"Ah, Team Leader! The meat’s burning! Hand me the tongs!"

Jin Hoje snatched the tongs away from his superior, who was suddenly gulping down water.

"Anyway, Kim Taemin—what would you do if I told you this face wasn’t really my face?"

"Thank fuck. I always hated looking at it."

"You bastard...!"

The first to respond to the off-the-wall question was, of course, Kim Taemin—his so-called ball-and-chain buddy. Even in that brief moment, the look of mutual disgust in their eyes made it obvious they were close.

"Who gives a shit about faces? I only aim for the head."

He flicked the cap off his soju bottle, landing it squarely on Jin Hoje’s forehead—a shot worthy of Blast Corp’s best sniper.

The two of them put each other in headlocks, shaking the table with their scuffle. Wooshin, fed up, gave both of them a sharp kick under the table. They shut up immediately.

"What about you, Dawit-hyung?"

Even with his flushed, red face, Jin Hoje kept going, clearly determined to get an answer from every last team member.

Yoo Dawit wore glasses over thin lips, giving him a reserved look—but the moment he opened his mouth, a calm, even tone flowed out without pause.

"...Well, I think punishment would come on its own, whether I acted or not. Psalm 7, verse 14 says such a person digs a hole and keeps digging, but in the end, falls into it themselves... Their misery will fall on their own crown..."

"Team Leader?"

Jin Hoje cut him off with a wave of the hand and turned to Wooshin, who sat with his arms crossed, leaning back in his seat.

"Recruit Jin Hoje must have too much time on his hands, watching videos like that and giggling."

"Do I really look that pathetic to you? It came up while I was searching for tactical footage, sir!"

"Pointless..."

"Still, we should be prepared. If people like that exist, we could be the next ones to get screwed...!"

"I think that’s enough drinking for tonight."

As Wooshin checked his watch, Jin Hoje leaned on his elbow and mumbled in increasingly slurred speech:

"If it’s a woman, I’d probably undress her politely. If it’s a guy, I’d just throw him in the water. Let him soak until the mask peels off."

He grinned widely as he spoke—classic Jin Hoje, the former UDT diver, unshakeable in the water.

He’d grown up in a family that raised tuna and had been diving since he was a kid. Back then, his job was to herd schools of tuna into underwater pens—at a depth of 33 meters, using only basic skin-diving gear. The official name for the job was tuna cowboy.

When Seoryeong first heard that, she’d burst into laughter. That swimmer’s body, chasing tuna like some mermaid cowboy...

Eventually, he developed a knack for mine detection and coastal obstacle removal, and ended up enlisting in the Marines. It wasn’t that he loved fish—he just thought wrestling with underwater mines was cooler.

But when Kim Taemin was hazed in the military, Jin Hoje ditched his post without hesitation and followed him straight into Blast Corp.

"When things get complicated or confusing, the ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ best fix is a dive. So if anyone here seems suspiciously ‘masked,’ mind if I just toss them in the sea, Team Leader?"

"Only if you dunk them head-first."

Wooshin stood, grabbed his coat, and responded with a chill in his tone.

"Half-measures don’t cut it."

"Oh...!"

"This concludes tonight’s dinner. Everyone call a driver."

As Wooshin took the lead in shutting things down, the gathering began to disperse.

"Hey, that’s not fair—we haven’t heard from the rookie yet...!"

Suddenly, Jin Hoje stood and dropped into the seat beside Seoryeong, their faces almost touching. The smell of alcohol wafted between them.

Her heart lurched violently. What the hell... Her eyelids fluttered. Broad shoulders, sculpted features she wanted to touch.

Seoryeong clenched her fidgeting hands and spoke.

"To be honest, I don’t really get it."

She’d been skeptical from the start, just listening to the others talk.

"How can a mask change someone’s entire face?"

"Is our rookie lacking in imagination?"

"Even so, no matter how good the disguise, wouldn’t it still seem artificial?"

"That’s why the video’s titled SHOCKING EXPOSÉ!"

"I figured that was just a clickbait script."

At her deadpan reply, Jin Hoje groaned like a kicked puppy. That hulking figure looking so unsure reminded her too much of Kim Hyeon. Some small part of her softened.

"But if—if—it were true..."

To find out that the face you trusted was fake. Even just imagining it made her chest tighten painfully.

She grabbed a half-empty shot glass off the table and downed it.

Ugh...! The sharp burn of alcohol slid down her throat, making her wince.

Still, if it’s true...

"I don’t think I could handle it. I’ve already been deceived by too many things."

As if willing her thoughts to stop, Seoryeong shut her mind down.

She didn’t want to dive into that abyss. That was enough drinking for tonight. Everyone was clearly drunk and spouting nonsense anyway.

Just then, her eyes met Wooshin’s—he was standing completely still, staring at her with a strange, dark expression. A second later, he turned and walked out of the room.

Only then did Seoryeong feel like the alcohol was really hitting her.

Outside, snow flurries were falling.

In the middle of the city, tiny white flecks drifted through the streetlights, making the great snowstorm of the past feel like some half-forgotten dream.

Kim Taemin and Jin Hoje exited arm-in-arm, while Yoo Dawit wandered toward a quiet corner, shaking his cigarette case.

Seoryeong watched their retreating backs in silence. She’d gotten a rough read on their histories and personalities tonight—it had been a productive reconnaissance session.

Haa...

A breath left her lips, fogging in the cold. She tightened her coat and turned to go—but headlights cut into her vision.

It was a Jeep she didn’t recognize. The kind made for rough terrain—perfect for a drifter soldier.

A moment later, the dark-tinted window rolled down. Inside, Wooshin looked up at her, one eyebrow raised.

"Get in. It’s past midnight—good luck finding a cab."

"I thought everyone drinks at their own risk."

"And I am."

"......."

The tension between them was hard to place, but she opened the passenger door without protest. No reason to turn down a free favor.

Inside, the smell of unfamiliar cologne mingled with leather seats. The car was warm from the heater, the seat perfectly heated to loosen her chilled body. Seoryeong fastened her seatbelt, her buzz intensifying.

Wooshin turned the wheel smoothly and merged into the road. There was always something elusive about his scent. His skin, his clothes—they never smelled the same twice.

She stared at the melting flurries on the windshield, but eventually couldn’t resist asking:

"But Instructor, you’re just driving without a GPS?"

"......!"

"You didn’t even ask for my address."

"......Where do you live?"

He reacted a beat too late—but Seoryeong reached out before he could finish.

"I’ll input it myself."

Silence filled the car. Neither spoke. Just the hum of the engine and the empty highway stretched ahead.

The wipers swept across the glass, and a soft pop song played on the radio. As the warmth wrapped around her, Seoryeong’s eyelids began to lower.

That’s when the man beside her finally spoke.

"I first met Jin Hoje ten years ago in the UDT."

Through her fading vision, his face remained unreadable. The taillights of the car ahead cast red shadows over the leather interior.

"He was two classes behind me. That face—like he’d never seen hardship in his life—left an impression. He looked like a clean, polished pebble. Strong and smooth."

"......."

"Every time I saw him—eating well, obeying orders—I thought, ‘This idiot’s surprisingly reliable.’ Loyal to his seniors, devoted to his team."

...Was he bragging about his subordinate now? But that deep, dead voice didn’t match the words—it felt off. Seoryeong began to nod off.

"......."

Watching her drift into sleep, Wooshin raised the radio volume slightly, then continued.

"People who are earnest in every moment—they’re useful. First, they don’t arouse suspicion. Second, they blend in easily."

"......."

"That’s why I studied that naive face. A face that probably only ever got scolded by his parents. I watched it over and over—memorized it. It’s easier to mimic someone else than to drag up my own feelings."

"......."

"And that’s where Kim Hyeon came from."

Wooshin let out a quiet laugh and leaned his head back against the seat.

"Your husband’s original blueprint... was that bastard Jin Hoje."

His voice turned sour as he muttered the words.

Seoryeong slept peacefully, completely unaware. The GPS blared a sharp voice announcing a left turn—he shut it off and twisted the wheel right instead.

"Seoryeong, when the real thing appears, you react like a damn ghost hound. Makes the decoy feel like shit."