Chapter 179.1

Chapter 179.1

As he rose, leaning on his side, Na Wonchang fumbled and avoided his gaze.

A doctor broke the heavy silence, informing him about various precautions and his current physical condition.

Fortunately or unfortunately, while he was unconscious, his wounds had all healed, and now he just needed to rebuild his strength.

Even during this guidance, he shot a sharp look at Na Wonchang, who was retreating like a frightened puppy. He didn’t even blink, trying to find any hint in Na Wonchang’s stiff expression.

Finally, after the doctor left, he asked urgently, “How many days have passed?”

“Uh… well… it’s been almost three months,” Na Wonchang replied.

“….”

It was worse than he had expected. He had calculated everything clearly. The absurdity of having been unconscious for nearly three months made a hollow laugh escape him.

He glanced at his side, which only had a simple gauze without any bandages, and brushed his hair back, which had grown long enough to reach his eyes.

“So, what about tracking Han Seoryeong? Interpol should be looking for him,” he pressed.

“Well, the thing is…”, Na Wonchang hesitated.

Tension built in his brow as he sensed something was off.

“At first, they actively searched, but it… didn’t go well,” Na Wonchang continued.

“Didn’t go well?” he echoed.

“They disappeared without a trace.”

“….”

His upper body swelled and deflated dramatically.

Disappeared?

He held his breath and asked again, dazed.

The entire world had set a trap for her, and yet she had vanished. Suddenly, as his vision darkened, Lee Wooshin squeezed his eyes shut.

‘How could the owl disappear?’

‘Left alone in this hospital bed, how could his wife be gone?’

He looked down at his empty hands, blinking slowly.

“How?”

His pale face was illuminated by sunlight streaming in. While he had been lying there, the cherry blossoms had bloomed and fallen, and now the season of green leaves swayed in the breeze.

Yet, the man, rendered speechless, remained frozen as if enduring a harsh wind alone. His twisted, fierce eyes roamed outside, unable to believe the summer that had arrived.

“What kind of bastard is this?” he muttered.

“What?”

“Who would believe that he outsmarted Interpol alone?”

He smiled crookedly, rubbing his stiff neck.

“I…I thought the same, but…”

“I taught Seoryeong well, but I didn’t teach her that deeply.”

As he sealed his lips, a heavy silence descended. Na Wonchang, glancing at the wound, fidgeted anxiously.

“Ah! D*mn it, Seoryeong.”

The man, covering his eyes with his hand, whispered coldly.

“If you were going to go, you should have gone alone.”

His throat, slightly exposed, quivered harshly. Though it was a quiet mutter, the way he clicked his tongue was sharp and tense.

Na Wonchang swallowed hard, gripping the bed frame tightly as if his knees were weak.

Perhaps it was because he had just regained consciousness after months; every movement was slow and dull. Yet, that very demeanor was as keen as the caution before a hunt.

Lee Wooshin rolled his shoulder as if stretching, gnashing his teeth.

“This is really frustrating.”

“…!”

“She ditched her husband and ran off with a new guy. My side’s blown open, and some bastard’s latched onto hers.”

Na Wonchang took a step back from him, who was laughing self-deprecatingly. After a moment, Lee Wooshin wiped the smile off his face, threw off the blanket, and stood up.

He grabbed Na Wonchang’s shirt tightly and said, “Wonchang, nice to meet you. I have put a tracker in the wedding ring. I’ll give you the code, so track it immediately. The other one is a guy named Kia, an Orthodox priest. His base is the Sakhalin monastery, so start from there…”

“Wedding ring?!” Na Wonchang exclaimed, his eyes widening to the size of saucers.

“Team Leader, did you really get married? This isn’t some kind of smokescreen, is it?!”

Lee Wooshin paused, searching for his slippers.

“Na Wonchang, do you really think what I did was a real marriage? The owl was just a target, and I happened to be given the role of husband.’’

He recalled the words he had shot at Na Wonchang after the Bird Box incident, and saw the innocent look still plastered on Na Wonchang’s face. Lee Wooshin let out a long sigh.

He didn’t regret the newlywed life he had with the owl, but every time he faced the consequences of his own words and actions, it felt like his heart was being pierced.

The pain of foolishly concluding something based on a misguided belief and thinking he could just push it away was sharp.

“Ah, right. I didn’t clarify that separately.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s a real marriage. I even quit the National Intelligence Service to be her husband.”

“What?”

“Such a fool. I realized it too late.”

“….”

“There was a different calling that suited me.”