Chapter 153.2

Chapter 153.2

When one child momentum and began to fall toward the flames, the other caught him, pulling him back up, only for the roles to reverse moments later. Then, hands found each other again midair.

The audience erupted in applause and cheers.

Suddenly, her gaze locked onto something, feet as hard and rough as a bear’s paws. From then on, she barely registered the performance, her focus entirely consumed by those pitch-black, calloused soles.

Then, one child, their ankle hooked around the trapeze, stretched out toward the audience.

“…!”

The moment her eyes met the child’s outstretched hand, time seemed to slow.

Black hair. Black eyes. A small, delicate face like a polished pebble.

But those eyes, deep and hollow, utterly lifeless for a child…

Even as flames licked at the hem of their clothes, their gaze remained eerily calm.

Could you even call them children?

Embers from their skirt streaked like falling stars as they spun through the air.

An uneasy feeling twisted inside Joo Seolheon, but she clenched her fists, refusing to show it.

Then, whoosh! The child, carried by the wind, extended a flower toward her.

Even as people around her reached out like hungry jaws, the child’s expression didn’t waver.

Ah…

Without thinking, she accepted the burning flower. The fleeting touch of their fingers was unbearably rough, how could a child’s hands be rougher than hers?

She didn’t want the flower, she wanted to grab their hand. They were close enough to snatch up and hold. Her dazed gaze stayed locked onto the child.

“Are they… this skilled because of training?”

“Seems so.”

The children flew through the air with terrifying grace. Joo Seolheon didn’t even blink as she stared up at them.

“Those children are third-generation Koryo-saram from the Sakhalin monastery.”

“…!”

What… did he just say?

Her heart plummeted.

“Remember what I told you about North Korea? They send female agents abroad to get pregnant, all to diversify their spy pool. Those seeds will grow up to infiltrate the world. Well, Russia hasn’t given up on its ambitions for Eurasia either.”

“….”

“They don’t want Siberian faces, they want black hair, black eyes, children who can blend seamlessly into Asia.”

“….”

“To Russia, those children are assets.”

The elegant guests, sipping tea and nibbling cookies, suddenly picked up the rods placed beneath their seats. Refined as they were, they began hurling them like javelins or swinging them like clubs at the children.

Damon handed her a sharpened rod, but Joo Seolheon couldn’t move.

She just kept clutching the flower, now charred black down to its stem.

“They need to be hardened now so they can be sent across Asia one day. The whole country is raising them as future operatives.”

“….”

“Right now, they’re just small fry, but imagine when those children grow into adults. By then, they’ll be perfectly brainwashed operatives.”

“….”

“They’ll infiltrate every corner of Asia, moving under Russia’s orders. But among them, there’s one seed that we planted, Zoya. A truly artistic trap. I believe that single flaw could ruin Russia’s entire plan.”

Damon applauded the children bowing on the trapeze.

“Zoya, you’ve done something truly monumental.”

Joo Seolheon clenched her fists. She should be happy. She should stand tall.

“When you return to Korea, a position worthy of your efforts awaits, one so prestigious you won’t feel a shred of regret. Rapid promotions won’t be a problem, either. Congratulations. You endured this godforsaken frozen country well.”

Only then did Joo Seolheon realize; she was the one who had become inhuman.

She had finally looked up at the heights she’d longed for, only to find angels drifting there.

And the cost of reaching them was more horrifying than she’d ever imagined.

What she’d created weren’t triumphs, but pitiful little monsters and one day, they would come back to judge her.