Chapter 264.2

Chapter 264.2

Bang!

Through the phone, a gunshot cracked sharply. Bang, bang, bang! The echoes that tore through flesh reverberated inside the building, and Seoryeong’s eyelids trembled each time.

To hide the tremor, she plunged her bound hand, still tangled with the broken phone, into the bathtub. The repeated shots kept slamming into her ears.

“Untie this.”

She looked up at Tae Mu-kyung with calm eyes and gestured to the chains wrapped tightly around her.

Who dared to toy with our marriage like this? She buried that fury beneath her expressionless face.

Tae Mu-kyung slowly sat down.

“Agent Joo Seol-ryeong resembles me. You calculate quickly and cut things off without hesitation.”

“.…”

“If you keep that up, you will rise through the ranks in no time.”

A faint scoff slipped out. Seoryeong raised her bound hands and covered her mouth.

Her cold, mocking gaze swept over him. If she had to resemble anyone, she would rather resemble Lee Wooshin. Was she insane to resemble this man?

She did not even bother responding. Instead, she sank deeper into the bathtub.

And when did I ever cut Lee Wooshin off? I told him I would see him soon.

“At least you properly killed your opponent. But you should not have.”

Tae Mu-kyung’s eyes grew unfocused, as if he were speaking nonsense.

‘Killed? Who did I kill?’

Seoryeong shot him a sharp look.

Did he think she had not been afraid? Of course she had. But she had one thing she trusted. Just one. There had been a flaw in his plan.

When had she noticed it? Was it when she walked around pretending to be his wife?

She pressed her lips shut.

Suddenly, Tae Mu-kyung rose and walked toward the generator.

“…!”

The moment he flipped the switch again, a prickling current crawled around the tiles. Beneath the water, the timer began ticking once more as if nothing had happened. Red numbers flickered ominously underwater.

Seoryeong jerked violently against her restraints.

“When my wife was being tortured, I stood in a corner wearing another face and watched. Should I save her, or not? Should I turn away and pretend I knew nothing? Or intervene? Every moment was hell, but the conclusion was simple. The marriage had been a cover, a national mission. Why should I? Why would I go out of my way to save a woman who had been nothing more than a means to an end?”

“.…”

“I left the torture room celebrating my success.”

His silhouette stretched long in the darkness as he faced the generator.

“Only later did they tell me my wife had been pregnant.”

A faint current coursed through Seoryeong’s body. Her muscles began to stiffen.

“When I heard that…”

His voice spread through the damp basement, cold and heavy. It grated from his dry throat like rusted chains scraping together.

At that moment, the warehouse door creaked open. Someone dragged in a large, heavy looking duffel bag with a harsh scraping sound.

Three figures entered wearing masks and dull tactical gear. Various sized pouches lined their belts, and they wore custom boots that likely concealed weapons and equipment.

They were professionals. The air around them carried a familiar scent.

Seoryeong’s gaze shifted to the body bag. The mercenaries slowly pulled down the zipper, revealing a familiar face inside.

The face of the husband she had been waiting for. The face of Kim Hyun.

Soaked in blood, he looked pale. His pupils were wide and unfocused. Dark red blood trailed from the corner of his mouth down his jaw and along his neck. The old memory made Seoryeong’s eyes waver for a split second.

No. Get a grip. That is fake.

She bit down hard on the inside of her cheek as if forcing herself back to clarity.

That is not a corpse…

Then, beyond the brim of a cap, Seoryeong locked eyes with a woman.

The sniper, Asha, gave her a friendly wink.

“!”

In that instant, Lee Wooshin, who had been carried in pretending to be dead, sprang up like a coiled spring. Before Tae Mu-kyung could react, he aimed at his leg and pulled the trigger.

***

Bang!

The bullet tore through Tae Mu-kyung’s thigh. He collapsed to the floor from the sudden shot, yet a strange smile began to spread across his lips. He tilted his head back and let out a silent laugh.

Blood soaked through his pants and dripped onto the ground. Even so, he reached down to feel the wound where the bullet had passed through, then stared at his blood stained hand.

“Finally…”

His eyes widened as if he had waited for this moment for a very long time. His expression held not pain, but a grotesque satisfaction.

Lee Wooshin wiped the slickness from his face roughly with his forearm, then racked the slide and chambered another round.

“So. Why did you call us here? So the two of us who had sham marriages could have some fun together?”

The moment Tae Mu-kyung saw Kim Hyun’s face up close, his eyes reddened. Whether it was ecstasy or something else, his lips twisted into a split grin, baring his white teeth.

His jaw warped, molars flashing under the faint warning light. His entire face contorted with rage and grief. The once cold expression crumpled in an instant, like a hollow monster collapsing in on itself.

“Yes. I wanted to see that face. The damned face I had to wear when I received the order to withdraw…!”