5:30 in the morning and four alarms simultaneously go off, the owner of the lower bunk bed of the right room the first to open his eyes. Seonghwa yawns as he puts a hand over his mouth, stretching and hissing in pain as his long hands hit the metal frame of the bed above. This seems to be an effective way of waking up the person above him as the bed slightly rocks with San's shrill voice announcing to the whole dorm that he has waken up. Not long after, a loud thud reverberates through the small room as San lands on the floor right after he had jumped off the top bunk.

They lock eyes and a moment passes before San says slowly but steadily, "Me first." He doesn't wait to hear Seonghwa's answer as he bolts out of the room, grabbing his towel on the way.

The only bathroom of their two-room dorm is located right in the middle of the pathway of their bedrooms. If they were to come out at the same time, both would have the same chance of arriving at the bathroom. As San slides out of the bedroom, he sees that Jongho is closing the door to his own bedroom, a towel on his shoulder. They make eye contact and suddenly it's war.

"Choi Jongho!" San shouts as he feels like his feet couldn't bring him faster to the bathroom.

With a reply shouting his name in turn from Jongho, they meet right in front of the bathroom as they struggle to push each other away from the door, but they're only effectively pulling each other back, not one able to advance more than the other. Their hands are all over the place, their towels becoming impromptu weapons as they whip around the fabric, hitting the other while shouting "Me first!" repeatedly. What they don't hear is the bedroom door being closed and Seonghwa casually walking only with his pants, already having his t-shirt discarded in the laundry basket. He only shakes his head as he avoids the altercation and steps into the bathroom.

"After me, suckers," he says while cackling as he shuts the bathroom door loudly and makes a point to lock it.

"Park Seonghwa!" both San and Jongho say in disbelief and in unison, with the latter thumping on the door before sliding to the floor.

With slumped shoulders, they sit cross-legged in front of the door, staring at some parts of it decorated with mould, some parts splintered. They look at the surface then to the clock, then to the bedroom on the left as Yunho emerges, his hair unkempt and eyes half-shut. Looking like he's sleepwalking, he only gives a passing look to the two, unquestioning as to why they're admiring the bathroom door before he goes over to their kitchenette to have a gulp of water.

"If he goes over 15 minutes, which I'm sure he will," Jongho starts, "we're breaking down the door. If we happen to be late, all blame is to be put on Park Seonghwa."

"Absolutely."

Seonghwa sings loudly in the shower, taunting the rest outside as he uses the shower head as a microphone, taking his time to lather up the soap and shampoo his hair. The thumping of the door by Jongho is drowned by his constant singing, and as he steps out of the cubicle, he takes his time to admire his own face. He nods in satisfaction as he trails his eyes to the body he worked so hard for and the hair that he keeps to have it grow past his earlobes. He wraps the towel around his lower body before he opens the door, greeted by a grumbling San and Jongho.

Without an ounce of guilt he sidesteps them, mumbling a "Next" to the duo, and leaving them to fight over who's going to be the next person to take a shower. It's almost 6 a.m. but Yunho is calmly chomping down on cereal, giving a half-awake wave to Seonghwa. Just before he enters the bedroom it seems that Jongho has won the fight as San is left screeching Seonghwa's name, saying that he took almost half an hour in the shower.

"Not my fault you guys don't work smart," he chuckles before shutting the bedroom door.

Standing in front of his and San's clothes rack, he puts his hands on his hips as he tries to locate his crispest suit, as per Madam Seo's order. He gasps when he sees that his suit is squished among two pieces of San's bulky clothes, resulting in the suit being crinkled. With his left eye twitching as his shaky hands take down the suit, he looks at the piece of clothing in his hand which has crinkles and creases all over.

He throws open the bedroom door, his hand holding the suit coming out first as he shouts from inside the bedroom, "Choi muhfrickin San you caused my suit to be crumpled and now I have to iron it again!"

"Oh?" San sounds genuinely surprised before his face morphs into an evil expression. "That's why you may never cross Choi San, because karma will always come back to bite your non-existent ass."

Seonghwa's head stick out from inside the bedroom as he deadpans, "Did you really just say that karma has came back for me and at the same time saying I don't have ass?"

"It's true, you don't," Yunho comments as he puts the bowl he washed on the drying rack. He wipes his hands dry before attempting to slap his own butt, saying, "An example of an ass is this. An example of a non-ass is yours. Now goodbye, San wake me up after you're done showering."

"I just-" Seonghwa presses his lips together before hugging his suit to his chest, crumpling it even further. "Sometimes I wonder why do I even try."

With the body of a man who is defeated, he drags his suit and places it on their patched sofa. He unfolds the ironing board and places the suit on it, praying that nothing more will go wrong on this day they're supposed to be at the company early and ready. It will be his first job after a long hiatus and the others' first ever job. Moreover, becoming bodyguards for Bae Wonshik's daughter, a feat definitely worth putting on their resume.

As he hears the unwarranted hisses and burning smell, he knows that again, things are not going right. With Jongho passing by him while shaking his head, he looks down to see a hole in the pants he's ironing. He throws up his hands before flipping the pants off the ironing board.

"One of these days I'm going to show up on the job with no clothes on," he laments, not really meaning what he's saying but Yunho gives him a disgusted look that he quickly rebuts. "What? It's just a figure of speech. It's not like I'm going to turn up naked-"

"Stop, enough with vulgar words on a morning we're supposed to have a serious job," Jongho tuts as he comes out of his bedroom, already having pants and his undershirt on. The only things left for his look are the suit jacket and some gel to his hair, then he's good to go. He eyes Seonghwa up and down before he smirks, "Oh look at how the turntables. Park Seonghwa was the first to shower but now he's still covered with only his towel." He pulls down the bottom of his right eye and sticks out his tongue.

The oldest reserves his energy by not fighting back and instead directs it to the bathroom door as he shouts, "San, I'm going to borrow your extra pants!" Without waiting for the confirmation that he had heard it or not, he dives into the bedroom again, scurrying like a cockroach as he takes a look at the time. He almost throws everything around trying to look for the said pants, striding towards the ironing board before dumping the pants on it.

They have to be at the company by 7 and it takes around 10 minutes for them to walk from the dorm to the headquarters, but he would hate it if they arrive sweaty and they'd be forced to immediately continue the journey to Bae Wonshik's house. The latest that he'd want to arrive there is by 6:50, and now it's almost 6:30.

As soon as San gets out of the bathroom, he juts out his chin to ask Seonghwa to wake Yunho up. As his hands are busy with ironing, he lifts up his leg before attempting to push Yunho off the couch. The latter slides down, only opening his eyes as his body hits the floor. Yunho dashes to the bathroom, done with his shower just in time as Seonghwa finishes ironing the whole set of his clothes.

As the clock indicates 6:39, all are smartly dressed identically with white undershirts, black suits, gelled hair and worry expressions. Yunho is the only one who has managed to eat breakfast while Jongho has to be pulled back from wanting to grab the cereal, dragged out of the house by both Seonghwa and San because they don't have any time to spare. Most of the occupants on their floor are still silent in their houses, while some are only letting the first sounds of their morning be heard throughout the vicinity. Having the luck of staying at the apartment complex which has no lift and on the highest floor, they reach ground level with sweat decorating their faces even before they start their walk towards their headquarters.

They arrive just in time as Madam Seo is dropped off by her driver in front of the headquarters, with her pink statement for today her faux leather clutch placed under her armpit. She lowers down her sunglasses to see the four men panting in front of the building; sweat glistening on their foreheads, hairs sticking to their faces and undershirts soaked. She clicks her tongue before ushering them inside, asking them to stay in the air-conditioned lobby as she's off to get something.

The clacking of her high heels indicate her return to the lobby with a plastic bag full of food from the convenience store of the next building. As she's walking towards them, she fishes them out and throws them without warning, observing as the four manage to catch them without batting an eye. She takes out a can of instant coffee for herself, taking one sip before addressing them.

She pushes back her sleeve to look at her watch, nodding. "You arrived on time, looking fit for the job and you caught what I threw calmly. You're ready."

Her reply is only hurried munching of the tuna sandwiches she bought for them; San, Seonghwa and Jongho nibbling on the bread like hamsters starved of basic survival rights. Their cheeks are puffed up and their nostrils flare as they inhale the food. Yunho takes a minute late to unwrap the sandwich, producing a subtle thank you to their boss as he, too, inhales the sandwich like he hasn't eaten in months.

Like a mother proud of her sons, she sighs before chuckling. "It would suck to not have four of you troublemakers in the company now that you're about to become actual bodyguards." She spins around, prompting the men to follow while finishing the last crumbs of their sandwiches. As they walk through the revolving doors of their company building, evidence of food is gone and their demeanours are set for their first meeting with the candidate's daughter, their prospective client whom they don't have a clue on what she looks like.

They're taking the company's minivan with their boss at the passenger's seat upfront, accompanying them for the first and last time to Bae Wonshik's house. Their journey there is only mostly dominated by Madam Seo, who asks about their findings about the Reflectors, and what they think about their job scopes once they are hired to become Bae Soyeon's personal bodyguards. They reply what's necessary, unsure of their feelings as they leave their own district and enter another one.

Hyacinth District, home to many expensive and high-end neighbourhoods. One of the most popular districts where rich politicians, billionaires, celebrities and those in the same income bracket reside, also fast in becoming targets for Reflectors. Despite the security put in place to ward them off, it does seem that they had managed to outsmart it anyway, considering how they've managed to run freely until now.

Seonghwa looks at the signboard leading to a gated community of Crescent Heights, his reflex is to look at his fingers and curl them. When he looks up he sees Madam Seo giving him a glance and he only smiles at her before looking away again. Crescent Heights disappear in the background, bringing them to another neighbourhood that seems to expand beyond the eyes can see.

They take a look at the majestic signage of Aurora Heights, their jaws dropping at the design of the archway itself. Colours of the aurora mix in the metals moulded to form the shape of swans with their heads pressed against each other, their wings spread to hold up the signage telling them that they are finally entering another world; the world of the rich. The houses inside are no less impressive, seeing that even their lawns are bigger than the whole dimension of their dorm.

In the gated neighbourhood, it feels like they have entered another dimension, the entrance at the guardhouse the starting point. Houses with impressive architecture look like they're renovated yearly, looking to outdo those beside them and keep up their house's appearance with what's in season. A mixture of colours splash the whole neighbourhood, adding to the vibrant atmosphere.

"Is that the same house, or another house?" Yunho asks as he frowns, looking visibly confused. "There are like, two buildings but they seem to be having the same lawn..." he trails off as he points to a house that seems to be made out entirely of wood, but with a modernized look.

"It's most likely the same house," Madam Seo supplements, putting back on her sunglasses. "Probably their children have their own family but they didn't want to live far from each other, so they built another house on the same land. Rich people's solutions. Ugh, rich people. I hate them."

"Madam," Jongho interjects, always looking to be the first one to correct her. "No offense, but you're one of them."

"You're right, my dear. But I'm made rich due to my scumbag of a husband, and he pays my alimony without fail. 1 million chromas every month, can you just imagine how much money he makes? And even then he still finds time to cheat. How lovely. That's why I hate rich people, money is always their first solution. Well, what more can I say, since I'm surviving because of a rich person's money anyway."

"Ah," Yunho and San nod in understanding. Only Seonghwa has been quiet ever since they entered Hyacinth District.

The three notice the quietness of the eldest, but they can offer no explanation to his behaviour. Only Madam Seo is looking at him with an unreadable expression, wanting to raise a conversation but knowing that she won't get a desirable reply. She only gestures at the other three to wave it away, driving their focus to their destination instead. When the driver stops the car in front of a humongous wrought iron gate, they are stopped by guards standing near the guard post. The driver is asked to speak into the intercom, announcing their arrival.

There's a static silence before the reply rings back from one of the maids in the house. "Mr. Bae would like you to use the back entrance. The guards will help to guide you there and we will be waiting for you at the front door."

"I don't know whether we should be offended that they're asking us to use the back entrance, or flattered that we get to use the less popular way of getting into the compound," Yunho mulls.

"Just how big is his house..." San wonders as the guards at the front gate direct them to another pathway, giving clear directions on where they should go and what they would see if they are on the right path.

The back entrance, although named as that, looks somewhat similar to the main, with two guards taking post there, already opening the gate to let their minivan in. The guards give them a salute before quickly closing the gate again, taking their stance at the guardhouse again.

"Chills... from the amazement or from the confusion, no one knows," Jongho says.

It takes a while for them to actually arrive in front of the main door of the mansion, simply demonstrating to them how big the compound is, and even then they know that that's not the end to it. The Victorian-themed mansion stands huge and proud in the middle of the estate, surrounded by land that makes it feel like a resort instead of a house roofing only Bae Wonshik's family. Considering that he has a number of workers from their judgement of those serving them alone, he probably provides a roof for his workers' families too.

Their heads automatically turn to the window of the vehicle just as the minivan's door slides open. Apart from the driver, Madam Seo alights the vehicle last, joining the four men in line as they face the main door. They know that they're expecting someone, but don't know who it will be. Will the one who greets them be Bae Wonshik, or his daughter, the woman they're supposed to guard, Bae Soyeon?

They get their answer as the double doors are opened by the maids and the person comes out flanked by his own secretary and bodyguards. They do not need to do a double check on his identity as his is the face that decorates every bunting, every banner, the candidate that has won most of the public's hearts.

Bae Wonshik extends a hand to Madam Seo, already looking satisfied with her choices of bodyguards, immediately ushering them to take a step inside his mansion.

"Please, do come inside," he pauses and San notices that he seems to be hesitating, "my daughter is a little bit of a recluse."

San hopes that he isn't the only one who notices his hesitation when referring to his daughter, and as he looks at the rest he knows that he's not the only one who caught up with it.