Encrypted Hearts [Taekook] - Episode 4 — The Symbol Resurfacing

Solmere (author)

Dear Signaler, Signal received. Access granted. Welcome to Encrypted Hearts. 🖤

Solmere (author)

Quick Recap Episode 3: Tae discovers a corrupted live feed from his home security system,he spots a mysterious heatprint of a hand on the wall — and within it, a glitching symbol: It’s the Cipher mark, once used by the secret group that destroyed his life… but this one is encoded in heat, not drawn... and hidden message turns out to be “Ghost: I remember.”

START

Alert pops on Tae's screen saying the image was not restored completely which means there was still something hidden underneath the handprint . ⬇️

SYSTEM

[System Alert: Data Patch Triggered] Source: Internal Camera Feed Archive Status: Restored (Partial)

Taehyung

Huh!?

Taehyung

*Opens the restored archive file. The camera ping from earlier shows the distorted heat hand print again — only this time, the symbol glows brighter. The data flickers around the edges*

Taehyung

I need to run secondary scan I guess...

Taehyung

*Runs a secondary scan. Code sequences scroll rapidly again across his screen. Something embedded deep is surfacing*

Taehyung connects to Jungkook.

Taehyung

> The symbol again… but this scan's pulling something new. There’s more code underneath it — almost like layers.

Jungkook

> A hidden protocol?

Taehyung

> No, it’s older. Pre-crash encryption. Could be from one of the original site leaks.

Taehyung

*Taps in a simple decryptor tool — one he built with Jin, back when they used to work together. The interface glows with a soft blue pulse. Line by line, the hidden layer decodes.*

Mr. Prof

DECRYPTOR TOOL is a software application used to reverse the encryption process.

A distorted string appears after completion of decryption

SYSTEM

[Data Signature: C-RN.☒☒☒] [Trace: Marked // Heat Sync Confirmed]

SYSTEM

Jungkook

> Looks like it was burned in — not drawn. You’re right. This isn’t a symbol anymore… it’s a code mark.

Taehyung

> And this signature… it’s masked. Whoever made this didn't want to be tracked. But I’ve seen this masking style before.

Jungkook

> Who used it?

Taehyung

> Back at Site Seven. When Cipher erased the vault files. This was the same masking pattern.

Jungkook

> You think it’s Cipher again?

Taehyung

> Could be Cipher or Could be a copycat. But only a few people knew how to mimic that encryption.

Taehyung

*He zooms back into the handprint. Something flickers again — a split-second flash of binary data is decoded leaving another phrase message*

SYSTEM

[Displays glitched decoded message on Tae's screen] "Not gone. Just erased."

SYSTEM

Taehyung

> Whoever left this… wants me to know they were here. And they know the house. This message wasn’t random.

Jungkook

> If it is Cipher, he’s not hiding anymore. And if it’s someone else, they’re baiting you.

Taehyung

*He saves the scan results, encrypts it with a personal passcode: T&Jin.256. He leans back, eyes heavy with memory*

Taehyung

> I’ve seen this before. Not the message — the style. This isn’t Cipher’s language. It’s his.

Jungkook

> Ghost?

Taehyung

> Yes. The phrasing… "erased." He used to say that when someone disappeared off grid. Like people weren’t gone… just overwritten.

Jungkook

> If it’s him… you’re not the next target. You’re the connection point.

System pings again on Taehyung's screen. A new feed/ picture pops up taken out from recording. It's from the hallway this time— taken just before the symbol appeared on wall in Tae's house.

SYSTEM

Taehyung

*Tae zooms in the picture ... A blurry figure passes by... No face...But a faint shimmer of metal on the wrist*

Taehyung

*gives audio command* Enhance the feed.

The metal shimmers into view. It’s not a bracelet. It’s a tag... Old, worn... With one clean engraving: JX-7

SYSTEM

Taehyung

Jin….. *mumbles*

Taehyung

*saves the recording and encrypts it with high level security*

System responds to Tae's codes and commands.

SYSTEM

[System Log: Recording Saved] Title: "Contact Trace - Unknown Entry" [Transmission Secured – Encryption Level: Blackbox]

Mr. Prof

BLACK BOX is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs only without any knowledge of its internal workings and data.

Taehyung

*Encrypts all logs and takes one last glance at the symbol still pulsing faintly on screen*

Taehyung

*Types a private message — not to Jungkook— but to himself* [If he’s back… he remembers more than I do.] *and he sent it to himself*

[End of Episode 4]

Solmere (author)

🧩Next in Episode 5: Echoes from the Past A memory is more than a glitch. When Ghost whispers, not even time can silence him. And Taehyung is not the only one being watched.

Thank you.