The Go academy in the afternoon.
Ye-Na sat deep in thought, placing Go stones on the board one by one.
*I’m good at Go.*
*But Grandma and Mom aren’t.*
*Then why am I good at it?*
‘Could it be that my dad was good at Go?’
Jin-Seo had never told Ye-Na anything about her father.
Whenever the word “dad” came up, Jin-Seo would skillfully change the subject. Ye-Na’s thoughts would naturally drift along with whatever her mother chose to discuss instead.
She wasn’t particularly curious about her dad, and she liked having her mom all to herself without having to compete with a father for her attention. She was content being her mom’s eternal partner.
That had been the case until now, but ever since she became friends with Do-Bin, Ye-Na found herself thinking about her father often.
Do-Bin was a kind and good friend, but he talked about his family a bit too much. Mentions of his dad always slipped into their conversations naturally.
Do-Bin talked about his dad as if it were the most normal thing in the world, but from the perspective of a girl who didn’t have one, it was hard for Ye-Na to relate.
Ye-Na, who had been staring blankly at Do-Bin—who was playing *alkkagi* (flicking stones) instead of studying Go—asked:
“What’s good about having a dad?”
Ye-Na was finally initiating a conversation about dads.
Do-Bin thought for a moment, looking pleased, and said:
“My mom says that because my dad earns money, we can afford to eat.”
*So, does that mean a dad is only needed because he earns money?*
*My mom and grandmother earn money too, so does that mean I don’t need a dad?*
Ye-Na tilted her head and asked again.
“What else is good?”
“Hmm… it’s nice when we go to the swimming pool.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m a boy, I’m not supposed to follow my mom into the women’s bathhouse; I have to go with my dad. Just like when I go to the bathroom.”
“Then, because I’m a girl, I don’t need a dad, right?”
“Yeah. I guess so.”
Do-Bin nodded, then looked at Ye-Na as if he just remembered something.
“Oh, but there’s one more thing. It’s nice when he carries me in his arms when we go to the hospital.”
“Your dad carries you?”
“Yeah. When I go with Mom, we just hold hands, but when I go with Dad, he carries me like this.”
Do-Bin mimicked holding someone in his arms.
“Because Dad is strong.”
Up until now, nothing Do-Bin said had bothered her, but at the mention of being carried, something inside her chest felt warm and fuzzy.
*So a dad is strong enough to carry his child to the hospital.*
“Ye-Na, when I grow up and become a dad, I’m going to carry my baby to the hospital, too.”
While Ye-Na nodded quietly, Do-Bin didn’t forget to plug himself.
Not having heard Do-Bin’s secret confession, Ye-Na just muttered as if to herself:
“Yeah. I wish I had a dad, too.”
“Then should I ask? Should I ask my dad to be your dad, too?”
“I don’t think that’ll work.”
“It might. My dad said he can do anything for me.”
Do-Bin shared another perk of having a dad.
Ye-Na couldn’t easily say no, but she told Do-Bin twice more that it probably wouldn’t work.
***
After the academy class, Do-Bin dropped Ye-Na off at the restaurant. On his way home, Do-Bin said to Jin-Seo in an innocent voice:
“Mom, Ye-Na and I decided to share a dad.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Because Ye-Na doesn’t have a dad.”
Do-Bin smiled contentedly. He felt proud.
*What is love?*
Mom and Dad always said they loved him so much they’d give him anything. Do-Bin felt the same. He liked Ye-Na, so he wanted to give her anything. He was happy because he had something to offer her.
Jin-Seo suppressed a laugh and said:
“Do-Bin, if that happens, you can’t marry Ye-Na. Are you okay with that?”
“Why?”
“If you have the same dad, you two become siblings. Siblings can’t marry each other. Didn’t you know?”
The serene, Buddha-like smile on her son’s face vanished, replaced by a look of sheer shock.
“Then what do I do? I already promised Ye-Na!”
“Well, that’s a big problem.”
At her earth-shattering response, Do-Bin’s pupils shook as if his entire life had just collapsed.
In truth, he hadn’t actually asked Ye-Na to marry him yet…
Last Thursday, on Ye-Na’s birthday, he had come prepared with a letter and a three-line poem, but somehow, he hadn’t been able to show them to her.
He had wanted to cheer her up after she burst into tears saying her mom hadn’t come home from work yet, so he performed a spider-leg dance and three magic tricks instead. He couldn’t exactly cling to a friend who was crying “Mom, Mom” and start talking about marriage.
*That is what love is…*
It’s letting things flow “as they happen” and creating unexpected decisions.
He had been feeling so proud of his own decision. But now that he’d already made the promise, what was he supposed to do?
***
Dinner time. Jin-Seo and Gihun were talking at their desks.
“Assistant Manager, did they say someone planted that virus on your laptop on purpose?”
“I’m not sure. They said they don’t know. Apparently, it’s a virus going around, so someone in the planning team suffered from it too.”
“Oh… so it was just a coincidence?”
“Seems like it. But it is true that someone intentionally deleted the file I uploaded to the cloud.”
“Oh. So there was a culprit. Just as I thought!”
“Yeah. At least it’s been cleared up that I didn’t do anything wrong, so that’s a relief.”
“Can’t you find the culprit?”
“They said they can’t because it was a shared computer.”
“That’s so unfortunate.”
The office was quiet, so their conversation was audible to everyone around them.
“Oh! Assistant Manager! I think there might be a way to find the culprit!”
Jo Si-Nae, who had been eavesdropping from the Production Team 1 area, flinched.
Jin-Seo and Gihun’s conversation continued.
“Yeah? How?”
“Have you ever heard of a fingerprint-scanning mouse?”
“Oh, is there such a thing?”
“Yes. I don’t quite remember if it was Printing Room B or C, but someone once complained to the IT department that the shared computer and mouse there were broken. Back then, the IT staff replaced them and swapped the mouse for a fingerprint-scanning one. You know the part of the mouse where your thumb rests? It saves the fingerprint in the computer. We can use that data to identify who keeps breaking the computers.”
“Oh, really? I should look into that. I need to find out which shared computer the culprit used.”
Si-Nae, sitting at her desk, felt her hands trembling uncontrollably.
“Yes, you should check quickly. It’s a security system where the info isn’t transmitted via network, but is encrypted and saved directly onto the machine. We can’t let the information remaining on the computer be wiped.”
“True. If that virus everyone is talking about hits it, we might never catch the culprit. I need to act fast. It’s sensitive information, so I’m not sure if IT will even cooperate.”
“If it’s too hard, I’ll go with you. One of my peers works in the IT department.”
“Oh! Thank you so much, Gihun! Let’s go first thing tomorrow morning!”
“Yes!”
The conversation ended there. Jin-Seo and Gihun went back to their work. The sound of their typing was cheerful.
Si-Nae stood up cautiously. Her hands were shaking violently and her heart was pounding.
Planting the virus on Jin-Seo’s laptop seemed to have gone unnoticed, but the real issue was the shared computer in Printing Room C.
Last Thursday, Si-Nae had deleted the data Jin-Seo uploaded from that very room. She had thought everything was perfect, but it never crossed her mind that the mouse there was a fingerprint scanner.
Si-Nae grabbed her USB and snuck toward Printing Room C. It was the least-frequented place in the company, and because it was evening, she didn’t run into anyone. Still, she moved quietly, holding her breath.
It was a tiny room. The computer in the corner was exactly the same as it had been that day. The mouse, too. Was it? She couldn’t remember. She had been so tense at the time, she hadn’t had the capacity to notice details like that.
Regardless, the current mouse was definitely a fingerprint scanner. Just like Gihun said, the area where the right thumb rested was distinct. That must be where it scanned the print.
Si-Nae wrapped her thumb in a tissue and started up the computer. It booted without issue.
‘But, where do I find my fingerprint information?’
They said the info was stored on the computer. But Si-Nae didn’t know how to navigate computers well. As she clicked on various things, she flinched, hearing a rustling sound from outside.
‘I need to fix this quickly…’
*Do it!*
There was no other choice. She had to use the last resort.
Jo Si-Nae pulled a USB drive out of her pocket. A friend of a friend had made it for her, and it was incredibly convenient—a clever little device that would automatically spread a virus the moment it was plugged into a port.
She plugged it in, then restarted the computer. A series of screens she had seen on Jin-Seo’s laptop once before flashed by.
“Done!”
“What’s done?”
“Hup!”
Startled by the voice from behind her, Jo Si-Nae spun around.
Jin-Seo and Gihun were standing there like grim reapers. Jo Si-Nae’s face turned bright red.
“Uh… what are you doing here, Assistant Manager?”
“I asked you first. Assistant Manager Jo Si-Nae, what are you doing right now?”
“I-I came to print something!”
“It doesn’t look like you’re printing; it looks like you’re planting a virus.”
“What kind of nonsense is that!”
“The screen says so right there. That’s the same virus that was on my laptop. Why are you trying to ruin a perfectly good computer?”
“I didn’t do it! I came here to use the computer and this screen just popped up!”
Jo Si-Nae raised her voice, veins bulging in her neck as she shrieked.
She couldn’t crumble here.
Just then, Gihun walked over with heavy steps and pulled the USB out of the computer.
“And what about this USB?”
“…”
“This USB is yours, Assistant Manager Jo. Didn’t you say you got it as a souvenir at a wedding fair about a month ago?”
She hadn’t expected Gihun to remember such a thing. She was momentarily flustered, but she insisted.
“Do you think I was the only one at that wedding fair? I never received a USB like that. The one I got was different!”
“I see. Understood. I’m sure the security camera will prove the truth.”
Jin-Seo sighed deeply and pointed to the corner of the ceiling.
This time, Jo Si-Nae’s face went deathly pale.
*There hadn’t been a camera here! When did they install that?*
“So, you were the one who deleted the files I uploaded to the cloud, Assistant Manager Jo.”
“Do you have proof? Do you even have any proof!”
“The files were deleted from the cloud while I was using Printing Room C. You came here to delete that information, didn’t you?”
“I did not!”
“Right. Let’s say that’s not it, then. You can’t deny that you planted a virus on my laptop.”
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Your paranoia is laughable.”
There was no evidence. An erased past could not serve as proof. If she kept insisting, they would eventually be left with nothing.
But Jin-Seo didn’t back down either. Jin-Seo took the USB from Gihun.
“We’ll be able to tell once we analyze this USB. Whether the virus inside is the same as the one that ruined my laptop. If they are identical, the encryption codes embedded inside will match as well.”
A chill ran down Jo Si-Nae’s spine.
Just then, Ji-Heon appeared along with several other employees.
“It’s too noisy. What’s going on?”
“Why don’t you tell them yourself, Assistant Manager Jo?”
Jin-Seo said to her.
She had fallen right into the trap.