Chapter 98.2

Chapter 98.2

Only then did Wooshin realize why this mission had specifically come to him, and he laughed.

He was the ideal agent to approach Rigay’s daughter under false pretenses, only to withdraw coldly when necessary. It was clear he wouldn’t be swayed by sympathy or pity.

“Wooshin, listen carefully. You must never, under any circumstances, let them meet.”

“….”

“Not for a moment, not even a glance.”

The serious warning caused his brow to furrow slightly.

“We’re even considering temporarily blinding her to prevent any possible encounter.”

“…!”

Wooshin whistled, a sound laced with both admiration and critique, but Joo Seolheon’s expression remained icy. Her face, confident and determined, showed not a hint of guilt.

“What could happen if they meet that warrants all this fuss?”

When Wooshin asked flippantly, Chief Joo fell silent for a moment. It took quite a while for him to break that silence.

“It would definitely turn the world into an even bigger mess.”

Glancing at the chief, it was clear she had no intention of elaborating further.

Wooshin soon looked bored, leaning his head back against the seat. When you spend half your life scraping along the bottom, both your mind and your interest in the world start to wear thin.

In any case, within a system that relies on HUMINT (human intelligence), he was just another cog in the machine. Receiving orders and carrying them out—that was all that mattered.

He merely let his thoughts drift back to the final, horrific scene at Winter Castle.

“Viktor Rigay is obsessively suspicious. Even though Russia isolated him in solitary confinement with tight surveillance, he refused to eat out of sheer paranoia.”

“….”

“If he begins actively searching for his daughter, it’s only a matter of time before the U.S. or Russia catches on. I have no intention of letting any other country take Owl away. We’ll secure them both before that happens.”

There must be something unique about this father-daughter pair…

Wooshin looked at the woman in the photo with a detached gaze. Yet, no matter how he looked, she seemed far too ordinary to be “Rigay’s daughter.”

Her background was entirely unremarkable. Her life looked so mundane that it almost seemed dull.

Her father had blown up Winter Castle, killed hundreds, and faced the death penalty, while his daughter spent her days caring for people on the brink of death.

What a situation. A chuckle of disbelief escaped him.

“We don’t know when or how Rigay might appear. That’s why we’re assembling a team that monitors everything around Owl. Wooshin, are you listening?”

“…..”

Like an owl, her large eyes seemed to blink as she stared into the camera lens.

Her face was unusually pale and slender, her transparent wrist veins showing through her skin. Her cheeks seemed calm, as if unlikely to be startled or moved, and her thin, loose hair framed a delicate neck.

Wooshin ran his tongue over his lower lip, glancing instinctively at the obvious place laid bare before him.

Chief Joo snapped her fingers to catch Wooshin’s attention.

“Stick close to Owl. If there’s a natural way to get close to Rigay, it’s by being his daughter’s husband. This could turn into a long-term operation, so you’d better prepare yourself.”

“Does that mean I’ll have to sleep with her?”

“What?”

“You’re telling me to be this woman’s husband.”

Wooshin tapped the photo of the young woman, who still looked as if she hadn’t fully lost her baby fat. Her pale, exposed teeth seemed at odds with her chapped, worn expression.

Chief Joo fell silent for a moment before giving a small nod. At that, Wooshin massaged his tense shoulders and murmured softly.

“At this point, I’m not sure who’s worse off—her or me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“On one hand, she has no clue who her real father is, and on the other, I’m being asked to strip down and cozy up to the daughter of the man who ruined my life on death row. So, who’s got the worse lot here?”

Although being “the husband” was an unfamiliar role, this kind of undercover operation was just part of the job.

But, for the first time, a trace of resentment, like a toxic weed, began to sprout even before the mission started. If he really had to lie beside this woman, it would feel like lying down on the remains of Winter Castle.

Still, if he could meet Rigay face-to-face, maybe he could uncover even a fragment of the secrets lost in the flames of Winter Castle.

Then, Chief Joo’s voice cut through his thoughts again.

“Quietly eliminate anyone who tries to get close to Owl—and protect her from her father.”