—“...Who are you?”

At the man’s crude remarks, Kim Hyeon spoke in a stiff voice.

Seoryeong’s mouth hung open, and she couldn’t even think to close it. What the hell... was going on? Her mind shut down in rejection of reality, her eyelids frozen in place.

Even then, Lee Wooshin calmly continued dealing with Kim Hyeon.

“This scammer bastard’s running his greasy mouth like he means it.”

—“......”

“Sorry for leaving? You were sincere about our marriage?”

He sneered as he leaned against the dining table. The weight on one arm made his straight shoulders tilt unevenly. Dressed in a sleek coat, the man who’d just casually tortured someone with cooking oil now shook the slickness off his hands.

“You loved her?”

A dry laugh slipped through his lips. His head drooped low, his breathing heavier now. Wooshin looked like he was suppressing a wave of nausea.

He jabbed a finger into the phone screen as if it were someone’s windpipe.

“Funny how easy that shit is to say.”

—“Seoryeong, are you there? Who is this man?”

At her husband’s now subdued voice, Seoryeong jolted back to awareness and hastily pulled her gaze away from Wooshin.

The sudden derailment from her plan made her mind creak like it had seized up. Even so, it was her responsibility to bring order back to this mess.

As she approached the table from where she’d been standing at a distance, a slick hand suddenly clamped around her wrist.

“Yeah, your precious Seoryeong is right here, beside me. So what are you gonna do about it?”

“......!”

The moment their eyes met, a cold, firm look pierced her. A silent command: don’t interfere.

But... what the hell was this? The one who’d barged in and ruined her plan was that man. The roles had flipped beyond absurdity.

“Well, since you’re already talking to me, why don’t you keep going?”

—“......”

“You miss her touch? What’s with those cheap-ass lines? Did you come up with that bullshit yourself, or did someone script it for you? Unreal. That’s your idea of manipulating someone from a position of power? Pathetic.”

—“...Please don’t interfere. This is an important call...”

“Call? You smashed her face in and now you wanna talk?!”

His sudden snarl exploded through the room. Seoryeong flinched instinctively.

That tender call—how had it devolved into this mess of accusations and shouting? Her head went blank all over again.

“No matter how hard you hit her, a pretty woman like Han Seoryeong’s beauty doesn’t just go away.”

—“......”

“This is perfect. Sit there and suck your fingers while we talk.”

—“Excuse me, but could you step aside? Who the hell are you to interfere between a husband and wife? This is our private matter.”

“......!”

That was when Wooshin froze. He’d been talking like a thug on the street, spitting out words without pause, but now his jaw snapped shut. That unnatural silence sparked another wave of anxiety in Seoryeong. Her shoulders tensed as she glanced nervously at the empty oil bottle.

Maybe because she was already keyed up, but even the artificial silence from the phone seemed panicked and flustered.

Wooshin tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling, trying to catch his breath. The rise and fall of his chest was visibly rough.

“I heard you fucked her over and ran. And you’re still calling yourself her husband?”

—“Put Seoryeong back on the line. If this continues, I may have to press charges for obstruction of official duties.”

“And what kind of scumbags storm into a woman’s home alone and have the gall to say that?”

—“I repeat: if you’re not involved, step aside—”

“Involved? Of course I’m involved.”

At that moment, Wooshin’s sharp eyes shifted back to Seoryeong. He tilted his head as if considering something, then gave a small, mocking grin.

That trademark blend of recklessness and sarcasm spilled out at the worst possible time, like popcorn bursting uncontrollably.

“Don’t you see? I’m the one who filled your empty seat tonight.”

“......!”

Seoryeong recoiled in shock, practically clawing at his forearm to push him off. But he only laughed like it tickled and stood firm, unmoved like a utility pole driven into the floor.

“If this is a love triangle now, it’s our problem, asshole. So fuck off, husband.”

“....”

This is a disaster... it’s over... Seoryeong froze on the spot, too stunned to even breathe.

Her tear-dampened eyes, stirred by Kim Hyeon’s voice, went dry in an instant. Her head burned hot with shame, and she glared daggers at Wooshin—the man who’d trampled all over her carefully laid plans.

When had it started going wrong? When Wooshin found the cooking oil? No—maybe when Kim Hyeon started spewing that bullshit? No... it was probably when Wooshin rang the doorbell.

Seoryeong clenched her eyes shut, pressing down on a fury she couldn’t even pin to one person. And to be humiliated like this—in front of Kim Hyeon.

With eyes gone ice-cold, she looked between the phone and Wooshin.

This plan was wrecked. Then... in that case...

Better to give up my flesh if I can break his bones.

Her eyes, now calculating and grim, fell on Wooshin.

—“There’s a saying,” Kim Hyeon’s voice returned, “that even an owl’s cry sounds pleasant—to the owl.”

“......!”

Wooshin’s face hardened immediately.

—“It means even unpleasant sounds are sweet to the one making them. A warning about people who overestimate themselves, blind to their own flaws. I think you’d do well to keep that in mind.”

“......”

—“Put Seoryeong back on the line.”

The sudden proverb about owls felt jarringly out of place. But at the same time, it sounded like a subtle rebuke for Wooshin’s careless mention of “love triangles.”

Seoryeong just blinked at the strange standoff. The grip on her wrist tightened.

When she glanced up at Wooshin, the tendons in his jaw were standing out like roots. His lips curled coldly, and at that, her own mouth opened on instinct.

“Zero-five-nine, two-three-one-two, two-four-eight-three...”

Seoryeong recited the 21-digit Macau account number in a rush, then bit down hard.

Retreat is also a strategy. She swallowed the heat inside her and shoved the confusion down for now.

She knew. She’d known from the beginning how off Kim Hyeon felt today. The way he asked why she’d done what she did—like it was all her fault.

Even the night before he vanished, Kim Hyeon had acted strangely. The sex had been rough, different. Suspicious.

So then, by what standard was she supposed to judge who Kim Hyeon really was?

Her task now was to pick up those crumbs of truth—piece by piece.

So she didn’t react. She just listened. The illusion that Kim Hyeon would always be gentle, no matter what... that sweet delusion was cracking.

He, too, was just another agent—shifty, opportunistic, depending on the situation.

That was the bitter truth she had to accept today.

What part of Kim Hyeon had I really loved all this time?

Suddenly, a hollow fear opened in her chest. But maybe that’s the cost of loving something that never existed—endlessly wandering in the fog.

“...Until we meet again...”

Don’t die. Seoryeong mouthed the words a few more times, then abruptly hung up.

She was completely drained. With her husband’s voice still echoing in her ears, she closed her eyes.

But what mattered was what came next.

She coldly issued an order for the agents to get out. Once they were gone, the apartment filled with silence.

And then—smack!

She slapped Wooshin across the face.

“――!”

He raised one eyebrow, but his head didn’t even flinch.

“Do you even realize what you just did, Instructor? I’m not apologizing.”

Seoryeong’s whole face twisted ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) like someone who’d had their most precious thing ripped away.

“He was my husband...! Who the hell are you to get in the way like that...?!”

Only then did Wooshin slowly run his tongue across the corner of his lip, like the spot was starting to sting.

“...You still call him your husband after hearing all that shit?”

A cold laugh escaped him.

“What did you say when you found me at Blast Corp? Asked if I’d lend you a hand beating the bastard up, right? Fine. Consider that hand lent—employee benefits, let’s say. But don’t say another fucking word. I’m gonna drop dead from high blood pressure.”

He shot her a sharp glare as he turned away. Only then did she notice—he hadn’t even taken off his shoes in her house. Wooshin walked back across the room, leaving muddy prints behind.

He’s just going to leave after humiliating me like that? As his back turned, a strange desperation welled up in her. No fucking way.

She started after him—but then, halfway through opening the inner door, Wooshin spun back around with a curse. His throat visibly flexed as he growled.

“Our sharp little Han Seoryeong. Tell me. That pathetic fuck on the phone—was he really your husband?”

“......!”

“You’ve wrecked your body for that kind of bastard?”

“...I don’t know.”

“What?”

“I said I don’t know.”

Her face was blank. Wooshin squinted at her, scanning every inch of her.

“I don’t know who my husband really is. What kind of person he is. That’s why I’m like this.”

She’d only ever told that story to Channa and Jeong Pilgyu, and only because it was necessary for the mission. But now, it felt like a lump was choking her.

“My husband... he’s a black operative with the NIS. That much was made crystal clear in the call.”

And saying that out loud, to Wooshin of all people—revealing her deepest secret—was oddly humiliating. But then again, he was a man who’d ruined a family too. She swallowed that shame down quickly.

Thankfully, Wooshin only twitched his brow slightly and kept that foul mouth of his shut.

“I married him under false pretenses. And he disappeared in an instant. Even my blindness—turns out they caused that. I don’t know why. But whatever the reason, I have to catch him. To interrogate him. Or whatever.”

Wooshin stared down at her without a word.

“People said he’d never be found. Told me to just give up. Especially someone like me, with no skills. They said black operatives don’t leave a trace—not a hair, not a clue.”

“......”

“But today, for the first time... I reached him.”

Seoryeong’s breath hitched and poured out in a shudder.

“Don’t you get it? I could’ve gotten more. I could’ve pushed him further. And you ruined that perfect chance...!”

“So—”

And with that, Wooshin shrugged off his coat and asked coldly:

“You just sat there and listened to that bullshit about how you’ll never be loved by anyone else?”

“......!”

“Seoryeong. If he told you to suck cock all day, would you do it?”