Chapter 149.1

Chapter 149.1

A single child was left alone in the large reception room.

After completing extreme training, the prospective agents were treated to a grand banquet before facing their final test.

“The strategy of using children in war is an old tactic. Sending a child into enemy territory to induce soldiers’ complacency has been done for ages. In such a moment, will you be able to shoot the child without hesitation through your scope?”

‘…’

“If you let that child in, hundreds or thousands of our allies will die. Yet, will you refrain from shooting just because it tugs at your conscience? What you should follow is not petty morality but patriotism and loyalty.”

‘…’

“Compassion is a hindrance to you.”

Sonya faced the faces of the prospective agents caught in a dilemma. Some bowed their heads and trembled, while others sobbed. Some ran out of the room, abandoning the test, while others lit up cigarettes.

Still, some kept their lips tightly sealed and aimed their guns. The moment they cocked their weapons, Sonya whistled and leaped over the furniture on all fours. She hoped Kia, who had been dragged into the next room, would respond to her signal.

At Sonya’s sudden movement, the prospective agents ultimately fired their bullets. Bang, bang! The chandelier shattered, and the windows broke. Grabbing the curtains, Sonya broke the window and threw herself into the air.

“Sonya!”

At that moment, Kia, hanging from the curtains in the adjacent window, flew up in the same manner. Like a perfect pair, they grabbed each other’s arms and climbed onto the roof.

She didn’t know how many children died, but they became the pair that survived the longest until the winter storm exploded.

Sonya and Kia.

Together, the children became more ferocious. In the dark mansion where the lights didn’t turn on, their aggression reached new heights.

They were some poor, fierce beings raised for a purpose. Young beasts that did not fear running on all fours.

Sonya hid like a mouse, clutching a knife between her teeth, her eyes gleaming.

And she always survived.

***

“Don’t touch your head carelessly.”

At some point, their heads were shaved, and we were made to wear heavy masks. When the cold metal touched my forehead, it gave off a sharp tingle. The weight tightened around Sonya’s skull so much that her neck would bend from the strain. Her head ached constantly throughout the day.

Since then, her memories had become fragmented. Kia, once so lively, spoke less and less, and he didn’t feel hungry even if he didn’t eat.

Occasionally, when she scratched her head because it itched, she would get scolded harshly by the servants guarding the mansion.

“Doing that will only make the wound worse! Don’t touch it until it heals!”

Sonya had no memory of injuring her head, yet they said there was a wound at the back. These days, she would wake up to find days of memories missing, but she thought little of it.

The mask that covered her entire face tightly squeezed her head during the periods when the prospective agents didn’t come. They slept in a daze and suffered from terrible headaches.

“Sonya, Sonya… my head hurts…”

“My back of the head itches…”

They looked at each other’s tearful eyes through the openings of the mask. To support the heavy mask, they would lean their heads together whenever they could.

Then, when they took off their masks and headed back to the annex, their bodies felt strangely light. Everything looked clearer, and she could hear better. Even though she hadn’t eaten much, Sonya felt full of energy.

If they encountered someone hot-tempered or cold-blooded, it was common for their faces to come back sunken, but at least they didn’t die.

Since her head had been throbbing, they became more brutal and spilled more blood. They barely survived.

However, when Sonya saw the brothers leaving this world, she couldn’t help but feel envious.

Is it… liberating? Have the brothers found peace now that their suffering has ended? Every time such thoughts crossed her mind, Kia would cling to her like a ghost.

“Sonya, I don’t like that look in your eyes.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you want to die and leave like the brothers?”

“…”

“Don’t you want to be here with me?”

“I don’t know.”

“You can’t die, Sonya. You can’t leave me behind.”

“Okay….”

“Promise me. Promise me, Sonya.”

Sonya gazed endlessly at the dazzling snowy landscape. The bodies of the children being carried away looked so small. Weakly extending her pinky finger, a hand as solid as a steel ring intertwined with her.

***

As the annex door creaked shut, the paradise-like scenery was gradually consumed by darkness. Then, the coffin opened, and a sudden light rushed in front of her eyes.

“Seoryeong, pull yourself together, Han Seoryeong!”