Chapter 21: Curse?
Days later, Shin Keir had returned to his usual routine—if one could call a schedule packed with ruthless contract negotiations and backbreaking meetings "routine."
He looked less like a CEO and more like a war general ready to decimate a continent, clipboard in one hand, espresso in the other.
In such an apocalyptic workplace, Secretary Yun operated like zombies are closing in. He moved at the speed of light, delegating tasks, barking orders, and sparing only seconds to breathe. His eyes were bloodshot, his tie slightly askew, but his efficiency was a thing of legend.
"We'll re-evaluate the present financial report and compare it with data from the past two years this week," he concluded crisply, sneaking a glance at his boss.
Shin Keir didn't respond. He sat at the head of the long, sleek conference table like a monarch from some unforgiving dynasty. His dark eyes were as bottomless as a pit of despair—and just as inviting. Cold. Sharp. Lethal. He didn't need a throne; that leather chair might as well have been one.
The atmosphere in the room was so tense, even the air molecules were on edge. It was barely noon, but the temperature felt like the underworld had left its door ajar.
Who had dared offend the demon emperor today?
What no one knew was that Shin had gotten a full night's rest—at least physically. Psychologically, however, it was another matter entirely.
The dream had returned.
Same eerie forest. Same surreal woman in the crimson dress. But this time, the setting had changed slightly. She now stood at the edge of a cliff made of jagged, glowing red rocks that resembled oversized rubies. Scarlet butterflies floated around her like living embers. A thick fog blanketed the area like some forbidden realm between worlds.
She turned to him, her smile soft, sweet—and somehow tragic.