“He wants you to handle the protocol and escort duties for that person.”
“Is that person a woman?”
“Not exactly.”
So it was a man. Usually, female bodyguards were needed if the client was also a woman, or due to unavoidable personal requests, or to lower the opponent’s guard. But a female bodyguard when the client is a man… Seoryeong looked at him with suspicious eyes.
“Is there a specific reason why I have to be assigned?”
“Because the requirements for accompanying that person are very strict.”
“……!”
“Unfortunately, he has mental health issues.”
The more he said, the more Seoryeong’s expression resembled someone who had eaten spoiled food. It felt unpleasant. It seemed she still hadn’t recovered from the shock of meeting Kiya in Sakhalin. After experiencing a threat that almost destroyed the team, it didn’t feel easy to just accept a mission from the company without thinking. Kang Taegon seemed to be holding back his words while taking a sip of his amber-colored drink, but he kept his eyes on Seoryeong. His voice dropped an octave, as if he was leaking a secret.
“Everyone thought he would change the face of the world…”
He just swirled his glass with a tense face, saying nothing more.
“But that brilliant mind of his is completely shattered.”
“…….”
“If he wanted it, he could have everything—money, power. But he’s too fragile. I heard he suffered severe depression and attempted suicide several times.”
“……!”
Hearing the mysterious story about the client made Seoryeong’s body reflexively tense up.
“The first thing he did was stop eating. When confined to his private cell, he would bang his head against the wall. When tied to the bed, he would bite his tongue. Due to his repeated suicide attempts, his followers tried everything to save him.”
Kang Taegon’s heavy gaze seemed to be recalling a time full of struggle.
“But nothing worked, until finally they decided to do electroconvulsive therapy.”
“……!”
Seoryeong’s forehead furrowed. She had heard while working at the care facility that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) sometimes helped those with severe depression. Especially for elderly patients with delusions, anorexia, and who often harmed themselves. But the risk of memory loss for several months also had to be borne.
“But the results weren’t very good.”
Kang Taegon sighed deeply and leaned back against the sofa.
“He still wants to die, and now he doesn’t even remember his own name.”
“……!”
Seoryeong held her breath inwardly. Whether it was because of the inhumane-sounding treatment method, or because of the word ‘followers’ used, the story about the VIP felt increasingly suffocating. Even bringing someone who was already referred to as an idiot to Korea felt like bringing disaster. Was this really just about escorting, or was there something else behind it?
“The strange thing is… that person usually becomes immediately hysterical if anyone approaches, throwing whatever they’re holding. But only towards black-haired women, young and strong, does he seem calmer.”
“……!”
“I don’t know why either, but they say to women like that, he can talk a little bit about himself. Like a slow leak.”
In Director Kang’s cold eyes, an unexplainable light flickered.
“Your job is just to reduce his self-harming behavior and slowly open up his defenses little by little. You listen to the stories he tells, and then report them to us. Because for us, those stories are very valuable and precious.”
“Actually… who is he?”
Kang Taegon finished his drink in one gulp, then raised the empty glass as if making a toast.
“A terrorist trapped in the past.”
It felt like being punched in the head. After escorting a drug lord, a leader of a heretical sect, now she had to accompany a terrorist who had become an idiot? But the shock didn’t last long. When Seoryeong finally understood what Director Kang really wanted, she spoke without wavering. She didn’t want to fall into another trap.
“Aren’t there many other female bodyguards besides me?”
“…….”
But Kang Taegon only smiled calmly, giving no answer.
---
He had called countless times, but Han Seoryeong still didn’t answer. Lee Wooshin sat leaning against the headboard, clutching the phone with its almost dead battery. The cold scent of alcohol on his bruised instep made the tip of his nose sting.
“――.”
Han Seoryeong had said she was just going to the bathroom for a moment, but she had disappeared without a word. Although logically he understood that Seoryeong had left because she was confused, he still felt all the blood drain from his body from waiting too long. He knew he had to give her time, but his restlessness was so strong that he couldn’t bear it. Even a brief pause felt suffocating and made his tongue dry. All that continued to fill him was an uncontrollable desire—to hold her until she broke, to kiss her endlessly, and to strip her of everything.
“Haa….”
When he sighed like a growl, the nurse who was changing his gauze was startled.
“Patient, is it very painful?”
“I could die like this.”
“Huh?!”
“Then, please tie me up so I can’t move even a little bit.”
Lee Wooshin closed his eyes tightly and banged the back of his head against the wall. As an unusual feeling enveloped the room and made the nurse’s hands tremble, he threw his phone far away with a feeling as if his intestines were being severed. The nurse slowly finished bandaging him and told him things to be careful about.
“If an infection develops here, the situation could become very serious…. But because the wound is so deep and wide, the possibility of infection is indeed high, sir.”
“....”
“Starting tomorrow, we will also apply antibiotic cream. We will change the bandages regularly and monitor its progress. Even if it gets infected, a wound like this is very important to treat early. It needs to be changed every day for it to heal quickly.”
Lee Wooshin covered his face with his rough hands, as if wiping his entire face. The deep and wide wound wasn’t just on his instep. Because he couldn’t see it anymore, the guilt he had buried deep down now slowly rose like the shadows of night and pressed down on his chest. Kim Hyeon’s pale face—who used to groan for help while hugging his body, begging, then collapsing—made it hard for him to breathe again.
“If I just leave it covered like this…”
“Excuse me?”
The nurse flinched when she heard his murmur.
“What are you talking about...! Don’t say that, sir...! It’s true that the wound needs to stay covered to be physically protected, but if it’s not changed often, the bandage can also rot...! That will actually slow down the healing because it can cause complications. The wound will get worse, it can even widen…!”
“....”
“Even if it hurts, never leave it like that...! We will change it every day…!”
“....”
Had he ever said he wanted to hide his past and stay by Seoryeong’s side? Get rid of everything—Seoryeong’s biological father, even his own mission? All the promises he had once made now felt disgusting. After a long grumble, the nurse applied a new bandage with medical tape, then quickly disposed of the gauze stained with blood and pus. As his eyes caught sight of that thin piece of gauze, air suddenly escaped through his nose in a cynical smile. With that thickness, what could it protect? There was nothing great about it…. He had married Han Seoryeong while carrying coldness, hatred, and mockery. Even though he had deceived her, he didn’t feel guilty—all because of the magnificent house that was now just ruins. The explosion on that day, which always appeared clearly when he closed his eyes, had frozen the deepest part of him. Marriage with that owl shouldn’t have meant anything. Deceiving and hurting a woman shouldn’t have been a big deal either. He could be so strong and unwavering for one very clear reason…. The hardened, pus-stained gauze would be thrown straight into the trash. Lee Wooshin only smirked as he watched the dirty gauze pile up on the stainless steel trolley. Damn it, it really was nothing…. If I have to change that gauze every day, then I also have to scrape away the justifications I’ve been uttering every day all this time. Like someone whose illness had relapsed, Lee Wooshin reached out and groped for his phone. He desperately wanted to see her—desperately wanted to see her.
Just then, ding—a message arrived. A bright light instantly flashed in his previously gloomy eyes. With his heart pounding uncontrollably, he looked at the screen… but his face instantly froze cold again.
“――.”
An unknown foreign number. It could be spam, but he caught a glimpse of the name ‘Kiya’ at the beginning of the message. With a thumb as stiff as stone, he pressed the screen and found a suspicious-looking file in the inbox. Voice 001.m4a Lee Wooshin frowned sharply and only put the phone to his ear after the nurse left, pushing the trolley. Then, the voice he heard was…. —Sonya… needs an anchor named Kim Hyeon. Upon hearing the familiar voice, Lee Wooshin’s breath seemed to stop, as if he had just been punched hard in the solar plexus. —So that even when she meets Rigai, she won’t drift away. So that she can survive, clinging tightly to her life. —That’s Sonya’s husband, you mean? —Correct. That’s why from the beginning, I thought it would be too wasteful to kill him right away. A small laugh was heard. That laugh… belonged to Kiya. —I thought, making him disappear would drive Sonya even crazier than if he died. And my guess was right. Even now, that child’s whole life still revolves around Kim Hyeon. —Hmm…. —The more Kim Hyeon dies and comes back to life, the stronger Sonya’s chains will be. That sense of loss will maintain her sanity until the end. Even the great Rigai won’t be able to penetrate Kim Hyeon…! —.... —But, now… how are you going to snatch Sonya away from me, hmm…? Suddenly, the sound of something breaking was heard. Then a stifled sigh, followed by a commotion like people hitting each other, deafening for a few seconds. —Bullshit…! Sonya was mine from the start! You’re the one who took her, you damn dog…! Why were they… Why were these two people talking together? Lee Wooshin’s hand holding the phone began to tremble violently. A conversation he couldn’t understand, a relationship he couldn’t comprehend, and a call that felt foreign— Ju-ya. Ju-ya. —If only you hadn’t kidnapped Sonya from Winter Castle…! Something like claws brushed the back of his neck. The sharp accusation against Joo Seolheon pierced his temples, cutting like a dagger. A shock he didn’t understand slowly spread throughout his body.