Chapter 20: Please Keep Watching

Even after being rejected so harshly, the man didn’t lose the smile on his face.

“I knew it wouldn’t be easy. If a woman as attractive as you didn’t have this much aloofness, that would be more surprising.”

The man took a step back and raised both hands.

“If you were offended that I spoke to you in English without permission, I apologize. But can’t you give me a chance? Look again. Honestly, if it’s me, isn’t it enough to be considered courage rather than recklessness?”

Be careful of temptation.

It’s always because of these guys that people don’t utilize their abilities properly and lose their lives in vain.

They dig into the weak parts of your heart, create cracks, and stimulate your primal desires, clouding your judgment.

“The fact that you’re just listening like this, can I take it to mean that I should grab another chance?”

Guys who tamper with memories are the worst. But Incubus doesn’t work on me. I’ve sent away all the guys who approached me thinking that such tricks would work.

“You’re so quiet, I’ll speak your thoughts for you. ‘He’s not that annoying after all.’ Something like that?”

In a moment that felt like time had slowed down, the surrounding noises faded away, and only the words uttered by the man in front of me echoed loudly in my head.

“Alright, for now, I’ll take that silence as an answer, right? But maybe. You might want to say something later. Here, contact me then.”

Whoosh.

I roughly slapped away the man’s hand that was approaching me.

For the first time, the smile disappeared from the man’s face, replaced by bewilderment.

“Hey, this might hurt a little…”

Only then did the complex noises around Gangnam Station gradually fill my ears.

What did I just do? I swung my hand at a person.

I quickly bowed my head. My voice, as it came out, had a slight tremor.

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry…”

I turned and ran away. I could hear him calling something from behind, but I didn’t care. I ran for a long time through the skyscrapers, not knowing where I was going.

“Haa, haa…”

I catch my breath in a narrow alley. As I hear my heart pounding, I recall the events of the day.

I threw a knife and caught a fly. I was overly wary of the gazes directed at me. I mistook someone and almost attacked them.

I felt like my condition was too good when I woke up this morning.

I was wrong. It was a misjudgment.

This was clearly a state of heightened combat readiness.

The longing that had been suppressed for a set period of time hadn’t disappeared.

Now that I had stopped playing Ori, the desire for battle was starting to invade my daily life.

I stare at my reflection in the glass window of a building. I see the trembling purple eyes within.

***

During the two weeks that ‘Elf Cho Eun’ postponed the company-level verification.

Many things happened within Cradle Korea as well.

The situation began to change rapidly when the US headquarters heard the news and expressed their will to verify it directly.

Of course, the hacking allegations were, in a way, an issue that could shake the very foundation of the game. But it was common for the regional branch or security team to handle it internally.

No matter how you looked at it, it was excessive intervention for the scale of the incident. This could inevitably lead to several problems.

First, it could give the impression that they doubted or disregarded the management ability of the regional branch.

Because of the weight of the headquarters, the importance of the incident was abnormally raised.

Because it was perceived as a matter of the company’s overall credibility, not just a simple hacking allegation.

Accordingly, communities and media would also regard this as a global issue.

Of course, it didn’t seem like the headquarters wanted that either. The fact that people were sent from the headquarters was not publicly announced. They visited in a private capacity, not included in the official schedule.

However, the positions of those dispatched employees were also unusual.

The CTO (Chief Technology Officer) and the head game designer, accompanied by two engineers, had already arrived in Korea.

Since they expected the verification to take place around the time of Elf Cho Eun’s interview date, they were able to arrive on an appropriate date.

The headquarters’ high-ranking team, who had finished inspecting the servers and facilities, was being received by the Korean branch manager.

For this reason, the head of the security team was put in charge of guiding the subject.

‘It’s not a simple hacking issue. There’s definitely something. Considering the CTO came in person, is it an internal project or a system design problem?’

The head of the security team, Go Mansuk, made various guesses. But unless the headquarters revealed it, there was no way to find out on his own.

“By the way, what time is it now…”

The head of the security team, who looked down at his wrist, made a call to a customer support team employee.

“Assistant Manager Ha, is there still no contact? It seems a little late.”

Assistant Manager Ha’s anxious voice was heard over the phone.

“Yes, sir. I’m constantly trying to contact her now. We’ve been in contact until now, but suddenly today…”

“Alright. If you get in touch, let me know immediately where she is.”

He hung up the phone and checked his watch again. It had only been about 10 minutes. For a young person, it was enough time to be late.

From the security team leader’s perspective, who had come down to the lobby exactly on time, such a reason was not welcome.

The security team leader sat on a sofa in a corner of the lobby and quietly closed his eyes.

He opens his eyes. Ten minutes had passed. He picked up his phone again, but this time, the call came first.

“Yes, Branch Manager. Yes. Yes. She hasn’t arrived yet. Yes. I’ll contact you as soon as she arrives. Yes. Yes, I understand.”

He frowned slightly. If she’s late, it would be nice if she at least answered the phone.

After that, several calls were exchanged, a few employees came down from upstairs, and the security team leader went up and came back to the lobby.

The appointment time was just before an hour had passed.

At this rate, it seemed like she was avoiding the visit.

‘Was she really a hacker… I wonder if the headquarters came in person because they couldn’t find the cause. This is going to be quite complicated…’

As the head of the department in charge of server and data security, it was even more of a headache.

‘A hack that couldn’t even be detected internally. What kind of technology was used? Anyway, I have to admit that she’s a bold one. She made an appointment, then broke it at the last minute, even toying with us.’

Let’s go back and report. It was the moment he made up his mind and stood up.

Through the glass door, there was a woman walking quickly.

There was a sense of urgency, but it didn’t feel clumsy or out of place.

Her stride was constant. Her balance and posture were also perfectly maintained. It was a wonder how she could move so fast and still give off an impression of elegance.

The only information about the verification subject was that she was a woman. But I had a strong intuition that it was her. The security team leader approached the woman.

“Hello. Are you Elf Cho Eun-nim, here for verification today?”

The woman, who bowed her head deeply, slowly raised her face.

“I’m so sorry for taking up your precious time. I’ll do my best to make the moment you’ve been waiting for even more meaningful.”

Maybe it was because of the formal and polite apology, or maybe it was because the face he saw up close was a beauty that made him speechless… The security team leader felt the anger he had been suppressing for an hour melt away.

“It’s alright. I’m Go Mansuk, the head of the security team, and I’ll be assisting you with the guidance today.”

“I’m Shin Cho Eun.”

“Since time has been delayed quite a bit, I would appreciate your prompt cooperation.”

After confirming her identity and registering her security, he took the woman to the testing location.

As they walked, he occasionally looked at the woman’s face. He started to think that maybe the reason for the headquarters’ intervention wasn’t a technical issue.

‘Was she someone connected to the headquarters from the beginning? Her exotic appearance and her upper-class demeanor. I wonder if she’s the hidden daughter of Cradle’s chairman?’

There was no conversation between the two. Even if he tried to say something, he couldn’t get the words out.

The woman had a determined look on her face. It even felt a little solemn.

‘If she’s nervous, then maybe she’s not a relative? I don’t know. Even if she is a relative, she could still be nervous.’

They walked in silence and soon arrived at the testing location. It was a security area connected to the server room.

Upon entering, the woman apologized to the others who had been waiting. Seeing her conversing fluently in English

with the headquarters’ dispatch team, the security team leader’s second hypothesis gained more strength. The idea

that the verification subject had a connection with high-ranking officials at the headquarters.

After a brief explanation, the subject put on the VR device. In addition to the basic equipment, a few more sensors were attached to capture bio-signals.

In the center, gaming equipment was installed to detect input data without a single error. High-performance cameras in various parts of the room were scheduled to record all movements.

Some of the engineers were in front of the monitors, looking at the screens. The rest of the staff watched the subject standing in the middle of the room.

The subject bowed her head lightly towards the people surrounding her.

The words that flowed softly were, rather than a determination to clear herself of the hacking allegations, somewhat unique and had a strange feeling.

“I will do my best to control myself with all my might. I hope you will all watch over me.”