The voice Channa recognized made her fall silent for a moment before finally shouting loudly like thunder. ―”Sis, you’re alive…! The Blast cargo ship is completely destroyed now…!”
“The location tracker has been activated!”
The panicked voice silenced the other end of the line. With a slight sob, Channa, who had previously been shouting loudly, changed, and even her heavy breathing could be heard here. ―”Wait a minute.”
Seoryeong began to run with all her might. She didn’t know exactly where this was, but she was sure she could catch him. Her hungry stomach made her even weaker, and the sudden sunlight made her dizzy, but the more she ran, the stronger the muscles in her thighs became. ―”Move…! Damn it, don’t move!”
“Where? Where are you going?”
―”We’ll compare the location with this number!”
“Quickly, Channa…! He might have changed clothes by now…!”
Her heart felt like it would break. For some reason, her legs felt as light as feathers. However, if she was even a little late, the red dot blinking on Channa’s screen could disappear just like that. Despite panting heavily, Seoryeong didn’t slow down. ―”…Sis, are you walking?”
“No, haah, I’m running, haah, why?”
―”At that speed, you won’t be able to catch that bastard, try to get on any vehicle!”
Hearing Channa’s direction, Seoryeong immediately looked around, and indeed there were cars speeding by. However, there were no taxis, and she also had no money. Stealing someone else’s car wasn’t a good option either. Seoryeong squeezed her own hair in frustration and continued to look. If she couldn’t, could she hitch a ride on a delivery truck? With that desperate thought, her legs kept moving.
“Hey, hey, that woman—! The thief who took my phone!”
With a loud noise, the motorcycle she had seen earlier arrived with a police car. A young man shouted for attention next to the police car with its window open.
“Look, it’s like a runaway, she’s wearing handcuffs…!”
Seoryeong looked at her wrist, which hung like a bracelet, bound by a handcuff. Ah… the officer did unlock the handcuffs, but because she ran in such a hurry, one side was still attached. Two policemen got out of the car while searching for something at their waists, maybe a radio or a baton, with suspicious looks. Seoryeong observed their vests and saw the attached handcuffs, which turned out to be the same as the one on her hand. If their number of days was the same, the key must be the same. Seoryeong approached them stealthily, hiding her intentions in her heart. ―”If you’re going to do it, hurry…! That bastard can’t keep getting away! The recording shows Eonni stopped in that area, then entered the construction area, and suddenly headed towards Blast’s range, what is she doing?! Now he’s moving on the main road, if this keeps up, we’ll lose track…!”
Channa shouted frantically through the phone. Seoryeong’s heart pounded even more, but she still tried to look calm and moved slightly closer to the police car.
“Officer, what’s your name?”
The police were preparing to ask for identification and took out a PDA to block their path in front and behind. Seoryeong was momentarily confused, but suddenly her expression changed. She quickly slammed the back of her head into the police car and grabbed the handcuff key, trying to escape, but was suddenly struck in the back.
“Ugh…!”
The pain came so quickly, but Seoryeong immediately struck the policeman’s weak points repeatedly with powerful blows. She didn’t want to be like this, but she always went beyond the limits when thinking about how to catch Kim Hyeon. Seoryeong bowed her head with an expressionless face, feeling apologetic.
“I’m sorry. The phone and the car, I’ll return them. My name is Han Seoryeong, you can check my identification.”
“Ugh, the phone…”
“I’m sorry, I have to go to work, but there are things I can’t say…”
As one of the policemen tried to take out a stun gun, Seoryeong immediately jumped into the driver’s seat and closed the car door. The young man who had been on the motorcycle just stared at her in silence. In a hurry, she stepped on the gas and turned the steering wheel. Following Channa’s directions, her heart pounding, she drove straight ahead. She turned left…! Turned right…! And kept running. Booooom—! Suddenly, the familiar motorcycle appeared in the rearview mirror.
“Damn it…!”
Dehydration made her tongue dry and her vision blurry, but she couldn’t give up here. Seoryeong roughly turned the steering wheel again, trying to avoid the motorcycle that kept chasing her by crossing the center line. Sharp horns blared around, and as she managed to escape, Channa shouted. ―”To Sehwa Hospital! It seems our target is Sehwa Hospital!”
Her heart turned cold. That was the place where all the members of the special security team were treated… Was this a coincidence? Seoryeong felt something was strange, but she Was this a coincidence? Seoryeong felt something was strange, but she still gripped the steering wheel firmly.
―”We’re still moving around the hospital!”
“……”
―”This person, are they injured?”
Seoryeong felt like she was driving a car with no brakes. In reality, she could stop at any time, but the pressure of not being able to go back felt like a belt tightening around her body. Finally, she pulled the car to the side of the road and stopped. Her hands trembled, and the hospital visible in the distance felt ominous. ―”Damn it, what’s that brake sound…!”
“No… I’m fine… Hah…”
Seoryeong composed herself and bit her lip. She released the handcuff with the stolen key and got out of the police car. There was no point in attracting attention here. Moreover, she had to be very careful to avoid attention, especially if she wanted to find Kim Hyeon hidden among the crowd. Seoryeong gripped her phone and began to climb the steep hill. ―”500 meters left…!”
Her steps quickened, and the distance closed. Following Channa’s guidance, she took wider strides even though she wanted to run away. It was a contradiction she couldn’t even explain herself. ―”Now 100 meters…! Head towards the back door…!”
Upon reaching near the hospital, she quickened her pace again. Her throat was dry, and she felt like she could taste blood in her mouth. The distance to Kim Hyeon was closing: 90, 80, 70… She was getting closer. It felt like she would catch him if she kept running like this. When was the last time she felt like this? Ah… yes. When I had to catch the instructor in the snowy mountains of training, even though I hadn’t eaten anything and my vision was spinning, I still tried to follow the sound of the bell and wandered through those snowy mountains. ―”Sis, keep going a little further…! About 20 meters left―!”
However, I wondered, would I really be able to see Kim Hyeon’s real face? The moment I saw it, I would strongly feel that this ‘Kim Hyeon’ figure was a collaborative effort of the National Intelligence Service. Holding back love, disguising it as love, might actually be the wise way. No, that’s nonsense…! She bit her lip hard and passed through the hospital structure that was already familiar to her. ―”5 meters left…! Positionally, he’s in a straight line ahead…! Sis, he’s right in front―!”
Trembling with excitement, my hair stood on end and my legs felt weak. However, were those funeral wreaths blocking my view? Large, snow-white flower balls lined up and obscured my vision. She anxiously licked her lower lip. ―”Sis, can you see? Have you found him?”
Staff members were shifting wreaths larger than their bodies in succession, and the flowers on the altar were so white and thick that nothing could be seen behind them. Seoryeong tried to find a gap, raising her heels and going up and down repeatedly. At that moment, among the lined chrysanthemums, a man faintly appeared. ―”Don’t get confused, it’s a straight line―!”
Channa’s echoing voice strangely sounded distant. People hurrying past suddenly stopped, and the surrounding noisy sounds felt drawn out, like stretched taffy. It felt like there was a big problem with both her eyes and ears. Otherwise, how could it be… Was there a nightmare worse than this? A chilling tremor enveloped her. This… did it make sense? She was shocked and blinked repeatedly. Channa… right… the person right in front of me… has a red mark? With a pale face, she asked like that, but no sound came out.
“――”
She stared at the man sitting in a wheelchair and smiling amidst the white chrysanthemum wreaths. His glossy hair fell beautifully, and his smooth skin glowed in the sunlight. Seoryeong was frozen, as if nailed to a cross.
Kim Hyeon, my husband, is he really in front of my eyes… this close… so close… does this make sense… Kim Hyeon, this… Lee Wooshin… Was it… real… Her eyes couldn’t leave the eyebrows she had wanted to draw someday. Those straight eyebrow lines were the first place she couldn’t take her eyes off, and perhaps, the corners of his eyes drawn with a curve were the part she liked the most.
“――”
Seoryeong’s hands trembled like they were convulsing, and she felt short of breath. Her chest ached as if squeezed, and she held her waist. With a cry that almost exploded, she stepped back and collided with a wreath moving towards the altar. Flower petals scattered, and a rotten smell spread in the air. Not only were the flowers trampled ruthlessly, but… The man, wearing white hospital clothes, black sandals, and socks covering his ankle bones, was giving a ball to children. Children laughing merrily, like bells. And the man’s teasing lips were so clearly imprinted in her eyes.