Chapter 176

Chapter 176. Bunny Do Jun-hyeok

"If we split up code that can't normally be read by that file extension and mix the fragments into the file, nothing looks unusual on the surface. But later, if we distribute our code reader across the network, then the moment a PC containing that code connects, a location-tracking program gets installed. Once we reach that stage, we basically know everything we need about the PC's user. Broadly speaking, we're planting malware."

Young-chan explained it in simple terms.

Because he'd explained it simply, I understood the basic idea.

That didn't mean I understood the programming itself or whatever core algorithm was involved.

The important part was that Young-chan would handle it properly, professionally, and impressively.

"I never thought I'd get a chance to help using my actual specialty. You're trying to catch someone who's actively operating right now, correct? Do you know what program they're using?"

"No. All I know is that they're targeting celebrities' private lives."

"Should I make you a program that embeds the code into image files?"

Maybe because I'd mentioned private photos, he seemed to be thinking of a method that wouldn't require him to personally handle the images.

But I didn't currently have any compromising photos that could be used.

If we had one file guaranteed to attract the hacker, there was no reason to take such a long route.

I asked Youngchae to excuse us for a moment and moved somewhere else with Young-chan.

"Youngchae and the other members are all young women. That's part of why I can't help being this sensitive about it."

"Of course. I'm honestly very grateful."

"If we use this code, then technically we need to let ourselves get hacked at least once. But we can't exactly create an intimate photo ourselves... Have you ever received a request like this before? If so, what did you do?"

Young-chan, who had become much more serious now that Youngchae wasn't nearby, thought for a moment before answering.

"We once hired an expensive 3D modeler to create a realistic image and used that as bait. But it wasn't very effective."

Apparently, if the image was provocative enough to attract the hacker's attention, even if it was computer-generated, it could still count as manufacturing obscene material.

And because they had intentionally embedded the code in order to induce the hacker into acting, it had also reduced the severity of the eventual sentence.

The client had gone into the operation accepting the possibility of being charged for producing obscene material.

Later, mitigating circumstances had been recognized.

Still, the criminal's punishment had ended up lighter than hoped.

In that sense, the operation had failed.

"We can't win the entire case based on that one image. But if the hacker is also holding a large amount of other material, then we should be able to hit them with a proper sentence."

"Ah. Then that's fine. I'll accept the risk of that manufacturing charge. I'll just hire a good lawyer."

Young-chan smiled and nodded.

Apparently, that was exactly what he'd wanted to hear.

"Then the first thing we need to discuss is the bait image. What should we do? Hire someone for 3D graphics? That'll take some time."

"We can't wait that long."

Young-chan and I put our heads together.

Ideas ranged from a high-leg bunny-girl outfit to black leather costumes.

But every discussion eventually returned to one question.

Who would be the model?

No answer came easily.

Then...

"I wondered what kind of amazing conversation required leaving me out. This was the problem?"

"Y-Youngchae."

Young-chan froze.

"How long were you listening?"

"Pretty much all of it. It's not even that big a deal."

Youngchae came over and sat beside me.

Then she thought about it herself.

"Couldn't I just take one picture?"

"You! Do you have any idea what you're saying?!"

"Obviously I don't want to. But what else are we supposed to do? If I take it myself, then we might even avoid that obscene-material manufacturing charge, right? It could just be for personal reasons. And if something happened without me knowing, it'd be shocking, but if I know beforehand and prepare myself mentally... I think I'd be okay."

Absolutely not.

We were planning to catch the hacker immediately, yes.

But if we were willing to use Youngchae herself as bait, there would've been no reason to sit here worrying in the first place.

Not over my dead body.

Youngchae's suggestion seemed to give Young-chan an idea.

He suddenly raised his hand.

"I'll carry the cross!"

"What? What do you mean?"

"I'll take the picture myself."

Youngchae covered her mouth.

What in the world was he saying?

More importantly...

Young-chan was a man.

"It would be visually shocking. And if my photo were sitting on Youngchae's phone, that alone would probably make it interesting enough to steal."

"Ah. Absolutely disgusting."

"You just said we didn't have a choice."

Young-chan was willing to go that far?

Starting with Oh Soo, apparently everyone around me had developed a hobby of carrying crosses.

"N-No. If that's the reason, then I'll do it."

When I finally volunteered too, Youngchae's eyes widened and she tried to stop me.

"You're a man too! How can you do that?"

"Maybe if I wrap myself up properly somehow?"

"Absolutely not. CEO Do Jun-hyeok has a public reputation to protect. I'm an ordinary civilian. It makes more sense for me to do it."

Young-chan and I argued for a while.

"Then let Youngchae decide. Me or Young-chan?"

"..."

Youngchae became deeply serious.

"That photo has to stay on my phone for a while, right?"

"Yeah."

"Haa... If I'm being completely honest, I don't think I'd be able to resist the temptation. Please make your decision while keeping in mind that I might see it."

Young-chan and I both squeezed our eyes shut.

Fine.

We'd taken that into account.

Youngchae seemed to finally make her decision and nodded with determination.

Watching her, the noble resolve I'd maintained until now suddenly began to crumble.

"Then the person taking the photo will be..."

Please, Jin Young-chan.

Please, Jin Young-chan.

Jin Young-chan!

"I'm sorry, CEO-nim. If I saw that idiot's picture, I think I'd actually lose my mind..."

Over the next day or two, I could physically feel myself withering away.

We took the photo...

Then sent it to HAIST, where the brightest minds in Korea gathered, and received the version with the code embedded.

They even sent a comment along with it.

[The original image has been deleted. We salute CEO Do Jun-hyeok's sacrifice.]

I wasn't grateful at all.

"So somewhere in my phone gallery right now is a photo of CEO-nim dressed as a bunny girl?"

"Yeah..."

Youngchae, normally so calm and collected, was trembling while holding her phone.

"I really won't look. Ah, maybe I should just hand over my phone."

"No, you still need to use it. We have activities and schedules."

"I seriously won't touch the gallery. But don't assume I definitely won't look... though I'm not saying I'll definitely look either."

Youngchae lowered her head solemnly.

The thought that Youngchae could discover that photo at any moment began tormenting my brain.

"If you want to look, tell me first. Seriously. Tell me before you do it. I think that would be better."

"Why go that far?"

"Curiosity exists, doesn't it? And I kind of understand what you said about mentally preparing yourself. I'm the kind of person who has to watch the needle go into my arm whenever I get an injection."

Youngchae nodded with a serious expression.

Good.

Then I could relax until the day she came to me and asked.

Though I'd probably jump every time Youngchae approached me from now on.

"Then right now."

My God.

I knew this day would eventually come.

But this fast?

Youngchae raised her phone and started searching through the gallery.

"W-Wait."

"Why?"

"Everything else is fine. Just don't laugh at me. That's what I'm most afraid of."

Youngchae sighed in frustration at my request.

"Do you think I don't know how hard that decision must've been for you? And you didn't even do it for yourself. You did it for me and the other members. If I laughed at you over something like that, I wouldn't even be human."

"R-Right. Thanks."

"I know how dangerous and serious this situation is. I absolutely won't laugh."

Youngchae resumed searching through the gallery.

Her words reassured me a little.

Yes.

Visually, it might be humiliating.

But Youngchae understood what it meant.

While searching, Youngchae suddenly pressed the home button and lowered her head.

"What's wrong?"

I asked.

Youngchae quietly replied,

"Ah... I think I need to be alone for a moment... Pfft! Alone for a bit!"

Youngchae bolted out of the office.

I could only collapse helplessly into my chair while watching her leave.

That girl was exactly the same kind of human being as Choi Gyu-sik and Park Chan-deok.

"What were you two talking about that was so funny?"

Dae-hun asked from the other side of the office.

"Don't concern yourself with another man's purity..."

At times like this, I needed to stay calm.

The more embarrassed I acted, the more embarrassing it would become.

Let's think about what came next.

The bait was in place.

Soon, the fish would bite.

Young-chan said he would distribute the code reader in advance.

The moment the hacker downloaded the image, we'd receive an alert.

That way, we could minimize the amount of time the hacker had to appreciate my photograph.

At that point, the culprit would practically be caught.

The only remaining problem was Jo Yoo-young's plagiarism.

If I went to Park Chan-deok and proved that Jo Yoo-young's main OST was plagiarized, the problem could be solved immediately.

But how was I supposed to prove it?

Was I supposed to personally listen to every piece composed by Murakami Taro?

I'd searched his name.

He had hundreds of works.

Jo Yoo-young had probably altered the piece cleverly enough to avoid plagiarism-detection programs.

Without the help of mass streaming or some enormous music database, finding it myself would be difficult.

And according to the future video, he'd plagiarized more than one song.

There was no way my own ability could uncover just how committed Jo Yoo-young was to plagiarism.

The only answer was to bring Park Chan-deok an even better song and convince him to replace it.

I called Sang-do.

"Yes, CEO-nim."

"Mr. Sang-do. Let's make one hell of a theme song."

"A theme song? For what?"

I briefly explained the story of Park Chan-deok's film, the one Youngchae would be appearing in.

Then I sent him Jo Yoo-young's plagiarized track.

"That song is currently confirmed as the OST. But I want you to beat it and get your song chosen instead. This movie is definitely going to succeed, and you can make something better, can't you?"

"Wow... So you're telling me to go head-to-head with composer Jo Yoo-young. That's rough."

Despite his words, Sang-do audibly smacked his lips.

"So I just need to create the kind of music a person who can't hear would imagine?"

"Yes. Can you do it?"

"If you tell me to, I have to. What's the deadline?"

The film's production would move quickly.

Ideally, I wanted the song completed before filming began.

"I'll give you one day."

"Understood."

Sang-do hurriedly ended the call.

Surely he wouldn't actually finish it in one day just because I made a joke.

That should be enough.

While Sang-do worked on the track, I gathered every proposed song that had been sent to Kaiser, Anna, and Universe and assembled them into a proposal.

Park Chan-deok.

This is my love-filled proposal prepared just for you.

Surely one of these songs would be better than Jo Yoo-young's.

The hacker had taken the bait.

Sang-do had started working like crazy.

Everything was progressing smoothly.

So why did my heart still feel so endlessly heavy and depressed?

Was this exactly how a sextortion victim felt?

Then...

Bzzzt.

A text arrived.

It was from Jin Young-chan.

[The hacker took the photo. It happened faster than expected, so I doubt it was only because the bait was good. Please make time as soon as possible and bring the members to our lab. I think we should run a full malware scan.]

So the moment had finally come.

If Young-chan was messaging me now, that meant the location-tracking program had already been downloaded.

The cybercrime investigation team would move soon.

But it was still too early to relax.

Until that bastard was actually caught...

We needed to be careful.

Very careful.