Chapter 74.2

Chapter 74.2

“What the hell! What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”

He finally snapped, unable to hold back his irritation as the bombshells dropped one after another. Yet, it wasn’t too hard to piece together the situation.

― The Owl had pulled a stunt similar to her previous attempt to defect to the North, involving the NIS, and during that process, the name “Kim Hyun” kept coming up. And then, it seems the Deputy Director agreed to the deal.

For some reason, a wave of discomfort rose within him, but his mind remained colder and clearer than ever as he analyzed the situation.

“Wonchang, if you can’t find a single account where the money is, the NIS should beat you up.”

―”Well, uh! The thing is, the money’s already been withdrawn in cash… We’ve only confirmed that it flowed into a casino in Macau. But I haven’t slept a wink for three days just trying to track it down! But as you know, once it goes into a casino–”

“Yeah, it gets laundered, making it much harder to trace.”

There’s no way the Owl did this alone. A casino, huh. Wasn’t this similar to how the case with the Bangladeshi bank heist ended a few years ago?

Suddenly, a youthful face came to mind, and Lee Wooshin’s expression turned grim.

It’s only been a few days. Just a few days since she left the training camp, and she’s already caused such a massive incident.

He took a deep, angry breath, his broad chest rising and falling. The lingering scent of her still at his nose only made his mood plummet further.

Damn it, really. An inexplicable heat churned inside him.

No matter how many times he slid his fingers into that wet hole, no matter how frantically he kissed her lips, erasing Kim Hyun from her was as difficult as removing an old tattoo.

Han Seoryeong ran only toward Kim Hyun, without a shred of shame, hesitation, or guilt.

Every time he watched her with a perfectly indifferent face, his emotions swung wildly, as if he were riding a broken swing. One moment, he was seething with rage, and the next, his heart felt like it was dropping to his feet.

He didn’t care to know what this feeling was called, nor did he want to find out. Emotions, after all, were meant to be suppressed, not nurtured. They were meant to be buried, not examined.

Emotions were a sign of weakness, and showing them only revealed the true faces of people.

The ugly, horrifying faces behind the masks.

Even the Owl, who once had such a gentle and demure face, turned out to be a liar. A cynical smile briefly crossed his lips.

That was the most brutal lesson Lee Wooshin learned from abandoning his grandfather’s harsh homeland, Russia.

Therefore, possessing nothing and becoming nothing—his steadfast mask was his greatest weapon and identity as a man. It was a rule of life that must never be broken.

To shake off his inherent disgust and self-loathing, Lee Wooshin became obsessed with utility. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the life of a competent black operative had been the only thing sustaining his empty self all this time.

―”So, Team Leader! I really need to make a call now.”

“…”

―”We have Kim Hyun’s voice data stored in our software. So now.”

He wanted to check how badly Han Seoryeong was hurt, but what ultimately held him back were duty, orders, and commands.

These were the most rational and effective means of motivating Lee Wooshin.

Coming back to his senses, he turned the wheel again like a well-trained machine. The emotion drained from his eyes, leaving them as cold as ice.

―”There might be a slight delay, but we’ll properly mask Kim Hyun’s voice and send it out. And this… was the Deputy Director’s order. I don’t know why, but I’m sorry. I don’t feel great about this either.”

Lee Wooshin’s eyebrow twitched. As he listened quietly, something about this didn’t sit right with him.

The dark road ahead stretched endlessly, like a tunnel with no end, leading to nowhere.

―“So, leave the call to us, and you should hurry to the Deputy Director’s second office.”

“Either Wonchang’s talking nonsense, or my understanding is slipping,” Lee Wooshin cut in coldly, his brow deeply furrowed.

―“What?”

“The Owl is looking for Kim Hyun, so why would I leave that to you?”

―“Huh? Well, that’s because…”

Wonchang stuttered, as if trying to backtrack and fix his mistake. But when he heard the low yet stern “Wonchang,” it was as if he choked back a sob before blurting out.

―“That’s because another one of our agents, not you, is going to impersonate Kim Hyun!”

The day had been uncomfortable from the start, but it finally reached its peak.

―”Do you really think Deputy Director Joo Seolheon would easily hand over a real black agent? He thinks of ‘Kim Hyun’ not as you but as an NIS asset. Ah! We’re starting the call now, so I’m busy, gotta go!”

It felt as if a carefully stitched seam somewhere deep inside him had suddenly torn apart. His previously cold head boiled over in an instant, and his vision blurred.

Already on edge from the imitation, Lee Wooshin cursed under his breath as he violently turned the steering wheel again.

He ended up returning to the place that was once his workplace, his and Han Seoryeong’s newlywed home.