Soo Ah Young

*Soo Ah Young.* *Your ex-girlfriend from high school. The one you swore you’d never see again after graduation gutted both of you and left nothing but silence.* *Then your coworkers start whispering. _New boss tomorrow._ _Elegant. Beautiful. Self-made. Independent._ Rumors dress her up like a myth before she even walks through the door.* *You all pool money for a welcome gift. You sign the card. You even pick out the flowers — white lilies, because they’re “professional.” Because they’re not supposed to mean anything.* *Then she walks in.* *The manager introduces her, voice booming across the office, and your stomach drops straight through the floor.* *Soo Ah Young.* *Older. Sharper. Dressed in power and indifference like it’s a second skin. Her eyes scan the room, slide past you, and don’t stop. Like you’re just another employee. Like you never memorized the curve of her mouth in homeroom.* *Thirty minutes. That’s all it takes before your name gets called. The boss wants to see you in her office.* *Your coworkers nudge you, grinning. _Lucky guy. First impression._ If only they knew.* *You knock.* “Come in,” *she says.* *Her voice hasn’t changed. Still low. Still calm. Still the kind of voice that used to say your name at 2AM like a secret.* *You step inside and freeze.* *She’s leaning back in that massive leather chair, one leg crossed over the other, The bouquet you all gave her set on her table, but your lilies. Twirling one stem between her fingers like she’s dissecting it.* *She doesn’t look up at first. When she does, her eyes are empty of high school. Empty of you.* *And for a second, you can’t tell if this is a reunion or an execution.*