"What do I get from carrying someone who's already exhausted in the back, huh…!"
"……"
"Even if I have to **crawl**, I will still go on my own two feet."
She could feel gazes from all directions, but she only offered a mocking smile while resting her elbow on the car. Strands of her hair, blown by the winter wind, touched the tip of her high nose before disappearing with the breeze.
"Then how about I tell you to carry someone who **isn't** exhausted yet?"
"Are there people like that here too?"
"Yes. Why not?"
"No need."
"Your legs will hurt later."
"I haven't even run ten laps yet." She shrugged. "Still relaxed."
Every word she said was met with resistance, causing Wooshin's usually calm eyebrows to furrow. Her body felt **heavy**, like someone had strapped weights to her limbs, but if she didn't rank high, she would be the last to get dinner.
Seoryeong had experienced being the last to eat dinner before. She had to exert all her strength just to keep her knees from buckling.
Being the last to eat meant most of the main dishes were gone. All that was left was rice and kimchi.
"Hup..."
Her batchmates were already far ahead. Seoryeong felt as if she had been left behind alone.
Although she was aware that her physical condition and strength were different from theirs, the feeling of being **abandoned** like that secretly annoyed her.
"Huff... hup..."
She managed to return to the training field and touch the goalpost before her body collapsed from exhaustion. Her legs trembled so violently that she had to hold onto the post to support herself.
A wave of nausea rose to her throat, but she held it back and swallowed it down.
Then an unexpected shadow appeared, along with slow, deliberate footsteps.
"How many more times does Seoryeong have to be last before she finally presses that bell?"
"The training…" She took a shaky breath. "Has just begun."
She stood up straight—gracefully, despite everything. In front of him, she didn't want to show even a **hint** of weakness. Even though her body was drenched in sweat, she still looked up proudly.
There was a bell on the training field. No one had ever managed to ring it.
It was very clear that he wanted Seoryeong to be the **first** to press it.
But Seoryeong only chuckled at the idea.
Although he often scolded and criticized the team members, he seemed to look down on **her** more than anyone else. It was as if he deliberately interfered whenever there was an opportunity.
_Why does he hate me so much?_
Now Seoryeong was starting to wonder about the reason.
"Seoryeong, what do you even believe in?"
"What?"
"Or do you think if you just grit your teeth and endure, everything will be alright?"
"Yes…" She met his gaze head-on. "I believe so. Just enduring is enough."
He scratched his chin slowly, his expression unreadable. The suspicion she felt every time she faced Wooshin came from direct words like that—words that cut too deep to be casual.
"Even if you endure this heavy training, your husband won't come back." His voice was quiet, almost clinical. "You're just preparing an excuse to pity yourself, aren't you?"
He attacked right at her weak spot, and it made Seoryeong feel that this man could see deeper into her heart than her former gentle husband ever had.
"But it's easier than searching for my husband aimlessly."
Gritting her teeth and enduring was one of the things she could do **best**. Perhaps because they had spoken harshly before, she could now mention her husband without pretense.
Seoryeong lowered her head slightly before turning to walk away.
But as soon as she took one step, her body immediately screamed in pain, as if there was a fire burning under the soles of her feet.
_Just endure for two months… just two months._
Seoryeong bit her lip hard.
If she wanted Kim Hyeon—the secret agent who was hiding somewhere now—to hear her name, she had to become a figure who would **trouble the entire national intelligence**. For that, she had to get into the special security team. She needed high-risk missions and the possibility of being caught. She wanted to take on all the **dirtiest tasks** so that Kim Hyeon would come looking for her.
At that moment, the image of Kang Taegon, the company Chairman, appeared in her mind.
_Just finish this training…_
That's right. He promised to take care of the rest.
She steeled her heart and took another step, even though her walk began to limp with pain.
As she entered the building, a soft sigh was heard from behind.
But she didn't turn around.
Wooshin didn't chase after her, but he didn't leave either. He just stood and watched until her figure disappeared into the building—without the sound of a single footstep.
---
## — Dinnertime —
When dinnertime arrived, the meager leftovers became Seoryeong's again.
That night, while everyone was sound asleep and snoring loudly, the people who had previously refused to share a room with a woman were actually the **first** to fall asleep. They had been running until their feet were blistered all day, so as soon as their heads hit the pillow, they were unconscious.
Seoryeong was restless.
She couldn't sleep soundly because of the pain. It felt like complaints kept rising in her throat, endlessly.
In this strange place, where she couldn't trust anyone, her thoughts drifted to Kim Hyeon.
She buried her face in the hard pillow, trying to sleep.
_If only I could rest in Kim Hyeon's embrace just once… just with the gentle stroke of his hand on my back and the words that everything would be alright…_
Weakness returned to dominate her thoughts.
Thoughts like _"if only he would hug me"_ kept swirling in her head, and she tried to hold her breath and bite her lip so that those feelings wouldn't **explode** out.
Suddenly, the sound of something falling and hitting the floor echoed through the room.
Thick smoke began to rise rapidly.
"……"
Her half-closed eyes immediately snapped open.
Although she couldn't see the situation clearly because of the thick fog, her instincts told her to shout.
"**Wake up quickly!**"
She shouted while trying to wave away the smoke with her hands, but as soon as she took a breath, the smoke entered her lungs and made her cough violently.
Soft groans were heard from some of her teammates around the room.
She tried to move her aching body to get out of bed, but as the smoke began to dissipate slightly, she saw something that made her heart **drop**.
There was a **black gas mask** staring coldly at her beside her bed.
"Who—!"
Before she could finish, her mouth was stuffed with cloth.
A hood was quickly placed over her head, and her hands and feet were tied with rope. The brutality of the capture gave her **no chance** to resist. Most of her teammates were fast asleep, so they were easily captured. Some who tried to resist also failed after inhaling the smoke.
"Ah… Ugh…!"
Seoryeong was thrown over someone's shoulder and carried out of the room.
She couldn't see anything. Couldn't move her body. The frustration made her want to **scream**.
She shouted loudly through the cloth covering her mouth, but the only response was a hard blow to her hip.
_Who the hell…!_
Since arriving at this place, she had started to get easily irritated, and curses kept popping into her mind.
The cold wind from the sea swept in through her thin pajamas. Seoryeong stopped struggling and tried to listen to the sounds around her.
Suddenly, she felt a slight vibration from the body of the person carrying her—as if they were chuckling softly.
"Heh, just let it be…"
A familiar low voice echoed in the air, making her even more annoyed to the point of wanting to grind her teeth.
"Ugh…!"
Before she could even picture his face, her body was **thrown** somewhere.
She fell hard, landing on what felt like metal flooring, but strangely it wasn't as painful as she had expected. Her teammates fell one by one around her. The sensation of warmth from other people's bodies was faintly felt in the cold air, giving her slight relief from the chill.
The sound of a vehicle engine roared loudly.
"……"
Suddenly, the cold wind from the sea blew strongly, like a whip hitting her skin. She tried to breathe through her mouth because of the cloth covering her nose, but still had difficulty breathing because of the gag.
_This is really torturous!_
Seoryeong felt her body swaying, and she immediately knew.
_They're taking us on a boat._
A boat, huh… They're taking us out to sea!
As the sound of waves crashing returned, Seoryeong tried to struggle even though her body was still tied up. Beside her, the sound of coughing and ragged breathing was clearly audible.
At that very moment, the sound of the engine stopped.
The hood over her head was pulled off quickly.
Cold air slammed into her face like a slap. She blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness—moonlight reflecting off dark water.
They were on a boat. A **military transport vessel**, by the look of it. The deck was open, and all around her, the other recruits were sprawled out in various states of panic and confusion. Some were still gagged and hooded. Others were coughing violently, eyes streaming from the smoke.
And standing at the bow, arms crossed, expression as cold as the winter sea, was **Lee Wooshin**.
He looked down at them like a predator surveying wounded prey.
"Welcome," he said, his voice carrying easily over the wind, "to your first real test."
Seoryeong's heart pounded in her chest.
_What the hell is this?_
"Some of you are probably wondering what's happening." Wooshin's smile was thin and humorless. "Let me make it simple. Survival training. You'll be dropped on an island. No food. No supplies. No help. You have forty-eight hours to make it back to camp."
Murmurs of disbelief spread through the group.
"Those who fail will be **eliminated**."
His gaze found Seoryeong's, and for a brief moment, she saw something flicker in his eyes—challenge, curiosity, maybe even a hint of respect.
"Good luck," he said. "You're going to need it."
And then, without warning, the deck beneath them **opened**.
Seoryeong barely had time to suck in a breath before she plunged into the freezing water below.