The air in the sun-drenched courtyard of a remote temple was heavy with the scent of pine and incense. A quiet, six-year-old girl, Ha-eun, knelt before the stone deity, her small hands clasped tight in silent, fervent prayer. Her gaze was fixed on a fading mural depicting a couple making a solemn pledge.
"They promised that no storm could break their bond," the soft, aged voice of the Grandmother drifted from the side. "That no distance could keep them apart."
Ten feet away, a gangly, sixteen-year-old boy—his face shadowed by the setting sun—watched her with a mixture of curiosity and detached fondness. He was tall for his age, with eyes that held a profound, distant beauty.
"Even if they become strangers, Granny?" the girl whispered, her focus absolute.
"Even then, child," the Grandmother affirmed. "The heart knows no age. Bhale hi ham chhote hain ya bade, the power of a promise, known or unknown, will endure."
As the girl reached to touch the rough stone wall, the sharp corner of a decorative tile sliced swiftly across her neck, just behind her ear. A thin, red line emerged, instantly turning into a glistening drop of crimson. She stared at the stain on her finger, a strange, beautiful mark sealing an unforeseen vow. The audience is left to wonder if these are the main characters.
II. The Gentleman and the Serpent
The Taewon Group Tower stood as a monument to power, its 70th floor conference room a cathedral of high finance. Here, the atmosphere was less oxygen and more unacknowledged tension, a brittle glass shell surrounding a core of fractured family history.
At the head of the polished obsidian table sat Kim Taehyung. The Vice Chairman was a spectacle of quiet perfection—rich, impeccably handsome, and every bit the gentleman the tabloids adored. His behavior was unfailingly nice, his manners polished to a mirror shine. Women around him felt an irresistible pull, yet his pure professionalism and aloofness meant he never flirted or gave them extra attention (bhav nahin dete). He carried the aloof air of a film hero—a man who seemed slightly cold on the outside, a protective layer concealing the deep, inherent kindness and softness within.
Taehyung was here to witness the conclusion of a complex corporate maneuver that he had been forced to accept: the official absorption of his company's shares into a new, dominant entity. And the new ruler was about to be announced.
The door swished open, and the silence thickened.
Bae Ha-eun, the newly appointed Chairwoman, entered.
Ha-eun was a force of nature wrapped in a tailored silk suit. She was renowned for her ruthless, arrogant efficiency. She was indeed soft and kind on the inside, reserving her true nature solely for her immediate family. To the world, however, she was a terrifying pragmatist. She spoke her mind without concern for the consequences, bina care kare kisi ke munh par bol deti thi, utterly uncaring if it caused offense. She embraced the resultant hate, using her 'bad personality' as a shield to guard her vulnerability.
Taehyung's gaze hardened marginally as the announcement was made, acknowledging the unpleasant family truth: his father's former mistress's daughter was now his corporate overlord. A wave of resentment washed over him, but he remained silent, maintaining his gentle, non-confrontational façade.
Following the announcement, a man who mirrored Taehyung's gentlemanly composure—Kim Seok-jin, Ha-eun's elder brother—stepped forward. He too, was the picture of polished grace, possessing the same surface-level charm as Taehyung.
"Congratulations, sister. This victory is rightfully yours," Seok-jin declared, his voice a perfect blend of familial pride and corporate formality.
III. The Password of Blood
As the scattered applause died down, giving way to an uneasy hush under the Chairwoman's cold, triumphant smile, the calm was violently annihilated.
A deafening, sickening THUD ripped through the air outside the panoramic windows, causing the room to gasp. Everyone rushed to the glass, their faces pale.
A security supervisor burst in, his words tumbling out amidst the rising panic. "A body! Someone jumped from the top of the adjacent tower!"
Taehyung stared out at the chaos below. The deceased was an older, loyal assistant, a man who had worked closely with his father. His death, falling immediately after the power shifted, was not just suicide.
It was a brutal, bloody message.
This death was the password: A loyalist silenced, the old promise broken, and the step-sister's merciless reign officially began, proving the corporation was now a place of Harami (traitorous) twists.l