The sharp, persistent chirp of her alarm cut through the 5:00AM darkness.Lara opened her eyes slowly ; she laid there, eyes fixed on the ceiling of her Chelsea apartment, feeling the heavy silence of the room. She felt fine—no headache, no dizziness—but that was the terrifying part about the "silent tenant" in her brain.
The doctor's voice from a days ago echoed in her mind: "It's a glioblastoma, Lara. It's aggressive because of where it's positioned near the brainstem. We can try surgery, but the risk of paralysis or losing your speech is high, and even then, it's not a cure." He had been clinical, almost detached, as he explained that the tumor was essentially a ticking clock.
She sat up sluggishly and stepped into the bathroom by 5:15 She was done with her bath she with her towel tied to her body she opened her fridge and took out the bread she had planned to eat ,she made toast and a coffee after having a light breakfast she reached for the bottle of pills. Even though she felt okay now, she swallowed them with a gulp of room-temperature water. The doctor had warned her that the pressure could build at any moment, especially with the cabin pressure of a long flight. Taking them was a ritual of survival now, a way to keep the "beast" quiet so she could at least have this one trip.
She moved through her room like a shadow. She looked at her reflection—the obsidian eyes that seemed too bright for a face so tired. She pulled on her familiar armor: a thick, charcoal-grey oversized hoodie and loose-fitting joggers. She scraped her long hair into a tight, messy knot at the nape of her neck and slid on the heavy, fake glasses. She looked dull, plain, and entirely invisible. Perfect, she thought bitterly. Just the way I've lived for ten years. She took her bags and left for the airport
When she arrived at the terminal, the airport was a hum of rolling suitcases and hushed morning voices. She scanned the crowd for Matt, her heart already heavy with the dread of a long work trip. But as she approached the gate, she saw a familiar silhouette leaning against a pillar, scrolling through his phone.
It wasn't Matt. It was Sean.
Her breath hitched. Sean was the kind of man who didn't just walk into a room; he owned the air inside it. He was the male equivalent of everything the company valued: handsome, charismatic, and effortlessly talented. But unlike the rest of the office, Sean actually had a soul. While others treated Lara like a piece of office furniture, Sean was the only one who had ever bothered to ask, "How's your day, Lara?" and actually waited for an answer.
He was her secret crush—the one man she had admired from afar, convinced he would never notice someone as "grey" as her.
"Lara! Over here!" He looked up, his face lighting up with a grin that made her stomach flip. He looked incredible even at 6:00 AM in a simple navy sweater. "Change of plans—Matt's got the flu, so Martha called me late last night. You're stuck with me for the Seoul mission."
Lara stood there, feeling the weight of her baggy hoodie and the pills in her system.
"Oh... hi, Sean," she managed to say, her voice slightly raspy.
"You okay?" he asked, stepping closer. He didn't look at her outfit with the usual office disdain. He looked at her with a soft, genuine curiosity. "You look like you haven't slept much. Don't worry, I've got the window seats. You can sleep the whole way to Korea if you want."
As they walked down the jet bridge together, Lara felt a strange, flickering spark of hope. She was heading to her dream country, sitting next to the only man who had ever truly 'seen' her, and she had exactly one year to stop being a ghost.
The hum of the plane's engines filled the cabin, creating a small, private bubble for the two of them in the dim morning light. Sean reached up to adjust the air vent, his sleeve pulling back to reveal a glimpse of a sleek watch, before he turned his attention fully to Lara.
"So," he started, his voice a low, comforting rumble. "Did Martha actually brief you on the 'Seoul Recovery' plan, or did she just do her usual whirlwind routine?"
Lara looked down at her hands, which were tucked into the oversized sleeves of her hoodie. "She just called me late last night. She told me the branch was struggling, that I was going to South Korea, and to be at the airport by six. That was it. I didn't even get a chance to ask a question before she hung up."
Sean let out a long, heavy sigh, shaking his head. "Classic Martha. She treats people like chess pieces." He leaned back, his expression turning more serious. "Lara, we aren't just going there for a couple of meetings. The board is giving us a six-month window. We have to completely rebrand the spring and summer lines, oversee the manufacturing in Seoul, and basically relaunch the flagship store. If we don't turn a profit by the end of those six months, they're closing the branch for good."
Lara felt a cold chill that had nothing to do with the plane's air conditioning. "Six months?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
"At least," Sean confirmed. "It's a massive project. That's why she sent you. She knows your designs sell, and she needs me to handle the market transition. It's going to be intense, round-the-clock work."
Lara turned her head toward the window, watching the sea of clouds below. Her heart felt like a lead weight in her chest. Six months. She only had twelve months left—365 days of guaranteed life—and Martha had just signed away half of that time to a failing office and a corporate deadline.
She had wanted to go to Korea to live, to see the world, and to finally be herself. She hadn't planned on spending 50% of her remaining life hunched over a drafting table in a high-stress office, answering to a boss who didn't even know her last name.
"Lara?" Sean asked softly, noticing her sudden silence. "You okay? You look... pale. If it's too much, I can try to talk to her, but you know how she is."
Lara forced herself to take a slow, steady breath, thinking of the pills in her bag and the tumor in her head. She couldn't tell him the truth.
"I'm fine," she lied, though her mind was already racing. Six months of work, and six months to die. "I was just... surprised. I didn't realize it was such a long commitment."
"It's a lot," Sean agreed, reaching over to briefly pat her hand. His touch was warm and brief, but it sent a jolt through her. "But hey, we're in this together. And Seoul is incredible. We'll find some time to actually see the city, I promise."
Don't promise I might bit even be alive by that time who knows when id suddenly drop dead
Lara nodded, but as she closed her eyes to try and rest.
Hearing this Lara shut her eyes and thought to herself """" I'm only giving them one month and then I'll leave whether the job is complete or not .
The thought was beginning to annoy her but the fact that Sean had gone along with her made everything else feel irrelevant.
I'm glad Sean is here ,she thought to herself.