Chapter 115.1

Chapter 115.1

“You used to hold me a lot when I was a child.”

A sharp tension gripped his temples. Although his gaze momentarily hardened, Lee Wooshin quickly suppressed the storm brewing within.

“You gave me food, secretly brought me goose-down blankets, and even carried me when I couldn’t walk and collapsed. Back then, I was nothing but skin and bones. I still remember, even though my head hurt so much because of the mask. Those gray eyes of yours…”

“…!”

“When I wondered where you were hiding, turns out you had attached yourself to Korea.”

“…”

“I clung to Russia even more.”

That small, pitiful creature of Winter Fortress, whose face, age, name, and even gender were uncertain.

The nuance in Kia’s words made Lee Wooshin’s face harden. The veins on his clenched hand pulling the chord bulged prominently. He furrowed his brow, pushing aside his turmoil for a moment.

“If you really were in Winter Fortress, how are you even alive?” Wooshin asked.

“…”

“Winter Fortress exploded, leaving no trace.”

“You truly know nothing, do you?”

“…”

“Is that why Father pitied you?”

Lee Wooshin wrapped the cord around his hand one more time with a blank expression. Kia let out choking sounds, but it was Lee Wooshin who truly struggled to breathe.

Kia’s words shook the ground beneath him. His grip, poised to kill, loosened and tightened repeatedly. Two conflicting emotions collided within him.

If he had survived, that was enough. It should have been enough. But this bastard couldn’t be allowed to live.

Lee Wooshin bit his tongue hard, wrapping the cord around his wrist again.

“Then let’s get to the point. What exactly was Winter Fortress for?”

“Ha… You want to know?”

Even as his neck turned a deep red, Kia only laughed vividly. Lee Wooshin searched the priest’s body and threw the seven knives he found under the bed.

“Not many of us are left now. People who remember that day.”

“…!”

“So, I’ve basically become a walking classified document.”

Lee Wooshin’s hand paused.

“There’s no one else but me. My mind is the clearest. So you should treat me well.”

“…”

“Look at Sonya, she doesn’t even know anything… ha!”

His foreboding instincts were never wrong. At this point, it was impossible not to realize the “pair” Kia sought was Seoryeong. Lee Wooshin stared intently at Kia’s lips, seeking a more definitive answer.

Suddenly, an image of Kia devouring Seoryeong’s lips and chest with greed flashed before him. The scene ignited an uncontrollable rage, boiling his mind.

If he didn’t deal with this now, he would undoubtedly face dire consequences. He would lose something most precious.

Even though it wasn’t a continuation of a dream, his palms were damp with sweat. Lee Wooshin was consumed by a growing, suffocating anxiety.

“Let’s not wake or provoke Sonya.”

“…!”

To Kia, she was Sonya, but to Lee Wooshin, she had to be Han Seoryeong. To protect her, he deliberately called Kim Hyun’s name to prevent Seoyeong from regaining her memories from Kia’s provocation.

Though it left a bitter taste, for Seoryeong, there was no substitute for Kim Hyun.

“Even if someone had been in Winter Fortress…”

He wanted to protect only her. If he had to choose between the two, he wouldn’t hesitate to prioritize the present.

As soon as Lee Wooshin loosened his grip around the chord, Kia lunged at him, brandishing a crucifix like a weapon.

A syringe needle jutted forward, closing in fast. Lee Wooshin reflexively leaned back, but the needle slashed beneath his eye, leaving a stinging gash.

As blood dripped and blurred his vision for a moment, Kia licked his lips. Seizing the opportunity, Kia delivered a sudden kick, sending Lee Wooshin stumbling.

The two clashed again, fighting as if their lives depended on it. Their bodies slammed into the glass window with a loud thud before tumbling to the floor. Both grasped at each other’s necks, grappling violently as they rolled across the ground.

Knock, knock—

Someone rapped on the door.

“Instructor?”

“…!”

“…!”

Their movements halted simultaneously as if on cue. Both turned toward the door at the familiar voice.

“Instructor, are you asleep?”

Lee Wooshin quickly flipped their positions, clamping a hand over Kia’s mouth. “Mmmph…!” Kia seemed ready to scream but instead froze, his eyes darting wildly.

The doorknob rattled, but the locked door didn’t budge.

“Are you really asleep?”

The calm voice outside made Lee Wooshin’s heart pound wildly.

The memory of her heated moans flooded back—“Ah, ah…!”—whipping up a storm of emotions: rage, loss, frustration, and even the selfish desire to act on impulse under the guise of protection.

It had been a dream, yet it hadn’t. The maddening urges from that moment still burned vividly within him. His throat was parched, and an awful, gnawing sensation lingered.

“Then, let’s talk tomorrow.”

The sound of measured footsteps retreated. As soon as she left, the two men, as if the stillness had never existed, aimed at each other’s vitals again.

Lee Wooshin leveled his gun at Kia’s chest.

Kia retrieved the knife that had fallen nearby and pressed it against Lee Wooshin.

“You still haven’t answered. What exactly happened in Winter Fortress?”

“I don’t like answering for free.”