Ciphertext - Chapter 4: Unbelievable!

Luciel couldn't believe his eyes, he was able to access the cameras in each location, and the quality was crystal clear. The 8K visuals seemed to scream at him as he opened up each one on separate computer monitors above him.

"Waaa. Who installed such high-spec recording equipment?" He thought about this for a second. "Oh right! I did!"

Impressed with his own standards for great tech stuff, he brought his attention back to the girl in the living room. His heart felt like it had stopped. "N-no way! This can't be right …" He fiddled around with the colour and contrast settings on the monitors to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "I'm just losing my mind. I must be."

The girl inadvertently looked up at the camera. Luciel locked eyes with her, although she wouldn't have known. Her eyes were mesmerising like big, beautiful pools of hazel, which were coming across so pristinely on the screen.

He gulped, hard.

"Not 'Emily' but … Eun-ji Moon?"

Unable to move, he just kept his eyes on the screen, never letting his attention wander for even a split second.

"Is this right? Should I be watching her like this without her knowledge?" He took a mouthful of his now cold noodles that had been sitting on the side for a couple of hours. "What am I saying? This is all for her own safety. I have to keep an eye out for information so we know what's going on. Maybe the hacker will come back."

Then, a feeling of dread coursed through him. What if someone had discovered his little secret? What if someone was able to read his thoughts? He wondered if it were possible that there were even brain hackers in the world, hungry for ways to bring other hackers to their destruction. He hadn't mentioned her name to anybody.

"So, why are you here, Eun-ji? Why you and not anybody else."

This was too weird to be a coincidence. It had to have been planned by someone. Luciel was terrified that he had make a faux pas and accidentally let something slip. Maybe he got drunk at one of the RFA meetings? No … he couldn't remember anything like that happening.

He noticed that Eun-ji had taken her phone out. She was logging into the members' app. He also quickly signed into it, hoping to debunk any strange thoughts she might have. After all, she didn't know his identity – it was probably a lot better that way.

[A NEW CHATROOM OPENED]

707 HAS ENTERED THE CHATROOM

Emily: 707?

707: Hey, hey Emily! It's me. Seven. Zero. Seven. Defender of Justice! How are you finding things?

Emily: Defender … of Justice? … To be honest, I'm a little scared. I don't know what I'm doing here.

707: Well, I'm a specialist at finding information, so even though it might take time, just trust me to get the scoop on what's going on here. Okay?

Emily: O-ok. If you say so.

707: ^^;; What? You don't trust me?

Emily: I'd like to. But how can I know for sure?

707: There are cameras installed outside the apartment. I've got the CCTV feed coming through right here.

Emily: C-cameras?

707: Ya. BUT ONLY OUTSIDE! I wouldn't have rigged up any inside the apartment. Too risky.

Emily: Oh ok. Well, I suppose that makes me feel better. Thank you.

Luciel blushed slightly, but felt a wave of guilt coursing through him. He didn't have a choice but to lie to her. It wasn't in his best interests to put her on edge by declaring that he'd actually invaded her privacy.

707: Listen … if you ever want to know about any of the RFA members, you can ask me. Or anyone else. Who knows how long you'll be involved with this. Just use the phone feature in the app to make calls. They're free since they're voice over IP.

Emily: Thank you. I'll try it out sometime.

707: I think there's some ingredients still in the fridge. Help yourself if you get hungry.

He wanted to communicate his feelings towards her, tell her how beautiful she was, and that he'd been interested in her for a long time. But those thoughts were useless to him right now. If she knew he was lying about the cameras, he was sure she would hate him forever. He could bet on the fact that a girl's privacy was not something to take lightly. Spilling the beans wouldn't help him find the hacker.

Luciel watched as Eun-ji waded over to the refrigerator in the kitchen and opened it up. There was even a camera installed there and he could easily see her face as she peered inside and picked up some of the containers there. She closed the door and resumed the chat.

Emily: Looks like there's plenty to keep me going, but … I hope I'm not in here too long. Can't I go to the convenience store to get something else if I run out?

707: No. I'm sorry if it sounds harsh, but the fact is … there's a special security system installed in that apartment. If you leave … there will be consequences. In any case, I will need to be prepared for it, but don't touch any of the controls near the door, okay?

Emily: When you say "consequences", what do you mean?

707: I can't tell you that right now. Just trust me.

Emily: Alright, I will. Then, I'll go and make some kimchi pizza.

707: Take care of yourself! Seven. Zero. Seven … over-and-out!

707 HAS LEFT THE CHATROOM

Kimchi pizza was nothing short of a staple of Korean cuisine, but always so satisfying. Luciel was starting to really crave one of those, especially if it was made by Eun-ji. He shook his head to clear away the cobwebs in his mind.

He slapped his face to snap himself out of his daydream. "No use, Luciel. Just focus. Gahhh …. Vanderwood is going to kill me, I completely forgot about this! Shit!" Covering the CCTV monitor screens with a plain white sheet to avoid any further distraction, he went across the room to boot up (yet another) PC. This contained his ultimate top-secret database with access to all the information on Kim Jong Un. He would have to concentrate on this for a few hours until it was finished.

So much for Saturday.