9

I tap my nails on my desk in agitation as I watch the hands of the clock tick on and on in what feels like slow motion. It feels like this morning is dragging more than a month in a jailhouse, and neither Yoonha nor Jyeon has shown up for work at all yet. I'm listless, can't concentrate or focus, and nothing I do is easing the tightly wound ball in my abdomen that I know is stress. It's after ten, and I'm pissed at both of them for this impromptu AWOL behavior when we have so many things going on before lunch.

We run our own departments, and we need to bring one another up to speed regularly. I have a pile of documents six inches thick that require both of their signatures next to mine, and we're supposed to have a strategy meeting with senior staff in under an hour. They never miss them, and now, more than ever, it's essential we stay on top of it with all the new investments these few months.

I've resisted calling Jyeon to find out exactly where he is because, after last night, I don't have it in me for another emotional battle between us. I don't trust myself to not bite at him when I'm still this emotionally fragile. My head's a mess, and despite taking one of my mother's Xanax to calm myself at five am, it has done nothing at all for me.

I never slept, and I'm finding it difficult to concentrate or stay neutral today with sheer fatigue. I push everything out of my head, but I don't know; lately, it feels like all the strings I'm holding tight are starting to slip out of my fingers, and the more I try to grab on, the more I lose them. My precariously constructed house of cards that keeps everything balanced and in check is starting to wobble, and the wind is only just starting to pick up.

I have that same gut heaviness and high anxiety tension that plagued me all hours, coursing through me now. It has me on edge. It stems from the feeling that he was behaving out of sorts last night for the Jyeon I have known all these years. I don't like it. It's like I'm losing control, and my reality is starting to crumble and crack.

"Has my husband come in yet?" I bark my question via the intercom at my assistant, Valerie, knowing fine well his schedule had nothing out of the office today, so he has no excuse for tardiness. I'm hostile today in all ways, something that's frequent as time goes by, and I even came suitably dressed in a black tailored pantsuit and red spike heels, ready for war.

"Yes, Ma'am. He's only just gone into his office with someone in tow." She answers sheepishly, and I grind my teeth and inhale slowly to cool my inner chaotic energy. I don't bother thanking her and sweep up without hesitation. Swiping the paperwork into my hands from my polished surface and march with determination to see him.

Yoonha, I don't give two rats about showing up late; he's only a director after all. His presence isn't necessary today at our meeting, but the CEO needs to be where the CEO belongs and not fucking around elsewhere. Yoonha could go on vacation for a year, and this company would still tick along nicely. If Jyeon took a week off, then it would cease to run at all without everything piling on top of me.

I march on past my receptionist and Yoonha's without flinching or checking if he's there and bypass Jyeon's secretary even though she stands up to try and intervene. Flustered like always at my appearance, it grinds on me that she still tries to stop me.

"Vice president Park, the president has a guest from…." I blank her and open the door without knocking and stroll in. No matter who is in there with him, as VP, I have a right to barge in if I feel like it, and most companies we deal with already know who I am. It's usually me who deals with any kind of meet and greet outside of our own company employees, so whoever it is should have come through me first.

I swan in, bristling with attitude, not stopping as my eyes scan his desk and see he's not there before turning right to his couch area and spotting him and his guest. Cozily in his seated area. I pull on my indifferent mask, my high and mighty posture, and smile politely before heading their way. Acting as though popping in and finding a newcomer is a pleasant surprise.

She's a tall leggy brunette in a tailored red dress and high-heeled shoes, a fitted jacket, and an air of superiority about her that screams higher position than an assistant. She's sat on one couch, holding a file, while he's on the nearby single-seat, leaning towards her and explaining something as he spots me. Nothing registers on his face or changes his demeanor, and he nods my way with a pasted-on half-smile and oozes polite vibes. His dimples barely show face, and I know he probably had to force that out with extreme effort.

"This is our Vice President, Sohla Park, my wife." He stands up to encourage me to come over, all Mr. Business and my eyes stay locked on him as I close the gap and slide in to sit down on the couch opposite whoever this is. Looking her over with interest and nod with a gracious bright smile because she doesn't have the sense to stand to greet me as she should. She's attractive, slender, and probably around my age, only she has a much less severe fashion style and seems softer than my ice-cold imposing presence. Her femininity oozes in abundance.

"Ahh, I've read a lot about you. I'm Claire White, liaison for Biotech. Your husband has just finished informing me that our investment agreement looks likely to go ahead, and I was discussing the fine points in what steps our company has laid out for the next five years of growth." She doesn't miss a beat. With a warm silky voice and feathery light lashes, she flickers my way seductively, uncrossing her leg smoothly before crossing it the other way and leaning forward to extend her hand to me. A very precise and elegant mannerism that grates on my nerves for no reason. Her perfume hangs in the air between us, and I can't help but recognize it as the same one I wear.

"Pleasure's all mine." I reach out and shake it briefly, my cold hands are like ice cubes compared to her warm velvet skin, and despite having no reason, I instantly dislike her. There's nothing obvious standing out; it's just a feeling.

"Oh, you're so cold. Do you have indigestion? That can really mess with the circulation in your hands. I have some antacids in my bag if you'd like some." She smiles widely, soft, sweet, and overly caring, and I shake my head, sensing this is an act to redeem herself to me. I didn't eat today, so my blood sugar is low and has nothing to do with acid if my body temperature is low. I'm so used to it that I don't notice anymore.

"I…"

"You skipped breakfast, didn't you? How many times have I told you not to do that?" Jyeon cuts in, his tone aggravated and stern, and he eyes me with a furrowed brow before I can speak. Getting up, he marches to his desk and renders me speechless by hitting the intercom.

"Yeah, get us a breakfast box serving for the VP and coffee with extra sugar and cream. Make it snappy, thanks, Dee." He calmly commands his assistant and turns to head back our way, and despite myself, it pulls the rug from under my feet, and I don't know how to feel or react. Like a slap in the face, he bowls me over with the unexpected request. It's not just the food, but the fact he still remembers how I drink my coffee even though we haven't shared one in years.

I avoid his eye contact when he comes back, pasting a smile on my face as though this is his everyday loving nature, although I can't figure out if this is for her benefit or if he genuinely is in the mood to give a shit about me. We play-act the perfect happy couple for anyone that isn't family so much, and this is probably an extension of that. I shouldn't overthink it.

"You know me too well, Darling." That is all I can force out without it sounding strained, pushing that fake adoring smile his general way, and I catch her lingering look at him as he settles himself back down to his previous position. It's a flicker of a moment, less than a half-second, but I catch it. The undeniable appreciation and admiration for a handsome man and how his care of his wife melts her heart. It makes me uptight, suddenly suspicious of her motives for showing up here like this, and I focus back on the documents on my lap. Mentally chastising myself for being this stupid and knowing that my insane thoughts have become a problem lately. Maybe it's because we've become more irritable towards one another, colder and crueler of late, and I feel like he's slipping further away.

"I only came to hand you these. We need them processed quickly. I'm awaiting signatures to get the ball rolling. I wasn't aware Biochem was sending someone so soon when the ink hasn't been applied to the agreement yet." I raise a brow her way, and then at him, and wonder how exactly this wench got in here when I was the one dealing with their male liaison only a week ago when digging through their financial projections. I don't have a clue who she is. They didn't inform me of a liaison replacement.