Chapter 17
“Violence? Hah. Did you just call this violence?”
Whether she was drunk or simply unable to contain her rage, Minseo staggered forward.
“How could you do this to me? We fed you, let you sleep under our roof—and you stab me in the back? You steal the man I had my eye on? You ungrateful bitch!”
Sorim let out a quiet sigh.
“…I didn’t steal anything. And he was never interested in you in the first place. You know that.”
“Shut up! Shut up!”
Minseo screamed and lunged at Sorim.
Slap!
It happened in an instant.
“…!”
A sharp cracking sound rang out as Sorim’s head snapped to the side.
Her cheek burned as if scorched by fire. The soft flesh inside her mouth had split—she tasted blood.
“Sorim!”
“Oh my god, stop her!”
The kitchen staff shouted in horror, but none of it reached Sorim’s ears.
All she could see was Minseo’s twisted face in front of her—
And the ugly smears of mascara streaking down her cheeks.
“Trash like you should spend your whole life under my feet. How dare you crawl up? Disgusting!”
Minseo raised her hand again.
This time, aiming for the other cheek.
But Sorim didn’t dodge.
She didn’t even close her eyes.
That was something the old Yoon Sorim—broken by defeat—would have done.
Instead, she remembered Chairman Song’s words.
“You’re carrying blue flames inside.”
Yes.
I have fire.
A fire that no longer needs to be extinguished.
Snap!
Minseo’s wrist—mid-swing—was caught uselessly in midair.
At the first act of resistance Sorim had ever shown, Minseo’s eyes widened in shock.
“L-Let go! Let go of me!”
Minseo struggled desperately, but Sorim’s grip was far stronger than expected.
It was strength forged by flipping heavy frying pans every day, by breaking down tough ingredients with bare hands.
Sorim tightened her grip until it felt like Minseo’s wrist might shatter—and stared straight at her.
Her blue eyes, unhidden by contact lenses, gleamed with an eerie chill.
“Stop.”
“…What?”
“I’m done enduring this. Don’t touch me—or my people—ever again.”
Her voice was low, but firmer than it had ever been.
Minseo gaped at her, stunned.
The girl who’d lived like a frightened mouse all her life—daring to fight back?
“You crazy bitch…! Let go! Who do you think you are, acting all high and mighty—!”
Grinding her teeth, Minseo raised her free hand to grab Sorim by the hair—
Ding—
A clear bell rang once more.
“…!”
But the presence that entered this time was on an entirely different level.
As the heavy door opened, cold air like the night sea swept in.
And standing within that dry chill—
Was a man.
“….”
A perfectly tailored suit. One hand tucked casually into his pocket, posture tilted slightly.
His face was completely blank.
Utterly expressionless.
And somehow, that made him even more terrifying.
Song Tae-ha.
“V-Vice President…?”
Minseo’s voice came out dazed, her eyes blown wide in shock.
The hand she’d raised trembled helplessly before dropping limply toward the floor.
“….”
Tae-ha’s unreadable gaze passed over Sorim and Minseo as he walked in slowly.
Step. Step.
The sharp echo of his shoes shattered the silence of the wrecked dining hall.
After briefly surveying the overturned chairs and broken fixtures, his gaze locked onto Sorim.
Her swollen, reddened cheek.
And the hand gripping Minseo’s wrist.
Tae-ha’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Yoon Sorim.”
He called her name quietly.
Sorim released Minseo’s wrist and looked at him.
Tae-ha stepped closer and wrapped an arm firmly around Sorim’s waist.
Then, with eyes gone ice-cold, he glanced at the pale-faced Minseo.
“I believe I warned you.”
His voice was low and sinister, as if crawling up from hell.
“Not to damage what belongs to me.”
Minseo staggered backward with a choking gasp, her legs giving out as she collapsed onto the floor.
Tae-ha looked down at her as if she were an insect and twisted his lips into a cruel smile.
“How amusing. You dared to lay a hand on my woman’s face.”
He pulled out his phone.
“Obstruction of business, aggravated assault, and defamation. That’ll add up nicely.”
“…What? W-What are you talking about…?”
“Ever heard how vicious Yoonsan Group’s legal team is?”
At the word legal team, Minseo’s face drained white.
The blade of Yoonsan—
A squad made entirely of top-tier attorneys from the nation’s best law firms.
Corporate reapers who could leave mid-sized companies reduced to nothing but bones.
“How do you think they’ll cook you? Do you really believe it’ll end with just a jail cell?”
“P-Please! I was wrong! Vice President, please—!”
“No. Looks like your father’s life’s work will go up in smoke too. A harsh price for failing to raise his child properly.”
This wasn’t a threat.
It was the tangible terror of a man named Song Tae-ha.
Minseo trembled violently, rubbing her hands together, her face a mess of tears and mucus.
“Please spare me… I must’ve lost my mind. I’ll never do it again. Please? Unni—say something! I was wrong!”
As Minseo reached for Sorim’s leg, Tae-ha kicked her hand away like trash.
“Don’t touch her.”
He snapped coldly, then placed a call.
The line rang twice before someone answered.
— Yes, Vice President.
It was Manager Cha.
Tae-ha smiled coolly as he looked down at Minseo.
“Get me the head of Legal immediately. And pass this along to CEO Park Sang-sik.”
— What happened?
“Tell him to keep his daughter under control. She’s about two steps away from being dragged to a police station—in front of me.”
Minseo collapsed to the floor, screaming and sobbing hysterically.
Tae-ha ended the call and wrapped an arm around Sorim’s shoulders, who stood frozen.
“Let’s go.”
Without looking back, he led Sorim outside.
Behind them echoed Minseo’s wails and the staff’s whispers—but Tae-ha’s steps never faltered.
Watching that cruel yet elegant execution, Sorim shuddered.
And at the same time, she realized—
Just how dangerous,
And how powerful,
The hand she had chosen to hold truly was.
* * *
Only after the car door shut and the outside noise was completely sealed away did Sorim finally release the breath she’d been holding.
“…Haah.”
It felt like all the strength had drained from her body.
Minseo’s shrill screams and the murmurs of the crowd still rang in her ears like tinnitus.
Her hands, resting on her lap, trembled uncontrollably.
She couldn’t tell whether it was fear—
Or a catharsis she’d never experienced before.
“Are you okay?”
Tae-ha asked from the driver’s seat.
Sorim tried to nod, but her throat tightened, no words coming out.
Without another word, Tae-ha started the car.
The knuckles gripping the steering wheel were white with tension.
He was furious.
Not at Sorim—
But at those who had dared trespass into his territory.
Before long, he pulled over in front of a 24-hour pharmacy.
“Wait here.”
When he returned, he was holding a small white bag.
He took out antiseptic, ointment, and an ice pack he’d grabbed in haste.
“Come here.”
He lifted Sorim’s chin and turned her face toward him.
The interior light switched on—
And Tae-ha’s face drew close.
