Chapter 121.2

Chapter 121.2

Wooshin steadied himself by striking his shaking knee with the rifle’s stock, each blow echoing with painful determination. His effort resembled a malfunctioning switch trying desperately to function.

Seoryeong’s anger boiled over as she flung the helicopter door open. The icy wind slashed at her face like a blade, but she screamed with all her strength.

“Wooshin! Forget the gun and just get over here! If you don’t, I’ll jump! I’m not leaving without you!”

She bent her knees as if ready to leap. Both men looked up at her simultaneously.

“Han Seoryeong, stay where you are—!”

“Sonya…”

Wooshin tossed his rifle to the ground and started running toward her, his staggering movements transforming into a full sprint. If not for the vivid trail of blood marking the rooftop, one might not have guessed he was injured. His speed was terrifying.

Seoryeong’s trembling eyes stayed glued to Wooshin. But as the helicopter climbed higher, she spun around and charged toward the cockpit.

Grabbing a knife, she cut through her seatbelt and used it to wrap around the pilot’s neck in an X-shaped grip, pulling tightly.

“Gah—! Cough—!”

“Спустись!”

The foreign words spilled from her lips before she could process them…

“Down. Go down!” She meant.

She tightened the strap around his throat, issuing her command with unrelenting force.

The pilot’s face turned beet red as he gasped for air. Desperate, he jerked the controls, causing the helicopter to shift direction. The abrupt motion sent Seoryeong tumbling into the adjacent seat, slamming against it hard.

“――!”

As the tail of the helicopter grazed the spire, a cross-shaped piece shattered and fell. The helicopter tilted dangerously, and the pilot, seizing an opportunity, reached for a handgun and aimed it at her.

The moment stretched like slow motion as his finger squeezed the trigger. Holding her breath, Seoryeong prepared to kick at him when, suddenly, something struck the pilot’s head with a loud thud. He slumped forward onto the dashboard.

“You—do you even think before acting?!”

Startled by the familiar voice, Seoryeong whipped her head around. Clinging to the edge of the helicopter floor with iron determination, Lee Wooshin had finally pulled himself aboard.

He panted heavily, his disheveled hair whipping in the wind and brushing against his bruised, bloodshot face.

“I…”

Speechless, Seoryeong glanced outside. Kia was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a haze of smoke.

“You just stood there while someone pointed a gun at you—what were you thinking?!” He scolded her.

Before he could finish his tirade, Seoryeong lunged forward and hugged him tightly. The pungent smell of blood clung to him, sharp and overwhelming.

Wooshin froze mid-sentence, his body stiffening as if time had stopped. She pressed herself closer, holding onto the battered man, whose body bore no unscathed part, as if she could shield him from the world.

The helicopter’s turbulent descent churned her stomach, and her heart thudded wildly in her chest.

“Han Seoryeong,” Wooshin murmured softly, his voice barely audible.

“Haah… I’m late. I tried to get here as fast as I could—”

“…”

“And I’m sorry for yelling at you.”

Lee Wooshin, who had been momentarily frozen in thought, wrapped his arms around Seoryeong tightly as if never to let go. Their pounding heartbeats merged into one indistinguishable rhythm. Trembling breaths brushed against each other’s ears, radiating a quiet relief.

“Did the priest try anything strange?”

“What about you? You look seriously injured.”

“Answer me first, Seoryeong.”

Though he leaned heavily against her shoulder, his voice remained firm, urging her to respond.

“I… I was fine. I rested, lay down, even had some ramen. Honestly, I probably got more rest than I’ve had in ages.”

“Are you sure? You didn’t eat anything strange or touch something dangerous?”

“Not at all.”

As she replied, Seoryeong instinctively hid the item Kia had given her, tucking it into her pocket while lying through her teeth. Their embrace loosened, and the two exchanged a long, searching gaze.

“Or… did you hear anything nonsensical that didn’t make sense?”

“…”

The foreign name Sonya prodded at her like an invisible thorn, but Seoryeong bit her lip and shook her head. Wooshin, his head drooping slightly, spoke softly, almost pleadingly.

“Then let’s leave.”

“…!”

“Come with me. Just like that, Seoryeong.”

“…”

“I don’t want to be apart from you, not even for a moment anymore.”

A faint vibration hummed from beneath their feet. Stiffened by unfamiliar emotions, Seoryeong suddenly grabbed the ceiling handle and shouted at the top of her lungs.

“We’re shaking, Instructor! The cockpit—!”

It wasn’t just her imagination; the helicopter was genuinely unstable. The pilot had slumped unconscious over the controls, causing the aircraft to tilt dangerously and climb higher uncontrollably.

She couldn’t believe she’d been so distracted that she hadn’t noticed sooner.

At her panicked scream, Wooshin sprang into action. He pulled the unconscious pilot out of the seat and slid into the cockpit himself. Methodically, he adjusted the instruments on the dashboard and overhead controls, stabilizing the helicopter.

“Oh…!”

Seoryeong’s eyes widened in shock. Floodlights and black smoke filled her view as the helicopter descended. The blast of the downdraft flattened the surrounding fields. The crash site came into focus—she recognized it immediately.

On the shattered remains of a truck stood Ki Taemin, waving a light desperately. Seeing her teammate’s face brought Kia’s words flooding back, settling like dark sediment in her mind.

The monastery, once a nightmare, had disappeared into the shadows.

Her tension finally broke. She collapsed onto the floor, utterly drained.