Chapter 94.1

Chapter 94.1

“Ugh!”

At the faint groan, Seoryeong looked down at Deputy Joo’s face, inspecting it closely.

So this is what she looks like… The deputy’s eyes were slowly shifting under her lids, as if she was starting to wake up. Joo Seolheon, who had been lying motionless like a corpse, furrowed her brows and gradually opened her eyes. Seoryeong greeted her with a bright smile.

“You’re awake?”

“…!”

Her sclera was bloodshot, likely from the tear gas. Joo Seolheon tried to move, but her bound limbs wouldn’t budge.

Seoryeong, as if waiting for this moment, held her eyes open wide and poured saline solution over them.

“Ugh! What are you doing!”

Seoryeong shook her head slightly as she let out a low sound. “Just water. Your eyes looked irritated.”

“Ugh!”

“If you get hit by tear gas, it can cause temporary blindness.”

“…”

“I’m rinsing them out just in case. Stay still.”

Her unexpectedly gentle voice matched the white blouse she was wearing, but the firm grip she had on the deputy’s jaw was the opposite. Seoryeong once again pulled her eyelids open and poured more water in. Reflected in the deputy’s eyes was Seoryeong’s cold face.

“Blink.”

Under the strange pressure, the deputy blinked silently and then looked around. Seeing the worn-out monitor, the defibrillator, and the blood pressure gauge, she finally asked in shock, “Where… where are we going?”

“You tell us, Deputy. We’re heading wherever Kim Hyun is.”

“…!”

“If you keep your mouth shut, this ambulance won’t stop.”

“…”

“And neither will I.”

Seoryeong ripped open a disposable syringe packet with her teeth and took hold of the deputy’s hand. At the same time, a scream rang out as she drove the needle straight under the deputy’s fingernail.

If pressure is applied like a lever, the nail will come off. Deputy Joo knew that well and glared, gritting her teeth.

“You!”

“If you treat someone like a blind fool, you should get a taste of it too,” Seoryeong said through clenched teeth, pushing the needle deeper.

“Ugh!”

Lee Wooshin calmly watched the scene unfold through the rearview mirror.

Did I teach her this well? He wondered for a moment but then remembered the information Na Wonchang had shared, which made her fearless and bold attitude less surprising.

He casually turned the steering wheel and pressed the radio button. A perfect pop song for driving started playing.

“Where’s Kim Hyun?” Seoryeong asked as she opened a second syringe packet.

“Did you think I was missing something, so you plugged in everything from my husband to my training camp classmate, because no matter how much I think about it, I’m an orphan, a high school dropout, and I’ve only ever tried to be a good person.”

“…”

“Even if Kim Hyun was just a fake husband under your orders, to me, he was my real partner. I believed that for two and a half years, and as you can see, my life is completely ruined.”

“…!”

“I didn’t want to live like this either, but here I am, holding syringes and stabbing you, Deputy.”

“…”

“So tell me, why did you send him to me? Why did you do it…!”

Deputy Joo Seolheon’s normally expressionless face showed a slight tremble in her eyelashes.

“Why did you send someone so kind, only to take him away again!”

Her frail neck was strained with tension.

This was the first time since her husband’s disappearance that she truly held someone accountable. Even though it seemed like some of her pent-up frustration was easing, it didn’t make her feel any better. With reddened eyes, she yelled again.

“Who are you to crush my family and mess with my sigh!”

“…”

Deputy Joo still remained silent. The lack of reaction only made Seoryeong grit her teeth even harder.

“If you won’t talk, then let’s end it here. At least be good enough to take the brunt of my anger.”

“Aaah!”

Finally, the nail came off. Deputy Joo Seol-heon was now drooling, no longer because of the tear gas, but from the pain.

Seoryeong pressed hard on the bleeding flesh and inserted the second needle into the other side. Despite the pain twisting her face, Joo Seolheon let out a bitter laugh.

“Your family?” Her voice was mocking, “Why do you think that was your family? It was my creation.”

“…!”

Seoryeong froze in place, staring at the sneering woman.

“Do you really want to know the truth?” Joo Seolheon taunted with her hoarse voice.

“You still don’t understand what you’ve been through. Your entire marriage was written up in reports and sent higher up—what you ate for three meals a day, how you cooked it, what you talked about.”

“…”

“Even how many times you had sex each month.”

Seoryeong felt a tightening in her chest, as if she couldn’t breathe. The song on the radio abruptly cut off, leaving the car in total silence.

“Falling for Kim Hyun wasn’t fate or coincidence. It was all part of my plan, my orchestration.”

“…!”

“You weren’t living a marriage. You were playing a role.”