Foe To Flame

Chapter 5

The next morning, Namsoon arrived at Si-O's office and saw him looking outside the window. He's quite dashing and handsome. Aish, what are you thinking, Namsoon? He is your boss. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she clears her throat to get Si-O's attention. "Mr. Ryu, I'm here!" Namsoon said while smiling.

Ryu Si-O did not respond. After some time, he turned around slowly to face Namsoon, and kept his eyes on her. Namsoon's heart skipped a beat from the way Si-O was looking at her. She was about to avert her eyes when Si-O spoke, "Tsetseg, I would like to take you under my wing. You will get both wealth and fame if you work directly under me." His eyes were calm as ever, but there was a hint of smugness in them.

"Why do you need me under your wing? I don't understand." "It's fine if you don't understand now, you will later on. So what do you say? The pay is very nice." Si-O continues persuading, with a little smile on his face. After contemplating for some time (30 seconds to be exact), Namsoon thought, why not, it's a good offer. "Hmmm, sure! I would love to! Who doesn't love a good pay, right?" Namsoon laughed sheepishly.

Si-O immediately smiled after hearing Namsoon's answer, "Great! However, before I fully take you under my wing, I need you to pass a test first." "A test? What kind of test? I'm not good academically..." Namsoon said, a bit disappointed. She thought she would be able to earn good pay easily without needing to wreck her brain.

"Don't worry, it's not that kind of test. Let's go." Si-O said, and started to walk to his office's door. "Where are we going?" Namsoon asked while catching up to the CEO. "You'll see."

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While going through various articles for his research on the new ongoing drug case, Heesik caught on an article that was published not long ago regarding a missing daughter. He clicked on the article and started to read through it. After finishing reading the article, a thought came to his mind. Could it be...

He called the number stated on the article and someone answered the phone. "Hello, is this Geumju Daily? May I speak to Mrs. Hwang Geumju?"

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Namsoon and Si-O arrived at an abandoned building. The inside was filled with dust and cobwebs. Why are we here? Oh my god, is the CEO actually some kind of serial killer?! Namsoon started to think of various scenarios that could happen in the building. A little dust managed to enter her nose, causing her to sneeze.

"I'm sorry, it's a bit dusty here. It's the only place I could find in a very short time." Si-O said apologetically. Namsoon just smiled, she didn't think her voice would do her justice in covering her worries.

Si-O asked Namsoon to stay put on the ground level while he stayed on the upper level. "Don't worry, I'm not going to let you die." He said with no remorse or expression on his face. Instead, cunning smile started to form on his lips. He is starting to piss me off, just what does he planned to do? After making himself comfortable on the leather sofa, Si-O pressed one of the buttons on the panel to his right.

Namsoon could hear some shrieking on top of her head and she was shocked to find an industrial press coming down fast to crush her. She immediately put her hands up to hold the weight. As she was not ready, the weight was pushing her down hard to the point she had to be on one knee to hold the pressure. Half a second later, determined, Namsoon pushed the press with all her might until her eyes started to turn blue.

Si-O was fascinated by the scene in front of him. He proceeded to press on the second level weight. Namsoon continues to push the press upward with her strength. Si-O pressed the final level button, causing Namsoon to get down on one knee again. Pissed off, Namsoon pushed the press upward with all her might until the press was sent flying upwards.

The gear on the press was broken from the sudden movement, and now it is coming down fast. Namsoon immediately jumped onto the upper level's rail before the press could crush her. She then saw Si-O looking at her with a creepy smile on his face. However, Namsoon could not return the smile.

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"Congratulations, you passed the test with flying colours." Si-O said with a smile. They are back at his office and Namsoon's anger still hasn't subsided. She wanted to strangle the man in front of her so badly, but she contained herself and kept on reminding herself that he is her boss.

"Why did you test me like that? I don't like the feeling at all. Do not test me like that ever again." Namsoon doesn't care if he is her boss or not, but he is going to respect her from now on. Si-O chuckles, "Don't worry, this is the first and last test I will give to you." "Does this mean I'm officially working under you now?" Namsoon asked, folding her arms. She knew it looked rude, but she is pissed. "Yes, you may start immediately. Why don't we have lunch together to get to know each other better?" Si-O asked, as if he didn't almost turned Namsoon into a pancake.

"Hmm, I can't today. I still need to tie some loose ends at the warehouse. So I will start officially next week. Let's have lunch on another day. Good job today, goodbye." With that, Namsoon turns her body to leave, not caring if her words anger the CEO.

Before she could leave, a hand gripped her wrist. She turns around to see that Si-O is holding her wrist while looking at her. "Take my number, call me when you are free. We should really have that lunch." Namsoon was speechless. Why was he so determined to have lunch with me? Whatever, let's just agree to it for now. "Sure, here is my phone." Si-O took Namsoon's phone from her hand, it took him half a second to actually start punching his number into her phone.

He returned the phone to Namsoon, "Please remember to call me, I'll treat you to a good meal." "Sure, treat me when the time comes, I love meat!" Namsoon said while faking a smile, then left the office without looking back. Si-O watched her go, a small unbelievable smile appeared on his lips. Her hand is a lot smaller than mine.

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I forgot to mention Namsoon managed to rent a small apartment after she left Heesik's house 😅

I love how bold Namsoon is, how about you? 😁