“I’ll return everything.”
In her eyes, red flames blazed. In an instant, the fire spread all around, and the ceiling wallpaper began to blacken with fire. Even as the fire devoured the kitchen furniture and continued to spread, Seoryeong didn’t move an inch. She only stared blankly while slowly pouring water into the frying pan.
“Ugh…”
I closed my eyes tightly and stepped back. Pouring water into burning cooking oil would cause a hot steam explosion. The fire blazed even more fiercely, and the kitchen was soon filled with acrid smoke. Seoryeong covered her nose and mouth, then gazed at the flames climbing the ceiling as if hypnotized. Her blurred vision felt like seeing her own eyes in the past.
“――”
The oxtail soup that kept boiling, the blanket that always kept her warm, and the scent of fabric softener dried under the sunlight. She only knew in this place that the smell of home could be that warm. Our most comfortable home in the world. The place I loved the most. But Seoryeong’s expression as she looked at her newlywed home was so cold— not like someone looking at a place they cherished.
“Nothing must be left.”
The rapidly spreading fire caused debris from the ceiling to begin falling one by one onto the floor. The crackling flames soon caught other furniture and spread to the living room. Seoryeong only chuckled silently amidst the blaze. She would return everything. Just like Kim Hyeon did.
Explosion!Suddenly a loud explosion was heard from behind. But before that happened…
---
“Han Seoryeong…!”
Lee Wooshin opened his eyes at the sharp ringing of his cell phone. For some reason, he woke up with his body drenched in cold sweat. His face hardened instantly as he looked at the empty side of the bed. As he tried to get up quickly, he groaned softly. Whether it was a wet dream or something else, his pants felt damp.
“How old am I, anyway…”
Even so, he had never ejaculated inside her. Even when he fucked her, he had to bite his tongue until it hurt just to restrain himself. It was also the first time he had done it without a condom. But when her soft flesh swallowed the head of his, he couldn’t use any force against her. But it was a relationship that made him feel at peace. Seoryeong, who had just ‘finished’ things with Kim Hyeon, did look shaky, but she didn’t take off her clothes like before just for release. Rather, she showed concern and annoyance about Wooshin’s leg condition, and that made him feel very satisfied.
“Haa…”
With his body still in an aroused state, he searched the bathroom, living room, and closet.
“Where did she go at this hour…”
But there was no trace of her. Not even a strand of hair was visible. Meanwhile, the phone continued to ring incessantly. An unknown number. But when he saw the phone screen glowing in the darkness, his heart felt like it was being scratched by a sharp object. An uneasy feeling arose because the timing felt too perfect. He finally answered the phone. ―Instructor, it’s me.
He had a feeling. The voice that immediately pierced his ears made him press his forehead with his hand.
“Han Seoryeong, where are you right now? And whose number is this, huh?!”
His tone rose unconsciously. He had slept while holding her tightly so that the woman couldn’t go anywhere. But in reality, Seoryeong wasn’t in front of him, and a nauseating anxiety began to rise from his stomach. Even though he no longer worked for the National Intelligence Service, there was still a reason and obligation to protect her more than ever. With trembling hands, Lee Wooshin swept aside his distracting bangs.
“I’m sorry for snapping. But where are you right now, huh? Where are you, Seoryeong?”
―I left my phone in Equatorial Guinea.
“Then whose phone is this? Give it to the person who’s with you right now.”
―Can you come here for a moment? It’s a house. Our house.
“……”
―They said I need a guardian. A loud siren sound was heard from the other end of the line. He immediately put on the clothes that had been thrown on the floor. There was no time to ask where the woman had gone in the middle of the night like this. His back felt cold.
“I’ll be there soon, so just wait and don’t go anywhere.”
That feeling—the intuition he had felt countless times in the field. The sensation of danger that always swept over the nape of his neck. His heart beat uneasily. He felt that something big was happening to Seoryeong. His hardened face couldn’t soften at all. As soon as he got into a taxi and entered the housing complex, the atmosphere was already crowded and chaotic. Water gushing from fire hoses slammed into the burning villa with a force that seemed like it would destroy it. Flames licking everywhere, black smoke billowing uncontrollably. The heat clinging to her skin made her eyes sting. The flashing red emergency lights illuminated Lee Wooshin’s pale face.
“Ah…”
For a moment, he seemed to lose his breath. The familiar smell made his stomach churn. The burning villa seemed to overlap with memories of their former honeymoon home reduced to ashes. The scene before him felt like a chaotic double exposure. He had often seen scenes worse than this due to his job, but the fear that his loved one might be inside… that feeling of helplessness pulled him into the abyss once more. Seoryeong… Where are you, Seoryeong…. His desperate eyes began to tremble unstably. Lee Wooshin pushed through the crowd without care, shoving anyone who stood in his way. Among the pressed faces, he briefly saw some people he recognized. Those people were definitely from the NIS… But why were they here? He soon knew the reason. The villa did belong to them, the place where Seoryeong was put to monitor Owl. So of course they would have received a report immediately when the fire broke out. Once the investigation was complete, they would probably handle it themselves. But the problem was—Han Seoryeong was nowhere to be seen. Lee Wooshin instinctively felt his own neck and took a deep breath. The only thing the woman had left him… was just this trace. It was then that the shouts of the onlookers exploded deafeningly.
“――!”
The window glass of the villa shattered with a “pang―!” and sharp fragments rained down on the ground. People simultaneously ducked and protected their heads, but only Lee Wooshin continued to pace back and forth while suppressing curses. One second felt like a year. With eyes red from desperately searching for someone, he walked through the alleys, until finally the police blocked his path, swinging a glowing baton.
“Sir, this is dangerous. You can’t go any further!”
“I’m fine.”
“There’s still a possibility of aftershocks, so please follow our orders…! You can’t go in!”
“Get out of the way.”
“Can’t do that, please step back!”
“Damn it, my wife is inside!”
He shouted emotionally, and his lips trembled violently. He didn’t know since when he had clenched his jaw so hard that his entire jaw felt numb. There was no time for such a dispute—just as he gripped the policeman’s shoulder tightly…
“――!”
Glass from another floor shattered again with a thunderous sound. Shouts and whistles echoed from the officers who were controlling the situation and extinguishing the fire. The magnitude of the blaze had completely blackened the old exterior walls. His breath caught in his throat again. He tried to call again… From that moment on, it seemed he was no longer sane. Had his vision ever felt this dark before? Yet the woman’s voice had sounded calm. And come to think of it, the whispering voices he had briefly heard had sounded very close, so it was highly likely she wasn’t inside the house, but outside.
“Could there be any casualties?”
“What? Did they say someone died?”
“That was a residential villa… how could there be no casualties?”
With stiff hands, he reached for his phone but dropped it in vain. A mistake even a child wouldn’t make. Cold sweat dripped down as the heat pierced his skin. Lee Wooshin stared blankly at his phone being trampled by people’s feet, then shrunk his large frame and squatted down.
“Instructor.”
Just as something like soot felt like it was boiling up from his throat, a voice he had long awaited pulled him from the back of his head. When he looked up, Seoryeong stood there with a blanket wrapped around her body, her face smeared with black stains like oil. Patient clothes that didn’t even fit properly, and sandals that were too big, her toes peeking out. It was truly a breathtaking sight.
“You…”
He couldn’t think of anything. He just pulled her forcefully into his embrace, as if inhaling that thick smoke as a blessing. Only after hugging her tightly—until it felt like he could crush her bones—did his held breath finally escape messily. His whole body trembled. Whether it was because of that, or because he felt her, Seoryeong laughed softly.
“I’m not hurt.”
“If you think I’ll be okay with just that one sentence, you’re sorely mistaken.”
“……”
“Damn it, it feels like my chest is burning. No matter what you say, I can’t take this lightly.”
“Is that so?”
Her flat reaction made Lee Wooshin even more uneasy and restless. Accidents, deaths, all of it had happened too often to feel commonplace… but just a little dust covering her could make him this angry. He checked Seoryeong’s face, shoulders, neck, hands, feet—every part of her body, making sure there wasn’t a single wound or blister. The sensation of having just returned from death was clear on his face.
“Instructor, will you marry me?”
All his movements stopped. He looked up. Like a small bird soaked in oil, she—Seoryeong—smiled the brightest smile he had ever seen. What was that just now…? A face that radiated shyness, but also affection. His heart, which had been uneasy since earlier, now felt truly shattered into pieces. The owl he had once abandoned had returned and become Han Seoryeong. Somehow, being able to have both women at once was a miracle. But for some reason, that smile he wanted to hug and kiss felt like it was pointing a sharp knife at his throat.
“I want to marry you, Instructor.”