𝑹𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑺𝑰𝑫𝑬 | 𝐊. 𝐆𝐖

𝐱𝐯. 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫

_____________________

"Holy shit"

The four of them glanced up at the multi-story, advanced tech building. Nari strained her neck to catch a glimpse at the very top, the elevators were spiralling and her head felt dizzy from how high it seemed to go.

The group of four found themselves in the lobby of Hong Min-beoms's million-dollar company-Lil Group. Amongst his drunken words, Min-beom uttered upon their return that Gang-yong could bring in an expert from the policy agency to hack into Kim Myeong-gil's phone when he enters the company to sign the contract. It was a risky plan with a lot of error and Hyeon-ju had voiced her scepticism, not fully trusting Min-beom to have the gall to go through with the plan.

But they had to trust him because there was only so much the group could do and they promised to help Min-beom in return for his resources and intel.

They were ushered up numerous floors, people brushing past without a second look until a young woman, a clipboard in hand and hair slicked back, not a strand out of place guided them towards a boardroom on the far end of the corridor.

When they entered, bowing in greeting and reciprocated with echoes following, Nari noted two unfamiliar faces alongside Gang-yong and Min-beom. A young woman with mousy features and wide black glasses sat poised on the sofa, a tablet sat across her lap but Nari could pick up on the slight nervousness in her expression- her eyes blinked a little too fast at times, her hands clenched and unclenched on her lap and she kept readjusting her posture. Beside her a bit of an older man, dressed down in simple attire but  he held himself confidently and dutifully.

Nari shot them both smiles as the four took to the sofa and turned their attention to Gang-yong who grinned.

''Let me introduce you to my team'' he said, glancing at the man to his right who straightened. "I'm detective Yoon Han-gu. Nice to meet you" he introduced, bowing and they were quick to return his sentiment.

"I'm team leader Kang Tae-yong from cybercrimes" the woman perked up. " I'm not supposed to be here but nice to meet you" she smiled rather nervously, and they greeted her, Nari questioning her nervousness in her head but let a gentle smile rest on her face in hopes to convey her gratitude for her sacrifice. It was not an easy feat going against one of the biggest conglomerates in Seoul. Nari could only imagine how terrified the woman must be.

"Tae-yong is the leading cybersecurity expert in the country" Gang-yong praised and they glanced at her impressed. "She'll explain how to hack Myeong-gil's phone and then she'll lead you through the steps to activate the safe." He said, cueing for the woman to take over.

"Right. There are two ways to do it and the first way is to use Wi-Fi" she started. " I'll install a jammer in the meeting room and that will temporarily block internet access. That will naturally lead the subject to reconnect to the Wi-Fi again but the moment he connects to the transmitter I made , I'll be able to access his phone device. And once I do, it's game over. "

Nari glanced at Hyeon-ju, her eyes slightly wide as the woman rushed over her words, barely stuttering and plans unfolding. Nari was certain the woman had not taken a breath in her explanation not even when she then went on to explain the other method. 

''The second method, it depends if we can get him to open up a more direct route for us. You know how these days we scan personnel QR codes when entering buildings. I'll make one to post at the entrance, then have him scan it. Once the QR code has been scanned it'll open a door for me to again hack into his phone. We will be using both methods at the same time" she concluded finally, and Woo-jin went to clap his hands together, his eyes wide and awestruck before Nari gently placed her hands over his and lowered it.

Min-beom, who had been listening with a headache pounding in his head and fear strumming his veins raised his hand concerned. '' Wait! What do I have to do?" he asked

Tae-yong looked startled, blanching for a  second before spluttering a response. " Uh, you just need to make sure he stays connected to the Wi-Fi for as long as possible. I'll have access to his cloud but depending on the size it could take some time to rake all of the data "

"If we're lucky, we may be able to get evidence for all his crimes and catch his accomplices '' Gang-yong told them and they all turned to him rather hopeful. This was their gateway opportunity they had been waiting for.

"But what if he catches on?" Min-beom's fear was evident  on his face. " What's our backup plan?"

Nari could tell from the sigh Gang-yong released to the uneasy expression on Tae-yong's that there wasn't really a backup plan if this went awry. And judging by Min-beom's face, she knew he figured it out too and suddenly it seemed convincing him to go through with the plan seemed impossible.

"We're using both methods at once to avoid needing a backup plan" Gang-yong tried to reassure but the reluctance was clear across his face that his words were not easing him in the slightest. Min-beom voiced his complaints rather loud, his concerns felt unheard as panic crept into his voice. He was risking it all for them to not have a backup plan? They couldn't be serious.

"No matter what it takes we have to destroy that fcking hard drive tomorrow ." he expressed. " If it was up to me I would just take his phone. Should be easy. Not so complicated. What's with all the technical details" he whined. Nari could understand where he was coming from, it was his neck on the platter and Myeong-gil had the ability to ruin his life if things went south. He wasn't being unreasonable she realised, he was just scared.

"It will be safer for everyone to do as Miss Kang said. It may seem risky but it's a solid plan. We can't risk it otherwise" Hyeon-ju intervened and Min-beom leaned back into his seat miffed and irritated.

Gang-yong patted his leg, ushering him for a breather outside because he knew he needed to convince Min-beom that he was critical for this plan to succeed.

Nari watched him go and sudden doubt on whether they could do this started spinning in her head.

"You think he'll pull through'' Nari whispered to Geon-woo who glanced at the balcony door where Min-beom and Gang-yong disappeared to. A crease found its way between his eyebrows, and he too looked uncertain.

"He will" Geon-woo muttered. " He has to"

For all their sakes, Hong Min-beom had to overcome his fear.