Chapter 20
The Safest and the Most Dangerous
“Come out. You.”
Sohye shivered like a leaf under the gaze that pierced her like a bullet.
Everyone in the room turned to look at her, and a few Japanese military police even leveled their guns threateningly in her direction.
Thump. Thump.
Her heart thundered in her ears.
Why is a Japanese soldier targeting me?
What did I even do wrong…?
Before she could finish that thought, a constable rushed onto the stage.
“Ah!”
“Sohye!”
Dragged roughly, Sohye almost lost her footing as she was pulled toward Sosuke.
Behind her, the dancers called out, their voices trembling, but none dared reach out to help.
Sosuke took the gun from the full audience and slowly scanned Sohye from head to toe.
The gleam in his eyes was like that of a predator assessing its prey.
Sohye trembled violently, forced to endure his gaze in full.
Even if she wanted to flee, her frozen legs would not obey.
After a moment, Sosuke spoke to the men holding her.
“Take them. That owner too.”
“Yes!”
“W-Wait! I didn’t do anything! Why me…?”
Sohye’s words barely escaped her lips at the edge of the precipice, but there was no response.
If they dragged her away like this, she would die!
As the overwhelming fear gripped her and she tried to stay on her tiptoes, a heavy voice cut through the chaos.
“Wait.”
Woogun stepped forward from the crowd.
The military police all aimed their guns at him, but even with the clanging of their weapons, he showed no fear or hesitation.
He simply stared at Sosuke with a steadfast gaze.
“I didn’t expect you to frequent places like this.”
Sosuke raised a hand to stop the soldiers and asked with a sharp smile.
Naturally, seeing someone he was already watching walk up freely would make anyone’s blood boil.
“I came to see a friend.”
“A friend, huh? So you had someone like that too?”
“The woman the commander intended to take away… she’s my friend.”
For a moment, the mocking expression on Sosuke’s face twisted.
“You’re defending a criminal in front of me? Does that mean you’re going with her too?”
“What crime has Sohye committed that you call her a criminal already?”
“She did. A very serious one.”
Sosuke pulled something out from his coat pocket.
“This.”
A paper, dirty and torn, stamped with bullet holes and trodden on by feet.
Sohye’s eyes shook violently at the sight.
“The Saito Nobuyoshi residence bombing. One of the ringleaders of that attack was caught trying to destroy this evidence during transport… but failed.”
No…
It couldn’t be…
Sohye’s face turned ashen, and Sosuke lifted one corner of his mouth in a smirk.
“Kyung-rim.”
“….”
“The woman who used the alias ‘Natasha’ here until recently… that’s her.”
The paper Sosuke had shown was none other than the birthday letter Sohye had given her.
It felt as if a boulder had fallen on her head, the shock overwhelming.
Kyung-rim… the perpetrator of that incident?
Why… how… for what reason?
Her mind was a chaotic mess, struggling to accept the fact.
“My sister… why would she…?”
“Once we interrogate you, it’ll come out. You were part of that cruel gang, weren’t you?”
Hearing that, Sohye’s heart plummeted again.
Me, part of that group?
Her breath grew shallow as she faced a truth she did not even know herself.
With her voice barely functioning, she managed to choke out,
“I-I really don’t know… I swear!”
“Whether you know or not, confess in the interrogation room later.”
“This was a birthday letter. I gave it as a gift recently… for her birthday…”
“Ha! You think anyone would have a birthday known to you when you don’t even know her birth date?”
Sosuke leaned forward, his face looming.
“Her real name, age, residence, even her past life… all false. That woman.”
His harsh voice, like metal scraping, ran down her spine.
“So, it wouldn’t be strange if this seemingly ordinary birthday letter was actually a coded order, would it? She wouldn’t carry just anything on a mission like that.”
Sosuke gave a disapproving smile, as if daring her to explain.
Sohye felt tears welling up.
No, I want to say I had nothing to do with that incident.
But her voice, clogged by fear and confusion, couldn’t form the words.
Woogun seemed to realize the situation was precarious and also hesitated to speak.
The blame for the last surviving suspect, whose death had been reported but had escaped capture, was being unfairly placed on Sohye.
‘Damn… that final member was Natasha.’
The provisional government operative she had seen in Yo-hwa’s letter—she was Kyung-rim.
He had only received her name, without face or other details, so he could never have imagined she would be implicated like this.
Woogun clenched his teeth inwardly and tried to compose himself.
He knew he had to defend Sohye as best he could without revealing too much.
“These two have worked together here for a long time. If the letter moved her on her birthday, it’s reasonable she would treasure it like her last gift before death.”
“That’s something for the investigation to determine.”
“But nothing would come out even if you investigated.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Well…”
“Wait a moment.”
Sosuke cut him off and stepped closer, narrowing his black eyes.
“But more than that… I’m very curious why you would defend this woman so much.”
It was the look of a predator discovering new prey.
But Woogun didn’t flinch, even under that murderous gaze.
There was no room for hesitation.
The only way to save her was this one path.
“When I call her my friend…”
He had already chosen his course.
“Don’t you understand what that really means?”
It was a life-or-death gamble.
“I mean she is the woman I love.”
“….”
“My fiancée. The one I am engaged to.”
Sosuke’s expression crumpled like paper—it was inevitable.
“Now, what nonsense are you saying…!”
“We held a private engagement because her father opposed it.”
His dark gaze fixed entirely on Sosuke.
“Now that things have come to this, I have no choice but to reveal it.”
The revelation hit like a bomb, and Sohye stiffened.
Woogun silently met her gaze.
In his eyes was a silent request for her to play along in this false drama.
‘Why would he make such a lie…?’
But there was only one choice Sohye could make.
Instead of denying it, she looked at him with a helpless gaze.
“Teacher…”
To any outsider, it would appear that one was resignedly revealing the truth while the other was embarrassed that their secret had been discovered.
Sosuke saw it the same way.
Suspicion and acceptance intertwined.
Even a predator’s instinct was thrown off this time.
The combination of a museum teacher and a café dancer was too odd to make sense.
‘Then if I pretend we never met, it’ll tip them off that I’ve been surveilling them.’
Moreover, he had actually been seen with a strange woman not long ago—the same day they ran into Yo-hwa in the street.
‘Was that the woman?’
Anger surged at the realization.
The plan to make her a scapegoat with just a letter had failed right before his eyes.
Sosuke searched Woogun’s eyes for any weakness.
But in his unwavering gaze, there was nothing to exploit.
“Touching my fiancée is the same as touching me.”
Woogun even turned the pressure back onto Sosuke.
“If you tried to frame my innocent fiancée, no matter your rank, you could not escape moral responsibility.”
His overwhelming presence reversed the situation.
Woogun could be so bold because he was paradoxically under both Japanese surveillance and protection.
He was famous in both Korea and Japan.
Even Japanese scholars were said to advocate for him in Korea.
Knowing there was no solid evidence, Sosuke couldn’t act recklessly.
Though Sosuke had no intention to harm him at that moment.
‘I wonder what expression Yo-hwa would make if she saw this.’
Shoving aside the thought, Sosuke tilted his head and looked at him.
He confirmed that Woogun was not romantically involved with Yo-hwa, but this annoying scholar had disrupted his plan nonetheless.
“If you touch my fiancée, it’s like touching me.”
Woogun pressed Sosuke further.
“If you were attempting to pin a crime on my innocent fiancée, no matter the commander, you cannot escape moral accountability.”
The intensity reversed the power dynamic.
Woogun could act with such boldness because, paradoxically, he was under Japanese surveillance yet protected.
He was a scholar renowned both in Korea and Japan.
Even Japanese scholars were said to protect him in Korea.
Knowing there was no definitive evidence, Sosuke had no way to retaliate.
“Your luck is astonishing.”
Sosuke smirked, tongue brushing his lips.
“It’s unfortunate… for you.”
This was the moment to step back.
“But since your name was found on the suspect’s belongings, the investigation must proceed. Refusal will be considered defiance of the Empire of Japan, punishable by immediate execution.”
At least things were somewhat resolved.
Woogun acquiesced while still prioritizing Sohye.
“Ensure proper courtesy. I cannot tolerate treating her as a criminal without evidence.”
“That much I will respect.”
Sosuke signaled, and the soldiers released Sohye.
She reflexively ran into Woogun’s arms, shivering.
He embraced her trembling shoulders and whispered softly,
“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen.”
I’ll protect you, no matter what.
He tightened his grip.
It felt like the last tree on the cliff’s edge, and Sohye clutched his coat desperately.
Like a storm, Sosuke and his men were gone, leaving Woogun, Sohye, and Manseok.
Creak.
The heavy door finally opened.
Woogun led Sohye and Manseok out of Jongno Police Station.
After hours of enduring fear and pressure, they stepped outside just as dawn broke over the horizon.
Even a formal interrogation left Sohye’s legs trembling.
“Ah…”
Woogun quickly supported her.
“Sohye.”
Manseok, watching, parted his dry lips.
“So what you said earlier… is it really true?”
He could hardly believe that the girl he had cared for was embroiled in such danger, and that she was now secretly engaged.
Sohye looked at Woogun with uncertain eyes, asking what she should do.
He had already made his decision.
“Until a moment ago, it wasn’t true,”
From the start, when speaking before Sosuke.
“But from now on, I intend to make it true.”
Manseok and even Sohye were stunned.
Make it true… does that mean you really intend to marry her?
She didn’t know whether to be relieved or to protest that it was ridiculous.
The dizzying pace of events made her head spin.
But the worry didn’t last long.
“If necessary, we may actually have to marry, but for now, let’s consider that the last resort.”
Woogun chose to shoulder her worry himself.
“For the time being, we will pretend to be a couple.”
“A pretend couple?”
“Yes. Since I already claimed she is my fiancée, we must maintain the act until they stop suspecting her.”
Manseok looked at her with concern.
Even if it’s a lie, people will believe their relationship, and once the sham engagement ends, Sohye will be left alone.
Having already stirred a scandal, her prospects would be hindered.
Even in today’s society, who would willingly take a woman already engaged to another man?
Manseok, who cared for her like a daughter, was understandably worried.
“Do we really have to do this?”
“They will continue monitoring her carefully.”
“So, Sohye will become a person of interest?”
“For now, yes.”
That meant she must remain by his side.
Having claimed she was his fiancée, he could no longer leave her to her own devices.
To achieve this, he had to change her workplace immediately.
Late-night café work was too risky.
“If she has debt at the café, I will pay it off. She can quit.”
Stay as close as possible, spend as much time together as possible.
Woogun had devised a new deception—for Sohye alone.
“The café’s in a precarious state anyway… it’s fine if she stops working for now.”
Manseok still asked, eyes skeptical.
“Why go so far? What connection do you have with our Sohye?”
Woogun’s gaze softened on her.
On the surface, the main reason was his responsibility for sending Kyung-rim to the mission.
But the hidden truth was far more personal.
“It’s a slightly exaggerated repayment… for helping me before.”
If he couldn’t turn away, if she couldn’t disappear like a wisp…
He wanted to bind her to him, prevent her from flying away.
He couldn’t suppress that desire.
“What has happened cannot be undone…”
Manseok sighed deeply but finally accepted it.
He looked at Sohye and said,
“I will follow your wishes entirely.”
“Thank you, sir…”
“You must rest today. Start the café tomorrow. We’ll discuss the rest then.”
“Okay.”
Manseok stepped aside.
The two remaining walked slowly toward Sohye’s home.
The quiet streets made the distance feel short, and her modest straw house soon came into view.
Neither spoke as they walked.
Autumn dawn’s chill, silence, and uncertainty hung in the air.
After a brief pause, Woogun spoke first.
“First, I’m sorry. For making such a lie on my own.”
“No, if it weren’t for you, I’d have been dragged away and suffered.”
Sohye knew he risked his life to protect her.
She had to face the immediate situation squarely.
“Then… what should I do now?”
Woogun fixed his dark eyes on her.
“You must choose.”
My desire… how will you accept it?
“I can help you relocate abroad if you wish.”
A chain to avoid?
“Or, if not, you must stay with me.”
Or salvation?
Finally, her pale pink lips parted slightly.
“I… have nowhere else to run.”
Sohye chose the chain disguised as salvation.
“Nowhere but with you, Teacher.”
Her only refuge in this world.
The safest, yet
the most dangerous.
“Good. Then.”
Woogun accepted her decision gladly.
“No man would leave a poor fiancée alone…”
And led her down a path toward an even deeper refuge.
“Come to my home.”
“….”
“We’ll live in the same house. You and I.”
A definite chain.
