The heavy pressure on her shoulders lifted as his hands pulled away.

Lee Wooshin stood up, calmly stepping back from the bed. With a deliberate, composed motion, he adjusted his clothes, straightening his shirt and rolling his shoulders as though he were smoothing out any remaining tension.

His gaze settled back on her, cool and controlled, as if he had just placed the decision entirely in her hands.

Wait... what did I just hear?

Seoryeong remained on the bed, propped up by her elbows, staring up at him with a dazed expression. Now that he was standing away from her, she could finally gather her breath to speak.

“Did you really just say... you’d help me find my husband?”

Her voice was cautious, as if testing the words to see if they were real. The unexpected offer felt suspicious and disorienting, yet her wide, dark eyes trembled with a mix of tentative hope and gnawing doubt.

Kim Hyeon.

A man so deeply buried within NIS’s classified files that the Deputy Director himself had personally intervened to shut down her interrogation. A Black Operative, hidden so thoroughly that even Lee Wooshin, with all his tactical acumen, had no way of knowing who he truly was.

And yet, he was the first person to stand in front of her and declare — without a shadow of hesitation — that he would help her find him.

Her heart, which had been hanging limp like a dead weight, now thudded violently against her ribs. The fog of exhaustion that had clouded her mind seemed to dissolve, swept away by the intensity of his words.

But...

“Han Seoryeong,” he said, his voice as firm as a blade. “You said you wanted to work under me, didn’t you? That means you’d have to follow my orders without question. But this is something separate.”

“......”

“I want you to follow my instructions outside the field too. Not just in training.”

His hand extended toward her, large and steady. The first rays of the sunrise filtered through the window, casting a golden halo over his imposing figure. His words sank into her, heavy and unyielding, like a lighthouse beacon in the middle of a raging sea.

Seoryeong took a deep breath, trying to swallow down the lump of emotion that had lodged itself in her throat.

But...

“The condition is this,” he said, his voice chillingly calm. “You stop obsessing over other men’s dicks.”

Give it up? 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The only solid lead I have...?

Not even once?

Her hand hovered uncertainly in the air, unable to reach for his.

Lee Wooshin’s expression darkened, and in one swift stride, he closed the distance between them.

Seoryeong flinched, instinctively throwing her hands up to cover her face.

“Wait...! I haven’t showered yet, so... please, just back up a little...!”

Her desperate attempt to maintain some semblance of personal space was promptly ignored.

With a mocking smirk, he said, “What’s dirty? Where?”

Before she could resist, his hand shot forward, seizing hers in a crushing grip. The force was almost bruising, like he was forcing a contract upon her without her consent.

Seoryeong’s instinct was to yank her hand back, but the more she struggled, the tighter his grip became. It was like being caught in a snare — the harder she fought, the more it tightened around her.

“I don’t mean to be rude,” she said through clenched teeth, her voice a strained but controlled monotone, “but I don’t want to be under surveillance.”

For a split second, Lee Wooshin’s face twisted in pure disbelief, as though the concept of rejection hadn’t even crossed his mind.

His expression was so smug, so infuriatingly arrogant, that Seoryeong couldn’t help but feel a flicker of satisfaction as she continued, her voice more assertive now.

“How am I supposed to trust you and grab your hand when I don’t know what kind of orders you’re going to give? It feels like a leash. And I don’t like the idea of being tied down, having to obey.”

“......”

“And whether I suffer more or not, I can find my husband on my own. If I wasn’t prepared for that, I wouldn’t have started digging for a needle in a haystack in the first place.”

Her heart was still racing from the allure of his offer, but she bit down hard on her resolve and refused.

Lee Wooshin swallowed thickly, his throat bobbing with suppressed irritation. His jaw clenched and released as he forced himself to calm down.

“So, what? You think it’s so unreasonable for me to ask you to focus on fewer dicks instead of more?”

“I get more stubborn when someone tells me not to do something,” Seoryeong shot back, her voice a shade too calm.

“......”

“No offense. It’s not just you. I’ve been like that ever since I was a kid.”

At her casual confession, Lee Wooshin leaned his head back and closed his eyes as if searching the ceiling for patience. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and rough.

“You don’t know this, Han Seoryeong, but... even for me, this was a hard decision to make.”

The honesty in his voice was unexpected. And looking closer, Seoryeong could see it — a hollowness that had not been there during hell week. The man who had slept soundly amidst the chaos now looked like he hadn’t closed his eyes in days.

“But, Instructor.”

Seoryeong’s face was expressionless as she spoke.

“If I were a male recruit, would you be doing this? If I were a guy who wrote inappropriate notes and had sexual thoughts, would you be this furious? Would you be shoving me onto the bed and demanding I stop?”

“......!”

“Would you still be interfering in my personal life like this, micromanaging and controlling me?”

For a moment, Lee Wooshin’s face twisted in a pained grimace. Seoryeong caught it, and her eyes narrowed.

“What if it was Instructor Jin Hoje? What if he were switching out lovers every night?”

“Why the hell is that bastard’s name coming up?”

“It’s just an example.”

“Have you and that guy exchanged greetings or something?”

“It’s # Nоvеlight # just an example.”

Lee Wooshin’s reaction was not normal. That much was clear. He wasn’t just a boss who opposed workplace romance or a capricious superior with mood swings. His anger carried a deeply personal edge, something raw and unresolved.

Seoryeong had seen the way he had crumpled that note, as though it had personally offended him. As if that crude list had struck a nerve.

Is this really normal?

How many months have we even known each other?

What gives him the right to tear into me like this?

But despite the storm raging in his eyes, Lee Wooshin said nothing.

“You’re unusually harsh with me,” Seoryeong said, her tone flat. “Ruthless, even.”

The issue that Lee Wooshin was particularly merciless about was sex. The fact that she was a "woman," and the fact that she had devised a "promiscuous" plan that she couldn't reveal to others.

These elements collided and erupted in the torture training, and the more it intensified, the more personal, defensive, and obsessively fastidious Lee Wooshin became.

Whenever she showed signs of clinging to her husband or refused to give up, he would sneer or mock her.

Whenever he sensed even a hint of romance or sex in her demeanor, his sharpness became almost palpable. Was this an appropriate way to treat a mere recruit?

He claimed he disliked having a female recruit around, that she was a distraction, that she made him repeat himself, that she was full of nonsensical excuses, that she was too stubborn... But Seoryeong wasn’t buying it anymore.

Why did he react so violently whenever topics like women, sex, or husbands came up?

“Instructor, have you ever been married?”

“......!”

“Even if it wasn't marriage, maybe a deep relationship akin to that.”

The hand that had been gripping her so fiercely suddenly loosened.

Up until now, Seoryeong had neither the need nor the urge to ask her instructor personal questions, but the situation had changed. Seoryeong was now holding onto the weakness she had detected in him, beginning to turn the negotiation table around.

“And perhaps... are you separated now?”

There must be a reason behind his cynical outlook on emotions and techniques.

There was a peculiar sense of kinship she felt toward him, as if she had glimpsed a similar failure in his past. But right now, the last thing she could afford was to feel sympathy for someone.

Her voice softened further.

“Then, did your wife... cheat on you?”

“......”

“Maybe she even kept a list of men like I did?”

Before she could even finish, a shallow breath escaped from somewhere. Lee Wooshin abruptly yanked his hand away from Seoryeong’s, his face contorted into a savage expression. His palm, which had been gripping her so tightly, was now damp with sweat.

He covered his eyes with both hands, his jaw clenched, his Adam’s apple bobbing hurriedly. The tension in his jawline was anything but ordinary.

So it was true... it was true.

That gaze — the way he flared up as if it were his own business — it all made sense now. Even someone like him couldn’t escape complications when it came to matters of the opposite sex.

“I heard somewhere that the aftereffects of a divorce are similar to the PTSD experienced by soldiers returning from Vietnam.”

“Han Seoryeong.”

His voice cut through the air, a sharp warning.

“I’m sorry about your wife.”

“That’s enough.”

“But don’t take it out on me. I’m not your woman, Instructor.”

“......!”

She saw the icy look in his eyes turn wild and vicious for a moment. But even that quickly dissipated.

His face, now devoid of any discernible emotion, was like a discarded, crumpled-up piece of leather. He stood motionless, maintaining a calculated distance.

“If the way I live my life is too hard for you to bear, then go to a hospital and talk to a counselor. Trying to control me is your problem, not mine.”

“......”

“It’s your problem, not mine.”

Seoryeong drew a firm line.

“I’m not the woman from your past.”

“......”

“I know I stand out in the unit, but don’t let yourself get confused and lash out at me because of it. I don’t owe you the right to humiliate and control me outside the field.”

“......”

“If there’s someone you’re resentful toward, go find them and beat them up. Why the hell are you taking it out on me when I’m doing my best? What do you think you’re doing with that face of yours?”

Seoryeong shoved him away, her expression blank, and finally climbed off the bed. Ignoring her aching body, she marched toward the infirmary door.

Then, as if sealing the conversation shut, she glanced back at him. His expression was locked in that odd, ambiguous smirk that couldn’t quite decide whether it was a smile or a grimace.

“For now, go outside and get yourself a date.”

“......!”

“Find someone nice, someone cute, and have some enjoyable sex. Paranoia, anger management issues, and sexual frustration all mixed together? It’ll only make it harder for you to meet a good woman in the future.”

“......”

“Once you’ve done that, I’ll help you find my husband just as you want. That’s my condition.”

You dared to use my husband to strike a deal with me first. You dared to dangle my husband in front of me as if you had the right. Seoryeong held back the rage bubbling inside her as she returned the choice back to him. Just like a crumpled-up piece of paper he had once thrown at her, she too, now rendered his offer useless.

Seoryeong exited the infirmary and made her way straight to the showers. She glanced over her shoulder, half-expecting him to come after her in a rage, but the door that had receded into the distance remained eerily still.

Later that afternoon, she received word that Hur Channa had regained consciousness.