Adrenaline and Expensive Leather
920 Words
[PARK SEO-YEON]
The doors of the boardroom closed behind us, sealing the c*****e inside.
I walked down the hallway toward the elevators, my heels clicking sharply on the marble. I kept my posture rigid, my face a mask of bored indifference, but inside, I was vibrating.
Sixty minutes. That’s all it took. Three resignations. Total capitulation from the rest of the board. The stock price was already rebounding in after-hours trading.
I had won.
But for the first time, I knew I hadn't won alone.
I stopped at the elevator bank and pressed the button. I could feel Jin-Woo standing behind me. The heat radiating from his massive frame seemed to burn right through the back of my blazer.
I turned to look at him.
He was checking his watch, looking utterly unimpressed by the corporate slaughter he’d just witnessed. He’d paralyzed a director and terrified twelve of the most powerful men in Seoul without breaking a sweat or uncrossing his arms.
A strange, unsettling feeling bubbled up in my chest. It wasn't fear. It wasn't anger.
It was gratitude. And something hotter, darker, that Velvet was purring about.
"You're quieter than usual, Boss," he rumbled, his eyes flickering down to mine. "Did the dinosaurs bite?"
The elevator arrived. We stepped inside.
"They didn't bite," I said, the adrenaline crash starting to hit me, making my knees feel slightly weak. "They whimpered. Because you showed them your teeth."
He shrugged. The movement made the muscles of his chest flex against his shirt. I hated that I noticed.
"Fear is a tool," he said flatly. "Like a hammer. You just have to know where to hit."
He pressed the button for the garage. The doors slid shut, sealing us into the small, mirrored box. The silence was sudden and heavy.
I looked at our reflections. Me, perfectly put together in silk and ambition. Him, a hulking shadow of violence barely contained in a suit.
We were monsters of different worlds, brought together by necessity.
"Jin-Woo," I said softly. It was the first time I’d used his name without an honorific or a sarcastic title.
He went still. He didn't look at me, but his attention shifted entirely to me. The air in the elevator thickened.
"Thank you," I whispered. The words tasted foreign on my tongue.
He finally turned his head. Those black abyss eyes bored into me, stripping away the CEO persona.
He took a half-step toward me. In the small elevator, it felt like he had crossed a chasm. He loomed over me, invading my personal space until the scent of him—soap, wool, and danger—filled my lungs.
He leaned down slightly, his voice a low growl near my ear.
"Don't thank me, Princess. Pay me."
My breath hitched. My body responded instinctively to his dominance, heat pooling low in my stomach.
"I pay you fifty million won a month," I managed to choke out, trying to hold my ground.
A ghost of a smirk touched the corner of his mouth. It didn't reach his eyes.
"That pays for my time," he whispered. "My loyalty? That costs extra."
The elevator dinged, the doors opening onto the garage. The spell broke.
He stepped back instantly, the bored bodyguard mask sliding back into place. "Car's ready. Let's go home. I need to frag some twelve-year-olds online to decompress."
[KANG JIN-WOO]
The ride back to the penthouse was quiet. Not the hostile silence of the morning, but the exhausted silence of two people who had just survived a firefight.
Seo-Yeon sat on the other side of the Maybach, scrolling through her tablet, but her eyes were unfocused. The adrenaline was leaving her system. The ice queen was melting around the edges.
She was... impressive today. Ruthless. Efficient. She didn't flinch when I crippled Han. She used the fear I created like a surgeon uses a scalpel.
She wasn't just a spoiled heiress needing protection. She was a predator in her own ecosystem. I could respect that.
We pulled into the underground garage of Park Tower.
"We survived Day One," she murmured, closing her tablet as the driver opened the door.
"Don't get comfortable," I said, stepping out and scanning the garage perimeter. "The real threat wasn't in that boardroom. Whoever hired the snatch team in the alley is still out there. And now they know I'm here."
She paled slightly, the reality crashing back down on her.
We took the private elevator up to the penthouse.
The moment the doors opened, the serene silence of the 90th floor was shattered.
Pop music was blasting at maximum volume. The smell of burnt sugar hung heavy in the air.
Ji-Eun, the idol, was in the middle of the living room, wearing a tiny crop top and sweatpants, practicing a dance routine that involved a lot of aggressive hip thrusting.
Min-Ji, the gamer, was screaming at her from the kitchen island. "Turn it down! I can't hear footsteps! I just got killed by a noob because of your terrible music taste!"
"It's art, you troglodyte!" Ji-Eun yelled back, not missing a beat.
Seo-Yeon stopped in the foyer. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a long, suffering sigh. The ruthless CEO melted away completely, replaced by an exhausted older sister.
"I take it back," she groaned. "The boardroom was easier."
I loosened my tie as I walked past her toward the kitchen.
"Welcome to the circus, Boss," I muttered. "I'm getting a beer. You want one?"
- Writer
