Chapter 128.2

Chapter 128.2

Lee Wooshin clenched his eyes shut and let his head hit the wall behind him with a dull thud. The nurse trembled at his unsettling aura, and he, as if trying to sever something inside himself, tossed his phone far away.

The nurse continued dressing his wound, giving her instructions.

“If this gets infected, things could become seriously complicated. The wound is so deep and wide that the risk of infection is high, sir.”

“….”

“Starting tomorrow, we’ll send you antibiotic cream as well. You’ll need to keep changing the dressings regularly, and we’ll monitor the progress closely. With infections, early treatment is critical. Changing the dressing daily is the only way to ensure fast healing.”

Lee Wooshin dragged his rough hands down his face.

Was his wound only on his foot? The guilt he had buried deep within surged like a rising tide, crushing his chest the moment Seoryeong disappeared from view.

Her pale, broken face—clinging to him, begging for help, crumbling as she clutched Kim Hyun’s lifeless body—resurfaced in his mind, choking him once more.

“If I just cover it up…”

“Pardon?”

The nurse, catching his muttered words, jumped in alarm.

“What are you saying? You can’t! No way, sir! Sure, covering the wound might physically protect it for now, but if you don’t replace the dressing often, it’ll start to rot! That will lead to complications, slower healing, and even further tissue damage that could spread!”

“…”

“It might hurt, but you absolutely cannot leave it untreated! We’ll make sure to change it every day!”

“…”

Hadn’t he vowed to bury the past and stay by her side? He had promised to cover up everything—her biological father, his mission, and all of it. But now, those resolutions felt nauseatingly hollow.

The nurse, having finished her stern lecture, secured the new bandage with binding tape and quickly disposed of the blood- and pus-soaked gauze.

Looking at the thin single layer of gauze, Lee Wooshin let out a faint, bitter laugh. What could such a flimsy thing possibly achieve? It was all so utterly insignificant.

He married Han Seoryeong harboring coldness, hostility, and ridicule all at once. He deceived her without a trace of guilt, thanks to the ashes of the collapsed mansion.

The explosion from that day vividly resurfaced whenever he closed his eyes, numbing some part of him completely.

Marrying the Owl should have meant nothing. Deceiving a woman and making her miserable should have been no big deal. He had armed himself with that justification because, somewhere deep down, he too had a reason he couldn’t deny.

The gauze, hardened with dried discharge and stained with filth, would head straight to the trash bin. Watching the pile of dirty, bloodied gauze stack up on the stainless-steel cart, Lee Wooshin let out a crooked smile.

Damn it, it’s really nothing. If I must replace those gauze pads every single day, I’ll have to scrape away all the excuses I’ve been making for myself every single day too.

Like someone overwhelmed by a sudden surge of illness, Lee Wooshin reached out for his phone, fumbling for it. He wanted to see her so badly he thought he might go insane.

Just then, a ding—a message notification—cut through the air, bringing a spark of light into his dim eyes. His heart raced wildly with hope, but when he checked the screen, the cold reality froze him over again.

“―”

An unknown international number.

He could’ve dismissed it as spam, but the opening word, “Kia,” caught his eye. With his thumb trembling like stone, he tapped the screen, revealing a cryptic file that had been sent to his inbox.

Audio 001.m4a

Scowling deeply, Lee Wooshin waited until the nurse left with the cart before bringing the phone to his ear. The voice that came through was…

– “Sonya needed an anchor, someone like Kim Hyun.”

The moment he heard the familiar voice of Joo Seolheon, Lee Wooshin felt as though someone had punched him square in the chest, knocking the breath out of him.

– “To keep her from being swept away if she ever met Rigay, to give her the strength to anchor herself into her own life.”

– “Her husband was that tether?”

– “Exactly. That’s why killing him outright felt wasteful from the start.”

A chuckle followed—one that unmistakably belonged to Kia.

– “I figured her husband disappearing would drive Sonya madder than dying ever could. And I was right. Even now, her entire life revolves around Kim Hyun.”

– “Hmm.”

– “The more Kim Hyun is tempered—killed and resurrected in her mind—the more consumed she becomes. That broken longing will protect her sanity to the end. Even the great Rigay won’t be able to penetrate what Kim Hyun means to her!”

“…”

– “So tell me, how on earth could you possibly… ugh… take Sonya from me now?”

A sudden crash echoed in the background. A faint groan followed, but the clash of sounds that ensued rang violently for several seconds, filling the air.

– “Don’t spew nonsense! Sonya was mine from the start. It was you, Joo—you, you bastard—who stole her away!”

Why… Why are these two talking?

Lee Wooshin’s hand, clutching the phone, trembled uncontrollably. The conversation, the relationship, the names—nothing made sense.

– “If you hadn’t smuggled my Sonya out of Winter Castle!”

It felt as though claws had grazed the nape of his neck. The vehement accusations directed at Joo Seolheon pierced his temples like a searing pain, spreading an incomprehensible shock through his entire being.