Chapter 2 - The Terminal Collision and Broken Protocols

The massive engines of the commercial airline roared one final time as the heavy chassis performed its landing protocols smoothly across the tarmac lanes of Incheon International Airport. The cabin pressure depressurized, the terminal gates aligned, and the sea of international passengers began to disembark in a steady, uncoordinated flow.Then, cutting through the ordinary crowd like a literal storm, Kang Ha-joon stepped off the aircraft threshold in a thoroughly stylish, modeling-class manner. Dressed in a pristine, custom-tailored dark designer suit that accentuated his towering, athletic build, he adjusted his pitch-black sunglasses with absolute executive coldness, completely blocking his facial expressions from the flashing airport indicators.Right behind his heels, his close childhood friend and corporate director, Park Seo-joon, prepared to execute his own grand entrance. Seo-joon lifted his chin, aiming for maximum high-end charisma, but the exact microsecond his boot touched the final step frame, his coordination completely failed. He stumbled aggressively over the threshold lip and nearly crashed flat down onto the floorboards!The row of flight attendants standing rigidly behind his stance instantly broke their professional protocols, bursting into a loud, uncontrollable wave of giggles and muffled laughter through their teeth."Oh man! Did my system seriously have to execute a literal trip right now?!" Seo-joon groaned out loud, his face flushing a bright pink color from total, toe-curling embarrassment as he frantically scrambled to stabilize his balance charts. "I was planning on making such a monumental, grand entry for the local database, but I completely ruined the layout! How incredibly humiliating!"Ha-joon didn't drop a single millisecond of his velocity. Ignoring his friend's domestic disaster, his long strides carried his frame rapidly down the terminal corridor."Hey! Execute a pause command and wait up, Kang!" Seo-joon yelled in a hushed panic, adjusting his wrinkled coat panels as he sprinted past the gate lines. Ha-joon cleared the security terminal scanner with seamless speed, leaving Seo-joon to undergo his individual administrative security check.[INT. AIRPORT ARRIVAL PAVILION – CONTINUOUS]Meanwhile, down at the main arrival terminal grid, the designated company driver, Mr. Woo, was walking blindly across the polished marble floorboards. His eyes were locked onto his smartphone display, his brain completely dead to the world as he tracked location messages.Moving from the opposite coordinate vector, Ha-joon continued his fast, precise march. Neither system altered their trajectory—resulting in a sudden, sharp physical collision as Mr. Woo's shoulder forcefully slammed straight into the CEO's broad chest block!Ha-joon's frame didn't budge a single millimeter. Masked by absolute corporate coldness, he simply ignored the impact entirely, keeping his visual radar locked straight ahead as his boots continued to tap rigidly against the floor."Hey! Hold your steps and wait up right there!" Mr. Woo barked aggressively, spinning his torso around as his anger spiked.Ha-joon halted his frame. He slowly rotated his broad shoulders, his dark eyes freezing into a terrifyingly dark mask past his sunglasses as he locked onto the driver's stance. "What? Are your vocal cords addressing me?""Yes, I am talking strictly to you!" Mr. Woo stepped inside his personal circle, completely blind to the corporate trap he was walking into. "Can't your eyes see where your body is going? You just forcefully shoved my frame and didn't even drop a single word of apology!""First of all, watch your tone parameters very carefully, young man," Ha-joon countered through his teeth, his deep voice carrying a terrifyingly low, menacing frequency that cut through the arrival lounge vacuum. "Your database has absolutely, completely zero knowledge of who I am. You were the one walking around like a blind animal staring at your phone screen matrix; you bumped your build into my shoulder casing. Do your thoughts understand the logic? You are the mandatory only one who should be apologizing to my registry.""I don't care a single bit about your logical database!" Mr. Woo yelled back loudly, his filter dissolving. "You are going to apologize to me right this instant!""I never execute an apology—whether the fault parameters belong to my registry or not," Ha-joon stated with icy finality.Just then, Park Seo-joon cleared his security check logs, spotting the intense, chaotic commotion from across the corridor grid. Realizing the dangerous friction, he quickly sprinted over to execute an emergency intervention."What on earth is going on with this confrontation layout here?" Seo-joon asked sharply, stepping between their bodies."Sir! Thank god you're here!" Mr. Woo frantically reported to Seo-joon, bowing his head. "I was coming down to this exact terminal to pick your frame up—Mr. Chairman sent me directly from the provincial estate—but on the transit path, this arrogant man forcefully shoved my body, and now his mouth refuses to even say sorry!"Seo-joon froze completely like a literal stone statue for a single fraction of a second, his executive brain short-circuiting as he thought to himself: 'Oh boy, this driver has just committed absolute corporate suicide. He has landed his entire career into a catastrophic trouble loop today.'"Mr. Woo... shut your mouth right now," Seo-joon commanded in an intense, panicked whisper, his eyes widening to the size of saucers. "This is Mr. Kang Ha-joon—the new supreme CEO of our entire 'MIXXO' fashion brand headquarters."The exact microsecond the data registered, Mr. Woo's face turned a pale, sickly white color, his knees trembling with pure, unadulterated panic as his jaw dropped straight to the marble floorboards."I-I'm so incredibly, profoundly sorry, Boss!" Mr. Woo stuttered slurrily, his voice cracking with raw panic as he frantically executed a series of deep 90-degree bows. "My system had absolutely, completely zero idea it was your build. Please accept my mandatory apology! Come on, Boss, let's move straight to the transport terminal right this way!"Kang Ha-joon didn't drop a single word from his lips. He simply fired a final, bone-chilling glare through his sunglasses and walked ahead, his boots hitting the pavement with absolute corporate discipline."Yes, let's get moving, Kang," Seo-joon sighed, walking alongside him before turning back to glance at the shivering driver. "You just got incredibly, miraculously lucky today, Woo. Otherwise, your career files would have been permanently demolished by what Mr. Kang might have executed.""Please, please forgive my life, Sir," Mr. Woo whimpered, cold sweat dripping down his neck."Just let the data go; let's just get moving," Seo-joon dismissed smoothly, arriving at the luxury vehicle parked right along the curb.Mr. Woo scrambled forward unevenly, "Yes, Sir! Right this way, please! Let my hands take that heavy suitcase from your grip.""Give me the car keys," Ha-joon commanded in a stern, roaring tone, stepping directly in front of the driver side door frame."But Sir... my assigned duty is driving your build—""I said, I will handle the steering logs myself," Ha-joon cut him off through his teeth, his hand extending out like iron. "Give me the keys.""Give him the keys right now, Woo," Seo-joon added with a knowing smirk, sliding into the leather passenger cushion."Alright, Sir. Here you go," Mr. Woo handed the keys over with trembling fingers. Ha-joon slid behind the high-end steering wheel, slamming the door block shut."Seo-joon, if your build wants to come along for this fast transit, get inside right now," Ha-joon commanded, starting the heavy engine."Yes, I do," Seo-joon buckled his safety logs."And you—deliver our entire suitcase database straight to the house," Ha-joon barked to the driver through the open window, before aggressively stepping on the gas pedal. The sports vehicle accelerated with violent velocity, leaving Mr. Woo standing entirely alone in a cloud of exhaust smoke on the curb.Mr. Woo watched the car vanish into the Seoul highway transit lanes, a completely broken expression on his face. "How am I supposed to get back home across the city lines now? Why did my brain act like a brainless animal today?!"[EXT. BUS STOP – SAME TIME – DAY]Halfway across the town, the temperature was rising as Kim Han-eun and Park Chae-won stood uncoordinately on the concrete pavement of a crowded bus stop terminal."Ugh, it's getting really, desperately late!" Chae-won groaned out loud, her face flushing with deep anxiety as she checked her wrist clock. "Where on earth is the cab?! Did your fingers actually book a ride vehicle, Han-eun, or should our bodies have just accepted a lift with Lee Min-juh back at the café counter?""Lee's travel route is entirely different from our company sector lanes, and yes, my system did launch a cab booking!" Han-eun area-focused on her smartphone screen, her brows furrowing into a tight knot. "Huh?! How did the booking parameter get completely cancelled behind my back? Oh, come on—did a system error just pop up on this screen matrix?!""What do our designs do now?!" Chae-won panicked, her shoulder-length bob swaying as she stomped her foot."Stay completely calm, I'll see if my fingers can track another available cab grid nearby.""That will take entirely too long, Han-eun!" Chae-won checked her device, her dark eyes popping out in a wave of total panic. "Look at this! Yoona has just sent a staggering ton of high-priority messages to our official office group chat floor! Look at the text database: 'Where on earth are you two?! This is crucial! Hurry up and report to your desks immediately!'""Alright then, the hell with logistics!" Chae-won snapped, her creative department energy taking over. "I'll just try hitching a ride right along this highway curb. Surely someone inside this Seoul grid will execute a stop for us!"Chae-won aggressively stepped to the edge of the asphalt line, frantically waving her hands to signal oncoming vehicles, but sports cars and commercial buses swept past her coordinates without dropping a single mile of speed."Hey!!! Nobody is executing a stop command for my build!!!" Chae-won roared in total defeat, pouting her lips aggressively. "Ugh! This is absolute trash!"[INT. LUXURY CAR – CONTINUOUS]On that exact same highway stretch, the luxury vehicle was tearing past the concrete lanes. Ha-joon was driving the sports chassis at an incredibly fast, near-illegal velocity, making Park Seo-joon's system intensely nervous as he gripped the dashboard casing for dear life."Slow down this velocity right now, Kang!!!" Seo-joon yelled in a panicked, high-pitched frequency."This is slow," Ha-joon responded with absolute coldness, his long fingers casually manipulating the steering alignment without dropping a single mile of speed.Seo-joon blinked his eyes in total, absolute shock, thinking strictly to himself: 'If his executive brain considers this terrifying speed "slow," then what on earth does a "fast" timeline parameter even look like?! My life is dead today!'[EXT. BUS STOP – CONTINUOUS]Back at the curb line, Chae-won suddenly spotted the sleek black high-end sports chassis approaching their exact bus stop terminal at high speed. Moving with raw desperation, she frantically flashed an aggressive ride signal with her arms.To her absolute shock, the sports car actually executed a sudden, sharp braking sequence, its tires screeching against the asphalt as it came to a dead stop right in front of their coordinates!"Han-eun!!! Let's go right now!!!" Chae-won cheered ecstatically, her eyes sparkling with pure joy."Wait, where are you going?!" Han-eun called out, still trapped on her mobile phone call line."Hey—we successfully scored a free lift ride!"[INT. LUXURY CAR – CONTINUOUS]The exact microsecond the vehicle reached a complete halt before the bus stop, Ha-joon let out a bored sigh. He took his long fingers completely off the leather steering wheel, resting them aside against the center console panel block. However, in executing that casual movement, his palm accidentally pressed flat against the car door's master unlock button grid.Click.[EXT. BUS STOP / INT. LUXURY CAR – CONTINUOUS]"Oh! Look at that!" Chae-won gasped happily, instantly pulling the front passenger door handle. "The driver gracefully left the car door completely unlocked for our systems!""Is this really okay, Chae-won? It looks entirely too luxurious," Han-eun hesitated, her sharp intuition throwing an error log."Yes, it's totally perfect!" Chae-won insisted. Both girls forcefully, frantically piled their bodies straight inside the plush leather backseat cushions, slamming the door block shut."Thanks for the lift, mister!" Chae-won called out happily, adjusting her design bag.But the exact milestone second both girls turned their vision around to look toward the front windshield, they ran straight into two strict male profiles.Park Seo-joon slowly rotated his torso, his dark eyes wide with paralyzing, total astonishment as he stared at the backseat. "How on earth did your builds get inside this vehicle layout?! How did your fingers even open this door casing?""It was already completely open—your system opened the unlock parameters for us, didn't you?" Chae-won answered with a wide, innocent grin, shrug-tracking her shoulders just like any ordinary person would. "And our bodies simply came inside just like anyone else would execute a ride!""What my words mean is, why on earth are you sitting inside our private cabin space?!" Seo-joon countered through his teeth, his voice hitting a highly amused, thoroughly baffled frequency. "Just because a master door lock accidentally executed a click sequence, you decided to hop your builds straight into our private coordinates?!""Hey! My hands clearly asked for a lift ride from the pavement curb, and your vehicle stopped flat on the road," Chae-won argued back loudly, pouting her lips. "So, naturally, our creative brains assumed the stop was targeted for our safety parameters, and we sat down!""Hah!" Kang Ha-joon let out a dry, bitterly cold corporate chuckle past his sunglasses, his executive mask freezing into an icy stare as his voice cut through the cabin air. "You assumed? Well, your assumptions are absolute, complete garbage today, so both of you—get your bodies out of my car this instant!""Wait a single damn minute!" Han-eun shot back instantly, her own fierce, defensive energy violently exploding as she glared at the back of the CEO's head. "If your build didn't target a lift ride for our coordinates, then why on earth did your hands stop this sports car in front of our bus stop in the first place?!"Ha-joon tilted his head slightly, his tone dropping into a freezing, mocking register. "Oh, if your system actually possesses working eyes, look straight ahead past the hood—there is a literal red traffic light grid right there!"Han-eun's face instantly turned a burning red color from pure, intense fury and deep humiliation. She sharply turned her head toward her friend, barking angrily, "Chae-won, get your body out of this seat right now! This entire embarrassing disaster is strictly your fault!""Hurry up! My dashboard time logs are running," Ha-joon commanded coldly."Yes, yes, our frames are getting out! Keep your corporate shirts on!" Han-eun yelled back, aggressively throwing the door block open as both girls scrambled out back onto the concrete pavement."How incredibly, profoundly rude!" Ha-joon field-focused through his teeth, locking the master buttons shut."Just let the data go, Kang; come on, let's move, the traffic light is green now," Seo-joon advised smoothly, shaking his head with a soft chuckle. Ha-joon aggressively stepped on the gas pedal, and the sports vehicle sped away into the distance, vanishing past the highway corridors."He was so unbelievably, monstrously rude!" Han-eun stomped her foot against the asphalt, her face burning with rage. "Anyway, let's just drop his file now; our bodies mandatory need to clear this street and head out to the headquarters.""I am so, so sorry, Han-eun!" Chae-won mumbled, her shoulders slumping in deep guilt. "My thoughts honestly, truly believed he stopped the chassis for our lift... and the door was unlocked, wasn't it? ...But wait a single minute... hold the database logs... wasn't that face... Mr. Kang Ha-joon?""Nonsense! Absolute garbage data!" Han-eun scoffed, adjusting her blazer panels. "Why on earth would the supreme heir of our brand be driving like a wild animal on this ordinary highway stop?""I saw his profile clearly past the sunglasses—it definitely, mandatory was Mr. Kang!" Chae-won insisted frantically, her dark eyes wide. "But who on earth was that crazy, dramatic guy sitting next to him? He was acting completely over the top like a literal cartoon character!""I don't think so. Come on, move your feet now; our logs are deeply running out," Han-eun dragged her toward an arriving local bus line.[INT. MIXXO FASHION COMPANY – MAIN GATE – DAY]The pristine, multi-story glass headquarters of the 'MIXXO' Fashion Company gleamed with absolute corporate luxury under the midday sun. Inside the main entrance lobby, rows of elegant female designers and marketing staff members stood rigidly in perfect, synchronized columns to execute a grand welcome.The sleek black sports chassis screeched to a halt right before the marble entrance pavilion. Kang Ha-joon and Park Seo-joon stepped out of the vehicle together, executing a truly grand, cinematic entrance onto the main floor. The exact microsecond Ha-joon's towering, flawless executive build crossed the threshold line, a massive wave of high-pitched cheering, excited gasps, and romantic murmurs violently broke out across the desks!"Welcome back to South Korea, Mr. CEO!!!" the entire staff erupted in a thunderous, perfectly polite unison greeting, bowing deeply as the two young directors began their march toward the private elevator terminal bays.But at that exact milestone fraction of a second, the heavy glass entryway doors were violently rattled.Han-eun and Chae-won came running inside the lobby at absolute maximum velocity, their clothes wrinkled and their frames completely out of breath from their wild transit chase! Driven by pure, unadulterated panic over their login metrics, they aggressively, frantically threw their hands out, shoving and pushing the lined-up corporate employees aside with brute physical force!"Side, side, please! Let our builds in! Move out of the coordinates!!!" Han-eun and Chae-won screamed in a frantic, synchronized panic loop, completely blind to the corporate alignment before them.Moving with unstoppable momentum, they forcefully ran straight into the center path, aggressively pushing the supreme CEO, Kang Ha-joon, completely aside as they dashed straight toward the elevator doors without even dropping a single glance at his freezing, dark face—completely shattering every single drop of corporate protocol that after!