Three days after the fever broke...
My body slowly began to mend. The temperature dropped, returning to normal.
Yet, moving in the exact opposite trajectory was my relationship with Ren.
It plummeted deeper into an abyss with every passing second.
Ever since the day Ren returned to find me bedridden and detected that mysterious scent, he escalated his restrictive measures until I practically gasped for air.
He refused to let me out of his sight.
Whether I was eating, delivering documents, or simply using the restroom at the company, he commanded two giant bodyguards to stand guard outside the door.
As if he feared I might slip down the drain to escape.
Inside the Grand Boardroom.
The atmosphere within the opulent, navy-carpeted room was so quiet that the hum of the air conditioning sounded deafening.
Today marked a critical executive summit.
They were finalizing a billion-dollar joint venture between 'Varis Enterprise' and a foreign conglomerate. The primary representative for this partnership was none other than Mr. Zen.
I sat hunched on an auxiliary chair behind Ren, fulfilling my duty as nothing more than an obedient shadow.
Tasked solely with recording the meeting minutes.
My fingers danced across the tablet screen. I kept my head bowed, focusing entirely on the digital letters to avoid making eye contact with a certain someone sitting on the opposite side of the table.
"Regarding the market share allocation... I believe we should slightly adjust the profit margins here. To ensure fairness for both parties."
Zen's smooth, velvety voice sliced through the silence. His tone was impeccably polite, professional, and brimming with the confidence of a man holding the winning hand..
The magnetism of his voice caused me to unconsciously lift my head to look at him.
Zen was dressed in a sharp, dark grey suit that accentuated his dignified yet approachable aura.
He stood gracefully, directing a laser pointer at the graphs on the projector. He articulated the strategy with an elegance that captivated the room.
And in the moment he pivoted back to the table, his eyes swept across the room and landed directly on me.
He didn't offer a wide smile.
The corner of his lip merely ticked upward by a fraction no one else could have registered. And for a fleeting second, his golden-brown eyes gleamed with a hidden depth.
'Have you recovered?' That single gaze felt as though he had transmitted a voice message directly into my mind.
I flinched, snapping my head back down. My heart, which had been beating at a steady rhythm, began to hammer against my ribs, fueled by a cocktail of excitement and terror.
Clack!
The sharp sound of a metal pen slamming onto the marble table echoed like a gunshot.
I jolted, my eyes darting up to find the source of the noise.
Ren sat leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed tightly. His handsome face was drawn so tight with fury that a vein bulged at his temple.
His sharp eyes were not looking at the monitor. They were locked onto Zen, radiating unmasked hostility.
Those pitch-black eyes blazed with feral jealousy and suspicion.
He had undoubtedly caught that silent exchange.
"Is there a problem, Mr. Ren?"
Zen inquired with a pleasant smile, casually resting the laser pointer on the table.
"Not at all." Ren answered, the words grinding through his clenched teeth.
"I simply felt that today, Mr. Zen appears to be far more invested in analyzing the 'atmosphere of the room' rather than the contents of this meeting."
"Haha, my sincere apologies."
Zen chuckled softly, not taking offense. Yet, his golden eyes remained cold.
"I happened to notice your secretary looking rather pale. He appears as though he hasn't fully recovered from an illness, so I couldn't help but feel concerned."
"A sick employee should be allowed to rest, shouldn't they? Not dragged out to sit here and suffer through work."
The atmosphere in the boardroom plummeted below freezing.
The other board members began to shift uncomfortably. They exchanged nervous glances, unsure how to navigate this sudden cold war.
Beneath the table, Ren's fists clenched with bone-crushing force to suppress his temper.
He snapped his head to the side, shooting me a lethal glare that explicitly screamed: 'When did you start making eyes at him?'
"I appreciate your concern for my staff." Ren bit out, enunciating every syllable.
"But Yurin is here of his own volition. Because he harbors loyalty to his work... and to me."
"Isn't that right, Yurin?"
It was an open-ended question that demanded only one acceptable answer.
Every pair of eyes in the boardroom snapped directly to me. The crushing weight of their stares made me want to dissolve into the floor.
"Y-Yes, sir." I whispered, my voice frail.
I stared down at my quivering hands. "I... I am fine."
Zen offered a slow nod at my coerced response. A faint flicker of disappointment shadowed his eyes.
"That is good to hear. Let us proceed, then."
He seamlessly pivoted back to his presentation, acting as if the tension had never occurred.
The meeting dragged on for two hours.
But for me, it felt like sitting strapped to an electric chair, waiting for the executioner.
radiated a murderous aura the entire time. He snapped his gaze toward me every five minutes, dissecting my every movement.
I could barely draw breath.
"That concludes the morning session. Thank you all for your time. Please proceed to the reception hall for lunch."
The second the meeting adjourned, Ren shot up from his chair.
"Yurin."
He barked my name with authority, not bothering to glance in my direction.
"Yes, Mr. President." I scrambled to my feet.
"You are not joining the lunch." The absolute decree fell from his lips.
"Return to the office. Take these documents, organize them, and summarize them."
He shoved a massive stack of files into my arms..
"And do - not - step - outside. Not even a single inch."
"Do you understand me?!"
"Yes, sir. I understand." I accepted the command with submission, clutching the folders to my chest.
Ren shot one final glare at Zen before leading the board members out to the reception hall.
I stood rooted to the spot until the room nearly emptied. The bustling boardroom descended into a hollow silence.
I released a heavy sigh.
Slowly, I began to pack my belongings, preparing for the lonely walk back to the office.
A sharp hunger gnawed at my stomach, but the fear I harbored toward Ren easily overshadowed the physical pain.