Beneath Their Devotion (Yanderes x Reader)

2.4 Inner Circle

The meeting dragged on after that, the heavy, oppressive tension giving way to something duller, almost anticlimactic if Y/N were being honest.

Ren, as if the earlier bloodletting had never happened, shifted easily into the next order of business—talking at length about the Circle's finances, upcoming meetings, the need to "allocate resources with more discretion." His voice was smooth, articulate, and professional.

But Y/N could barely focus on his words.

Her mind still buzzed from what had just happened—from the way the entire room had bent to Ren's will without any true fight, from the way he had smiled at her. She sat rigid in her chair, trying to keep her face neutral, while the reality of her situation pressed heavier against her ribs.

Ren's voice continued, weaving through numbers and policy decisions, and Y/N's gaze drifted along the faces around the table. Some were openly attentive. Others looked bored. A few—like Rory, who sat stiffly beside her—barely concealed their resentment. Y/N's heart twisted when she looked at her, but Rory wasn't looking back.

It was during a particularly tedious discussion about event budgets that the door burst open.

Akira stumbled into the room, breathless, his hair wild from whatever sprint he'd taken to get here. His blazer was crooked on one shoulder, and a notebook was clutched haphazardly in one hand.

The entire Circle turned to look at him, the weight of dozens of silent stares crashing into him at once.

Y/N bit the inside of her cheek hard to keep from chuckling.

Akira flushed, hastily ducking his head. "Sorry," he mumbled, voice rough with exertion. He bowed quickly and made his way to an empty seat, almost tripping over a chair leg in his rush to sit down.

Ren leaned back in his chair slightly, watching Akira with a languid, amused expression.

"You should apologise better," Ren said, coaxing laughter from a few of the braver members seated close to him.

Y/N's smile vanished. She narrowed her eyes slightly, sitting up straighter.

Akira stiffened, a muscle jumping in his jaw. For a heartbeat, something dark flickered across his face—something not nearly as harmless as his usual self.

For a breathless second, the entire room seemed to freeze in anticipation.

Then Ren chuckled.

"I'm joking, Akira," he said, waving one hand dismissively. "Sit. Relax."

The tension dissolved. Y/N felt her body sag slightly in relief, though a pit of unease still churned in her stomach.

It was small, so small that if she hadn't been watching carefully, she might have missed it entirely—but for that split second, the power Ren held over the room had felt absolute. The kind that didn't need shouting or violence.

She didn't like it. Didn't like him like this, wielding power not like a shield, but like a weapon he barely had to unsheathe.

He had changed.

Or maybe he hadn't at all.

Maybe she had just been too blind, too charmed, to see it until now. And now that she had, she wasn't sure if she could ever unsee it.

Y/N folded her hands tightly in her lap, trying to focus again as Ren returned to his discussion of budgetary allocations, his voice once again calm and civilised.

———

The meeting finally drew to a close.

Ren leaned back in his chair, surveying the Circle, his fingers drumming lightly on the table's edge. He spoke a few final, cursory words about yada yada and expected responsibilities bla bla.