On the other side of the room were Samantha, Becca, Liam, and a.s.sistants Chen and Ahn talking about the subject of dating.

"I still think that dating is very time consuming and not to mention, very expensive too." a.s.sistant Ahn started.

"Why do you say so?" Becca asked before she drank her gla.s.s of wine. "Expensive, I mean."

"Of course, it's expensive! Us men have to pay for everything!" Liam said as he munched on some watermelon seeds. Some bits and sh.e.l.ls fell on his s.h.i.+rt.

a.s.sistant Ahn nodded his head in agreement. As an executive a.s.sistant of the CEO, he is receiving a handsome pay. But even so, he still finds it expensive whenever he dates because the women that he meets would mostly let him shoulder the bills when they go out; a.s.suming that he even has time to go out on a date.

"What? Why would you pay for everything?" Samantha questioned.

"It's not that I'm complaining because I actually like to spend but I agree with Ahn. It's because we're men. Is that not what is expected in this f.u.c.ked up society?" He shook his head.

With a perplexed expression, Becca answered "Uh… no?! I mean, sure there are women out there who will only date you for your money but not everyone is like that. And for me personally, I wouldn't do that. I have my own money, I don't need men to pay for me."

"It's the same for me too. When Daniel and I started dating, I told him that I didn't want him to spend so much money on useless things even if it was for me. I also offered to pay for our meals from time to time, and I still do until now. I want us to be equal and besides, it's not a guy's responsibility to pay all the time."

"That's easy for you to say, sister-in-law. After all, you were born from a rich family, you're wealthy. What about other women then?"

Feeling the need to defend herself, a.s.sistant Chen chimed in, "Um… I can say the same actually. Even if I am from an average family, I also don't expect men to pay for me all the time. While it's nice to be treated out, I would mostly pay for my share. It's only fair when you're dating right?"

Ahn turned to look at the woman beside him and suddenly noticed Chen's beauty. They had met each other a couple of times but they were merely acquaintances. This is the first time that they are in the same group having a conversation.

Noticing someone staring at her, she looked to her side and caught him. She raised a brow and Ahn turned his gaze away to hide his embarra.s.sment. Samantha noticed the two and a smile formed on her face as her mind had already thought of ways on how to play cupid between the two.

"Eh… I did not think of it like that. The women that I had dated before were just after my body and my deep pockets." Liam said as he stroked his chin. "Hmmm… I guess my views on that are changed then." He concluded.

Becca's brow twitched at the sight of Liam eating watermelon seeds like a child. A grown man lazily sitting on the luxe sofa with some sh.e.l.ls and bits on his expensive s.h.i.+rt. "Can you like… not eat like that?"

Liam turned his head to Becca, "Like what, Ms. Becca?"

Raising both of her brows, she extended her hand as she carefully pointed to the mess that he made on his s.h.i.+rt. "That, Mr. Liam."

He looked down at his s.h.i.+rt and saw what she meant, he sighed and brushed it off. "Jeez, it was not even a lot."

"You're a grown man and you're making a mess."

Liam continued to eat the seeds, "What are you my mom?"

Becca snorted, "I'm lucky that I'm not. Because I'm sure that your mom had it tough."

Liam pouted and he glared at Becca, "That's not true, my mommy loves me!"

Everyone looked at Liam's sulky expression and they all laughed when they saw how adorable his reaction was.

...

Thousands of miles away from Country K.

While everyone was having fun during the celebration of Samantha and Daniel's marriage, there was a man sitting in front of the fireplace.

Faint crackling sounds of the burning wood and a low volume of jazz music can be heard. The man was in his 60s yet his face remained the same just like how he looked eight years ago.

He was sitting on an armchair with his hands placed on the armrest. His eyes were closed but he was not asleep, his fingers tapped as he enjoyed the music.

The peaceful atmosphere was disturbed by the ringing of his phone, he opened his eyes slowly and took his mobile device from his pocket. Glancing at the screen, he recognized the caller "Mm." he sounded.

"Master, it's done." Said the man from the other line.

"Are you sure that you did it properly?" He asked.

The man recalled what he did in the morning when he sprayed something on Samantha's face to make her fall asleep. "Yes master, I made sure that she was unconscious. So she didn't feel anything when I did it."

"What about witnesses?"

"I can a.s.sure you that there are no witnesses. I did my job without mistakes."

"And when will it take effect?"

"The poison will be activated anytime within two months. It is already in her system but it is still asleep. It will remain dormant until it's ready to wake up. And once it does, she is bound to suffer."

There was silence as the man was thinking, 'Everything seems to fall into place.'

"Good. Wait for further instructions." He said before he ended the call.

Looking towards the flame, his eyes became fierce as he spoke, "Daniel Cho, you will soon experience what I felt eight years ago."

He once again closed his eyes and continued to enjoy the music. This time, the corners of his mouth slowly lifted upwards and a humming sound came from him.