The deafening roar of the engine made Seoryeong’s eyes widen. Just moments ago, Kiya had been begging and raging as if he’d never let her go—but now, in a sudden and complete shift, he dusted off his cassock and stood up.

With a strangely refreshed face, he unchained her and dragged her all the way up to the top of the bell tower. Her hair whipped violently against her face in the howling wind, and the dragonfly-thin rotors of the helicopter above spun furiously.

The helicopter’s sliding door—painted a dull gray—was flung wide open. Kiya, gripping Seoryeong’s forearm, pulled her toward the chopper that bobbed as if ready to lift off at any moment.

“Let me go! Where the hell are you taking me—!”

“You’re leaving now.”

“......!”

“Go back to Korea. Keep your eyes wide open and find your husband, Sonia.”

“.......”

“Because that’s the only way I can get you back.”

The wind kicked up harder as the rotors spun faster, causing her body to sway. It seemed—for a moment—that he was finally letting her go. But there was no mention of the other operatives.

Afraid she might be separated from her team, Seoryeong braced herself and glared at him. Amid the whipping gusts, Kiya murmured with sharp, unwavering eyes.

“Trust your instincts.”

Something small pressed into her palm. A tiny, hard plastic object, no bigger than the joint of her finger.

“It’s a film-based tracker—like a sticker. You can stick it and peel it off.”

“......!”

“You get one chance.”

His voice was clean, almost gentle, but laced with amusement—like he was testing her again.

Kim Hyeon is near you.

“......!”

She couldn’t hear his voice over the blades, but his lips mouthed the words clearly. She held her breath, her brow tightening. Even though she knew this was a manipulation—another of Kiya’s tricks—her heart still pounded violently in her chest.

Near? How near?

As she grabbed his arm, demanding answers, Kiya pressed his lips into a thin, sealed line, drawing a silent arc with his jaw.

Kim Hyeon is near me? What the hell is that supposed to mean...?

He was supposed to be an elite black agent, so secretive no one had ever traced his steps. She had assumed he was far away—far from her, still working for the country somewhere beyond her reach. And now this...?

Wind-driven dust and grit stung her cheek. Seoryeong clenched the cold plastic in her hand. Kiya, still holding her hand, offered a prayer-like farewell:

“Leave your hope in the grave. When the day comes, you will call—and I will answer.”

His eyes opened slowly, locking onto hers with ominous clarity.

And then—BANG—the bell tower door slammed open like it had been thrown by force. For one flickering moment, her hair blew into her face and then parted again.

What she saw froze her in place.

A man stepped in, dragging one leg behind him. The first thing she saw was his blood-slicked forehead and lips so pale and cracked they looked shredded.

His uniform was soaked red—she couldn’t even tell whose blood it was—and sharp fragments pierced his body all over. His hands, too, were crimson. Every time he dragged his boot, a fresh line of blood streaked across the floor. There wasn’t a single untouched part of him—his appearance was horrifying.

“Ah...”

Something deep inside her rose up like bile.

He was holding a long rifle under one arm—the type Gitaemin often used—limping forward with a broken, dragging step. But it wasn’t just a limp. One leg seemed completely useless. And yet the killing intent in his eyes never wavered; they stared straight ahead.

As that unrelenting gait carried him forward, Seoryeong felt her heart plunge. The moment their eyes locked like magnets, it was like time stopped. The broken look in his eyes burned itself into her memory like a photograph. Something like a tidal wave surged inside her chest.

“――.”

From that moment on, she couldn’t think. Without realizing it, Seoryeong shoved Kiya aside and launched herself toward Lee Wooshin.

But before she could take another step, Kiya seized her and shoved her back into the helicopter. He slammed the sliding door shut and banged on the side of the chopper.

She stumbled and slammed into the cold metal bench. The rising engine noise pressed into her eardrums. The helicopter began to lift off. Her ears were ringing.

“――!”

Seoryeong banged on the glass, staring at Kiya, who waved at her cheerfully. Behind him, Lee Wooshin was aiming his rifle—at Kiya.

But the unsteady wind and his staggering balance made the barrel shake wildly. Even from this distance, one of his knees was twitching violently, and his eyelids fluttered slowly, like he could pass out at any moment.

He struck his trembling knee with the rifle stock—thud, thud—as if to force himself into position. Watching him was like watching a broken machine burn itself out.

Seoryeong felt a rush of heat in her head. She threw open the helicopter door. The icy wind tore at her face, but she shouted with everything she had.

“Instructor—! Forget the damn gun and get in here! If you don’t, I’ll jump...! I’m not going alone!”

She bent her knees like she really would jump. Both men looked up at her at the same time.

“Han Seoryeong, stay right there—!”

“Sonia...”

Lee Wooshin threw down his rifle and started sprinting. Kiya simply stood there with a blank expression and arms open wide.

The staggering limp vanished in an instant, replaced by the terrifying sprint of an athlete. If it weren’t for the bloody footprints trailing behind him, no one would’ve thought he was injured—he was tearing across the rooftop. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Seoryeong’s eyes were locked solely on Lee Wooshin. But as the helicopter continued to rise, she abruptly turned and lunged into the cockpit.

She ripped off the pilot’s seatbelt and wrapped her arms in an X around his neck, yanking hard.

“Ghk...! Ack...!”

“Spustis’!”

(“Descend!”)

The foreign word shot from her mouth before she could think. Get down, get down...! She kept tightening her grip around the pilot’s throat like a command.

The pilot’s face turned bright red. In a panic, he finally moved the controls. As the helicopter jerked downward, Seoryeong tumbled into the adjacent seat and crashed hard.

“――!”

The tail scraped the edge of the tower, breaking off part of the cross atop it. As the chopper rocked violently, the pilot snatched up his pistol and aimed it at her.

The moment he pulled the trigger stretched out like slow motion. Seoryeong, breath held, swung her leg to intercept—but just in time, the pilot’s head was slammed forward into the dashboard.

“Do you have a death wish or what?!”

The familiar voice snapped her head around.

Lee Wooshin, having clawed his way into the chopper by sheer force, was gasping raggedly, elbows braced against the floor. His wind-blown hair whipped across the bruised, swollen skin under his eyes.

“Tha...”

She stared at him, words lost—and looked out the window. Kiya was nowhere to be seen. Only thick smoke remained.

“The enemy had a gun aimed at you, and you just stood there staring—!”

Finally unable to hold back, Seoryeong threw her arms around him. The stench of blood on him was suffocating.

Wooshin froze mid-rant, arms rigid. She only pulled him in tighter, clutching the battered, broken man ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) into her chest.

The weightless sense of falling made her stomach lurch. Her chest was trembling so hard it hurt.

Han Seoryeong, he whispered silently.

“Haa... I’m a bit late. I tried to come as fast as I could—”

“.......”

“Sorry I shouted at you.”

Still dazed, Wooshin wrapped his arms around her, crushing her to him. Their wild, unsteady heartbeats overlapped—whose was whose no longer mattered. Their trembling breaths warmed each other’s ears in shared relief.

“Did that priest do anything to you?”

“Instructor... you’re the one who looks... way too hurt.”

“Seoryeong. Answer me first.”

Even slumped against her shoulder, he spoke firmly.

“I... I’m fine. I just lay down, had some ramen, actually got some rest.”

“Did you eat or touch anything strange?”

“Not at all.”

She lied without thinking, sliding the item Kiya gave her into her pocket. Then, as their bodies slowly separated, their eyes lingered on each other—watchful, searching.

“Or... did you hear anything weird?”

“.......”

Sonia—that foreign name jabbed at her like a thorn, but she bit her lip and shook her head. Wooshin bowed his head, then quietly asked:

“Then let’s leave.”

“......!”

“Just like that. With me, Seoryeong.”

“.......”

“I don’t want to be apart from you anymore. Not for a single second.”

A subtle vibration rose through the floor. Seoryeong, frozen in unfamiliar emotion, suddenly grabbed the overhead handle and shouted:

“We’re shaking, Instructor—! The cockpit...!”

It wasn’t just her. The helicopter was actually wobbling dangerously. With the unconscious pilot slumped on the control stick, the chopper was rising uncontrollably.

How had they not noticed? Clearly, their minds had been completely elsewhere.

At her scream, Wooshin sprang into action. He dragged the pilot out of the seat and took his place, adjusting knobs, levers, and panels on the dashboard and ceiling to stabilize the aircraft.

“Wha...!”

Soon, Seoryeong’s eyes went wide.

The lights, the smoke, the shattered field below—she recognized the scene. As the helicopter descended low, a gust of wind flattened the rice paddies beneath. It was the crash site she remembered.

On the wrecked remains of the truck, Gitaemin was standing alone, waving a flashlight.

The moment she saw her marksman’s face, all the things Kiya had said began to sink in—like black sediment settling at the bottom of her thoughts.

The nightmare monastery had vanished into the darkness behind her.

As the tension drained from her, she sank to the floor with a heavy thud.