Chapter 92.1

Chapter 92.1

What in the world is going on here?

Her fingertips stiffened, but she managed to pull her thoughts together.

If this guy was someone the Deputy Director brought along, he might be with the National Intelligence Service. The thought made her laugh bitterly. The whole situation left her feeling disgusted.

If there was anyone she had ever cared about in training, it was Dong Jiwoo, the very person standing in front of her now…

“Hah…”

Her arm tightened further around the Deputy Director’s neck. Dong Jiwoo glanced nervously between her and Joo Seolheon, then drew a knife with practiced ease, getting into position. Their gazes locked, suddenly as cold as if they were enemies.

“Did you plant that one too, Deputy Director?” she asked, gesturing toward Dong Jiwoo with her chin. Though there was no clear answer, the way Joo Seolheon’s eyes moved, as if checking on him, was enough to reveal his true affiliation.

“You really put a lot of effort into screwing me over, don’t you?”

It felt like something snapped inside her, leaving an emptiness in her chest. At the same time, a wave of anger surged so intensely that her lower lip trembled.

It wasn’t just Dong Jiwoo—it was the long-standing resentment she harbored toward the forces that had insidiously infiltrated every corner of her life.

Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to place these cursed puppets all over my life?

Just then, Dong Jiwoo advanced steadily, his knife raised. Seoryeong watched the distance between them shrink, then suddenly shoved the Deputy Director down the stairs and charged at him.

“――!”

She struck his thumb hard with her baton, made of reinforced plastic. From one side, she could hear the Deputy Director tumbling down the stairs, but her face remained cold and expressionless.

Seoryeong aimed for one spot, relentlessly targeting Dong Jiwoo’s thumb, the back of his hand, and his fingers, ensuring he would drop the knife. The baton, capable of smashing bricks—or even skulls—had to be swung with the force of a longsword.

Sure enough, his wrist and fingers were horribly swollen, perhaps broken. But even with his trembling hand, Dong Jiwoo refused to let go of the knife, pushing forward once more.

Their forearms clashed, and he kicked at her legs. She dodged and crouched, only to get tangled up with him again.

Gone was the clumsy persona he once projected. Had his warmth and awkwardness all been an act?

Clenching her teeth, Seoryeong dodged the blade and struck the back of his knee. Damn it! She hit him again and again. Then she swung her baton at his jaw—thud! A dull impact rang out.

His jaw seemed to dislocate, his lips twisting, and several teeth fell out. Blood gushed uncontrollably from his swollen chin.

Though an odd tightness gripped her chest, she bit her tongue, forcing out the tangled emotions. Pushing people out of her life was something she’d grown accustomed to.

With a swift kick to his side, she knocked him down and warned him, “Dong Jiwoo, don’t get in my way.”

“Ugh!”

Though he groaned in pain, his battered face didn’t stir any pity in her. She narrowed her eyes as she tightened her grip around her throat.

Does it hurt? But I can’t leave any witnesses. So what do I do now? Her cold gaze swept over the crumpled figure of Dong Jiwoo sprawled on the floor.

She bent down, meeting his eyes directly. “What was your mission?”

“Ugh!”

“Did you pretend to be close to spy on my every move?”

His eyes wavered at her question. Seoryeong stared at him for a moment before standing up in silence. She then grabbed whatever she could—his watch, the pen in his checkered shirt pocket, his smartphone—and smashed them underfoot.

With her hair now tidied, she turned away without a second glance. The end was always this simple.

“Hah!”

As she turned, she noticed the Deputy Director’s high heels lying discarded like forgotten items. Between the traces of her escape, Joo Seolheon was nowhere to be found.

Brr… Brr…

Even limping, Joo Seolheon was frantically calling Lee Wooshin through an emergency line. Blood from the gash on her forehead weighed down her fake eyelashes.

As Seoryeong hurried down the stairs, clutching the phone that kept ringing with no answer, her stiff face twitched as though it was on the verge of convulsing.

“This bastard!”

She ground her teeth in frustration. “Sticking around the Owl all this time, and you didn’t share any of this? What the hell are you doing?”

She had suspected something since Lee Wooshin started talking about potential terrorists, but for him to keep quiet at such a critical moment. What was even the point of joining their side? Joo Seolheon seethed with anger.

After all, they shared the same goal. The moment she saw the Owl’s face, she instinctively knew it was time to throw Kim Hyun into the mix.

If they had shared the information earlier, she would’ve joined in willingly. Did it have to be a real-life scenario for him to act?

“This bastard, seriously!”

The more she thought about it, the more infuriated she became with Lee Wooshin’s silent disregard. Limping, she felt along her torn forehead with her fingers. Her ankle was swollen red, likely indicating ligament damage.

The cold, unshaken look in her eyes as she shoved someone down the stairs, indifferent to the harm caused to innocent civilians.