Chapter 165.2

Chapter 165.2

The emergency responders worked frantically, placing an oxygen mask over Wooshin’s face, cutting away his shirt, and sticking circular pads to his chest before connecting a tangle of wires.

As the paramedics swarmed him, Seoryeong was taken away, handed over to the Azerbaijani police based on witness statements.

The holding cell in the dead of night was pitch black. The iron bars, worn smooth by countless hands, were cold to the touch, and the concrete walls radiated a biting chill.

A single bench, bolted to the floor, sat in the moldy space, but no matter where she sat, the freezing air seeped into her bones.

Amid the snores of others curled up like shrimp, Seoryeong kept scrubbing her palms raw.

“…”

She tried wiping the blood off her hands, but it wouldn’t come clean. Expressionless, she spat onto her palm and rubbed harder. Each forceful scrub made the heavy handcuffs scrape her wrists red.

She rubbed obsessively, as if trying to peel her own skin off, until a single dry tear fell. Then, her frantic movements stopped abruptly.

‘Don’t cry. She gritted her teeth. Why the hell are you crying? What’s there to be sad about? You just got played by Wooshin again. That’s all.’

She quickly wiped her damp cheeks and kept scrubbing. But the feeling of being trapped in filth didn’t fade.

“Sonya.”

Her hands froze mid-scrub. A low hum echoed, followed by a long shadow stretching across the floor.

She jerked her head up, Kia stood there, his forehead pressed against the bars, his expression sorrowful.

“I really hate seeing you locked behind bars.”

He thumped his head against the bars and pouted. He usually wore priestly robes, but today, he looked no different from any other traveler.

Without his usual air of solemn gloom, he seemed years younger, but his eyes were darker than ever.

“Why are you only coming now?” she asked flatly.

Kia grinned.

“I was watching your wedding. The lamb was delicious. I probably ate two whole plates by myself.”

“…!”

“But I must have overdone it, thought I was gonna puke my guts out.”

He rubbed his stomach, frowning.

“Now that you’re done with everything, let’s go home.”

Seoryeong didn’t answer, just stared at her stained hands. Watching her blank expression, Kia suddenly shoved his arm through the bars and yanked her forearm.

“Snap out of it, Sonya. Since when does losing one agent faze us? We’ve been through worse.”

“…”

“If anything, we should celebrate your memories coming back. For me, today’s the happiest day. You finally got to empty a whole clip into Kim Hyun’s body, why the hell do you look like that?”

He scowled and kicked the bars lightly.

“Get up. These iron bars are pissing me off.”

“No.”

She forced out the words, her voice barely audible.

“He’s in surgery right now. I have to wait until it’s over.”

“Kim Hyun?”

“No. Lee Wooshin. The man I married today.”

“How many times have you married that bastard? What the hell do I care about his name? I told you to end things your own way, not to marry him twice, Sonya!”

Cursing under his breath, Kia shook the bars violently, as if sick to his stomach.

“Fck! This is complete bullsht!”

The loud outburst startled a few of the sleeping detainees, but Kia ignored them. Now that she looked, the guards who had been watching the holding cell were all gone.

She stared at Kia with fresh eyes. Just then, he jammed a key into the lock and glared at her.

“Sonya, do you want to rot in prison for the rest of your life like your father?”

“…!”

“Who the hell got you locked up in here? We don’t have time. We need to run. Now.”

“I know.”

Wooshin had tormented her until the very end. He was the kind of bastard who would take a bullet to his own stomach just to stop her from escaping, turning his wife into a fugitive. She rubbed her bloodstained hands against her chest.

People bled when they got hurt. It was a gun accident, part of Wooshin’s sick scheme. He had deliberately aimed away from any vital spots.

“Sonya, let’s go home.”

The cell door creaked open. Kia held out his hand.

“Yes, let’s go.”

The moment she took his hand, her vision flashed, petals from the wedding scattering through her mind.

Click, click. Camera flashes burst all around them, applause never ceasing. Seoryeong had marched forward in pure joy, surrounded by cheers, straight into the darkness.

Holding someone else’s hand.

‘I’ll never step back into the world again.’

Only the discarded wedding ring remained, spinning on the floor.