FATAL TROUBLE | JAY

1 - For Nothing

Y/N's POV

The feeling of someone watching me makes a shiver creep down my spine. I look outside the car window, staring at the cars and the passing scenery of buildings in a daze. Nothing seems out of place. But the hair on the back of my neck still stands on end. This is not the look of someone who's just passing by. No, it's more intense, more focused. It's the gaze of someone who knows exactly what they want, and right now, it feels like they want me. 

This unease has been building all week, a subtle itch in the back of my mind that's blossomed into full-blown paranoia. Could it be all in my head? The pressure of the upcoming hotel launch is immense, the culmination of months of tireless work. Perhaps it's just the stress manifesting itself in this unsettling feeling. But as much as I try to rationalize it, I can't shake the sensation that I'm being watched with intent. Because the goosebumps prickling my skin and the rapid hammering of my heart tell a different story.

I clench the files in my hands, leaning against the backseat while trying to focus on reading the words and not just caressing them with my fingertips in a futile attempt to calm my racing thoughts. These are the final budget reports for the hotel, crucial for tonight's board meeting. But the numbers blur before my eyes, the tension in the car making it impossible to concentrate.

"Miss Lee, is everything alright?" Jinyoung, my personal driver, asks from the driver's seat, his voice laced with concern. "We're almost at the Grand View. Should I pull over if you're not feeling well?"

The Grand View. My family's crown jewel. A luxury goods business that my father had poured his heart and soul into. Now, after his sudden passing three years ago, the weight of its success, or potential failure, rests squarely on my brother, Heeseung, and me. He, the charming face, the natural leader, and I, the strategist, the numbers wizard. Tonight, however, Heeseung is on a business trip overseas, leaving me to prove I deserve my position just as much as him. If he trusted me with the Grand View's future, the board better too.

"No, Jinyoung," I force a smile, though I know it wouldn't reach him. "Just a little car sick. Don't worry, I'll be fine." My voice sounds weak, even to my own ears. The lie tastes metallic on my tongue. Jinyoung isn't new to this game. He's been my shadow for too long, witnessed the toll this city and this industry take on me. He can sniff out my anxieties like a bloodhound. "Take the long way around. Give me a few minutes to compose myself."

"Miss Lee," He calls and I look up, staring at him before as he smiles and shakes his head. "I know you better than anyone else. You can't fool me with that weak smile. If something's bothering you, you know you can talk to me." His words hit a nerve. He's not just my personal driver. He's my friend, a constant presence through the whirlwind of my life. He'd witnessed every breakdown, every triumph, every tear shed in the privacy of this very car.

It's just the presentation tonight," I confess, forcing my voice to a lighter tone. "Heeseung isn't here, and the board...well, some of them haven't warmed up to me yet." A hollow excuse even to my own ears, but it's all I can manage.

He sighs, a soft exhale that speaks volumes. "They'll see." He simply says. "They'll see how brilliant you are. You spent so much time working on this project until late at night and had to cancel dinner with your friends three nights in a row," Jinyoung finishes the sentence for you, a knowing smile playing on his lips. "Look, The board might just be a bunch of old men stuck in their ways, but they're not fools. They'll recognize the passion and dedication you poured into this project. You have the numbers, the vision, everything they need to see the Grand View reach new heights. I'm not the least worried about you convincing them. But I am worried about something else."

The smile drains from my face, replaced by cold dread. "What do you mean?" I ask, my voice barely over a whisper. 

Jinyoung hesitates for a moment, then reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. He shows me a news notification with a headline that chills me to the bone: Hit-and-Run driver out of jail after thirteen years.