_I was the one who got bitten, damn it._
But for some reason, the threatening feeling made Seoryeong feel like she was going to be bitten even **worse** by Lee Wooshin—who was closing in at such a terrifyingly close distance.
Perhaps because he had removed his contact lenses, his irises reflecting the sunlight looked so pale they were almost transparent. Their cold color—like the belly of a shark—sent shivers of dread down her spine.
Worse still, he was chasing her with a wide smile, like someone high on dopamine.
Seeing his face so serious in the hunt, cold sweat poured down her back.
For some reason, she felt that if she got caught, **everything would end.**
With that feeling burning through her veins, Seoryeong ran down the mountain path as if the muscles in her legs were about to explode.
*How far have I gone?*
Because of the anxiety that made her mouth dry, she even lost her sense of direction for a moment.
"Han Seoryeong, **stop**—! Don't go any further!"
At that very moment, his shout echoed right beside her.
She didn't know when he had gotten so close, but those rough fingernails grazed the back of her neck—
And at the same time, her foot suddenly slipped beneath her, and her body lurched forward.
"――!"
Everything happened in an instant.
The ground she thought was solid suddenly gave way, and behind it was a very deep chasm. Before she could even realize that what she had stepped on wasn't solid ground—but a hole covered by thick snow—her body was already falling helplessly.
Her internal organs felt violently shaken, making her nauseous. Her arms and legs flailed around trying to grab something, but there wasn't even a slight foothold beneath her boot soles.
Due to the overwhelming fear, her mouth opened silently.
She even forgot how to breathe.
*So this is how it is…*
*I could just die meaninglessly like this.*
*Without even seeing my husband's face one last time—*
*And it just ends like this…*
As she closed her eyes tightly with a heart full of frustration, suddenly an intense pain sliced through her shoulder.
"Ugh……!"
"Why the **hell** were you running? Did you think this snowy mountain was a joke?!"
"……!"
"Damn it—were you really planning to die right in front of my eyes…?!"
His rough shout pierced her ears.
That voice, which should have been familiar, now sounded foreign—as if it belonged to someone else entirely.
The first thing she saw was a military camouflage pattern.
Lee Wooshin was holding onto a tree branch growing below the cliff with one hand, while his other hand gripped her wrist in a vice.
"Instructor……"
Their gazes met, both looking shaky.
Seoryeong stared at him as if she couldn't believe he had fallen too—just to catch her—while his eyes looked into the distance, as if measuring something. Calculating.
Seoryeong was still alive only because of the strength of Lee Wooshin's grip.
Both of them showed painful expressions, though for different reasons.
At that moment, the hand tightly gripping Seoryeong's arm began to slip slowly.
"Aaah…!"
Her heart felt like it was falling, and a short scream escaped her lips.
"Damn it…"
Lee Wooshin gritted his teeth and tilted his chin up. On the back of his neck—red as if about to burst—large veins protruded like roots. His violently trembling grip conveyed all that tension through her skin.
However, the combined weight of two people wearing winter gear turned out to be much greater than expected.
As his breathing began to grow irregular, a firm command cut through the wind.
"Clench your teeth and get on my back."
"What…?"
"Just do what you're best at. We don't have time—!"
As Seoryeong hesitated, Lee Wooshin strained his rough voice as much as he could.
"Have you ever failed at climbing a rope with your bare hands?"
"……"
"Then you can definitely do this."
"I've never climbed a *person* before…!"
"I'll hold on, so don't talk so much and **climb**—!"
His cold shout immediately brought Seoryeong to her senses.
She bit her lip and quickly adjusted her body, which had been hanging precariously. First, she took out the small knife and wire from her pocket and clamped them in her mouth, then began to wrestle out of her jacket.
All of this was done to reduce even the slightest bit of weight.
"Haa… huu… Let go of my hand now."
"*What?*"
"Just let go!"
She shook the hand he was holding and asked with an urgent voice.
Lee Wooshin blinked. Frowned. After realizing the meaning of her words, the man's throat trembled with frustration.
However, it only lasted a moment.
He dug his fingernails deeply into the fragile arm he was holding, then glared sharply—as if wanting to kill her with those knife-like eyes.
Then, without hesitation, he released his grip.
As his hand began to loosen, Seoryeong let go of her jacket and kicked her legs upward. As soon as she managed to grab onto the man's waist, Lee Wooshin's sturdy body swayed like a pendulum for a moment.
The heavy, thick jacket had already fallen to the bottom, nowhere to be seen.
"Haa… haa…"
"Haa… your behavior is truly annoying, unbelievable…"
Both of them were panting heavily.
From that moment on, Seoryeong was like a fish that had found water. She nimbly climbed up Lee Wooshin's back, gripping the fabric of his shirt, digging her boots into his belt.
The raging blizzard made her body shiver, but she didn't have time to feel cold now.
"You're amazing."
Lee Wooshin was now gripping the branch with both hands. His position was much more stable.
"Once you're calm, step on my shoulders and climb up."
"What…?"
"Don't make me say it twice. **Climb.**"
"……!"
"If you can't even climb up from this short distance, you don't deserve to use your body from now on."
He coldly dismissed any refusal before it could begin, as if wanting to cut off resistance at the root.
Her heart pounded as if being squeezed, and for some reason, she couldn't say anything.
But arguing here—hesitating—felt like a luxury.
*I have to go up first. Then pull him up from above.*
As Seoryeong pressed down on Lee Wooshin's shoulders with force—
**Crack—**
*Why now?*
*That damn sound.*
The loud and clear sound of breaking.
With a tense face, she slowly looked up.
And there—the tree branch, almost completely split, revealed its white interior, as if it would snap in two at any moment.
"Instruct—!"
Then again—
**Crack—!**
Even before she could finish the word, the only remaining support snapped.
Everything happened too quickly to react.
In a sense of danger that spread sharply along her spine, her body moved on its own. Seoryeong instinctively pulled out the knife she had been biting and began to scratch the surface of the frozen cliff.
*Scratch, scratch, scratch—*
And when she glanced back slightly because of the same sound, it turned out that Lee Wooshin was also stabbing his knife into the ice wall in a similar way.
"……!"
"……!"
Their gazes met as if they had promised, and for some reason, they seemed to be able to read each other's hearts.
That strange feeling of togetherness made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end—something she had **never** felt in her entire life.
However, the knife didn't penetrate. It only scratched the surface with a painful scraping sound.
Both of them were falling at a terrifying speed—but slowly, their descent was slowing down.
"Ugh……!"
The feeling that all her fingers would tear off slammed into her.
At that moment, on her trembling hand, Lee Wooshin's palm pressed thickly from behind. As if sticking like a shell, his heavy breathing echoed against her body.
"Don't let go…!"
"Ugh…!"
As she strengthened her grip again—
But as if hope shattered—
A cracking sound was heard, and the blade of the knife **broke.**
"――!"
Because of the recoil from the break, she fell backward helplessly—but a strong arm immediately pulled her body close.
Finally—
**Thud!**
Just before her body hit the rough ground, her position was forcibly rotated.
In an instant, her vision went black. Her internal organs felt like they were surging and shaking as if hit by a huge wave.
"Ugh……"
---
The vision that had gone dark slowly began to brighten again.
When she blinked and tried to look around, the blizzard was still raging, making it difficult to open her eyes fully.
*This place… where is it?*
"Ah……!"
Seoryeong immediately sat up after remembering the instructor.
"Ugh……!"
Not a single part of her body didn't ache, but she gritted her teeth and forced herself upright.
"Instructor… Instructor…! Wake up, please!"
The scent of a man's body—which she was beginning to recognize faintly—surrounded her. Seoryeong's hands trembled slightly.
*Right before we fell, his body had seemed to be forcibly rotated…*
Lee Wooshin was beneath her, acting as a kind of cushion.
They were stranded in the middle of the cliff—specifically, between the recesses of the rocks. A place that jutted out just enough to allow someone to sit. The strange shape of the rock had miraculously saved their lives.
"Ugh…!"
A low groan was heard from below.
Seoryeong immediately bent down and pulled Lee Wooshin further inside the rocky alcove. His eyeballs slowly began to move behind his eyelids—a sign that he was beginning to regain consciousness.
To understand the situation, Seoryeong peered down—toward an area full of thorny bushes far below.
*Should we climb up again, or just go down?*
Because this was the first time she had experienced something like this, it was difficult for her to make a decision.
Moreover, the pungent, characteristic smell of limestone made her chest even more uneasy. That unfamiliar scent alone was enough to indicate how dangerous this place was.
The uneven ground felt piercingly cold, and her hair felt like it would freeze at any moment due to the harsh wind. Occasionally, either chunks of ice or pebbles slipped from above and fell past them.
The wind blowing was much sharper than the air inside the mountain forest.
Everything felt dark in her eyes.
Although her shoulders trembled from the unbearable cold, Seoryeong took out the wire she had been holding in her teeth.
While occasionally peeking down and whispering anxiously, both her hands slowly began to tie Lee Wooshin's wrists with the snare-shaped wire.
"For now… I'll be the one holding you…"
And at that moment, her gaze met directly with the man's furrowed brow.
His eyes were open.
Watching her.