Chapter 6 - Gala Triggers, Shaken Seals, and Bound Destinies

The heavy double mahogany portals of the grand ballroom pavilion parted smoothly as the high-stakes welcome gala parameters reached their peak frequency. Dressed in breathtaking, custom-tailored silk gowns of pastel pink and royal blue, Kim Han-eun and Park Chae-won stepped onto the marble tiles, their profiles instantly captured under the shimmering constellation of the crystal chandeliers."What an absolutely magnificent, high-end party layout, isn't it?!" Chae-won cheered ecstatically, her eyes sparkling as she adjusted her posture to align with the elegant ballroom music."Yes, the visual metrics are acceptable," Han-eun replied calmly, scanning the room.Just then, Yoona spotted their coordinates from across the floor, lifting her glass and beckoning them over with a wide grin. "Hey, Eun and Won—march your builds over here right now!""Yes, our systems are coming!" Han-eun called back. Both girls walked smoothly across the carpet, entering the circle to chat.Meanwhile, Chairman Kang was standing near the velvet entrance arches with his elite circle of investors. He slowly turned his torso around, his sharp vision instantly tracking the two girls. He raised his hand, calling out to their coordinates with immense warmth. "Oh, Miss Eun and Won—bring your frames over here to my stance!""Yes, yes, Chairman!" Han-eun responded, forcing a perfectly neat, slightly fake smile across her features as her shyness fought her professional mask.Upon reaching his personal circle, both girls hesitated slightly, their internal databases locking into an alert status. The Chairman proudly turned to his friends, gesturing toward the girls with high-end patriarchal joy. "Hey friends, I'd like to formally introduce you both to the absolute smartest, most capable creative employees registered in my fashion company.""Yes," Mr. Cha laughed heartily through his teeth, adjusting his cuffs. "Our ears have been desperately wanting to meet the exact individuals your mouth has been praising so highly across the corporate archive.""Just hold your parameters for a single minute—here they come," the Chairman smiled.[EXT. BALLROOM FLOOR – CONTINUOUS]Standing slightly away from the main investor hub, the two sहेलियाँ engaged in a hushed, anxious whisper loop."Do your thoughts believe that grumpy Mr. Kang might have explicitly told the Chairman anything about the chaotic corridor pushing we executed yesterday?" Chae-won stammered nervously, her lower lip forming a small pout."How on earth should my individual mind know that database?" Han-eun hissed back quietly, narrowing her eyes. "Are your system parameters seriously scared right now?""I am absolutely not scared; my system just completely rejects the idea of facing an even harsher workload punishment," Chae-won whined slurrily. "My fingers cannot handle reviewing that much data all over again. But anyway, let's just go and see what this meeting file is all about first."Yoona called out to them, waving her hand. "One minute, Yoona—our frames will be right there at your coordinates.""Alright, hurry up," Yoona replied.Both girls adjusted their gowns and headed directly toward the Chairman's stance.[INT. BALLROOM – INVESTOR CIRCLE – CONTINUOUS]"Chairman, did your vocal cords call for our station?" Han-eun asked politely, offering a neat corporate bow."Yes, my heart wanted to introduce your builds to these fine gentlemen," the Chairman boomed warmly. "So, this is Mr. Cha, and this is Mr. Shi; they are high-level investors in our corporate registry, as well as exceptionally good, lifelong friends of my lineage.""Hello, Mr. Cha and Mr. Shi—I'm Kim Han-eun," Han-eun introduced herself with a flawless, professional smile."And my name is Park Chae-won," Chae-won added, flashing her own radiant smile."Well, you both look absolutely wonderful under these ballroom lights," Mr. Cha complimented smoothly."Thank you, Sir," both girls responded in a synchronized unison parameter."Chairman Kang explicitly told my ears all about your recent design files—and just how incredibly capable your two systems are," Mr. Shi noted with profound respect.Han-eun immediately leaned her head slightly toward Chae-won's shoulder block, whispering through her teeth, "Thank God that grumpy old kangaroo guy didn't spill the beans about our highway and office collision logs!""Yeah," Chae-won whispered back, her shoulders relaxing. "Thanks to Mr. Kang Ha-joon's silence, I guess his character is not that monstrous after all."[INT. GRAND BALLROOM – MAIN ENTRY – CONTINUOUS]They were actively engaged in the conversation when suddenly, the main grand entryway doors swung wide open.Kang Ha-joon and Park Seo-joon made their official, cinematic entrance into the party hall, dressed immaculately in custom-tailored luxury suits. The exact microsecond their towering, flawless executive postures crossed the threshold, a massive wave of high-pitched excitement violently swept across every single desk and female employee in the hall. The girls practically jumped for joy, their vocal cords screaming out in a chaotic, romantic frenzy:"Look how incredibly handsome Mr. Kang and Director Park look today!!!""Oh my god, Mr. Kang's build is absolutely, irrevocably stunning!"Chae-won's dark eyes dilated wide as she stared blankly at their approaching strides, her heart leaping into her throat. She nudged Han-eun's elbow block aggressively. "Eun, look at him! Mr. Kang looks really, desperately good tonight, doesn't he? And that 'Chunder' guy Seo-joon looks pretty decent too—but Mr. Kang's charisma is absolutely, completely amazing!""Quiet your vocal cords, Won!" Han-eun commanded in a harsh, panicked whisper, her face turning a bright tomato red color from sudden shyness under their approaching radar. "Our systems need to get out of this clearing right now. He hasn't told the Chairman about our corporate rules infraction yet, but his mouth is going to tell him any moment now!""Yeah, let's move," Chae-won agreed, her panic logs triggering.As Kang and Park started walking directly toward the Chairman's coordinates, Han-eun sharply turned her torso toward the elder Kang, trying to execute an exit sequence. "Alright, Chairman, may our frames take our leave now?""Wait a single minute—have a celebratory drink with our circle first," Mr. Cha intervened, raising his glass."No, thank you, Mr. Cha," Chae-won declined politely, pouting her lips. She whispered into Han-eun's ear panel, "Come on, Eun, let's clear out before they trap us.""Hold your steps, girls—I want to properly introduce you two to my sons," the Chairman commanded with warm patriarchal gravity."Y-yes, Chairman..." Han-eun stammered slurrily, her rigid manager filter completely collapsing as her fingers clenched her dress.Kang Ha-joon walked directly into their personal circle, his sharp, dark gaze locking heavily onto Han-eun's flushed profile. Han-eun instantly averted her gaze, her visual radar tracking the floorboards to avoid his blinding proximity. Park Seo-joon scanned their frozen stances, a wide, thoroughly amused smirk breaking across his features."Hi, Eun and Won," Seo-joon greeted loudly, his voice hitting a highly animated, playful frequency."Do you two boys already know their station registries?" the Chairman asked in surprise."Yes, Dad—our eyes have certainly, explicitly witnessed their excellent work files on the design floor," Ha-joon countered through his teeth, his tone dripping with an unreadable, cold corporate mockery."Even so, let my mouth introduce them properly," the Chairman boomed proudly. "These two are our company's most promising, brilliant creative employees."Han-eun forced her system parameters into a neat line, extending her trembling hand toward the CEO to execute a formal introduction. "Hi, Mr. Kang. I'm Kim Han-eun. It's nice to meet your registry."But Kang Ha-joon didn't drop a single millimeter of his posture to accept her grip. Instead, he arrogantly, coldly shoved both of his long fingers straight into his suit pockets, completely ignoring her extended hand.The entire surrounding staff watched the raw humiliation loop in silence. Han-eun's face burned a violent crimson color from toe-curling embarrassment, but she forced a cold, defiant smile onto her lips, slowly withdrawing her own hand casing.Park Seo-joon immediately stepped forward to break the friction, extending his hand to shake Han-eun's. Han-eun extended hers as well, but her inner anger was violently spiking. The exact fraction of a second her fingers locked around Seo-joon's hand, she aggressively, forcefully squeezed Park's hand with maximum physical power!Seo-joon's executive face instantly contorted in absolute, raw agonizing pain, his shoulders slumping as his knuckles cracked under her brutal grip. "That's... that's quite enough force right there!""Oh," Han-eun released his hand smoothly, a mocking, innocent expression flashing past her eyes. "My apologies, Director—I guess my fingers squeezed a little too hard.""Yeah..." Seo-joon whimpered slurrily, massaging his aching hand panels as he shot her a highly annoyed glare. "A lot too hard for a normal system. But it's okay." He grumbled strictly to his own thoughts, 'Just wait, you crazy girl. My registry will mandatory deal with your files on the office floor later.'Ha-joon stepped a fraction of a millisecond closer to Han-eun's personal space, leaning his towering frame down as his deep voice dropped into a low, terrifyingly private whisper that only her ears could track. "What was that defensive look just now? Did your creative brain honestly think my mouth would tell Dad about your highway and lobby errors? Don't let your thoughts worry—I won't. But if anything like that chaotic protocol ever happens again in the future database, your system will face an even harsher, more brutal punishment on my floor."Han-eun let out a soft, defiant laugh through her teeth, her sharp eyes staring straight into his dark gaze without a single drop of fear. "Oh, really, Boss? Alright then. But absolutely nothing like that is going to happen to my registry again."Ha-joon let out a rare, low chuckle, thoroughly amused and secretly thrilled by the fierce, unyielding fire burning inside her eyes.Han-eun sharply turned her torso away from his space, locking her vision back onto the elder Kang. "Chairman Kang, our systems will be taking our official leave now.""Very well," the Chairman smiled warmly, raising his champagne glass. "Have absolute fun tonight, girls.""Come on, Won, let's go," Han-eun snapped, dragging Chae-won toward the exit gates.As they began clearing the ballroom floorboards, Park Seo-joon called out a playful, loud wave toward their retreating backs. "Bye! Our registry will see your station again tomorrow morning, Miss Won! And enjoy your independent evening, Ms. Eun!"Chae-won sharply turned her head back toward his stance, pouting her lips aggressively as she shot him a final annoyed glare. "You absolute lunatic cartoon character!"[INT. BALLROOM – MAIN INVESTOR HUB – CONTINUOUS]The exact microsecond the girls cleared the corridor, Mr. Cha stepped forward, raising his drink toward Ha-joon. "Wow, Ha-joon! How are your system parameters feeling after the Paris return?""Hi, Mr. Cha. I'm just the exact same as always," Ha-joon answered with absolute corporate coldness, his strict executive filter resetting."Hahaha! Classic Ha-joon!" Mr. Cha laughed loudly through his teeth.Mr. Shi turned his visual radar toward Seo-joon, his eyes narrowing as he reviewed his memory files. "And this young gentleman is Mr. Park's boy, isn't he?"Mr. Cha interrupted loudly, a careless laugh escaping his lips. "Are you the biological son of that Mr. Park—the old Chairman's close friend who completely lost his life parameters inside that horrific fatal car accident years ago?"The entire atmosphere inside the investor circle dropped into a dead, freezing silence."MR. CHA...!!!" Kang Ha-joon roared out in a thunderous, terrifyingly loud voice that violently shattered the ballroom vacuum, his executive chest heaving as his features froze into a deadly, monstrous mask of raw fury. He stepped forcefully inside Mr. Cha's personal circle, his fists clenching like iron. "He is my biological brother—do your thoughts understand that database logic?! He is absolutely, completely not alone in this world, nor will anyone speak of his lineage in that tone!"Park Seo-joon's smile vanished entirely, his chest tightening at the sudden mention of his past trauma, but he quickly placed a firm, stabilizing hand onto Ha-joon's broad shoulder panel to calm the CEO's boiling rage. "Yes, Kang, let the data go," Seo-joon murmured in a normal, quiet tone, pulling him back. He looked directly at the investors with flawless, calm dignity. "It was an absolute pleasure meeting your credentials tonight, Mr. Cha and Mr. Shi."Ha-joon's eyes remained blazing with absolute dark anger as he glared at the trembling investor. "What is it, Cha? Let Park speak his mind freely without your interference.""But... isn't he legally just Mr. Park's son...?" Mr. Cha stammered slurrily, his face turning pale white under the CEO's suffocating, dangerous radar."Hold your speech parameters right there, Mr. Cha," Chairman Kang commanded, his voice dropping into a kerrdak, heavy patriarch frequency that cut off the investor instantly. He stepped firmly between his sons and the crowd, his arms crossing over his chest layout with absolute authority. "I am standing right here on this spot. Even though my dearest lifelong friend is no longer alive inside our physical registry, Park Seo-joon is still, mandatory my own son. So, please do not dare speak inside this hall as if his build is alone or unprotected.""I profoundly, deeply apologize, Mr. Park," Mr. Cha stuttered in total panic, bowing his head frantically to Seo-joon. "Your system may have taken immense offense, but that was absolutely not the intent of my mouth; my brain simply failed to recognize his current executive status, so...""It's quite alright, Mr. Cha," Park Seo-joon answered with a calm, peaceful smile, his internal database fully stabilized. "I wasn't offended by your words at all; your lips merely spoke the absolute truth of my past registry."The Chairman turned back to his old partners, his voice returning to a formal tone. "You gentlemen enjoy the remaining party parameters; my system is going to go introduce MY SONS directly to the President's coordinates now.""All right, Chairman," Mr. Shi nodded respectfully, backing away."Forgive my loose tone, Kang," Mr. Cha whimpered softly, sweat dripping down his neck."Yes, it is no problem at all for the current file—just make sure your brain never lets it happen again inside this company," Chairman Kang replied with icy finality. "We'll be going now."Moving with absolute, synchronized power and heavy executive strides, the Chairman, Park Seo-joon, and Kang Ha-joon turned their torsos around, marching proudly across the marble floorboards to meet the President—their family lineage bound tightly together as an unbreakable sovereign anchor under the Seoul sky.