The inner wing did not return to its earlier rhythm after Boundary One.
Systems remained active long after the session ended. Filaments dimmed but were not withdrawn. Monitors continued to scroll data that no longer fit the templates they were built to display. Personnel did not disperse. They gathered instead, quietly, in pairs and small clusters, reviewing overlays, replaying recordings, adjusting models that no longer aligned.
Tae-Hyun was guided to a waiting zone near the central chamber, a curved recess built into the wall where observation staff usually stood. A gray-coated technician scanned the bands at his wrist and throat, then nodded without comment.
He remained there for almost an hour.
Through the transparent partitions, he could see Eun-chae being examined. Medical staff moved around her with controlled urgency, running handheld diagnostics, adjusting the framework that still hovered faintly behind her shoulders. She answered their questions calmly. Her posture stayed steady, though her gaze drifted often toward the space where he stood.
When they finally stepped back, she lifted her head and met his eyes.
A quiet recognition passed between them.
She was still here.
And so was he.
Director Han arrived without announcement.
One moment the observation deck held only analysts. The next, he stood among them, hands resting lightly on the glass railing, his attention fixed on the space below.
"Bring them," he said.
The instruction moved quickly.
A technician approached Tae-Hyun. "Follow me."
At the same time, two medical staff guided Eun-chae from the platform. They didn't restrain her. They didn't rush her. They walked slightly behind, allowing her pace to set the rhythm.
They were brought to a smaller chamber adjoining central coordination.
Unlike the fitting room, this space felt intentional. A circular table sat at its center. Transparent panels curved overhead, displaying slow-moving biological projections. The air held a quiet hum, softer than the inner wing's resonance but present enough to register.
Director Han stood at the far side of the room when they entered.
"You both deviated from expected parameters," he said calmly.
His gaze shifted first to Eun-chae.
"Your internal structure responded with higher-order coherence when exposed to the proximity variable," he continued. "That response was not anticipated."
Then his eyes moved to Tae-Hyun.
"And you produced a stabilizing influence that does not exist within our known biological spectrum."
He let the words settle.
"Boundary One has been formally logged," he said. "Which means your interaction is no longer considered interference."
A pause.
"It is now considered a system factor."
Eun-chae's fingers tightened slightly at her side.
Tae-Hyun held the director's gaze.
"What does that change?" he asked.
"It changes classification," Director Han replied. "And direction."
He gestured toward the projections.
"Subject E-17 is hereby reclassified from Interface Candidate to Core-Compatible Host."
The designation appeared in light above the table.
Eun-chae watched it form.
"And Han Jae-Min," the director continued, "is hereby reclassified from Proximity Variable to Resonant Stabilization Node."
Another designation joined the first.
The room seemed to orient around the words.
"You will both remain in the inner wing," Director Han said. "Your schedules, access routes, and monitoring protocols will be adjusted. Future interface development will be structured around your shared field response."
Eun-chae lifted her eyes.
"You're building it around us," she said.
"Yes," the director replied simply. "Because the system aligned more accurately when you were allowed to influence it."
"And if that alignment changes?" Tae-Hyun asked.
Director Han considered him.
"Then we adjust the system," he said. "Or the factors."
Silence stretched.
Beyond the curved panels, data continued its quiet movement.
"What is it you're trying to build?" Eun-chae asked.
The director studied her.
"An architecture capable of holding layered biological intelligence," he said. "A living framework. One that can carry, coordinate, and survive the convergence of multiple enhanced systems."
"Toward what purpose?" she asked.
"Continuity," he replied. "And direction."
The answer held the careful emptiness of someone accustomed to not naming the center of his work.
"You will be given time to integrate your new roles," Director Han continued. "Training. Monitoring. Controlled exposure. Your interactions will be structured."
He turned slightly.
"Begin implementation," he instructed.
The panels shifted.
Assignments populated.
Routes updated.
The system moved forward.
They were escorted back into the inner wing together.
This time, no one separated them.
They were guided to an adjacent residential sector built into the wing's perimeter. Two doors stood side by side. Identical. Marked only by access codes.
"Your quarters," the technician said. "You will report to interface prep at 0900."
He left without waiting for acknowledgment.
They stood in the corridor for a moment, the low hum of the wing moving gently through the space.
"So," Eun-chae said quietly. "We've been upgraded."
He looked at her.
"Repositioned," he replied.
She studied the door beside hers, then turned back to him.
"They didn't ask," she said.
"No," he agreed. "They observed."
Her gaze lifted to his.
"And you didn't refuse."
"I wasn't invited," he said.
A faint, tired curve touched her mouth.
"That may be the most honest thing said in this building."
They stood there longer than necessary.
Two anomalies placed side by side.
"Are you afraid?" she asked.
He considered.
"I'm attentive," he said. "Which is what fear becomes when it stops being useful."
She nodded slowly.
"I think," she said, "that whatever they're building, it doesn't only move through machines."
He held her gaze.
"It moves through people," she continued. "Through relationships. Through things they don't know how to program."
The hum inside him shifted in quiet agreement.
"Yes," he said.
She reached for her door panel.
Paused.
"Stay," she said, not as a command, but as a request.
"I am," he replied.
She activated her door and stepped inside.
A moment later, he did the same.
The corridor lights dimmed.
Inside the inner wing, two new designations settled into the system.
Core-Compatible Host.Resonant Stabilization Node.
And somewhere deeper in W-03, a structure that had never accounted for human connection adjusted its architecture around something it could measure…
but not yet understand.