“Seoryeong will be fine, even from now on.”
Leaving Deputy Chief Joo Seolheon, who remained silent, Lee Wooshin hung up the phone first. It was the last report that felt dry and awkward. Since that day, when he had been shown a part of the ‘Bird Box’, he had become much more taciturn. Lee Wooshin threw his phone onto the side of the bed and tilted his head back. His face was pale with exhaustion, and his eyes looked very weary. The documents signed by Owl had been left in Deputy Chief Ju’s second office. He greeted the members again who were pretending to be transferred to another hospital for a second surgery, and then deliberately wandered around the hospital garden to manipulate the dates and CCTV recordings. After that, he took off the socks he hadn’t had time to remove and peeled off the synthetic skin covering the scars on his hands and back. For more than three weeks he had been away from Korea, Marska’s resignation letter had been approved, Owl was safe, and Kim Hyeon had gone through a farewell that no one had ever imagined.
“Everything is done. Finally….”
Owl released Kim Hyeon. Even so, the words of farewell never left his mouth. Despite how often he had said ‘I love you’, he couldn’t even bring himself to lie. Such words should have been commonplace for him to hear, but strangely, this time his lips felt as heavy as iron.
“……”
She said, she was grateful. And she said, she was happy…. As soon as that memory surfaced, his body tensed again. When she spoke those words, with a face that looked most like a wife….
Wooshin knew how to avoid bullets, but he didn’t know how to remain unaffected by the confession of the woman he loved. It felt like his chest was melting and falling apart. Since then, his mood had continued to plummet. Even he himself didn’t know what he was really feeling. While completing the Bird Box operation and waiting for time to pass in a private detention center in Cambodia, perhaps he had felt like this before too. He just stared at the ceiling with a limp body, without saying a word.
“――”
Could someone’s motivation be this low? The food he hadn’t had time to touch had hardened on the table, and an unquenchable thirst constantly tormented him. How affectionately he had cared for Owl…. This really felt like going through a real breakup. Even gulping down a whole bottle of water at once wasn’t enough. When Owl mentioned a new man, a buzzing sound pierced his mind. But as soon as he realized that he himself was the one who had removed Kim Hyeon, a possessiveness that didn’t want to lose its position surged up.
“Haa….”
Wooshin rubbed his hot face with a heavy hand. Joo Seolheon was wrong. What the Deputy Chief worried about wouldn’t happen. Seoryeong wouldn’t do anything dangerous again, and no matter how Rigai tried to seduce her, she wouldn’t waver. This time, truly… he wanted to live with Seoryeong as his real self…. He wanted to settle in this country… live an ordinary dream of a peaceful life…. And so, he slowly drifted off to sleep.
“――!”
When he woke up from a nightmare, the first thing he saw was a nurse staring at the back of his leg with a serious expression. As soon as their eyes met, the nurse’s face, which had been bandaging his wound, turned more fierce.
“Patient Lee Wooshin…! Didn’t they say you had surgery at another hospital? Why is your leg like this? Why have all the stitches come undone and gotten worse? Don’t tell me you’ve been walking without crutches, have you?”
“……”
Without answering, only with heavy breathing, he stared blankly. The nurse snapped.
“I didn’t tell you to transfer hospitals so you could end up like this!”
Despite her constant grumbling, the nurse carefully bandaged his leg until the end. What kind of dream had he had? Cold sweat poured down his nape. Wooshin pressed his throbbing temples while closing his eyes to hide his unease. All this time, the lenses provided by the defense research institute had never felt bothersome, but this time they felt truly strange, as if digging into the back of his eyeballs.
“Even though your bone scan results are still good, please take proper care of your wound…!”
It felt like something was really wrong. After the nagging nurse left, his phone vibrated. In the dream just now… who did he see? Who was crying? Someone… standing in the middle of a fire…. With a stiff face like stone, Wooshin reached for his phone.
“If this is just something trivial, you’re going to get an earful, Wonchang.” —Team Leader, Owl stole a police car…!
“What?”
His face hardened instantly. He had just signed a statement a few hours ago saying he wouldn’t cause any trouble. Lee Wooshin got out of bed, pulling at his patient gown’s collar as if he would tear it off at any moment. —But she’s heading to Sehwa Hospital…!
“……”
—It seems like it’s because she wants to meet Team Leader… But we’ve already taken care of the situation.
“Haa….”
A heavy sigh escaped his lips. The lingering nightmare was slowly pushed aside by those three syllables—Owl. But still, if she had gone so far as to steal a police car, where was she hiding now? He paced back and forth in the hospital room, staring at the door that still hadn’t opened. As soon as she returned, Wooshin would hug her tightly, making up for all the time they had spent apart. This time, he would never let that woman out of his embrace.
We will be alright. I will make sure everything is that way. So that she doesn’t have to wait alone anymore. However, ever since then, his mind had been tense, making it difficult for him to just sit still. Lee Wooshin looked for a wheelchair again, repeating in his mind: Seoryeong… we… will truly be alright now.
---
Seoryeong took off her clothes one by one, as if shedding her old skin, and went into the bathroom. Sraaak— Under the mercilessly pouring shower, she surrendered her body, bruised in several places. If she didn’t break down her frozen face of shock this way, that sensitive man would surely notice immediately. Her fingers had been stiff as if frostbitten since earlier, and she couldn’t even feel her own body temperature. It felt like her senses were broken, to the point where she slapped her own cheeks hard several times. Her cheeks, wet with water, immediately turned red and swollen. Even so, she only stared blankly at the stream of water above, as if her mind was completely empty.
“……”
Did this make sense? After all, the two were clearly different people. From voice to posture to appearance, everything was completely different. Lee Wooshin was a quarter mixed-race, while Kim Hyeon was Korean. Kim Hyeon had hair around his genitals, but Lee Wooshin was clean like he had alopecia. Kim Hyeon was considerate, while Lee Wooshin only treated her coldly and toyed with her… That seemingly impossible disbelief and doubt still blocked her mind.
“How could it be… How could they both be…”
The shower water piercing her eyes like needles actually felt relieving. How could they be the same person?
It sounded like a joke. Of all the things she had heard lately, this was the most absurd. Kim Hyeon was the first person to teach her what love was, and also the person who was now teaching her the meaning of farewell. If he was really Lee Wooshin… If the instructor who had been her accomplice and ally was the husband who had disappeared…
“Ah…—”
Seoryeong slumped and fell to her knees, leaning her hands on the tiled floor. Sraaak— the sound of water hitting her ears wet and blamed her fragile shoulders. Her body, curled up like a woodlouse, trembled violently. Then… was all of this planned from the beginning? The care he showed, the kisses, even the physical intimacy… Was the name Lee Wooshin just part of another mission? The more she thought about it, the more suffocating it felt and the harder it was to breathe. Once suspicion arose, it grew like a snowball, and Seoryeong felt her breastbone crushing under its weight. ‘What if after sleeping with me, you feel like I’m really like your husband? Does that mean I’m also a candidate for your husband? Is this the kind of man you’re looking for by risking your body? Open your eyes wide and look carefully.’ “……”
‘I thought you were only full of poison, but you’re so innocent. You think by sleeping with another man you’ll really know? Because of love, you’re confident you can distinguish it by feeling?’ All the meaningful words and actions of that man flowed into her memory like a powerful backwash. ‘Wake up. Nothing is as easily manipulated as sex.’ “……”
‘You yourself have done it with your husband, you know that.’ “……”
‘Even though treated like that, you still believe that love is everything. That’s why you make the wrong decisions with that foolish conviction. That kind of feeling will only blind and ruin your judgment.’ “Khak, khak…!”
Seoryeong swept her disgustingly clinging hair aside, then bent over until her nose almost touched the bathroom floor.
“Khekh…! Uuh…!”
Nausea rose from her stomach, and she vomited the contents of her stomach. Her upper abdomen contracted as she vomited thin, acidic liquid. The coldness of the floor seeped into her helplessly bent legs. ‘I’ll help you. Finding your husband, I’ll help.’ Was this the price to pay for finally opening her eyes? After a nightmare, there always comes an even worse dream. She found Kim Hyeon, then lost Lee Wooshin. A cruel exchange.
---
She went to Lee Wooshin’s hospital room late at night. The tracking device attached to Kim Hyeon remained at Sehwa Hospital for some time, then the location was finally recorded in the medical waste incinerator. The empty hospital room made her go up to the floor and search Lee Wooshin’s drawers and closet. As if no one had entered all this time, dust had accumulated on the windowsill and desk. She returned to the bed, pressing her face into the pillow. However, the sudden unfamiliar smell irritated her, and she threw the pillow away with a growl. Her feelings were like lava boiling inside her body, ready to erupt. Finally, she took off her clothes again and stepped into the bathroom. After the sound of rushing water was heard for a moment, she came out naked. She wrapped her body in a thin sheet and sat silently on the floor, droplets of water dripping from her body. Soon after, the sound of the door opening was heard—the sound of wheelchair wheels rolling.
“You…!”
Lee Wooshin stood up quickly and strode closer in a hurry.
“Your phone couldn’t be reached… Where have you been…!”
“Where did you go, Instructor?”
“……”
“I told you… I would wait.”
Haa… the man swept his hair back.
“You… why aren’t you dressed? You’ll catch a cold.”
“I showered at home. Actually, on my way home I wanted to buy flowers…”
He mumbled as if talking to himself, then fell silent. The sheet that barely covered her body fell, and she pulled the man closer. As he fell silent, Seoryeong kissed his lips directly.
“Han Seo…―!”
She infiltrated his mouth with her tongue, rough like a knife. As soon as their bodies touched, she felt goosebumps all over. What flashed through her mind was a cold corpse, skin torn mercilessly. The smell of burning flesh clung to her nose, and the memories of when she had hugged that lifeless body while crying, all returned through their intertwined tongues. Soft flesh… a dead face that immediately crumbled when touched… Even then, this man had stayed by her side. This man… Seoryeong moved her tongue roughly. She filled the man’s mouth with warm, slippery flesh.
“Haa…”
She sucked and bit his tongue, which tasted bitter like burnt food. This stinging sensation, was it pain, disgust, or sadness? Lee Wooshin immediately opened his mouth as if he had been waiting. In the end, it was his kindness that became poison. That kindness… Lee Wooshin, then you should feel it too. Seoryeong’s gaze froze.