Author notes: phew this chapter was hard, I almost gave up. I hope you'll like it! Thank you again for your love and support, it means the world to me ❤️ The name Ji Ah is a tribute to The tale of the nine tailed (go watch it if you haven't 😍) Just a warning, there is death mention and grief mention, it could be triggering for some people, so stay safe and skip it if needed. Take care you all, and stay safe ❤️
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Seri had never seen a weapon before. A real deadly weapon. She had seen some, of course, on the belts of police or security officers. In movies and dramas too, of course.
But having a weapon, a real one aimed at yourself, was a radically different experience. If her years of harassment in middle school and high school had taught her anything, it was to never show her fears.
People are like animals, if you're scared they bark their teeth.
So hiding her fear had become a skill she had mastered over the years. When other students had chased her into the yard because she had had the highest grade in class, she had stopped running after a few steps to face them.
No, the professor was not a shareholder of the Yoon group and he hadn't been paid by her father.
Yes, she was smarter than all of them put together.
She had screamed at them on the top of her lungs, she had been ready to fight, showing her fists, breathing hard, and they had thought she was crazy. They had finally given up. Better look crazy than being beaten.
When the most popular girl of high school had accused her of stealing her boyfriend, calling her an easy girl, she didn't hesitate and each ended up with a few less hair and more hours of community service.
When boys had trapped her under the bleachers, asking her for favors, she hadn't flinched. She was tiny, petite, had never learned martial arts. But she was also light, nimble, and she could run fast. After a well-placed knee kick, she had almost flown to the relative safety of the school.
Only people who had felt pain can understand. So make them feel pain.
That was what she had learnt, the hard way.
Just like to never assume how she would feel about something she hadn't experienced yet.
She would have imagined keeping her cool, remaining calm and unmoved. She was a Yoon, a CEO, she had been unfazed by threats coming from our own family. She had received her fare share of death threats after dating an actor or an idol. She had struggled with her own demons, seducing her with the prospect of eternal rest.
And yet.
She was terrified.
The man holding the gun gave her a carnivorous smile, revealing a prominent gold tooth, and she briefly wondered if she hadn't landed in a bad crime movie.
"Alberto has found himself a pretty fiancée ..."
The two men accompanying him snickered. One was playing with a knife without taking his eyes off her, the other was searching the mini bar. She tried to think but her brain just seemed stuck in fear, and she couldn't do anything about it. She had to save time, but what for, she didn't even know. To allow her to overcome that paralyzing fear maybe? She thought briefly of Ri Jeong Hyeok who was waiting in his car, and prayed who would hear her that he didn't move from there. He had done a lot for her. More than anyone. And she didn't want to get the one person who had once really cared about her in trouble.
She crossed her arms in her typical boss posture and glared at them.
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