Chapter 127.2

Chapter 127.2

Flustered, Seoryeong wiped her reddened lips in a hurry, trying to compose herself. The realization of what she had just done hit her, making her cheeks burn even hotter.

She glanced around nervously. Fortunately, the caregivers and other adults were either resting with their eyes closed or distracted by their phones. Even so, her heart raced as if she had committed some terrible crime.

“Do you want me to give you a super-fast ride on the wheelchair?” Wooshin asked the kids.

“A lap around here?”

“Two laps,” he replied with a smirk.

“Wow!”

“Me first! Give me a ride!”

“I want to go, too!”

In an instant, the children’s attention shifted, and they began clamoring excitedly.

With a chuckle, Wooshin snatched the ball from one of the kids’ arms and threw it far into the distance. His jaw tightened slightly as he did so.

“Whoever brings that back first gets to go,” he announced.

The kids screamed with excitement and dashed off in pursuit of the ball, still soaring in an arc.

This scene feels oddly familiar like something out of a training camp, Seoryeong thought, her expression souring slightly.

Once the children disappeared, Wooshin absentmindedly rubbed his lips and patted his thigh.

“And what about you, big kid? Not interested in hopping on for a ride?” he teased.

“Hah…!”

Suppressing a snort, Seoryeong sharply turned her head away. Nothing had been decided yet, she thought. She wasn’t denying anything, merely letting her wavering emotions show.

“I’m leaving Blast Agency soon,” she said quietly.

Wooshin, who had been watching the kids run after the ball, turned his gaze back to her.

“But, Han Seoryeong, don’t you want to come with me?”

***

“I want to go… No, I will go,” Seryeong replied firmly, without hesitation.

Her immediate response startled Kang Taegon, the company’s CEO, who stiffened with surprise.

“Do you even know where you’re going? You shouldn’t agree so impulsively,” he said, his expression a mix of disbelief and concern. For someone who had called her here to persuade her, his reaction felt oddly hypocritical.

Seoryeong had come to Blast’s headquarters at Taegon’s request.

The special security team’s operations had been suspended, and the long-planned African mission they had prepared for had been handed off to the newly formed Beta Team.

“The mission is in Equatorial Guinea,” Taegon explained. “To be specific, it involves transporting the Vice President’s hidden assets via sea routes. The security personnel are all seasoned veterans, but their team leader requested additional manpower.”

“…”

“They said they’ve seen how hard the Special Security Team trained for maritime protection. So, if Agent Han Seoryeong…”

“Yes, I’ll go.”

“Are you in some kind of financial trouble?”

Kang Taegon rubbed his chin as he asked, sounding genuinely concerned when she interrupted him with such a quick reply.

“It’s not that.”

It wasn’t about money, but the timing was critical. Seoryeong had been ignoring an incessantly ringing phone, silencing it to focus.

After initiating the kiss earlier and then abruptly running away, it was only natural for him to be angry.

But she had fled because staying to hear more from him felt like it might unravel something she couldn’t put back together. In front of a man as sharp as him, she couldn’t afford to show her back for fear of being cornered.

Claiming she needed the restroom, she had bolted from the hospital as if her life depended on it.

Even now, the phone screen lit up noisily, despite being on silent mode. The dryness in her mouth and the shivers down her spine persisted unnervingly.

With trembling hands, she pressed the decline button and forced herself to focus on Kang Taegon.

“―”

She had learned that the love she’d once received, if ripped away entirely, could leave not only her body but her heart crippled.

Every time she faced Wooshin, that loss pricked at her like needles.

It was precisely why she felt an overwhelming need to confront Kim Hyun. If she didn’t first mend her shattered self, nothing else could begin.

Africa was currently the stage of a silent war for dominance.

Blast’s mercenaries were set to face Chinese forces controlling key African ports, creating a fertile ground for diplomatic complications.

There was a reckless confidence that she could finally draw Kim Hyun out. And a gut instinct told her this might be her last chance.

Though she had resolved to dedicate her entire life to chasing Kim Hyun, for the first time, she felt a parching sense of urgency.

I need to find him… Quickly… I…

“Actually, that’s not the only reason I called you here. I wanted to give you a heads-up about something first.”

The sound of Kang Taegon tapping the sofa armrest snapped her back to the present.

“From the first time I saw you, I wanted to train you as a top-tier bodyguard. There’s a specific task I’ve always envisioned you taking on.”

“What is it?”

Her brows furrowed at the unfamiliar topic.

“Originally, I intended to send you to Russia to protect one of our VIP clients. However, plans have changed, and that individual will now be visiting Korea instead.”

At his words, her expression turned cold. Russia again.

“The name is Rigay Viktor.”

The name didn’t ring a bell.