“I usually check even the account balances of my subordinates who are under my command. So, I already know that you tried to flee across the border.”
“……!”
“You said you wanted to work for me, right?”
He raised his eyebrows slightly. Such a mocking attitude… truly annoying…! Seoryeong shouted while coughing loudly.
“Yes, I’m hiding a lot, my nature isn’t very good either…”
Even if I insulted him, it wouldn’t change anything. In the end, I was still in this annoying situation. When she finally confessed, he slightly opened the water from the faucet. The water flowed a little, barely enough to use, but it was still important and precious to her. Seoryeong opened her heart more.
“My husband is very kind and gentle. If I acted according to my true nature, he might have run away already. I once killed someone, but I never had a single nightmare. If he knew I was such a woman, he would have run away a long time ago.”
“……”
“That’s why, I want to be a perfect wife.”
As soon as she finished speaking, hot water poured out again like a waterfall. Lee Wooshin looked at her with an unreadable expression. Meanwhile, Seoryeong blinked rapidly without saying anything. The thought she had unintentionally spoken turned out to be more resolute and sad than she had thought. She herself was surprised that she had said it. Then, Lee Wooshin took a step back and spoke as if sighing.
“Your husband might not be much different either.”
“……”
Although his words were ambiguous, Seoryeong understood immediately. Maybe he also had to lie to himself. The perfect appearance he showed might not be his true self. However, Seoryeong didn’t want to accept those words easily. Unlike her who tried to act sweet to gain love, Kim Hyeon showed expressions to deceive. He and she might lie in the same way, but their motivations were very different. Seoryeong washed her face hard again. Although we were supposed to have true love, the more time passed, she realized that the beautiful memories were just a shell shrouded in cheap light. It felt like something was stuck in her throat.
“Instructor also has to promise, right? Not to tell anyone about this.”
Seoryeong spoke in a firm voice, her lips moving unnaturally.
“That means, if you catch my husband, you must not show that you know him. You have to lie with me. Say that I am a sweet, timid, and gentle woman.”
Seoryeong stepped closer to him, as if to threaten him. Her face, although wearing black contact lenses, made her eyes tremble slightly.
“Don’t say a single word about weapons, knives, or such training.”
“Why should I do that?”
“Because you asked first, you have to take responsibility.”
“It’s strange, earlier you said you would take revenge if you caught your husband, didn’t you?”
He frowned as if looking at a wrong puzzle piece. Seoryeong nodded.
“Yes, but I also want to take revenge and have sex at the same time.”
“……!”
Lee Wooshin frowned slightly when he heard her soft but deep voice. Seoryeong calmly wiped the water droplets flowing from her hair to her chin with the back of her hand, then continued.
“If possible, I want him to feel familiar with the woman who’s on top of him. I don’t want my husband to think it’s rape.”
“……”
He swallowed hard, while Seoryeong stared at him indifferently. He looked like someone who had just been hit on the back of the head, but he didn’t care. Even if Kim Hyeon had to die, she wanted him to die in her arms. All she wanted was to get Kim Hyeon back, no matter in what form. At least she could punish him properly. She had never given up on Kim Hyeon, so for Seoryeong, sex and revenge were the same meaning in some ways. Seoryeong returned under the shower. Her eyes gleamed with determination.
“That’s why, if anything goes wrong, I won’t let you get away with it either.”
Seoryeong lifted the showerhead and sprayed water on his face.
“――!”
Lee Wooshin didn’t have time to respond. He made an annoyed face and glared at her angrily. Seeing that, Seoryeong smiled smugly. One of her eyes, where the lens had come off, revealed that her pupil was gray. She blinked under her wet eyelashes, then closed the eye where the lens had come off. Seoryeong laughed mockingly at his unprotected attitude again.
“See? I’m also good at doing bad things.”
---
The first week of Blast training had passed. After a very tough first night, the team members began to adjust to the monotonous training schedule. In the morning, there was physical training and running. In the afternoon, they practiced swimming to improve basic strength. Lee Wooshin’s warning that “nothing will happen in the rooms” at the beginning turned out to be absolutely correct. Every night they were attacked and forced to jump into the water. Not having the energy to bother others became normal. All team members suffered from chronic sleep deprivation, and taking care of their own bodies became difficult. The problem was, the exercises to increase strength seemed clearly to be a form of violence, such as the pull-up exercise called “Bubbgori,” which was the starting point of Lee Wooshin’s violence. Every time the whistle blew once, they had to jump onto the pull-up bar and come down when the whistle blew again. Anyone who couldn’t follow the rhythm of the whistle would lose their lunch. Therefore, the instructor blew the whistle slowly or quickly to make them train harder. However, for Seoryeong, the pull-up bar was a very familiar tool, especially hanging there was something she could do best.
“――!”
When it was Seoryeong’s turn, she jumped and easily gripped the pull-up bar. Her swinging motion surprised her teammates, as well as the instructor. Since that day, Lee Wooshin often interrupted whenever it was Seoryeong’s turn. He always appeared with a smile, making her feel uncomfortable. It seems he won’t let me pass easily. And it was exactly as expected… Today, when he came out again, Seoryeong had to restrain herself from cursing. Since the day he blew the whistle, she hadn’t had lunch again. The whistle blew. While Seoryeong was swinging on the bar, Lee Wooshin stared at the hands gripping the bar tightly and deliberately slowed down the timing.
“Team member Han Seoryeong, do you like listening to music?”
What else is he going to do this time… Seoryeong looked at him, but he instead smiled as if there was something funny on her face.
“You have to sing for the instructor first to be able to blow the whistle.”
Seoryeong imagined punching him in the chest, while speaking in an angry voice, “In this beautiful land, with magnificent mountains and rivers, this evil instructor has settled, doing foolish things according to his ideas, and there continues to be a crazy instructor appearing in every generation… Should I keep singing?”
A suppressed breath escaped along with the lyrics. Soft laughter was heard from around them, but Seoryeong continued to sing with angry eyes, while Lee Wooshin enjoyed her challenge.
The whistle blew again, this time longer. Seoryeong’s hands, gripping the bar tightly, were injured and looked blistered, and her hands began to tremble visibly. However, every time she swung to the rhythm of the whistle, Lee Wooshin raised his eyebrows as if surprised.
“Ugh—!”
Seoryeong tried to swing her body upwards to the maximum limit and finally released the bar. Ah…! Seoryeong sighed heavily while kicking the pole in front of her in annoyance. The feeling of constantly being in a pressured and defeated position by Lee Wooshin made her even angrier. Huh… Looks like I won’t have lunch again today. While massaging her stiff arms and sitting on the floor, Lee Wooshin looked at her with a serious gaze and didn’t take his eyes off her. He approached in his military boots and sat beside her, at her eye level. Because of the light coming from behind, his shadow looked even darker, adding a mysterious air to his already distinct face.
“Are you taking any medication?”
“What?”
“Like androgen steroids or some kind of injection.”
“What do you mean…!”
“Team member Han Seoryeong, wasn’t there a rumor about marijuana before?”
Seoryeong gasped slightly in surprise.
“Just speak directly, no one cares. These people inject drugs more often than they use their fists.”
Lee Wooshin’s voice lowered and sounded more firm, with a clear hint of suspicion. His eyes continued to stare at Seoryeong relentlessly, as if trying to memorize every line of her eyes. Even though she was wearing contact lenses, Seoryeong felt as if he could see her fake eyes clearly, as if through a microscope.