CHAPTER 4: The first Test
1025 Words
I didn’t sleep.
How do you sleep when you’re married to the most dangerous man in Seoul and your ex thinks you’re dead in a ditch?
I lay on that king bed with the door wide open, staring at the ceiling until 4AM. Taewook never came to check on me. I only heard his footsteps once, and the clink of glass. He was still drinking.
By 6AM, sunlight hit the glass walls and turned the whole penthouse gold. It looked like money. It felt like a cage.
The door finally closed.
I sat up fast. Taewook was standing there in a black suit, tie already perfect. No bedhead. No mercy.
“Up,” he said. “We have 30 minutes.”
“Where are we going?”
“To test you.”
He tossed a credit card onto the bed. Matte black. No name.
“Buy something decent. You’re coming with me to a meeting. And Soyeon?” His eyes narrowed. “If you embarrass me, I’ll throw you out myself. Contract or not.”
He left.
I stared at the card. In my past life, Minho gave me 10,000 won and called me cheap. This man handed me a black card like it was a pen.
Fine. Let’s play.
---
*1 Hour Later. Kang Industries. Boardroom.*
I walked in wearing a white blouse, black skirt, and heels I didn’t own yesterday. My hair was tied back. No makeup. I looked 19, but I stood like I was 24 and furious.
Taewook was already at the head of the table. 6 men in suits. All older. All staring at me like I was a mistake.
“CEO Kang,” one of them said, “we weren’t told you were bringing… company.”
“My wife,” Taewook said flatly. No introduction. No warmth. “She stays.”
The room went dead silent.
Wife. He said it like it was nothing. Like he hadn’t met me 12 hours ago.
The men recovered fast. Too fast.
“Right. About the Q2 projections,” the first man started. He clicked a slide. Numbers. Graphs. Lies.
In my past life, I sat in meetings like this after Minho made me his secretary. I was quiet. I took notes. I watched them steal from my mother.
Not today.
“You’re fudging the export costs,” I said.
Every head turned to me.
Taewook didn’t react. But his finger tapped once on the table. That was his tell. He was listening.
“Excuse me?” the man said, fake smile cracking.
“Page 4. You listed shipping at 12%,” I said. I didn’t look at notes. I didn’t need to. “But Kang Industries moved to Busan Port last year. New contract cuts it to 7%. You added 5% to skim. It’s about 2.1 billion won.”
The man’s face went white.
“Who are you?” another one snapped.
“I’m the woman your boss just married,” I said. “And I’m the reason he won’t lose 30% in 5 years because of Minho.”
I said his name. On purpose.
Taewook finally spoke. “Continue.”
So I did. I gave them 3 more things Minho would do. A fake supplier. A shell company. A leaked design file. All of it happened in 2021. All of it destroyed their stock.
By the time I finished, the room was sweating.
Taewook stood. “Meeting’s over. Audit everything she said. If she’s right, you’re fired. If she’s wrong…” He looked at me. “So are you.”
He walked out. I followed.
---
*In the car. Silence again.*
He didn’t look at me. He was on his phone, typing fast.
“You lied to them,” he said without looking up.
“I told the truth.”
“You can’t know that. You’re 19. You never worked a day in your life.”
I turned to him. “I died working for Minho. I watched him destroy you piece by piece. You want proof? Check Busan Port. Check the supplier ‘Hanil Logistics’. It doesn’t exist yet. But it will, in 6 months.”
He stopped typing.
For the first time, he looked at me. Really looked.
Not like trash. Not like a tool.
Like a problem he couldn’t solve.
“Joon,” he said to the driver. “Take us to Cafe Mille.”
My blood went cold. That was the place I messaged the security guy. 48 hours from now. Not now.
“How did you—”
“I know every place Minho takes you,” Taewook cut in. “And if you’re lying, I want to see your face when we find nothing.”
We pulled up. 11AM. Cafe was empty.
Taewook got out first. I followed. My hands were shaking again.
Then I saw him.
A man in his 40s, suit, scar on his cheek. Sitting in the corner. He looked up when we entered. His eyes widened when he saw me.
“Miss Cha?” he said. Confused. “We weren’t supposed to meet until—”
“Thursday,” I finished for him. “I know. I’m sorry. Things moved faster.”
Taewook’s gaze flicked between us. “You two know each other?”
The man hesitated. Then he stood. Bowed slightly to me.
“Not yet, CEO Kang. But in 5 years, she saves my daughter from a k********g. I owe her my life.”
The color drained from Taewook’s face.
He turned to me. Slow.
“You’re not crazy,” he whispered.
It wasn’t a question anymore.
I lifted my chin. “Told you.”
Taewook stared at me for 5 seconds. Then he did something I didn’t expect.
He smiled.
Small. Sharp. Terrifying.
“Good,” he said. “Because now I can use you properly.”
He put a hand on my lower back and guided me out. Possessive. Public.
My phone buzzed in my bag.
Unknown number: _Soyeon? Are you alive? Why are you with my uncle??_
Minho.
He found out already.
I didn’t reply. I just leaned into Taewook a little more.
Let him panic.
- Writer
