The sound of my phone alarm pierced my head like a cold needle.
I opened my eyes slowly, a strange heaviness weighing on my lids, as if I had awakened from a coma that lasted centuries.
I wasn't in the analog basement. I wasn't wearing the silver wedding dress.
I was lying on a narrow leather couch inside a small office bathed in gray dawn light, fractured across the barely-awake skyscrapers of Seoul.
"Where am I?" I whispered, my voice dry and faint.
I looked at my hands—ordinary, human, free of violet markings. A fitted black business suit clung to me, and beside my purse lay an ID card:
[Laila Kim – Executive Secretary, Exaros International Group]
Exaros…
The name echoed in my mind like a distant memory from a forgotten novel. A sudden stab in my chest made me gasp. It felt as though I had lost something unimaginably precious—something that defined my entire identity—yet every attempt to recall it dissolved into smoke behind a wall of white noise.
[Ping!]
My vision flickered as a translucent system window appeared, styled like a modern app interface.
["Cursed Grace" System – Version 3.0: Labyrinth Simulation]
[Current Status: Secretary on the brink of dismissal]
[Active Quest: Avoid termination by CEO 'Kayan Exaros']
[Notice: Contract of Forgetting activated. Memory encryption: 95%]
"Kayan…" I spoke his name, an inexplicable urge to cry swelling within me.
At that moment, the office door opened.
A man entered surrounded by an aura of cold that nearly froze the oxygen itself. A charcoal three-piece suit, black hair arranged with ruthless precision, and golden eyes like polished coins devoid of warmth.
It was Kayan.
But not the Empire's Beast I remembered.
This was the Corporate Beast—merciless, glacial.
"Laila Kim," he said, his voice striking like a blade across marble,
"you fell asleep in the office again. Do you believe this company is a shelter for the homeless?"
I stood quickly, dizziness crashing over me.
"I apologize, sir… I was working on the 'Dragon Heart' report and—"
He stopped.
His golden eyes narrowed sharply.
"Dragon Heart? There is no project by that name. Are you delirious from sleep deprivation?"
He stepped closer.
Each movement raised my internal temperature until, two meters away, my pulse thundered in my wrist in sync with his heartbeat.
[Warning! 'Ten-Meter Rule' activated in Root Layer]
[Status: Bio-synchronization weak. If physical contact does not occur within 24 hours, host and partner will die from 'programmatic cardiac arrest']
"Sir…" I whispered, struggling to remain upright, "I need to speak with you about—"
"Don't," he interrupted coldly, placing a file on my desk.
"This is your termination notice. Your performance is disastrous. You're fired, Laila. Leave the building before nine."
My body locked.
Fired?
If I left while he remained, the distance would exceed ten meters—
—and we would die without even knowing who we were.
Kayan turned to leave, his footsteps echoing across marble.
Nine meters… nine and a half…
A violent pain tore through my chest. I collapsed to my knees, clutching my heart.
"Kayan… stop!"
He paused at the doorway and turned slowly, irritation plain on his face.
"Is this theatrics to keep your job? I'm not someone swayed by tears."
"No… my heart…" I murmured, tears burning.
Driven by instinct I couldn't understand, I lunged forward before he could exit. I stumbled, but he caught me, his arms preventing my fall.
The instant his hand touched mine—
—the world exploded inside my mind.
Black armor.
The scent of a dark forest.
A dragon's roar.
Kayan froze.
Shock trembled in his golden eyes.
"What was that?" he whispered, his arm tightening around my shoulders as if chasing something slipping away.
"When I touched you… it felt like I…"
"…had known me for a thousand years?" I finished, staring into his eyes with quiet despair.
He pulled away abruptly as if burned, straightening his jacket and reclaiming his lethal composure.
But his hand still trembled.
"Static electromagnetic interaction. Recompose yourself, Laila. You'll accompany me to the Scorpion Tower meeting tonight. Ruin it… and you won't leave alive."
[Ping!]
[Quest Complete: Prevent Termination]
[Reward: +24 Hours Life. Skill unlocked: 'Secretary's Intuition']
[Notice: Kayan Obsession Meter: 05/100]
Kayan left, and I remained alone, struggling to breathe.
I activated Secretary's Intuition.
Hidden words surfaced within the file.
It wasn't a termination letter.
It was a confidential contract with Arkan Genetic Solutions.
[Project 'Ideal Wife' – Phase One: Merge consciousness of employee 'Laila Kim' with Exaros central control system]
Arkan was watching us even here.
He intended to recreate what happened before—this time turning us into obedient instruments inside this world.
That evening, I sat beside Kayan in a luxury car.
Silence stretched between us—dense with emotional and physical tension that defied corporate logic.
He stared out the window, yet I caught his reflection watching me.
"Why do you keep looking at your ring finger?" he asked suddenly.
I looked down.
No ring.
Only a faint mark, as if one had been removed moments ago.
"I feel like I've lost something," I said softly. "A queen who misplaced her throne."
Kayan laughed, a bitter sound.
"Queens don't work as pitiful secretaries, Laila. In this world, there are no kings… only owners and the owned."
We arrived at Scorpion Tower, a black skyscraper stabbing the sky.
The party inside overflowed with familiar yet distorted faces.
I saw Isabella—here Kayan's market rival, CEO of Future Light Corp.
She approached in a blood-red dress.
"Kayan, did you bring a pretty doll?" she smiled, triggering a system alert:
[Opponent Isabella activating skill 'Memory Poison']
"Stay away," Kayan said, stepping in front of me.
Isabella laughed and leaned close, whispering:
"Laila… do you remember the scent of the guillotine? The feel of the blade?"
The wall in my mind shattered briefly.
Gray skies.
Kayan wearing a golden crown.
Me kneeling.
The executioner above.
I screamed and collapsed—but Kayan caught me, arm wrapped around my waist as he lifted my face toward his.
In that moment, his golden eyes flared with true violet light.
And his voice spoke words not belonging to this world:
"Evelyn… don't be afraid. I'm here."
Everything in the hall froze.
A violet mark appeared on Kayan's wrist—not mine.
The lights went out.
A massive holographic message from Arkan filled the darkness.
"Level Two of the Labyrinth begins now. Mission: kill Kayan to fully restore your memories… or die together inside a tower rigged with temporal explosives. Time remaining: ten minutes."
Kayan tightened his grip on my hand and whispered:
"Laila… my sword isn't here… but my heart is still yours. Run."