Heartless

{1}

Runa sat in front of her father, who laid back in the leather chair behind an oak desk, a frown adorned on his older features along with glasses resting atop his slim nose. Next to the younger woman, was her closest friend, Lee Dong-Wook, with the same calm demeanor he'd worn all these years of being in this business, being the underboss of the Kang family.

At the head of everything, the devil himself, Kang Min-Su. Underneath him, his daughter and the most trusted of his captains, Kang Runa. And currently, this meeting wasn't going too well considering they never did with Runa's attitude that her father found defiant. To be fair, she gets it from her daddy.

"Why don't we-"

"No."

She doesn't flinch from her father's harsh tone. She's gotten used to it because that's all she's ever known. And right now she was hoping Dong-Wook would speak up for her. Because it seemed he cared more about her and her role in this family than her own blood. Maybe it was her father's imminent hatred for women, which was ironic considering she was his only heir, but regardless of that, it was still idiotic for him to cut her off.

Especially because she was considered one of the most important capos in the business. His disrespect irked her. At the age of 25 and after being trained since she was a young girl, the fact that her father devalued her because of who she was made her stomach twist in knots with rage. This shit was so unfair and petty. And those were two things of many that she never tolerated.

Before she could snap back, Dong-Wook thankfully cuts in before yet another fight can break out. "You need to hear her out. She and I have discussed this and we both think it's a good idea."

Upon hearing his defense, Min-Su rolled his eyes and lazily gestured for his daughter to speak, still acting with indifference because his ego wouldn't allow otherwise. He hated how close his underboss and daughter were. He found their relationship odd, but he couldn't say too much. Dong-Wook was too valuable of an asset to risk losing.

Runa silently gives the underboss an appreciative nod and takes a deep breath to settle her irritation towards the man glaring holes into the wall behind her. "Mr. Lee and I discussed operations in Long Island. The oil business is something that we could use to our advantage, something that we could control since not only have gas prices risen in the past two years, but it's one of the most profitable industries that I see is worth investing in."

Hearing that finally gained his attention, and she sighed in relief once she saw her father's stern expression ease just a tad. "Long Island? Why would I want to operate there? That's Min's territory. I have enough on my plate already and I'd prefer if Lee handled things. Makes it easier for us. Less work and we still make a profit."

Runa snaps back quickly, and Dong-Wook has to pretend to scratch his nose to hide the slight smirk on his face. He knew exactly what was happening, he could see the mischief gleaming in Min-Su's eyes. He knew the Mins, the second-largest crime family in the city, and their allies weren't operating there. He was testing her, and he was about to get stabbed for it. Emotionally of course.

"The Mins have moved elsewhere when they closed off their businesses in Long Island and signed them over to you. The oil companies are the most valuable thing we can gain from that area. Because in that case, we'd be controlling more than just oil. We'd step into the trucking business, and if we sold the oil to other companies, we'd be able to gain profits and find our way around taxes. We have more than enough men to handle this."

The maturity in which she handled her father's mind games makes the underboss crack a grin, and to see that look on the boss' face creates a swelling sensation of pride in his chest. Min-Su was too busy dealing with the FBI to even solely focus on the new territory he just gained, and the fact that Runa was always ten steps ahead stung him. He was swamped and only gave her crumbs since he'd rather do things without her and do anything he could to push her out. She made him look like nothing, and the fact that she was more feared than him didn't settle well either.