Yu jin's POV
I was staring at my screen when my phone buzzed. Park Min.
"Yu Jin," his voice came over crisp, no fluff. "The company party starts in thirty minutes. Be ready. You're coming with me."
I froze. Thirty minutes? Just wow, he didn't think it necessary to tell me earlier. I didn't even know what I was supposed to wear. I didn't even know what this was supposed to be.
Before I could reply, there was a sharp tap on my desk. He was already there. Dressed in black like he owned the office which he probably did..and that gaze. I swear, that gaze could turn water into ice.
"You," he said, voice low but sharp. "Your style is… pathetic. We're going shopping. Now."
I blinked. Pathetic? My hoodie and jeans were pathetic? And shopping with him? Panic set in fast.
"I…uh….I don't really.."
"Don't argue," he cut me off, already turning. His jacket swished as he walked out of the office. I had no choice but to follow, dragging my feet and cursing my life quietly.
***
The mall was packed. My pulse kept spiking every few steps, mostly from the realization that this man had zero chill and zero interest in my opinions. He grabbed clothes off racks with the precision of someone defusing a bomb. Shirts, jackets, pants. Nothing was good enough.
"This is terrible. Take that off the rack," he said, holding up a black shirt with a subtle pattern. "You would look like a washed-out cereal mascot in this."
I laughed badly, nervously. "Cereal mascot. Got it."
He didn't laugh. Another bad trait my son inherited. He wasn't shopping for fun; he was… editing me. Correcting me. And somehow, I was okay with it.
"Too clean". " too sharp". " This is like something that says you're not…." I kept changing clothes and he always had something bad to say. He paused, staring at me. What even suits you.
I swallowed. Sharp. Got it. Too sharp, apparently, for my comfort zone.
Thirty minutes later, we finally arrived at the party after he had finally seen something pleading to him, not me though. The building was buzzing. Music, chatter, laughter. It smelled like rich men, women and power, and I instantly felt like a puppy dragged into a lion's den.
I tried to walk in confidently, but immediately felt like everyone noticed me. I could practically feel them sizing me up, like meat at a butcher's counter. And Park Min was beside me.
And then he left me alone for thirty seconds, and in those thirty seconds, I noticed him: Kim Min Ho.
The man I had only seen on TV. The cousin Park Min pretended to like. Park Min's rival. And somehow… even in person, with every polished inch of him, he was hot. Sharp jawline, cold eyes that somehow felt warm when they landed on me, that smile that looked like trouble in motion. Unlike Park Min. Unlike anyone.
He came over. Smooth, confident, the kind of guy who could make the air itself seem dangerous.
"You're Yu Jin, right?" His voice was low, teasing, like he knew something I didn't.
"I am," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. My heart was beating fast, and I didn't even understand why.
"Interesting," he said, scanning me like he was inspecting a painting. "Park Min let you come?"
I shrugged. "He… kind of forced me."
Min Ho smiled. And it was teasing. And just like that, he was close. Way too close. I was acutely aware of his perfume, the heat of him nearby. And then I noticed Park Min.
He was tense now. Not tense like he was going to yell, but tense like someone had suddenly put a hand on his chest. I didn't move. I didn't breathe.
"You okay sir?" I asked, more curious than smart.
"I'm fine," Park Min said sharply.
"Yeah?" Min Ho's voice was smooth, teasing. "You look… fidgety."
Park Min's jaw clenched. "I'm not."
"Oh, come on." Min Ho leaned back, smirking. "You've got a type, don't you?"
And just like that, the triangle was formed. Me, unknowingly at the center, Park Min bristling, Min Ho smirking like he already won.