The Leash
983 Words
[PARK SEO-YEON]
My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might crack a rib.
The private elevator was rising smoothly toward the boardroom on the 50th floor, but my mind was still down in the lobby, on the polished marble floor.
I could still see Director Han on his knees. The man who had undermined me for three years, who had treated me like a hysterical child in every board meeting, had been reduced to a whimpering mess in under three seconds.
And Jin-Woo hadn't even raised his voice.
I looked at his reflection in the polished brass doors of the elevator. He was standing behind me, perfectly still, hands clasped loosely behind his back. His face was back to its default setting: bored stoniness.
If I hadn't seen the flash of terrifying darkness in his eyes when he leaned over Han, I would have thought he was asleep standing up.
"How did you do that?" I asked. My voice came out breathy, betraying the adrenaline flooding my system.
He didn't blink. "Do what, Boss?"
"Han. You barely touched him, and he dropped like he’d been shot."
Jin-Woo shrugged. The movement made his suit jacket strain across his massive shoulders.
"Radial nerve compression," he grunted. "It sends a pain signal straight to the brain stem. It’s useful for de-escalation when you don't want to break bones. Less paperwork."
Less paperwork.
He talked about paralyzing a corporate executive with the same casual tone someone would use to discuss filing cabinets.
I turned to face him as the elevator slowed. The space was too small. His presence was overwhelming. The scent of him—expensive wool, soap, and that underlying metallic tang of danger—filled my senses.
Velvet was no longer just scratching at the back of my mind. She was awake, stretching, purring with delight.
I reached out, almost against my own volition, and straightened his tie. My fingers brushed against the hard wall of his chest through his shirt. The heat radiating from him burned my fingertips.
"You didn't ask for permission to engage," I whispered, looking up into those black, abyss-like eyes.
"He touched the principal," Jin-Woo replied, his voice dropping an octave, vibrating through me. "Protocol states immediate neutralization. I don't ask permission to do my job, Princess."
His words sent a shiver straight down my spine, pooling heat low in my belly. It was infuriating. It was terrifying.
It was the hottest thing anyone had ever said to me.
The elevator doors chimed open, revealing the wide hallway leading to the boardroom.
"Let's go crush some dinosaurs," Jin-Woo said, stepping past me to clear the hallway.
I watched his broad back as he walked ahead. He moved with a predatory grace that didn't belong in an office building.
For years, I had walked into that boardroom feeling like prey, armor-plated in designer suits, waiting for the wolves to circle.
Today, walking behind Kang Jin-Woo, for the first time in my life, I didn't feel like the prey.
I felt like the one holding the leash of the most dangerous animal in the jungle.
A dark, thrilling smile spread across my face. I smoothed my blazer, where Han had dared to touch me.
Let the meeting begin.
[KANG JIN-WOO]
The boardroom smelled of stale coffee, old men, and desperation.
Twelve members of the board were seated around a table made of polished redwood that cost more than my parents' house. They were all men. All over fifty. All looking at Seo-Yeon like she was a toddler who had stumbled into a war room.
Until they saw me.
I walked in first, scanning the room. No physical threats. Just a lot of soft bodies in expensive suits.
I stood by the door, crossing my arms, letting my presence fill the room. I didn't look at anyone in particular. I just looked at the space between them. The "thousand-yard stare." It always made civilians nervous.
Seo-Yeon walked in behind me. Her energy had changed. The fear from the lobby was gone, replaced by ice-cold aggression.
She didn't sit down. She walked to the head of the table and stood there, placing both hands flat on the wood.
"Gentlemen," she began, her voice cutting through the murmurs. "Before we begin, Director Han will be joining us shortly. He had a... sudden bout of vertigo in the lobby."
She glanced at me. I didn't react.
A murmur went around the table. They all knew Han hated her. If he was late, something was wrong.
A man with white hair and a face like a dried apple spoke up. Chairman Choi. The oldest of the dinosaurs.
"Seo-Yeon-ah," Choi said patronizingly. "This hostile takeover rumor. The stock is bleeding. Perhaps it is time to consider stepping back? Let the experienced hands steady the ship."
Seo-Yeon smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. It was the smile a shark gives before it bites.
"Funny you should mention hostile takeovers, Chairman," she said, sliding a manila folder across the table toward him. "Because my new Head of Security here is excellent at spotting threats."
I took half a step forward. Just enough so the floorboards creaked under my weight.
Every eye in the room flicked to me. They saw the size. The scar on my neck. The dead eyes.
They suddenly looked very small in their big chairs.
"That folder contains proof that three of you have been leaking inside information to match-fix the stock price," Seo-Yeon continued, her voice iron. "You have until the end of this meeting to resign. Or I release it to the prosecutors."
Silence. Absolute, terrified silence.
I watched them sweat.
It was going to be a long day. But for the first time in a week, I wasn't bored.
This was a different kind of battlefield. No guns. No knives. Just information and fear.
And Seo-Yeon? She was a natural born killer.
- Writer
