Jin-hyun grabbed my wrist with zero warning, yanking me straight toward the head of the long oak table before I could execute a tactical retreat.
"Jin-hyun-ah," I whispered frantically, leaning down as close to his ear as my 190-centimeter height allowed. "Is this really a good idea? Sitting at the absolute head of the table?"
Jin-hyun merely offered a confident, mischievous smirk, ignoring my internal alarm system entirely. He pulled out two heavy, carved wooden chairs directly adjacent to the patriarch's wheelchair and gestured for me to sit.
"Grandfather," Jin-hyun announced brightly, resting a hand on the back of my chair. "This is San. My friend and our frontman from H-Wnot."
I braced myself for a cold, aristocratic interrogation, but the old man slowly turned his head, his dark eyes crinkling at the corners with a surprisingly kind, warm, and outgoing light.
"Ah..." the Founder murmured, his voice rich and steady despite his age. "So you are the foreign representative who caused so much commotion over at Kirin."
My jaw dropped slightly. I blinked, utterly caught off guard.
"Sir...? How... how do you know who I am?"
Grandpa let out a soft, hearty laugh that echoed off the high wooden beams.
"I have my eyes and ears everywhere in the arts foundation, son. Nothing happens on either side of the river without reaching this chair."
He reached out, his weathered, heavy hand patting my forearm with genuine warmth.
"Whatever it is you are currently doing—or planning to do—continue it. You have my full support."
'Huh?' My brain completely blue-screened. 'Full support? Does he know about H-Wnot? About my deal with Min-ah? About fixing the band?'
Beside me, Jin-hyun's sharp eyes darted between his grandfather and me, his head swaying as he observed the interaction with intense, quiet curiosity.
Before I could ask for a clarification on the "full support" clause, Grandpa smoothly pivoted the topic, gesturing toward my silver-haired bandmate with a flick of his wrist.
"So? Has this rebel given you much trouble since you joined the club?"
I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly, clearing my throat.
"Ah... mostly not, sir. He's actually... quite well-behaved."
Grandpa's snowy eyebrow shot up into his forehead in absolute, comical disbelief.
On my other side, Jin-hyun proudly lifted his chin an inch higher into the air, looking like a praised prodigy.
Grandpa burst into a loud, delighted laugh, shaking his head.
"Well-behaved! Ha! If this kid ever causes you any real problems, San-ah, you just come straight to me. I'll handle his discipline!"
The ice was completely broken.
Over the next ten minutes, we engaged in easy, surprisingly comfortable idle talk. However, to keep the momentum going and support the conversation naturally, I found myself helplessly backed into a corner where I had to awkwardly explain my recent breakup with Lee Sora. Sharing my romantic disasters with the founder of the entire educational foundation wasn't on my bingo card, but the old man listened with attentive, non-judgmental nods, offering quiet words of wisdom about the chaotic nature of teenage hearts.
Just as I was wrapping up the awkward explanation, heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor.
The rest of the Park family had officially arrived.
First through the double doors was Chairman Park Jin-ho, looking impeccably sharp, accompanied by his poised, elegantly dressed wife. Right behind them walked Jin-hyun's parents—a couple I had only ever seen a few minutes ago in framed photographs on Jin-hyun's desk. His father carried the exact same relaxed, sharp profile as Jin-hyun, while his mother exuded a gentle, refined aura.
And finally, trailing at the very back of the procession, was Kang Min-ah.
The moment the Database Queen stepped into the hall and spotted me sitting comfortably right beside the family patriarch—sharing a warm laugh with her grandfather—her jaw unhinged, and her eyes widened behind her frames in absolute, unadulterated shock.