Timeline Parameters: Year 2020
Location: Subway Café – DaytimeBright afternoon sunlight filtered through the massive glass window panels of a bustling Seoul subway café, illuminating the sleek modern interiors. At a corner table, Kim Han-eun and Lee Min-juh sat completely still, their chins resting heavily in their hands. Their eyes were fixed wider on the large TV screen mounted near the counter, tracking the midday news headlines with absolute concentration.Right then, Park Chae-won arrived at their coordinates, skillfully balancing a heavy tray loaded with steaming bowls of ramen."Phew! This is really hot," Chae-won let out a breathing-heavy sigh of relief as she set the heavy wooden tray down at the center of the table cloth, a thick column of white steam rising aggressively from the soup base to hit their faces. "You two are going to absolutely, mandatory love this ramen layout. Eat it quickly before the temperature parameters drop, or it'll get entirely cold."Setting the bowls down, Chae-won scanned her two friends' faces, which hadn't budged a single millimeter away from the screen. "Seriously, what are you two watching so intently anyway?""Ugh..." Han-eun let out a massive, heavy sigh of pure boredom, her filter dissolving into a localized pout as she narrowed her eyes. "These news channels—they keep broadcasting even the most trivial, mundane things on TV as if it's a historic event. I have absolutely, completely zero idea what is so special about this particular story that they've chosen to air it, but my system was bored, so I started reading it anyway."Han-eun paused for a fraction of a second, gesturing with her chopsticks toward a noisy crowd seated at the adjacent table layout. "However, those loud aunties over there were making such a chaotic racket that my audio input was completely blocked. I just ended up reading the rolling headlines instead."Han-eun kept rambling on with high velocity, but Park Chae-won completely ignored her words. Her entire database was already submerged into the delicious scent of the food. Without truly listening to a single drop of her friend's chatter, Chae-won simply kept nodding along with a vacant, mechanical "Yeah, yeah..." while happily slurping a massive chunk of noodles into her mouth.Lee Min-juh looked over at Han-eun, shifting his posture slightly as he let out a calm sigh. "I wanted to see what was so incredibly interesting about this news segment too, but honestly, they aren't really showing anything special or high-utility.""Exactly! That's my literal point!" Han-eun slammed her palm lightly against the wood, her voice laced with intense irritation. "They've been showing the exact same looping footage for ages now—why even keep it on the screen matrix? They could have put on something decent or an entertaining variety show instead! Such a total drag.""Let it go, Han-eun," Min-juh countered smoothly, a faint, beautifully soft smile breaking across his strict male features. He gracefully slid a piping-hot bowl of ramen straight into her personal circle. "Just eat this; your system parameters will feel instantly better once your hunger logs are cleared.""Okay," Han-eun smiled, adjusting her chopsticks to take a bite.But at that exact milestone microsecond, Park Chae-won—who was aggressively shoveling noodles down her throat like an absolute machine—suddenly ran into a major breathing malfunction. The boiling ramen got completely stuck inside her throat casing, causing her to violently choke and cough as she clutched her chest layout for dear life."Hey! Slow down!" Han-eun shot out of her seat, frantically patting Chae-won forcefully on her back to clear her restricted airway lines. "What's the absolute rush? The food isn't executing an escape matrix anywhere—take your time and eat comfortably!"Min-juh acted with lightning-fast reflex, filling a fresh glass of cold water and sliding it straight into Chae-won's trembling hand. "Chae-won, are your vitals okay? Drink this water immediately." Min-juh was laughing inwardly through his teeth, thoroughly amused by her uncoordinated gluttony.Chae-won downed the entire glass in a single, desperate breath, her cheeks burning a violent, bright tomato red from the coughing fit. She slammed the glass onto the marble and yelled loudly, "Yes, I am fine! And all of this happened strictly because of the two of you!"Min-juh and Han-eun looked completely shocked by the unexpected accusation. "What did the two of us even do to your system?" Min-juh furrowed his brow in total surprise."What a ridiculous claim?!" Han-eun raised her vocal cords aggressively, her own fierce energy waking up. "You were the one eating like a literal starving wild animal, which is why your throat choked up! Why are you mashing the blame onto our files, you absolute glutton?!""Okay, sorry, calm down!" Chae-won stabilized her breathing parameters, lowering her hands to execute a peace gesture. "But all of this did happen because of your guys' incessant, endless chatter. You two were talking so much that—while trying to keep saying 'yes, yes' in response to your database—my food got physically stuck in the partition block! Anyway, let's just drop the argument logs now and eat in absolute silence. Otherwise, the noodles will get completely cold, and cold ramen is zero fun. In fact, I'm going to finish my build right now before it cools down.""Yeah, alright. Let's eat," Han-eun reset her chopsticks. "Just make sure your system processes it properly this time without causing a kitchen disaster."Both of them smiled, lifting a heavy portion of noodles with their chopsticks. But just as their lips were about to take a bite—Suddenly, the noisy group of aunties aggressively stood up from their couch rows, gathering right beneath the TV frame as they shouted at a deafening, chaotic frequency that violently pierced through the entire café vacuum:"OH MY GOD!!! LOOK HOW HANDSOME HIS BUILD IS!!!""Oh... I wish my eyes could meet his face just once in this lifetime!""Oh! I must immediately execute an introduction alignment between him and my daughter! He is the mandatory perfect match for my family!"Due to their explosive, high-pitched shouting, the entire peaceful atmosphere of the Subway Café was completely ruined. Han-eun and Chae-won were violently startled by the sudden audio spike, their fingers trembling as their chopsticks slipped. In a single fraction of a second, their entire delicious ramen layout crashed straight onto the concrete floorboards, spilling messy soup and scattered noodles everywhere.Han-eun's entire frame began to vibrate with raw, unadulterated anger. Her normally relaxed facial features instantly morphed into a strict, terrifyingly dark mask."What on earth is their actual problem?!" Han-eun barked strictly through her teeth, her anger hitting maximum parameters."Eun, please keep your vocal cords down right now!" Chae-won panicked quietly, grabbing Han-eun's coat lapel to anchor her frame as she frantically tried to wipe the floorboards with a napkin. "Those aunties look dangerous; they absolutely won't let our systems off easy if you pick a fight, do you understand? Just stay quiet!"The aunties' high-pitched voices continued to echo aggressively in the background database. Min-juh fixed his deep, cold gaze onto the gathering crowd. "What on earth are they watching with that level of chaotic screaming?"Chae-won ducked low, trying to get a clear visual line past the crowd toward the display. "I can't see a single pixel from this angle, there are too many bodies blocking the corridor.""It looks like there's a news flash about a massive clothing sale," Min-juh deduced calmly, adjusting his coat cuffs with a cool executive posture. "That is typically the only parameter that makes girls get this excited and start screaming inside a public space.""Oh, Lee Min-juh!" Chae-won snapped her head around, pouting her lips aggressively as she glared at his face. "What are your words trying to imply here? Do you honestly think girls' vocal frequencies only spike for clearance sales? Your logic is absolute trash!""That's quite enough!" Han-eun's emotional threshold completely shattered.She stood up abruptly, her chair scraping harshly against the floorboards. Min-juh and Chae-won exchanged swift, wide-eyed glances, their brains logging the exact same thought: 'Oh boy, a massive explosion is coming, this girl is entirely out of control now.'"Quiet down right this instant!!!" Han-eun's sharp, booming command violently cut through the entire café, completely drowning out the television audio grids.The exact microsecond her shout registered, every single customer and the noisy aunties sharply snapped their heads around, staring speechlessly at Han-eun's face as a heavy silence paralyzed the room. The adjacent tables began whispering angrily amongst themselves, "Who is she? What is her behavioral problem? So rude to elders.""Are you people going to sit your bodies down or not?!" Han-eun crossed her arms tightly over her chest, her eyes blazing with absolute, unyielding authority. "We are trying to eat and watch the news segment here too! Your screaming is violently disturbing the entire perimeter, so please—just sit down!"The aunties trembled with suppressed rage under her fierce, unmoving gaze, whispering venomously to one another, "What a completely rude, lawless girl! She doesn't even possess the basic data-logs of speaking politely to her superiors." But under Han-eun's strict stance, their defenses crumbled, and they all grudgingly, silently sat back down in their respective seats.As soon as the crowd cleared, the remaining young customers inside the café let out sighs of pure relief, quietly praising her action: "Well done! That girl executed the perfect move. Those people were treating this café like a private lounge."Chae-won enthusiastically clapped her hands, her eyes wide with total admiration. Min-juh's strict features also softened into a faint, proud smile as Han-eun successfully sat back down at the table layout."Wow, Eun! That was an absolute, monumental move!" Chae-won cheered in a thrilled whisper. "You showed so much raw courage right there—my system could never speak up against a crowd like that! Good for you!""Didn't your actions go a little too overboard, Han-eun?" Min-juh advised smoothly, his deep voice rich with calm logic, though a playful glint danced inside his dark eyes. At that exact moment, Min-juh's smartphone device vibrated aggressively on the table as a flurry of urgent text message notifications flashed across the screen, but he completely ignored the incoming data."She didn't go overboard at all, Min-juh!" Chae-won fiercely defended her friend. "Eun made the perfect move; everyone inside this perimeter was getting intensely annoyed by their racket.""Alright, have it your way," Min-juh lifted his hands in a lightweight surrender, smiling softly."I know my build is completely amazing!" Han-eun strutted proudly, lifting her chin with absolute executive confidence. "I've been a brave warrior ever since my childhood playground days. I don't back down for anyone."Min-juh watched her proud, animated expressions with a quiet smile, taking a slow sip of his drink as he murmured under his breath, "Hmm, we know exactly what your operational character is like.""Yeah!" Han-eun grinned."Anyway, let me take a look at the display too," Chae-won shifted her chair, fixing her vision on the TV screen as the anchor's audio became crystal clear, flashing brilliant graphics of Paris alongside a staggeringly handsome young man in a luxury tailored suit:[TODAY'S SPECIAL NEWS HEADLINES:]Mr. Kang Han-jun—the sole heir and son of Chairman Kang, the head of Seoul's premier mega-fashion design brand 'MIXXO'—is officially returning to South Korea from Paris today. It is logged that Mr. Han-jun had moved to Paris during his early childhood to pursue his advanced global studies. Today, having completed his elite education with rank-one honors, he returns as a highly successful young entrepreneur who founded his own international company, transforming it into the number one luxury brand in its field..."So this is the entire database that had everyone losing their absolute minds?" Han-eun narrowed her eyes at the scrolling text files."OH MY GOD!!!" Park Chae-won's eyes dilated wide in pure, unadulterated shock, her fingers instantly flying to her cheeks as she gasped loudly. "Look how incredibly handsome and god-level attractive his face is! It's not just the middle-aged ladies—even the old folks in the ward are going to be completely swooning over his build! And what an absolute milestone coincidence—this elite guy belongs strictly to our city!""Your excitement levels are hitting a dangerously high frequency, Chae-won," Min-juh checked his wrist clock, his expression suddenly darkening into a serious frame. At that exact second, his smartphone screen flashed once again, a VIP business contact line calling his device. Without a drop of hesitation, Min-juh cut the call off sharply, switching his entire phone layout into silent mode.He turned back to Han-eun, "Anyway, look at the timeline. It is getting exceptionally late. Our bodies really should be clearing out of this café right now. Don't you two have to report to your office shift?""There's still plenty of time left in our logs..." Han-eun lazily rotated her left wrist to check her watch dial—but the exact microsecond her eyes mapped the numbers, her face went completely blank with shock. "OH NO!!!"She stood up abruptly, her entire frame shifting into a panic loop. "It is down to the wire! Chae-won, grab your files—hurry up and move!" She aggressively grabbed her friend's hand, dragging her frame toward the exit gates."Wait! Execute a pause command, Han-eun!" Chae-won screamed out, staring longingly back at her half-eaten ramen bowl as she tried to pull her weight back. "I haven't even finished my food parameters yet! I am going to get violently hungry again the exact minute we step onto the design floor!""Oh, come on! Drop the food logs!" Han-eun scolded strictly, forcing her strides forward through the exit corridor. "We are already running majorly late for our check-in, and your thoughts are still worried about eating?! Let's go! We can always execute a return trip to this café another day!""Aww... my ramen..." Chae-won pouted her lips in total defeat.As they reached the heavy glass entryway, Han-eun paused briefly, turning back to flash a quick smile at Min-juh. "Alright, Min-juh—will your hands pay the total bill for this lunch?""Yeah, I'll take care of the entire payment clause, don't worry about the register," Min-juh nodded शालीनता से, pulling out his wallet. "You two go on ahead without dropping a single second—you're running dangerously late. You need to get to the company headquarters quickly; isn't your corporate CEO arriving on the floor today?""Oh yes! You tracked the right data! Thank you so much, Min-juh! Bye—I'll treat your system to a luxury meal later!" Han-eun offered a rapid wave, dragging Chae-won completely out past the sliding glass doors into the busy Seoul traffic grid, vanishing from sight.The exact milestone microsecond their forms disappeared past the street line, the soft smile vanished entirely from Lee Min-juh's face. His features shifted into a profoundly serious, mysterious, and intensely dark corporate expression. He walked calmly to the counter to clear the bill, adjusted the collar of his coat, and stepped out toward his luxury vehicle—knowing that a complex, high-stakes dark game was waiting to unfold at the headquarters grid