Chapter 86.2

Chapter 86.2

“Have you never once thought that the feelings you have for your husband might come from selfishness? If an NIS agent got involved, they likely manipulated those subtle cracks and widened them deliberately.”

“….”

“Why are you so blindly convinced of your emotions?”

Snap, snap. The long nails continued to be trimmed bit by bit.

“What’s even worth trusting in this world? I’ve never found anything I could rely on.”

“….”

“If you understand, figure out what’s false and discard it. That’ll make your life easier, Agent Han Seoryeong.”

Each of his words dug deep into the tangled emotions she had buried inside.

His words, stomping on the ground beneath her, stirred both fury and a deep, helpless sadness—a duality of emotions she found hard to manage.

And yet, even in the midst of this storm, her nails continued to be cut, his careful, almost gentle touch contrasting with the chaos he was stirring within her.

With all her strength, she yanked her hand free. Her nails, half-cut, dangled messily at the ends.

“…Even if it wasn’t love, I don’t care.”

She spat out the words she had been holding back.

“Does it even matter what my emotions were at this point? Maybe you’re right, Instructor. Maybe I am selfish. I selfishly want Kim Hyun. And all I need is for him to come back in front of me.”

Though anger flushed her face, she felt naked and ashamed, as if she had been stripped bare. Yet she swallowed all her mixed emotions and pressed on. His cold reasoning, ironically, had sharpened her mind.

“I’m not just searching for my husband because of love. It’s not just because I miss him or because I’m heartbroken. My reasons aren’t that pure, so don’t provoke me.”

“….”

“I will starve Kim Hyun. I will torture him, just like you taught me.”

Wooshin, who had been listening with a cold expression, suddenly dragged his hand across his face, looking weary.

“And I will make him confess everything. What he did to me. What the NIS did! Everything I still don’t understand, I will hear it all from Kim Hyun’s own mouth!”

“….”

“So, as my accomplice, do what suits your role.”

Seoryeong’s eyes blazed as she spoke, as if trying to anchor her crumbling heart. But her already wounded heart was fracturing further. An unidentifiable fear crept in, like a dark swarm of ants crawling up from inside her.

The cracks were forming from within. But her pride refused to let her acknowledge it, so she clenched her teeth even harder.

*Quickly… before everything changes… quickly…*

She clenched her fist tightly, and the uncut nail dug deep into her flesh. The pain brought her a strange sense of relief, like a breath of air escaping.

“Next week, I’ll meet with the Deputy Director of the NIS.” She mulled over the information that Director Kang Taegon had given her.

“I heard he’s giving a congratulatory speech at an academic event.”

At that moment, Wooshin raised an eyebrow, staring at her intently before letting out a faint, sarcastic laugh. In their shared gaze, a mixture of disbelief and vague admiration flickered.

“The Deputy Director, huh.” he muttered, a slow smirk creeping up the corner of his lips.

“Do you want me to bring him to you?”

Gathering the bits of clipped nails scattered across his thighs, he asked with a tone that sounded almost excited.

***

Blast Agency was buzzing from early morning.

From the lobby to the elevators, and all the way up to the office, the company was filled with murmurs about the security guards who had died.

The rumors were stoked by the fact that the Mongolian Director of Economic Development, staying at a hotel in Seoul, had died of a heart attack last night, as reported by the morning news. Some were whispering conspiracy theories.

“The more I think about it, the creepier it gets.”

Jin Hojae handed her a warm cup of tea as he spoke.

“Agent Han Seoryeong was at that scene, too. It’s such a relief she made it out unharmed, isn’t it?”

“I was just at the venue in the morning.”

“Still, you never know. Who can say if you might have brushed past that elusive culprit everyone’s being so secretive about?”

Just then, she looked up and locked eyes with Wooshin as he walked into the office.

She had wondered why he was missing since early dawn, but it seemed he had been busy training. His hair was wet, as was that of Agent Yoo Dawit, who walked in right behind him.

Her breakfast today had been tasteless fried rice again. Despite her constant complaints, he stubbornly insisted on serving it.

“Combat rations taste like this, so you better get used to it,” he’d said. She glared at the dry, crumbly rice grains before reluctantly picking up her spoon and shoveling it into her mouth.

Sigh.

Maybe a cup of tea would help settle her stomach. Just as she reached for the plum tea Jin Hojae had made, Wooshin approached, the scent of soap trailing behind him, and casually tapped her stomach as he passed by.

“…!”

Startled, she instinctively clutched her abdomen a second too late. It felt like a light tap on the back of her hand, but there was something unsettling as if he was gauging something.

Seoryeong vigorously rubbed her stomach to erase the lingering warmth from that brief contact. Wooshin, meanwhile, walked across the desks of the other agents without expression, heading to his seat.

However, there was a look of satisfaction etched on his profile as he passed.