Chapter 41.1

Chapter 41.1

No one is an honorable soldier here, nor an athlete clean from dope. You’re in Blast because you’re in good shape, and steroid injections are not uncommon here.”

“….”

“We even have our drug coach. He mixes Dianabol pills with Anadrol 50 and gives them a little adrenaline to give them a little boost. There’s a lot of assholes who go out on missions with that stuff on purpose.”

He frowned slightly, but his voice was soft as bait. His face relaxed as if he were about to offer some sort of appeasement, and he squeezed her shoulder hard.

“…I know. If you’re drugged and confident, I’m at least convinced.”

Then, he grabbed her wrist. His body heat pressed hard against her strong bones, and then he shook her wrist, which was so fleshless it looked like it was made of bone. Her arm flailed.

“I’ve been watching you, wondering what the hell you’re doing-”

Lee Wooshin raised the corner of his mouth, expressionless.

“Without drugs, wasn’t it a bit too much for you to climb the bars with this wrist?”

“……!”

“I would rather say you got an injection.”

He pressed his nails down hard somewhere on the inside of her elbow. It felt like he’d put a thumbtack on it to immobilize her, and she could feel the stinging pain through her clothes.

“I’d rather be told that you were drugged, and that would make my heart feel lighter.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re different.”

His gaze was deep and hard.

“More dangerous, more precarious than when we first met.”

Seoryeong felt a strange scratching on her nerves.

The first time she’d met him had been at work, at best. The only time they spoke was in the car on the way to the factory, and then she was just an employee delivering lunches in a housekeeper’s uniform, which was a far cry from now.

He murmured in the same tone.

“It also means that you keep many things I still don’t know about.”

“I don’t understand why you think my keeping up with the training will be a problem.”

“Because it will be a problem for me in the future.”

“….”

“If Han Seoryeong doesn’t falter during this training,”

There was a certain intensity in how he sat, his back to the sun. Though he often appeared disinterested, certain topics would draw her to him in like a dark vortex.

Was it because she was a woman, or did it signify something deeper?

Seoryeong rubbed her eyes, feeling a hint of skepticism.

“I wasn’t drugged, at least.”

“It’s a shame.”

A sharp glance flickered in her eyes, questioning his sincerity.

“But there’s always a way, if you trust me.”

Dealing with him was uneasy precisely because of this. He had a knack for prying open people’s defenses, leaving Seoryeong feeling vulnerable in his presence.

Seoryeong knew her image to him was bad since the start.

The first time they met, she wasn’t much to look at in her cook and janitress uniform. The second time, she stank of eggs. He sacked her for killing someone in self-defense, and now he’s determined to show her all the ugly sides he thinks she’s got.

“I’ve always struggled to control my urges,” she confessed, laying bare her soft spot to her opponent.

Revealing this vulnerability went against her training, defying what her teacher had drilled into her. But she wanted to mess up deliberately, to flaunt her flaws and push him away.

Every time she tried to outdo him, she’d drag out this image of herself like a weapon. And every time, she felt a bit rebellious, like she was breaking some rule.

“So, I’m not scared of much. Sickness, hurting people—I’ve gotten used to it all. And yeah, I wasn’t surprised that I killed someone.”

“…!”

“Though I did it sooner than I thought.”

She lowered her voice like she was sharing a secret.

“That’s who I am.”

Seoryeong casually touched Lee Wooshin’s uniform. In return, he didn’t move his gaze, which was glued to her like an adhesive, even when her hand touched him.

“I’m not afraid of anything except my husband.”

“….”

“I’ve endured and excelled in gymnastics since I was very young so this training is no big deal to me.”

At that, Lee Wooshin’s brows slowly drew together as if she was thinking hard. As if she had never heard of it before, which of course she had, since it was her first time speaking.

“… when you were a kid?”

“Yes.”

“How young?”

“Uhhh…”

Seoryeong, who had been speaking naturally, paused for a moment. When… when was it, exactly?

Ah….She first tried on a gymnastics uniform in elementary school, but she started actively participating in competitions and joining the gymnastics team in junior high school.

Seoryeong furrowed her brow for a moment. But why did she say ‘very’ young?

She felt uncomfortable with herself, but then she remembered the vivid image of her gymnastics team in middle school, and the minor annoyance disappeared as if it were a mistake.

“But the injections, do they make you stronger?” When Seoryeong subtly asked, he immediately showed a noticeable change of expression. Lee Wooshin straightened his knees, stood up, and turned his back as if suddenly realizing something.