CHAPTER 003: In-Real Dick (2)
She said there was something they needed to discuss alone. At those words, Han Yu-ra trailed after Im Seong-u like a shadow.
His back came into view. Broad. Was it because he'd swum as a kid? Back then, work had given him such a pronounced turtle-neck posture, but now he stood tall and imposing. Just one month.
Quitting is the best medicine. His health had improved that dramatically. Yu-ra pictured him from even further back.
That's how he always looked... After a month of rest, his stride was vigorous, his posture proud, his shoulders wide. Han Yu-ra swallowed hard.
He's so handsome. His stamina had always been impressive too. At the thought, her cheeks flushed red. The night they'd first slept together. She barely remembered the details, but the mix of pain and pleasure burned vivid in her mind.
And he's capable. Taking sole responsibility for that grueling project only made him more reliable. They arrived at the cafe below the office on foot. Han Yu-ra ordered a delicious strawberry milkshake; Im Seong-u got a bland, boring iced Americano.
He's so boring.
Im Seong-u spoke. "Yu-ra. Take a look at this?"
His casual tone, skipping the formalities, stirred something in her.
"Hm... what's that?" Under the pretense of peering at his laptop, she pressed her chest and shoulder against him, drawing close. Then she watched his reaction. Nothing.
Tch...
"Han Yu-ra. This mess happened because you're the CEO and completely clueless about programming. That's the biggest factor. You know that, right?"
"Yeah..." Han Yu-ra shrank back a little, intimidated. Im Seong-u was scolding her seriously. His tone was flat and dry, his voice low. Was it fear? Or the weekend's events? Listening to him made her chest tighten, her head spin. Her heart pounded.
Hah... why am I like this? Investor tirades only brought stress. But now, something subtle mixed in.
"If you'd understood programming, giving orders to the staff would've been smoother. You could've made a more balanced call when Kim A-ram bullied me. But you didn't. Doesn't matter now—start learning programming. Get involved in the work yourself."
"...Got it."
She'd been CEO of a game dev company from the start. She should've learned programming basics regardless. Even planners needed coding skills these days; that was the trend when hiring.
Yu-ra admitted her mistake. ...He's blunt, but it's good advice. Why did he feel more trustworthy the more he tore her down? Isn't this gaslighting?
Im Seong-u continued. "Do you know what cloud services are?"
"...Yeah. No, not really."
She felt embarrassed. Faking it would just get exposed by him—day or night.
"You know servers are computers, right?"
"Yeah."
"Hardware and bandwidth cost a fortune. So we rent servers."
She understood perfectly. How had she fired someone this reliable? A twinge of guilt hit her. Fidgeting with her hands, she listened.
"And these logs..."
At first, Yu-ra had no idea what he meant. But once she grasped it, she couldn't help but be shocked.
...
These days, cloud providers offered backup and logging—recording devs' actions. I'd set up double safeguards, just in case. One from the cloud service itself, another program on the game server.
In the end, that idiot Kim A-ram got caught.
> Timestamp: [Date/Time]
> IP: [Office IP Address]
> Command: rm -rf /
> Action: Recursive delete initiated on server root.
"The cloud provides security too. Paid service. Got it?"
"Yeah. I've paid for that."
A faint floral scent wafted from her hair. Still lunchtime, but she seemed a bit excited. Glancing at her eyes, she beamed bashfully and looked away.
Cheeky...! Rubbing her chest and shoulder against him during work hours. She'd need a harsh punishment tonight to learn.
"So even if a dev maliciously wipes the server files, we can recover from here. Sure, my few weeks of work vanish, but..."
"Oh, thank god, thank god..." Han Yu-ra sighed in relief, on the verge of tears. Like grasping a lifeline.
I let her savor it briefly.
"And we can see the records here. What the dev did."
I scrolled through the logs. There was one hilarious line of code.
rm -rf. The command.
"Yu-ra."
"...Yeah?"
"Know what rm means?"
Of course she didn't. But she'd have to learn now, so I explained.
"Short for 'remove.' Means delete."
"...!"
Her eyes widened in understanding. Normally cool-headed, but now fury blazed in her pupils. She looked ready to scream.
"Wait... so someone deliberately deleted it?"
"Yeah. And whose IP is this?"
It was one of the office computers. I'd seen hers, but Kim A-ram's IQ was obvious.
Should've just installed ransomware. Cleaner. Not that she couldn't do evil; she just didn't.
Anyway, Kim A-ram's act wasn't a mere mistake—it was intentional sabotage.
Han Yu-ra ground her teeth. "We'll sue her right now and—"
"Yu-ra. Don't."
"...You're forgiving her?"
"?"
Forgiving? Did she just say forgive?
How could she even consider that? A saint? I was flustered. Who in this world would forgive Kim A-ram? Only one: the abolisher of slavery, miracle-worker of the loaves and fishes, bearer of the cross up Golgotha alone.
Yes. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His mercy might forgive her. But I was just a man.
"No."
"..."
"The opposite, actually."
...
"A-ram. Come to the cafe downstairs. Now. We need to talk."
Han Yu-ra revved up her scolding motorcycle. She even had their original contract. Her hands trembled.
"Right now!!!"
She yelled. Cafe patrons stared. But she ignored them, knife-to-throat defiant, spewing curses before hanging up. Then she turned to me.
"Im Seong-u. You serious?"
"Yeah."
I explained the 'plan.' A reeducation process. Consideration for the beastly Kim A-ram to walk among humans again.
Looking into my eyes, Han Yu-ra's face twisted in disgust.
"...Seong-u."
"Yeah?"
"You want revenge?"
"A bit."
"That's just malice."
No denying it.
"It is."
"And if we follow your plan, what about open beta?"
"Yu-ra."
I dropped a bombshell from her perspective.
"Worst case, we can do open beta in 10 days."
"...What? What do you mean?"
She gaped at me in shock. Like she'd never considered it.
It was true.
"Unfinished features are ranking, room decoration, PVP. Lock 'em all and launch."
Of course, releasing like that would get her reamed by investors. Failing to deliver a 'complete' game by deadline meant no escaping audits.
Her CEO creds would tank. Firing then rehiring a programmer as director. Partial-feature beta... Brutal for her.
"Can't we just do it now?"
"Promote me first."
I needed the title to hedge against her cutting me loose.
Director's safe. Situation was messy. Fired a month ago, now demanding director on rehire. Get fired again post-promotion? Even a small firm with investments couldn't play games. She'd have no defense in court.
"...Fine."
I loved Sepiros Online too. Sin is human, not tools.
"Remember? 2.5% equity."
"...Ugh."
2.5% equity. Absurd. Angel Ventures paid 10 billion for 10%. Me, a mere director, taking 2.5%? Brazen.
A fresh grad as director? Weird. Plus equity? Insane. But I'd push.
I was invested. 'Successful' Railroad Software equity was valuable.
Han Yu-ra gazed at me, voice low with desperate plea. "I'm counting on you, Seong-u..."
Her earnest face struck me as pretty again. Couldn't trust her soul yet. But face and figure? Rock solid.
"...Hello."
Then our star arrived: Kim A-ram. Arrogant expression. Downcast eyes black with undisguised contempt, lashes heavy with loathing.
I acknowledged her. You're all-time legend, Kim A-ram. Respect.
"Why'd you call? CEO?"
Kim A-ram scowled at Han Yu-ra, annoyed at the inconvenience.
Han Yu-ra's rage erupted instantly.
-GRRR-
She started to speak, then ground her teeth instead.
Can't let that happen. I grabbed her shoulder. Those precious teeth for 80 years! Grinding like that risked enamel damage.
Her emotions boiling over would be trouble, so I took the baton.
"Hey, A-ram."
"Yes? What, Mr. Im Seong-u programmer?"
She arched her sleek black brows in defiance. Her principled refusal to call me director gave me chills. Imagine company growth with that mindset. Pointless now.
"You know the server files got wiped last week?"
"So?"
Short. Han Yu-ra moved to stand. No clue her intent, but letting her rise would've summoned possession, reincarnation vibes in Kim A-ram. I stopped her.
Calmly: "We suspect you."
"...Ha. Mr. Im."
She said, "I don't know your deal with Han Yu-ra, but climbing ranks doesn't make you hot shit. You're not even director yet."
I pulled out my phone, opened the recorder, showed her.
"A-ram."
"..."
"I'm recording now. Be honest. This can be used in court."
Her face froze at the recorder.
I asked again. "Confirming: You didn't deliberately delete our company server files, right, A-ram?"
Added bait. "Confess now—no leniency."
"Ha! Leniency? Why would I delete them on purpose?"
"Noted."
Next question. "We've secured all office CCTV and computer logs. Backed up. We know who used what machine when. Still not you?"
Her reply slowed. I caught her lip quiver. Micro-expressions were fun.
"So?"
"You really didn't delete company files on purpose?"
"...I didn't!"
Kim A-ram huffed. Perfect, as expected. Felt great.
"Then, A-ram."
"What? I gotta get back to work..."
"Know all your commands get logged?"
Her face reddened. Sweat beaded on her temple. Delicious.
She yelled. "That's server software! Files gone—how?!"
"Ah."
I smiled. "A-ram."
Terror dripped from her eyes. Tasty.
"Know logs survive server wipes?"
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.