Chapter 67.1
Adding insult to injury, Seoryeong’s stomach growled loudly.
“Ugh…”
Even in this embarrassing moment, her frozen body was slowly thawing. She found herself seeking deeper warmth, closer to Lee-Wooshin’s skin.
Under her chin, where his pulse was strongly beating, Seoryeong unconsciously pressed her frozen cheek against the warmest spot.
In response, Lee Wooshin, without showing any surprise, pressed his head closer. An unusual sensation washed over her.
“Instructor, do you have a daughter by any chance?”
“What?”
“No, it’s just that you seem very familiar with holding someone like this.”
Lee Wooshin made an exasperated face and frowned deeply, “What exactly do you think of me, Agent Han Seoryeong?”
“What?”
“Do you see me as a man with an unfaithful wife who takes out his frustrations at work, and now, a divorced man with a child?”
“Uh. Well…”
At her hesitant reply, Lee Wooshin clenched his jaw and closed his eyes tightly.
Then, as he sighed, Seoryeong could feel the tension draining from his body. He spoke as if releasing a lock, still with his eyes closed.
“I don’t have a daughter, but my wife–”
Lee Wooshin paused as if his tongue had turned to stone. However, Seoryeong felt something heavy drop inside his chest.
“My wife was younger than me, and I was not good at anything, so I embraced her a lot, so I guess I got used to it.”
Contrary to the tender content, his eyes raised sharply in a rebellious manner.
“That’s unexpected.”
“What is?”
“I didn’t think you’d be so devoted to your family.” Seoryeong let out her thoughts.
He let out a self-deprecating laugh, the meaning of which was unclear.
“Then why did your wife cheat with a husband like you?”
“…” Lee Wooshin quietly opened his eyes. Beneath his half-opened eyelids, his sharp pupils glared down at her. The expression, suppressing his annoyance, made Seoryeong regret her words.
Her curiosity had slipped out unintentionally, but it seemed like she had stepped on a landmine. Trying to salvage the situation, she hurriedly continued.
“No, it’s just that you remind me of my husband.”
“…!” He flinched noticeably. Seoryeong, thinking it was out of displeasure, hastily continued.
“Of course, you’re completely different. My husband must have looked like a native Korean rock star!”
“…”
“Even so, sometimes you remind me of him.”
Lee Wooshin’s eyebrows twitched in dissatisfaction.
“At one point, you said there wasn’t a single redeeming quality about Jin Hojae.”
“I did, but… you hold people comfortably.”
The unfamiliar scent, the muscular body, and especially his rough hands that touched women carelessly—all of it was foreign to her.
Yet, being held in his arms made her fear disappear in a similar way her husband made her feel… Seoryeong frowned and shook her head slightly.
It was wise to keep a hundredfold guard against such complacency. She deliberately mentioned his wife to draw a line in her own heart.
“Do you ever think about your ex-wife, Instructor?”
“…”
He silently stared at Seoryeong. Then, hardening his expression, he coldly dismissed her question.
“Why bring up the past? It’s only going to make me lose my appetite.”
His eyes, meeting hers up close, were as sharp as a rising ice wall.
She knew from first-hand experience that Lee Wooshin was never attached to anything, like someone who would leave at any moment. The only thing he held onto was the accordion he’d been carrying for the entire hell week, but even that would be thrown in the trash when the training was over.
Though he often played silly pranks on the agents, he always read their names off the name tags on their chests. He didn’t even bother hiding his indifference to the agents he personally trained.
“Agent Han Seoryeong, stop dwelling on the past.”
“…”
“There’s nothing there.” Lee Wooshin looked down at the stark white cliff, avoiding her gaze.
He had a defensive look in his eyes, a few snowflakes landing on his sharply defined profile.
Watching his intricate expression, Seoryeong felt a sudden empathy, a shared sorrow she had once tried to suppress in the infirmary.
Yes, betrayal by a trusted spouse is something you can’t truly understand unless you experience it.
A life crippled overnight, a despair that you might never recover from, moments when love turns into insult and pierces your heart. It’s violence that completely breaks a person.
Seoryeong bit her lip against the rising bitterness. They did have something in common.
Is this why people sit around and share their stories?
Lee Wooshin, who might have experienced similar failures, felt unexpectedly human and close to her. The sense of camaraderie seemed stronger than she had thought.