The racing-blue sports car screeched and skidded to a stop.

A bead of sweat dripped down Shay’s forehead. The car had gotten so close to her that its sideview mirror touched her handbag. Was the driver amazing? Or was it a miracle that Shay didn’t have both her legs broken?

(Also, it took a second for her to process, but the smell of burnt rubber made her stomach turn.)

Shay leaned down, trying to get a look through the window. Huh. The steering wheel was on the side closer to her instead of the far side. Weird.

The sunglasses-wearing driver leaned back as she rolled down her automatic windows... which unleashed the BASS. Korean hip-hop introduced itself to the Hongdai parking lot’s very foundations.

Suddenly, the door swung open. It made a loud smack sound, perfectly coinciding with Dong-Hyun yelping out in pain. He clutched his knee and started hopping on one leg-- almost to the beat of the music.

Shay rubbed at her freed wrist-- not because she thought it’d bruise, but because she wanted to wipe off how it felt.

Yeah. Dong-Hyun deserved to get hit.

The driver took off her shades and stepped out of the car.

Baggy, ripped jeans that somehow still looked expensive. A cropped, black shirt and a cream-colored half-jacket that exposed a belly piercing. Bright red hair styled up, fierce and wild... and sharp, ruby-red eyes as bright as her lipstick.

The hair. The smug smile. That iconic beauty mark just above the right side of her lip...

Shay found herself starstruck in the presence of the one and only Nuri Park.

“Hey, twintails. This fucker bothering you?”

Shay pointed at herself. She had twintails! Nuri was talking to her! Then that meant the fucker was--

“I’m not bothering anyone!”

Dong-Hyun-- he was bent over, making a pathetic show of rubbing his hurt leg. It was hard to believe that, only a minute ago, he was soOo proud of himself (and just as handsy.)

“Uh huh,” Nuri said flatly.

She looked over at Shay, and...

Well... it wasn’t intentional, but Shay was three whole steps away from Dong-Hyun. She was half-turned away and had her arms crossed. And, overall... she gave off a vibe that could best be explained as ‘I beg of thee, noble hero, extricate me from this difficult situation.’

Nuri gave her a small, reassuring smile and an “I got’cha. Hold up.”

She turned around and reached into her car. (That showed off an intricate tribal tattoo on her lower back.)

The music got louder... to LoT louder. And when Nuri stood back up, she was holding a cup of coffee.

No. She wouldn’t~!

She took the lid off.

Really!!?

And alllllll that coffee... sTeaMing and suGaRy-- ALL of it got splashed onto Dong-Hyun Ham’s face and neck.

He. s-c-R-eamed.

Shay was horrified. Ohhhh, but the whipped cream and the way it stuck to his forehead~

Oh, it was horrible! But oh, that person was an absolute scumbag! In a weird way, Shay was glad she didn’t kick that guy in the face.

And-- and there was music! It. was. aWesoMe. #see “there’d be music’ in Chapter 1: Her Story.

“What the FffffUuCk?!!” Dong-Hyun cried, “This-- this is aSsault!”

Nuri raised her chin, flipping a lock of her blazing-red hair. Oh, she was so. fucking. cool.

“It’s not assault, you dumb fuck. It’s fucking battery.”

“That’s still a fucking CRIME, you god-damned whore!”

“Hm, defamation,” Nuri said with a shrug. She stepped forward, between Dong-Hyun and Shay-- and right... in front... of that guy’s ‘practically brand new’ UM Sentinel.

Dong-Hyun froze. His eyes got big and wide. His pupils started to shake. And he whispered... “Miss Park?”

“And this,” Nuri grinned, “would be vandalism.”

She lifted her leg high into the air like she’d been doing gymnastics since she was three.

And then... she brought a MERCILESS HEEL down-- RIGHT on the weird black hood of Dong-Hyun’s car.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Cracks ran across the whole thing. Pieces went flying! Whatever the hood was made of, it wasn’t metal.

“What?! WHAT???!?!” Dong-Hyun CRIED, “My car! I took out a SIX-YEAR LOAN FOR THIS!!”

Dong-Hyun was a fully-grown adult but he was sobbing in a parking lot! It wasn’t funny-- not at all, but it was just soooo hard to feel bad for him!

“You-- YOU... You cANnn’t!” he said, his voice shaky and wet. “There are LAWS in this country! You can’t just do what you want!!!”

“That’s where you’re wrong, fuck-face,” Nuri said. “Did you forget who I am? If you work in this building, then I fucking own you. And besides, misdemeanors are only crimes for people who can’t afford it.”

Shay nodded in agreement. She had that privilege too! --not that she’d ever take advantage of her grandpa’s money like that.

“I don’t care who you are or HOW many lawyers you have,” Dong-Hyun seeEeethed. “You’ll paY foR tHiS!!!”

“Wrong again!” Nuri said.

She hopped up and did another kick-- or... an almost kick.

Nuri’s leg stretched 90% out with a little bend in her knee. The sole of her boot stopped juuuust in front of Dong-Hyun’s face. Ooh, the disrespect. 10 out of 10 points. Masterful execution!

Oh, but she wasn’t done! After the pause, Nuri hooked her foot on the side of Dong-Hyun’s head. Then, she spun around-- and with that crazy momentum, she smashed that guy’s head onto his already-broken car hood.

“You just had to threaten me, huh?” she chuckled. “This counts as self-defense.”

Nuri turned to Shay. “Hop in. Let’s get the fuck outta here.”

Not doubting her for even a second, Shay went around the sports car and buckled into the passenger’s seat. It was weird, being on what was supposed to be the driver’s side, but her mind was spinning with the craziness she was experiencing. Martial arts! Teaching bad guys a lesson! And best of all, she was in no direct danger of literally getting shot! Solo field missions were aWesome!! #getting shot: See the events of Chapter 33.

“Your kicking technique is so good! And your balance is P-erfect!” she said. “Do you do Tae Kwon Do??”

“Hah, yeah,” Nuri said. “How can you tell? Was it the eyes?”

The sports car sped out of the parking garage, bouncing up at the end of a ramp. Then, they slid onto a cross street without stopping-- and to a fanfare of honks and horns.

Nuri wasn’t even wearing her seat belt.

“So... you made me waste a perfectly good cinnamon mocha latte on numb-nuts back there.”

“You seemed perfectly happy when you were doing it,” Shay shot back. “And besides, you probably did his department a favor. He was kinda a prick.”

“So I did something good for the company!” Nuri laughed. “That’s a fuckin’ riot. Who was that guy, even?”

Shay glanced at her hand, uncrumpling and smoothing out Dong-Hyun’s business card before handing it over.

“Huh. Never heard o’ this guy before today,” Nuri said before pocketing the card. “Whatever, though. I’ll make sure he gets promoted to Night Manager.”

Night Manager? If that was a real thing, from the way Nuri said it, it didn’t sound great.

“So you’re not worried?” Nuri asked, “What happened back there wasn’t exactly normal.”

“Why would I be worried? You’re Nuri Park, heiress to the Hongdai Company. You against some random Manager Assistant? It’s his word against yours-- and mine.”

Nuri whipped her head back and laughed. Deep, honest-- thoroughly surprised and amused at the same time. “Well, when you put it that way, I guess I am pretty popular! But... I was talking about how you had no problem getting into some crazy bitch’s car and letting her have her way with you.”

Shay opened her mouth... and closed it. Huh. It was weird that she basically got kidnapped twice and driven around in an expensive car in the span of not even three months.

“So who are you supposed to be?” Nuri asked.

“My Chinese name is Xue Yan... but my friends call me Shay.”

Nuri giggled at that. “So we’re friends now? Wow... okay. Sure, why not?”

Her driving pace slowed down considerably. Archangel traffic on a Friday afternoon made it a waste to invest in a super-fast car like Shay assumed Nuri had.

“So tell me,” she said, “What do you really want?”

She leaned over, grabbing the back of her neck? No. She was tugging at the back of her shirt?

“Wait-- what the hell are you even wearing?”

“Hey, quit it,” Shay said, pushing Nuri off. That was weird... and even though it wasn’t as bad as getting touched by Dong-Hyun, she was still not 100% comfortable with it.

It was extra weird when she thought of other instances of people touching her. Raia helped her borrow an outfit for a business meeting-- and that was fine. She asked Heidi to try on some of her dresses before-- no issues there?

Nuri frowned-- just for a quarter or half of a second, though. Could her super-rich-girl senses tell that Shay’s outfit was less than 100 dollars in total-- including the shoes?

“The fuck’s wrong with you?” she said, “Never been touched by a girl before?”

“S-sorry,” Shay said, looking out the window, “I have someone I like.”

Nuri scoffed, “Tssshhhh, wowwww~ what kind of limp-dicked, virgin, NTR-bait are you trying to bang?”

Shay rolled her eyes and turned back to glare. “It’s not even like that. Hot CEO-type. But stay away from him-- he’s mine.”

“I thought we were friends,” Nuri leered. “Friends are s’pposed to share.”

“Stories and secrets, yeah,” Shay snickered-- “not guys.”

“So which family are you from?”

Shay furrowed her brows. Nuri’s tone had changed.

“Uh... what do you mean?”

Suddenly, Nuri stopped the car-- in the middle of the road!

“Nuri! We’re holding up traffic!”

“Mhm, I know. You must be from a pretty good family despite your peasant clothes.”

Ah. So the super-rich-girl senses were a thing.

Nuri pointed with a glossy, perfectly manicured fingernail... at the snake pin on Shay’s bag strap.

“There-- that’s some sort of talisman, isn’t it?”