ENHYEOK POV
The visitor profile opens on the screen, the company security system automatically pulling up the registered information submitted at the lobby desk.
A photograph loads first, the image sharpening into the face of a woman wearing a composed expression that barely hides the defiance in her eyes.
Then the details slide into place beneath it.
Han Bora
Associate Corporate Lawyer
The firm name is missing.
My mouth curves slowly.
Han Bora, here in my building without even listing her law firm on the system. That alone says enough about what kind of visit this is going to be.
I lean back in my chair, tapping the screen once to approve the visitor entry while the system sends clearance to the reception desk.
"Send her up."
The office falls silent again after the message leaves my phone. Assistants move behind the glass walls outside like shadows, careful and quiet, while I watch the elevator status panel on the security monitor tick upward floor by floor.
Associate corporate lawyer Han Bora.
Interesting.
A few minutes pass before movement catches my eye through the glass partition outside the office.
Seo Jiah is standing at her desk, pretending to organize files while her gaze drifts toward my office more often than necessary.
I reach under the desk and press the privacy switch.
The smart glass darkens instantly, turning opaque from the outside.
The corner of my mouth lifts again.
There is absolutely no way I will let her see what kind of performance her loyal little friend is about to put on in this room.
A knock comes exactly sixty seconds later.
"Come in."
The door opens smoothly and a woman in a perfectly tailored charcoal suit steps inside, heels striking the marble with controlled precision.
Her posture is straight, expression sharp, eyes already fixed on me with a mixture of hostility and professionalism.
Han Bora stops in front of the desk.
"Good morning, Mr. Chief Executive Director Yu."
I acknowledge her with a small nod.
Before I can say anything, she pulls out the chair across from me and sits down.
My eyebrow lifts slowly.
"Did I say you could sit, Ms. Han?"
Her lips curl slightly.
"My apologies, Mr. Yu," she says coolly. "I should have known I'm here as a lawyer, not as a former friend."
I gesture lazily toward the chair.
"Sit if you want to."
The smirk on her face fades and something darker replaces it before she settles back into the seat properly.
She places a thin folder on the desk.
"I'm here representing your secretary, Ms. Seo."
I fold my hands loosely on the desk.
"Is that so."
Her voice sharpens.
"She has raised concerns regarding a clause placed in her employment contract."
I glance at the folder without touching it.
"What about it."
"She states that the clause was never disclosed to her during signing and that the language regarding the three-billion-won compensation appears manipulated."
My expression doesn't change.
"You're accusing me of altering a corporate contract after it was signed."
Bora leans forward slightly.
"I'm saying the clause was not visible to her during review, which raises questions regarding the transparency of the signing process and the conduct of the company's legal department."
I let out a quiet laugh.
"Are you suggesting that Daeyeon Holdings forged a contract."
Her jaw tightens but she continues.
"I'm suggesting the contract may have been structured in a way designed to mislead the employee regarding the financial penalties of early resignation."
I open the drawer calmly and pull out the contract folder.
The paper lands on the desk between us.
"Clause 7.4," I say, sliding the page toward her. "Signed in the presence of HR and legal counsel with recorded documentation."
Her eyes scan the signature line.
My voice stays smooth.
"The document clearly states that the employee acknowledged all clauses and waived dispute rights."
Bora sits back slowly.
"That clause was buried intentionally."
"Buried," I repeat.
She crosses her arms.
"You knew she wouldn't notice it."
I lean back in my chair.
"If Ms. Seo failed to read her own contract, that sounds like a professional mistake rather than corporate misconduct."
Her gaze hardens.
"You're cornering her."
"And?"
Silence stretches across the desk.
Then I say calmly, "If she wants to terminate the contract early, she can pay the compensation and get the fuck out of here. That's how contracts work, isn't it, Ms. Han?"
She lets out a short laugh.
"You think you're very clever, don't you?"
I tilt my head slightly.
"You came here without a legal filing or even a firm name attached to your profile. This isn't a legal negotiation."
Her eyes flash.
"Is this your revenge for the past?"
The smirk disappears from my face.
"Past?."
She laughs quietly.
"Oh, don't act like you don't know, Enhyeok."
"I think you're mistaken."
Her voice cuts sharper.
"Is this how you get revenge on your ex-girlfriend, putting a leash around her neck with a contract?"
I close the folder slowly.
"I believe this conversation is over."
She leans forward across the desk.
"Running away from the truth now?"
My finger presses the security button under the desk.
"How can you forget those two years?" she continues bitterly. "Even if you die you won't forget them."
The office door bursts open as security rushes inside.
Two guards grab her arms before she can react.
"Don't be an asshole, Enhyeok," she snaps while struggling. "Leave Jiah alone."
I watch her calmly.
"Is this how you defend your client when you realize you're losing the argument, Ms. Han?"
Her voice rises.
"There's no way I'll let you win, Enhyeok."
The guards drag her toward the door.
"Fuck you!" she shouts. "If you ever lay a finger on her I'll fucking end you!"
I stand up slowly and walk around the desk.
She's still fighting the guards, breathing hard with anger when I stop in front of her.
Her lawyer ID card hangs from her jacket.
I take it between my fingers and lift it slightly, reading the firm name printed beneath her photograph.
"Hanseong & Partners," I say with a quiet smirk. "Huh."
Then I release the card and step back.
"Get her the fuck out of here."
They drag her toward the door while she twists around to flip me off.
"Fuck you, Enhyeok!"
The door slams behind them.
I watch the empty office for a moment before the smirk returns slowly.
Han Bora.
You are an idiot.
___________________
JIAH POV
Two security guards suddenly emerge from the Chief Executive Director's office.
Their appearance is so abrupt that several employees near the reception desks pause mid-movement, their conversations dying into awkward silence as the tall men step through the glass doors with firm, controlled strides.
Then a voice cuts through the corridor.
"Fuck you, Enhyeok!"
My hands freeze above the stack of documents on my desk.
The sound is sharp, furious, and painfully familiar.
Bora.
The office door swings wider as the guards drag someone forward, and the moment I see her charcoal suit and furious expression my chest tightens so suddenly it feels like the air has been ripped out of the room.
Han Bora is being pulled out of his office.
Her hair has fallen slightly loose around her face and her heels scrape against the marble floor while she fights against the guards gripping her arms, anger burning across her features in a way that makes several nearby employees stare openly.
"You're a fucking asshole!" she snaps over her shoulder toward the office behind her.
The door shuts again before I can see inside.
The hallway falls into an uncomfortable silence.
I stand up without even realizing it, my chair sliding back against the floor as instinct pushes me toward her.
"Bora—"
But my voice never leaves my mouth.
Because the security guards are already escorting her toward the elevators, their grip firm while Bora twists around once more to glare at the office door like she's ready to kick it down.
"You hear me, you bastard!" she shouts.
Then the elevator doors open and they shove her inside.
The doors close.
Everything becomes quiet again.
No one speaks.
I look at the dark glass walls of his office.
There is no sound coming from inside.
The room is completely soundproof.
The rest of the day passes like a blur.
I barely hear the phone calls, barely register the documents that land on my desk, barely notice the passing hours until the sky outside the windows turns orange and then slowly fades into evening.
When I finally leave the building, my phone vibrates.
A message from Bora appears.
I'll come to your house.
Nothing else.
My stomach stays tight the entire ride home.
It's almost an hour later when someone knocks on my apartment door.
I rush to open it.
Bora stands there.
Her hair is messier now, her blazer missing, and the usual confidence in her posture has been replaced by something exhausted and sharp around the edges.
"Bora," I say quickly. "What happened?"
She steps inside slowly, dropping her bag onto the couch before rubbing her face with one hand.
Then she lets out a quiet breath.
"I got suspended," she says flatly.
"For insulting Daeyeon's Chief Executive Director."