Chapter 193.1

Chapter 193.1

“Seoryeong, please…”

At the sound of those unguarded Korean words, Seoryeong froze. After everything, after the arrogance, the manipulation, he was now pressing his lips to an artificial cheek and pleading.

He had always been the type of man who never surrendered ground, even while drugged, chained, or bleeding. Even when she was hiding her own secrets, he had always stayed one step ahead.

“Don’t disappear.”

Lee Wooshin was trembling. A small, almost imperceptible vibration started in his shoulders and passed to her.

Seoryeong clenched her eyes shut and turned away from his shallow breath. Her instincts screamed this was the moment he was most vulnerable.

“All this time, I’ve only been looking for you. Only you.”

A thick vein rose along the back of his neck. His sharp nose brushed unfamiliar skin, and he inhaled deeply, as if trying to keep himself from falling apart.

‘No… not like this. Not after everything. Because of you… I was in hell.’

Suppressing the ache that threatened to take over, she struck at his weak points. Deliberately, viciously, she went for the wounds she could see, stabbing and hitting without hesitation.

But Lee Wooshin didn’t resist. He took every blow, swaying in place.

Every time he reached out to pull her into his arms, her chest burned like someone had lit a fire inside it. She kicked him away with all her strength and bolted.

“Stop right there!”

His voice cracked, sharp like splintered glass, and wrapped around her ankles like a snare. Seoryeong sprinted forward, knocking over a ceramic vase in her path.

Crash.

The console collapsed along with the vase, toppling directly onto Lee Wooshin’s ankle as he tried to follow.

His cane flew from his hand as he crashed to the ground in a mess of limbs, uncharacteristically graceless. Seoryeong glanced back at the noise, just in time to see him bracing himself on his elbows, struggling to lift his head like someone breaking a fall.

Shards of glass embedded in his palms and knees burned themselves into her memory. Her hands clenched into aching fists.

Though he pointed his gun in the direction the sensors indicated, he didn’t pull the trigger. His jaw trembled slightly, and his breathing came in empty, shallow gasps.

Left there alone, he looked powerless. Exposed. Like a boy who had lost his way.

“Don’t go, Seoryeong, don’t go!”

His cracked voice rang out again.

Then, with bloodied fingers still clutching shards of glass, he began tearing at his bandages. That was when it happened.

‘What the hll do you know? Just because she has brown eyes and brown hair. Fck! It’s Han Seoryeong. It’s Han Seoryeong, damn it. Even if she’s wearing some beast’s hide, I’d still recognize my wife.’

He yanked the in-ear device screaming in both his ears out with irritation. When the bandage wouldn’t come off properly in his haste, Lee Wooshin cursed under his breath and slowly rose to his feet.

He dashed off down the opposite direction of the mansion’s hallway without hesitation, as if he could see everything clearly.

Thud! Thud!

Each step down the corridor left a trail of falling glass and vivid bloodstains.

Seoryeong hesitated briefly at a fork and turned right. The deeper she went, the more complex the annex became, it felt like a labyrinth, and her head turned frantically as she navigated.

“Where… Huff… where is it?!”

Panting, she kept turning corners until finally, the exit came into view. As if escaping a torturous past, she ran forward without looking back

When suddenly…

Something leapt at her like a beast and snatched her waist, slamming her into the wall. Her lips were crushed immediately.

“―!”

The kiss didn’t land cleanly at first. His mouth grazed somewhere between the edge of her lips and her cheek, rough and imprecise.

She flinched, turning her head away, but he immediately adjusted, one hand catching her jaw to guide her back to him. This time, his mouth found its mark.

A heated tongue slipped between her parted lips. Her soft chest pressed against the firmness of his body. She could feel his heartbeat, fast and desperate, pulsing against her skin.

“Mm…!”

His tongue moved deep, scraping along her palate as their mouths opened and closed in urgent rhythm. The wet sounds of their kiss filled the space. Through the haze of breath and heat, Lee Wooshin’s voice broke through in a whisper.

“Seoryeong…”

She struck his chest with a low grunt, but his arms, thick and corded with tension, locked around her waist.

Her fingers reached for his hair, pulling hard, but as if anticipating her resistance, he cradled the back of her head, holding her firmly in place.

“Huff…!”

The more she tried to pull away, the deeper he pressed in, his tongue sweeping along her teeth like he meant to memorize her. A stifled cry escaped her throat, trembling at the base with something unspoken. She felt his shudder, faint but unmistakable, through the nape of his neck.

He took her mouth with wild, relentless hunger, as if trying to pull something essential from within her. His tongue explored every corner, his teeth grazing her lip, dragging over the softness with raw intent. When she tried to retreat, he chased her tongue, tangled with it, coaxed it back into the fire.

“Hh… hhuh…!”

The way he forcibly pried her lips open felt violent, yet because of how desperately Lee Wooshin was trembling, it felt more like they were exchanging gasps of sheer urgency.

“Ugh, mmph…!”

Wet sounds echoed as their mouths collided. Lee Wooshin twisted his head anxiously, breathing erratically.

She tried tilting her head back to push him away, but he tenaciously followed her, catching her tongue once more. He rubbed against it until its rough texture stood up in bumps, scraping her upper lip with his teeth.

“Haah… How could I not recognize you…”