Ciphertext: Chapter 2 – A Dangerous Man

That evening, Luciel made a decision. He wanted to stay away from people as much as possible, so that he could protect them. The number of times he'd been warned by his boss not to leak information had become uncountable. He knew that if even just one iota of data got out of the organisation's database and security was compromised, he would be fighting a losing battle for his life.

He had programmed the security system himself, so in addition to digging up new intel on the North Korean President, he was tasked with keeping the system up to date. This involved long hours and many lines of complex coding language that he wasn't even sure he fully understood. But whatever he was doing, it was working.

In order to make a promise to himself, Luciel chose to create a permanent visual reminder of just how much of a liability he was to others. Taking some bright crimson hair dye, he let the colour set for around one hour, just to be sure it had taken properly. After towelling off his head, he gazed into the mirror, studying the way his piercing yellow eyes and the brightness of his hair contrasted with each other. He smiled to himself and posed a little, checking himself out.

"God. I'm becoming like Zen all of a sudden …" he noted, giving off an infectious chuckle. Zen, the charming model and actor, was really starting to gain traction with his career and Luciel was always impressed by his public persona, something he could never aspire to have. He would always be a man who worked behind the scenes to get things done. "No choice. Guess I have to take a selfie now." Whipping the smartphone from the pocket of his jeans, he quickly switched on the camera and took a photo of himself pulling a cheesy grin.

"Red for danger. Looks cool! But … I still feel like something's missing." He slipped his black glasses on again and moved his head from side to side. They didn't add anything to his new appearance at all. Still too flat-looking. "Hmm. It's these frames, they're no good anymore."

Not bothering to get changed properly, he sauntered half-naked over to his main PC and fired up a huge 3D printer that had been recently installed. He opened his copy of Vectorworks Designer and started hammering away at a new glasses design, without even stopping to consider his options. This stuff was second nature to him. Creating the main structure of the frames was easy and took no time at all. But the colour scheme had him stumped.

"What says 'DANGER' like nothing else?" he pondered aloud. Looking around his house, he considered some of the objects he'd bought and how he'd decorated the place. Then, as he looked at the steps that led down from the main entrance, it struck him. "Of course! A yellow and black police cordon. That kind of thing clearly states 'crime scene, stay away'. Just what I need."

He finished the design within a matter of minutes and set up the materials in the printer to bring his creation to life. Leaving the plastic to cool off for some time, he circled the new pair of glasses frames as they lay in the production area. Finally able to touch them, he fiddled around with the lenses on his old pair and managed to figure out a way to swap them over. He placed them onto his face and noted the ever-increasing sense of 'cool' that was taking over his being. He whistled to himself, satisfied.

"Phwoar! Check out these babies! Hahahahaha. This is so great! I feel like a new person! Gahh! I just hope these don't have the opposite effect on women! I want them to stay away from me …. No I don't … Yes I do … Ohhh! Why is life so hard?" He tried not to dwell on things too much and let his laughter drown the negative thoughts out.

Luciel slipped out of his clothes and into his favourite onesie – a hand-crafted replica of Jumin's cat, Elizabeth the 3rd. Jumin had it custom-made as Luciel's 22nd birthday present, perhaps in an attempt to keep him away from the real cat. He switched on his gaming PC and logged into LOLOL. It had been a while since he'd had a mess around in the ridiculous fantasy world of LOLOL and since work was finally quiet for now, he needed to take this chance to chill out. He'd been up since 4am, with another early start tomorrow. Maybe Yoosung would be online? No, actually, Yoosung would definitely be online. He put on his headset and flicked the switch to the 'on' position.

Yoosung's avatar showed up in Luciel's team.

Ah … there he is!

"Oh? Seven. No way! I just noticed you're online? Aren't you working tonight?" said Yoosung, surprised to see him gaming.

Luciel put on his jovial voice. "Hey, hey Yoosung! Long time no speak. Nope, not me! I'm free as a bird at the mo. How's things?"

"Well, it's good to see you. I'm … well, you know… same as usual. My GPA sucks, my diet has gone to shit, my mum keeps nagging me to move out and I still can't get a girlfriend," said Yoosung, sighing miserably.

"Heh. Tell me about it," Luciel responded, empathising with the latter complaint.

Yoosung sounded apologetic. "I'm sorry … I know it's a sensitive subject for you."

"What? No. Don't worry about it!" Luciel lied, "Anyway, I'm sure you'll find someone nice soon!"

"You think … there's someone out there for me?" Yoosung seemed doubtful. "When will I find her?"

Luciel grinned. "Have no fear, my brave bleached-hair warrior! God Seven will come to the rescue!"

Yoosung laughed. This guy really knew how to spout crap. "Oh okay. I guess I'll be fine then!"

"But you know …" Luciel began, his expression souring as he was reminded of Eun-ji. "I've seen someone I like. I mean, we've never met properly or anything, but-"

"Oh my god, Seven! Did you fall in love with another anime character!?" joked Yoosung. "You've already got over the last one?"

"Haha. I wish it were that simple Yoosung …"

Yoosung paused for a second, before continuing. "Y-you're not … one of them, are you-?"

"Gay? Me? N O P E! That's not what I meant! It's just … my emotions … got complicated."

"Emotions?" That was probably the first time Yoosung had heard Luciel mention that word.

"I know. I was surprised too," admitted Luciel.

"So. Spill … what's the situation?"

Luciel looked crestfallen. "I don't know how much I can tell you about it …"

His usual naïve self, Yoosung was confused by this. "Huh? Why?"

"It isn't just my work PC that might be traceable … my private information is always at risk too."

"Then why bring it up?" Yoosung seemed annoyed that he wouldn't elaborate on the news. It was obviously making him feel depressed.

"I already know her name, even though we've never spoken. That's dangerous enough."

"What's her name?"

"Like I said. I better keep that to myself. But the point is, I saw her at Starbucks earlier and … I couldn't stop looking at her."

"Oh? What's she like? Some kind of super model?"

"Actually, she was kind of average-looking," said Luciel, flatly.

"Ok …. and?" Yoosung waited for more.

Luciel contemplated the experience. "I just … felt a weird presence, you know – déjà vu but backwards. Like she was there in front of me for a reason, and I don't know why. Her simple beauty really got to me. She seemed so … pure and unaffected by the world and I thought my heart was going to explode."

Yoosung lost a battle against a monster in LOLOL. "Dude, that's serious. Are you sure you're not ill?"

"Pretty sure," he replied, smiling. "Gahh! But I can't stop thinking about her. What should I do? Since I've never seen her before, I bet she just moved to the area and that's her local Starbucks. Maybe she's studying at the University?"

"Seoul National University?" enquired Yoosung.

"How the hell should I know? Just my guess."

Yoosung ignored Luciel's comment and tried to focus on the game again. "Wow! If she studies there, she's bound to be a bright spark!"

"But I have no idea how to find her … or if I should find her. It's probably too dangerous."

"Don't worry Seven, I'm sure things will work out …"

Luciel felt like he was on the verge of tears. "Hmm. I don't know if I want them to work out. If she gets put in danger because of me, I will only be more miserable." He felt wet drips on his cheeks. "I-I'm sorry Yoosung, I'm logging out."

"Hey! Sev-"

Luciel turned off his headset and saved his place in the game. He'd had enough of talking about her for today. What good would it do him anyway? It was a mistake to try and talk to Yoosung about it. What would he understand? He'd go sleep, wake up and get his mind back where it belonged. Work.