The NIS had switched out her artificial tears, causing problems with her eyes, and the Owl slowly became more miserable—just as they had intended.

They were gradually stripping her of hope, preparing the scene so that Kim Hyeon could appear in her life like salvation.

The mission went smoothly, and time flew like an arrow.

After they got married, she began eating more, and then sleeping more. She stopped holding chopsticks clumsily the way she used to. She changed. The habit of sleeping on the floor shifted to clinging tightly to his warm body. He had always hated wasting time, yet somehow found himself chatting idly with her in the bathtub.

Some days, while folding laundry, he would be struck by a deep sense of futility, wanting to run outside that very instant. But then, when she’d say, “Hyeon,” in a voice like a spring breeze, he would snap to attention and start doing the dishes.

Even though she couldn’t see, she smiled easily. Embarrassed yet greedy, she would wrap her arms around Kim Hyeon’s neck. Then, every night, she would suck on his tongue voraciously, and he would make her spread her legs.

He would grab her breasts roughly, like trying to crush them, and rub his erection against her vulva. Though she was shy, she would spread her legs wide to accept him, biting her lips to suppress any moans.

Whenever that swelling pressure inside him became unbearable and he couldn’t make sense of it, he’d suddenly yank her tongue into his mouth. Just watching her startled expression was enough to bring him to the brink.

Everything was the mission. He had to believe it was the mission.

She could never quite meet his eyes, always gazing around his neck area, her eyes curled with that soft, bashful mischief. And yet, at some point, her affectionate gaze became unbearably repulsive to him.

A survivor like me, falling for Rigai’s daughter? How fucking crazy. How could I—how could an NIS agent—fall for a bastard’s daughter like that?

Every time he buried himself inside her, his thoughts would break into pieces. Like a man possessed, he would grip her ass and pound into her. Even when his cock ached from being so hard, he couldn’t ruin the mission. He checked her expression and adjusted his pace.

He sucked endlessly on the Owl’s lips while wishing this goddamn mission would just end already.

—Withdraw.

The awaited order came in the early hours of the morning.

—Rigai Viktor is experiencing a security issue.

“What does that mean?”

Lee Wooshin stepped out of the bedroom as he asked, careful not to wake the sleeping wife. Through the narrowing crack of the door, he saw her stir. Dropping the blanket again, like always. Even with a hard face, he clicked his tongue.

—Rigai attempted suicide.

“...!”

—The authorities apparently tried to save him, but something went wrong in his brain. Word is he’s become a vegetable. For reference, the agent we sent to Russia is dead, and Rigai is now in a closed ward.

“...”

—Came out of nowhere, huh? That guy used to be a big shot in neuroscience. Now his brain doesn’t work. Isn’t that ironic? Ha... everything’s fucked. Couldn’t have ended better.

A lighter flicked on the other end of the line. But the voice sounded oddly relieved. Whether it was because the long operation was finally over, or because of Rigai’s pathetic downfall—maybe both.

—Continuing the operation now would just be a waste of budget. You pull out, and fast.

“What about the Owl...”

His breath hitched. Lee Wooshin reflexively touched his throat before speaking.

“...Are we just leaving her like that?”

—You disappearing quickly is the only way her eyes will go back to normal. What the hell are you talking about?

“...”

—What’s a blind girl gonna do? Even if she screams and cries, they’ll just think she’s insane. From our perspective, it’s clean and convenient. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

“...”

—On construction sites, even a one-day delay costs 2 billion won. That’s why they never halt construction, even when workers die. Why? Three hundred million covers a death settlement, so who in their right mind would stall the schedule? We’re doing the same. Go with the cheap option. Just disappear without a trace—like you’re good at.

The coldness of his tone didn’t consider the Owl’s fate at all.

“...Fuck.”

—What?

“I’ll withdraw within two days.”

—Yeah... must’ve been rough doing something that doesn’t suit you all this time.

Right as emotion threatened to surge, he slammed a manhole cover down over his thoughts. Sealed every corner tight so nothing could crawl back out.

“—Seems like someone’s moving.”

“Why?”

“It’s been kind of noisy. I think they’re packing. Heard some loud bangs.”

“Was it disruptive?”

“I was just curious. People here usually get along well.”

“It’ll be quiet soon.”

“Sorry?”

“I should go now.”

But still, he wanted to ask her one last thing.

If I disappear without a trace... will you...

...will you just wake up one day as if from a nap and forget Kim Hyeon ever existed?

⋮

“Please... save me, Instructor...”

He had expected she might cry—but actually facing her made his stomach twist. Lee Wooshin froze on the spot, enduring the pain as if his heart was being scraped raw.

He’d seen her endure like a beast before, but this was the first time he saw her completely fall apart. Clutching something rotten and sobbing over it instead of throwing it away—he could sense emotions in her that he couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

He’d underestimated her sincerity. Blinded by assumptions. Overconfident in his own reading of her. This—this was the price.

That single plea—save me—shattered the walls he’d spent years building in an instant.

“...Please... save me. I... I can’t breathe...”

“...!”

And so, at this most shameful moment, a name was branded deep in his chest. Afraid that the disgraceful feeling would spill from his mouth, he bit down on his own tongue until the flesh tore.

If I tell you everything. If I do that, Seoryeong...

He wanted to tear Kim Hyeon away from her, even if it meant killing him. Seeing her wander, still chasing after that incomplete ending—they made him furious. This time, he wanted to end it perfectly. So that Han Seoryeong’s life could finally return to normal.

But the moment he saw, with his own eyes, just how far a woman collapses after losing her husband—he was forced to confront his recklessness.

And yet... even so...

“――.”

There’s no way I could ever tell you the truth.

...Seoryeong, I know who your biological father is. I know what he did. I remember the moment everything exploded—when that heat swallowed everything.

When I stood up after clearing away those corpse fragments like shattered tiles, it was already too late. Everything had burned to ash. So I don’t want you to grab that scorched doorknob. Don’t open it. Don’t even look at it.

This wasn’t about the NIS motto or sense of duty.

If I just bury the fact that I was Kim Hyeon... if you abandon your husband, and I give up the classified files... if we hide the entire operation deep underground...

...could we live like any ordinary man and woman? Worrying about bills like everyone else?

His sealed lips were drawn tight.

“Please... save me from this...”

Then, the man reached out a pale hand, struggling to hide the expression of someone on the brink of convulsing. In that moment when all hope had vanished, it was Lee Wooshin who appeared.

He would cover her eyes one more time, become a liar forever if he had to. Even if crushed under guilt, he wanted to keep living by her side—continuing this endless mission.

The stench of rotting maggots in the air suited him perfectly.

***

The smell stinging her nose was unfamiliar. Not even knowing whose body had been stripped of Kim Hyeon’s identity, Seoryeong arrived at the crematorium holding the unclaimed death report given to her by the NIS.

Fortunately, there wasn’t a single mourner nearby.

Before the body entered the incinerator, she tossed their wedding photo into the flames.

For some reason, she felt like she could hear the Deputy Director’s voice like a hallucination. Saying this wasn’t enough. That they weren’t going to let Kim Hyeon go so easily.

Feeling regret over the tears she’d already shed, she wiped her eyes clean.

“Instructor... do you remember what I once told you?”

Her voice was hoarse and low.

“That I have to do something more dangerous every time I fail.”

“...!”

“I guess I wasn’t enough to be Deputy Director.”

“Han Seoryeong.”

As if trying to block her distorted thoughts, Lee Wooshin abruptly cut in. But she didn’t even flinch. Her gaze was unfocused, her voice continuing.

“Should I make this even bigger? What do I have to do for Kim Hyeon to come find me?”

“...”

“What would make him scold me, curse at me, and lose his mind trying to hold me back? Should I throw a homemade bomb at the NIS?”

“...!”

“And after that, what’s next? This country he pledged loyalty to?”

His eyes hardened clearly and suddenly.

“How far are you going to drive me?”

Seoryeong finally stood from where she had been sitting like a fixture. Her nasal passages were still stained with the stench of decayed bodies and the crematory’s foul smoke.

Wanting to forget the smell. Not wanting to be consumed by despair. ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) She stood up, forcing herself.

Until she could make them answer for what they’d done to her—those who had humiliated her over and over—she couldn’t stay still like a corpse. She couldn’t quietly shut her eyes and live with her mouth closed like they wanted.

Her resentment leapt past Kim Hyeon and finally turned to the NIS.

“I’m going to be a real bitch now.”

“...!”

“If I don’t... I feel like I’m going to suffocate to death.”

Her pupils dilated unnaturally wide as she stared at Lee Wooshin. Smoke from the burning corpse drifted nearby.

“You said sleeping with another man would be a truly terrible thing, right?”

Her betrayal had passed the point of return, and her mind twisted with it.

“My thoughts won’t stop. All these bad thoughts keep tunneling deeper and deeper. My head’s full of something foul and sticky—it won’t wash away. I just want to be empty for one moment. So please...”

She inhaled the acrid smoke deep into her lungs and begged:

“...just help me feel alive. Do it with me.”