Timeskip,
It has been three months.
And for the first time, Ha-Joon had set his foot on the heart of South Korea, Seoul.
Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is a sprawling metropolis where glass towers and high-tech subways is mixed with temples and crowded street markets. Though small in its size compared to other places, but the sheer amount population it contains far exceed other city.
And beneath the behemoth of a city lies a web of corruption, where politicians and businesses alike wield power to serve their own agendas.
In conclusion, Seoul can be described in two words.
Pressure cooker.
The moment someone shows a hint of weakness, others like a pack of hyenas, pounce without hesitation.
Ha-Joon had roamed the every corner of Seoul, but hadn't found a single trace of Charles. So instead, he shifted his focus trying to reach the other two members of the Fist Gang.
Unfortunately, even that had ended in failure.
It was understandable as Tom Lee was still just a beggar at this point, and his Baekho HRM has yet to be established. But Jinyoung Park simply vanishing like a ghost? Now that baffled him.
He had even visited Jinyoung's turf himself, only to find nothing. It was as if the entire fist gang member had never existed at all.
Lying on a rooftop bench in central Seoul, cigarette dangling between his fingers, Ha-Joon stared up at the now diluted sky.
"It's getting dull with each passing day," Ha-Joon muttered. "No fights, no real progress just aimless wandering. Forget it. I'm done tracking him. He will reveal himself sooner or later."
Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Ha-Joon pulled it out and glanced at the screen, Seokdu Wang. With a sigh, he pressed the phone to his ear.
"Talk."
A deep rough voice came through. "Remember what i told you. I found something that might interest you. Not a fighter but far more interesting and a orphan at that."
Ha-Joon quickly became interested after hearing that. "Go on."
"A kid mingling in cyber crime. He's a ghost in online that goes by Nullbyte. Just recently, he had hacked down the government server. Heh.. By the way, he goes to my abandoned PC cafe. He left his trail recently. Looks like he's not expert at covering his action."
"Ohh and he's barely fifteen. But i don't get it. How the hell does he manages to intervene into government server in a young age and in a rundown PC at that."
"Genius are just built different." Ha-Joon chuckled slightly, before speaking. "Text me his location."
Click.
Ha-Joon quickly text out to Hyun-Woo. "Come and pick me. We've got an interesting individual to recruit."
.....
By noon,
They arrived in front of a shuttered internet café squeezed between a laundromat and a fried chicken joint filled with dust. It can be seen that the facilities has not been used for years, just from its current condition.
"Here." Hyun-Woo asked, looking skeptical.
Minjae nodded. "Last signal bounced from here."
Ha-Joon stepped out from the vehicle and moved towards the cafe. He slowly pushed open the door.
The place was dark, filled with some broken and old PCs. At the far end, sitting in a rolling chair with his hoodie up and a half-eaten sandwich on the desk, was the small boy.
"Hmm... How strange. I haven't invited anyone lately." The boy said, without turning back. His eyes were still locked at the game.
Ha-Joon raised a brow. "A boy involving in a recent cyber crime that goes by the name Nullbyte... And he's just hanging around in some rundown internet café, living his quiet little life?"
The boy flinched slightly after hearing his recent deeds. He body began to shake slightly from the nervousness.
"Who the hell are you people."
Ha-Joon chuckled inwardly. The fact boy was nervous right from the start amused him. Still he had to be more serious. Just the fact, that being able to breach multiple servers with ease was enough to put him on the radar of the government.
If he didn't recruit the boy then the high authorities may send people to arrest him. And knowing how the system works. They'd likely twist it into an opportunity by offering redemption in exchange for the services, pulling him into their ranks.
So, he had to recruit the boy no matter what it took.
"Let's not waste time." Ha-Joon rested his arm on the table. "You go by Nullbyte, right? Smart kid but reckless. Playing in systems that don't belong to you."
The boy widened his eyes. He sat back slightly. "I didn't do anything illegal."
Ha-Joon smiled, hearing his denial. "Three DDoS spikes traced back to here. A small city hall data breach that made traffic lights go haywire for a night. And a shutdown test on a minor security firm's server that no one noticed."
"Don't worry, I'm not here to arrest you but to recruit you."
(A/N: For those of you who don't know DDoS, that is designed to force a website or any other server to shut down. Making them unable to process normally.)
The boy relaxed slightly, after hearing Ha-Joon's word. Having been kicked out of orphanage at a young age. He had to rely entirely on himself to make a living. He wandered around the city until he stumbled upon this rundown cafe.
He made it his home. And overtime, he began to realize his talent on the digital world. A place where skill meant everything.
The boy said softly. "If I join you… can you give me a place I can finally call home?"
"Home? You say."
Ha-Joon fell silent for a moment, then slowly stood up and gestured for the boy to follow and stepped out.
Ha-Joon spread his arms wide, as if presenting the world itself.
"Take a good look," he said. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
Then, he broke into wild laughter.
"Money, Power, Education, Purpose. And a seat at the table for the second generation that will shape the future of Korea." He turned to face the boy, eyes turning sharp. "What is it you want, kid? Because whatever it is… I can give you everything this world has to offer."
The boy eyes swelled as he stared at the towering figure.
Ha-Joon looked down at him, a half-smile tugging at his lips.
"What's your name, kid?"
The boy hesitated, his gaze fixed on the ground. "I don't have any."
Ha-Joon grinned as he patted the boy's head.
" Good, Very Good."
He crouched slightly to meet the boy's eyes.
"Are you ready to soar to new heights, boy? Because from this moment on… your name will be Junho."
"Park Junho."