The clack of keyboards, low hum of printers, fainted aroma of roasted coffee filled the 14th floor of Novalink Corporation. To most, it was just another Monday in Seoul's 2nd most powerful conglomerate, a place known for shaping policies, funding programs that bridged the fragile peace between humans and Animaras.
But to Jeong Choon-hee , every step inside the office felt like walking a tightrope over a volcano.
Her team leader Kim Ji-yoo's harsh voice cut through the air like a whip.
" Jeong Choon-hee! Did you finish the reports for the Upcoming Spring Equality Festival? Don't tell me you're slacking again."
Choon-hee bowed quickly, clutching her files tighter.
" Yes, team leader Kim. The reports are ready. I'll forward them right away."
The leam leader clicked her tongue, turned her back on her desk, leaving Choon-hee to release the breath she'd been holding. On the outside, she was just another junior copywriter of the management department in the Novalink Corporation. On the inside her chest tightened.
Because inside her blood ran a secret swore never to reveal —— the true form of a Siberian husky pup out of embarrassment and not to be humiliated as she looks weak, sensitive in her small tiny form.
She had managed to keep it hidden for 3yrs. A secret double life. At night, she slipped into furs, paws , running through alleyways to explore the world in her true form , process negative emotions that she can't show during the day, and — unbeknownst to anyone — curling in the warmth of a stranger's apartment.
Not just a stranger.
HIM.
The man who had nursed her injured pup- form back to health as she was attacked by a group of wild street dogs.
The man who had unknowingly adopted her into his home for the last 6 months.
The man who had treated her like a family.
And today, for the first time , she had realized that man wasn't anyone.
He was Kang Gyu-min.
CEO of the Novalink . The most feared, admired, charismatic Animara in the country– a brown bear under human skin.
Her pulse thundered in her ears. She had barely made it through the morning, keeping her head low, avoiding his office like it was the hell's door. But Animaras are sensitive. And as she passed the corridor, the familiar ,warm scent of cedarwood,earth filled her lungs.
Her body froze.
Her pup instincts screamed.
That scent– his scent– could expose her.
Panic jolted through her. She turned sharply, trying to retreat before anyone noticed, but her heel caught the edge of the carpet.
She stumbled——
straight into a towering figure.
The broad chest was solid as stone, the heat and aura radiating from his body was unreliable. Slowly, too slowly, she lifted her gaze.
KANG GYU-MIN. The 6 foot 2 inches, powerful, unyielding. His sharp black eyes looked down at her as she is only 5foot 3 inch , narrowing as if her soul had betrayed her.
Choo-hee's breath hitched.
No. He can't know...not here, not now.