Chapter 137.2

Chapter 137.2

Seoryeong had now seen her husband’s ‘face’ as much as she wanted, enough to recall it instantly without hesitation. That alone made her heart feel lighter.

The complex of being an unworthy wife who couldn’t even picture her husband’s face was fading.

Even if the love he had shown was a deception, Seoryeong had indulged in it fully.

No matter what, Kim Hyun had been her first family.

“Then now… can you tell me that we’re over?” She asked him while looking straight at his eyes.

“…”

Kim Hyun’s eyes shook miserably at those words.

“Tell me not to wait, because you’re never coming back.”

His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. Then, with a sharp turn, he faced away from her. He clenched her blindfold in his fist as if crumpling it, building a wall around himself as if she had just made an unreasonable request.

Even his hands… were they fake too? For a man in his profession, his hands were oddly clean.

“Tell me not to keep your clothes anymore.”

“…”

“And tell me I did well. Just say I did well.”

Seoryeong lifted her face as if she were once again standing in front of that door from the past. But this time, the fear and uncertainty were gone.

“Hurry up. You have to get off work too, don’t you, Hyun?”

His back, turned in refusal, stood as firm as a fortress. But his shoulders, burdened by unseen weight, seemed as if they had collapsed inward.

Finally, after holding onto silence for so long, he started walking. His shadow stretched over her back, nearly embracing it. The faint rustling of fabric followed as he gently covered her eyes. His weak hands slowly retied the blindfold.

“Don’t wait alone anymore. Just throw my clothes away.”

“…”

“You kick off your blanket in your sleep every night, so set the temperature lower. Be careful in the kitchen. Before I left, I sharpened the knives, so they’re really sharp. And when you cross the street, watch out for cars. If there’s no one to walk you home, don’t go out at night.”

“…”

“You’ll never have to wait alone again.”

At last, Seoryeong moved only her wrist, filling in the final empty signature field.

“You worked hard.”

A dull ache spread through her chest. Her unsteady pen tip left behind the messiest signature yet. Black ink bled into the paper, forming a blurry stain.

“But if I were to stand in front of that door again—” Her voice cut off abruptly, choked back like a trapped animal, “No one made it out.”

Once again, her vision was covered, and her wrists were restrained. The sound of his footsteps echoed through the steel floor as he slowly ascended the stairs. Just like that day, Kim Hyun opened the door and left.

Seoryeong had to take deep, steadying breaths to keep her surging emotions at bay.

“――”

With every thudding step on the stairs, she pictured him peeling off his voice modulator, unbuttoning his shirt one by one, and stripping away his mask.

By the time he reached the surface, he would be gone without a trace.

She had no idea where she was, but she threw herself against the door, determined to break free.

But unlike before, the chair didn’t break. Only her shoulder throbbed with pain. And then, as if to remind her of her own exhaustion, hunger crept in, draining the strength from her limbs.

How many minutes had passed? Thirty? No, could it have been an hour?

Then, the door burst open. The sharp clack of dress shoes rang out.

“You are free to leave now.”

Two men, likely NIS agents, unfastened her handcuffs and informed her in an indifferent tone.

The moment she was unrestrained, Seoryeong ripped off the blindfold and sprinted forward like an unchained beast.

She had wasted too much time.

A gnawing fear clawed at her—what if all her efforts had been for nothing? Her nails dug into her palms.

She had to find him.

Chasing the light above, she bolted out of the building.

BEEP—!

A loud honk blared as she was thrown backward by an oncoming motorcycle.

“Argh! Damn it, watch where you’re going!”

Even in her dizzy state, a laugh escaped her lips.

Fluent Korean. Korean signs everywhere.

“Hah…!”

What the hell? Had she been in Korea all along?

She had no sense of how much time had passed. Had she lost an entire day in transit?

She frantically patted her pockets, but her tactical vest, the one carrying anything useful. was long gone. Her phone was on the cargo ship.

She couldn’t afford to lose him now.

And at that moment, nothing else mattered.

“Hey, hey, HEY! You thieving little—!”

Ignoring the shouting, Seoryeong grabbed the phone attached to the fallen motorcycle and bolted.

She dialed one of the few numbers she had memorized.

Her heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst through her throat.

The moment the ringing stopped, Seoryeong gasped out in sheer exhilaration—

“Channa, I did it! I made it!”