A loud gurgle erupted from Seoryeong’s stomach—an unfortunate thunderclap in the silence.

“Ugh...”

Even in that moment of embarrassment, the warmth between them had begun to thaw her frozen limbs. Her body instinctively wriggled closer, chasing heat.

She pressed her chilled cheek against the warmest spot she could find—just under his chin, where his pulse throbbed strong and steady.

Lee Wooshin didn’t even flinch. Instead, he leaned in and rubbed his jaw against her like it was the most natural thing in the world. The strange sensation startled her.

“Instructor... do you, maybe... have a daughter?”

“What?”

“I mean, you’re holding me like this is familiar. Like you’ve done it before.”

He made a face like he’d been insulted, then screwed up his features in disbelief.

“What exactly does Recruit Han Seoryeong think of me?”

“Excuse me?”

“An instructor taking out his frustrations at work after being cheated on... and now I’m a divorced dad with a kid?”

“Uh... well...”

Her hesitant reply made him grit his teeth and shut his eyes.

Then, with a heavy sigh, the tension seemed to leave his body all at once. Like a lock being undone, words slipped out of him—unintentionally, perhaps. His eyes remained closed.

“I didn’t have a daughter. But my wife... she was younger than me. Clumsy. Needed a lot of holding. Maybe that’s why it looked familiar.”

His words were strangely tender, even though his eyes stayed sharp and cynical as ever.

“That’s... surprising.”

“What is.”

“You seemed more... domestic than I expected.”

He let out a bitter laugh, but it was impossible to tell what he meant by it.

“So why did your wife cheat on someone like you?” she asked suddenly.

Lee Wooshin opened his eyes quietly. Beneath half-lowered lids, his irises gleamed coldly as they bore down on her. The way his face locked tight with repressed irritation made her instantly regret it.

It had slipped out—just curiosity—but she knew then she’d hit a landmine. She scrambled to fix it.

“I mean... it just reminded me of my husband.”

His entire body flinched.

Thinking she’d made him uncomfortable, Seoryeong rushed to explain.

“Of course, they’re completely different. My husband looked like... a proper Korean mountain rock.”

“......”

“But still... sometimes you look weirdly alike.”

His brows twitched, displeased.

“Weren’t you the one who said there wasn’t a single redeemable part of me—unlike Instructor Jin Hoje?”

“I did say that... But you hold people really well.”

The unfamiliar scent of his skin, the hardened muscle pressed against her—it was all foreign. Especially the rough, careless way his hands handled her body.

Yet somehow, being held like this—feeling enclosed—took the fear away. It was a similar kind of comfort.

She furrowed her brows and shook her head slightly, uneasy at the thought. Letting herself feel at ease here was a mistake. That’s why she’d brought up his wife—to draw a line in her own mind.

“Do you... ever think about her? Your ex-wife?”

He said nothing. Just stared at her.

Then, slowly, coldly, he answered:

“Why bother digging up the past? Makes it hard to swallow.”

His eyes, so close, were razor-sharp—like the edge of a glacier.

From what she’d seen of him, Lee Wooshin never attached himself to anything. He carried no weight. The only thing he ever held onto during the hellish training was that old accordion—and even that would probably be tossed in the trash the moment it was over.

Even when joking with the other recruits, he never used their names. He always read them off their nametags like strangers. He didn’t hide his indifference.

“Don’t keep going back to the past, Recruit Han Seoryeong.”

“......”

“There’s nothing there for you.”

He broke eye contact and looked down at the blinding white drop below.

Such a defensive glint in such a brazen man’s eyes. Snowflakes landed on the sculpted line of his jaw.

As she watched the subtle shifts in his expression—like something tangled and hard to read—an old feeling returned. The same one she’d felt in the infirmary: a strange, reluctant empathy.

Yeah... betrayal from the person you loved. You don’t know it until you’ve lived through it.

The way your life becomes something broken overnight. The hopeless certainty that it will never be repaired. The way love twists into humiliation, and wedges itself into your chest like a weapon... It was violence. A form of ruin.

Seoryeong bit her lip against the bitter thoughts. Maybe that’s why people sit in circles and talk about their pasts—because holding it in hurts too much.

Right now, Lee Wooshin—who might have suffered something similar—felt suddenly more human. The feeling of solidarity was stronger than she expected.

“Achoo—!”

She sneezed hard, then curled into herself again. Every breath fogged the inside of the balaclava, making it damp and cold. Finally, she yanked it down and inhaled a sharp gust of frigid air.

Her lips, already pale, were now a frozen blue.

It was warm inside the coat, so why did her body ache and feel so exhausted?

Her eyelids were growing heavier by the second. Just as she began to drift—

Smack! A sharp sting landed across her cheek.

“Recruit Han Seoryeong. Stay awake. Keep talking.”

“Huh...?”

“If you start slurring or your thoughts get muddy, I’m going to keep slapping you.”

“I’m fine...”

“Bullshit. Your respiration’s already slowed.”

At some point, his fingers had pressed to the skin beneath her nose. He clicked his tongue and pinched her cheek.

“Don’t start slipping. Focus.”

“You know I haven’t eaten... just been drinking water, so...”

She’d thought she could simply endure it until the rescue team came. But staying conscious in a drained body was harder than she’d expected.

Even she could feel it—her heart was slowing, her muscles stiffening. Worse than when she’d been alone in the mountains. Fatigue was crushing her like a weight.

No... no, I can’t pass out. I have to get into the Special Security Team. I still have so much evil shit to do. I still have to keep an eye on Lee Wooshin. I still have to ruin my bastard of a husband’s life...

She mumbled through the haze, her thoughts drifting aimlessly.

Then she shook her head, trying to force her eyes open.

“Instructor... I think... my lips are frozen. Please don’t hit me again...”

“No. Keep moving.”

“......”

He kept shaking her pinched cheek, but her consciousness was slipping.

“Recruit Han Seoryeong. Do you hear me?”

“......”

“I told you not to stay still.”

“......”

“Say something. I don’t care if it’s nonsense. If you pass out, it’s over.”

“......”

“Han Seoryeong...! Talk about dicks if you have to—just keep your mind focused!”

“Guuh... it’s... so cold... just wanna...”

Her voice dragged unnaturally, like her tongue was made of ice. Her speech slurred, her vision blurred.

Heavy snowflakes landed on her face and melted there. If they sat like this for a few more hours, maybe they’d become snowmen.

“If you don’t answer right now, I’m going to bite you.”

“...Eh?”

“That’s a warning. Wake up. Talk. Move your lips.”

“......”

“Don’t come crying to me later. Wake the fuck up.”

A hand swept gently over her brows, taming the line of her eyebrow. The familiar motion jolted her eyes open.

His face—grim as ever—stared down at her, his fingers pressed to the base of her neck, watching her vitals with surgical intensity.

Still... so pretty.

Seoryeong stared into his frosted irises at close range. Thought it absently.

Not every pair of eyes was this beautiful...

What about Kim Hyeon’s eyes?

But when she tried to picture them, her mind returned only emptiness—like the hollow of a wedding photo frame.

She frowned and blinked, forcing her vision to refocus.

No. I have to stay awake. I can’t let it end like this.

Just as she finally parted her frozen lips— 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

“Instructor... um... we’ve got time, and we’re bored, so...”

Their breaths mingled, two clouds of condensation curling in the air between them.

“Why don’t we... trash-talk our spouses t—”

His breath grew rough. And then—he bit down on her lips.

Soft flesh was sucked into his mouth, and warm breath spilled between them.

Lee Wooshin opened his jaw wider, forcefully transferring his body heat through the contact. His breath poured through the seam between their lips—hot, thick, overwhelming.

She could feel the wetness, the texture of saliva slicking their skin. But his tongue never entered—he simply pressed and sucked against the surface, calculated, restrained.

“Hhh...”

It was a kiss meant only to survive. Not affectionate. Not violent. Just calculated and deliberate—a functional mouth-to-mouth.

But when his lips closed over the inner lining of her mouth, even he lost control for a breath. His breathing hitched. Little grunts escaped, clipped and stifled.

Still, he seemed obsessed with maintaining control. Every part of him radiated cold discipline.

And yet... she couldn’t tell whose breath was whose anymore. Their frozen lips began to thaw.

What... what the hell is happening?

The thought finally landed. Seoryeong jerked back, confused—but her head was immediately seized.

“Mmgh...!”

He gripped her skull with one hand and bit down harder, sealing her in.

His eyes opened, fierce and glaring—and with a subtle tilt of his head, he found the angle that fit.

The heat that began quietly in his body was no longer just warmth. Something unfamiliar was simmering beneath the surface.

Still no tongue. But his lips swallowed hers like they were trying to consume her whole—messy, greedy, ravaging her soft inner tissue.

In his eyes—she saw it... A dangerous hunger.