The long-awaited first day of work had arrived.

After arriving at Blast Corp, Seoryeong stepped into the elevator with slightly stiff steps. It felt like just yesterday she’d been coming and going with people calling her “Ma’am.” She straightened her outfit and pressed the button for the 15th floor.

After observing for the past few days, it seemed that Lee Wooshin, fortunately, wasn’t a difficult housemate. Unlike the listless days at the training camp where he’d yawn constantly, he now woke early every morning to jog or lift weights. He didn’t make a mess of the house, either.

Maybe his duties as team leader were busier than expected—he often left in the morning and didn’t return until late at night. Even so, it wasn’t hard to find traces of him.

A damp towel, a rinsed and overturned glass, the heat turned up on the thermostat... The once-empty refrigerator was now filled—coincidentally or not—with all her favorite fruits. Snacks had also increased.

Reaching for a bottle of water without much thought, Seoryeong paused. The place finally felt like someone actually lived here. A ridiculous notion.

“――!”

That idle thought was cut short.

What... was that?

The elevator, which had been gliding upward smoothly, suddenly jolted and came to a halt. The tremor was stronger than expected—Seoryeong quickly grabbed the interior handrail.

Whiiirrrr—the soft humming stopped all at once, and the lights inside the elevator flicked off completely.

“What the—!”

Her breath caught in panic. She pressed the emergency call button, but nothing responded. Everything was dead.

She pulled out her phone immediately, but hesitated. Could she really just call 119 for something like this? Especially inside a military-grade corporate building? In that instant of doubt, her finger froze over the dial icon.

Maybe I should just wait...

Or—

In the end, the only person left in her mind was Instructor Lee Wooshin.

“...Haa.”

Pacing the narrow space, she furrowed her brow again—and then it happened.

“――!”

The elevator began moving again.

But it didn’t stop at the 15th floor—it passed it.

Then 16. Then 17. Then 18. Then 19...

It kept climbing rapidly, showing no signs of slowing down.

“What the hell is going on...?”

The speed noticeably increased. Her face went pale. The elevator shot up past the 30th floor, straight toward the top.

Suppressing a wave of nausea, she bit her lip and fixated on the flashing floor numbers.

Calm down. It’s not like this thing’s going to rocket through the roof. Even if there was some error, the building only had so many floors. It had to stop somewhere. She swallowed dryly, clinging to that illusion of calm.

Finally, the elevator came to a stop—though not at the top floor.

It kept rising to a floor that wasn’t even listed on the control panel, and only after several seconds did the doors slide open.

And through them stepped a middle-aged man with gleaming shoes, a razor-sharp suit, and a jacket draped over his shoulders, leaning casually on a cane.

“You look well. How have you been?”

“......!”

Only then did everything click for Seoryeong.

This wasn’t an accident. It hadn’t been a glitch.

She gave a short bow. Kang Taegon, the CEO, pressed the ‘close door’ button. But the elevator didn’t move—it stayed perfectly still.

Her brows furrowed. So that was it—she’d been summoned to fill the silence of his elevator ride. As if to confirm, he glanced at his watch and muttered, “Only got about a minute.”

“You really did join the Special Security Team.”

“Yes.”

“Then... do you still mean what you said before? That you wanted to take down an NIS executive?”

Seoryeong turned her expressionless face to him. Whatever he saw in her eyes made him suddenly laugh.

“Well then, I suppose we ought to make it happen.”

“.......”

“Of course, you can’t go at it as a Special Ops member, and I’d rather not leave behind any evidence tying Blast Corp to this. If something goes wrong, the company will deny everything. But I, Kang Taegon, would like to help you personally.”

“Is that even allowed?”

“Well, it’ll cause problems, sure.”

He chuckled, rubbing his chin. The lines around his eyes were deep.

“But I feel like this is something I should do. I believe you’re going to become a very useful asset in the future.”

She had no such intention, but chose not to say anything.

“The NIS holds a quantum cryptography ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) conference every year. And Blast Corp is in charge of securing the venue. I don’t know exactly which executive you’re after, but the First Deputy Director is scheduled to give the keynote.”

At last, the elevator began descending like normal.

“But the whole event lasts less than thirty minutes—from entrance to exit. Think you can manage it?”

“No way! Absolutely not, sir! You’re seriously sending Recruit Han Seoryeong in alone?”

Jin Hoje slammed the dumbbell down with a loud thunk, his voice rising.

The Special Security Team’s office was covered in classified information. One wall was filled with pins and photos of maps, locations, floor plans, and individuals. Mission boards were covered with arrows and scribbles, and even 3D terrain models of foreign countries were laid out. The briefing room was a chaotic spread of strategies and confidential requests.

Getting here had been a whole ordeal. Even the damn elevator hadn’t cooperated!

Overwhelmed, Seoryeong looked around in awe—only for Lee Wooshin to slam his desk.

His gaze pierced straight into her.

“Clearly no one had faith in her. That’s why the training assignment came down.”

He stood crookedly in front of the conference table, frowning. Even his usual smirk was gone.

Seoryeong had a feeling she understood why they were so on edge. That morning, a temporary assignment memo had gone out to the new recruits.

The task: provide security at the Korea-Mongolia rare earth MOU signing event.

Clearly, pulling team members from their already packed schedule had ruffled feathers.

“Recruit Han Seoryeong. Our next overseas dispatch is Equatorial Guinea. That’s an African dictatorship that’s been under the same ruler for over forty years. You ready to follow me there?”

She opened her mouth to respond, but Wooshin cut in sharply.

“Even if she says yes, what’s your basis? All your experience is from lucky hits. The company doesn’t want people like that.”

He rubbed his deeply furrowed brow.

“That’s why she needs to practice staying sharp. You don’t want to screw up on an expensive op. Better to get hit now than later. So we’ve decided to send Recruit Han Seoryeong for field training. Anyone object?”

“I think the instructor is righ—”

“This isn’t a boot camp. Standardize your titles.”

Startled, Seoryeong gave a small nod.

“It’s a rare earth MOU signing. More specifically, the Mongolian Director of Economic Development requested protection—but that’s another team’s job. The rookie’s just covering the venue security.”

Perfect! Seoryeong shouted internally while keeping her face blank. This was a golden chance to get a look at how event security actually worked.

Her hands, resting on her lap, clenched with anticipation.

“You need to experience something normal at least once. Before you get tossed into another hell assignment.”

Wooshin rolled his neck like he was exhausted.

“Apparently, you need to attend guard training with a senior—”

Before he could finish, Jin Hoje shot his hand into the air.

“Team Leader! Right here!”

“I’m busy prepping for the trip. I can’t go.”

His face twisted in disappointment. Jin Hoje’s raised arm flailed desperately. But Wooshin didn’t even glance his way.

“Then for the escort...”

“Team Leader, please! Me!”

“We need to decide—”

“I’ll take care of Recruit Han Seoryeong myself—!”

“Great. Operative Kim Taemin.”

“...Huh?”

Kim Taemin blinked, stunned. Jin Hoje froze mid-rise from his chair.

“Alright, it’s settled. Operative Kim Taemin will handle the assignment.”

“...Me?”

“Sir, I was the one who volunteered—!”

“That concludes the briefing. Recruit, listen to your senior. I’ll be home cooking.”

“......!”

Every team member turned to look at her in unison. Their eyes said one thing:

What the hell did he just say?

Flustered, Seoryeong turned to Wooshin—but he’d already slipped out of the room.

Thanks to the bomb he’d dropped, she was stuck fielding questions from the rest of the team for quite a while.

***

She hadn’t moved like this in a while, and now she felt wrung out like a rag fresh from a spin dryer.

After finishing her training and returning home, Seoryeong moved toward the source of an unfamiliar sound. A rich, spicy aroma was wafting through the air—someone was cooking soup.

“――.”

Her dragging footsteps froze.

She saw a tall silhouette moving skillfully around the kitchen.

She didn’t know why, but just seeing that back made her legs seize up. Without saying a word, she fixated on him like a hound tracking prey.

My husband probably looked like that too. He must’ve moved like that...

The image she had only ever imagined in her mind was suddenly materializing before her, startlingly vivid.

She layered her husband’s neat, courteous silhouette over the one that belonged to Lee Wooshin.

Kim Hyeon had been a gourmet—he could whip up Western dishes with names she could barely pronounce.

She had never expected to eat warm, homemade food like this, something prepared by family. But that was what her husband Kim Hyeon had given her.

“Ugh...!”

Lost in memory, she was jolted back to the present by a splash of red on the cutting board. Blood. He must’ve cut himself while prepping ingredients. He immediately clutched his finger.

Alarmed, Seoryeong darted forward—but Wooshin casually stuck out his bleeding index finger.

His face was calm, smiling even, completely unlike the awkwardly sliced bit of flesh.

“See that? Knives are this dangerous.”

“.......”

And just like that, Seoryeong snapped out of it.

Like hell you struggle with a kitchen knife.

He looked like someone who could pull a blade from his hip or ankle at any time. And even now, he wasn’t even setting the kitchen knife down—just holding it in his other hand like it was nothing.

She stared at him with a face gone cold.