A few days later

The atmosphere inside Tulip Corp had completely transformed.

What once looked like a small creative startup now carried the energy of a rapidly growing company preparing to enter a much bigger stage.

Employees moved busily across departments.

Large displays showed project timelines, concept art, marketing plans, and development goals.

Artists carried tablets and folders between rooms.

Developers discussed engine builds and mechanics.

Writers filled whiteboards with story lore and character arcs.

And for the first time since arriving in Star Harbor...

The entire company finally felt stable.

This morning...

A major internal meeting had been arranged.

Inside the main conference hall of Tulip Corp...

Department heads slowly gathered around the long modern table.

The large glass walls behind them overlooked the shining skyline of Star Harbor.

Coffee cups rested beside laptops.

Presentation screens glowed softly.

Several employees whispered among themselves while waiting for the meeting to begin.

Some still looked excited about living in Star Harbor.

Others already seemed deeply focused on work.

At the front of the room...

Alice stood confidently with a tablet in hand.

Compared to her nervous first meeting with Miles...

She looked far calmer now.

Far stronger.

Meanwhile...

One large screen displayed Chloe joining virtually from her apartment.

She sat comfortably near her drawing setup with headphones resting around her neck.

Her screen background showed unfinished character sketches scattered everywhere.

Kate adjusted the presentation screen. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Then the room slowly became quiet.

Alice smiled lightly.

"Good morning everyone."

The employees greeted back together.

"Good morning Miss Alice."

Alice nodded.

Then slowly began.

"We have officially completed our workplace transition from New York to Star Harbor."

"To be honest..."

"These past few weeks have been extremely stressful for all of us."

A few people laughed quietly in agreement.

Alice smiled too.

"But this transition is also the beginning of much bigger growth for our company."

Her eyes slowly moved across the room.

"Chloe and I started Tulip Corp as nothing more than a dream."

"A small dream."

"A dream created by two people who simply wanted to build worlds and stories."

Her voice became softer for a moment.

"And while growing this company..."

"We specifically chose young minds."

"Young artists."

"Young developers."

"Young writers."

"Young animators."

"Fresh graduates."

"Creative people like us."

Several younger employees smiled hearing that.

Alice continued.

"I truly appreciate every single one of you for cooperating during this sudden relocation."

"I know it was not easy."

"New homes."

"New city."

"New workplace."

"New environment."

"But I hope everyone has settled well here."

Some employees nodded.

A few laughed awkwardly.

Alice suddenly smirked.

"Some of you already visited beaches though."

"I was scrolling social media yesterday."

The room instantly burst into laughter.

One employee quickly covered his face.

Kate quietly shook her head while smiling.

Alice pointed jokingly.

"Yes."

"I saw your beach photos."

"Very professional behavior."

More laughter filled the room.

Then Alice became serious again.

"If you or your departments face any problems settling in Star Harbor..."

"Please contact Kate directly."

"She will handle things."

Kate immediately nodded professionally.

"I will do my best."

Alice finally moved toward the main presentation.

"Now..."

"Lets get to the main point."

The screen behind her changed.

The Tulip Corp logo appeared beside Sterling Enterprises and Reaper Entertainment.

The room immediately became more focused.

"The primary reason behind shifting here..."

"Was securing a major investment partnership with Sterling Enterprises."

"They now officially own twenty percent stake in Tulip Corp."

A few employees still looked amazed hearing that spoken aloud.

Even now...

It felt unreal.

Alice continued confidently.

"With their support..."

"We are finally able to begin a completely new project."

"Some of you already gave extra effort helping us build the prototype."

"And thanks to your hard work..."

"Chairman Miles Sterling personally loved the prototype."

A few employees looked excited instantly.

Whispers spread quietly.

Alice smiled seeing their reactions.

"He also arranged professional guidance for us from one of the largest media and artist management companies in the world..."

"Reaper Entertainment."

This time the room reacted even louder.

Even some department heads looked impressed.

Alice nodded.

"Yes."

"And they already arranged a full marketing masterclass for us this Thursday."

"Our entire marketing department will participate."

"Even I will personally attend."

The marketing team immediately looked both excited and terrified.

Kate quietly laughed beside them.

Alice changed the slide again.

A dark fantasy game logo slowly appeared behind her.

The room became silent again.

"So..."

"Tulip Corp is officially entering game development."

The statement settled heavily across the room.

Excitement slowly spread through everyone’s expressions.

Some employees looked nervous.

Others looked thrilled.

Alice continued.

"We finally have the funding required to take this project to the next level."

"Better mechanics."

"Better world building."

"Better combat systems."

"Better storytelling."

"Better character designs."

"Our writers already started expanding the lore."

"Our design team already began advanced concept planning."

"Our development department will begin engine integration this week."

She paused briefly.

"This project will take months to complete."

"But..."

Her eyes sharpened slightly.

"We are not waiting until release to build attention."

The next presentation screen displayed global marketing strategies.

"Using the prototype itself..."

"We will begin early stage global marketing."

"We want player feedback."

"We want community reactions."

"We want real gamer engagement from the beginning."

Several department heads immediately began noting things down.

Alice continued professionally.

"Department tasks will officially be assigned throughout this week."

"Every team will receive production targets and timelines."

"Coordination between departments is extremely important from now onward."

Then finally...

She looked toward the giant screen where Chloe appeared.

"Now..."

"Our Creative Director wishes to say a few things."

The screen enlarged slightly.

Chloe adjusted her glasses awkwardly.

Then shared several advanced character designs onto the display.

The entire room became quiet again.

Beautiful fantasy characters appeared one after another.

Warriors.

Monsters.

Mages.

Dark creatures.

Elegant heroines.

Terrifying bosses.

The designs looked alive.

Chloe softly explained animation flow, movement details, emotional expressions, and visual storytelling choices behind each design.

Even senior artists listened carefully.

Despite her quiet personality...

Her talent commanded attention naturally.

The presentation continued for nearly an hour.

Marketing plans.

Development structures.

Production schedules.

Animation pipelines.

Client management.

Future expansion.

Everything was discussed carefully.

And just like that...

Tulip Corp officially stepped into a completely new world.

The evening atmosphere inside the Pearl Villa felt unusually lively today.

The scent of dinner slowly drifted from the kitchen.

Soft instrumental music played somewhere in the background.

And in the middle of the living room...

Miles had created complete chaos.

A large canvas stood proudly on a wooden easel.

Paint tubes were scattered across the table.

Brushes rested inside glass jars.

A color palette sat in his hand while black paint already stained two of his fingers.

Daniel and Elena sat comfortably on the couch nearby watching the entire scene unfold with amusement.

Meanwhile...

Hope and Asher stood directly behind Miles like two tiny bodyguards.

Both looked unbelievably excited.

Their little eyes kept moving between the paints, brushes, and empty canvas.

Then...

The front door opened.

Monica walked inside after work.

She removed her coat slowly...

Then froze.

Her eyes moved toward the strange setup in the living room.

"...What is going on?"

Before anyone could answer...

Hope raised both hands dramatically.

"Big bro is painting!"

Asher nodded aggressively.

"Yes!"

Monica blinked twice.

"Ehh??"

Elena immediately burst into laughter.

"He got jealous listening to all the stories from Sunday."

Monica looked confused.

Elena continued smiling.

"These two kept talking nonstop about artists and drawings and animation."

"And now..."

She looked toward Miles teasingly.

"Someone wants to become favorite big brother again."

Daniel chuckled quietly beside her.

Monica crossed her arms.

"Seriously boss..."

"Are you a child?"

Miles did not even look back.

"No I am not."

"But I can do art too."

Monica laughed.

"Yeah?"

"Now I really want to see this."

Miles smirked lightly.

"Wait and watch."

Then...

The room slowly became quiet.

Miles began mixing colors carefully on the palette.

Black.

Gray.

White.

Small touches of silver.

His fingers moved calmly and naturally.

Then...

Without sketching anything first...

He directly placed the brush against the canvas.

The first brush stroke appeared.

Smooth.

Controlled.

Precise.

Daniel slowly straightened himself on the couch.

Elena blinked in surprise.

Even Monica’s teasing expression slowly disappeared.

Miles continued moving the brush naturally.

His wrist movements looked experienced.

Confident.

Years of control existed in every motion.

Black paint slowly covered most of the canvas.

Dark textures formed layer after layer.

Then came details.

Gray fog.

Shadowy outlines.

A pale moon.

Tiny stars.

Bare twisted tree branches.

And beneath the moonlight...

A lonely graveyard appeared.

One old cross shaped gravestone stood near the center.

The dark atmosphere of the painting slowly swallowed the entire room.

Hope stared with wide eyes.

Asher moved closer to the canvas unconsciously.

The twins looked completely fascinated.

Asher pointed excitedly.

"It looks cool big bro!"

Hope hugged Monica’s arm slightly.

"That’s scary..."

"But cool."

Daniel slowly shook his head in disbelief.

"I genuinely did not expect this."

Elena laughed softly.

"Really"

"I thought you were only saying it because you were jealous."

Miles finally glanced backward proudly.

"Well..."

"I am jealous."

Then he looked toward the twins dramatically.

"See my soldiers?"

"I can do art too."

"What do you think?"

Asher instantly raised both thumbs proudly.

"You are the coolest!"

Then his eyes sparkled.

"Can you draw a superhero for me?"

Hope immediately protested.

"Me too!"

Miles smiled warmly.

"Lets go then."

The twins cheered instantly.

Elena looked at Monica while laughing softly.

"Are they all the same age?"

Monica could not help smiling too.

But while everyone looked happy...

Her eyes quietly rested on Miles for a moment longer.

He looked relaxed.

Peaceful.

Genuinely happy.

The same man who once learned art only to calm the violence inside himself, to wash away his pain.

Was now using it to spread happiness around him.

Monica lowered her gaze slightly.

A soft smile appeared on her lips.

Even she had not expected this change.

...

Meanwhile...

Across the city...

Chloe slowly walked into her apartment building carrying a small bag.

One hand rubbed her eyes lazily.

As she reached the package section near the lobby...

She paused.

A small elegant box rested there with her apartment number written neatly on it.

Chloe tilted her head.

"That’s strange..."

"It doesn’t look like anything I ordered."

Curiosity slowly appeared on her sleepy face.

She picked up the package anyway and entered the elevator.

A few moments later...

She reached her apartment.

The moment she stepped inside...

She placed her bag aside and immediately sat near the table.

Then carefully opened the box.

Inside...

Rested a beautiful hairclip.

Silver colored.

Elegant.

Decorated with tiny blue crystal flowers.

Chloe’s eyes widened slightly.

"It’s beautiful..."

Then she noticed the small folded note beneath it.

She slowly opened it.

"Hope noticed your interest in the hairclip that day. And she demanded her big brother another hairclip so she could give it to you. Hope says thanks for Sunday."

"Monica."

For a few seconds...

Chloe simply stared at the note silently.

Then slowly...

A genuine smile appeared on her face.

Soft.

Warm.

Natural.

She stood up and walked toward the mirror.

Carefully...

She clipped it into her hair.

Then tilted her head slightly while looking at her reflection.

"Well..."

"It looks pretty."

Her fingers softly touched the hairclip again.

Then she smiled faintly at herself.

"Chairman definitely has skill in picking things huh?"