???? ??? ? ??? ???? ?? ?? ??????, ??? ???? ? 'S'? ???? ??? ???? ?? ???? ????. ???? ???? ??? ??? ??? ?? ??? ?????. ? ??? ?? ??? ???. ?? ??? ??? ????. ?? ?? ??? '???'? ?? ?? ??? ?????.

  "???, ?? ???. ?? ?? ???. ??? ? ??? ? ????? ?? ??? ??!"

  ??? ??? ??? ???? ????. ??? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ?? ???.

  "??, ?? ?? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?? ? ????? ? ??? ??? ?? '????'? ?????!"

  ??? ?? ??? ??? ????, ??? ???? ??? ???? ?? ???. ??? ?? ??? ?? ?? ? ??? ?? ??? ???. 'S'? ??? ????. ?? ?????.

  ?? ??, ??? ???? ??? ??? ?? ??? ?? PC??? ???. ??? ??? ??? ?? ??? ???? ??? ??? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???.

  "??? ?, ?? ?? ????. ???? ?? ??? ?? ???? ?? ? ??? ??? '??? ??' ??? ????? ? ? ???. ??? ?? ?? ????… ? ??? ??? ???? ?? ? ?? ????."

  ??? ??? ?? ??? ????. ?? ???? ???? ?? ?? ???? ?? ??? ? ?????, ?? ????? ??? ?? ????? ????.

  "??? ?? ? ???. ???? ????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ??????. ??? ? ??? ?? ???? ?? ?????. ??? ?? ??? ?? ?? ?? ?????. 'S'? ? ???? ????? ???? ?? ????."

  ??? ??? ???? ???? ????? ? ???.

  "?????... ???? ?? ?? ? ???. ???, ? ??? ???? ?? '?? ??'?? ?? ?? ?? ??? ???."

  ?? ? ??, ???? ??? ??? ???? ? ???? ??? ?????. ??? ? ??? ??? ????? ???, ? ??? ??? ???? ????.

  "? ???! ?? ???? ?? ? ?? ???? ?? ????????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??????!"

  Jin-woo swaggered and opened the HQ guideline document. However, a very small dot was stamped in the corner of the logo on the first page. To ordinary eyes, it would look like a printing error, but to Jin-woo's eyes, it was a clear 'Backdoor' signal.

  ‘The moment I read the guidelines, it means I hand over all permissions of my PC.’

  Jin-woo was about to click the mouse but stopped. At that moment, a large drone passed by the office window with a buzzing sound. The drone's camera lens seemed to point briefly toward Jin-woo's seat, then disappeared.

  Jin-woo took his smartphone out of his pocket and sent a text to Da-yeon.

  [Chief]: Ms. Da-yeon, don't go to Cafe 'Sum-pyo' after work today, go straight home. Ah, buy a 'Strawberry Milk' on the way. Consider it a necessary system patch for your stress levels.

  A reply came from Da-yeon: [Pardon? Suddenly? Haha, okay!]. Jin-woo stared at the monitor again. 'S' was monitoring all physical and logical spaces of this office right now.

  Jin-woo muttered toward the invisible enemy.

  "A backdoor... guess they aren't confident enough to come through the front door?"

  Jin-woo's fingers began to dance on the keyboard. It was no longer simple defense. A perilous algorithm of 'Reverse Infiltration' was activating, riding the enemy's backdoor in reverse to strike the heart.

  The reverse infiltration code Jin-woo planted swam through the deep sea of the main contractor's network but was blocked by a massive firewall. However, the structure of that firewall was familiar. It wasn't the work of a clumsy newbie. It was an algorithm mixed with vengeance, re-woven with the official support of the main contractor security team by Yoon Mi-ra, who was kicked out a few days ago.

  "Look at this? Ms. Mi-ra, I thought she packed up and left, but she trusted the main contractor's backing and came back properly 'upgraded'."

  Jin-woo crumpled the empty paper cup and frowned. At that moment, a power outage occurred in the office. It was a fleeting moment, but when all monitors turned off and on again, a message window popped up on Jin-woo's screen along with Yoon Mi-ra's employee ID photo.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  [Chief, I told you I'd be back soon, right? This time I'm not going as a subcontractor employee, but as a main contractor 'Director'.]

  Jin-woo's eyes sank coldly. Yoon Mi-ra's reappearance wasn't a simple reinstatement. It meant Yoon Mi-ra had taken the seat left empty by Choi Kang-seok's flight, or she had returned as someone's new chess piece.

  Jin-woo paused his work for a moment and opened the CCTV app on his phone. On the screen, Yuri lying motionless in a hospital bed was visible. She had been breathing in a vegetative state for 3 years. She was the only reason Jin-woo endured this hellish security war.

  "Yuri-ya, wait just a little more. Once I catch this whole system, I'll pull out the guys who made you like that by the roots."

  The moment Jin-woo spat out the monologue, the office door opened roughly. Yoon Mi-ra stood there with a confident gait, stylish suit, and a winner's smile. Behind her, main contractor security agents in black suits entered in a line.

  "Section Chief Kang, long time no see. No, should I call you 'Subject of Investigation' now?"

  Mi-ra stood in front of Jin-woo's desk and swept her hair back leisurely. The office employees held their breath at Mi-ra's sudden appearance. Da-yeon looked at Jin-woo with a terrified expression.

  "Ms. Mi-ra, no, Director Yoon? Your makeup got a bit thicker. I guess that Main Contractor water does wonders for the skin. But shouldn't a Director be inspecting, instead of posing for a magazine cover here?"

  Even at Jin-woo's provocation, Mi-ra didn't blink an eye. Instead, she tapped the photo of Yuri placed next to Jin-woo's monitor with her finger. Tok.

  "Chief, you still haven't forgotten this vegetable, have you? Yuri's life support system logs run on computing too, after all. You know we can 'Force Quit' those logs if we set our minds to it, right?"

  The smile disappeared instantly from Jin-woo's face. The air pressure dropped, and a taut killing intent circulated inside the office. Mi-ra had accurately stabbed Jin-woo's Achilles' heel. Jin-woo felt the existence of the 'Invisible Hand' designing all this behind her and watching him.

  Jin-woo slowly stood up from his seat and looked down at Mi-ra.

  "Yoon Mi-ra, you just crossed the line. I might format data manipulation, but for bastards playing with a person's lifeline, I don't format, I 'Delete' them."

  As Mi-ra's fishy smile and Jin-woo's cool anger collided, the office submerged into the silence of a massive calm before the storm. At that moment, Jin-woo's smartphone vibrated. It was an urgent message from Min-su.

  [Min-su]: That Mi-ra planted a backdoor and blew her own authority! Looks like a card discarded by the main contractor! Check the hospital server quickly!

  Jin-woo's face turned white. Mi-ra was threatening Jin-woo, but at the same time, pretending to be a sacrificial lamb, she stabbed him in the back and completely opened Yuri's hospital server. Mi-ra smiled fishily and leisurely left the office door with the black-suited security agents. All evidence disappeared, and only Jin-woo was left alone.

  Weekend afternoon, Jin-woo was riding the escalator of a large mart with blank eyes. The office Yoon Mi-ra swept through yesterday was a mess, but thanks to Min-su's quick response, fortunately, Yuri's hospital server was safe.

  However, the fact that the unidentified existence called 'S' could knock on the firewall anytime taking Yuri as hostage complicated Jin-woo's mind.

  "Phew, shopping is the best when the head is complicated. But what was I going to buy."

  Jin-woo pushed the cart and wandered the grocery corner. The smell of dumplings from the tasting corner pierced his nose, but Jin-woo's steps stopped in front of the cup noodle aisle. It was then. With a sharp metallic sound, Jin-woo's cart shook with a thud.

  "Hey, Mister! If you stand there blankly like that, don't you see the cars backed up behind you? This isn't a highway rest area!"

  A sharp yet strangely clear voice hit Jin-woo's eardrum. Turning around, a woman wearing a red tracksuit top and pressing down a baseball cap was glaring at Jin-woo while gripping the cart handle tightly. Her large eyes were full of annoyance, but unhideable vitality overflowed within.

  "Ah, I'm sorry. I was temporarily buffering... There are so many kinds of ramen here, I couldn't process the data. Spicy to burn the stress, or mild to soothe the soul? It's a fatal system error."

  The woman's eyebrow twitched.

  "Mister, are you kidding me right now? You stand in the ramen aisle to buy ramen, what else? You're lagging so bad it's frustrating! Move quickly, I have 5 minutes left for the time sale!"

  The woman pushed her cart without hesitation and struck past Jin-woo's side. At that moment, a carton of eggs hanging precariously on the edge of Jin-woo's cart shook and fell vertically to the floor. With a 'Puk' sound, yellow liquid splashed everywhere.

  "Oh no, my protein! Miss, what are you going to do about this? My 'Egg-cellent' plans for the evening are scrambled! I was going to make a Rolled Omelet, but now I'm just rolling in despair!"

  The woman stopped, looked alternately at the broken eggs and Jin-woo, and scratched the back of her head as if dumbfounded.

  "Ah, seriously! Who told you to block the road like that? Forget it, Mister. I hate hearing those terrible jokes anymore, so I'll buy you a carton. Follow me!"

  The woman huffed and strode back to the egg corner. Jin-woo chased after her in bewilderment. The woman picked up the most expensive carton of fertilized eggs and threw it into Jin-woo's cart with a thud.

  "Here, done right? Looking at your impression, Mister, seems like you live alone, so eat the eggs well. I'm busy, so bye!"

  The woman left an annoyance-mixed laugh like a tag and disappeared to the checkout counter. Jin-woo let out a dry laugh watching the receding red back.

  "?, ?? ?? ????. ???? ??? ?? ?????"

  ??? ??? ?? ????? ????? ?? ??? ?? ??? ???. 'S'? ??? ??? ????? ? ??????, ???? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ??? ?? ????? ??? ???? ???. ??? ??? ?? ?? ???? ?????.

  "??????... ?? ??? ?? ??? ?? ??? ??? ???."