Chapter 178.2

Chapter 178.2

“Patient, are you having trouble remembering? Please look at this light!”

When he washed his face in the dirty lake water, sometimes that child would come to mind. But wasn’t it just a brief, fleeting vacation like a dream? 

Even so, he felt powerless and miserable, and he punched the muddy water in frustration.

“Young master, you have finally become an adult. Happy birthday.”

“D*mn, you late-born brat. Happy birthday!”

After all, they had rolled through the battlefield together for several years.

His grandfather was right. One should not trust people or emotions. The moment one leans on emotions, they become desperately weak.

The shabby cake was crushed, and the fireworks poked at his eyes. In the end, it was all about money. After dodging those bastards and wandering through war zones, he felt a sense of futility realizing it was all a vicious cycle.

What’s so damn wrong with this?

In the war zones, corpses lay scattered, and it was a lawless land where no one cared.

Lee Wooshin shot down all the greedy comrades who charged at him. Blood splattered on his face, and the party hats rolled on the ground.

Once again alone, Lee Wooshin stepped on the pure white cake and blew out the candle, the flame still flickering.

‘Yes, happy birthday, Lee Wooshin. You were born d*mn well. He didn’t cry anymore.’

***

As soon as he became an adult, he fled to the Korean army. No matter how much they targeted “Yuri Solzhenitsyn,” surely they wouldn’t chase him all the way to the Korean military.

“Shall we shake hands first? I’m Joo Seolheon. It’s nice to see you like this.”

“National Intelligence Service?”

“You’re quite famous in the special forces. Isn’t military life a bit stifling?”

“….”

“How about working with me?”

“What’s in it for me?”

“I can offer you something big. Let me ask you this instead: is there anything you want?”

After being scouted by the National Intelligence Service, he lived freely behind various masks. He approached targets with a mix of goodwill, benevolence, and murderous intent, changing his expressions as easily as breathing. Acting was easy, and people were even easier.

He hid “Yuri” in the deepest part and wore every face he could. This was what Yuri Solzhenitsyn, no, Lee Wooshin, did best.

Whether it was innate or learned, he felt no guilt.

That’s how he could live shamelessly and brazenly for ten years. It was boring, tedious, and one day he even sought psychiatric counseling.

At dawn, he would suddenly feel like dying when looking at the scenery.

“Hyun.”

Suddenly, he found it easy to sleep.

Was the rice this fragrant and delicious?

Silly conversations wer fun. He was on edge when she laughed. Bathtubs were the greatest invention, and surprisingly, he was good at housekeeping.

Eventually, even a simple walk made his heart race. He wasn’t a dog, yet for some reason, he found himself constantly checking the time, waiting to hea her shy voice asking, “Hyun, shall we go outside?”

After taking a stroll around the neighborhood, he buried his face in his wife’s neck in the sunlit living room and took a nap.

It had a strangely nostalgic scent.

As this fake married life stretched on, it felt as if his skin was breaking out in a rash, itching and stinging from the false facade.

He sensed cracks forming from the places he had tightly suppressed. Accepting such unfamiliar changes was unpleasant and frightening, so he left abruptly without looking back.

It was clear what would happen if he succumbed to the comfort she offered.

Pull yourself together. The moment you trust, you break again.

“Patient, do you remember the circumstances of the accident? Please tell me slowly, in order.”

“I got married.”

A clear line was drawn through the foggy mess in his mind. An egg-shaped head, long and abundant hair, a delicate neck, straight shoulders…

The silhouette of a woman he could draw thousands of times emerged vividly.

“Actually, it was twice. Once, I abandoned her, and during our honeymoon in Azerbaijan, I was abandoned.”

“And then?”

“….”

Suddenly, laughter burst forth. Lee Wooshin pushed the doctor away with one arm and called for Na Wonchang, who was huddled in the corner with his eyes. He had just woken from a very long dream. When he nodded his finger, Na Wonchang startled and rushed over.

“Team, Team Leader! Are you okay? Is it really you–”

“Report.”

“…Yes?”

“Report the current situation.”

Amidst the swaying chaos, only one woman stood tall like a mast. As the last farewell, filled with blood and hatred, came to mind, a sharp pain throbbed in his gut.

‘Yes, pull yourself together, you bastard. It’s not about breaking; she has already restored the broken you.’

‘Now, I have a family.’

‘I have a love that makes me stronger.’

“Where is my owl now?”