When Kim listens, it makes her stop dead.
Her breath gets stuck in her throat, her lungs have apparently forgotten how to breathe. The freeze of Rudra's words settles over her — not like a hammer but like ice sliding into her blood. There's a little widening in her eyes, a tightening of the shoulders, and something unsaid starts to quiver just under her skin.
She stands there, still. She registers disbelief, then confusion, then hurt — all in a single breath.
And then, slowly, she speaks.
The words are soft, uneven. Like part of her doesn't even want the answer.
"If that's the case… then why didn't you say something in the meeting?"
Rudra stares at her, and for a brief instant, there's a tempest behind his eyes. Not anger—but burden. The kind of weight you hold on to alone because to tell someone would be like handing them a bomb.
He looks away, jaw tightening just a little.
Because the truth isn't easy. And saying it out loud makes it that much heavier.
When he finally picks up, his voice is level — too level. Like someone who's practiced this in his mind a hundred times, and still hates saying it.
"Because it's not just about exposing a traitor, Kim.
It isn't about making a ruckus or point fingers.
The snitch in your organization… he's not just some double agent sneaking notes in the shadows.
He's someone with reach. With power. Someone I trusted so deeply that if I had said his name in that room … they would've turned on me.
That's how deep it goes.
He's not an outsider.
He's a part of it—poured right in.
Someone so respected, no one would have questioned him."
Kim's hands flicker at her sides. Her lips curl up, but no words emerge at all. Her mind races, knitting implications, doubts, fears.
And then it hits her.
She straightens, her voice trembling — part challenge, part plea.
"Well in that case…" (slowly) " …Then even I could be the spy.
A beat.
"Is that why… you keep me at arm's length?
Why you hesitate around me?
Why it's always like you're watching me — just in case?"
The distance between them narrows, darkens. Her voice breaks a little—not with weakness but wounded strength.
Rudra exhales softly. There's no tension in it. Only weariness.
And then… he smiles.
A soft, sad smile.
Not cruel. Not dismissive. But the type of smile that indicates I wish it were otherwise.
"No… come on, Kim."
He meets her gaze fully now. Not as a soldier. Not as a leader.
But as a person who has decided to believe in something fragile.
"Whatever you might be…
I know one thing for sure—
you'd never try to hurt me."
The gap before his next words is not quite a second. But it holds everything.
"I trust you."
Kim blinks. Her face: surprise, then disbelief, then something like pain.
"But… why?" she whispers. "You don't even know me.
We've hardly had time to even know each other.
You shouldn't trust me like this…"
Her voice trails off like a leaf on wind.
Rudra advances — just enough for her to witness the stillness in him. The resolve. The hush of a fire that keeps him together.
"I'm not just following your lead, Kim.
His voice drops—low to moderate, but steady. A murmur that penetrates deeper than a scream.
"I'm trusting my brother's trust in you."
He holds her gaze. No hesitation. No flinch.
"And that… is something that I will always believe in."
Her breath catches. She doesn't move. Doesn't speak.
Because she can't. Not after that.
The silence that follows is dense — full of everything between them that remains unspoken.
Guilt. Hope. Trust. Doubt. All twirling around in the space of a single heartbeat.
Then—
Just like that—
Rudra straightens. His voice sharpens. The softness is gone. The commander returns.
"But anyway — we have more important things to deal with.
Let the team know — I want reports from our spy unit and a couple of scouts.
We've discovered that the enemy has hidden vital supplies somewhere, and we now have clues as to their next moves.
We also know who else is on their side… how many countries they've destroyed, how many other enemies are aligned with them, and who's sending supplies to them.
Get me
intel into their political and financial status as well.
And I want all of it quick, fast, right here on my desk."
I hope you understand