CHAPTER 22: CHAPTER 22

Yu jin’s POV

I was walking back to my desk, trying to focus on my screen, when she came barreling down the hall like a hurricane with heels that sounded like small explosions with every step. I didn’t even have time to brace myself before she bumped into me shoulder-first. I stumbled back, arms flailing slightly, trying to regain balance, My brain went blank for a second before I managed a look that screamed why me? Why now?

"Yu Jin! Don’t just stand there!" someone yelled from behind, loud enough for the entire floor to turn, like the scene had suddenly become a public performance.

"Uh... hi?" I said, raising my hands in surrender, trying to look calm and collected, which, judging by the way my knees were shaking, was failing miserably.

"Why are you avoiding me? After hitting me? Do you think ignoring me will make me disappear?" she snapped, her finger stabbing the air like it was a sword and I was a villain who had committed a cardinal sin.

"I...." I started, but before I could even get a word out, she shoved past me like I was part of the hallway floor, leaving me blinking after her in disbelief.

And then... Park Min appeared

"Mom," he said, his voice low "stop yelling at my worker."

For a split second, she froze. Just long enough for the entire floor to notice the drama. And then, as though my existence didn’t matter at all, she whipped her head toward him.

"Stop yelling?" she barked, incredulous, voice rising an octave. "You’ve been ignoring the problem for years! And now I’ve solved it!" Her hands flailed like she was conducting an orchestra, and the world was supposed to applaud her brilliance. "I’ve found a fiancé for you!"

"Fiancé? For me? And in the middle of the office hallway?" My stomach twisted into knots. I wanted to disappear. Or Maybe crawl under the nearest desk and pretend I didn’t exist.

Park Min’s jaw tightened, rigid as steel. He clearly wanted to obliterate her with words alone. "I don’t need a fiancé," he said, voice low and yet he hesitated, probably because he was weighing just how much restraint he could maintain without completely losing it.

"Yes, you do!" she cut him off, voice sharp and rising with every word, "Why are you refusing? Did you finally fall for an ABO man?"

My heart stuttered. ABO? What the hell was going on? And suddenly, every head on the floor turned toward us. I could feel the collective breath of the office holding in suspense, some confused, some amused, some utterly scandalized.

Park Min’s eyes narrowed sharply. "Mom. Really. Stop."

She pointed at me. Yep. Right at me. I froze, my heart hammering so hard I thought it might punch a hole through my chest.

"I’m helping!" she yelled, voice cracking on the last word like a finale note in a chaotic symphony. "Yes! He’s from the ABO world!"

Whispers rippled like a current through the hallway. Some people gasped. Some covered their mouths to hide smiles. A few brave souls raised eyebrows so high they almost touched their hairline. And there I was caught in the center of this whirlwind of nonsense, apparently not only a pawn in their bizarre mother-son argument but also now a "solution" to some unspecified problem involving ABO dynamics.

I tried not to flinch, tried to stay grounded, but my instincts were screaming run, run, RUN. Colleagues were staring openly. A few were smirking, which only made me want to vanish completely. I could feel a bead of sweat sliding down my temple, and for a second, I considered faking a fainting spell just to escape the spotlight.

Park Min pinched the bridge of his nose, like he was trying to suppress a migraine while simultaneously planning my execution. I could practically feel his tension, the raw energy radiating off him in waves. And... oddly, for reasons I didn’t want to admit, I found it exhilarating. It was like standing on the edge of a cliff with lightning crackling around me.

Her energy, on the other hand, was ridiculous, uncontainable. She gestured like she was giving a TED talk to an audience of world leaders rather than being in an office hallway. "Finally! I’ve solved the problem! No more hiding! No more avoiding! No more... nothing!" She paused dramatically, as if waiting for the universe to bow in agreement.

She spun back toward him, still pointing, still shouting. "Yes! ABO world! And if you don’t act, I’ll decide for you!"

"Why are you refusing?" she yelled again, still undeterred by his silent fury. "Are you finally in love with one of them?"

Park Min’s jaw moved, but no words came. He exhaled sharply through his nose a warning, a contained storm. He was calm, still, but the energy around him vibrated like the electricity right before a lightning strike.

I shuffled backward a step, trying to shrink into myself. My bag slipped from my shoulder again, and I caught it just before it fell. My pulse was racing. Every nerve in my body screamed this is not normal, this is not safe, yet I couldn’t tear my eyes away. It was like watching a live-action battle between two forces, one entirely chaoti

c, one a perfect storm of control and danger.