A child was left alone in the spacious living room. The prospective agents who had just completed the extreme training were treated to a luxurious meal, then ascended to the stage of the final test. ‘Using children in war is a long-standing strategy. Sending children ahead into enemy territory to catch the soldiers off guard has been common practice since ancient times. At that moment, could you shoot that child without hesitation through the scope?’ ‘…….’ ‘If you let that child in, hundreds, even thousands, of our troops will die. But just because of conscience, you won’t shoot? What you must uphold is not petty morality, but patriotism and loyalty.’ ‘…….’ ‘Pity is a burden to you.’ Sonya stared at the faces of the prospective agents who were in a dilemma. Some bowed their heads deeply and their bodies trembled, others sobbed. Some gave up and ran out of the room, and others immediately reached for cigarettes. However, some of them kept their lips sealed and raised the muzzles of their weapons. As they cocked their rifles, Sonya whistled and leaped across the furniture on all fours. She hoped Kiya, who was in the next room, would catch her signal. Sonya’s sudden movement made a prospective agent finally pull the trigger. Bang, bang! The chandelier shattered, and the window glass broke. Sonya, holding onto the curtains, burst through the window and threw her body into the air. ‘Sonya―!’ In the next window, Kiya was also floating, hanging onto the curtains. We held hands like a perfect pair and climbed onto the roof. We didn’t know how many children had died, but we were the pair that survived the longest before the winter fortress exploded. Sonya and Kiya. Children who became more dangerous together. In that dark, large house, their aggression continued to escalate to an extreme point. We were miserable and ferocious creatures raised for a purpose. Small animals that ran on all fours and were not afraid to fly. Sonya hid like a mouse, biting a knife between her teeth, and her eyes gleamed. And she always survived. ‘Don’t touch my head carelessly.’ I didn’t know when it started, but my head was shaved, and I had to wear that heavy mask constantly. When the metal touched my forehead, it felt like an electric shock. But the most agonizing thing was the weight of the mask pressing down on my skull and making my neck bend. My head throbbed all day long. Since then, my memories often became fragmented. Even the once cheerful Kiya spoke less and less. Even though I didn’t eat much, I didn’t feel hungry either. Sometimes, the back of my head would itch, and when I patted the mask, the maids guarding the large house would scold me harshly. ‘Hey, the wound will get worse! Don’t touch it until it’s completely healed!’ Even though I didn’t remember ever injuring my head, they said there was a wound on the back of it. Lately, when I woke up, I sometimes lost memories of the past few days. But I didn’t take it seriously. The mask that covered my entire face tightened more and more when no prospective agents came. We slept unconsciously and woke up with terrible headaches. ‘Sonya, Sonya… my head hurts…’ ‘Mine too. The back of my head is so itchy…’ We stared at each other with tearful eyes through the holes in the masks.
To bear the weight of the masks, we often leaned our heads against each other and supported our bodies. However, every time the masks were removed and we returned to the separate building, our bodies felt miraculously light. Our vision became sharper, our hearing clearer. Even though we didn’t eat much, it felt like we were full of energy. If we met people who were rough or cold-hearted, our faces often returned with bruises, but at least we didn’t die. Since my head started to ache, we became more ruthless, and our hands were stained with more blood. We survived in a battered state. But when I saw our siblings die and be carried out, I unconsciously looked at them with envy. Were they… at peace now? Since they no longer felt pain, maybe that was better? Every time that feeling arose, Kiya always appeared like a ghost. ‘Sonya, Sonya. I don’t like those eyes.’ ‘What?’ ‘Do you also want to die and leave like our siblings?’ ‘…….’ ‘Don’t you like being here with me?’ ‘I don’t know.’ ‘Don’t die, Sonya. Don’t leave me alone.’ ‘Yes…’ ‘Promise. Promise me, Sonya.’ Sonya just kept staring at the glittering snowfield. The corpses of the siblings being carried out looked so small. As she weakly extended her little finger, Kiya’s strong hand, like a metal shackle, grabbed it. The door of the separate building closed with a soft creak, and the beautiful scenery was slowly swallowed by darkness. Then the coffin opened, and a blinding light suddenly struck our eyes.
“Seoryeong, wake up, Han Seoryeong!”
No, that’s not my name...! Pain pierced my remaining little finger. Sonya roughly brushed off the strong hand gripping her body. Rigai’s artificial eyeball rolled into the coffin, and she twisted her body with all her might.
“Han Seoryeong!”
No, I’m not Han Seoryeong...! We were the rats of Winter Fortress. The final gate. No one. Our names— Sonya. Kiya and Sonya. The rats who survived to the end in Winter Fortress. The names of the strongest children.
“Ugh, ugh….”
My body was paralyzed, unable to move. Only groans escaped. It felt like a brick was hitting my forehead relentlessly. The inside of my head throbbed intensely. Memories suddenly flooded in as if they would burst my blood vessels. The pain made it hard for me to even open my eyes properly. My—my name is Sonya. I am a rat from Winter Fortress. The final gate…―.
“Quiet…! This is the antidote.”
A man pulled the cap off a syringe with his mouth and immediately injected it into Sonya’s arm. It felt stinging and cold as the liquid flowed through her veins. Then, fragmented, blurry images flashed before her eyes. Each memory surging like a torrent was painful, like pus being squeezed from a wound. I lived like that... We survived like that... Times that were by no means something to be proud of.
“Su... injection...”
“That’s right. It’s an injection, and the paralysis will wear off soon. Were you suffocating in the coffin? We rushed over, but you must have been very scared.”
The man let out a long, bitter sigh, then wiped Sonya’s forehead, which was wet with cold sweat. When his dry lips touched her eyebrows, Sonya flinched and immediately turned her face away.
“No, uh...!”
I was injected like this before too. This is the spell Uncle gave you. The man’s trembling voice was like a thread tightly woven into my mind. So that it would never come undone, Uncle would cast a spell on it. As my brain felt like it would explode from the overload, my fine blood vessels became visible. ‘Sad memories, from now on you will forget them.’ Whose voice was that? ‘Forget all the sad memories.’ His voice was like a net tightly locking my head. Before leaving Winter Fortress, we were also injected. Who injected the children of Sakhalin? Uncle, whose hair was curly and the skin under his eyes was dark. Black hair and eyes. An Asian person who knew our language. His name, Uncle’s name... Ri.... ‘Scary memories will never return. Uncle will chase them all far away. Now—look closely into Uncle’s eyes. Uncle will start counting down now. Once the last number is spoken, the lock will be sealed.’ ‘......’ ‘The pattern in Uncle’s eyes is the key to your memories. But don’t be afraid. Later, you won’t be able to meet or see Uncle clearly anymore. Uncle will make it so.’ The situation was very critical. But unlike the trembling Uncle, the melody of a stringed instrument drifted on the wind. That day, Winter Fortress was bustling and noisy. Bright flowers fell from the sky. ‘If anyone asks about your childhood later, remember only the most beautiful moments. From now on, you are no longer a child of Sakhalin, but will live as an ordinary child. I’m sorry for not knowing you, my daughter… From now on, live with love.’ Ten, nine, eight, seven, six... five, you are leaving the fortress of monsters. Four, you feel comfortable and refreshed. Three, a new spirit fills your body. Two, your mind becomes clear. One, you close your eyes and then slowly open them again. In a still blank consciousness, I looked up at the sky. Reddish flames soared high. My head, which had just emerged from the dark hole, still felt empty. Winter Fortress had indeed exploded, but what about my siblings? Were they all burned and killed? We were all injected though. Kiya also heard the spell that erased those sad memories. I was sure of it.
“There’s no time to stay here. We have to get out immediately. Agent Han Seoryeong, can you hear me? Focus your eyes, look at me. Seoryeong, can you hear my voice?”
Sonya stared at the man in front of her who gently patted her cheeks.
“――”
As soon as she recognized the face, she burst into tears. Lee Wooshin seemed to freeze, his face hardening. He was about to hug Sonya, but she pushed him away with all her might. Her rejecting movement made the man’s eyes freeze as if he had been struck. As soon as she woke up from her long winter sleep, she was in Korea. Sonya began her second life with the name ‘Han Seoryeong’. But since childhood, she had constant problems and underwent regular counseling. After entering a class appropriate for her age, she participated in incredibly boring gymnastics. Compared to the cruel circus she had performed in Sakhalin, this sports gymnastics was indeed more respectable— but incredibly dull. She fell in love with an ordinary man who worked in an office. They got married, living a warm, dreamlike newlywed life. Then her husband disappeared. They said her husband was a black ops agent for the NIS. So I... I did all this to find him...
“Don’t touch me! You damn agent...!”
Lee Wooshin’s eyes trembled violently.