"...Pardon?"

"When I defect to the North," Seoryeong said, flatly.

"W-Wait just a minute...! Did you just say you’re going to defect from North Korea?"

"No. To the North."

“...!”

"Not down, up. I'm going up, Channa."

Channa, utterly speechless, pointed toward the sky with a dumbfounded expression. Her long eyes widened so far it looked like they might tear at the corners.

"Up? That way up?"

"Yes."

"...This unnie’s gone completely nuts!"

Channa slammed the table and stood up, ignoring the sharp stares from nearby customers. Her wide pupils shook violently from side to side.

"You’ll get shot and die doing that!"

"Technically, it’s not a real defection. Just a performance."

"You crazy unnie, that’s the same goddamn thing! You wanna end up fish food with a tunnel blown through your gut?!"

Seoryeong briefly wondered if it was too much, spitting all over her like that, especially since they were still on cautious terms. But she stopped caring.

She calmly sipped her tea, watching Channa flail around, face bright red. Early twenties, huh? She had a hell of a lot of energy. That kind of vigor felt unfamiliar, even new.

"You said it yourself, Channa. The food at NIS is good."

"Sure, I did say that, but you look like you’d be mixing blood into your rice behind bars!"

"But really, how’s a woman like me, with no skills, no special talents, [N O V E L I G H T] supposed to track down a black agent who vanished?"

There was a strange weight in the low, trailing tone of her voice.

"So I need to be caught. On purpose."

She turned to the window, idly touching her wrist. The marks her husband had left during that last night together were already long gone. Still, she rubbed the skin slowly, as if recalling the lingering sting.

Simple assault or theft wouldn’t cut it. That wouldn’t get her face-to-face with those people. If it was the National Intelligence Service she wanted to draw out, the scale had to be bigger—international crime level.

But Seoryeong was just a newly disillusioned housewife, had no formal training, and her husband was unimaginably far away.

All she could really do was run at it head-on.

"That’s why I’m starting with defection."

Yes, at the very least, a violation of the National Security Act.

Something she could pull off with just her own body. They’d label her a defector, detain her, interrogate her, investigate her.

And then—what if they stumbled upon someone as suspicious as Kim Hyun? Wouldn't he become a suspect, too?

"Aaaaagh...!"

Channa clutched her head and groaned like she was about to cry.

"If Oppa finds out I helped plan this shit, he’s gonna rip every hair off my head!"

Oppa, as in the guy from before—Jung Pilgyu, she added quietly.

Seoryeong nodded, remembering the oddly familiar, borderline chummy way the man had acted, even though she was technically just a client. So he was family.

The word “family” stung in her gut for some reason, but she smoothed out her expression like nothing happened.

"Unnie, have you even thought about what comes after you get caught? You’re gonna trash your whole damn life. What the hell kind of revenge or romance do you think this is?"

"My life’s not as precious as you think."

"..."

"That’s enough for me. If I can see him again... even just once."

"And then what?"

Seoryeong didn’t answer. She simply ran her fingers over the teacup.

Inside the café, upbeat pop songs clashed with the noisy chatter of other customers. But she alone sat wrapped in a different atmosphere, lost in thought.

Her thick, flowing hair. A neck as straight as a deer’s. Her movements elegant, restrained, and perfectly composed. Her aura was cool and distant—enough to draw stares without saying a word.

Her gaze naturally drifted toward a couple cradling a baby. Without even blinking, she stared at the happy little family.

She could run her mouth about defection so easily, but the one thing she longed for the most—maybe she didn’t even realize it herself.

"I don’t know... should I kill him? Or love him more? What do you think?"

Channa’s fingers froze just as they were about to grasp her glass.

"If I’m allowed... maybe both would be nice."

"..."

"I want to see him. And I want to kill him... I’m already grieving every damn day."

A baby started fussing, and her eyes followed the sound briefly before shifting to the window.

But really, it wasn’t just every day—every single moment, Seoryeong felt like she was being stabbed, doused in cold water, beaten with a club. That’s what life without him felt like.

Kim Hyun didn’t just steal her sight. He stole every second they’d ever built together. It made her so angry, so bitter, she couldn’t sleep.

"...Not under the bridge—"

Channa blurted out suddenly.

She’d heard her eyesight had improved, but the current Seoryeong looked like she was blind all over again, groping the air. That sight pissed Channa off more than it should have.

"If you’re gonna get caught anyway, don’t suffer—take the car."

***

The Unification Bridge in Paju, Gyeonggi-do, crosses the Imjin River, sitting on the tense border zone.

It’s the southern gateway to the Inter-Korean Transit Office, meaning military surveillance is tight.

All reconnaissance and prep were complete.

“Hoo...”

Seoryeong climbed into her husband’s car and gripped the steering wheel tightly.

She wasn’t planning to actually defect. She just needed to look like she was. That way, she could get caught and interrogated by NIS agents.

Back when she’d first sat in this driver’s seat, she couldn’t move at all. The seat was adjusted perfectly for Kim Hyun’s body, and that alone had hurt too much.

For a while, she sat there blankly, as if the man who’d vanished into thin air had suddenly come back to life, painted vividly in front of her.

So what if he disappeared like a ghost—he left traces like this. With a surge of emotion, she stomped the accelerator.

Blazing past Tongil Park and Imjingak without a second thought, she flew down the road.

Eventually, the south checkpoint came into view—rows of yellow barricades and a giant red sign telling unauthorized vehicles to turn back.

Civilian Entry Prohibited.

Past this point, you needed a clearance pass.

Naturally, Seoryeong didn’t have one. And she didn’t slow down, either. A checkpoint soldier motioned for her to stop, but she never lifted her foot from the pedal.

She sped straight through.

“Wh-what the...!”

She barely heard the flustered soldier’s voice.

CRASH—!

The car slammed into the barricade, and her body lurched against the steering wheel, her stomach churning. Still, she shifted gears and stomped the accelerator again.

Hurry up and arrest me.

Take me to him.

Her small jaw clenched. The barricades were spaced evenly, obsessively. She swerved to shake off the soldiers pounding on her car and rammed into another barrier.

THUD—!

The back of her head slammed into the headrest, going numb. She must’ve bitten her tongue, because a foul metallic taste filled her mouth.

“Ugh...!”

Soldiers poured out of the guard post at the sound. Seoryeong, nearly within reach, rammed into the security structures even more aggressively.

Her SUV’s bumper was shattered, but her mind was laser-focused on headlines like “Woman in Her 20s Arrested for National Security Act Violation After Attempting to Cross Unification Bridge.”

Perfect. This is exactly right.

As she alternated between drive and reverse, slamming into barricades, the road grew thick with black skid marks. A clear opening appeared in the opposite lane. Eyes flashing, she swerved the wheel hard.

Hurry up and arrest me!

Her heart pounded out of rhythm. Her mouth dried up. She bit her lower lip, flicked her eyes to the side mirror—

And froze.

“...!”

Her face went slack.

Wait... what?

One of the pursuing soldiers had collapsed and was convulsing on the ground. His body jerked violently, totally out of control. The others rushed to hold down his arms, legs, and head, frantic.

They screamed into radios, but Seoryeong couldn’t tell if they were calling for backup or a medic.

She stared in disbelief as the distance on the odometer climbed past 2 kilometers.

No one was stopping her.

By now, someone should have caught her. There should have been pursuit vehicles. But nothing came. No one chased her.

Alone, she tore down the long, straight road—backwards—against traffic.

“Shit, why...?!”

If this keeps going... I’ll actually be in North Korea...!

I’m seriously gonna cross the damn line!

A chill crept up her spine.

If she kept going, she wouldn't be caught by South Korean soldiers—she’d get captured by the North.