Upon seeing the flushed faces of her teammates—snot and saliva smeared all over, expressions twisted in awkward discomfort—Seoryeong felt a strange sense of solidarity.
Although everyone was panting with exhaustion, there was a faint relief in their eyes as they looked at each other. They were all in this together now.
Seoryeong looked around with wide eyes, even though there was nothing to see. It was **pitch black** all around—the middle of the ocean at night.
"Not sleepy anymore, are you?"
At the edge of the boat, there was someone smiling, his hand propping up his chin.
Lee Wooshin.
The wicked bastard smiled cheerfully while waving his hand, as if this were all a grand joke.
Seoryeong spat, forcefully expelling saliva against the cloth gag still covering her mouth. The man spoke casually in front of the still-silent team.
"I told you not to sleep."
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of water splashing echoed through the air, followed by continuous screams.
Lee Wooshin laughed like a demon, pushing his teammates' bodies until they fell into the sea one by one. His face remained flat, almost shy in its composure, which only made Seoryeong's annoyance burn **hotter**.
The sound of water splashing came from all directions, accompanied by the desperate sounds of those trying to survive. Their hands and feet were tied, so if they didn't move correctly, they would sink immediately.
Lee Wooshin lifted Seoryeong's collar as the last person remaining.
Their faces were so close that their noses almost touched. The moment their eyes met, a strange feeling arose spontaneously—something electric, uncomfortable, **unavoidable**.
"There's no bell here, so what should I hit you with, huh?"
He patted Seoryeong's knee challengingly.
"Just use your knee. You're good at that, aren't you?"
"Let go of me now…"
"Aah—you don't like that, huh?" He tilted his head, his smile widening. "Then, may I just hit my own face?"
Lee Wooshin smiled broadly with pride and then offered his cheek.
"Just one hit, and I won't let go of your collar."
He pulled Seoryeong's collar tighter, but her feet were already touching the water.
_How cold is seawater at night?_
As soon as the freezing water touched her skin, her mind immediately cleared. Her teeth began to chatter uncontrollably from the cold.
"Before you even let go of my hand, you want me to hit you?" Seoryeong's voice was sharp, biting. "Then may I just **punch** you?"
"Whatever you want."
"May I spit in your face?"
"……"
The man looked slightly sullen before laughing again.
Seoryeong really wanted to hit him. She wanted to wipe that smug grin off his face. But she didn't want Lee Wooshin to think she was giving up. If she had to hurt him, it would be for a **real** reason—not because he told her to.
Finally, Seoryeong shook her head, then took a short breath, steeling herself before nodding.
_Just let go._
But strangely, Lee Wooshin suddenly looked **angry**.
Seoryeong was supposed to be the victim here. So why did he look angry too?
He lifted her up once more, his grip tightening on her collar.
"Why are you so **stubborn**? Were you like this before you got married too?"
"Of course! Hah…!"
She took a gasping breath as she tried to pull her legs up, the cold already numbing her limbs.
_This cold… could I get a heart attack?_
Looking around, the teammates who had already fallen into the seawater were struggling hard to survive, their lips pale and trembling. Fortunately, no one had drowned yet, and it seemed other ships were also facing similar incidents.
"Your husband must have felt like he was stabbed in the back, right?"
"Looks like it…!"
Seoryeong gasped for breath in the cold wind that whipped across the water.
"I was just hiding my nature, but my husband was hiding **so much more**…! So who is actually worse…! Why does it have to be such a big deal over just this!"
She spoke while her body trembled from the penetrating cold.
"That was a fake marriage, wasn't it…"
"What I'm saying is… **I'm the victim in this!**"
Seoryeong's voice began to tremble, not just from emotion but from the cold that made her chin quiver uncontrollably.
Lee Wooshin stared at her with empty eyes, slowly observing her face up close, before wrinkling his nose as if brushing away dust—and releasing his hand.
Seoryeong gritted her teeth, preparing to be dropped into the water.
_Am I going to die from the cold like this?_
Despair began to creep across her face. Lee Wooshin's hand hovered in mid-air, as if he was contemplating something.
Amidst the feeling that time was slowing down, the two of them stared at each other.
Seoryeong felt a strange urge to punch his eyes, to demand the truth. It was an inexplicable impulse.
Finally, her body was dropped into the water mercilessly.
**Plung—!**
The coldness of the seawater hit her body like a thousand needles piercing her skin all at once. It felt like her heart had **stopped beating**. Her body plunged down into the water, as if falling onto sharp knife blades.
As she sank, she saw Lee Wooshin's shadow reflecting on the water's surface.
Even in this situation, they couldn't break eye contact.
Seoryeong's anger toward Lee Wooshin was so strong that she forgot the cold for a moment.
When her body stopped sinking, Seoryeong struggled and kicked her legs toward the surface. Her body's flexibility—earned through years of hard work—helped her move nimbly in the water.
As soon as her head emerged above the surface, she took a relieved, gasping breath and saw the black ship beside her.
She shouted.
"**Why aren't you helping us get on the ship?**"
The teammates who had fallen into the water before her were still struggling to survive.
Seoryeong continued, her voice ringing out across the water.
"If we're left like this, we'll all **freeze to death!**"
Her voice echoed throughout the area. The teammates who were swallowing water nodded weakly in agreement, even though their teeth were chattering from the cold.
Lee Wooshin checked his watch, then leaned back comfortably—like someone resting on the beach.
He said in a flat voice.
"People always die in training. It's normal."
"What the hell are you talking about…!"
"The sun will rise in ten minutes." He glanced at the horizon. "We'll watch the sunrise here."
_Absolutely insane!_
_Damn it!_
Seoryeong cursed inwardly, glaring at him.
And as their eyes accidentally met again, Lee Wooshin laughed smugly—but only a moment later, he looked at his watch again.
"Now, do you want to slap my face?"
"Don't just talk—I actually want to **bite** you!"
Lee Wooshin rubbed his cheek, which was red from the cold wind, while laughing.
"Damn… I'd definitely regret being slapped, but if you bite me, I won't accept it."
_Crazy bastard…!_
Not long after, the red light of the horizon began to appear.
Lee Wooshin still ordered them to endure until the sun had **fully risen**, before pulling them one by one onto the ship when everyone was on the verge of hypothermia.
While everyone was still shivering from the cold, Lee Wooshin began to chat about the beautiful scenery—even though it meant **nothing**.
"Come here, get a little closer!"
Suddenly, one of the teammates spoke with bluish-pale lips.
Everyone knew that in this kind of situation, body warmth was the most needed. They crawled closer to each other and brought their shoulders together, then directed pitiful gazes at Seoryeong, who was sitting a bit farther away.
"……"
"……"
_Yes. In this situation, both men and women need to gather together._
Even just exhaling made their lips feel cold and sore.
Finally, Seoryeong was pulled into the group of her cold teammates—for the first time.
Sitting huddled together like that was certainly better than facing the sea wind alone.
"You guys are going to take off each other's clothes, huh?"
Lee Wooshin, who was sitting on the edge of the boat while starting the engine, laughed.
He steered the boat back toward the shore quickly, then made a **sharp turn**, causing some teammates to fall back into the sea again.
_Bastard…!_
Lee Wooshin met Seoryeong's glaring gaze, but he only smiled faintly with pleasure.
_What unfounded arrogance._
---
## — The Shore —
Soon after they arrived at the shore, every team member ran hastily.
Even though their hands and feet were tied, they ran with all their might. If they could reach the rooms, they could take a warm shower from head to toe.
However, with their hands and feet bound, they soon fell onto the sand in exhaustion.
Even though they ran with their last bit of strength, their muscles were stiff from soaking in the cold water, and the sand on the ground didn't help them run easily.
"If your ties aren't undone, you won't be able to enter the rooms."
Lee Wooshin's voice crackled through the speaker.
"If you don't want to become frozen fish, untie yourselves quickly."
The exhausted teammates, seeing the rooms right in front of their eyes but unable to untie themselves, showed increasingly clear **despair**.
Moreover, hands tied behind the back were very difficult to untie alone.
Some people who hadn't given up immediately paired up and sat back-to-back. They helped each other find the ends of the ropes and tried to untie them.
"Oh… that's good too."
Seoryeong sighed with pale lips.
This plan worked.
The teammates who had previously been lying in despair began to realize the solution and pair up with each other.
However, for Seoryeong, it seemed the difficulties had just begun.
She looked around, searching for a partner—but every pair of eyes that met hers quickly looked away.
_Of course._
No one wanted to help the woman.
No one wanted to be seen as weak by associating with her.
Seoryeong gritted her teeth and twisted her wrists behind her back, trying to feel for the knot. Her fingers were numb from the cold, clumsy and unresponsive.
_Come on. Come on._
Her breath came out in short, frustrated bursts.
She glanced up and saw Lee Wooshin standing near the entrance to the building, arms crossed, watching her with that same infuriating expression.
He wasn't going to help.
He was **waiting** for her to fail.
_Fine._
If she had to do this alone, she would.
Seoryeong bent forward, using her teeth to pull at the edge of the rope binding her ankles. It was awkward, painful, and humiliating—but slowly, the knot began to loosen.
Her fingers found the gap. She pulled.
The rope fell away.
She gasped in relief, then immediately turned her attention to her wrists.
This one was harder. The knot was tight, positioned in a way that made it nearly impossible to reach.
She twisted. She pulled. Her shoulders screamed in protest.
_Just a little more._
Finally, with one last desperate yank, the rope came free.
Seoryeong stumbled to her feet, her legs shaking, and staggered toward the building.
As she passed Lee Wooshin, she didn't look at him.
But she heard his voice, low and almost approving.
"Not bad."
She didn't respond.
She just kept walking.