Chapter 37.2

Chapter 37.2

As Seoryeong limped away, she heard a stifled sigh from somewhere. The back of her head felt strangely stinging, but Lee Wooshin didn’t follow, nor did he turn away.

Until she disappeared into the building, he didn’t make a sound.

Seoryeong claimed the ruined dinner as the last one, too.

Drumming— drumming—.

Everyone snored through the night.

There wasn’t a man in the room who didn’t pass out first, even the ones who stuck their necks out for not sleeping with a woman.

After running around all day enough to wear out the soles of their feet, it was no easy task to fall unconscious as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

Seoryeong tossed and turned in a half-sleep state. Her body hurt so much that she couldn’t fall into a deep sleep and only made groaning noises from her mouth.

After a long day in a strange place where she couldn’t trust anyone, she couldn’t help but think of Kim Hyun. She buried her head in her blanket, her closed eyes tightening. If only she could sleep soundly in his arms…

She couldn’t help but feel such weakness. If only my husband would take care of me once. If only he would rub his warm palm over my body. If he kissed me and told me, everything would be okay…

Seoryeong bit her lip and exhaled sharply. Misplaced longing stuck like her like a scar.

Tsk-.

Something dropped and rolled on the floor, and an explosion of smoke quickly engulfed the room.

“…!”

Her bleary eyes fluttered open. She couldn’t make out what was happening through the thick smoke that obscured her vision, but she instinctively shouted.

“Wake up!”

She fanned herself and coughed acridly at the stinging air rushing into her nose. A few groans, ugh, ugh, ugh, could be heard faintly around her.

She tried to drag her throbbing body down to the foot of the bed, but in the brief moment when the thick smoke cleared, she saw through it a jet-black gas mask.

The inorganic mask stared silently down at her from the bedside. Her heart dropped at the ghastly sight, and a scream escaped her.

“Wha—!”

Before she could say anything, her mouth was gagged shut.

***

A gag was shoved into her panicked open mouth and a cloth was placed over her head. The hands binding her limbs with straps were undeniably rough. Before she could react, it was a race against time.

Most of her companions were easily subdued in their sleep, and a few shrewd ones struggled, but the first sight of white smoke in their sleepy state caused panic.

“Ugh, ugh……!”

She was lifted by someone’s shoulder and dragged outside. She didn’t mind that her vision was blacked out, but she didn’t like that she couldn’t use her limbs.

“Ugh!” she yelled through her gag and was simultaneously slapped hard on the ass. “What kind of an asshole…!” She cursed, her temper rapidly deteriorating since her arrival.

The cold sea breeze rushed in through her robe, and she stopped her pointless struggles and strained her ears to hear the sounds around her.

Then, the firm body surrounding her seemed to vibrate slightly, perhaps in mockery.

“What are you doing?”

The low, deep voice belonged to someone whose teeth gritted with familiarity.

“Ugh……!”

Before she could recognize his face, she was thrown.

Seoryeong landed hard, somewhere, but it didn’t hurt as much as she thought it would. The rest of the crew was falling in the same direction, one by one.

Just when she felt a hint of human warmth, the cold wind was blowing fiercely again like a sledgehammer. The sea breeze blew at full speed, tearing at the skin.

“……!”

With cloth wrapped around her head, she had no choice but to breathe through her mouth, as it covered her nostrils. But even with her mouth open due to the gag, breathing was difficult.

Is this torture or what…!

Seoryeong realized they must be out on the sea with their bodies swaying up and down.

On a boat… they’ve taken us on a boat!

Just as she thought, a wave crashed somewhere. She wriggled her bound body again. From the side, she heard someone struggling to breathe with a hoarse sound.

Then, the engine sound stopped, and the cloth wrapped around her head was suddenly pulled off.