Chapter 87.1

Chapter 87.1

“Anyway, it’s a relief that nothing happened.”

At that moment, Jin Hojae approached, shaking his tumbler, and quickly took the seat next to her.

He gulped down his protein shake, leaving a mark on his lips that looked like cat whiskers. Seeing that made her smile but for some reason, one of her cheeks started to sting.

Just as she was about to turn her head toward the gaze she felt, Yoo Dawit groaned and slumped onto the table. Judging by how pumped his muscles looked beneath his sleeveless shirt despite the chilly weather, he must have worked out hard since morning.

Seoryeong glanced at the cross-shaped piercing in her senior’s ear and suddenly spoke up.

“By the way, you mentioned you went to seminary, right?”

“Yes,” Seoryeong confirmed.

He slowly lifted his upper body.

“I saw a priest yesterday, and his outfit was a bit unusual.”

“How so?”

“It was black, with a long vertical pattern running from the chest to the knees.”

“…!”

Yoo Dawit’s brow furrowed. On a priest’s robe? he muttered to himself.

“The cross and something that looked like an eagle’s beak were mixed with some letters.”

“Could it be this?”

He pulled out his phone, tapped on the screen a few times, and then showed her an image. It was a photo of several priests wearing square, structured hats. There was also a yellow embroidery in the center of the hats, which could have been an eagle or something golden.

When she nodded, Yoo Dawit tied his long hair, which reached his chin, into a loose ponytail with a rubber band and said, “That’s the Russian Orthodox Church. But the Sakhalin branch is considered heretical.”

“Heretical?”

“It’s probably because of their radical tone.”

“…”

“They consistently support war. The Soviet Union had long persecuted religions, but this branch quietly survived and grew. Although now, people say it’s weakened to the point where it’s just a part of the past.”

In truth, the priest she saw wasn’t that important. Still, even though she only caught a glimpse of his face, his sharp eyes and awkward speech kept popping up in her mind. And every time, it left her with an uneasy feeling.

“But you saw a priest from Sakhalin?”

“Yes, he made quite an impression.”

“His clothes?”

“No, the priest himself was very improper. And then…” Seoryeong scratched her temple, wondering whether she should even say it, but finally spoke calmly.

“He suddenly licked my cheek.”

At her words, there was a loud thud from the direction of the window. However, Seoryeong didn’t get a chance to check what caused the noise because everyone stopped what they were doing and rushed over.

Ki Taemin, who had been wearing an eye mask for a massage, jumped up, and Jin Hojae choked on his drink.

“Wait, are you talking about the pervert at the event? The one in the women’s restroom?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you catch him then?!”

Ki Taemin exploded with anger, unlike when he spoke through the earpiece, but Seoryeong just shrugged. “He left quickly. Nothing else happened,” she added as she sipped her tea.

Then, Yoo Dawit, who had been deep in thought, suddenly chimed in.

“Let me add my two cents. In Daniel 2:44, it says, ‘It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.’ It seems that the Sakhalin branch is obsessed with this verse. This particular passage is interpreted differently across religious groups. And if I could share more of my thoughts—”

“Ah! He’s starting again!” Jin Hojae frowned and waved his hand dismissively. “Talking like that just gives me a headache!”

“Just vent all your fanboying in the open chatroom!” Jin Hojae grumbled with a shudder. As the two bickered, Seoryeong subtly looked around as if trying to step back from the conversation.

Her gaze coincidentally landed on Lee Wooshin, who was staring out the window. Despite the noisy chatter from the others, he seemed to exude a cold, distant atmosphere, completely unaffected by the commotion.

Even though all she could see was his back, it strangely felt like she could sense his emotions. Is he… in a bad mood? Seoryeong furrowed her brows slightly.

“Brother, just read us a bomb-making manual. That’d be way better!” Jin Hojae said, leaning back in his chair and interlocking his fingers behind his head.

“Phew! I don’t know about anything else, but when I think of Russia, I only remember that prime minister. Sol… Sol… Some famous family, I think. He married a young Korean woman, right? I heard she was like a decade younger or something.”

“Twelve years,” Ki Taemin chimed in, filling in the blank as he put on his eye mask. Suddenly, Lee Wooshin, who had been standing still, began cracking his neck to either side.

He inhaled deeply and shifted his back, almost like he was uncomfortable. With every movement, his shoulder blades became distinctly visible beneath his tight training uniform.

Seoryeong couldn’t take her eyes off his subtle motions for a while before glancing back at the group of agents.

Jin Hojae suddenly dragged his chair closer and closed the distance between them.

“Wait! Agent Han Seoryeong, you don’t know this story?” he asked, his voice suddenly louder and filled with excitement.

“Well, romance is my specialty!” Jin Hojae beamed as he tossed his empty tumbler toward Yoo Dawit. He leaned in, gripping the back of the chair so his face was level with Seoryeong’s. His movement blocked her view of Lee Wooshin completely.

“So, there was this guy, they called him the brain of Siberia back in the Soviet era. But…” He scratched his chin, suddenly uncertain.

“So, when this prime minister was young, he suddenly brought home an underage Asian girl. Naturally, his family flipped out. It was a huge scandal. But since he was so headstrong, no matter what warnings or threats came his way, he didn’t care. They had a baby and lived just fine. But the problem was—”

“Everyone out.”