Chapter 80.1

Chapter 80.1

“Hello, this is the door lock company.”

Seoryeong, bewildered by this unexpected call, hurried home.

The company claimed to offer a service where employees were dispatched immediately if there was damage to the door lock.

Until she got the call, Seoryeong had no idea her front door even had such a feature. It must have been something her husband arranged.

“What in the world!”

As she arrived at her doorstep, she was met with an unexpected sight—someone was standing off against the security company staff.

She froze for a moment, then closed her slightly parted lips and took a step forward. The man in the vest noticed her and greeted her.

“You’re the homeowner, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Why?”

“Ah! Finally, someone I can talk to. We responded to a security alert, and this person here was caught tampering with your door lock. They keep insisting they know you, but…”

The staff member finally let out a sigh of relief, but Seoryeong’s confused gaze quickly shifted to the so-called “person” he was referring to.

The figure standing on the small landing took up the entire space with his large frame and broad shoulders. The imposing presence made her instinctively frown.

“You messed with the doorbell last time, and now you’re tearing off the lock, Instructor,” she said.

“Did you change your number?”

His question was blunt. It could have been a simple inquiry about whether she had updated her number on time, or it could have been an interrogation asking “why” she had changed it. It was ambiguous, depending on how one interpreted it.

“Yes, this morning.” Seoryeong then spoke to the employee, “An intruder silently got in, and when I thought about it, people like them probably already know everything about our front door.” She deliberately avoided mentioning the National Intelligence Service (NIS) while the security company employee was still present.

At that moment, the employee, who had been glancing over, still eyed Lee Wooshin with suspicion.

“No matter how I look at it, this man doesn’t seem to be your husband whom I met before.”

“What?”

Seoryeong’s face tightened at the passing comment.

“Do you remember my husband?”

“Yes, of course.”

The employee furrowed his brow briefly before speaking.

“He was extremely tall, and he kept reminding me to take good care of the door lock in case his wife, who wasn’t well, had any trouble.”

“When was this?”

“Pardon?”

Seoryeong hurriedly grabbed the man’s wrist, causing him to stumble back in surprise. But this was the first time she’d come across someone who had seen Kim Hyun, and her heart sank. Without blinking, she pressed him.

“When did you see him?”

“Ah! It was just before the year changed, sometime last fall.”

“…!”

That was right before Kim Hyun disappeared. Seoryeong gripped his wrist tighter, her eyes blazing.

“What did he look like?”

“Excuse me?”

“You said you saw my husband, right? What did he look like?”

“Ah!”

“Do you remember any particular features?”

At that moment, Lee Wooshin, who had been silently watching, clicked his tongue sharply. He looked at Seoryeong with a gaze so intense it seemed like he might press into her bruised cheeks, then ran his hand through his hair as if this was all a nuisance.

“Well, he looked strong and kind, I suppose?”

“Like a rock?”

“What? Hmm, not that rugged.”

“But he was a handsome man, with a traditional look, wasn’t he?”

Seoryeong desperately wanted confirmation of her husband’s face, something she had only been able to sketch out in her mind since his disappearance.

Since everyone around them had vanished after he did, this was the first witness, and even the slightest confirmation would make Kim Hyun feel real again.

“Ah, yes! That’s right!”

The employee nodded vigorously.

“But, your husband isn’t around anymore, is he?”

His tone suddenly softened, and a curious gaze lingered on Seoryeong for a moment.

“So, are you living alone now?”

“Alone? Hardly.”

At that moment, a cold voice abruptly interrupted.

“Can’t you see her lover’s got a temper?” Lee Wooshin had disappeared after carelessly tossing the bag earlier, but now he was back, dressed sharply in a clean black suit.

Yet, no matter how formal his attire, it didn’t change the fact that he had forcefully torn off the door lock, which now dangled from one of his hands.

The wires, each of different lengths, hung loose like severed veins, and the pad cover was completely shattered.

“What are you thinking, asking questions like that?” Lee Wooshin growled to the employee.

“…!”

“If she really lived alone.”

He yanked the employee by the collar, his cold eyes scanning the man’s face from top to bottom.

“I would’ve gone to your house first today.”

“…!”

“You said her husband asked you to take good care of things, right? Then you should’ve done your job properly instead of pulling this nonsense.”

“What nonsense? I never—!” The employee, barely keeping his balance on his tiptoes, struggled.

“You’re not the only one with access to customer information.”

At Lee Wooshin’s warning, the employee, pale with fear, quickly fled, but the real problem came afterward. Seoryeong sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Instructor! You always have to get involved in my business, don’t you? It would’ve been great if we could’ve gotten a sketch out of him.”

“A sketch is for a wanted criminal poster.”

“Exactly!”

“…”

Lee Wooshin frowned, clearly dissatisfied. Then he bent down, locking eyes with her. His voice, low and precise, had the firm tone of someone teaching a child.

“You don’t associate with creeps like that. Even if you looked for him, there’s no chance you’d run into him again, so stop wasting your energy.”

He spoke as if it were an absolute truth.

Caught in a strange feeling, she just stared at him in silence. Suddenly, old doubts and complaints she’d pushed to the back of her mind resurfaced.

“I didn’t ask the other day because I was distracted, but… I saw your car leaving the alley. How did you know to come back?”

“Something didn’t feel right.”

His eyebrow flicked up lazily.

“And does messing with someone else’s door lock seem like the logical response?”

“I didn’t know the code anyway.”

“…”

“But I figured if I crossed the line, Agent Han Seoryeong would come running out faster. And personally, I think it worked pretty well.”

Seoryeong was at a loss for words. Honestly, considering how she had rushed out in a panic when he forced the door lock open, he wasn’t entirely wrong.

“I didn’t expect our Agent Han Seoryeong to be one to argue about common sense,” he added with a grin, pushing the broken door lock back and forth with his thumb.

“Once a lock is broken, it’s useless anyway. I was planning to replace it with a new one today.”

“And without even telling the homeowner?”

“You don’t have that much faith in an instructor you slept with in the snow.”

“…”