An awkward silence fell as they came face to face with their fellow recruits, their faces red and smeared with snot and spit. Even so, each one of them was breathing heavily, visibly relieved to see the others alive.

Seoryeong retraced the scene that had entered her field of vision all at once through the cleared smoke. But there was no need to look around.

Everything around them was pitch black. They were in the middle of the night sea.

“Wide awake now, aren’t you?”

And there he was, sitting on the edge of the boat, propping up his chin on his knee and smiling. That damn Lee Wooshin was waving his hand cheerfully.

Seoryeong spat out the gag with a ptoo. The man looked toward the frozen trainees and said nonchalantly,

“I told you I wouldn’t let you sleep.”

No sooner had he spoken than—splash! A violent spray of seawater followed. Aaaaah! Agh—! Screams echoed one after another as Lee Wooshin laughed like the devil.

He was lightly kicking the trainees in the chest, one by one, and knocking them into the sea. Yet, thanks to his naturally smooth face, that smile almost looked shy and bashful—and it made Seoryeong's insides boil.

From every direction came blub-blub noises and desperate flailing. Since they were bound, if they didn’t move their bodies right, they’d sink like stones.

Lee Wooshin grabbed the last one remaining—Seoryeong—by the collar and yanked her up. Their faces came so close their noses nearly touched, and in that brief instant, their gazes locked, eyes flashing.

“There’s no bell out here, so how about we substitute with something else? Like, I dunno, a dick slap.”

He tapped her knee provocatively.

“Use your knee. Recruit Han Seoryeong, you were good at that, weren’t you?”

“Let... go...”

“Aww—didn’t like that? Then maybe a slap to the face instead?”

Lee Wooshin gave her a mocking grin and deliberately stuck out one cheek.

“Just hit me once. Then I won’t let go of your collar.”

He tightened his grip on her uniform. But by then, her bare feet were already touching the surface of the water.

What was the temperature of the winter sea again? The moment the cold touched her skin, her mind snapped into clarity. Her teeth had already started to chatter.

“You didn’t even untie my hands and you want me to hit you? Should I just ram you with my head instead?”

“Whichever you prefer, Recruit Han Seoryeong.”

“Can I spit in your face?”

“......”

His expression twitched as though lost for words, but he let out a snort of laughter.

She truly wanted to deck him, but she didn’t want that to be mistaken for surrender. If she were just hitting him for no reason, maybe—but not like this.

In the end, Seoryeong shook her head. Then, as if steeling herself to be thrown in, she exhaled sharply—“Hoo...!”—and the previously smirking Lee Wooshin suddenly contorted his face.

She was the one being harassed, so why the hell was he the one grimacing?

He readjusted his grip on her again.

“Why are you so hard to deal with? Were you like this before you got married too?”

“Of course I was—ugh...!”

She gasped, curling her toes. The water was so cold she genuinely wondered if her heart might stop.

She turned her head and saw the other recruits, their lips blue, violently thrashing to stay afloat. Thankfully, no one had gone under, and the other boats seemed to be in a similar situation.

“Your husband’s probably feeling pretty backstabbed right now.”

“Well, that goes both ways...!”

Seoryeong exhaled through clenched teeth, the cold biting into her.

“I only hid my personality. My husband hid way more...! So who’s the real piece of shit here?! And all this fuss over me pretending to °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° be a bit demure?!”

She shivered as the cold crept under her clothes, speaking through her trembling body. He tilted his chin with a strange expression.

“...That’s a fraud marriage, then.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying...! I’m the victim here...!”

Her jaw chattered so hard it made her stutter. For some reason, Lee Wooshin looked over her features with a dazed expression. Then, as if brushing off dust, he crinkled his nose and released his grip.

She clenched her teeth, bracing for the inevitable fall. She really hoped she wouldn't freeze to death like this...!

Maybe her face betrayed that brief panic. The arm that was about to shove her paused momentarily.

In that stretched-out moment, their eyes met.

Seoryeong wanted to punch those fake, hollow eyes hard enough to knock the contact lenses out. It was a senseless, irrational urge.

And as if responding to that vile thought, her slender body was finally tossed from the boat.

SPLASH—!

The moment the icy sea engulfed her, it hit like her heart was cracking open. Submerged to the top of her head, her body plummeted downward—down, down—seemingly with no end. It wasn’t water; it felt like falling onto blades.

Somewhere through the shimmering surface, the man’s face flickered above. It was hard to tell which of them was the one who couldn’t look away. But the rage Seoryeong felt toward Lee Wooshin burned so hot, it seared away the cold—at least for a moment.

Once she felt her body halt its fall, Seoryeong began frantically kicking her bound legs back and forth. Her spine straightened, body bending fluidly as she sliced through the water.

The moment her head broke the surface, she opened her mouth wide and gasped for air.

The first thing she saw was the sleek black boat. She couldn’t hold it in any longer and shouted.

“Are you not going to pull us out?!”

The other trainees who’d fallen in before her were still struggling.

“We’re going to freeze to death out here!”

Her voice, pulled from deep in her gut, rang loud and clear. As Seoryeong initiated the protest, the others—teeth chattering from all the water they’d swallowed—nodded in shared desperation.

Lee Wooshin was now lounging in the boat, checking the watch on his wrist. He even had his fingers laced behind his head like he was lying on a sunbed, gazing at the horizon.

“During training, people die. Accidents happen.”

“The hell...?!”

“In ten minutes, the sun rises. We’re staying until we see it.”

That bastard—he was actually insane. As Seoryeong glared at him, their eyes happened to meet. She was the one soaking wet, yet somehow it was Lee Wooshin whose chest seemed to rise ever so slightly.

But even that felt like a trick of her imagination. In the next blink, his relaxed smile was back as he looked at his watch again.

“Feel like slapping me now?”

“...Slapping’s not enough. I want to bite you.”

Lee Wooshin chuckled, rubbing his wind-chapped cheek with the back of his hand.

“Oh dear. I’d apologize, but see, I’m fine with being slapped—just not with lip marks.”

Yep. Just a fucking bastard...

At last, a streak of red stretched across the horizon.

Lee Wooshin kept them out there until the sun rose, only pulling the recruits out by the scruff of their necks once they were on the verge of hypothermia.

Even as their bodies shivered violently from the blade-like cold, they struggled to hold themselves upright like limp fish. Meanwhile, Wooshin rambled on about how nice the view was and told them they ought to appreciate the sunrise. Goddamn it... How could anyone not curse at this guy?

“C-closer... w-we... need to h-huddle...!”

Then, one of the recruits pleaded with blue lips. Right now, nothing mattered more than warmth.

Everyone began shuffling over on their butts, huddling shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm. Before long, they were all casting pitiful looks at Seoryeong, who was still sitting apart.

“......”

“......”

Yeah... in a situation like this, gender didn’t matter. They just needed bodies. Even a sigh scraped painfully from her freezing jaw.

In the end, Seoryeong sat among them—for the first time, part of the group. It was definitely better than facing the sea wind alone. Pressed together like this, she could almost endure it.

“You guys going to start undressing each other next?”

Lee Wooshin, who had been starting up the boat engine at the edge, smirked. As he sped toward the shore, he suddenly spun the boat hard—sending a few more recruits toppling overboard.

That insane bastard...!

As he met Seoryeong’s glare, he stretched his lips into a smug grin. Just pure spite.

Once they reached land, the recruits took off running like their lives depended on it, even with their hands and feet still bound.

If they could just make it to the barracks, they’d be blasted with hot water from head to toe. But with their limbs tied, it wasn’t long before they collapsed onto the sandy beach, one by one.

No matter how zombie-like they tried to run, their muscles had contracted from the prolonged exposure. Even the soft sand didn’t help much.

“If you can’t untie yourselves, you can’t enter the barracks.”

Then, Lee Wooshin spoke through a loudspeaker.

“So unless you want to turn into frozen fish, you’d better hurry up and get out.”

With the barracks within reach, being stuck like that brought a wave of despair to their faces. Their hands were tied behind their backs—there was no way to do it alone.

A few who hadn’t given up quickly paired off and leaned against each other, fumbling with one another’s wrists, trying to find the knots.

Oh... Seoryeong let out a faint gasp even with her blue lips. Good strategy. The ones who’d been swearing and lying face-down began coming to their senses and forming pairs, too.

But for Seoryeong, things were a challenge from the very start.