The chapter is divided into two parts: The Code Acquisition and The Infiltration.)
Part I: The Code Acquisition
(The scene is the bustling faculty hallway the next morning. MIN-HO is standing near TEACHER CHOI JI-SOO's chaotic desk. JIN-WEE is strategically positioned further down the hall, pretending to look at a bulletin board, the thermal camera pen cap concealed on her person.)
Min-Ho's palms were slick with sweat. He approached Teacher Choi, who was already stressed, clutching a stack of papers and attempting to sip a lukewarm coffee.
"Teacher Choi? Do you have a moment? I—I need to ask for a big favor."
TEACHER CHOI
(Sighing heavily) "Min-Ho, right? Of course, dear. But make it quick, I'm drowning in paperwork. What is it?"
MIN-HO
(Stammering slightly)
"I'm really struggling in your class. I think I'm failing the midterms. \text{Could I please schedule a private make-up test?} I need to pull my grade up."
The request hit Teacher Choi's central nervous system. She immediately dropped her coffee mug slightly, momentarily forgetting her surroundings. Her face shifted to one of genuine concern, focusing entirely on Min-Ho.
"A make-up test? Oh, Min-Ho, I hate to see you stressed. \text{Alright, come to my office hour on Friday. We will figure it out.}"
(ACTION: While she spoke, the intercom on her desk buzzed loudly. Teacher Choi cursed under her breath. She had to log into the main server to process an urgent attendance change.)
TEACHER CHOI
"Hold that thought, Min-Ho. One second. Don't move."
(She swiftly moved to the secured door marked 'Server Room Access' a few feet away. Jin-Wee, maintaining her cover by pretending to tie her shoe, brought the pen cap camera into direct line of sight with the pin pad.)
TEACHER CHOI
(Muttering to herself) \text{"Attendance... attendance..."}
(She rapidly punched a six-digit code into the pin pad, the small buttons flashing with brief residual heat. Jin-Wee's camera captured the thermal pattern perfectly. Teacher Choi entered, and the heavy door hissed shut instantly.)
Min-Ho watched the door close, his heart still racing. He looked towards Jin-Wee, who gave a nearly imperceptible nod before returning her attention to the bulletin board. The distraction was a success.
Part II: The Night Infiltration
(The scene shifts to 11:45 PM the following night. The school is silent and pitch black. Jin-Wee and Min-Ho are near the basement level, clad in dark clothes. They use the blueprint and Jin-Wee's specialized tools.)
MIN-HO
(Whispering urgently)
"It feels too quiet. \text{Kang Se-Joon must have someone patrolling.}"
JIN-WEE
(Her voice is steady, a low command)
"He patrols the main halls. Not the administrative basement. The access point is now."
(They reached the Server Room door. Jin-Wee took the lead, pulling out a small device—a thermal scanner. She pressed the device against the pin pad.)
JIN-WEE
"The code sequence is 4-8-1-5-1-6. The heat signature confirmed the order."
MIN-HO
"You're sure? If we get it wrong, the alarm goes off."
JIN-WEE
"I am sure."
(She entered the code. The door lock click-hissed open. They slipped inside. The server room was cold, humming loudly with the sound of countless powerful machines. The air felt sterile and charged.)
JIN-WEE
"Find the main terminal. It should have the administrative access."
(Min-Ho spotted the central terminal. Jin-Wee immediately plugged a flash drive into the port.)
JIN-WEE
"I'm downloading the entire social ranking \text{Database}. Every name, every score, every exclusion log."
(The progress bar on the screen crawled slowly. The tension in the small, humming room was palpable.)
MIN-HO
(Standing guard near the door, his eyes darting between the monitors and the entrance)
"Hurry, Jin-Wee. This feeling... \text{it feels wrong.}"
(Suddenly, the main terminal screen went black. The humming sound changed pitch. A new prompt appeared on the screen, not from Jin-Wee's flash drive, but from the network itself.)
SYSTEM MESSAGE (On Screen)
[UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED. HELLO, \text{LEE JIN-WEE}.]
Min-Ho gasped, rushing towards the terminal.
"He knew! \text{Kang Se-Joon was waiting!}"
JIN-WEE
(Her face remained terrifyingly calm, but her hand flew to the keyboard)
"He didn't know it was me. He just knew someone would try to access the file. He set a trap."
(A figure materialized in the doorway—tall, perfectly dressed even in the darkness, with cold, analytical eyes. It was KANG SE-JOON, the A-Level Leader. He wasn't surprised; he looked almost bored.)
KANG SE-JOON
"I was wondering who would be foolish enough to follow the \text{Lee Jin-Woo} trail. And look what I found. \text{A duplicate.}"
MIN-HO
(Stepping defensively in front of Jin-Wee)
"Se-Joon! Let us go! We have the data!"
KANG SE-JOON
(Chuckling softly, a chilling sound in the cold room)
"The data? Oh, \text{Park Min-Ho}. That file you're downloading is just a decoy. \text{The real data is encrypted with my biometric key.} And now that you've accessed it, the system has logged your names."
(ACTION: Kang Se-Joon slowly reached into his pocket. Jin-Wee grabbed Min-Ho's arm and stared straight at Se-Joon.)
JIN-WEE
"You set him up. \text{You drove Jin-Woo to his breaking point} because he threatened your precious hierarchy."
KANG SE-JOON
"He was weak. The \text{Black Secret} ensures only the strong thrive. \text{He was meant to be culled.} And you, 'Jin-Wee,' you are about to join him."
(ACTION: Kang Se-Joon pulled out a small device—not a weapon, but a network disruptor. He smirked just as Jin-Wee pulled a hidden tool from her pocket and slammed it into the server tower, aiming not at the files, but the cooling system.)
JIN-WEE
"The system may be strong, but \text{it cannot survive without power.}"
(The server room immediately filled with a deafening screeching noise as the cooling unit seized up. Emergency lights flashed red. Min-Ho grabbed Jin-Wee and dragged her toward the service hatch.)
MIN-HO
"Let's go! We need to run!"
(As they scrambled into the maintenance tunnel, the last thing they heard was Kang Se-Joon's cold, furious shout echoing through the dying server room: "You won't escape, \text{Lee Jin-Wee}! The Secret protects itself!")
Conclusion of Chapter 5
This chapter successfully executes the tense plan, resulting in a direct confrontation with the \text{A-Level} leader, \text{Kang Se-Joon}, who proves to be several steps ahead. Jin-Wee manages to disrupt the system's physical integrity (the cooling unit) but fails to secure the main database, setting up a perilous conflict for the next chapters.
The chapter opens moments after the escape. JIN-WEE and MIN-HO scramble out of the service hatch, ending up in a dark, overgrown part of the school grounds near the perimeter fence. The emergency siren is now wailing from the main building.)
Min-Ho collapsed onto the damp grass, gasping for air. His body was shaking from the adrenaline and fear.
"He knew! \text{Kang Se-Joon knew!} We should have never gone there! We failed, Jin-Wee! We failed!"
Jin-Wee was already checking the perimeter. She was breathing heavily, but her focus remained sharp. She held the flash drive—the one with the decoy data—in her hand.
"We didn't fail. \text{We created chaos.} That screeching you heard? That was the cooling system dying. He has a physical problem now, not just a digital one."
MIN-HO
"Chaos? The whole school siren is blaring! \text{We just triggered a full lockdown!} We're going to be caught! Kang Se-Joon will expose us—we'll be \text{C-Level} outcasts for life!"
JIN-WEE
(She knelt beside him, her eyes burning with intensity)
"Min-Ho, listen to me. This alarm is good. It forces \text{Kang Se-Joon} to act quickly, and that means he makes mistakes. He can't expose us yet because he can't explain why the server room—the heart of the \text{Black Secret}—is malfunctioning."
"What about the data? He knows our names are logged!"
"Yes. That means we have a clock. \text{He's going to find us before he fixes the server.} We need to move."
(ACTION: They quickly scaled the low perimeter fence and escaped onto the main road, the emergency siren slowly fading behind them. Jin-Wee led them to a deserted, all-night cafe miles from the school.)
(Inside the dim cafe, Jin-Wee pulled out her laptop and the decoy flash drive. She was analyzing the metadata.)
MIN-HO
(Sipping his hot chocolate, still looking over his shoulder)
"Why are you looking at that fake data? It's useless, right?"
JIN-WEE
"No data is useless. Se-Joon said it was a decoy, but he still had to populate it with something. \text{Look at the file path—it's not the main database, but it points to the backup server.}"
(She pointed to a single name embedded deep within the decoy file's code.)
JIN-WEE
"And look at this name. It's \text{Lee Jin-Woo}'s. \text{It was the first name in the decoy file.} Se-Joon is obsessed with covering up what he did to him."
MIN-HO
"Why would he leave Jin-Woo's name there?"
"Arrogance. He wanted to leave a message for whoever was foolish enough to try and retrieve the file. A message saying, 'I won.' \text{But that arrogance is his flaw.} We know his focus."
(Jin-Wee closed the laptop. The confrontation with Kang Se-Joon had solidified her next strategy.)
JIN-WEE
"Min-Ho, Kang Se-Joon won't stop at logging our names. He needs to eliminate the threat—that's us. \text{He will use the system to publicly destroy us tomorrow.}"
MIN-HO
(His face draining of color)
"Destroy us? You mean the \text{C-Level} marking? Public humiliation?"
JIN-WEE
"Worse. \text{I think he will make us targets for exclusion, just like he did to Jin-Woo.} We have one day to find his weakness before he makes us disappear."
MIN-HO
"And what is his weakness? He's untouchable!"
JIN-WEE
"The \text{Black Secret} is built on control. He controls the students, but he must report to someone higher up—the faculty, the board, someone who allows the \text{A-Level} hierarchy to exist. \text{His weakness is his foundation.}"
(Jin-Wee pulled out the actual school badge—the one she had been given by the teacher—and Jin-Woo's old, worn badge.)
JIN-WEE
"We need to find out who in the faculty protects Se-Joon. \text{Who benefits most from the Black Secret's existence?} You know the teachers, Min-Ho. Start with the ones who never question the \text{A-Level}."
(She placed the two badges side-by-side: one new, one old, both bearing the same surname's curse.)
JIN-WEE
"We fight his superiors, Min-Ho. That's the only way to stop him. \text{Tomorrow, we don't run from the school. We expose its true masters.}"
(Min-Ho looked at the determination in Jin-Wee's eyes. He was terrified, but he finally understood: the fight wasn't against the database; it was against thepower structure that created it.)