As expected, Sonia went completely mad once Kim Hyeon disappeared. Somehow catching on that the NIS was behind it, she first attempted defection to the North, then joined a private military contractor for training, and even hacked the accounts of relatives of the President.

Her intent to provoke the NIS was painfully obvious. But under no circumstances could she be allowed to get close to them. She had to remain ignorant of Kim Hyeon’s true identity—and of what lay behind the Bird Box.

“Are you listening? Give her a few good hits.”

After roughing her up a few times like that, she eventually ground her teeth vowing to take down the Deputy Director of the NIS. Who had she taken after to turn out so vicious? Sonia’s obsession was turning its blade toward her own throat.

In the end, she was tackled by a child, got a faceful of tear spray, and the skin beneath her nails throbbed. She’d never imagined she’d be seeing her like this, this close, in her lifetime...

Her heart tightened at the unflinching eyes staring directly into hers. It became harder to control her expression, and the more icily she snapped back, the more the girl collapsed with a thud.

When she opened the dossier of the Class 1 Boogeyman that had been shared across intelligence agencies, the hand gripping her mouse froze.

Kiya. A Russian Orthodox priest. Born in Sakhalin.

He was the leading suspect in the assassinations of individuals and agents who posed a threat to Russian interests.

Ju Seolheon stared at Kiya’s expressionless face and closed the window. Her heart thudded with unease.

She had only wanted a normal life. Why had he ended up on this path? As she thought of Sonia, she forcibly pushed down the dread bubbling up inside.

One day, while on a business trip to the U.S. for an intelligence meeting, she felt it the moment she opened her hotel room door. Something was off. Someone was rolling a rosary bead.

“I thought that face felt wrong.”

A man in pristine clerical garb sat in the dark, eyes fixed on her.

"Why was the First Deputy Director of the Foreign Intelligence Bureau at Winter Castle?"

“......!”

“You were the maid who took Sonia, weren’t you? Wasn’t your name Zoya?”

Her body moved before her mind. Ju Seolheon lunged straight for the drawer where her pistol was kept.

The fact that he remembered Winter Castle—and her Russian name—was enough to drain her blood cold.

But the moment she gripped the gun, Kiya kicked the drawer shut, crushing her hand.

“Urgh...!”

Ju Seolheon bit her lip, staring into Kiya’s emotionless eyes.

"Why didn’t the brainwashing work on you?"

"It just didn’t."

“...What?”

"It was always like that. I just woke up one day and found myself on the ship."

“......”

"The other brothers couldn’t even remember their names. Their minds were wiped clean. But me—I knew exactly what I’d lost."

A chill crept up her spine.

"That was the condition, wasn’t it? To forget all unhappy memories. But I was never unhappy to begin with."

“......!”

"That’s why I’m the only one who remembers everything."

The child, now a young man, gave a dry, bitter laugh.

"Do you know how long it took me to get back to Sakhalin? That’s why I need compensation."

No... Ju Seolheon clenched her teeth. She didn’t need to hear it to know what Kiya wanted.

If Kiya and Sonia were to meet again... an instinctive rejection rose up from deep inside.

Then Kiya said something completely unexpected.

"Not Sonia—Kim Hyeon. Tell me who Kim Hyeon is."

“......!”

"That man she keeps calling her husband."

Ju Seolheon flinched but quickly hardened her expression.

"This isn’t a threat. But if you don’t cooperate properly, I might just spill everything to Sonia."

Kiya furrowed his brows into a pitiful expression.

"The woman who gave birth to you and tossed you into that hell—don’t you want to know who she is?"

It felt like a blade plunged straight into her heart. The sudden exposure of that wound made her face burn. Blood that had gone cold boiled up again, and her molars ground together. The pain in her crushed hand was irrelevant now.

"I was the one guarding Ligai in the locked ward. But he kept calling out for that black-haired Zoya. When I started piecing everything together, the picture that formed was... disturbing."

“......”

"Relax your face. I’m the only one who knows for now. We don’t want some other bastard getting interested in Sonia, do we?"

In that moment, Ju Seolheon’s cornered mind shifted gears with deadly clarity. Boogeyman... He’s the Boogeyman...

A sudden thought struck her—she could use him to get to Damon.

"You knew the Sakhalin brothers were still alive, didn’t you?"

Kiya’s brow twitched.

"But it’s /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ dangerous. For Sonia—and your brothers."

"What kind of game are you playing?"

"Among the surviving agents, there are still plenty who remember Sakhalin. Some hold key positions in intelligence agencies. Some retired into private military contractors or the weapons market."

“......”

"If you take care of them all—if the ones who remember the children disappear—"

"Will you approve of us?"

Ju Seolheon struck a dangerous bargain. As soon as she returned to Korea, she joined the Red Veil operation and handed over the identities of all CIA agents who had received even partial reports from Damon.

Most of those agents were likely taken care of by Kiya himself. The promised time was drawing near.

***

“...Ligai, you kept your promise.”

A tight voice squeezed out of Ju Seolheon’s throat.

The spell that had separated parent from child—Ligai had used his own eyes to seal away their memories. The only thing he could do for Sonia was to promise never to meet again. And now, she aimed the gun at him once more.

“Look at me, Ligai. This is your daughter’s face.”

“Ah... ah...!”

As Ligai, terrified, turned his head away, she swiftly peeled off the film she’d attached to her neck.

“It’s okay. It’s me, Zoya. Ligai, it’s me.”

“Ah... uh...”

“Look closely. Sonia grew up so beautifully. Don’t worry. Look at her all you want.”

“Uhh... So, Sonia...”

He trembled, reaching toward Ju Seolheon’s fake mask, his lips quivering uncontrollably.

“I won’t let you go alone.”

“......”

“I’m old and tired too now. It’s been too long... For both of us...”

“Ah... Zo... Zoya... I...”

Then, Ligai spoke with eyes blown wide, searching the air.

“I couldn’t save him... Just him... The Prime Minister’s grandson... I failed...”

Because of me... because of us... he became too cruel...

“The Prime Minister abandoned his own grandchild, Zoya...”

“......!”

“He made the entire world turn their eyes to that grandson...”

From his crushed eye socket, tears trickled down. Ju Seolheon wiped them with a trembling hand. Then, she hugged him tight one last time and pressed the gun barrel to his stubbly temple.

“...No, Ligai. Young Solzhenitsyn grew up tall and strong. I saw him. Cold, but kind. And above all... he became a man stubborn in love. You wouldn’t believe it.”

“Ah... ah...”

“Those children will be nothing like us.”

“......”

“I hope they never will be.”

Pik—!

The silenced pistol pierced Ligai’s temple. She held his collapsing body tightly and stifled her sobs.

Still embracing her lifeless husband, she loaded the pistol once more. Now came the moment to turn the gun on herself.

Bang—!

The harsh gunshot tore into her spine. Her waist buckled forward, but she never let go of Ligai.

It was a terrible pain, one that shattered the back she had always held so straight. The merciless bullet tore through something deep inside her, and blood surged into her throat. As the sound of approaching footsteps echoed, her bloodshot eyes turned.

“It was a bit noisy outside.”

“You...—”

Kiya stood in black priest robes, scratching his temple with the muzzle of his gun. He looked at Ju Seolheon—still wearing Sonia’s face—with clear irritation.

Did you think I’d fall for something like that?

His face, devoid of feeling, nudged Ligai’s corpse with a dull tap of his foot.

“Deputy Director Damon is dead, Zoya.”

“......!”

“So now, you’re the only one left who knows what happened in Sakhalin.”

“Ugh...”

“You’re my last target.”

The final record of Winter Castle... would go to Wooshin. That confidential file was set to open only upon Zoya’s death, and she had already arranged for it to be sent to him.

“Feels like everything is finally falling into place, doesn’t it?”

“Ah, no...”

“If Sonia calls for me, I’ll return to the monastery. The two of us will live just like we used to.”

There’s no way... Lee Wooshin would never let that happen...!

With her final strength, Ju Seolheon gritted her teeth and pulled the trigger toward Kiya. At the same moment, the door slammed open—and the faces she’d longed to see came rushing in.

The moment Sonia’s eyes widened in horror,

Kiya’s shoulder exploded open.

“――”

Ah... perhaps...

Maybe she did feel... a bit of regret...

A child who had been nothing but a tool of evidence and intelligence.

Her only achievement—and her greatest weakness.

My...――

My child, I wove you peonies.

Congratulations on your wedding.

Bang—!