Chapter 28.2

Chapter 28.2

“Thanks for disobeying your leader’s command and running wild on your own, I finally have the opportunity to get rid of what’s been bothering me all along. I wanted to express my gratitude while I’m at it, but looking at that dumbfounded expression of yours, it seems unnecessary.”

He pointed his chin at Seoryeong, who was speechless.

“Listen to me…!”

Seoryeong, now fully alert, retorted sharply. In response, the man’s large hand firmly grabbed the back of her head.

The scalp tingled under the firm grip. Iweusin locked eyes with her, delivering his warning with each word as if driving a nail into a coffin.

“Remember? The moment you killed someone with a gun.”

Her shoulders twitched involuntarily at the unexpected reminder.

The patience she maintained while enduring the knife, the adrenaline that surged like a pump, the excitement of shooting wildly, and the moment of intense focus when she aimed for the vital spot.

She vividly remembered every moment. She hadn’t overlooked a single thing.

“Seoryeong, you shot and killed a person as a civilian.”

“…”

“Just because the company covered it up doesn’t mean we can shamelessly turn a blind eye.”

A chilling voice admonished quietly.

“But you can still pass it off as a horrific nightmare once. Before you go down the wrong path, it’s time to stop. This isn’t where you belong, Seoryeong.”

The once relaxed grip that had grabbed her tightened lightly and irresponsibly.

“It’s already twisted enough as it is.”

Lee Wooshin got up from the bed and tightened his loosened tie.

There was nothing but duty and annoyance in his withdrawn demeanor, nothing more than that of a man in charge.

The man who had effortlessly approached now distanced himself as effortlessly as he had come.

“If Seoryeong were my subordinate, it wouldn’t end like this. I wouldn’t have cut you off so simply, so kindly, with such an explanation. Instead, I’d have carved you to death.”

“…”

“So go back to your ordinary life. This is my final courtesy.”

The opaque mist from the humidifier spread between them.

“If you can’t discard someone without hesitation, then don’t look this way. Don’t make anything precious. Just live safely in a world where taking care of patients with sincerity is always the right answer.”

“….”

“I need someone who is easy to throw away and easy to turn around, and I don’t see much value in someone like you. It’s embarrassing and uncomfortable to watch you, Ms. Han Seoryeong, spouting off platitudes because you’ve lived your whole life like that.”

The man with his back turned, straightening his clothes, looked away. With a crisp smile, he drove the last wedge as if proposing a date.

“Then do me a favor and we’ll never see each other again?”

When Seoryeong had no answer, he shrugged his shoulders once and left the hospital room with a flourish. The click of the door closing was resolute and cold.

Seoryeong couldn’t hide her despondent expression in the hospital room.

She couldn’t even grasp what had just happened. She simply lay there, her body limp with confusion.

Blinking her eyelids slowly, she stared at the ceiling, and only belatedly did she realize the situation.

Was I… fired?

* * *

A few days passed like that.

From the day Seoryeong woke up, Lee Wooshin no longer visited the hospital room. He was finished with her and there was nothing to discuss.

The nurse who often came in to check on her would say, “A handsome man often came by when you were unconscious.”

The only thing that stuck with her was the fact that she was suddenly unemployed.

Seoryeong also visited Channa’s room when she got the strength.

A girl lying still, as if dead, with her eyes closed.

Around her were Jeong Pilgyu and his wife, both with worried expressions, and their young daughter, surrounding Channa.

Seoryeong didn’t care about the uneasy gaze of Jeong Pilgyu. She stared at the thick bandages around Channa’s neck for a long time before leaving the room.

Yeah. She’s alive. Even if she doesn’t wake up right away… she’s alive. I told you I wouldn’t let you die alone.

Seoryeong smiled as she walked back down the corridor, a smile she had hidden away.

You know… I shot that bastard.

Thinking back to that moment, her pulse beneath her jaw surged strongly. It was strangely not an unpleasant sensation.