Kiya showed a face as if truly abandoned, even if only for a moment. He bit his lip as if blocked by a solid wall. His pale face, which showed nothing, somehow felt like looking in a mirror. Only after seeing that face did Seoryeong feel that perhaps she and Kiya had indeed spent their childhood together. A strange sense of similarity, very different from the older children at the orphanage who always fought with him. She immediately felt that Kiya was of the same kind as her.
“Why are you being so cruel to me?”
At that moment, her nape was pulled and her forehead collided. Kiya’s gaze, as he pressed his forehead against Seoryeong’s, looked wild and sharp, as if about to pounce. As if it only needed a little more to pierce her neck, but the man still showed no change in expression, as if nothing had happened. His voice sounded increasingly hoarse, forced through his teeth because his Adam’s apple was pressed.
“If I back down from here…―!”
“Ugh…!”
The nape that was suddenly gripped tightened even more. The piercing pain made Seoryeong furrow her brow.
“You’ll regret it soon. You’ll want to crush your own legs.”
“……!”
“Just say one word. Admit that you are Sonya. Promise that you will truly return to me. If you just accept it, I can immediately pull you out of the dirty hole you’re trapped in.”
“…….”
“Honestly, you want to hear it too, don’t you?”
He bit the inside of his lip.
“You want to know who Kim Hyeon really is, to the point where you could go crazy.”
Her heart seemed to fall to the soles of her feet, and her pierced chest began to feel hot. That low voice was like coaxing her. Her gaze couldn’t leave the man’s lips, as if they would open at any moment. No—actually, her head felt hot because she herself wanted to immediately tear that mouth open and force him to speak. Perhaps, she thought fleetingly, this man would be more useful than Deputy Head Joo Seolheon. What if she squeezed information out of this man and then paralyzed him? Playing as Sonya for the time being, then killing and escaping at the right moment? All sorts of scenarios began to appear in her head. But… was it possible to call a priest carrying a grenade launcher an ordinary person? According to Yoo Dawit, the Sakhalin branch was an extreme heretical sect. It seemed they had been trained since childhood under the guise of circus performances, then sold to the Russian government. And Kiya… was still alive despite going through all that. In addition, the team members—including Lee Wooshin—whose life or death was unknown, were still in this man’s grasp. Seoryeong took a deep breath and calmed herself. Shee held tightly to her feelings that had wavered earlier. Shee mustn’t step onto the spider web that this man had laid from the beginning. The most difficult people to control are those who do not lose their center. If the opponent grasps their weakness, the only way to regain control is to neutralize that weakness.
“Sorry, but I’ll let my husband catch me.”
“……!”
“I’ll make him come to catch me himself. From the beginning, that resolve has never wavered. I will call Kim Hyeon in my own way, so I don’t need your cheap answers.”
The muscles in Kiya’s face twitched as if suppressing a spasm.
“So… you still want to live as Han Seoryeong, even if it means death?”
“Yes. Because I don’t think Sonya is a name I have to bear.”
Kiya recited “Han Seoryeong… Han Seoryeong…” bitterly, as if biting on a bitter taste in his tongue. And as the previously calm face began to peel away, his true, cruel face emerged.
“Then… who are you? Kim Hyeon? Or Lee Wooshin?”
That sudden question made Seoryeong fall silent. As she tried to step out of Kiya’s psychological game, another strand of spider web seemed to suddenly wrap around her ankle from a blind spot. Her throat felt dry for no reason.
“Answer me properly. Otherwise, nothing will be left of your team, not even their bones.”
“……!”
“They’re trapped in a minefield now.”
Mine… field? The part of his mind that was still trying to stay calm also shook.
“And even so… you’re still Kim Hyeon?”
Kiya asked again with a dark laugh. The slightly mocking tone of his voice was as if testing Seoryeong. She knew it was just this priest’s bad habit, but still, her throat felt blocked. Even though it shouldn’t be a matter of consideration—the answer was clear. Seoryeong hesitated. Then, a loud laugh erupted.
“Oh, look who it is—you…”
Unconsciously, Seoryeong averted his gaze. From the beginning, could Kim Hyeon and Lee Wooshin even be compared? Wasn’t she just using Lee Wooshin to be able to meet Kim Hyeon? Even though that fact was very clear, her lips still couldn’t utter it. She herself didn’t understand why. Her stomach felt nauseous.
“――.”
A faint sense of shame turned into an unexpected wave that devoured him. A doubt she didn’t want to acknowledge began to surface. Seoryeong bit her lips tightly. It was she herself who was trapped in that invisible trap. Kiya finally released her hand with a strange look. As the nape that had been constantly gripped was finally free and her body was released, cold air rushed in.
“Without me even bothering to do anything, you’ll destroy yourself.”
“……!”
“Like a God who died and came back to life… maybe you too—.”
Those were difficult words to understand. Kiya kissed the cross on his necklace and prayed briefly.
“I see… To find Sonya, I have to kill Han Seoryeong first.”
“……!”
That prayer sounded like a curse. The gaze that met Seoryeong’s now was filled with such dominant malice.
“Alright. Go as far as you want in the way you choose. Then come back, completely shattered.”
At that moment, a loud explosion shook the earth, making Seoryeong reflexively stiffen and raise her shoulders. She turned with a bad premonition towards the windowless wall. Just now… what was that? What exactly was happening outside? His paling gaze was fixed behind the wall. It was the sound of a tremendous explosion that shook even this place.
“Later, I’ll come to take my Sonya.”
---
Beep, beep— The portable metal detector hanging around Yoo Dawit’s neck kept emitting a suspicious sound. Lee Wooshin carefully followed the scattered footprints on the ground. The children and Han Seoryeong had disappeared, and all that remained on the ground were different footprints. This meant that as many footprints as there were, that was how many people were deployed to kidnap them. The surroundings were just rice paddies filled with tall plants, but seeing the footprints stretch out like train tracks, it seemed they had indeed managed to get out of this area. Without hesitation, Lee Wooshin began to walk. One step, two steps, three steps—and each cautious step he took made Yoo Dawit also crawl out of the car.
“Chief—! Be care, I mean, don’t, uh, move!”
“We don’t have time.”
“What?”
“That detector hanging around your neck is also useless.”
He said coldly.
“Realistically, the only way to not step on a mine is to find it first and disarm the trigger. But is that even possible now? To detect an area the size of a tennis court would take more than four days.”
“……”
“Besides, that detector isn’t standard equipment, so its accuracy is low. Even metal mines are only about one centimeter in size, and right now, that detector is picking up all sorts of trash from aluminum to copper. The only way is to save them.”
“Then, Chief, you should also join us for the rescue…―!”
“Rather than burn in anxiety, it’s better to take even one step.”
“……!”
Yoo Dawit couldn’t say anything. He knew exactly why the Chief was in a hurry. Just looking at the crumpled trailer was enough to make it clear. He clenched his fist, closing his eyes in frustration at this miserable situation. Lee Wooshin continued to follow the unidentified footprints towards the rice paddies, while giving orders calmly.
“Outside the monastery, communication will work. Contact Heo Channa and report the situation. The St. Petersburg office will send an emergency rescue team. From now on, we consider this mission canceled from the point of the accident.”
He ended his orders coldly.
“And from this moment on, our mission changes: everyone must return alive.”
It turned out the children were just an excuse. From the beginning, Kiya’s target was Han Seoryeong. The special security team members were just extras in this plan. The man’s steps became increasingly bold. Click— At that moment, a sound that shouldn’t have occurred was heard. The sound of a spring from a pressed shoe sole. The sound of a landmine trigger being stepped on. It felt like a dead hand from within the earth gripped his ankle. A terrifying cold sensation crept up his back, and one leg felt unnaturally stiff. Lee Wooshin turned towards the sound.
“Who…”
Ki Taemin fell silent as he was about to crawl out of the truck, and Yoo Dawit froze in an awkward position. But the only one following the Chief’s footsteps was Yoo Dawit. His face was deathly pale, cold sweat dripping down.
“Yoo Dawit, don’t move.”
Lee Wooshin only furrowed his brow slightly, his voice remaining low and calm.
“We don’t know if it’s an S-mine or an anti-personnel mine. If it’s an S- mine, the shrapnel spreads in all directions and we all die. If it’s anti- personnel, then your vitals will be destroyed. You know more about that, right?” “……”
Yoo Dawit didn’t even dare to breathe. Dusk began to fall. Lee Wooshin looked at the wounded and bleeding team members, then gazed towards the distant, unreachable steeple. The muscles in his jaw tightened, but finally he turned around. His returning steps, firm and resolute, felt fierce and determined.
“There’s a way. For now, switch places with me.”
It seemed it was time to stop being the “blast master.”
He had already decided to finish everything after this mission ended.