1. The Gentleman Sheds His Skin
The emergency board meeting was scheduled for 3 PM. The objective was clear: appoint an acting Chairman to stabilize the plummeting stock price, and Kim Seok-jin was the obvious, polished, and perfectly positioned candidate.
But the Kim Taehyung who walked into the boardroom was not the quiet, polite gentleman they knew. The softness in his eyes had been replaced by a cold, calculating intensity. He was still handsome, still impeccably dressed, but the warmth that made women fall for him had been extinguished, leaving behind the sharp, ruthless focus of a predator. The film hero had shed his 'kind heart' script.
Seok-jin stood at the head of the table, offering condolences with practiced ease, his composure slightly too perfect to be genuine grief.
Taehyung interrupted the opening speech, his voice clear and cutting across the room. "Before we discuss appointments, we must discuss justice."
A senior director frowned. "Mr. Taehyung, the police have ruled both deaths as suicides linked to the escalating scandal involving the late Ms. Bae. We must move on."
"Move on from what? The fact that the only witnesses to the first incident—Mr. Park and Ms. Bae—are now dead, both falling from the exact same tower within forty-eight hours?" Taehyung countered, his gaze locking onto Seok-jin. "This is not suicide. This is assassination."
II. The Trap (The Video Log)
Seok-jin stepped forward, his smile strained. "Taehyung, your grief is understandable, but slander is not. If you have proof, present it. Otherwise, sit down."
"Proof is why I am here," Taehyung said simply, pulling a tablet from his briefcase. He projected an image onto the massive screen—a grainy surveillance snapshot from the 80th-floor stairwell.
The image showed Seok-jin entering the Chairman's retreat suite at 11:45 PM, barely fifteen minutes before Ha-eun's death was reported.
The room erupted. Seok-jin's face finally fractured, the perfect gentleman shattering into fragments of panic. "That's a fabrication! I went up to offer my sister comfort, as her brother! The police checked the logs!"
"The police checked the official logs, which were corrupted," Taehyung corrected, pressing a button. "This footage is from the backup private server maintained by my late father, accessible only by me and... Ha-eun. And here is the audio log from the suite's secure line."
The speakers hissed, then a fragment of a desperate struggle was heard:
Ha-eun (Whispering, terrified): "...Jin, you can't! The promise..."
Seok-jin (Voice sharp, cold): "...The promise is useless, Ha-eun! The throne is mine! You made the family look harami with your mistress mother. Now, you pay the price!"
(Sound of a sudden push, a grunt, and then silence.)
The boardroom went silent. The chilling audio confirmed the betrayal and the true motive behind the two falls—it was Seok-jin, the Architect of the Broken Vow, eliminating his sister after she had served her purpose in destabilizing Taehyung's position.
III. The Claim
Taehyung lowered the tablet, the cold intensity in his eyes unwavering. He glanced at the picture of Seok-jin and his mother, remembering Ha-eun's final belongings. Seok-jin's true loyalty was never to the company or the step-family; it was to his mother and securing their future through Ha-eun's ruthlessness.
"The police are already on their way, Seok-jin," Taehyung announced to the room, ignoring the now-sweating figure of his step-brother. "The bodies of the two victims—the assistant and the Chairwoman—have now been vindicated. They were both silenced to clear the path for one man."
Seok-jin lunged, but Taehyung's security detail swiftly intervened, pulling the step-brother away from the table.
Taehyung turned to the stunned board members, his presence dominating the room. He was no longer the soft-hearted heir; he was the undisputed master.
"The company needs immediate stability. The stock is in freefall. I have just exposed the murderer and the source of the corruption. There is only one choice," he stated, his voice resonating with final authority. "I, Kim Taehyung, will assume the role of Chairman, effective immediately."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle. The finality of the broken childhood promise—Ham hamesha saath rahenge—was palpable. It had been replaced by a new, colder reality:
The gentleman had claimed his throne, built upon the ruins of his father's legacy and the tragic, violent end of the girl who still held their secret childhood vow.
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