Dahyun put in the final touches to her report in a snazzy cafe that she’s been frequenting for the past week, working on this assignment. The place was peaceful, just the occasional sounds from businessmen taking calls, a group of college graduates in soft discussion as they studied for what seemed to be a licensure exam. The air-conditioning was too much though, and she had to put on her oversized sweater, just the tips of her fingers poking out of the too-long sleeves as she typed. Her half-finished hot chocolate had gone cold, what with Dahyun getting all carried away with proof-reading and editing her work.

This was her new life. Using her hacking skills for the straight and narrow. Juvenile hall was kind of fun and everything, in its thuggish and rough way, but Dahyun honestly didn’t want to go through it again. It was exhausting to some point, having to look over your shoulder all the time, avoiding nasty enemies, and generally just trying not to get jumped.

Now, all her restlessness could be harnessed into something productive. The thrill of being one step ahead of the law was gone but that didn’t mean she was bored. Her new job was definitely keeping her occupied. It was a different kick, being able to play her little tricks on everyone and getting legitimately paid for it.

God had truly blessed Dahyun, as her mother often reminded her, because she had it good at Tetra Fortress. The pay was incredible, she didn’t have to interact with the rest of the employees that much, she was granted a flexible schedule... Sometimes, when she couldn’t be bothered, she was even allowed to work from home, watching reruns of Parks and Recreation in her PJs as she hacked into “sophisticated” (as they always liked to claim) security systems of client companies. Her boss, Miss Bae Suzy, when she wasn’t a total ing distraction—looking the way she did—was actually pretty cool. A pleasant mix of soft and stern that sat well with Dahyun.

(Plus, their office had a sweet- pantry that never ran out of Choco Pies and Twinkies.)

Like her mom always said, Dahyun was blessed and beyond.

The assignment she’s working on was a biannual penetration test on a South Korean Engineering, Construction & Infrastructure Firm: FunctionX. President Bae brought this company on board Tetra Fortress herself. Victoria Song, the CEO, and the VP, Krystal Jung, were already good friends of hers from before, but it wasn’t until the Redlight Incident blew up that FunctionX considered Tetra Fortress’s services.

Four years ago, a group hacked into FunctionX’s systems and illegally obtained Seoul’s road plans and the blueprints of the city traffic control center. One night, all the traffic lights in Seoul were stuck at red. It drove people up the walls with traffic jams at every intersection. Cars had to be manually directed for hours. Many related companies were blamed for the incompetence but FunctionX received the brunt of it. Luna Park, the firm’s PR Officer, had her work cut out for her when she had to salvage FunctionX’s reputation from the ashes.

Immediately after that, they were quick to hire Tetra Fortress against similar attacks and Dahyun’s been the one assigned to taking on their jobs ever since.

Dahyun was pleased about the findings these time. FunctionX were diligent in maintaining and updating their security systems and it took Dahyun a while to find issues and new weak spots.

After saving and backing up her work, in walked Amber Liu. Dahyun recognized the handsome face, the short hair, and the tattoos that s past her rolled-up sleeves. It was Dahyun’s job to know who’s who in the company. It was her job to know that Amber Liu was bedding the foxy VP. It was Dahyun’s job to know that FunctionX’s Head Engineer was going to walk up to the counter and order a Grandé serving of Boba: extra pearls.

Dahyun overheard the exchange with the barista.

“Um, yeah. Hi! A bubble tea, please,” Amber said, not even looking at the menu. She took out her wallet from the back pocket of her slacks. “Grandé,” she added, flicking out a crisp bill and handing it over to the barista. “Double the pearls.”

Yeah, Dahyun couldn’t help thinking to herself, shaking her head and smirking. Just as I called it.

As Engineer Liu waited, Dahyun saw that she pulled out her phone to answer a call. Talking in hushed tones, coolly combing her hair with her fingers, and the sly grin on Amber’s face as she spoke was quite telling. It was VP Jung on the other line.

The barista called out her order and Amber ended the phone call with a “yeah, I’ll be up in a bit” and a soft, little “love you too.”

By the time Amber Liu exited the cafe, Dahyun had already gotten her things in order. Her laptop, folders and notes were all tucked safely into her backpack. She put on her jacket and swung the straps of her backpack over her shoulders. Dahyun left a couple of won in the cafe’s tip jar before making her way out of the place. She walked two blocks to catch the commuter bus back to the Songdo Business District. Window seat. Earphones on. Going mellow and folk with Misters Cat and Sufjan Stevens.

Dahyun drifted in and out of sleep the whole ride.

- - -

The locals liked to call the Tetra Tek Building ‘the TT’. The building reached a respectable sixteen stories. Not as tall as the rest of the skyscrapers and towers in the Songdo district but it still gave Dahyun a strange sense of pride to be able to walk in and out of the elegant structure on a regular basis.

A clean, pristine power, that was what it radiated, the whole of the building looking light enough to take off to the sky, with its striking curtain wall that gave it glazed polish. The steel mullions that held everything together looked as if they cut cleanly through the rows of wall windows that alternated from clear glass to a frosty opaque. The bold, smoke