Seo Yoon didn't slow down.
She couldn't.
Not when everything around her was shifting.
Ten percent.
That was all it took.
Ten percent of her work—gone. Contracts delayed, deals disrupted, carefully built connections shaken just enough to create instability. Not enough to destroy her.
Just enough to hurt.
Just enough to test her.
Sang-Hyun.
She hadn't slept properly in days.
Her meals were irregular.Her head constantly ached.Her chest felt tight more often than not.
But she ignored it.
Because she had no choice.
By the time she left her office, it was already late.
The city had quieted, lights dimmer, streets emptier. The air felt heavier than usual, pressing down on her as she walked toward her car.
Her steps were steady—
Until they weren't.
Her breath hitched.
Just slightly at first.
Then again.
And again.
Seo Yoon stopped.
Her hand pressed against her chest as her breathing became uneven, too fast, too shallow.
"No...."
"Not now..."
The world around her blurred slightly. Sounds felt distant. Her thoughts, usually so sharp and controlled, began slipping through her grasp.
She knew this feeling.
She hated it.
"Breathe…" she whispered to herself, barely audible.
But her body didn't listen.
It took everything in her to move again.
Step by step.
Slow. Controlled. Forced.
By the time she reached her mansion, she was already at her limit.
And then—
She saw him.
Sang-Hyun stood outside her mansion gates, as if he had been waiting for hours. Calm. Composed. Unaffected.
Like he always was.
Something inside her snapped.
"You—"
Her voice wasn't calm anymore.
It was tired.Sharp.Breaking.
"You think this is a game?"
She walked toward him, faster now, anger overriding exhaustion.
"Destroying my work? Watching me like I'm some experiment?"
Sang-Hyun didn't move.
Didn't interrupt.
He just watched.
"You don't get to do that," she said, her voice rising for the first time.
"You don't get to walk into my life and decide you can test me like this!"
Her hands pushed against his chest.
Not hard enough to hurt—
But enough to show everything she'd been holding back.
Again.
And again.
"Do you have any idea—"
Her voice broke.
She stopped.
Her breathing uneven again.
Her strength… fading.
Sang-Hyun's expression shifted.
Just slightly.
Seo Yoon swayed.
Her vision blurred.
The anger drained as quickly as it came, leaving behind nothing but exhaustion.
And then—
She collapsed.
For the first time—
Sang-Hyun reacted instantly.
He caught her before she hit the ground.
Her body felt lighter than he expected.
Too light.
Too fragile.
"…Seo Yoon."
No response.
Her breathing was uneven, her face pale, her body completely drained of strength.
Not controlled.Not composed.
Not the Seo Yoon he had been testing.
Something in his chest tightened—an unfamiliar, unwelcome feeling.
"This wasn't supposed to happen," he murmured.
For the first time, Sang-Hyun wasn't observing.
He wasn't calculating.
He wasn't testing.
He was… concerned.
He lifted her carefully, his movements no longer cold or distant.
No longer detached.
Because for the first time—
He realized something he hadn't accounted for.
Seo Yoon wasn't just strong.
She was human.
And he might have pushed her too far.