Chapter 119.1

Chapter 119.1

Kia’s face momentarily looked utterly abandoned.

His pale, empty expression strangely mirrored her own reflection in a way that felt oddly familiar.

Only after seeing that expression did Seoryeong think it was possible that she and Kia might have spent their childhoods together. A peculiar sense of kinship—one starkly different from the siblings she had quarreled with at the orphanage—struck her.

It was an unshakable feeling that they were the same kind of person.

“Why are you so mean to me?”

At that moment, Kia grabbed the back of her neck and pressed their foreheads together. His sharp eyes bore into her, their intensity rising like a storm.

One inch closer, and it felt like her throat might be pierced, yet his expression betrayed no hint of concern. His adam’s apple bobbed as he clenched his teeth.

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, a sharp force gripped her nape. The searing pain made Seoryeong knit her brows together.

“You’ll regret it soon. You’ll want to crush your own foot.”

“…!”

“Just say one thing. Admit that you’re Sonya. Just accept it, and promise to come back to me completely. If you do, I’ll pull you out of that cesspool you’re drowning in. Instantly”

“…”

“Honestly, you want to hear it too, don’t you?”

She bit the inside of her cheek.

“You’re dying to know who Kim Hyun really is.”

Her heart plummeted to her feet, the heat of betrayal swelling in her chest. His low voice was a temptation, dragging her under.

She couldn’t look away from his lips, as if they were about to part and reveal the truth. Worse, the thought of prying them open herself made her head burn.

Perhaps, she suddenly thought, he might be even more useful than Deputy Director Joo Seolheon.

What if she extracted all the information she could from him and left him incapacitated? She could play along as Sonya for a while, then kill him and escape at the right moment.

A flurry of thoughts swirled in her mind.

But was a priest with a grenade launcher truly an ordinary person? According to Yoo Dawit’s unit, the Sakhalin branch was an extremist cult.

Kia, sold to the Russian government after enduring training disguised as circus acts since childhood, had survived all of it.

And on top of that, the missing operatives, including Lee Wooshin, were still in his grasp.

Seoryeong closed her eyes, steadying the momentary temptation. She couldn’t step into the web this priest had spun.

The most challenging opponents are always those who remain centered. If the other party seized her weaknesses, nullifying them was the way to reclaim control.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll let my husband catch me.”

“…!”

“I’ll make him come for me first. That resolve has never wavered from the beginning. I’ll summon Kim Hyun in my own way, so I don’t need your cheap answers.”

Kia’s jaw twitched as if convulsing.

“So, you’re determined to live as Han Seoryeong, no matter what?”

“Yes. Sonya isn’t a name I’m willing to carry.”

He muttered her name bitterly.

Han Seoryeong, Han Seoryeong, as though rolling poison on his tongue. His composed expression peeled away, revealing a brutal, unfiltered self beneath.

“Who would you choose, Kim Hyun or your Instructor, Lee Wooshin?”

Her breath hitched at the sudden question. Just as she was about to step out of Kia’s psychological warfare, it felt as though another web ensnared her from a blind spot. Her throat ran dry.

“Answer carefully. If you don’t, your team won’t even leave behind ashes.”

“…!”

“They’re trapped in a minefield right now.” He informed her.

A corner of her mind, which had been trying to stay calm, wavered.

“A minefield…?”

“Even so, do you still choose Kim Hyun?”

He grinned darkly and repeated the question. His tone, tinged with mockery, was testing her.

Seoryeong knew it was just another of the priest’s nasty habits, but the words still lodged in her throat. The answer was obvious—so clear it shouldn’t have caused any hesitation.

Yet, she faltered, seemingly flustered. That’s when a loud laugh burst from him.

“Well, well—look at you…”

Without realizing it, she averted her gaze. How could Kim Hyun and Lee Wooshin even be compared? She had only been using Lee Wooshin as a means to reach Kim Hyun.

Even with that simple fact in mind, she couldn’t force the words out. She didn’t understand herself. A wave of nausea churned in her stomach.

“―.”

A faint sense of shame rippled through her unexpectedly, consuming her whole being. She hadn’t wanted to confront this hesitation. Seoryeong bit her lip hard. It felt like she was the one trapped in an unseen snare.

Kia released her, his strange gaze lingering. As the grip on her nape loosened and their bodies parted, cold air rushed in between them.

“Even if I do nothing, you’ll destroy yourself.”

“…!”

“Like a god who dies and comes back to life, maybe you’ll—.”

She couldn’t decipher his words. Kia  kissed the cross pendant around his neck and muttered a short prayer.

“I see now… To find Sonya, I had to kill Han Seoryeong first.”