Julien Seo grew up between two opposing worlds. His father demanded perfection; his mother, authenticity. In their household, "average" did not exist. Anything less than great was treated as failure in disguise.He remembered how his father monitored every grade, every hour of his schedule, correcting mistakes before they had time to settle. Discipline was the language of the patriarch. His mother, meanwhile, focused on his extracurriculars and artistic pursuits, believing that skill extended beyond books and classrooms.The real pressure, however, came from being the youngest, especially with an older sister who had already set the standard. Céline was brilliant, diligent, and endlessly ambitious; she was the child everyone praised, the one relatives pointed to as an example. By the time she pursued law in Paris, Céline had firmly earned the title of the golden child, much to his dismay. Julien admired her, but living in her shadow could feel suffocating.Over time, he learned to adjust, smoothing himself into each setting.Julien began treating his surroundings like a one big experiment, exploring the fine lines of social hierarchy and what pleases people most. It amused him how simple and feeble human nature could be. He joined the choir, debate club, and volunteered for school events, expanding his circles and absorbing what he could. There, he learned how to read a room, defuse tensions, and win over teachers and peers with humor and a perfectly timed smile. These were skills he honed like a blade, even if the practice was born from necessity rather than desire.When it came time for university, it was another battle on its own. Dong-hyun wanted Julien to follow a path in law or finance, like his sister and himself. Julien stood his ground on hospitality management, the only field he felt truly like himself. Surprisingly, his mother agreed though not purely out of sentiment. She saw the potential to expand the family name in a global, high-profile industry. Her support gave him the upper hand, but it also added a new layer of expectation on his shoulders.His career began humbly as a Guest Relations Trainee in Seoul. Fixing complaints, learning how to keep a smile even when guests are screaming in his face? Julien thought it should be considered a lost art in itself. With patience, planning and enduring even the worse of the worsd, by his mid-twenties, he had become Guest Relations Manager.Julien had now built a legacy of his own. It was not the one his parents had planned, but one he could claim fully out of his own will. He had learned to meet the world on his own terms, and that was enough of a win for him.For now.