LET THE WORLD BURN || P.SH X K.SN

E I G H T E E N

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: RETURN OF THE EVIL

'KIM SUNOO'

As soon as Sunghoon and I walked into the meeting room, my heart sank. The confident stride I had moments before evaporated the second I saw him.

Eun-suk.

He sat there, leaning back in the chair with an infuriatingly calm expression, as if this meeting was nothing more than a casual reunion. My stomach twisted. I froze, feeling the memories of the past flood back, each one more painful than the last. He was the reason why everything between Sunghoon and me had fallen apart. He was the one who’d exposed the biggest mistake of my life and tore my world to shreds. And now, after so many years, here he was, sitting across from me like we were old friends catching up.

But worse than seeing him again, worse than the sting of our ruined friendship, was the sharp reminder of Ray—his brother—the man who destroyed my sister. The reason why Sun-ah was gone.

I felt the heat rising in my chest, spreading up to my face. My fists clenched at my sides, and before I knew it, I was stepping forward, ready to throw the first punch. I didn’t care that we were in a professional setting. I didn’t care that it could ruin everything. All I could think about was how much I hated him.

But Sunghoon grabbed my arm before I could do anything. His grip was firm, grounding me when I was about to lose myself completely. “Not now,” he muttered under his breath, his voice low enough so only I could hear. “It’s unnecessary right now.”

I met Sunghoon’s eyes, my pulse racing with adrenaline and anger, but he didn’t let go until I gave a small nod. Reluctantly, I took a deep breath and backed down, my hands still shaking. I looked back at Eun-suk, who was watching the whole thing with a glint of amusement in his eyes, a playful smirk curling at the edge of his lips.

He thought this was funny. He thought this was a game.

I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I could taste blood. But there was nothing I could do, not with Sunghoon watching me so carefully and the meeting about to begin.

The rest of the meeting was a blur. I barely listened, the words floating past me as I kept my eyes focused on anything but Eun-suk. The way he casually leaned forward, the confident tone in his voice—it all made my skin crawl. I could barely stand to be in the same room as him, let alone negotiate. My mind kept going back to Sun-ah, to Ray, and the anger kept simmering, threatening to boil over.

As soon as the meeting ended, I was up. I needed to get out of there. I needed to breathe. Sun-hee was waiting for me in my office, and that was the only thing that kept me from snapping. I didn’t even wait for Sunghoon; I just wanted to leave as fast as I could.

But just as I reached the door, Eun-suk’s voice stopped me cold.

“It’s been a long time, Sunoo.”

His tone was soft, casual, like he hadn’t ripped my life apart, like he hadn’t been the start of all my pain. I turned around slowly, feeling the weight of his words hit me like a punch to the gut.

I scoffed, trying hard to keep my voice steady. “Not long enough.”

He just smiled, like my reaction was exactly what he expected. I could feel the anger bubbling again, but before I could say anything else, Sunghoon was suddenly at my side, his hand slipping into mine, squeezing it tightly.