Chapter 131.2

Chapter 131.2

Without even grabbing a raincoat, Seoryeong scrambled to hold onto the fuel drums rolling like dominoes. She got pinned underneath them but still managed to spread the net, using every ounce of strength to secure the cargo from tumbling into the ocean.

All night, the violent waves crashed over the ship, leaving the crew shivering with blue lips. Their drenched hair and soaked combat uniforms sucked away their body heat.

Seoryeong’s teeth chattered as she let the cold rain pelt her face. Her mind emptied, washed clean by the storm.

After untangling the mess of ropes and chains, her knees finally gave out. Someone tapped her shoulder, but she didn’t even have the strength to lift her head and see who it was.

“――.”

She collapsed onto the deck. While tying down the barrels in the chaos, something sharp had cut her palm, leaving it drenched in blood. Yet, she didn’t even think about wiping it off.

Instead, she took a deep breath, staring up at the sky—now crystal clear without a single cloud.

A seabird soared high above, its white wings spread wide, free and untethered, just like Lee Wooshin.

Two weeks passed like that.

Bang, bang, bang—!

She jolted awake, immediately slipping on her boots and stepping out of the cabin. As she climbed the narrow corridor up to the deck, she tightened her loose bootlaces and grabbed her gun.

The sharp wind whipped against her face, shaking off any lingering drowsiness.

“Again?”

She checked her magazine as she spoke. One of the crew members, who had finally started speaking to her a little, spat on the ground.

“Yeah. Those damn pests again.”

Once they had gotten used to the harsh weather, they had to deal with something worse—skeletal pirates circling the cargo ship like sharks.

The crew took cover behind the railings, fending off the pirates who desperately tried to climb aboard several times a day. This kind of threat had been expected, which was why the Blast had been hired.

No one hesitated as they loaded their guns.

Bang, bang—!

Seoryeong steadied herself against the recoil, one eye closed as she fired. The bullets flashing from the muzzle were the only light cutting through the pitch-black ocean.

At first, the constant gunfire had made her dizzy, as if her inner ear had been flipped upside down. But now, she could calmly watch seagulls fly overhead while chewing on stale bread.

“Han Seoryeong, you’re ruthless…! If you were a guy, you’d have shot that thing right off—”

“Shut up and focus on your own shooting!”

After going through all kinds of chaos, her words had grown rough, like a true sailor.

What day was it today?

Keeping her gaze locked on the retreating figures through the night vision scope, Seoryeong pondered. By now, Lee Wooshin must have figured everything out.

“It’s been weeks, not just days…”

He had more than enough time to learn exactly what kind of mission she had been deployed on. But somehow, the thought of him grinding his teeth in frustration while waiting made her smile.

A faint glow spread beyond the horizon. She stood guard over her assigned sector through the night, watching as the rising sun painted the sea in blinding brilliance.

“Ah!”

I miss you.

Seoryeong removed her protective mask and night vision goggles, then slowly lowered her gun.

Stepping out onto the vast deck, she took a deep breath, inhaling the salty air.

There were no set paths in the ocean. Even though every moment brought her closer to Kim Hyun, her mind remained fixed on someone else.

The rare, tranquil sea shimmered under the newly risen sun.

It wasn’t Kim Hyun.

Not the seabirds soaring in the sky, not the endless night, not even the sunrise—none of it reminded her of him.

Instead, a pair of cold, unwavering irises filled her thoughts.

“I’m totally screwed, huh…”

Seoryeong muttered with a laugh now.

She had wanted to capture Kim Hyun, lock him up, torment him for the rest of his life—unleash every ounce of resentment she had bottled up.

She had convinced herself that was the only way to mend her wounded self.

But beyond that, there had always been a cliff; a future that simply didn’t exist.

Now, however, with the compass pointing clearly toward where she truly wanted to return, Seoryeong felt like she could finally read her own heart.

She had found the final punctuation mark—the full stop that was supposed to come at the end of her vengeance.

Above her, a pair of seabirds stretched their wings in perfect harmony.

“It’s okay, even if you never loved me.”

The truth was, they should have parted properly.

Kim Hyun should have looked her in the eye when he said goodbye, instead of disappearing like that.

Whether he had been real or not, an illusion or not—it didn’t matter. Because they had never even started their farewell.

And now, finally, she was ready.