Chapter 97.1

Chapter 97.1

At her sudden action, Lee Wooshin reacted quickly, but she sank into the water much faster than he could reach her.

Ignoring her soaked clothes, Seoryeong plunged the corpse into the river as if in a frenzy, then pulled it back up.

“Ugh!”

The strain of lifting the weight of an adult man with only her hands made her grit her teeth.

Though the water only reached her shoulders, her struggle with the heavy bag caused water to seep into her mouth and nose.

One wrong step, and she slid deep into the water.

“Urgh! Pu…!”

Even then, she refused to let go. Either they both went under, or they both came out—there was no middle ground.

Determined, Seoryeong clung to the bag that had sunk to the bottom and strained with all her might. She’d been through countless training sessions like this before, but coming into it after crying left her short of breath.

“Ugh!”

Her lungs tightened in painful protest, and her chest felt like it would burst, yet Seoryeong held on firmly to the bag.

Just as her head dipped completely below the surface, a powerful force lifted her out like a ragdoll.

“Phah!”

The moment she broke the surface, she gasped desperately for air. A pale face, stark and fierce, shouted at her.

“Are you out of your mind, trying to kill yourself like this?!”

Lee Wooshin’s eyes shook with fury, his face even paler than usual, veins pulsing along his neck.

Clenching his jaw, he shot Seoryeong a glare so intense she momentarily froze, like he was about to bite into her throat.

“What were you thinking?!”

He struck his hands into the murky river water with a resounding splash. Water scattered everywhere, but Wooshin didn’t even blink.

In that moment, an incongruous thought crossed Seoryeong’s mind—his face looked as lifeless as a corpse too.

The bruises forming, the dark shadow of despair, all added to the effect.

“Do I really have to watch Han Seoryeong jump into a river right in front of me?”

He spat the words, grinding his teeth.

“If you’re going to throw yourself like that, just cry instead. Cry until you’re empty.”

“…!”

“Just dump that damn man and move on! Why should you–”

He ran a hand over his face, his voice almost breaking. The atmosphere grew so tense it felt impossible to approach him. His breaths became heavier.

“No one gets to just leave you behind.”

Seoryeong looked at him with wavering eyes but then turned her head away. Something clanked within her chest, yet her thoughts remained solely on the corpse she’d submerged.

“Get out.”

Wooshin shoved Seoryeong forward, pushing her out of the water. Even as he dragged her out, she refused to release the bag, so he took on its weight as well and helped her to the shore.

Once back on solid ground, Seoryeong immediately grabbed the corpse’s neck, scratching, clawing, even digging her nails in. But Kim Hyun’s skin only sloughed off like real flesh.

Leaning even closer, she became engrossed in the sickly blue-black skin as if studying it. The bizarre sight prompted Wooshin to shout again.

“Han Seoryeong!”

But it was as if she couldn’t hear him. Her focus was entirely on the corpse’s ragged clothes.

As she moved to strip the body, Woo-shin grabbed her chin firmly, forcing her to meet his gaze.

“What are you doing!”

His pupils trembled with anguish, as if trying to confirm whether or not she had lost her mind.

“Instructor, get out of my way and don’t interfere.”

Seoryeong pushed him aside firmly, then took a knife from her pocket and plunged it deep into Kim Hyun’s collarbone.

“――!”

Woo-shin’s face hardened. Her hand was merciless as she stabbed his collarbone and his face again and again.

“Han Seoryeong, what are you…?”

She didn’t have the luxury of time to let the body stay submerged. Nor did she have the patience.

Even if her suspicion was completely unfounded—even if she had to damage her husband’s body—her resolve to confirm the truth was fierce.

Seoryeong began to tear open the flesh she had cut with the knife. For a brief moment, she wondered if she was committing an unspeakable offense by mutilating a corpse.

Staring at Kim Hyun’s face as she peeled it open, her lips quivered with unease. Looking straight into those hollow, decomposed eye sockets, she could only laugh dryly. Water dripped from her soaked hair.

“A… ah!”

A sound—half sob, half laugh—escaped her throat. From the collarbone to the face, the more she pulled, the more Kim Hyun’s skin peeled away like dough.

Underneath the seemingly intact skin, an even older corpse was revealed. Beneath one face, there was yet another. Beneath one layer of skin, another lay hidden.

Her eyes lit up with a grim thrill.

“His face, it’s fake. This face is fake, Instructor!”

Her voice, hollow and flat, drifted as if in a daze.

“It seems he’s not actually dead.”

Her expression shifted continuously—from sorrow to joy, then crashing into despair.

Her gaze changed so rapidly it was impossible to keep up. The whites of her eyes, marked with burst blood vessels, curved beautifully in distress.

“Kim Hyun is alive, Instructor.”