The rain had been falling in thin silver sheets all afternoon, turning Seoul's glass towers into blurred silhouettes. Lyla stood in the middle of her father's office, her palms cold, her throat dry, her heart shaking like it was trapped in a glass cage. Her father—Chairman Han Jae-Wook, the man the business world called The Cobra—didn't look at her at first. He was too busy swirling a golden pen between his fingers, the way he did whenever he planned something dangerous.
Finally, he lifted his eyes to her.
Sharp. Calculating.
Like he owned every piece of her life.
"Sit," he said.
Lyla didn't. "Dad… you called me urgently. What's going on?"
He leaned back in his leather chair. "Good. You're dressed well today. Elegant. Innocent. Men like that."
Her stomach tightened. "I didn't dress for anyone. I was going to meet Soo-Mi for—"
"Cancel it."
His voice cut the air.
She froze.
He reached into a file drawer and tossed a folder onto the table. It slid to her feet. On it was a name that made her chest collapse.
Kang Min-Jae.
Her ex-boyfriend's father.
CEO of K Group.
A legendary businessman with a dangerous reputation—rich, powerful, icy… and unfairly handsome for a man in his forties.
Lyla stared at the name, speechless.
Her father watched her reaction with cruel amusement. "You remember him. The man whose son you dated for three months?"
"Dated?" she whispered. "Dad… I loved Junho."
Her father scoffed. "Love? That boy dumped you the moment he realized you weren't from a chaebol family. And you cried for days like a fool."
Her lips trembled. "Stop."
"No," he said softly. "Because I'm giving you a chance to make that heartbreak useful."
A chill shot through her body.
"Useful…?"
He stood, walked around his desk, and lifted her chin with one finger.
His smile was slow. Poisonous.
"You're going to seduce Kang Min-Jae."
Her breathing stopped.
"You're joking," she whispered.
"Does it look like I'm joking?" His grip tightened just enough to hurt.
"Dad… no. No, I'm not doing something like that. He's—he's my ex's father."
"Exactly," he said. "He already knows you. He might even already like you."
Her stomach twisted in disgust. "He doesn't. He barely spoke to me when I was dating his son."
"Then he'll speak now." Jae-Wook released her chin and turned back to his desk. "K Group is about to sign a major international contract. The Chairman promised one company exclusive distribution. I want that contract. I have worked too long to lose to those American and Japanese leeches."
"And what does that have to do with me?!"
He looked at her like she was slow. "He is widowed. Lonely. Busy. Powerful. A man like that is vulnerable in the right hands. A woman like you—"
"I'm your daughter!" she shouted.
"And that is why I chose you," he said calmly. "You owe me. I raised you. I paid for your university. Your life. Your comfort."
"My life isn't payment for a business deal," she said weakly.
Something dark crossed his face. "You will do this. Or I'll cut you off. Move out of my house. Pay your own tuition. Find your own food. Do you think you can survive without me?"
Her world crumbled.
Her lungs hurt.
Her knees weakened.
He wasn't bluffing.And now fate suddenly wanted her face-to-face with the man who destroyed her.
Her father grabbed his phone. "Stand still."
"What—?"
He snapped a picture.
Front, side, full body.
He typed something rapidly.
"What are you doing?!" she demanded.
"Sending your photos to Chairman Kang."
Her eyes widened. "no way dad why would you—"
PING.
A reply.
Her father smirked.
"Good. He remembers you."
Her body went ice cold.
Another message pinged.
Her father read it aloud:
"He says: She's still pretty. I'm curious what she wants."
Lyla felt her soul leave her body.
Her father tossed her handbag at her. "You're meeting him tomorrow. Seven p.m. at The Blue Orchid Restaurant. Wear something seductive. Sweet. Innocent. A man like that loves forbidden temptation."
She backed away. "No. I won't go. I'm not a pawn."
He walked directly to her, gripping her wrist until her bones ached.
"You will go," he said in a low, threatening voice. "Or I will destroy everything you need me for."
Her mouth tasted like fear.
He pushed her away.
"Thirty days, Lyla. Seduce him. Make him want you. Make him lose control of himself. Or you lose everything."
She ran out of the office, her chest heavy, her throat burning, the world spinning. Rain hit her as soon as she stepped outside, but she didn't care. She didn't know if she was shaking from fear, shame, or heartbreak.
She rode the bus home, staring at her reflection in the fogged window.
Her long brown hair was damp, strands sticking to her cheek.
Her lips were trembling.
Her eyes were empty.
"I can't do this," she whispered to herself.
But her father's voice echoed louder:
Survive… or fall.
When she reached her apartment, she fell onto her bed still soaked from the rain. Her phone buzzed nonstop. Calls. Messages. Her father.
She shut it off.
She cried until sleep stole her consciousness.
She woke up the next morning feeling like her body wasn't hers.
Her phone was dead.
Her heart was dead too.
But her father didn't stop.
He sent the housekeeper to bang on her door until she opened it.
A black box sat in her hands.
Inside—
A silk, pearl-white dress.
Short. Elegant. Dangerous.
Perfect for seduction.
There was a handwritten note:
7 p.m. Don't embarrass me.
Lyla felt sick.
Her heart pounded.
Her hands trembled as she held the dress up in the mirror.
She wasn't a seductress.
She wasn't a femme fatale.
She was just Lyla.
Broken.
Terrified.
Forced.
By 6:30 p.m., she was sitting in a taxi, wearing the dress, her makeup soft and trembling, her hair curled lightly at the ends.
She looked like someone else.
Someone brave.
Someone dangerous.
She wasn't.
She arrived at The Blue Orchid, the most expensive restaurant in all of Seoul. Golden lights glowed behind crystal walls. The doormen bowed to her.
Inside, a waiter guided her to a private room.
Her heart stopped.
Kang Min-Jae sat at the table.
Tall. Sharp jawline. Cold eyes.
A black suit that probably cost more than her life.
His watch glinted under the soft light.
His posture screamed authority, power, dominance.
He didn't look at her immediately.
He sipped his wine slowly… deliberately…
Then finally raised his eyes.
And smirked.
"Lyla," he said in a deep velvet voice. "You've grown."
Her breath tangled in her throat.
He stood and walked toward her with slow, confident steps.
His presence filled the room, suffocating.
When he stopped in front of her, he reached out and gently took a strand of her hair between his fingers.
"You came dressed beautifully," he murmured. "Are you trying to tempt me?"
Her body froze.
His eyes swept over her—slow… appreciative… too intimate.
"I heard you wanted to meet me," he said. "Your father said it was urgent."
Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
She wasn't ready.
She wasn't prepared.
This wasn't seduction—this was survival.
Kang Min-Jae stepped even closer.
Her back hit the wall.
His breath brushed her ear.
"Tell me, Lyla…"
His voice dropped into a whisper.
"…what exactly do you want from me?"
Her heart exploded in her chest.
She swallowed.
And whispered the first lie of the next thirty days:
"I… I missed you."
His smile deepened—dangerous, amused, intrigued.
He gently lifted her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes.
"Then show me," he whispered.
And just like that…
Her nightmare began.