"What the **hell** is wrong with that guy?!"
Inside the NIS communication room, an agent roughly tore off his headset, his face twisted with frustration. Na Wonchang sat frozen in front of his computer, awkwardly avoiding eye contact. Even Deputy Head Joo Seolheon threw down his headset and rubbed the back of his neck with a heavy sigh.
Lee Wooshin's sudden appearance had shocked everyone.
Even the Deputy Head—who had been calmly issuing instructions from the start—had momentarily fallen silent in surprise. Their previously synchronized efforts, with each member playing their role to trap the target, had begun to unravel the moment that man's voice cut through the line.
In the end, they were forced to issue a blatant warning—even mentioning the codename **Owl**.
"What is this?!" The agent slammed his palm against the desk. "The mission briefing said the target had emotional deficits and would be easier to subtly influence! But now some **strange man** has appeared by her side—!"
"Well, we got the account information. Let's wrap it up." Joo Seolheon's voice was flat, dismissive. "Good work, everyone."
"But, Chief! Will today's mess affect my performance evaluation...?"
"Good work, Kang. You can leave."
The sharp cut-off hung in the air like a blade.
The male agent shook his head and stood up, clearly annoyed. As soon as he left, the atmosphere in the room became silent and oppressive—like the air before a storm.
Joo Seolheon twirled a pen through his wavy hair, chuckling softly. He massaged the back of his neck and glanced at the digital clock on the wall.
"Wonchang."
"Yes?"
"Do you know when a beast shows its claws?"
Na Wonchang blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"
"When it's hungry." A thin smile crossed Joo Seolheon's lips. "That's when."
He grabbed his coat—carelessly draped over the back of his chair—and shrugged it on. It was time to settle the loose ends.
Na Wonchang remained stiff, barely breathing, unable to move until the Deputy Head had completely left the room.
After all, **he** was the one who had secretly contacted Lee Wooshin and leaked a little information. But he never expected the Team Leader to act outside the plan—to go straight to the Owl's nest without authorization.
He remembered how "Hyeon" had returned from the so-called "newlywed home" to their office—the one disguised as a medical equipment sales company—and mechanically compiled reports. Throughout that time, his face had remained expressionless. Emotionless.
If anyone had secretly started to become attached to the Owl, it was him.
But never as deeply as Lee Wooshin.
_But the Team Leader... has he lost his mind?_
They had managed to obtain the account details—that much was true. But the **way** they did it...
That was the problem.
"Team Leader! What were you thinking, taking such a big risk?!"
Na Wonchang's face tightened with frustration, his whisper echoing uselessly in the empty room.
---
## — The Second Office —
Joo Seolheon's second office was located in a rundown neighborhood filled with reconstruction banners.
He passed discarded mattresses, broken household appliances, and piles of trash and cigarette butts scattered across the street. Then he entered an old building without an elevator.
There was no nameplate. No sign of any kind.
He climbed the dimly lit stairs, forced open a dented metal door, and stepped inside. As he fumbled for the light switch, a flickering bulb illuminated the figure of Lee Wooshin sprawled across a torn leather sofa.
The man didn't seem surprised in the slightest.
Joo Seolheon closed the door behind him, letting a gust of cold air rush in for a moment.
"It's been a while since I've seen your real face."
An ice cream container rested on Wooshin's flat stomach. He was chewing on a pink plastic spoon, his expression utterly relaxed.
Joo Seolheon shrugged and sat down on the creaky old sofa beside him.
"You refused to share the plan regarding the Owl," Wooshin said point-blank.
Joo Seolheon chuckled softly and crossed his legs.
"Is that important? You should be focusing on finding the corruption trail within the Blast Agency. It seems the Director of National Intelligence is involved, but we don't have solid evidence yet." He tilted his head. "If we had that, you and I could get what we want in an instant."
"..."
"And if you're hungry, don't eat junk food. Eat something **decent**."
"You know the Owl has become my subordinate?"
Lee Wooshin's words landed like stones dropped into still water.
Joo Seolheon's expression remained calm, but for the first time, he rubbed his temples as if his head was starting to ache.
"Seriously—why did you end the survival training so quickly? You should have been able to add at least one more person to your team." He sighed. "We sent one of our agents to monitor the Owl, but she failed in the final stage."
"...!"
"She wasn't incompetent. But can you believe it?" A dry laugh escaped him. "Of all things, the training was stopped because Team Leader Lee Wooshin **collapsed**. It makes no sense."
The corner of Lee Wooshin's lips formed a dark smile.
"Who was it?"
"As if you'd know even if I told you. You must have been slacking off as an instructor too, right?"
The plastic spoon **snapped** between his teeth.
Lee Wooshin didn't avert his gaze. He continued to stare at Joo Seolheon in silence—his calm demeanor belied by eyes as cold and unforgiving as the Siberian wilderness.
Joo Seolheon had experienced what happened when he challenged that gaze. Several times.
It always ended badly for him.
Having no other choice, he finally spoke.
"Her name is Dong Jiwoo. A rookie from the National Intelligence Service."
The ice cream container on Wooshin's stomach wobbled slightly.
With a wry smile, he scooped up the half-melted ice cream and brought it to his lips. Even though he was smiling, his eyes remained cold. His nonchalant attitude was **unsettling**.
Joo Seolheon raised an eyebrow. "Do you know her? Her face isn't the type that's easily remembered."
"No. Just another parasite."
"..."
"So. You've been watching her?"
"Occasionally. Overall." Joo Seolheon played with his earring. "Surprisingly, the Owl turned out to be quite talented in military training. She went straight to the Special Security Team from the start."
He paused, then asked quietly:
"Wooshin—why did you interfere today?"
Their casual conversation stopped cold.
The two men exchanged glares that clashed in the air like crossing blades.
Lee Wooshin twirled the broken spoon in his hand and looked intently at Joo Seolheon.
"What? Are you afraid I acted without orders from our Deputy Director?"
"..."
They had been working together for almost ten years—but every time the man smiled like that, it still made him uneasy.
Although Lee Wooshin possessed all the abilities of an elite agent, it was sometimes difficult to keep him obedient with just the hierarchical structure.
He was both a wanderer and a fugitive.
When Joo Seolheon first found him, he was just an empty boy with nothing inside.
---
## — The Making of a Monster —
Despite carrying the cold blood of nobility, Lee Wooshin had left Russia at the age of fourteen and fallen into the hands of notorious South African mercenaries.
Instead of going to school, he roamed war zones.
Instead of holding a pencil, he gripped a rifle.
Although he never received formal education, he never missed military training. If he had failed—even once—the boy wouldn't have survived.
Lee Wooshin had fought alongside Rhodesian government forces, El Salvadoran rebels, Bosnian units, Guatemalan guerrillas, UNITA rebels, and Contra forces. He had moved between armed groups in Laos, Azerbaijan, Nicaragua, and Congo.
A wanderer.
A fugitive.
His whole life had been like that.
At the age of eighteen, he enlisted in the mandatory military service in Korea. By the time Joo Seolheon recruited him for agent training, his eyes were already those of an assassin.
His emotions had eroded until he was no more than a sheathed sword—barely holding onto its scabbard.
_The broken ones... are the most terrifying._
After being recruited, they labeled him a "hopeless case." That assessment never changed.
He remained completely unaware that he was addicted to danger.
Perhaps it was because the battlefield was his home.
They said his brain was damaged like that of a drug addict. His mind, soaked in corrupted dopamine, kept pushing him into life-threatening situations. Lee Wooshin always volunteered for the most dangerous tasks—and even after his missions were completed, he couldn't turn off his agent mindset.
Therefore, he couldn't live a normal life where nothing happened.
If his adrenaline wasn't constantly pumping, if he wasn't constantly moving with equipment on his back, he became restless without end.
Eating from the ground.
Sleeping next to corpses.
**That** was his normal.
Therefore, he couldn't stand being in a quiet and comfortable place. It was as if he never had an "off" switch from the beginning.
The first time he deviated from that routine was during his long-term mission: an undercover marriage.
Living a boring, bland life.
No wonder Lee Wooshin felt this mission was like a thorn embedded deep in his side.
---
"Today, I finally got a glimpse into the Owl's head."
A strange, dense smile etched itself onto his lips.
"Violation of the National Security Act, the Information and Communication Network Act, and the Electronic Financial Transactions Act?" He shrugged. "None of that is new. The Owl won't stop committing these crimes until she finds Hyeon."
"..."
"The real question is—what will she do **next**?"
He sucked on the spoon in his mouth, making his cheeks hollow.
"How are things progressing with Hyeon's body?"
"I've already received the report."
"The Owl won't stop until she's convinced." Wooshin's voice dropped lower. "I pushed her hard in the training camp, but she didn't waver. So—from the outside, we have to **kill** Hyeon. And from the inside, we have to destroy her motivation."
Lee Wooshin licked the white ice cream from his lips and grinned slyly.
"That's why, starting tomorrow, I'll be living with that unruly Owl."
"...!"
"I've agreed to be her accomplice."
"What?" Joo Seolheon leaned forward. "What do you mean?"
"So, Deputy Head—"
Lee Wooshin placed the limp ice cream container on the floor and stood up. He stepped on it deliberately, leaving a sticky mark under his shoe.
He took a few steps closer to the Deputy Head and leaned down.
As his hand gripped the armrest of the sofa, the old leather creased under his grasp.
"From now on, don't rely on anyone else." His voice was low—barely above a whisper. "Just give **me** the orders."
"..."
"The Owl I trained—**only I** can handle her."
His gaze darkened, sinking into an abyss.
"Therefore, I formally request that Han Seoryeong be registered as a potential terrorist—effective **immediately**."