Chapter 79.1-79.2

Chapter 79.1

The man instantly turned cold, bringing his hands together as if waiting for an order. However, despite his obedient posture with his hands folded, his head tilted to one side in a lazy manner.

Joo Seolheon frowned as she reviewed the situation, finding his attitude towards a superior to be utterly inappropriate. His calm demeanor, waiting for her response, was smug.

“Living together again? In that newlywed house, with you and the owl?”

Her voice suddenly exploded with a shout.

“Are you out of your mind? What if your old habits slip in front of someone who’s already regained their eyesight? What on earth are you thinking, barging in there? If this gets exposed, you’re going to jail!”

Joo Seolheon exclaimed, sounding dizzy with frustration.

“What’s there to expose? This time, I went in to erase ‘Kim Hyun.’”

“The owl needs to break up with Kim Hyun for good. That way, both the National Intelligence Service and I can go back to normal. Every time I see her unable to forget her husband and moping around, I feel like my head’s going to split from migraines. So, if I could just rid her of that obsession—”

Lee Wooshin sat on the armrest of the sofa, leaning forward until their eyes were level, then murmured in a low voice.

“Even if the deputy chief sends another ‘Kim Hyun’ at her, the owl will blow them all to pieces.”

“…!”

“Try sending more bastards in without a word. This time, they won’t even get past the front door.”

His cold eyes curved as he stood up. Straightening his clothes, Lee Wooshin muttered under his breath.

“A guy like me, who even breaks the law to do illegal surveillance, isn’t even worth keeping in the loop for the owl’s case, huh?”

Joo Seolheon rubbed her forehead in frustration. Is this bastard threatening me or not? She, looking like she had aged five more years, issued a stern warning.

“No matter what, you absolutely cannot use that.”

She pointed sharply at his groin with a wary gaze.

“Even during the Bird Box incident, you didn’t use makeup for your genitals. Don’t you dare whip it out and get caught!”

“…”

His previously brazen and indifferent expression faltered, with his eyebrows twitching slightly.

“Don’t you get it? If you get caught, it’s jail time!”

“….”

“I understand that the owl is a current threat, and I know you’ve infiltrated well to prevent it. But people like us are doomed to keep our mouths shut and protect confidentiality even after retirement. Understand? If one secret gets exposed, eventually all of them will. And then, you and I will rot in prison for leaking government secrets! That’s why there’s no such thing as a confession in our world!”

“….”

“Even a dam can collapse from an ant hole. So don’t let anything slip, not even the tiniest thing. Be more careful than ever. Don’t even try something the owl might notice. Don’t take it out, don’t touch it. Just don’t do anything reckless!”

“That’s why I got the tattoo.”

“What good is that when it looks exactly the same!”

“Well, if she’s bad, I’ll be bad to her too.”

“Just stop it when I say stop!”

Despite her exasperated words, Lee Wooshin only smiled, his expression unreadable.

This cocky bastard! Joo Seolheon instinctively realized that it was time to tighten her grip on him once again. A runaway by nature, once a guy like him disappears, he never returns. Lee Wooshin, who had been living that way since he was fourteen to escape Russia’s harsh winters, would be impossible to track down if he ever left the National Intelligence Service and decided to disappear.

If she wanted to keep using him and hold onto him, she would need some sort of leash.

“And that document you wanted to see…”

The deputy director stared at him, his jaw set. As expected, Lee Wooshin’s face instantly hardened. The fingers that had been twitching stopped.

“That ‘baby’ you carried around in Russia 18 years ago.”

“They’re dead.”

“But you still can’t let it go, can you? You’re still curious.”

“…”

“About what happened in that mansion.”

Lee Wooshin ran a hand over his face and turned his head. The man’s lips, which had been full of eerie, damp amusement, had gone cold. It was the first time the unruly man avoided meeting someone’s gaze.

Joo Seolheon spoke with relief, as if she had once again tightened the leash on his favorite agent.

“During my last trip to the U.S., I confirmed something. It seems there’s a record of the final days of the Solzhenitsyn family. There’s a rumor circulating even within the CIA, and it matches the document we’re looking for.”

The sharp outline of Lee Wooshin’s profile was briefly illuminated by the red glow of a passing headlight. His expression shifted with each flicker of light, but he still looked like a cliff, standing alone in the middle of winter. His emotionless face was like cold plaster.

“All I know for sure is that there was a Korean agent who infiltrated Russia and then disappeared. And it’s highly likely that the document he left behind contains the last record of that winter castle you lived in.”

“…”

“There might even be a mention of the child you’re looking for.”

Chapter 79.2 All Lee Wooshin remembered was a child without a face, age, or name. The child had been so small and young that its weight was

Chapter 79.2

All Lee Wooshin remembered was a child without a face, age, or name. The child had been so small and young that its weight was barely noticeable, even when held in one arm.

And yet, whether that memory was real or just a dream or an illusion became increasingly unclear as Lee Wooshin faced death after death.

However, behind that crude mask, there were those bright, beady eyes, shining like game pieces. Even though the child no longer existed, Lee Wooshin was still chasing after them, somewhere deep in his mind.

Even at the moment his emotions faded, and his humanity was eroded, that small, innocent creature ran through his thoughts, unaware of the world. Whether it was out of pity or guilt, he couldn’t say.

The child had died miserably in the place he once called home. Lee Wooshin, driven by his desire to uncover the mansion’s secrets, had become an agent solely for that truth.

“I’ll make sure to see that unredacted document to the end, Wooshin. Don’t let them catch your trail.”

“…”

“You’re the one who sharpened and trained this owl. You’re walking into a minefield.”

Without a word, Lee Wooshin gave a silent bow and turned away.

“And don’t be too hard on Wonchang.”

“…!”

His hand, which had been grasping the doorknob, froze.

“You knew who the ‘owl’ was, and yet you still started Bird Box. So what’s suddenly got you so curious? At first, it was all animosity, but has something more… human piqued your interest?”

“…”

“Don’t regret it later. A tool is just a tool, so end it there. Because right now, it seems like you’re the one playing the dangerous game.”

There was no turmoil in his heart. His face was expressionless as he shut the door behind him.

Only the empty sound of the unlit stairwell echoed in the silence. Outside the broken window, the fierce wind blew, and glass shards crunched underfoot.

Stepping out of the shabby building, Lee Wooshin stood still for a moment, lost in the darkness. Then, with an irritated tug, he roughly yanked at his turtleneck.

The suffocating air loosened just enough for a long breath to escape his lips. Thick veins bulged unnervingly from his neck, a stark contrast to his pale, cold skin.

He glanced up at the dark, snow-swept sky. There were no clouds in sight, and no sign of the owl.

***

“There is only one female deputy director. The First Deputy Director of the National Security Agency.”

Seoryeong had no choice but to admit she had been foolishly caught up in the situation as she looked at the unblemished, clean face in front of her. She was currently sitting across from Channa at a café near Blast Agency.

Early that morning, Seoryeong had tripped over a plain black bag left carelessly by her door. She immediately thought of Lee Wooshin’s face but shook her head as soon as a tablet PC was pushed in front of her.

“Focus, focus!”

“You said it was hard to get information on NIS officials. How did you find this?” she asked He Channa.

“Home addresses or personal details are tough, sure. But this is basic info they release to the media as part of promotions. The NIS is under the direct control of the president, so whenever there’s a change in administration, the higher-ups are replaced. When that happens, they intentionally make public things like the education and career backgrounds of the newly promoted,” Channa replied.

Joo Seolheon, the First Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service, graduated from Korea University and served as the head of information management at the National Security Council (NSC).

She was praised for her excellent organizational management skills, sociability, and quick thinking, achieving notable success in international intelligence— all details from the article.

So, it was this woman. Seoryeong’s lips curled up slightly.

“She’s the one I want,” she said.

“Pardon?”

“My next gamble.”

“…!”

Channa, having caught on to the deeper meaning behind Seoryeong’s words, muttered to herself, “Of all people, you pick the First Deputy Director…” But Seoryeong wasn’t listening.

Perhaps this woman was the only one who could explain everything—why she had blinded her and why she had sent Kim Hyun.

The resolute determination in Seoryeong’s eyes was unmistakable.

“Now that I have an accomplice, she’s the perfect target.”

Just then, her phone started buzzing. It was an unfamiliar number.