Taming the Tomboy
Kim Yun-ju slowly settled into her chair, crossing her legs. "I thought you might have some guts barging in like that, but looks like I was wrong."
"Talking business with someone half-naked feels kinda off, y'know."
Her arms crossed in a way that made her posture oddly provocative. There was a reason I'd turned my head so obediently. Lately, Gemma had been teasing me nonstop, prancing around in swimsuits and skimpy outfits, so seeing Kim Yun-ju in her underwear didn't faze me much. Sure, I'd been shocked when I first walked into the clubroom and found her stripped down to nothing but her undies, but I'd averted my eyes figuring it'd earn me fewer curses if I at least pretended to be sorry or embarrassed.
But the real reason I was putting on this act? Simple. Kim Yun-ju still hadn't mapped her school uniform texture onto her body.
She must've thought I was some perv without much resistance to girls, judging by how I'd nagged her to get dressed earlier. Just now, she'd avoided my eyes—or at least thought she had—fiddling with her bra like she was pulling something out. She was clearly up to something.
Whatever. If she was gonna misunderstand on her own, that was fine by me. Not that my eyes were feasting or anything—it just meant whatever scheme she cooked up, she'd be dancing in the palm of my hand.
⋯
⋯Fine, I admit it. The eye candy was more main event than bonus.
"Just put some clothes on already."
"This is my private space, and there's not a single inch of my body I'm ashamed of."
I'd warned her plenty of times, but Kim Yun-ju shot back with a provocative edge that was worlds away from her earlier demeanor. No helping it. Awkward as it was, maybe I should just roll with the conversation like this.
I released the Art of Performance trait I'd borrowed from Gemma and stared straight at Kim Yun-ju with a perfectly neutral face.
"Wh-what the hell! Suddenly?!"
She'd been blushing three seconds ago, but now that I was looking at her without a hint of shame, Kim Yun-ju's face twisted in dismay.
"Figured pretending to be embarrassed would get me fewer beatings, but you weren't letting up. Didn't wanna waste time, so I just went ahead and started talking."
"⋯I dunno how you fooled the surveillance cams, but timing it right when I turned off mapping? You know who I am, then."
"More or less."
I closed the window and leaned against the wall. Flashes of info from the game—stuff I'd seen and heard—filled my head.
"Sister of the Carto-graffiti founder and former leader. Now hiding her identity while holed up in Argo Academy's map-making club. That about right?"
"I'll give you props. You're the first to track me this far. So, what's this 'business' you mentioned? Lemme guess. Some big shot wants my head."
Her eyes bulged as she glared at me, and I couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter.
"Don't go assuming I'm some assassin. If I'd come to kill you, you'd already be dead."
"⋯Sorry for the misunderstanding. Guess I've got a lot of tails on me."
Fair enough. Recalling the laundry list of Kim Yun-ju's exploits, I nodded.
"Equalization. Carto-graffiti's been flying that flag since day one, right?"
Kim Yun-ju flashed a faint smile—not joyful, but laced with complicated feelings.
"Hacked Doodle's map service and dumped every country's military base data online?"
"Planted the truth about companies profiting off child exploitation and cult groups right on the maps. And what else was it?"
"Interpol's UN Security Council special wanted criminals, plus the safehouses hiding defectors from intel agencies."
And that was just the tip. Dirty insider trading intel and all sorts of critical data that Kim Yun-ju and her brother had hacked over years—it all went public online, nonstop for 24 hours straight.
Carto-graffiti was a portmanteau of cartography and graffiti. The graffiti part hinted at its roots in rebellious street culture, making it the most hardcore anti-establishment hacker group out there.
Equality for all. That was their holy grail, and Equalization of information was the means.
Unequal information was the root of all the world's bullshit. That's what they preached. On Valentine's three years back, they leaked government and corporate secrets worldwide, flipping the planet upside down.
African warlords prepping for war had their military secrets spilled, forcing an uneasy truce. Corrupt heads of state resigned in droves. Drug lords in hiding got nabbed. Lesser secrets snowballed into civilian chaos, protesters stormed capitals of superpowers.
The unrest dragged on. If humans weren't such forgetful creatures, the world might've birthed a new order.
But yeah. Carto-graffiti's glory faded from memory in under a year, and normalcy returned. Back to the same unequal info breeding unfair bullshit, day in, day out.
"You know your stuff. Dragging up old history—got inspired by our ideals or something? Sorry, but I've quit playing hero ages ago."
"Group started with good intentions, but it soured. Feeling betrayed?"
"⋯What do you know."
"Not idolizing your past or anything, so relax. Not interested either."
"Then why the hell are you here."
"I keep saying it's business, but you won't believe me."
As I replied, Kim Yun-ju uncrossed her legs the other way, fixing her gaze on my face.
"One thing first: I don't work for money. So if you're thinking bribe, drop it."
Everything else is fine, but could she uncross those arms? She's about Shin Sua's height, but certain parts are popping more, and it's distracting. Almost like she's forgotten I'm a guy.
"Threats don't work either, obviously. If I cared about my life, I wouldn't have pulled that stunt three years ago."
I forced myself to focus on her words. The wall of massive supercomputers behind her screamed that Kim Yun-ju's survival wasn't just about staying alive—there was a mission.
"I know. You're busy with other stuff."
She still had info to hunt and enemies to topple. No intention of denying her life's work.
Just prepped some bait to tantalize this map-obsessed curiosity ball.
"It's just a side gig. Help out when you can. You'll like it, promise."
"⋯."
"I know telling the woman who mapped the world's 'real' layout three years ago sounds lame."
I paused a beat, then pressed on.
"But still. Senior. Wanna dig into Argo's secrets?"
For a split second, Kim Yun-ju's eyes sparkled like when she talked maps.
"You already suspect it, right? A ship this massive is bound to hide secrets even you don't know."
"Ngh⋯."
A groan escaped her lips. She'd resisted every temptation for her cause, but this one hooked her hard.
"Fine, it's tempting. But I don't need your help. I can do it solo."
"Can't let you. You'll be working under me."
"⋯And if I refuse?"
"Gotta go blabbing that you're Carto-graffiti's boss 'No Name.' You don't fear death, but dying with unfinished business? Nah."
"Who'd believe you. No proof."
"Hakkapheryx026i9TTg-92⋯."
Strings of code poured from my mouth, and horror washed over Kim Yun-ju's face.
"How the hell do you⋯."
I'd just rattled off the access code for the terminal in her dorm. In the game, you needed max relationship rank 10 to hear it from her directly, but I'd memorized it cold. Carried it around since mid-early game to use her terminal and servers without permission.
"⋯I surrender."
Finally, she raised both hands.
"Smart choice. Was worried you'd dig in your heels."
She gave a wry smile at my words.
"Cocky for a junior. Kinda wanna smack you."
"Hit me up sometime."
"⋯Your funeral?"
"Huh?"
I'd just tossed out a casual reply, but Kim Yun-ju grinned mischievously.
"Know why I've been holding back shame and not turning on texture mapping this whole time?"
"Uh⋯weird fetish?"
"Pfft."
The second I answered, she spread her crossed legs wide. My eyes locked onto the provocative sight.
"Figured it'd create an opening."
She'd been biding her time. Yanking a floor cable, I lost balance and tumbled onto the waterbed. She pounced, straddling my waist in a mount.
"You've pissed me off since you walked in. Whatever you're banking on, threatening people? Screw that."
Her right hand gripped something she'd snuck from her bra earlier. A razor-sharp butterfly knife.
"⋯Senior?"
"I hate guys who blackmail with info. Working under one? Hell no!"
Beg for your life. Her face, dragging the blade tip over my shirt, burned with real madness.
"Ha. Look at you."
Thinking she'd spotted a weakness and climbing on like this? Not cool. Cute once or twice, maybe. But pulling a knife? Line crossed.
I grabbed her wrist without a flinch, and now she panicked.
"Let go!"
-Screeech!
The dark clubroom door flew open with a bang, light flooding in.
* * *
<All that bragging for buying just this one thing.>
It'd been about a minute since she'd used disguise arts to roam as Kim Taeyang. Judging the timing right for the real one to slip in through the clubroom window, Gemma waved at the camera as planned.
If Kim Taeyang was right, that glasses girl Kim Yun-ju was way shadier than expected.
<No wonder.>
Her gut had recoiled at the sight of Kim Yun-ju's face for a reason. Her thief-honed instincts from childhood hadn't failed her.
She quickened her pace toward the clubroom, eager to regroup with Kim Taeyang and grill the girl.
-Pop.
Gemma cracked open the canned drink Kim Taeyang had left, recalling the men from yesterday. The one who'd moved beyond human limits without even Spirit Descent. Bastards members—ones her father had warned her about relentlessly before vanishing.
Back then, she'd wondered why bother guarding against non-Shangju. Now, she got Xavier's paranoia a bit.
But the worries gnawing at her since last night weren't just their power.
<Why the hell are those bastards on Argo⋯.>
As Xavier Belmont's heir, Gemma had infiltrated Argo for a clear goal. The item to fulfill her wish was hidden somewhere in this massive academy fleet.
She didn't even know what it looked like. All she knew? Right after she'd gone solo as a full-fledged thief, Xavier had headed here for 'it.'
She hadn't seen him since. Master thieves like them lived with death around every corner. So after the silence, Gemma had tried accepting reality coolly. Painful nights aside.
What kept her going was knowing his last destination—and the hope she could fulfill his wish there instead.
That's why the ominous name popping up right after securing a collaborator unnerved her so much.
<Those guys definitely have a reason for sneaking onto Argo.>
The mothership cradling this huge academy city boasted security matching its insane budget. Cutting-edge monster-and-human detectors, weapons and relics to intercept intruders—a colossal fortress.
Kim Taeyang's homeroom teacher claimed it was for student safety, but Gemma had seen through the lie on day one.
The treasure was here. Somewhere in this academy ship. No doubt.
Maybe she wasn't the only one who'd figured it out. That was her first thought hearing about a Bastards branch on Argo.
<Suspicious.>
Bastards weren't the only potential rivals. Kim Taeyang said class rep Yeom Jin-gwan was plotting terror against Argo students. How he knew? Irrelevant. Pointless to guess.
What mattered: Yeom Jin-gwan and his backers' motives. Shangju-targeted terror was common, but risking Argo's defenses just to enroll? Why not bomb a mainland clan for max impact?
Maybe they were after the same thing as her. And if a mega-crime syndicate and mystery terrorists shared her goal, just how valuable was Argo's hidden treasure?
-Slurp.
Her brain churning made her crave something sweet, so she sipped the drink Kim Taeyang bought.
<Urk.>
It was red bean soda, disguised to look innocuous.
<That delinquent punk. Gonna boil his balls into red bean porridge.>
She chucked the can in the trash, poltergeist-unlocked the map-making clubroom door, and flung it open.
<Hey! Kim Taeyang—>
The scene beyond was nothing like before. The clubroom had ballooned in size. Dozens of servers, cables snaking everywhere across the floor.
"Let go!"
And in the corner, on a waterbed: underwear-clad Kim Yun-ju, with Kim Taeyang pinned beneath, gripping her wrist.
<⋯Have fun, you two. Wrap it up.>
-Screeech.
Gemma shut the door with a blank face. Like rewinding a video.
Taming the Tomboy End