THE BLUE RIVER

JOINT CEO OF THE BLUE RIVER

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CHAPTER 4: JOINT CEOS

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MONDAY 8:00 AM. BLUE RIVER TECH. CEO OFFICE.

One office.

One desk.

Two nameplates.

CEO RIVER KWON

CEO SENA HAN

Side by side.

Sena walked in first.

Stopped.

Stared.

River walked in 3 seconds later.

Stopped.

Stared.

"They did this on purpose," Sena said.

"The board is evil," River agreed.

The office was huge. Floor to ceiling windows.

But only ONE chair behind the desk.

One couch.

One coffee machine.

"Rock paper scissors for the chair?" Sena offered.

"I don’t play games," River said.

Then sat in the chair.

Sena crossed her arms.

"Fine. I’ll stand. I’m better at standing anyway."

"I’m better at everything," River said.

"Except sharing."

River looked up.

Sena was already unpacking.

Plants.

Sticky notes.

A photo of her team.

She was making it warm.

He hated that he liked it.

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PART 2: FIRST CRISIS

10:17 AM

Email alert.

All staff.

BLUE RIVER TECH EMPLOYEES: We do not trust these two. One of you stole our client 3 years ago. Which one is it?

Panic.

The whole company was watching them.

River and Sena in the middle of the office.

200 employees staring.

Sena stepped forward first.

"Morning everyone. I’m CEO Han."

River stepped next to her.

"I’m CEO Kwon."

Together: "And we’re running this company together."

Silence.

Then someone from the back:

"Who’s in charge?"

River and Sena looked at each other.

Sena answered: "We both are."

River added: "And we both hate losing. So this company will win."

Someone clapped.

Then another.

After the meeting, in the office:

"That was good," River said.

"You were good," Sena said.

They both looked away.

Compliments were dangerous.

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PART 3: THE SHARED CALENDAR

2:00 PM

Ms. Park: "CEOs, your schedules are now merged.

You go to the same meetings.

You sign the same documents.

You eat lunch at the same time."

Sena: "What."

River: "Absolutely not."

12:30 PM. LUNCH.

Company cafeteria.

They sat at a table.

Alone.

Everyone watching.

Sena poked her bibimbap.

River ate his kimbap in silence.

"This is torture," Sena whispered.

"Tell me about it," River whispered back.

Then the CTO, Mr. Lee, sat down.

Uninvited.

"The team needs to know. Who makes the final call?"

River: "I do."

Sena: "I do."

Mr. Lee looked between them.

"So... no one?"

"Yes," they said together.

Mr. Lee left, confused.

Sena sighed.

"We can’t do this."

"Then we figure it out," River said.

"How?"

"We divide. You take product. I take finance.

But we both sign off."

Sena nodded.

"Partners?"

"Partners."

They bumped fists over the table.

It looked suspiciously like a pinky promise.

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PART 4: LATE NIGHT. 11PM.

BlueRiver’s server crashed.

All data.

Gone.

Emergency.

Only River and Sena in the IT room.

20 IT guys panicking.

Sena was calm.

"Okay. Backup from 6pm. Restore it."

"Ma’am, the backup is corrupted too."

River didn’t panic either.

"Who has access to the mainframe?"

"Only 3 people. Me, you, and—"

"The CTO who was fired," Sena finished.

Sabotage.

River started typing.

Fast.

Sena watched his hands.

He was good.

Really good.

"Can you get it?" she asked.

"I can try."

3 hours.

No talking.

Just keyboard sounds and shared coffee.

2:14 AM

"Got it," River said.

The servers came back online.

The IT team cheered.

River leaned back.

Exhausted.

Sena looked at him.

Hair messy.

Eyes red.

Tie loose.

"You saved the company," she said.

"You helped," River said.

"I just watched."

"You stayed. That’s enough."

Sena’s chest felt weird.

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PART 5: THE QUESTION

2:30 AM. CEO OFFICE.

They collapsed on the couch.

Not touching.

But close.

Sena was half asleep.

"River?"

"Mm?"

"Why did you save me?

In the boardroom.

With the debt thing."

River was quiet for a long time.

"I don’t know," he said finally.

"Liar."

"Fine. Because you looked like you were going to break.

And I didn’t want to be the reason."

Sena turned to look at him.

"That’s... soft. For you."

"I’m not soft."

"You are. A little."

"Don’t tell anyone."

Sena smiled.

"My secret."

River looked at her.

Really looked.

She was beautiful like this.

Tired.

Honest.

No CEO mask.

His phone buzzed.

His dad.

Again.

He ignored it.

Sena saw.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Okay."

She reached over.

Didn’t touch him.

Just put her hand near his on the couch.

Close enough that he could feel the heat.

River didn’t move his hand away.

They fell asleep like that.

2:47 AM.

On the couch.

Partners.

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END OF CHAPTER 4

What happened:

Shared office - One desk, one chair, war begins

First crisis - Employees don’t trust them. They present a united front

Division of labor - Product vs Finance. Partners.

Server crisis - Late night save. Teamwork.

The question - "Why did you save me?" + hand almost touching

The ice is melting. Fast.

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writed by Omahcbeauty

THE ALMOST HANDHOLD!!

Chapter 5 will be: Company retreat + forced to share a room + drunk Sena + River takes care of her + "Don’t look at me like that"