With eyes as round as a button, Sera shook her head dismissively when the thought of being sleep-deprived having a toll on her, crossed her mind. Her misreading the name must have been a payback by her furious slumber cycle, for no matter how dark the underneath of her eyes might turn, Sera would not heed her body's rest requirements as long as she was able to hold out against the drowsiness.

Being a workaholic was more of a bane for her rather than a blessing.

Glancing at Soobong— the apparent beneficiary of the scholarship— Sera lifted her chin with yet another smile, appearing as if she was gesturing wordlessly at the former to confirm her doubt. The student vigorously nodded her head in approval, probably because of the obvious excitement that she must be finding hard to contain at that time. However, with that energetic response, Sera's lively expressions had contrastingly drooped too. With eyebrows reaching out for one another relentlessly as if they were some kind of magnets, she had once again found herself under the spell of apprehension.

"Ah, excuse me!" A rather unusual masculine voice broke the silence, prompting everyone to jerk their heads in the direction of the call.

Sera tore away her gaze from the girl with the toothy smile too, to take a look at the person who was causing such disturbance to the venue's decorum. Squinting her eyes to scan the man out of the swarm of people, she instead wound up rubbing them while also repeating the very action of switching her vision between her desk and the crowd.

A well-built silhouette— adorned with a baseball cap that veiled half of his face, and a mask that ensured no breach of privacy— began taking long strides towards Sera, which had soon transformed into casual jogging. As he got closer, his image also started turning clearer for Sera. She was no longer concentrating to inspect him with all her might, though a couple of shiny finger bands and high platformed shoes still stole the show for Sera like anything.

"I'm really very sorry. I shouldn't have run late." The man stretched out his hand to scratch the back of his head edgily. Watching the same expression of awe on the lady's face even after he was done addressing her, he eventually decided to raise his palm and wave it before her eyes. He would not be lying if he said that the situation was equally embarrassing for himself as well.

"Oh, I must've spaced out. I'm extremely sorry for the inconvenience. You're here as a patron, right? What's your name?" Sera had ripped apart her daydream successfully, and was already rendering her job like a pro. That might have confused the man for sure, but he did not have the time to think in vanity. And so, he continued.

"Park Jimin," the male swiftly wandered his eyes around peripherally—which appeared more like an assurance that no one happened to hear him— before resuming, "it's Park Jimin, and I'm willing to sponsor Lee Soobong at this university until she graduates from here."

Sera was in the midst of writing down the alleged pair of names, but unconsciously ended up halting herself in the middle. Her hold over the pen that was betwixt her fingers, seemed to be getting unstable yet highly determined at the same time. Soon enough, the pen dropped out of her grip too, leaving her hand to tremble on its own as she rested it over the table-top. Her head longed to be held up high, to at least have a glimpse of the man who had claimed his name to be Park Jimin. But her heart resisted her bodily will, chaining her entire self under the constraints of self-control.

For she knew that the moment she attempted at defying her heart's command, she would be done for good.

Hence, without bothering to lift her head up to match eyes with the concerned philanthropist, she balled up her fists and aimed for dashing right out of the venue. As she stood up, Jimin had almost let out a squeak, only for Sera to ignore it rudely. He had originally wanted to ask her if she was well or what was happening to her out of the blue, but the way she was so keen on shutting everyone out, convinced him to dissolve his thoughts into nothingness too.

Even Gaeul had reacted instinctively when she saw Sera gliding right through the exit door, but same as everyone else in the room, her words tended to disappear into thin air as well. Standing aghast, the both of them— Jimin and Gaeul— accidentally exchanged gazes with one another. Gaeul's was definitely inclined towards the suspecting aspect, however Jimin's bore a worrisome look. When nothing came out of their mute discussion, Gaeul slammed her palms frustratingly on the table and went out to follow Sera's trail.

Now, with everyone's attention on him— a thing which he absolutely adored, but never in such a way— Jimin remained planted on his own spot like a mannequin. The fret washing over his face had stayed covert behind that mega mask of his, resultingly becoming a medium of genuine comfort to him. The highly respected and admired idol, the sensation who had finally started snagging all the acclaimed records after years of anticipation— had had his breath hitched on the mere scene before him.

Very unlikely of him.

Not that human emotions were sort of inexplorable for Jimin. He had come across a variety of those. From feeling disappointed in his own self from time to time, to gradually accepting his  worth and becoming proud of it, he had come a long way experiencing and fathoming his own, as well the feelings of millions of his admirers who were scattered worldwide. However, something about what just took place, seemed off to him. He would have reacted in a much helpful manner had he been able to comprehend in time what the woman was undergoing. He would have understood the abrupt flow of restrained emotions much better, had they not seemed so conflicting to him.

For Sera looked like as if she wanted to reach for him, but at the same time her reluctance to engage in any kind of conversation with him was also fairly evident.