Chapter 31
Make This Lie Real
Thud.
With So-hye gone, the lab door finally closed.
Only Woo-geon, Yo-hwa, and Hee-wook remained, and a heavy, tense silence settled over the room.
“Consider me not here. The two of you can talk it out yourselves.”
Hee-wook, left as the sacrificial lamb, walked to the most secluded corner of the lab.
He pulled a cloth bundle from his pocket, plugged his ears, and even crossed his legs on the desk as if he were about to take a nap.
Whether it was information sharing or a melodrama, he was determined to stay completely out of it.
“……So.”
Only then did Woo-geon, finally letting out the suppressed anger, look at Yo-hwa.
“What are you trying to do, right now?”
His voice was cold enough to freeze the surroundings.
Yo-hwa didn’t answer, only staring at him with dry, unwavering eyes.
The quiet reproach in her voice sounded far crueler than if she had shouted.
“Don’t lie, saying it was urgent.”
Even now, she worried that sound might have escaped outside, that So-hye, who had just left, might have overheard it and gotten concerned.
“If it were really urgent enough to come to the school, it wouldn’t be you—it would have been your father personally coming.”
It seemed so careful.
Seeing this unfamiliar side of Woo-geon for the first time, Yo-hwa gritted her teeth and suppressed the surging emotions.
She wished he would get angrier, she wished he would sharply scold her for doing something so reckless.
“The only place you could be safe meeting me is Pyeongchun Hall.”
Woo-geon still didn’t lose his composure.
As if it wasn’t even worth getting angry about.
“You’ve handed yourself over to the enemy.”
“You seem to know that very well.”
Yo-hwa clenched her fists and looked at Woo-geon with resentment.
“You didn’t just claim the woman as your fiancée in front of Sosuke, labeling her as the suspect, you even brought her to the school!”
Woo-geon’s brows furrowed even further.
His eyes reflected exactly what he was thinking.
Suppressing another surge of emotion, Woo-geon finally spoke with his last reserve.
“If you came here about that, leave. I have nothing to say to you.”
“No, I have something I need to hear.”
Although she couldn’t completely separate personal feelings, this matter was important to Yo-hwa.
Many comrades had abandoned even their families for the greater cause.
If a weakness were exposed, it could jeopardize the mission. She worried that, because of her, innocent family members would suffer.
They were leaving behind loved ones with a determination akin to cutting off their own limbs, fighting for the country.
“Do you really care for that woman?”
In such circumstances, to flaunt a lover or a fiancée in front of the team…
“There must be another reason, right? You’re using her for some other plan, aren’t you?”
Yo-hwa thought his choices were deceiving the other members.
Moreover, it was endangering him, and finally, it was something that could mercilessly crush her.
“Please… say it’s for some other reason.”
The first two reasons didn’t matter compared to the last one.
She felt her trampled pride was pitiful, miserable, and heartbreaking.
When he still didn’t answer, Yo-hwa pounded her chest in frustration and asked,
“Do you really have feelings for her?”
Woo-geon sighed wearily.
His lowered gaze clearly conveyed how meaningless this conversation was to him.
“You’ve never paid attention to any woman before, haven’t you?”
No woman—
Even me, who had waited so long by his side.
“Then that’s what makes So-hye special.”
Woo-geon’s emotionless gaze pierced her heart like a dagger.
“She made someone like me fall.”
She wanted to believe it wasn’t true.
Why did there seem to be no lie in those eyes?
Confusion and despair filled her chest, making it hard to breathe.
Yo-hwa concealed her trembling fists and barely managed to continue speaking.
“So you intend to keep her by your side, then?”
“Do I have to explain the future with my lover to you as well?”
“I have the right to know. Your safety ensures the safety of the Hanyeoldan.”
What Yo-hwa wanted wasn’t the liberation of the nation, nor the safety of the Hanyeoldan.
She only wanted one thing: to be the woman closest to Woo-geon.
Nothing more.
“Only if that safety is guaranteed will you continue sharing information with me.”
Woo-geon knew this as well.
“‘Only if safety is guaranteed,’ huh…”
Opening his eyes after a moment, Woo-geon fixed her with a sharp gaze.
His icy lips held a trace of derision.
“So if it’s not safe, you’re saying I’m useless?”
“That’s not what I mean!”
“Lower your voice.”
His words cut her like a blade again.
“There can’t be any other female voice besides So-hye here.”
Each word sliced through her heart mercilessly.
Yo-hwa’s face went pale; she bit her lips, her suffering and jealousy pressing down.
Why wouldn’t he understand her heart?
She risked her life for him.
Enduring all sorts of filth, she held onto that one thought.
“And the reason you came to me must also be nothing but information.”
Even this heart of mine…
“Stay in line, Yo-hwa.”
Was he scolding her for her selfish feelings as well?
Tears welled up, her long-rejected affection bubbling to the surface.
“Just… know that I sincerely worry about you, O-ssi.”
Her pride was too lofty to openly display her fragile affection.
She couldn’t force her feelings in such a grotesque way.
She wanted to keep the fragile link between them intact with her own hands.
Yo-hwa took an envelope from her bosom and placed it on the desk.
“This is why you’ve been looking for me, O-ssi.”
Even if it was miserable, even if it was heartbreaking.
She wanted it to always be there where he could see, ever since he saved her life; her heart had been destined to wither before it could bloom.
“I’ll take responsibility for whatever I did today.”
Bowing, Yo-hwa turned to leave.
From behind the door, Woo-geon’s voice reached her.
“Don’t resent So-hye.”
“……”
“She’s the one keeping me going.”
She was furious that he defended that woman to the end.
Yo-hwa, without looking back, steadied her voice and said,
“A tiny spark can start a great fire.”
“That woman will actually save me.”
“……We’ll see.”
Yo-hwa opened the door and left the lab.
As soon as the door closed, her vision blurred.
She walked a few steps, then leaned against the wall.
Breathing was difficult; she forced air into her throat.
“Haa……”
Weak in her stance, she bent her knees, hands on the floor.
Tears finally fell, shattering on the floor like glass.
Her pride, broken and scattered, seemed just like those shards.
O-ssi wouldn’t know.
The more he remained oblivious, the more she hated that woman.
She wanted to push her away even more.
“The one who’ll be stepped on will not be me, but her.”
She would never forgive the woman who had come between her and O-ssi.
So-hye habitually stopped and listened outside.
All she could hear was the conversation of the assistants who had come down with her.
In the empty hallway, there was no sign of anyone.
Her body was in the basement, but her mind was still trapped in the second-floor lab.
‘It feels like a long time has passed…’
Checking her watch again, So-hye sighed softly.
Though it felt like an hour had passed, the big hand on the clock had barely moved halfway.
If she could, she would have returned to the lab to be by his side.
“Haa……”
Her sigh betrayed the fact that she knew it wasn’t possible.
‘I hope he comes soon.’
Mechanically dusting off her clothes, So-hye waited endlessly for Woo-geon.
Some time passed.
A dull sound suddenly reached her ears, and So-hye lifted her head sharply.
Through the open door, Woo-geon appeared with Hee-wook.
“Teacher.”
So-hye immediately stood, absorbing his presence in her eyes.
Seeing his face eased the tight grip of anxiety in her chest.
“Sorry about this. I didn’t really need to come to the school, but I only ended up troubling you all.”
“That’s fine. Has Yo-hwa left?”
“Just a moment ago.”
Answering Se-ho briefly, Woo-geon turned to meet So-hye’s gaze.
What did they talk about?
Judging from the fatigue on his face, it wasn’t a simple discussion about lessons.
So-hye avoided his gaze, looking down at the floor.
Their hands crossed, fingertips brushing—only tormenting her own fingers.
It was a fake relationship, after all.
Yet, she found herself truly jealous.
His words, that it wasn’t worth being jealous over, were now meaningless.
“Did something happen?”
Woo-geon stepped forward in a relaxed tone, noticing her gloomy expression.
Her heart stirred like waves at his voice.
Blinking rapidly, So-hye bit her inner lip and looked up at him.
“Did you… talk things over?”
She had tried to hide her frustration, but some of it must have slipped through.
Woo-geon studied her quietly, tilting his head slowly with a strange expression.
That familiar motion made her mouth go dry.
It felt as though he had seen through everything, and she was embarrassed, trapped in her own lie.
Her words dried up inside her mouth.
The only thing she could say now, was everything except her true feelings.
“Just… earlier, I mentioned I wanted to learn Esperanto, but you didn’t call me…”
A trace of sulkiness leaked through her otherwise restrained words.
She masked her feelings with performance.
Her fiancé had sent her out to converse with a courtesan, yet he seemed unconcerned—so of course, this was just acting.
“Am I foolish?”
So-hye glanced at him, implicitly hinting that she was jealous.
Her round, shining eyes reflected his face entirely.
She tried a shy smile to hide it.
Fortunately, Woo-geon must have seen it that way too.
“No, of course not.”
His concentrated gaze softened as he wrapped an arm around her waist.
Pulled close, her body melted into his embrace.
His hand caressing her hair was gentle and warm.
She wanted to hold his hand that brushed her ear, but the contact allowed ended there.
“First, I’ll recommend some beginner books for Esperanto. Read them carefully and study.”
The language was just an excuse, but he cared enough to give advice.
Her heart swelled inexplicably.
“Let’s head up. We have a lot to do.”
“Yes, Teacher.”
Speaking to the assistants, Woo-geon took the lead.
So-hye, left standing, swept her hand through the space where his warmth had just been.
Why did she feel so strange?
At first, being next to him as a fake lover felt simply joyful, but now, a strange emotion was budding.
Greed. Yes, this was greed.
She wanted to turn this lie into reality.
She wanted to truly be his woman.
‘……Maybe it’s not impossible.’
Her eyes followed him as he walked away.
Watching his retreating figure, So-hye took a step and hurried to follow.
Though the contract said she would leave his side afterward…
“Let’s go together, Teacher.”
She wanted to twist this contract, just a little.
