Chapter 70 - A Web

SD pulled over in front of a shabby roadside restaurant. It was late at night and there were very few patrons at that time. The restaurant was located in a desolate part of the street market where people did not frequent much. Calling it a restaurant would be far fetched since it was more of a shack made of thick bamboo tied together. The roof was covered with a tin while at the entrance was a long curtain instead of a door.

Sunye immediately recognized the restaurant. It was the same place where SD asked her to meet a year ago when she was working on her brother's case and asked her for two favors. The first one was fulfilled but the second one was still due.

What's he gonna ask of me? She wondered. 

"Wait here," SD said and got out of the car to walk towards the back. He rummaged inside the trunk for a while before reappearing. He knocked on her window.

"You might want to change into these," he said, handing her a pair of slippers. "Walking in heels here will be uncomfortable."

"T-thank you!" she said, blushing a little. It was strange to see him being considerate of others. But then again, she frowned to herself. He never made her feel uncomfortable in any way. Other than his occasionally snide flirtations, he never made her feel unsafe. Even in that dark alley, she was not afraid. A guy and a girl in such elegant clothes were bound to attract the attention of criminals and muggers but with SD, she felt...safe.

She put on the slippers and got out of the car, following SD to the restaurant. A gruff looking old woman in her eighties was standing behind the counter, cleaning it. When the new guests arrived, she did not look up and said, "We're closed now. Come tomorrow."

"Even if it's me?" SD asked. The old woman looked up and groaned in annoyance. She threw the dirty rag at him but he dodged with ease.

"Especially if it's you!" she yelled. "Even if the place is open, I'll close it down whenever you're here!"

"Oh come one old woman, don't be like that!" he pouted. 

"Who the hell are you calling old?" she growled. "I can take down ten guys on my own! Now get out!"

"But my friend is hungry," he said, pointing at Sunye who was standing near the entrance, nervous at the strange encounter. She smiled at the old woman and bowed in respect.

"Sorry for the intrusion," she apologized. "We can go elsewhere-"

But the old woman was scrutinizing her and sighed. "I like the look on this one so I'll let you stay," she grumbled. "She looks polite. Unlike you, you scoundrel!"

She hit SD on the arm, causing him to wince. "What did I do this time?" he protested. "I'm innocent...I think!"

His protests were met with more hits to his arm. Sunye suppressed a smile while SD looked annoyed at the old woman. Seeing him being beaten by a harmless old woman was oddly satisfying.

"You come back after months of no contact and you expect me to be friendly?" the old woman exclaimed. "And where the hell is my money? You ate for free last time and never paid!"

"Oh," SD recalled. "Could've just said that! I'll pay in full today. I promise!"

He flashed her a smile, showing off his perfectly shiny teeth. Sunye wanted to gag at his obvious attempts to placate the woman but the latter merely muttered something like 'sweet talker'.

"Well don't just stand there!" she snapped at them. "Sit down and I'll bring you the food!"

"Won't you take an order…" SD began to ask but faltered under her deathly glare. 

"Chicken fries or no food," she threatened. "I ain't gonna cook up a meal for ya!"

SD made a face while Sunye let out a giggle. Both of them were surprised to see her laughing. Even Sunye was shocked by her actions.

"I'm sorry," she said, suppressing her smile. "It felt good to see someone hitting him. He deserved it."

"I like you even more," the old woman winked while SD looked mortified.

"I can sue you for assault ya know!" he threatened.

"I'll bail her out and sue you back for defamation," Sunye simply said. 

"Woah, did Miss Lawyer just make a joke?" SD asked, trying to be sure of what he had just witnessed. Not only did Sunye laugh but also made a joke.

"No, I was being serious," she said with a straight face. SD muttered under his breath and turned away from her. 

"Let's just sit here," he said loudly. Sunye took a seat across him while the old woman disappeared into the kitchen. Once they were alone, Sunye turned to SD.

"Will Orea be alright?" She asked. "Sam seemed pretty hellbent on her trail."

"Orea will be fine," SD simply shrugged. "Even if Sam tries to harm her, the PM won't let him. She's a minor and the PM wouldn't want a minor to be hurt in his mansion and certainly not one under his care."

"But she's a minor!" Sunye frowned. "We shouldn't be leaving her in a place like that!"

Even though it was her first time at the PM Mansion, she was thoroughly unsettled by that place. Leaving a kid like Orea in there all alone was not sitting well with her.

"Orea had handled far worse," he assured her. Just then his phone vibrated. It was a text from Orea.

"She is fine," he told her, showing the message. "She made them drop her off at a random apartment and once the car was out of sight, she headed towards the subway to go home. She just reached home."

Seeing the text had assuaged Sunye. It seemed she had underestimated the girl.

"What were you two doing there anyway?" she asked curiously.

"We were collecting information. It's what we do. We collect information and sell it to the highest bidder. After that what they do with it, isn't our concern."

"That's illegal!" Sunye accused. "You can't just steal information about people!"

"Steal?" SD asked, raising an eyebrow. "How is it any different from what the big corporations are doing? How is our work any different from what the government itself is doing? We might hide in plain view, but what we're doing is the same as what everyone else is doing."

"What do you mean?" Sunye asked. SD leaned against his chair, studying her.

"Take out your phone and open your social media app," he instructed. Sunye did as he said and opened her social media account. SD put a finger on her screen, scrolling down.

"Now text someone that you want chocolates," he said. "Use your app's inbox."

"Okay…" Sunye said. She picked out one of her college friends, Kang Eli, and sent her the message.

"Now refresh your feed and tell me what you see."

Sunye refreshed it and waited for a few seconds before the screen came alive again. On one side of her social media feed, a chocolate ad popped up.

"This," SD pointed. "This ad is here because the app read your personal message to your friend. You have given the company of this app full right to access your contacts and your information. So it analyzed your message in its algorithm and is now showing you chocolate ads. All this was done in a matter of milliseconds."

Sunye frowned, analysing his logic. He was correct. Companies frequently fished out data from their customers' personal information and sold them to other firms so that the ads could be targeted. It was a common yet unethical practice. The information sold could destroy a person's life but also help in nabbing a criminal. The potential was endless when one obtained a single bit of information. Yet, it was also dangerous.

"The world we live in has our information displayed all around it," SD chuckled. "People have created a web of information around them and trapped themselves in it. So you can say that we're not stealing something which is out there in the open. We're just picking them out and selling them to others who might or might not use it. But when they do, it'll always be for something unethical."

"But you hacked into the PM's security!" Sunye guessed. "That's illegal."

"We tried," SD corrected her. "We didn't succeed."

"So you'll try again?"

"Yes."

"But why?" Sunye demanded. "Why go that far? Why are you risking your life for this?"

SD was amused by her passion for the law. He also noted that there was a hint of worry for him. 

"I have an agenda," he admitted. Sunye waited for him to elaborate but he did not. It was one of the most annoying things about him. He sold many secrets but did not reveal any about himself.

"You really don't fear anything, do you?" she asked, feeling aghast. "Have you ever thought of how people might feel if you die? Your family? Friends? Do you think about them at all?"

"Will you be sad if I die?" he asked shrewdly. Sunye gaped for an answer. Would she be happy if he died? 

"You're annoying," she began. "Selfish. Untrustworthy. Manipulative-"

"I am enjoying the compliments," SD said with a satisfied smile.

"But I won't be happy if you die," she admitted. "I've lost a lot of people. My parents, my brother, my adoptive father. Even the person I have loved."

Her gaze was lowered so she did not notice the gleam flashing by SD's eyes. 

"So no, SD," she went on. "I won't be happy if you die. We might not be friends but you've been a constant presence these eight years. I guess I'm too used to you. So if a day comes when I'll turn around and you won't be there...I'll be very sad."

She looked up to meet his intense gaze. He kept her locked on him, not letting her look away.

"Tell you what," he said. "Join me in one of my little escapades tomorrow. I'll show you how I really work."

"You mean...steal information?" she frowned. "I'm a lawyer!"

"Precisely why you should accompany me," he smirked. "It'll increase your sleuthing skills. Besides, we won't be using any technology to do all this. Just a pure old fashioned way of gaining knowledge."

He leaned forward, a charming smile playing on his lips. "Are you in or out?" he asked, bringing his hand forward.

Sunye bit her lip. It was unethical but the prospect of finding out how SD operated was too good of a chance to miss. She would know how to escape further manipulation if she learnt from the master himself.

"I'm in," she agreed, taking his hand. 

"Cool," he flashed an evil smile which made Sunye immediately regret. It was as if she had signed another deal with the devil. "Meet me tomorrow in front of your house."

Just then, the old woman came out of the kitchen, holding a large plate full of chicken fries and to Sunye's surprise, she even prepared two hot bowls of mushroom soup along with egg rolls and vegetable curry. There were also a couple of glasses of soda. The old woman placed the food in front of them and left.

For Sunye, the greasy meal looked much better than the one at the PM mansion. Was it hunger or her aversion to the Lee family, she did not know but she found herself almost salivating at the food.

"Bon appetit!" SD declared, digging into the food.