Jin-woo's knuckles tightened. It wasn't the hand holding the railing, but the one gripping the phone in his pocket. The scene he witnessed from the rooftop just moments ago kept replaying in his mind.
Da-yeon walking away. And Mi-ra following closely behind her.
It wasn't just a scene, but like a single photograph. As if someone had taken it. Da-yeon's steps were cautious, while Mi-ra's steps were filled with certainty. Prey and predator. The words fit so well that it made him feel even worse.
Jin-woo inhaled deeply and exhaled. Thump, thump. His heart beat rhythmically. Precise, as if someone was leaving a 'record.'
"Ha…."
Jin-woo shoved his phone deep into his pocket. He thought checking it would ease his mind. But strangely, it felt like the moment he checked, something bigger would happen. Like the moment he checked, it would become a 'report' rather than a 'conversation.'
So, he deliberately descended the stairs one by one. If you rush, it shows. If it shows, someone asks. The moment they ask, it's not concern, but inspection.
As soon as he opened the office door, the damp air clung to his lungs. It wasn't the smell of sweat or coffee. It was the smell of something leaking. The smell of something hidden getting wet and fishy.
"Chief! What were you doing on the rooftop during lunch? Your face looked totally serious." Yoon Se-jin dragged her chair over.
Jin-woo laughed perfunctorily. "Me? Just getting some sunlight. Lacking vitamin D."
"Vitamin D? Chief, right now you look like you're lacking romance, not vitamins?"
"Hey. There's no medicine for that. Give up."
His mouth smiled, but his eyes were already looking elsewhere.
Mi-ra's seat.
It was empty. Not yet back from lunch. That felt even more ominous. Because people can do more things when they are 'absent.'
Jin-woo turned on his monitor. He brought up an Excel window first. Then, he raised the security log window very thinly. Just at an angle where anyone passing by would see it as "working."
Touching the main contractor's surveillance network is like walking on thin ice. One wrong step and it cracks. The moment it cracks, someone reaches up from below.
Jin-woo didn't stop.
It was then.
A small notification window quietly floated up in the corner of the monitor. It was so quiet that it was more dangerous. You can at least prepare for an alarm. Quiet notifications… usually pop up 'after the deed is done.'
Jin-woo's gaze fixed.
'Abnormal Path Access Record: Account Yoon Mi-ra'
Jin-woo's lips hardened very minutely.
Yoon Mi-ra. New recruit. An area a new recruit cannot reach.
Project Core Source Repository.
Access was blocked. But a record remained. Once.
Jin-woo muttered quietly. "Once…."
Once can be a mistake. But for some people, once is not a mistake but a 'probe.'
Jin-woo moved his fingers. He narrowed down the time before and after the record, rechecking the attempt time and path. It was too clean. Clean means strange. Beginners are messy. Intermediates are clumsy trying to hide. Experts… are suspicious because they are clean.
Jin-woo said inwardly as if chewing the words. 'Who the hell taught you.'
At that moment, a bright voice struck his back.
"Chief, you're already back? I bought coffee!"
Mi-ra, who had returned unnoticed, smiled brightly and put down an Iced Americano. Clink, the ice hit the cup wall. That sound sounded strangely loud. Like the ticking of a time bomb.
Jin-woo reflexively covered the screen. He pulled his chair back slightly and covered the monitor with his body. So naturally that he looked like someone who had been sitting like that originally.
"Oh, Ms. Mi-ra. Thanks for the coffee." Jin-woo smiled and accepted the words. "But Ms. Mi-ra seems to like coffee more than rice."
Mi-ra's eyes sparkled. "I like rice too. But coffee is… an office worker's love and water of life."
Jin-woo threw the bait immediately following that. "I saw you leaving with Ms. Da-yeon earlier, did you have a good lunch?"
The question was ordinary. But Jin-woo's ears listened not to the words of the answer, but the 'reaction speed.'
Mi-ra's eyebrows flinched very minutely. Just exactly that much.
But she immediately attached a bigger smile. "Ah, Ms. Da-yeon? We parted ways near the station. Ms. Da-yeon said she suddenly had something to do." And added. "Chief, don't tell me you tailed me? Wow, I'm touched!"
Mi-ra playfully tapped Jin-woo's shoulder.
Tap. Light. Therefore more dangerous.
Jin-woo didn't smile.
The path he saw from the rooftop earlier wasn't the station. Da-yeon was going down toward the cafe. Mi-ra followed behind her. That scene was too clear, so Mi-ra's answer just now sounded like a 'screen' rather than an 'explanation.'
Lie. And the lie is fast.
Jin-woo forced the corners of his mouth up. "If I were to tail someone, I'd rather clock out from work first. I find clocking out harder than tailing."
Mi-ra laughed, kkyareureu. The laughter was bright. But Jin-woo felt the cold calculation contained within.
'This woman… already knew what question I would throw.'
Throughout the afternoon, Jin-woo didn't see Mi-ra as 'work.' He saw her as a 'variable.'
Mi-ra outwardly flipped through the manual and fired off "How do I do this?" repeatedly. "Chief, where do I see this?" "Chief, why does this happen like this?" "Chief, shall I try this part?"
She spoke cutely. But her fingers didn't stop.
Tadak, tadak. Pause. Again tadak.
Jin-woo watched Mi-ra's hands using the reflection on the monitor glass window. Instinct reacted first.
'That is not the speed of typing text.'
Jin-woo briefly lifted his phone and sent a text to Min-su.
[Jin-woo] Min-su-ya. Abnormal access attempt record popped up on Mi-ra's account. It's an area she can't enter with new recruit authority.
A moment later, a reply came.
[Min-su] Be careful. The name overlaps with the side where an accident happened before. I'll dig deeper. Don't show it for now.
Jin-woo put the phone in his pocket. Inhaled deeply.
Don't show it. Right. Now is not the time to fight. Now is the time to 'verify.'
At that moment, Da-yeon caught Jin-woo's eye. Shoulders slumped while organizing papers in front of the copier. No strength in her fingertips.
'She must have heard something.'
Words thrown by Mi-ra. "Swelling." "Management." Blades packaged as pretending to be kind.
Jin-woo got up from his seat and went to Da-yeon's side. Lowered his voice.
"Ms. Da-yeon." Da-yeon lifted her head. "After copying this, let's go to the warehouse." "Me… now?" "Yeah. Need to find some old project documents."
Da-yeon nodded quickly. "Ah, yes! Chief. I'll go right away!"
Jin-woo smiled deliberately. To make an expression easy for Da-yeon to follow.
The document warehouse was always dark. A place where the company stacks 'memories,' but actually has no light. Fluorescent lights that don't turn on. Creaking door. Smell of damp paper.
Jin-woo turned on his phone flashlight. The light stretched thinly between the boxes.
"Here… is really scary…." Da-yeon said quietly.
"Scary, right." Jin-woo replied. "But what's scary isn't here, it's outside."
Jin-woo pretended to rummage through a box and asked very low.
"Ms. Da-yeon, during lunch… what did Ms. Mi-ra say?"
Da-yeon flinched. "Ah… that's… nothing special." "Nothing special but your hands are shaking?" "…." Da-yeon's voice trembled. "Just… because I'm lacking…."
Jin-woo put down the box. And looked straight at Da-yeon.
"Ms. Da-yeon." Voice was low. A tone with no room for jokes. "Listen carefully. The words Ms. Mi-ra says, don't take them to heart."
Da-yeon bowed her head. "I… want to do that too…."
Jin-woo said. "What she's doing is not advice." Da-yeon looked up carefully. "Then… what is it?" "Noise."
"No… Noise?" "Yeah." Jin-woo nodded. "What do you do if noise gets into the system?" "…Filtering…?" "Right." Jin-woo laughed shortly. "Filter and discard. That is normal."
Tears welled up in Da-yeon's eyes. Jin-woo hesitated for a moment, then patted her shoulder lightly, clumsily. Just that much. Feared Da-yeon would shake more if he was too affectionate.
"I know all of Ms. Da-yeon's records." Jin-woo said. "Don't worry. As long as I am here, no one can touch you."
Da-yeon's breath shook. Like frozen breath melting.
At that moment.
Sound of heels came from the end of the hallway.
Click. Click.
Regular and cold sound. Sound that someone is 'searching.'
Jin-woo instinctively wrapped his hand around Da-yeon's shoulder and held his breath. Lowered the flashlight beam. Stepped back behind the boxes.
Then, a shadow cast long through the crack of the warehouse door.
It was Yoon Mi-ra.
The shadow was long, and the movement was slow. Like a person deliberately controlling speed.
A hand grabbing the doorknob was seen. But soon hesitated. Didn't turn the doorknob. Instead… seemed to 'feel' the inside.
And a voice was heard.
"Chief? Are you there?"
Soft voice. Words strangely soft.
"The Team Leader is looking for you…."
Jin-woo narrowed his eyes.
Soft. Kind.
But Jin-woo knew.
This is not a summons.
It's a probe.
A switch 'clicked' on in Jin-woo's head.
Now it cannot be avoided. A head-on confrontation begins.
And this warehouse—was not a simple document storage, but a scene where someone's 'trace of intrusion' remained.