Chapter 89.2

Chapter 89.2

“What’s that supposed to—”

“Try removing the magazine.”

Seoryeong, tense, fumbled awkwardly. He just watched her quietly until, suddenly, a target appeared in her blind spot. In an instant, he overlapped his hand with hers.

With a swift movement, he inserted the magazine, pushed the bolt forward, chambering a round. He then aimed at the approaching target and shot it down. The recoil was so strong that their bodies shook together.

“You should never shoot at something you can’t take responsibility for.”

“…!”

His voice suddenly murmured past her ringing ears.

“Either kill them for sure or take care of them until the end. It’s always one or the other.”

The steady rhythm of his heartbeat resonated through their touching backs.

“That’s the rule for people like us.”

Once the warmth from his arms and shoulders faded, she felt as if she could breathe again, like someone emerging from underwater. She glanced at Lee Wooshin, who was now giving feedback to the other team members, then shook her head sharply.

Focus!

The more she thought about it, the more she clenched her teeth over the deputy manager’s kidnapping case. That was the only thing keeping her mind sharp, driving her forward.

No matter what Lee Wooshin did, Kim Hyun was hers. The one thing she could never let go.

***
“What’s up with your lips? Did you eat something bad?”

After the two-hour training session, the team members were drenched in sweat. Each had a sports towel draped around their necks as they left the training ground. Ki Taemin broke the awkward silence with his blunt question.

“Allergic reaction?”

The other shooters exchanged glances and shot disapproving looks in Seoryeong’s direction, which she noticed clearly.

“Your lips are really swollen…”

“Ah—this neat freak is really showing his lack of skills, isn’t he…?”

Ki Taemin bent over as if truly concerned, inspecting the new comer’s lips, while Jin Hojae, grabbing his friend’s head, slumped his shoulders for some reason. He muttered something like, “Damn… hands are super fast…” while tossing a towel over his wet face.

Whenever their eyes briefly met, there was a gloomy look, but Seoryeong decided to ignore it. She would rather die than get sucked into a conversation trying to offer some half-baked excuse.

Besides, she couldn’t think of any reasonable explanation.

‘I had a weapon in my hand but couldn’t push him away. Maybe I was worried the gun would go off accidentally. I guess I’m kinder than I thought.’

Forget it. Seoryeong bit down harder on her swollen lips. If she couldn’t even convince herself, she wouldn’t call it an excuse. At this point, she’d rather be like Yoo Dawit, who bit a hair tie between his teeth and whistled nonchalantly.

As they moved toward the shower room, a group of people suddenly emerged from the long hallway. A door opened from what had seemed like a plain wall, and a bunch of refreshed-looking team members came flooding out.

Seoryeong blinked rapidly and stared at the sliding door as it silently closed again.

“What’s that place?” she asked.

Ki Taemin, who was standing nearby, hesitated for a moment, clearly reluctant to answer.

“Senior?”

“That’s just the injection room. It’s not something you need to worry about, Han Seoryeong.”

“Injection room?” she cut him off, eyes wide.

“Is that where they give out the drugs?”

She suddenly remembered something Lee Wooshin had mentioned before. He had talked about a coach in the company who prepared various substances, and from the tone of his voice, it didn’t seem like he was referring to legal medication.

Her suspicion was confirmed when she noticed the discomfort on Ki Taemin’s face.

“Some of the guys wear out easily, get irritable, or have trouble sleeping. That much is fine. But a lot of them start going in there for ‘milk injections’ as a substitute for sleeping pills. Don’t get involved. The ones who go there often don’t last long around here.”

“Milk injections?”

“Propofol. It’s a type of anesthetic. It makes them feel like they’ve had a deep, refreshing sleep, and they get addicted to it.”

She was well aware of propofol. One shot and you’d pass out in 5 to 10 seconds, and wake up in about 10 minutes.

“Just put some ice on your swollen lips. And don’t even think about going there.”

“Yeah, I’ll stay away,” she replied.

But no matter what, I’m definitely checking it out.

Seoryeong nodded obediently, but she continued to stare at the section of the wall she never would have guessed was a door, if not for the small crack.

―Do you want to lose your sight again?

The chilling voice from her past, and the National Intelligence Service officer who knew everything about Kim Hyun. His threatening tone had made it seem like he knew everything that had happened to her.

It wouldn’t be long until she met that woman face-to-face.