personal information, Luke was already carrying several large packages toward the exit.

His phone suddenly rang, and while trying to answer it, one of the boxes nearly slipped from his arms.

Julian instinctively reached out to steady it.

Luke shot him a grateful look before returning to the call.

"Received. Yes. Understood."

When the call ended, his expression turned unexpectedly serious.

Then he looked at Julian.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure," Julian asked. "What do you need?"

"Samuel just arrived. I need to go downstairs and meet him. Could you bring these upstairs for me?"

It wasn't a big deal.

Julian shifted the packages into his arms and asked curiously,

"Wasn't the boss on a business trip in the States? He's already back?"

Luke lowered his voice instinctively.

"I heard something went wrong with the Synapse AI deal. He flew back overnight."

Julian knew a little about the project.

Synapse AI was one of the country's leading artificial intelligence companies, holding several major patents and currently preparing for IPO.

Samuel had beaten out multiple rival investment banks to secure the account.

Honestly, Julian wasn't surprised.

With Samuel's personality, if he hadn't been outrageously capable, there was no way he could've held onto that position.

Samuel had left for an overseas business trip immediately after landing the deal.

Now he was rushing back in the middle of the night.

Something serious must have happened.

Julian didn't dare continue gossiping and quickly carried the packages toward the elevator.

Morning rush hour delayed him slightly.

By the time he returned upstairs, Asher Quinn had already arrived.

The moment Asher saw him, he stood up immediately.

"There's an emergency meeting in five minutes. Luke's downstairs with Samuel. Come help me set up the conference room."

Julian nodded.

"I'll put this down and come right over."

Asher glanced at the package in his arms.

"Just leave it on my desk. The meeting's about to start."

Julian had no choice but to place the box on Asher's desk before hurrying off behind him.

Two minutes later, Asher checked the time.

"Samuel's already in the building. I'm going to prepare the meeting materials. Connect the laptop to the projector."

Another two minutes passed.

Julian had just finished adjusting the equipment when the conference room doors opened.

Samuel Frost walked in.

Today he wore a dark charcoal double-breasted suit with sharp peak lapels and a wool twill texture so immaculate it looked expensive enough to intimidate people on sight.

Vest.

Tie.

Cufflinks.

Everything perfectly arranged.

The already cold features of his face looked even more severe beneath the formal tailoring.

Like a towering snow-covered mountain radiating absolute authority.

Julian lowered his head quietly and stepped aside.

For a brief second, he genuinely pitied whoever had to present during today's meeting.

One by one, the department heads entered the room with grim expressions.

Nobody spoke.

The only sound came from rolling chair wheels dragging across carpet.

Even the air itself felt frozen solid.

Not wanting to get yelled at, Julian prepared to sneak away after finishing the setup.

Then Samuel looked at him.

Julian: "…?"

This project had nothing to do with him, right?

Before he could react, Asher grabbed his wrist and shoved him into an empty chair.

Only then did Samuel withdraw his gaze.

"What's going on with Synapse AI?" he asked coldly. "I received word that the lead executive wants to delay the project."

Zara Vincent, the VP overseeing the Synapse AI IPO, straightened in her seat.

"During the last negotiation meeting, both parties had already confirmed intent to cooperate. At the time, they claimed one of the founders was out of town and requested a delayed signing date."

She paused.

"After you left the country, Titan Crest Capital secretly approached Synapse AI executives. We only discovered it yesterday while requesting financial data. Their side is now demanding either a joint underwriting arrangement with Titan Crest—or they'll leave us out entirely."

The room fell dead silent.

Titan Crest's behavior was practically the corporate equivalent of stealing someone's partner and then slapping the victim in the face afterward.

And Samuel Frost—

was not the type of man who tolerated humiliation.

Julian cautiously looked toward Samuel.

He expected fury.

Instead, Samuel remained perfectly calm.

"Do we know why Synapse AI changed their mind?"

"We investigated it," Zara replied carefully. "Apparently the founder who was traveling has family ties to a Titan Crest executive."

Samuel let out a low, cold laugh.

The room temperature somehow dropped another two degrees.

But the meeting had to continue.

Several seconds later, another vice president spoke carefully.

"So what's the plan now? Do we agree to the joint underwriting?"

"No."

Samuel lowered his eyes slightly.

"This project belongs to Apex Capital."

His tone was absolute.

Certain.

Like a steel pillar driven into the center of the room.

The panic among the executives slowly settled.

Even Julian unconsciously relaxed a little.

Zara sat straighter.

"What do you need us to do?"

"You continue pushing the project forward," Samuel said as he rose from his seat. "I'm going to Boston to meet the Synapse AI founder myself."

Then he walked out.

Rain clouds had rolled in that day, so Luke booked the earliest high-speed train to avoid flight delays.

Shortly afterward, Asher entered Samuel's office again.

"You still have an investor meeting this afternoon."

"You handle it," Samuel replied. "Bring Lumi from Asset Management with you."

Asher nodded before asking,

"Who do you want accompanying you to Synapse AI?"

Samuel answered casually.

"Aaden."

His previous assistant.

Not senior enough to hold Asher's position, but responsible for handling many of Samuel's Equity Financing projects.

Asher's expression became complicated.

"He resigned last week."

Samuel frowned slightly.

"Why did he resign?"

Asher rubbed his forehead.

"Seriously? What other reason could there possibly be besides not surviving you?"

Samuel looked unimpressed.

"Then have the new assistant come with me."

"Haven't hired one yet," Asher replied. "Right now the only available person is a rotation intern."

"Then the intern it is."

Asher blinked.

"You're serious?"

Samuel raised an eyebrow.

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

"Fine, I guess…" Asher paused. "But if possible, try not to be too harsh on Julian."

Samuel finally looked up from his work.

"Am I harsh?"

Asher rolled his eyes so hard it was almost dramatic.

"Yes. You once called someone at three in the morning on their wedding night to redo a proposal."

"There were mistakes in their work," Samuel replied calmly. "Problems should be resolved today. That's basic professionalism."

Asher: "……"

Still, it had been the guy's wedding night!

"Why are you suddenly so concerned about an intern?" Samuel asked coolly. "Are you two close?"

"Not really." Asher shook his head. "He's just a diligent, honest kid with a good attitude. Don't bully him just because he's too polite to fight back."

"I'm not that bored."

Samuel narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Though you seem oddly invested. Trying to play the emotional card for him?"

"I'm trying to convince you to develop the tiniest shred of empathy."

Samuel replied flatly,

"If you have that much free time, pray he develops the tiniest shred of competence instead."

Asher nearly choked.

"You really are unbelievable—"

Outside the office, Julian had just learned the boss was leaving for Boston and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

His mood visibly brightened as he sat down and opened his laptop to begin his daily industry analysis report.

Halfway through, he suddenly remembered his package was still with Asher.

Julian walked over to Asher's desk.

It was empty.

His package was gone.

Wait.

Where the hell was his package?

Perfect timing—as Asher stepped out of the office.

Julian immediately asked politely,

"Asher, do you know where the package I left here went?"

"Luke took it," Asher answered casually before adding, "Don't leave yet. I actually have something to tell you. The boss is heading to Boston shortly. Pack your things—you're going with him."

Julian rejected the idea almost instinctively.

"But… there's still a lot I don't understand."

"It's just a business trip, not a death sentence," Asher replied calmly, patting his shoulder. "You'll mostly just assist Samuel with work matters. I can't leave, and the other assistants don't know the project well enough."

"But I'm only an intern…"

"So what?" Asher smiled. "Stop underestimating yourself. Everyone's noticed how much you've improved these past two months. I ran into your previous supervisor yesterday—he wouldn't stop praising your work ethic."

Then Asher added:

"You're smart, Julian. You can handle this."

Smart.

Talented.

Reliable.

Capable.

The praise hit Julian so unexpectedly that his brain almost stopped functioning.

By the time he realized what happened—

he had already nodded.

"Perfect," Asher said immediately, almost afraid Julian might change his mind. "Send your ID information to Luke. He'll book the tickets."

Julian: "…Okay."

The business trip was decided just like that.

But before leaving, Julian still needed his package back.

He messaged Luke his ID information, then cautiously asked about the package.

[Luke]: Sorry about that. I didn't know it was yours. I'll bring it over in a bit.

Julian: Thank you.

[Luke]: My mistake, honestly. I should be apologizing. By the way, your train ticket's booked. Check if you received the confirmation.

Julian: Yeah, got it.

This was Julian's first emergency business trip.

He had barely finished packing when Asher called him into Samuel's office.

Julian assumed Samuel wanted to brief him on work, so he desperately replayed the earlier meeting in his head while walking over.

Inside the office—

Luke stood before Samuel holding a twenty-inch suitcase.

"Luggage is packed. I'll contact the driver now?"

"Mm."

Samuel closed his laptop, stood, and reached for his suit jacket.

Then his gaze drifted toward the nearby storage shelf.

Samuel received packages almost every day.

Executive gifts.

Partner products.

Corporate merchandise.

Forum invitations.

And occasionally, personal purchases.

Normally, Luke sorted and organized everything before Samuel dealt with it later.

Most deliveries were predictable.

Except this time—

there was a JK uniform sitting on the shelf.

Pink plaid.

Youthful.

Completely out of place.

Samuel glanced at the skirt.

"Who sent this?"

Luke looked awkward instantly.

"It's Julian's. I picked it up by mistake."

Julian?

Samuel narrowed his eyes slightly.

Wasn't Julian a man?

Knock knock knock.

Three polite knocks sounded outside the office.

"It's Julian," came the young man's careful voice. "Boss, you wanted to see me?"

"Come in."

The door opened.

A delicate-looking young man stepped inside.

This was the first time Samuel had properly looked at the intern.

Honestly—

the boy was almost offensively pretty.

Refined features.

Fair skin.

Gentle temperament without seeming weak.

The kind of student who clearly came from a stable middle-class family that had poured everything into raising him well—and who had worked just as hard in return.

"Boss?"

The boy's pronunciation was crisp and clear.

Polite.

Well-mannered.

Samuel walked toward the shelf and pointed calmly at the skirt.

"Is this yours?"

"…Huh?"

Julian stared at the scene in horror, feeling a wave of suffocating dread wash over him.