Lucian leaned back slightly as the man planted himself in front of him.

Despite the perfectly pressed suit and the air of success it projected, the man’s face twisted with irritation the moment he laid eyes on Lucian.

"Hah! You little —" he huffed, hands on his hips. "How dare you think you could just disappear on me like that?!"

"..." Lucian blinked, watching him fume. "Apologies."

"Apolo — do you think a sorry is enough? Hey, I was trying to be considerate and nice to you because our sons are in the same grade," the man harrumphed. "But you can’t just tell me you’ll take responsibility for the damage you caused and then vanish like that!"

Lucian tilted his head. "I’ve already settled it."

He had even thrown in a few extras as part of the arrangement.

"When are you going to — huh?" The man stopped, blinking at him.

Lucian jerked his chin toward him. "Did you not check your messages?"

The man patted his pockets, pulled out his phone, and checked. His brows climbed as he scrolled. Everything had been taken care of. Even the money he had spent on repairs had been reimbursed.

"What the..." he trailed off, then swung his judgmental gaze back to Lucian. "Hah! You actually did it!"

His tone shifted almost instantly, and he gave Lucian a short, approving nod.

"If you already sorted it out, why didn’t you just reply to me?" he asked, which Lucian found entirely beside the point.

Was he supposed to?

"Tsk! Never mind!" The man waved it off. "It’s settled — that’s what matters. Anyway, don’t waste my time. I have an important meeting today."

He smirked, looking Lucian over from head to toe with a condescending once-over. It was only then that it seemed to register where they both were.

The Black Dragon Corporation.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, as though they were close enough for that to be a reasonable question. "Ah! Don’t tell me you came to pitch an idea and are hoping to get funded?"

He snickered, rubbing the side of his nose. "Well, best of luck to you," he said, his tone dripping with insincerity despite the words.

"As for me, I was personally invited by the higher-ups," he added, unprompted and visibly proud of it. "You may not know this, but I’m actually quite accomplished. People come to me. I don’t go begging to them."

"I see." Lucian nodded, listening in his quiet way.

The man studied him — clearly younger, undeniably handsome. But looks were looks. In terms of status, wealth, and real achievement, this young man wouldn’t hold a candle to him.

"Congratulations," Lucian said, in the same flat tone as everything else.

"Tsk." The man clicked his tongue, gave him one last odd look, then caught himself. "Never mind. I’m going to be late!"

With that, he stopped wasting time and hurried toward the lift, following the directions the Black Dragon staff had given him.

Lucian watched him go with quiet curiosity.

"Does he not have any friends?" he murmured, as though that were the only thing he had taken from the brief and baffling exchange. "He must be very lonely."

He didn’t dwell on it. Turning around, he made his way to his car.

*****

Inside Black Dragon Corporation, the van owner was ushered in with notable hospitality and led to a private meeting room to wait.

The man — Raka Jean — sat with a wide smile, eyes roaming the room. His heart thudded with a mixture of nerves and excitement. All he knew was that Black Dragon Corporation had reached out regarding a proposal he had submitted exactly one year ago.

"One year," he murmured to himself. "Well, it’s the Black Dragon Corporation. Taking a year to get back to someone shouldn’t come as a surprise."

It was a company that had risen to prominence barely a decade ago and had since become a trillion-dollar enterprise.

He waited until the door finally opened.

Raka got to his feet as Gustav walked in, smiling broadly and extending a hand.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting, Mr. Jean," Gustav said, reaching out to shake it. "My name is Gustav — Acting Head of Operations at Black Dragon Corporation. Thank you for coming in today."

The man’s smile stretched wider. "Raka Jean — please, just call me Raka, Mr. Gustav."

They shook hands and settled across from each other.

"It was actually the chairman who came across your proposal," Gustav said, recalling how quickly that same proposal had landed in Lukas’s bin. Lukas hadn’t even finished the first page before discarding it.

"The chairman?" Raka straightened. "He’s the one who—?"

Gustav kept his well-practiced business smile in place. "Yes. He regrets that he couldn’t be here today due to a prior commitment, but he asked me to convey that he is genuinely interested in hearing more, particularly with some revisions from our senior team incorporated."

Raka listened, or appeared to. Somewhere along the way, Gustav’s voice faded into the background.

All he could think about was that his life was finally about to change.

That the people who had looked down on him would soon have their jaws on the floor.

Gustav, meanwhile, continued his explanation while quietly studying the man across from him. It left him wondering — why had Lucian wanted to compensate this person when the proposal itself wasn’t particularly compelling?

It wasn’t a bad investment on its own merits, but Black Dragon had no shortage of hospitals and research institutions to fund. Dominion had already backed multiple research projects, and by comparison, this one was the least remarkable of the lot.

"Regarding the drug your team has been developing..." Gustav ventured, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Raka snapped back to attention. "It’s a discontinued drug — shelved a long time ago. But I believe that with the right support, it could be groundbreaking."

Groundbreaking, huh?

Gustav kept his expression neutral, though he now understood perfectly why Lukas had binned the proposal after a few pages. Beyond the disorganized presentation, the idea itself read like a fantasy.

A cure for all drugs.

He didn’t think that was possible.