"Is the work here manageable?"

"...Yes."

So much for staying quiet.

"You came in on a recommendation from the Intelligence Team Leader. Did you know each other beforehand?"

"Do I have to answer that?"

The subtly probing question drew a sharp reply from Seoryeong.

The man lifted the corners of his prettily shaped lips, but his eyes carried not a hint of amusement.

“Yes, you do. There was supposed to be another lady scheduled to accompany this business trip, but I heard she was hospitalized with a back injury.”

“...!”

"I'm here to fill in that vacancy. The more sincere you are with your answers, the smoother this goes. If you understand, I ask for your cooperation."

So this was... some kind of impromptu interview? But asking for cooperation was just a hollow phrase—an oppressive air pressed heavily on her shoulders. This confined space now felt even more suffocating.

“We know each other personally.”

“Personally, with a hacker.”

He repeated her words, tapping the steering wheel lightly. Seoryeong stared out the window so long and so intensely her neck tendon strained. Her posture screamed disapproval of the conversation.

“Strange to know someone personally when Jung Pilgyu has a wife and child.”

“...!”

She whipped her head around and locked eyes with those smoothly curved ones. The crude implication was obvious.

“When Han Seoryeong keeps her answers short, my thoughts get short too. Want to see how short?”

His voice scraped with subtle mockery, and her brow furrowed instinctively.

This man was nothing like the brash young punks she'd dealt with before. A man who knew how to be cunning wasn’t amusing—he was dangerous. Seoryeong cooled herself internally and added with a detached tone,

“I know the woman who’s his sister-in-law.”

“Heo Channa?”

His brow furrowed sharply as he gently tapped the horn. Clicking his tongue, the man expertly swerved around a car that had cut them off.

Seoryeong straightened her shoulders reflexively. She should have been used to it by now, but sudden noise still made her heart pound.

It hadn’t even been that loud—but all of this felt like leftover debris from the time she’d spent blind.

And as always, the thought of Kim Hyun dragged her mood into a nosedive.

“...Did you know she’s a highly capable hacker?”

Was it traffic that had him irritated? His suddenly low voice sliced through the silence.

Seoryeong, pushed to the edge by her spiraling thoughts about Kim Hyun, barely managed a nod. She had known Channa was a hacker—but never that she was that capable.

“In 2016, the Bangladesh National Bank was hacked. Total estimated losses were around a billion dollars, but the attempt ultimately failed by a hair. The North Korean government was behind it, and at the center of it all was a sixteen-year-old girl.”

“...!”

“That was Heo Channa.”

Her face, which she’d tried to keep indifferent, cracked. The man continued speaking smoothly as he steered through a curve without the slightest shake.

“North Korea is one of the poorest countries in the world, but they’re also the best at nurturing cybercrime groups. They handpick kids with math talent early and raise them in Chinese facilities. Channa was the top product of that cyber warfare unit.”

“...”

“Well, that was before she defected.”

The back of her head felt like it was going numb. Not just any defector—but one with that kind of history. And she’d tried to drag her into a treason charge with her.

She could only imagine the cold sweat that must have drenched Jung Pilgyu when she blackmailed him. One wrong move and she’d have reduced everything to ashes. A belated chill ran up her spine.

While she was lost in that daze, the car stopped at a red light.

“So—”

The man popped a piece of candy into his mouth, peeling it open with his teeth.

One side of his cheek bulged unnaturally, and he rolled the candy with his tongue as he spoke, his pronunciation thickened and slurred.

“How’d you two meet? I mean, the two of you seem to have no overlap at all.”

“Do I have to talk about that kind of personal matter too?”

“Why not just say whatever comes to mind without overthinking it.”

“...”

“Even for a short trip, we’ll be entrusting you with the team’s meals. If you’re the secretive type, it’ll be a problem. One case of food poisoning, and the mission success rate drops by half. If something doesn’t sit right, we don’t move.”

He had a difficult, avoidant personality. Seoryeong clicked her tongue silently.

“What’s the big secret? What, did you ask someone to dig into someone else’s private life illegally?”

“...!”

The words he tossed with a smirk landed with pinpoint accuracy.

When she silently gripped the hem of her shirt, his soft-looking eyes suddenly hardened—as if he'd caught that little habit right away.

“You really did?”

She hesitated, unsure how much of herself she should reveal. But before she could respond, he smiled lopsidedly.

“Someone must’ve scammed you out of a good chunk of money.”

He crunched the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} candy between his teeth, shrugging like stories like that were a dime a dozen.

She still couldn’t stand the scent of other people. She still disliked this man who’d left such a poor first impression. But what she couldn’t understand most was his attitude.

Like he was testing her—yet not really curious. That light condescension scratched at her nerves.

Seoryeong clamped her mouth shut.

“What did I say happens when you stop talking?”

“Excuse me.”

“Running your mouth is easy. But poor learning skills are something else. I've seen plenty of guys die while I was still explaining something for the second time.”

His face, shadowed under the deep brim of his hat, looked at her steadily. Even the mild reproach in his gaze drew no reaction from her. Their eyes tangled in silence, hovering in the still air.

“You won’t cooperate willingly, so I’ll just be blunt.”

“......”

“I’m the one who writes the list for overseas dispatch. And trust me—tagging along on a Special Security Team mission is not good for your health. Especially if you're the fragile type.”

“...!”

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to just stick to clocking in and out around here?”

The light turned green, and he pressed down on the accelerator.

Wait a second... What did that mean?

“So even if you hate my guts, you’d better play nice if you don’t want to suffer later.”

Seoryeong tilted her head with a strange expression.

What the hell was that supposed to mean? So not going on the trip is the safe choice? That the missions involve stuff that fragile people shouldn’t see? Is he insane? That’s exactly the kind of thing I’m looking for...!

The realization struck like a revelation—sharp enough to make her skin prickle.

“He’s saying if I play along, he’ll keep me off the list.”

No. What bullshit. I’m going no matter what. All I have to do is act the opposite.

Quickly calculating, she smoothed out her wrinkled shirt hem and straightened her back.

“So what exactly do you want to know about me?”

“Heo Channa was too slippery even for the NIS to recruit. So—is she worth the money?”

“Or maybe the NIS is just shit and let her slip away. Ever think of that?”

He paused momentarily, then gently turned the wheel again.

“Did they scam you out of your entire life savings?”

“They took something more. Money isn’t the only thing a person can run off with. You say you’ve been around the block—but you seem pretty naive.”

“...So, did you catch the bastard?”

“Why, you planning to help me beat the fucker? Out of staff welfare? Employee benefits?”

“...”

He went quiet for a moment, then lifted and lowered his cap again. But the little laugh in his voice had a tinge of amusement.

“Sounds like if you want to beat them that badly, you haven’t caught them yet.”

“...”

“What a shame—someone really must’ve taken you for a fool.”

What... was that?

Something in her gut twisted. She stared at him, but all she could see was the smooth line of his jaw as he turned his head away. Her mood soured for no clear reason, and she ended up saying something she didn’t even need to.

“No, I’m still looking. Doesn’t matter if it takes months or years—I have no plans to give up. So I don’t need sympathy. And I think it’s way too early for pity.”

At that moment, above her head—crack—the candy shattered between his teeth again.

“If you’re too dumb to realize when you’re wasting your time, that usually means you got messed with by a real bastard.”

But Seoryeong shook her head firmly.

“No. He’s the one who messed with the wrong person. Not me—him.”

“...”

“We’re going to meet again. One way or another.”

The man looked at her like he was seeing something completely foreign. His gaze traveled from her eyes, to her nose, then to her lips. The stare felt unfamiliar—unyielding. That perfectly expressionless face almost looked annoyed.

Just then, the navigation system announced that they had arrived at the destination. He pulled into a spot and applied the parking brake.

An indefinable tension settled heavily in the silence that followed. Seoryeong unfastened her seatbelt and reached for the door lock. But before she could react—click—the lock reengaged.

What the...! She furrowed her brow and looked back.

“Oh, right. I forgot to introduce myself,” he said with a smile curling on his lips, utterly composed.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Wooshin, Special Security Team Leader.”