She couldn’t bring herself to lift her head. A sour stench spread in an instant, and warm liquid burst from her mouth.

Every time she bent over and gagged, her upper stomach caved in. The bile erupted upward like reflux, and the bridge of her nose ached. But since she hadn’t eaten much, only translucent fluid came out.

“I-I’m sorry, ugh...!”

Dizziness surged up, but Seoryeong kept her legs firmly planted. Maybe it was the stomach acid—her throat and entire mouth burned and throbbed. Her throat clenched and released on its own, thick saliva trickling out.

Then suddenly, a warm hand approached and wiped her mouth. Lee Wooshin was patting her back as she retched, his expression hardened. He cupped her chin and even supported her with his palm, wiping the vomit from the corners of her mouth again and again with his thumb.

The priest, who had been blinking blankly, belatedly reached out—but smack—Lee Wooshin struck his hand away sharply, as if he had been waiting for it.

“Don’t touch her carelessly.”

With that sharp warning, the expression disappeared from Kiya’s face.

“......”

“......”

A strange tension rose between the two men. Lee Wooshin even stepped in front of her to block Kiya’s line of sight. His back rippled slightly.

Just then, cutting through the stiff air, Jin Hoje handed a handkerchief to the priest. Kiya, who hadn’t even spared him a glance before, suddenly began looking at Jin Hoje closely.

Blood trickled down from the torn edge of his temple and slid into his eyelid, but his gaze didn’t waver.

“You look like him.”

“Sorry?”

“I don’t like that face.”

“Why all of a sudden...”

“Ugly.”

Jin Hoje widened his eyes indignantly.

“Even fakes piss me off.”

Kiya wiped the blood stinging his eye across his shoulder, grumbling. The blood trailing down to his eye made him look just like a painted-up clown.

“Where are the children we’re supposed to monitor?”

A cold voice cut in. Seoryeong, who had been chewing over Kiya’s muttering, was stunned like she’d been struck in the head.

Wait, he’s the client? Then does that mean they beat up a corporate client like that? No, I mean, he kind of deserved it, but still... Her thoughts wavered.

“You can take your time with the job.”

“I’m being paid for this. I don’t need that kind of convenience. I’ll pass.”

The two men once again stared at each other like they were in a silent staring contest. Then Lee Wooshin, snatching the awkwardly held-out handkerchief, suddenly began wiping the priest’s hand clean of vomit himself.

“――!”

Kiya recoiled in disgust, trying to pull away, but each time, their hands collided, dodged, and clashed again in a pointless exchange.

Lee Wooshin tensed his forehead, then kicked the priest’s knee. Eventually, Kiya was caught by his fingers bent like they were being twisted, grimacing, “Ow, ow, ow...!” The priest turned his watery eyes toward Seoryeong again, but she simply watched like a stone.

I just want to rinse my mouth already... Seoryeong merely clenched her empty stomach, enduring the bitter taste.

Lee Wooshin spat on Kiya’s fingers, which had gone pale down to the roots, and kept wiping away the filth. He threw in a warning for good measure.

“Don’t go getting other people’s stuff on your hands.”

Kiya’s face crumpled like a petulant boy’s.

Something told her this assignment in Sakhalin wasn’t going to be easy.

Sunlight poured down like beams through the large trees. A thin layer of white snow had settled on the brick-red roof.

Despite being called a heresy branch, the scenery was strangely peaceful. The clean, modest exterior and the sharp steeple rising from the top gave off a reverent, imposing air.

The building looked old, but not run-down. And so the team slowly followed the priest into the monastery.

“We live by chastity, poverty, and obedience.”

Seoryeong barely stifled a snort. That guy’s a total phony priest. Chastity, my ass.

Wasn’t it this bastard who licked my cheek, tore at my hair like a maniac, and even screwed someone in the women’s restroom? That was the funniest thing she’d heard ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ in a while.

“We wake at five in the morning for contemplation. After personal duties, we pray at noon. After lunch, we have community prayer, then more personal duties. After dinner, we read scripture. After that, we pray again. Before sleeping, we pray one more time. After reflecting, we turn off the lights and sleep.”

Man, that’s a hell of a prayer schedule... Jin Hoje muttered behind her.

They passed a grassy yard, where a small unicycle, a swing, and a rocking horse had been left. Seoryeong couldn’t take her eyes off those toys, which only little kids would play with.

Then suddenly, her hand was grabbed. A cold hand laced its fingers with hers. Lee Wooshin had also been staring at the same scene and was now holding onto her tightly. She didn’t know why, but his hand was trembling.

“So, what are personal duties exactly?”

As Jin Hoje approached curiously, Kiya snapped back tersely.

“Housework, chapel cleaning, flower arranging, nursing. Don’t come near me.”

“What about you, Father?”

At Jin Hoje’s question, Kiya went silent for a moment. A sharp wind suddenly swept through. Kiya, who had been walking quietly, inhaled deeply, as if enjoying the wind that froze his cheek.

“Of course I clean too.”

“Where?”

“Just... whenever something needs to be cleaned. I clean it thoroughly.”

Jin Hoje gave a slight nod and stepped back. Then Seoryeong mumbled,

“...He seems to speak Korean pretty well, so why the informal speech—”

Somehow, Kiya heard that and immediately objected.

“No way, I no speak Korean well.”

“......”

“I really no speak good...! Now let’s change into robes and go see the kids, yeah?”

“――!”

At that moment, all the team members, including Seoryeong, clutched their ears and grimaced. Everyone let out a strained “Ugh—!” and yanked out their wireless in-ears. They gripped their reddened ears and stiffened.

It felt like a knife stabbing their eardrums—a high-pitched noise that disrupted and distorted the signal. A textbook case of radio interference.

Which meant there had to be an illegal transmitter somewhere nearby.

Suddenly, warm breath brushed her earlobe. Lee Wooshin was pulling back her hair to check both ears. He gritted his teeth and glared at the priest.

“They should’ve all taken those out of their ears.”

Kiya stood ramrod straight, grinning broadly.

“Welcome to my monastery.”

***

She rinsed her mouth and lightly washed her face. Seoryeong stood at a small sink, staring at her gaunt reflection. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

A pale face showed in the blurry mirror. The real job hadn’t even started yet, and her stamina was already drained.

With a stifled sigh, she dropped onto the single bed and began changing. Why the hell did I have to throw up... Another sigh escaped with no answer.

Was her condition so bad now that Lee Wooshin didn’t even scold her anymore? Was the instructor who used to bark at her to pull herself together just gone now? Now he treated her like fragile glass, terrified she might break—it made her chest feel suffocating.

As she spread out the robe over her slumped shoulders, something fell out. It was a piece of folded paper. She picked it up and opened it, her brows furrowing.

What the hell is this?

маска.

Ma... mas-ka... She tried to pronounce the Cyrillic clumsily, when the door burst open and Lee Wooshin entered. Seoryeong quickly clenched the note in her fist and looked up calmly.

But inside, her mind was racing with thoughts of the slip of paper. Who put this here? Is it a code? A joke? Or... was it that priest Kiya again?

“You don’t even knock anymore, Instructor?”

“Give me your hand for a second.”

“Why?”

Seoryeong clenched her fist tighter around the note. Her mouth went dry for some reason.

“Your hand was freezing earlier. And why’s your face so pale?”

“I just washed my face.”

“Your clothes. Why are your tits hanging out with the door unlocked?”

“......!”

“Who are you showing off for?”

Lee Wooshin scolded her with a furious glare, seeing her in only her bra. The man ran his hand roughly over his protruding Adam’s apple, irritated by the robe that went up to his neck. The white of his skin contrasted starkly with the black priest’s robe—it suited him strangely well.

It’s not like I’m flashing my whole chest or anything. As she rose onto her toes to argue, he sharply turned his head. Her cleavage was spilling slightly out of the bra.

He quickly grabbed the robe from the bed and pulled it over her head, letting out a heavy breath. For a moment, her vision went dark.

“Anything else bothering you? Do you have a headache?”

“Dunno. The air here’s nicer than I expected.”

Seoryeong poked her head out and slipped her arms into the sleeves. When he reached for her arm, she casually stuck out her empty hand. He took it and began rubbing it all over, pressing into the center of her palm. Warmth slowly spread through her.

“But Instructor.”

“We’re going down to eat soon. Just hold on a bit.”

“No, I mean... This is a monastery, right? Not, like, a rehab center or something?”

“What?”

“I mean... that priest is seriously off.”

“......”

He didn’t respond, just looked at her.

“The one who licked my cheek at the event—that’s him. Now that I’ve seen him again, he honestly seems unstable. He says weird stuff. He even said he called my husband here.”

He froze while massaging her hand.

“Looks like he did his homework on us, but those eyes—he’s not right in the head. Is he even a real priest? I don’t trust him. If he dragged my husband into this just to screw with me, I’m not letting it slide. First thing we should—”

“Don’t.”

His voice came down like a thick fog, covering her thoughts.

“Don’t do anything here, Seoryeong.”

“......!”

“If you puked in front of the client, the company can’t complain even if you’re pulled off for health reasons. Just showing your face here was enough. At the very least, CEO Kang Taegon’s image is safe. So get out now.”

That was the last straw in her already suffocating chest.