* * *
I’d totally lost it at the beach, but this time, I swore I’d hold it together no matter what.
But instead, Woo Jaehyun dove into the pool—with me still slung over his shoulder.
I was upside down, so of course I ended up swallowing a mouthful of water.
Pffft!
“Haha!”
And yet, I started laughing uncontrollably again.
Was it the alcohol?
Dopamine was shooting through the roof—it felt like I was floating.
Honestly, it was amazing.
“You thought I was gonna throw you again, didn’t you?”
“Jaehyun! Do it again!”
Thankfully, the pool was shallow enough for my feet to touch the bottom, so I rushed back to him and clung to his back again.
Like I was rock climbing, I struggled my way up and draped myself over his shoulders, tapping his chest impatiently.
“Again, again! Hurry!”
Maybe I looked ridiculous, because he let out a big huff of laughter and jumped back into the water.
We kept doing it—three, four times—until I finally started coughing.
I had been laughing with my mouth open and accidentally inhaled some water through my nose.
Cough!
“Are you okay? Did I go too far?”
He came over, looking worried. Seizing the moment, I put him in a headlock.
“I’m fine. Now it’s your turn to choke.”
With that, I pulled his head down with all my strength.
This time, I was definitely going to drown him a little—fair’s fair.
“…Huh?”
But Woo Jaehyun just blinked at me with a puzzled look.
He didn’t budge an inch.
In fact, he even supported me with one hand, like I was some pathetic little koala.
…So annoying.
My pride took a hit.
I leaned in and whispered threateningly in his ear.
I hated saying this out loud, but I wanted to dunk him so badly.
“Jaehyun, take a hint. This is when you’re supposed to go under.”
Thankfully, he understood—and dutifully dunked his face beneath the water.
I perked up again and pushed down happily, only for him to slip away from my grip like a fish.
Even though the lights were off, the moonlight was so bright I could see him swimming clearly underwater.
He moved like a damn mermaid—too graceful for his own good.
“Worried I’ll pull the same trick again?”
I started pacing warily in place, keeping an eye on my surroundings.
Knowing him, he could come up with anything.
Just then, a large shadow loomed over me.
Did he already get out of the pool?
I looked up instinctively—and froze.
“Cha Rui?”
There he was, standing under the moonlight with an unreadable expression.
Did we wake him up with all the noise?
His deeply furrowed brows showed just how annoyed he was.
Still, I was in such a good mood that I felt genuinely happy to see him.
As I walked closer, my heart started racing for some reason.
“Wanna come in? The water’s warm.”
I reached out and grabbed his hand, hoping he’d join us.
Normally, I would never act like this.
I blamed the alcohol.
Though maybe something else played a part—like the strange lingering feelings left in Seo Inho’s body.
“Come on.”
After hesitating for a moment, Cha Rui finally stepped into the water.
As soon as he did, he reached for my robe and tied it securely for me.
When did it even come loose?
I hadn’t noticed, so I gave him a sheepish smile.
“How much did you drink?”
“Just… enough.”
Even to my own ears, I sounded completely unconvincing.
Still, I couldn’t stop myself from secretly admiring him.
The wet white shirt clung to Cha Rui’s muscular arms—I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
Not just thick—but finely sculpted, like art.
I even had the urge to touch them without thinking.
“…”
But before I could do anything reckless, Woo Jaehyun suddenly burst onto the scene, shaking his head like a soaked golden retriever and splashing water everywhere.
What’s his deal?
I stared at him, annoyed.
But then I figured—why not?
I reached out and grabbed his hand too.
Might as well try to fix their relationship while I had the chance.
In the movie, they didn’t have this much beef.
But now?
They couldn’t even be in the same room without growling at each other.
“Come on, stop fighting and try getting along.”
As I pulled Woo Jaehyun over to face Cha Rui, his expression instantly darkened.
He couldn’t have looked more disgusted.
Cha Rui didn’t look thrilled either.
“Okay, shake hands.”
Pretending not to notice their glares, I forced their hands together and shook them up and down.
I was basically puppeteering them, but it made me feel oddly satisfied.
“See? How nice. Now let’s play.”
Feeling pleased, I patted both their shoulders—and then, without hesitation, jumped onto Cha Rui’s back.
I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly and pointed at the pool ladder in the distance.
“Can you swim all the way over there with me on your back?”
I guess, since I can’t swim, I at least wanted to get the feel of it.
That’s why I suggested it, but Cha Rui had been standing around awkwardly from the start.
Well, just because someone’s S-Class doesn’t mean they can swim.
“Is it too hard for you? Then maybe Woo Jaehyun…”
But the moment I tried to loosen my arms, my body was suddenly shot forward.
It was so fast my head snapped back, and before I knew it, my face was buried in the water.
‘Cough! Haha!’
And when I looked up again, we had already crossed more than half the pool.
The distance had to be at least 30 meters, and it was absurdly fast—like I was riding on a dolphin or something.
Seriously, no wonder the Olympics were abolished.
I couldn’t stop grinning, playing like crazy until I suddenly noticed—about a third of the pool water was gone.
That was thanks to Woo Jaehyun repeatedly jumping in mid-way, insisting he was faster and starting races over and over.
My arms ached a bit from being dragged around, but I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had this much fun.
I laughed so hard my cheeks started to go numb.
Who knew just laughing could make your face muscles sore?
“So weird…”
Declaring a break, I gently rubbed my cheeks.
Then, suddenly, I turned around.
It felt like someone was watching me.
Scanning the pitch-black windows of the hotel, my eyes stopped at one in particular.
I couldn’t be sure—my vision was still a bit blurry—but I thought I saw a shadow flicker past.
No, probably just my imagination…
I pushed away the thought of a ghost and looked up at the night sky.
Maybe because the weather was nice, there were quite a few stars for a city, and the moon lit up the sky brilliantly.
It was a supermoon, so big you could even see the impact mark from the recent meteor strike.
“Full moon’s beautiful. Feels good too.”
“The moon? I think it’s hidden behind the clouds.”
That’s when Woo Jaehyun came up beside me and said something completely nonsensical.
He pretended not to see the moon clearly visible in the sky, and it was so ridiculous it was almost cute.
It’s right there.
Too obvious to miss.
“Lame joke. It’s right there, huge.”
“What were you doing the whole time it got that big?”
Then Cha Rui, as if joining in the prank, shot Woo Jaehyun a sharp look.
Woo Jaehyun just smirked and let out a dry laugh, but I didn’t get either of them.
If you’re going to joke, at least make it convincing.
I could believe it from Woo Jaehyun—he’s always like that—but Cha Rui was taking it way too seriously.
“I mean…”
I tried to say something, but before I could, they dragged me out of the pool, and I missed my chance.
Worse, the moment I staggered slightly on the wet floor, they just picked me up by the waist and carried me straight to a sunbed.
By the time I came to, I was surrounded by both of them.
“Don’t just stand there. Go grab a towel or something.”
“Huh? I have one…”
At the mention of a towel, I instinctively reached for my item pouch at my waist.
But of course, wearing nothing but a shower gown, there was no way I had it.
Realizing it too late, I made an awkward face.
Cha Rui just jerked his chin at Woo Jaehyun to go get one.
Woo Jaehyun looked thoroughly annoyed by the whole thing, but maybe out of some small sense of guilt, he turned and left.
After all, I was the one who brought up swimming and drank too much, so I did feel a little bad.
“How’s your finger?”
Cha Rui sat down on the lounge chair opposite me and reached for my hand.
He started rubbing my fingers with a rough touch, and I involuntarily flinched.
It tickled, but also felt a little… weird.
“It’s like a mid-grade elixir or something. No side effects so far?”
Cha Rui was fully focused on my hand, examining it closely.
He paid particular attention to the back of my hand, where a tracker had been implanted in the past.
It tickled too much…
Unable to take it anymore, I slowly pulled my hand away.
Only then did he lift his gaze to look at me.
“Why? Does it hurt?”
His eyes were indifferent, as always.
But now I could tell there was concern in them.
That made it all the more confusing.
At first, he clearly hated ‘Seo Inho’—so why was he acting like this now?
I thought maybe it was pity, but…
No, this felt like something else entirely.
* * *
