episode_0012

It has been four days since the editor came down to Busan and returned for a face-to-face consultation.

It seemed a little disappointing to see her going back to Seoul to work, even though she was a little disappointed.

I, too, felt the same way.

I don’t know why, but a part of me felt like I wanted to be with her longer and be with her.

Is this a lingering feeling?

Emotions are so difficult.

Still, we talk to each other about various things by calling or texting to say hello every day.

Although it seems a bit inappropriate that less than 10% of the content is work-related.

Well… it’ll be okay, right?

We are not in a relationship where merit is more important than private life, such as politicians or nobles.

“Hehe… I wrote everything I needed to write today.”

After that, strangely enough, I was able to come up with words more easily and was able to write up to 6 pieces a day.

Approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes per side.

Before common sense changed, each episode lasted from 2 to 4 hours.

Because there are so many people who look at my work as much as I write, I’m happy and I think I write faster.

I saved the novel I was writing and saved it to USB and the cloud.

Recently, ransomware viruses targeting web novel writers have been increasing in number, so I am being cautious.

It doesn’t matter because it doesn’t have much effect on the computer hard side, but on the software side, it’s like a death sentence, so it’s stored in multiple external storages.

And that too by encrypting it with an expensive program.

I walked a little away from the computer desk and sat down to stretch.

Then I turned my head in the direction of the clock.

The current time is 5 PM.

Normally, Minji would arrive soon.

“Minji said she would be late today.”

Did I say I would be late today because I was going to hang out with my friends?

They said it was like a company dinner because they were employees.

Then I guess I’ll have to play alone again today.

This time, instead of playing around at home, let’s go out and get some fresh air.

“…But even if I go out, there’s nothing I can do alone…”

It’s not like I have any decent friends.

I lost contact with all my friends when they became hikikomori.

Would it be correct to say that we broke off contact?

When I think about it now, I feel so sorry to my friends.

“No. What do I play outside?”

A guy who has been locked away for a long time.

Let’s just go to the supermarket and eat something.

With that in mind, I packed my outerwear and wallet and went out to the living room.

Before I started writing, I noticed the clean and clean living room and kitchen, and I couldn’t help but feel happy to see them sparkling brightly.

This is why people have to clean and live.

*

When I returned from grocery shopping, it was already 6 PM.

I was worried about what to eat, but it got so tiresome that I just bought smoked duck and a bunch of chives.

Smoked duck, stir-fry chives, and boil soybean paste stew.

Just eating this much is enough.

I left the grocery bag in the kitchen and went inside to change…

The atmosphere was a little different from before I went out.

A monitor screen that feels out of place somewhere.

I had set a cute puppy photo as my wallpaper, but what I saw on the screen was a black screen and white text.

Above is written in English and below is a list of sentences that look like Google Translate.

What does it say?

Unstable.

Where on earth does the root of this anxiety come from?

QTube video related to Rensunware that you watched while eating lunch today?

If not, is there a news article related to the industry that says damage from Rensunware is increasing recently?

gulp…

I slowly approached and looked at the monitor.

Then, I read it slowly and out loud.

“Some files have been encrypted… Please send Bitcoin 0.1 to my wallet address… If you do not pay within 3 days, we will no longer support decryption…”

For a moment, a curse almost came out.

This is it, right?

Ransomware?

Nothing was fine until I left earlier… but… why all of a sudden?

Isn’t this something that only happens when you receive a strange program from an overseas site?!

“Uh…what should I do? What should I do with this?…!!”

I didn’t know what to do, so I stamped my feet.

Although the immediately needed data was uploaded to USB and cloud services, there were still important files saved only on the hard drive.

If I had known this would happen, I would have used Mac instead of Windows!

Why did you put it on the desk if you weren’t going to use it properly?

“Phew…Phew…”

I took a deep breath to calm my excitement.

Now is not the time to regret, but to think about what to do first.

Minji is better at using computers than I thought.

He handles both Windows and Mac much better than me.

Minji was the one who set up the iMac after I bought it.

Does Minji know the solution?

…No way.

I heard that the only way to solve this is to format it or send money to receive a recovery key.

then?

The only people I’m currently in contact with are Minji…the editor…and my cousin?

But because of this, I can’t call my cousin.

As expected from the editor…

“Wait… But how much is 0.5 coins?”

Don’t I have quite a bit of money now?

It may be a bit of a waste, but 0.5 coins if you can recover other data? You might be able to pay that much.

I sat in front of the computer to find out the price of the coin.

And it went into the folder where I kept the file.

I was curious, but unfortunately, not only the files there but all the documents and image files had their extension names changed.

And even though I looked for that extension, it didn’t appear on the internet.

If this happens, I really have no choice but to give money…

By any chance, isn’t it illegal to send coins to these guys?

“No. I didn’t commit a crime, so it couldn’t be illegal.”

If this is illegal, all people who have been subjected to voice phishing should be arrested.

With that in mind, I searched for the coin price in the search engine search bar.

“1 coin…40 million won…”

Since it’s 0.5 coins, it’s 20 million won.

Compared to the money I have in my account, it’s less than three cups of blood.

However, I don’t yet have the courage to spend 20 million won.

What files were I keeping on my computer instead of saving them to the cloud?

“First of all… the covers and illustrations…”

These don’t really matter because the publisher has the original copy.

If the publisher says they don’t keep it, you can just tell them and get it back from the author.

In the case of contracts, because they were written through a non-face-to-face contract website, all records remain there.

After thinking about this and that, the things I didn’t transfer to USB or the cloud site…

“Photos, videos… and maybe a copy of the receipt.”

It is safe because Minji has family photos of her deceased parents.

The only photos I have are the ones Minji sent me.

It’s a copy of the receipt. I took a picture just in case.

I have the originals as well.

“What is it? Then there is no point in restoring it in the end?”

Should I just format it?

It is difficult to say that my computer’s hard drive is currently worth 20 million won.

It’s just a little annoying.

Phew… I’m really glad I uploaded it to USB and cloud service.

I was tense all along, but suddenly I relaxed, and my legs started shaking.

I slowly walked over to sit on the small sofa in the room, but because I had poor physical strength, my legs gave out and I fell down.

***

– Has something like that ever happened to you? Please tell me.

“You’re busy because you’re moving, right? It was a bit awkward to call about something like this.”

– lol. I’m in the process of packing my bags.

Time to talk on the phone with a girl using work as an excuse.

I smiled bitterly because I felt like I could see her smiling face through the phone.

I did something when they suddenly said I was moving.

Although I was a little depressed that they didn’t tell me where I was going even when I asked them.

Still, it doesn’t look bad, does it?

At first, I wondered if I had done something wrong while dating.

“You still haven’t told me where I’m going, right?”

– I’m planning to go to a place very, very close to work. It was a bit expensive because I got it in a hurry!

Did you forget the contract period?

However, I understand that the lease contract is automatically extended.

I wonder if the contract was originally signed without an automatic extension.

But if it’s close to your workplace, is it a publishing company?

Then I think the house there will be very expensive.

I guess it would be interference to worry about things like this.

Let’s not say it.

– By the way… it will be finished soon.

“Well…that’s right.”

– Is there anything you want to do after you finish it?

“Uh…”

What I want to do before serializing my next work.

I thought about going on a trip, but now I have a lot of things I want to do other than travel.

“Ho…maybe”

– Say anything. Or is it a bit embarrassing to say that? lol.

“Actually… Editor… not…”

Eh, I don’t know.

Let’s just commit again and see.

I am someone.

Isn’t he a real man!

“I want to go on a date with Dahye again…

Last time, I suggested it from over there, so it makes sense to suggest it from here this time.