Han Seoryeong swiftly looped the wire meant for a snare around his wrist. But the man, snapping back to his senses in an instant, swatted her hand away and gripped her wrist tightly, as if scolding her.

“Trying to burn your instructor’s whole face off, are «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» you?”

He didn’t even flinch at the fire slowly crawling up the branch toward his ear. Instead, he gave her a crooked, disturbing smile.

Then, glancing between her calm face and Seong Wookchan’s bloodied one, he suddenly pressed the inside of his cheek with his tongue, like something had finally clicked.

“Why are you walking around smeared with someone else’s blood? That’s disgusting.”

The moment his hand moved toward her face, Seoryeong slashed out with her dagger. Lee Wooshin leaned back effortlessly, but she followed up, aiming the heavy blade once more at a vital spot.

He raised an eyebrow with an amused expression, as if to say Oh? Look at this, but a satisfied smirk had already spread across his lips.

“Such a dutiful recruit we have in Han Seoryeong. Attacking her own instructor without hesitation.”

“Urgh...!”

“Good to see my teaching paid off.”

Seoryeong clenched her teeth to suppress her growing unease. The fire still clung to the blanket draped over him, so she ducked low to avoid the smoke.

She drove her elbow into his groin and went for his wrist again, but Lee Wooshin calmly kicked her shoulder, knocking her off balance.

She sprang back up and threw a punch at his abdomen. He blocked it with his forearm, and they exchanged blows like that several times.

She used everything she’d learned to continue her attacks, but his movements stayed relaxed, slipping through each one. His ease was becoming more and more apparent.

Just as her anxiety began to mount and she extended her leg for a roundhouse kick—

“We should at least put out the fire, don’t you think?”

“......!”

He caught her ankle instead, and her head was slammed down into the snow.

The icy chill snapped her wide awake. She immediately swung the snare in her hand. He dodged quickly, but the wire grazed the corner of his mouth, leaving a shallow cut. Lee Wooshin ran his tongue gently over the wound as it began to swell.

“You were all worried about my precious face a moment ago. Why so rough now?”

“Urgh...!”

Suddenly, his thigh locked around her right groin like a vice, stiff as stone, completely immobilizing her.

She twisted her body and clawed into the snow, desperate to get away. But he had already taken the dominant position and wasn’t budging an inch.

The fire on his shoulder hadn’t gone out—it was feeding on the twisted straw, flaring higher each time the wind picked up. The blanket wrapped around him was now blazing even more fiercely.

That insane bastard...!

“Hey...! Why the hell haven’t you taken that off yet?!”

Seoryeong cried out, panicked that sparks might land on her own body.

“I thought Recruit Han Seoryeong set me on fire out of concern for her instructor.”

“......!”

“Why take it off? It’s cold out here. This is nice.”

“Your hair—watch your hair, damn it!”

She shrieked and, grabbing a handful of snow, flung it wildly like salt. She aimed for the fire, but oddly enough, it kept hitting his head.

But it seemed that only made things worse—burning embers began to drop one by one onto her insulated uniform.

Clicking his tongue, Lee Wooshin finally threw off the blanket and buried it upside-down in the snow. Seoryeong watched the flames slowly die down and finally allowed the tension to drain from her shoulders.

“Seriously, where did you pick up such trashy tricks?”

At that moment, the man who had locked her down suddenly tightened his thigh around hers.

“Urgh...!”

It felt like being clamped by a wild beast. The lower halves of their bodies locked together so tightly, blood circulation was nearly cut off.

“Your instructor never taught you to play with fire like that.”

“.......”

“Where’d you learn such a cheap little move?”

Teeth clenched from the pain threatening to tear her leg apart, Seoryeong bit her lip. Being bound between his thighs was a pathetic sight. But if she fought back harder, her knee might actually shatter.

“Recruit Han Seoryeong. Are you not going to answer?”

“Urgh...!”

“Which filthy bastard taught you this crap?”

“Alone...! Goddamn it, I just... figured it out on my own...”

She spoke through clenched teeth, her voice thin from the pain. But Lee Wooshin didn’t look the least bit convinced. His expression hardened, and he squeezed even tighter. It was getting hard for her to breathe.

“If you’re going to fake an emergency rescue call, at least pick your target properly. You stirred up half your instructor and now you think you’ve done enough to hurl insults?”

“......!”

“You wake me up at dawn, burn my shoulder, scratch my lip—and you think now’s the time to run your mouth? Be smart and lower your tail. Who’s the one caught right now?”

His piercing gaze scanned her bruised, blotchy face in clear displeasure.

“Being stubborn is fine, but if you don’t know when to quit, it’s just a stupid death wish.”

“.......”

“If I’d been the real enemy, I’d have grabbed you first. Then you’d be the one burning right now.”

His voice chilled like a grading pen gliding across a failed test sheet.

“Did you understand that properly?”

“...Yes.”

Her pride was wounded, but she knew this was something she needed to absorb deeply.

“If you can’t finish what you start, it always comes back at you—harder.”

“.......”

Their eyes met up close. Just as she thought he looked oddly troubled, a sharp cold hit her cheek.

“Urgh...! What the hell—?!”

“And don’t go around smearing yourself with other people’s blood.”

He had scooped up a fistful of snow and started rubbing it across her face without warning.

It was unclear whether he was trying to wash her or scrub clams, but the snow granules scraped her skin harshly.

“You think it’s okay to spread what came off someone else’s body all over your face?”

“Urgh, stop...!”

“I get the intent, but that’s how bad habits start. Don’t.”

She twisted her head away, but his rough hands didn’t relent.

The moment she reflexively balled her fist again, he suddenly furrowed his brow. Then, as if something had caught his attention, he leaned in close, almost brushing her nose.

“What’s this?”

His voice slipped out low, almost by accident.

“You—this...”

He yanked open her collar without warning. The cold wind bit into her bare skin, making her flinch. He started rubbing something at the back of her neck as if he’d found a foreign object.

Ah...!

Seoryeong winced involuntarily and let out a pained breath. Wooshin tilted his head, seemingly confused.

With veins bulging on his hands, he scooped up more snow, overflowing in his palm. This time, he pressed it directly against her neck.

Seoryeong shivered to her bones and kicked out again, but the pressure against her skin only intensified. It burned like a fresh wound.

“You’ve been bitten, Seoryeong.”

His voice was eerily flat. But something dark and heavy coiled through it, enough to pin her in place despite her trembling.

“Some fucker really sank their teeth into you.”

“......!”

In that moment, the image of Seong Wookchan biting her neck flashed vividly in her mind. Her eyes involuntarily flicked toward the trunk of a nearby tree.

Then, without a sound, the man watching her so closely curled his lips into a silent smile.

“Ahhh—of course. That guy.”

He sounded almost like he was coaxing a frightened child.

“So you jabbed him, huh. Didn’t go deep enough though. Did he bite you anywhere else?”

“What...”

The man pinning her down stared at her quietly.

“From where to where did he leave those teeth marks? Even pricks like that tend to follow some fucked-up narrative arc.”

“......!”

“So? Where else did he sink his teeth into?”

He exhaled sharply through his teeth, like he couldn’t bear not gnawing on something.

“Did he pull up your clothes, grope your skin, maybe even lick you with that filthy tongue of his?”

“......!”

Her face burned red all the way to the tips of her ears.

“Those bite marks and bruises are disgusting, but weirdly pretty too. Let’s count how many there are, shall we? That way your instructor can hand down a nice, fair punishment.”

Seoryeong blinked slowly, staring at Lee Wooshin’s relaxed, smiling face.

She didn’t know why, but something inside her screamed that she needed to get out of there. Now.

“If your husband sees this... fuck...”

Sometimes your body moves before your brain does.

“That bastard who ran away might just get pissed off enough to come back, right?”

Without hesitation, Seoryeong shoved the snowball she’d been hiding straight into his eye. Since he always wore contacts, it was the closest thing she could call a weak spot.

He recoiled instantly, hands flying to his face. While he was blinded, she shoved with all her strength and flipped their positions.

Seoryeong broke free at last and started sprinting.

“Hah...! Haa...!”

Wasn’t the test supposed to be capturing the instructor? Why the hell am I running away? That thought crossed her mind for a moment—until she glanced back and saw a figure chasing her like a tiger.

Then, all thoughts vanished.

Right. It was that face.

She was running because of that crazed face. Because it was completely unhinged.