Chapter 217: What I Want to Do (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 217: What I Want to Do (6)
I had approached Theo with high spirits, asking to look at some data, but I’d forgotten one crucial fact.
"I'm under disciplinary action too, so I can't access them."
I wasn't the only one who had lost a significant amount of authority due to disciplinary measures. Both Theo, standing right in front of me, and Kruger, who was currently lying in a hospital bed, were in the same boat regarding access permissions.
"You can't even check them at all?"
"I can see they exist, but I can't open them."
However, the severity of the disciplinary action differed for the three of us—Theo, Kruger, and me. I was the only one completely barred from even looking at the files.
"Just confirming they're there is enough."
"Weren't you planning on cracking them open to use them?"
"No. I have to adapt them to the equipment used on Earth."
The hacking tool I had built with Kruger back then was designed to check the internal data of the suits. Since the systems themselves are entirely different, I couldn't just apply what we used back then to Earth.
That said, if I were to build it from scratch, the final product would likely be lacking in quality, considering I’d been away from programming for so long and lacked the foundational data.
I needed to give the hacking tool's code a quick look-over to ensure I could make it work reliably on Earth's computers.
The problem was that even after building it, there were many hurdles.
No matter how superior Spacetro's technology was, a group like the Earth Defense Union wouldn't miss an external network trying to access their computers.
Therefore, extracting data through an external device rather than a network was the most efficient route.
And ultimately, the person who would put that plan into action wouldn't be me, but one of my girlfriends.
"Found it."
As I stared intently at the monitor, Theo located the hacking tool we had made in the past within the archive and immediately ran the program.
Since there was no target to hack, the program simply looped its startup sequence. I scanned the lines of code scrolling rapidly across the screen.
"But can you actually make it? You made that with Kruger last time, didn't you?"
"He helped, but I did most of the heavy lifting, so it'll be fine. The problem is I haven't touched this in a while, so I'm not sure how well it'll go."
I'll just have to make it work somehow, I thought as I transferred the hacking tool program and grabbed a laptop used by the headquarters.
Thinking that I’d be buried in programming for the time being, I was reminded of the days when I lived life on a razor's edge. I was in a much better place emotionally now, so I didn't think I'd get irritable, but I would probably become a bit sensitive.
I intended to head straight to my room to start working as soon as I got home, but I paused when I saw the red hair in the living room.
"Where's Su-ah?"
"She went out for a bit with Green."
Usually, Su-ah would be sitting on the living room sofa playing games, but today, Yubin was sitting there instead.
Eunha was also home—I wasn't sure when she’d arrived—and it seemed she had stepped out with Su-ah for a moment.
"That's unusual."
There was still a lot I didn't know about the dynamic between my girlfriends. What I saw was strictly limited to when they were with me; I had no idea what kind of conversations they had when they were alone together.
I couldn't even imagine what the atmosphere would be like when Eunha and Su-ah were together.
It goes without saying, but my girlfriends in Team Hunter Killer all have different personalities.
The biggest contrast among them was between Eunha and Su-ah.
They shared the common trait of rarely going out—Eunha didn't care for it much, and Su-ah almost never left the house—but everything else about them was vastly different.
Hearing that those two had gone out together was quite intriguing.
"Have you been alone since they left?"
"Yeah. I was just sitting here on my smartphone."
Work is work, but I couldn't just leave my girlfriend sitting alone in the living room and disappear into my room.
I set the laptop down on the dining table, returned to the living room, and sat close beside her.
"Did you go to headquarters?"
"Yeah. For the investigation. I had some things to pick up, too."
As I pressed close, Yubin habitually leaned into my arms, resting her weight against me.
I stroked Yubin's hair as she snuggled into my embrace and toyed with her soft cheeks.
"Did you find anything?"
"No. I just started again, so I haven't found anything yet, but I did find a way."
"A way?"
As it happened, I needed someone to extract data from a headquarters executive's PC once the program was finished, and Yubin was right there.
The idea of hacking the PC at the Earth Defense Union's Seoul Headquarters had only occurred to me because of the things she had told me about the place.
And as the team leader, I figured she would have an easier time approaching an executive than the other members.
But was it really okay to bring this up and ask her?
All my girlfriends already knew I was investigating the Superhumans. And to get more definitive information, I had to look at the Earth Defense Union's data.
However, asking her to steal that data was a different story.
Yubin was studying space engineering and programming to create various applications. Because of that, she would understand the program I was making better than anyone.
No matter what kind of protection I put on it, she would surely be able to crack it.
"The thing is..."
I managed to force out the first few words, my voice thick with hesitation. But the rest wouldn't follow. I wondered if it was truly okay to ask for something like this.
For instance, if a moment came where I grew disillusioned with Spacetro's ways and wanted to leave, and someone precious to me asked for help stealing internal Spacetro information... would I be able to help?
Regardless of my feelings, I would certainly hesitate.
There was no reason my girlfriends wouldn't feel the same. Moreover, what they would feel facing the situation directly would surely be different from what I felt in a mere hypothetical.
Hayoung and Su-ah had already expressed their intention to join Spacetro. Perhaps asking one of them would be mentally easier.
But I couldn't turn away from my other girlfriends just because it was easier to rely on those two. If I did, that awkwardness might persist indefinitely with the ones I found difficult to ask.
"Oppa."
As I hesitated to speak, Yubin, who had been nestled in my arms, looked up and called my name in a soft voice.
A faint smile played on her lips and in her eyes. The moment I saw her face, the thought that I didn't need to worry flashed through my mind.
Her gaze seemed to tell me she was already prepared to hear whatever I had to say.
Our eyes met, and after a light kiss, my heart felt much lighter.
"I'm going to make a hacking tool."
With my mind at ease, I realized that dragging this out any longer would only bring back the discomfort, so I told her what I was planning.
"Hacking?"
"Yeah. I think it would be best to pull data from an Earth Defense Union executive's PC."
"..."
Yubin was silent.
It didn't seem like she was repulsed by my words, but rather that she was listening and processing them, so I continued.
"I'm planning to start making it now. The plan is to connect a USB to the PC, and through a Spacetro network program installed on the USB, the PC's data will be transmitted to me."
The explanation of the process was brief, but there was a lot to consider within it.
First, it must not affect the network of the PC used on Earth. Since it was a PC used by an executive of a massive organization like the Earth Defense Union, there was no telling what it might detect.
Furthermore, even the act of connecting a USB to the PC had to be done carefully. I needed a program that would prevent the computer from even recognizing that a USB had been plugged in.
Then, I had to install the Spacetro network program and minimize the transmission time.
Just thinking about the tedious tasks ahead made my head spin.
"And you want me to do that for you?"
From the moment I brought this up, Yubin had already figured out my intention.
I make the program. Yubin plugs it into the Director's PC.
Since I couldn't go to the Earth Defense Union headquarters myself, I had no choice but to ask one of my girlfriends.
"Yeah."
When I gave a simple confirmation, having nothing more to add, Yubin fell silent.
She seemed to be organizing her thoughts, mulling over what I had told her.
And she was undoubtedly feeling hesitant. That was only natural.
Regardless of how much she liked me or cared for me, it was impossible not to hesitate when asked to betray the Earth Defense Union, the organization she had been a part of until now.
I would fully understand even if Yubin refused right here and now.
Even if Yubin, like Hayoung or Su-ah, intended to leave the Earth Defense Union and join Spacetro, there were things that simply couldn't be done right away.
Red fell into deep thought.
A's request was one thing, but she was also reminded of her recent meeting with Seira.
If the day ever came when A said he was leaving Earth, would she be able to follow him?
While she still hadn't made a decision, the favor A was asking of her might be one that would shorten the time until he left Earth.
She knew very well that A was investigating the Superhumans for her and the other members.
If this endeavor succeeded, it could be a huge help to countless Superhumans, including themselves.
At the same time, it would accelerate Spacetro's invasion, bringing the unknown end of the conflict closer.
A smile spread across Red's lips.
When she looked into A's eyes while thinking about the distant future, she could feel that he wanted to solve the problem right in front of him, not something far off.
And solving that problem was solely for the sake of his girlfriends—for everyone in Hunter Killer, including Red, who was talking to him now.
Since A was doing something for them with such sincerity, she couldn't bring herself to refuse.
It was true that as the team leader, stealing information from the Earth Defense Union made her feel uneasy. But something else had become a higher priority.
A was trying to resolve the immediate issues for his girlfriends. So, Red decided that she, too, would act for the present rather than worry about the distant future.
"Okay."
Yubin, who had been lost in thought, suddenly smiled and spoke to me.
"Huh? Are you really okay with it?"
Even though I was the one who asked, I hadn't been entirely sure she would agree. Both Yubin and I belonged to different organizations. And Yubin, unlike me, was doing her best as a member of the Earth Defense Union.
"I've suspected for a while that there's something wrong inside the Earth Defense Union. There are a lot of things I want to know, too."
Spacetro already knew that credit for achievements was being misappropriated within the Earth Defense Union. Including that, there must be various other problems Yubin had sensed over the years.
Setting aside the right or wrong of the act, Yubin might have become curious about the doubts she had harbored for years, even as she helped me.
"Alright. I'll try to make it as quickly as possible."
Grinning with joy that Yubin had accepted my request, I pulled her into a hug. Yubin hugged me back, stroking my back with her hand, and for a moment, we simply felt each other's warmth.
"What are you doing?"
At the voice from behind us in the middle of our embrace, we pulled apart and turned our heads.
Su-ah and Eunha were standing at the entrance of the living room, watching Yubin and me. I hadn't even noticed when they’d come in.
"You're back? What did you two get up to?"
I gave a light wave and asked what they’d been doing. Eunha was glancing at me with a blush on her face, while Su-ah walked over to the sofa and grabbed the game pad sitting on the table.
"Green is moving into our place, too."
"What?"
I wasn't the first one to react to those words. Yubin, who had been hugging me just a moment ago, let out a voice full of confusion at Su-ah's announcement, while Eunha met my eyes and smiled.