Chapter 111.2

Chapter 111.2

Suddenly, everyone—including Seoryeong—grimaced and grabbed their ears. A sharp, piercing sound stabbed through their wireless earpieces, forcing them to yank them out.

Their expressions hardened as they clutched their reddened ears.

It felt like a blade slicing through their eardrums—a shrill, distorted signal caused by frequency interference. A clear sign of illegal wireless transmission equipment operating nearby.

Then, Seoryeong felt warm breath on her earlobe.

Lee Wooshin leaned in, tilting her head slightly to inspect her ears. He clenched his jaw and shot a glare at the priest.

“Take those out of your ears, for starters,” Kia, unfazed, stood straight and flashed a wide smile.

“Welcome to my monastery.”

***

Seoryeong rinsed her mouth and splashed her face lightly with water. Standing at the small sink, she stared at her pale reflection in the foggy mirror.

Her hollow face stared back. The real mission hadn’t even begun, but she already felt her stamina draining.

She swallowed a sigh, dropped onto the single bed, and began changing clothes. Why throw up here, of all places…? Another helpless sigh slipped out.

Was this why Lee Wooshin no longer scolded her? He used to reprimand her harshly, telling her to pull herself together, but that instructor was gone now.

Instead, he treated her like fragile glass, terrified she might shatter.

The suffocating care felt oddly stifling.

As she unfolded her priest robe with slumped shoulders, something fell out—a folded piece of paper. Picking it up and opening it, her brow furrowed immediately.

What is this?

“маска.”

Ma…ska…? She clumsily pronounced the Cyrillic letters, just as the door burst open, and Lee Wooshin walked in.

Quickly, Seoryeong clenched the note in her fist and raised her head as if nothing had happened.

But her mind was racing, trying to decode the paper. Who put it there? Was it a code? A prank? Or was this another stunt by Kia, that so-called priest?

“Do instructors not knock anymore?”

“Let me see your hand.”

“Why?”

Her grip on the note tightened as her mouth went dry for no apparent reason.

“Your hand was ice-cold earlier. And now your face is pale. What’s going on?”

“I just washed my face.”

“And your clothes? You’re practically exposing your chest, but you didn’t even lock the door.”

“…!”

“Who are you showing off for?”

He glared at her, his voice sharp, his gaze fiery. Wearing only her bra, Seoryeong felt his eyes linger before he irritably rubbed his prominent Adam’s apple, clearly annoyed by the high collar of his priest robe.

The black garment contrasted sharply with his pale face.

How much could I possibly be “exposing”? she thought, standing on her toes to retort. But as she shifted, her chest jiggled slightly beneath the bra, and Lee Wooshin abruptly turned his head away.

With a sharp exhale, he grabbed the priest robe from the bed and threw it over her head, cutting off her vision.

“Is there anything else bothering you? Are you getting headaches?”

“I don’t think so. The air here is surprisingly fresh.”

Pulling her head through the opening, she slid her arms into the sleeves. When Lee Wooshin reached for her arm, she teasingly held out her empty hand instead.

He grabbed it anyway, massaging it before pressing firmly into her palm. Warmth slowly spread from the contact.

“Instructor.”

“We’re going down for dinner soon. Just hang in there.”

“No, that’s not it. This is a monastery, right? Not a rehab center or something?”

“What?”

“It’s just… that priest seems really off.”

“…”

He didn’t reply, only stared at her.

“That’s the guy I met at the event. You know, the one who licked my cheek? Now that I’ve seen him again, he seems even more unhinged. Says crazy things. He even claimed to have called my husband here.”

Lee Wooshin’s hands stilled mid-massage.

“It feels like he’s done some surface-level research on us, but honestly, his eyes look unhinged. Can we even trust him as a priest? If he’s just messing with me and using my husband as leverage, I won’t let it slide. First, we need to—”

“Don’t.”

His low, heavy voice cut through her thoughts.

“Don’t do anything here, Seoryeong.”

“…!”

“If you’ve thrown up in front of the client, the company won’t say a word if you pull out due to health issues. You’ve shown your face here, and that’s enough. At least Kang Taegon can save face. So step back now.”

Those words were the final straw in the suffocating weight on her chest.