“Isn’t the school computer blocked from doing various things?”
Sebit Middle School computer lab.
The computers, prepared for educational purposes, reportedly can’t do anything except run educational programs.
“It’s fine, this much is nothing.”
Dong-soo casually sat at a computer and turned it on.
Before the desktop appeared, he typed on the keyboard in the setup screen, and an unfamiliar screen popped up.
“Huh?”
“Whoa…?”
A blue screen filled with incomprehensible strings of characters.
Dong-soo began typing at lightning speed.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap—
“Wh-what are you doing?”
“A hacker?”
A hacker.
I’d seen them in movies before.
This world where another dimension exists within the computer.
Most information is stored online in the form of data.
And hackers are technicians who can bypass various security programs to access and manipulate all kinds of information.
In terms of my past life, they were akin to information brokers.
There was a broker named Hetto, a stocky guy, who often came to mind.
He kind of resembled Dong-soo.
“Done. Now I can install games without getting caught by the teacher. O-of course, I’ll show you what I brought.”
The screen returned to a normal desktop.
Then Dong-soo took a USB stick out of his pocket and plugged it in.
“Wow… what did you do? Did you hack it?”
“N-not really. I just changed some settings. O-of course, I could, but…”
“Where did you learn this stuff? Don’t tell me you hacked into my home computer too?”
Chae-young reacted with both amazement and horror.
The idea that skilled hackers could access all the world’s information was frightening.
“N-no way. O-of course, I could if I wanted… N-no, I mean.”
“Eek—! I knew you were a pervert!”
“Ugh, oww.”
Chaeyoung smacked the back of Dong-soo’s head repeatedly.
But I was thinking about something else.
To dominate the shadows of the future, information brokers would be essential.
Having someone like this as a subordinate would be quite useful.
In my past life, I had to go through a lot of hassle to obtain information from brokers.
Paying money or fulfilling their requests.
But in this world, a skilled hacker could allow me to control all the information I wanted.
I had thought about learning it myself, but for now, it seemed too difficult.
The language of computers didn’t exist in my previous life.
“Alright. Show me this game of yours.”
For now, it’s a trial.
I needed to test whether Dong-soo was someone worth working with.
Dong-soo launched the assassin game he had prepared.
“Wow! Did you really make this yourself?”
Ji-young marveled as she looked at the game.
It was far more elaborate than I had imagined.
The backgrounds brought back memories of my past life. Each element moved with detailed precision, as if alive.
The character’s movements were delicate and realistic, unlike the games I’d seen before.
The game world was beautiful.
It was like a work of art.
“W-well, I didn’t make all of it. Someone else did the design stuff. I can’t draw…”
“Still, it’s amazing! I’ve never seen a game like this before. It’ll definitely sell well.”
“H-hehe…”
“Why are you smiling like that? It’s creepy… But it is impressive. Why is it a female character, though? She’s got a big chest, and you can see her underwear when she moves.”
“Y-you pervert!”
“I-I didn’t design the character! The designer was… um, a bit unusual.”
It was hard not to praise the game.
The only games I’d played so far were simple things like “Raid Bug.”
This was impressive enough to be a movie.
“Anyway, I want to make the combat scenes for the character more elaborate, but I can’t seem to conceptualize the movements.”
As Dong-soo said, the character’s motions were awkward.
Too clumsy for an assassin.
“Alright. I’ll help you.”
“R-really?! Thank you, Siyeon!”
“But on one condition.”
“C-condition?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
“O-okay.”
He was worth using.
For now, it was good to build goodwill.
I demonstrated a few moves as requested.
“Whoa, whoooa!”
“Siyeon! How can you just kick like that!”
“I’m wearing shorts underneath.”
“C-can I record this?”
“No, you pervert!”
When Dong-soo tried to film it, Chaeyoung shouted at him.
“F-fine…”
Dong-soo reluctantly stopped filming and just observed.
His gaze made me uncomfortable, so I quickly stopped.
“That’s enough.”
“T-thank you! That helped a lot.”
Dong-soo started typing on the computer again, as if he’d found some inspiration.
That was enough for now.
I’d done my part and built a bit of goodwill.
Not wanting to stay with Dong-soo any longer, we left the computer lab.
SAS Drama Headquarters.
The main director, Kang Shin-yul, was pulling his hair out over writer Kang Eung-sook.
“Director, you understand, right?”
“Understood. I’ll start with the casting auditions.”
Writer Kang Eung-sook nodded with satisfaction and rose from her seat.
Kang Shin-yul sighed as he watched the spot where Kang Eung-sook had just left.
“Even with so many idol candidates, she’s not satisfied with the role of Uriel either…”
It was a casting-related issue.
Kang Eung-sook had risen to prominence as a star writer following consecutive drama successes.
Her scripts were considered a surefire guarantee of high viewership ratings.
And true to her reputation, the script she brought this time was exceptionally engaging.
The title was <Heirs>.
A passionate high-teen drama about the lives of wealthy teenagers at the prestigious Imperial High School for nobles.
Just reading the script showcased the unique charm of Kang Eung-sook’s signature humor and romantic comedy.
It was a definite hit. That’s why they decided to take it on.
But the writer had far too many complaints about the casting.
“I can’t just ignore her either, how troublesome…”
At first, Director Kang Shin-yul had his own casting choices in mind.
But Kang Eung-sook rejected most of them, overturning the lineup completely.
The confirmed casting so far only included a couple of idols.
Given the nature of the drama, Kang Eung-sook insisted that it needed lively actors rather than overly seasoned ones.
“This is getting bothersome. No choice but to thoroughly screen and select…”
Knock, knock, knock—
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
Outside the glass door, actor Ji-hyun was smiling.
“Oh, Ji-hyun.”
“Director, it’s been a while.”
Ji-hyun and Kang Shin-yul had worked on a project together in the past, forming a connection.
Having dropped by SAS, Ji-hyun saw Kang Shin-yul brooding alone in the meeting room and greeted him.
“I heard you’re working with Writer Kang Eung-sook this time? You didn’t call me, even though I’m not doing anything right now.”
“Haha. Of course, I’d love to work with you, Ji-hyun, but this drama’s a high-teen romance, you see.”
“Are you saying I’m too old now, Director?”
“Haha, no, that’s not it. You know how the writer is.”
“I know. I was just kidding.”
The two of them laughed as they chatted.
Ji-hyun subtly glanced at the script.
If it was written by Kang Eung-sook, any actor would be eager to take a look, even if they weren’t cast.
“Can I take a look at the script?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
Ji-hyun quickly skimmed through the script.
What kind of masterpiece had the writer come up with this time?
“Hmm…! I see.”
“It’s fun, right? It reminds me of Boys Over Flowers from back in the day.”
“It has a similar vibe. Has the casting been finalized?”
“No, we had one round, but the writer overturned it. That’s what’s causing all this trouble.”
“Hmm… What about the role of ‘Uriel’?”
“We need to hold auditions for the role of Uriel too. Why, do you have someone in mind?”
As soon as Ji-hyun read the role of Uriel in the script, one child came to mind.
A child with a genius-level talent, whom she had been watching over since a young age.
Though she had never seen the child act, she felt the role would suit them perfectly.
The age was just right too—just starting to wear a school uniform.
“…No, never mind. They’re in middle school. Thanks for letting me see the script. I’ll be going now, Director!”
But <Heirs> was a drama set in a high school.
Of course, Siyeon could probably pull it off flawlessly.
After all, despite being a middle schooler, Siyeon didn’t seem or act like one.
What was the point in thinking about it?
Siyeon had made it clear long ago that they had no intention of appearing on TV again.
Despite their natural talent, they seemed to dislike standing out.
And then, a few days later—
“Mom! You didn’t forget we’re having dinner with Siyeon’s family tonight, right?”
“I know, Ji-young. Aren’t you supposed to be practicing?”
“I already did! It’s already six o’clock!”
Ji-young, who had gone to school and even stopped by the practice room, was urging Ji-hyun to hurry up.
Ji-young and Siyeon were childhood friends and had maintained their relationship with Siyeon’s family.
Sometimes, they’d have family dinners like this.
“But isn’t the monthly evaluation coming up soon?”
“I told you, it’s fine!”
“And your weight management… if you eat meat tonight…”
“Oh, come on. Meat doesn’t make you gain weight. Let’s just go!”
Ji-young seemed unusually excited, which made sense—it was about eating meat.
Normally, she couldn’t eat freely due to weight management and such.
Ji-hyun, understanding the tough demands of the entertainment industry, sometimes had to be strict.
But as a mother, she occasionally turned a blind eye to such things.
Especially since managing as an idol was so challenging.
“This is so good, Siyeon! Grill that one too. Hurry, hurry!”
“Got it. But to grill that, we’ll need to change the grill plate first.”
Later at the barbecue restaurant—
At the table with the three children, Siyeon was skillfully grilling meat.
Even at 14 years old, there seemed to be nothing Siyeon couldn’t do, not even grilling meat.
Ji-hyun watched the kids with a pleased smile before turning her gaze away.
“Oh, by the way, Hye-won, have you heard about Writer Kang Eung-sook’s new drama project?”
“Of course. <Heirs>, right?”
“I had the chance to read the script recently, and there’s a character in it that immediately reminded me of Siyeon.”
Ji-hyun subtly glanced at Jiye as she spoke.
Jiye, who was happily munching on meat, widened her eyes in surprise.
“Does Siyeon still have no interest, Jiye?”
“I haven’t really asked, but probably not? Siyeon can be quite stubborn.”
Of course, it wasn’t her daughter, so it wasn’t really her concern.
But it felt like such a waste to leave that talent unutilized.
In Hye-won’s case, since her daughter Chae-young was a child actress, she might try to give her all the roles.
Ji-young, however, was an idol trainee, so it wasn’t feasible for her to take on a project right now.
As a mother, Ji-hyun sometimes fantasized about how beautiful those three would look walking the red carpet together.
“But isn’t the drama set in a high school?”
“Well, yes, but Siyeon is…”
“…True. Sometimes Siyeon seems more mature than us.”
Siyeon was so beautiful, poised, and composed, and at times, even seemed sexy in a way that caught others off guard.
On the other hand, her mother Jiye was timid and rabbit-like.
How could a mother and daughter be so different?
“Ji-young’s mom, what was that about?”
At that moment, Jiye had quietly joined the mothers’ table.
“Oh my!”
No one had noticed her approach; when did she get there?
Startled, Ji-hyun clutched her chest and responded.
“Oh, it’s just that a director I know is working on a project, and one of the audition roles reminded me of Siyeon.”
“Hm…”
“It’s by such a famous writer, so the competition will be tough, but I thought Siyeon could do really well. Hehe.”
Siyeon rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.
Her usual demeanor seemed a bit different.
“…That audition. Could I try out for it?”
“Yes, sure, Siyeon would… Wait, what?”
“I’d like to try it. The audition.”
“Really?!?”