I. The Silent Audience
The abandoned gallery in the Taewon Tower Annex was cold, dusty, and strangely silent. The only illumination came from strategically placed spotlights hitting the makeshift art installations. The air was thick with the scent of cheap dust and fresh oil paint.
Kim Taehyung monitored the gallery from a covert surveillance van two blocks away. Beside him, his security chief watched the thermal cameras. The trap was set: the exhibit was officially announced to the media as an anonymous critique of corporate greed, designed to lure the emotionally driven Tragic Poet (Seok-jin).
The room was dominated by Ha-eun's chaotic, brilliant work. The center piece was the dark, fractured portrait of Seok-jin—the Architect—with the vivid Crimson Pledge streak crossing his heart. Around it hung the other 'melancholy' paintings, all bearing the signature of the 'Anonymous Lyrical Artist.'
II. The Arrival of the Architects
At 11:30 PM, the silence broke. A dark sedan pulled up outside. The thermal cameras confirmed three figures moving swiftly towards the Annex.
The first was Kim Seok-jin, his elegant frame tense, his face pale with fury. He carried a small satchel, likely containing the means to destroy the art and expose the 'artist.'
Behind him was Joo Yeong-ho, the former journalist, now operating as Seok-jin's intelligence strategist.
And leading them was Madam Park, Seok-jin's mother and Taehyung's stepmother. She wore a pristine white coat, utterly out of place in the derelict environment, confirming her role as the meticulous Mastermind of the entire family tragedy.
"Target confirmation," Taehyung whispered into his mic. "Madam Park is the priority. Seok-jin will be focused on the art."
The three entered the gallery, their footsteps echoing on the bare concrete floor. Madam Park didn't look at the paintings; her eyes scanned the shadows, recognizing the trap.
Seok-jin stopped dead before his portrait. His face, already pale, twisted into a snarl of pure rage. "This is slander! This is not tragedy, this is cheap mockery!"
III. The Final Demand
Suddenly, a small, ridiculous figure popped out from behind a canvas: Ha-eun, wearing her floppy hat and clutching the miniature CEO action figure.
"Ah, the Tragic Poet has arrived!" Ha-eun declared cheerfully, entirely unbothered by the three dangerous figures. "Your portrait, sir! It captures the profound sadness of your financial decisions!"
Seok-jin gasped, stumbling back. "Ha-eun? It can't be... you're dead!"
Madam Park reacted instantly, seizing Seok-jin's arm. "Ignore the ghost, Jin! It's a hallucination! Taehyung is trying to play a psychological trick!"
"It's not a trick! It's me, Bae Eun-ji, the Corporate Poet!" Ha-eun insisted, shaking her CEO figurine. "Your mother says you write tragic poems! I need to know why you believe sadness is superior to a really good forehead kiss!"
The absurdity of the scene completely disarmed the conspirators. Seok-jin, seeing his supposedly dead sister alive but insane, was paralyzed.
Madam Park, however, maintained her composure. "Taehyung! You are wasting time! Give us the digital assets of the company, and we will let the girl disappear again!"
From the speakers hidden in the gallery ceiling, Taehyung's cold, amplified voice cut through the air:
"Madam Park. The only thing disappearing tonight is your freedom. The evidence of your coordination with Seok-jin and Yeong-ho is already being broadcast to the financial regulators. I know the full truth of my father's final promise to you—the one that caused all the chaos."
IV. The Exposed Vow
Joo Yeong-ho, realizing they were cornered, made a desperate move. She pulled out a small, encrypted device. "We have the real truth, Taehyung! The truth that proves you murdered Mr. Park!"
Taehyung scoffed, his voice sharp:
"Your accusation is weak, Yeong-ho. My father's final promise—the one that led to the Vow's breaking—was not about love. It was about controlling the company from the grave. Madam Park, you wanted the throne for your son, and I needed to expose the truth to save the company. But I didn't need to kill anyone to prove it. You did."
Ha-eun, hearing the intense corporate language, grabbed the largest paintbrush she could find. "If you hate my forehead kisses and my limericks, I shall paint your betrayal!"
She lunged at Madam Park, not with violence, but with the intent to douse her in True Corporate Melancholy Blue.
The resulting chaos was the break Taehyung needed. As Madam Park shrieked and Seok-jin finally moved to restrain the blue-soaked Ha-eun, Taehyung's security team swarmed the gallery.
The Architects were trapped.
The last thing Taehyung saw on the surveillance feed before it was deliberately cut was Ha-eun, sitting on the floor, covered in blue paint, looking up at Seok-jin with sudden, desperate tears, and whispering a single, familiar phrase:
"Ham hamesha saath rahenge?" (Will we always be together?)
The broken vow, spoken by the one they thought they had successfully destroyed, was the final, devastating blow.