Kyle, feeling Se Hee’s even breath fully, was maintaining a rigid posture without the slightest movement.
He was completely unaware of how uncomfortable that posture was.
Kyle was heavily intoxicated by the sweet scent emanating from Se Hee, forgetting even the passage of time.
He was just gazing at the vast sea outside the window with languid eyes.
The area that had been sensitively stimulated by Se Hee moving in her sleep was still burning hot, but he restrained his emotions as much as possible.
Suddenly, Dave’s voice, who must have been waiting outside the door for who knows how long, was heard.
“Sir. It’s gotten very late.”
Dave’s voice, tinged with heavy concern, pulled Kyle’s dreamy sentiments straight back into reality.
Kyle’s brow furrowed as his mood was broken.
He deliberately didn’t answer.
“…May I come in?”
When there was no answer from inside, Dave asked again.
Even to the second question, Kyle still had no answer.
Unable to get permission, Dave couldn’t open the door recklessly, so he had no choice but to wait outside the closed door until dawn broke.
* * *
The sound of the doorbell faintly reached her ears.
Se Hee briefly opened her eyes at the faint sound, but found it difficult to bear the heavily falling eyelids, so she didn’t bother to open them again.
In her hazy memory, the doorbell rang a few more times before quickly becoming quiet.
When Se Hee, who had fallen back asleep like that, opened her eyes again, it was well past evening.
“Ugh.”
It wasn’t a sharp, stabbing headache, but the pain pressing heavily on her head was just as agonizing.
Her body wouldn’t move as she wanted either.
Her whole body was so heavy, like water-soaked cotton, that it was difficult to even move a finger.
The one fortunate thing was that the place where she regained consciousness was Room 1305, her own room.
Still in the dress she had worn yesterday.
Tracing back her brief memories, it seemed she had blacked out after drinking two glasses of vodka.
Did she just pass out like that?
Nothing happened, right?
She tried hard to recall the events of last night, but nothing came to mind.
She shouldn’t have drunk the vodka.
It was an unnecessary mishap caused by recklessness.
What if, by any chance, even though she couldn’t remember, she had caused some terrible incident?
Right. If that had happened, that sensitive man wouldn’t have sent her back so quietly.
No. He might have thrown her into the room in shock.
Since nothing was properly coming to mind, Se Hee was very worried about last night.
Ah… really. Should I go and ask him directly?
Recalling Kyle’s cold face, her face burned with embarrassment.
For now, let’s wash up.
Se Hee got up with her heavy body and headed to the shower.
After washing, she felt somewhat refreshed.
But she couldn’t soothe her burning stomach.
There’s no way to eat hangover soup in a place like this.
Thinking she should eat something, Se Hee put on light clothes.
Just then, the doorbell to Se Hee’s room rang.
She stiffened for a moment.
Could it be?
“W-Who is it?”
Se Hee cautiously checked who was outside the door.
“Se Hee? Are you in the room?”
It was Seong Jae’s voice.
Letting out a small sigh of relief, Se Hee slowly opened the door.
Seong Jae and Jung Yeon, looking as if they had just returned from a trip, were standing in front of the door.
“My goodness. Are you sick?”
Jung Yeon asked in surprise, seeing Se Hee’s haggard appearance.
“W-Well… I think I had too much to drink.”
Se Hee smiled awkwardly.
“I thought so. You weren’t seen at the restaurant this morning, and it seemed you didn’t go on the port tour either. Looks like you’ve been in your room all day. Have some of this drink at least.”
Jung Yeon said worriedly, handing over the drink she was holding.
“Oh right. I brought some porridge. You just need to add hot water. I’ll prepare it quickly. Jung Yeon, please take care of Se Hee.”
Seong Jae said to Jung Yeon, seeming to have remembered the food he had brought.
“No, it’s okay. I can go out and eat some stew or something.”
Se Hee waved her hands, trying to stop them, feeling apologetic.
“I also have cup noodles. Hangover recovery with ramen is surprisingly good. I’ll prepare a spicy one. Wait here.”
Seong Jae gave a quick wink as if it was no problem and disappeared with quick steps.
Se Hee found it difficult to refuse any further, given how much Seong Jae and Jung Yeon were worrying about her.
“We should help each other as fellow Koreans in a foreign land, or rather, on foreign waters. And Se Hee, you really don’t look well at all.”
Jung Yeon said seriously to Se Hee, who had an apologetic expression all over her face.
“I’m sorry for causing you worry. Would you like to come in?”
Se Hee held her cheeks with her hands as she stepped inside the door.
“Thank you. Wow! This is a sweet balcony room, isn’t it? It’s different from my room. I have a balcony room too, but Se Hee’s room seems much bigger and nicer.”
Jung Yeon said, going out to the balcony and admiring the night view.
“Really? Having a balcony is really nice. I’m enjoying the Mediterranean view to my heart’s content too.”
Se Hee said as she tidied up the messy bedding.
“But did you drink alone?”
Jung Yeon asked meaningfully as she came back inside.
“Ah… well. I didn’t drink that much. It’s just that I’m weak with alcohol.”
Se Hee laughed awkwardly with an ambiguous expression in response to Jung Yeon’s question.
* * *
Seong Jae, who had packed the ramen and porridge well, filled a thermos with hot water and headed towards Se Hee’s room.
He felt regretful that if he had come to check in the morning, he could have taken care of her earlier, since she had been collapsed all day.
He was proud of his thorough preparation, wondering what made him think to bring porridge.
Returning with quick steps, Seong Jae discovered a man standing in front of Se Hee’s room door.
Seong Jae was someone who rarely felt physically intimidated.
But seeing this man’s broad shoulders, he unconsciously tensed his own shoulders.
“What’s your business here?”
The man turned around at Seong Jae’s question and looked at him.
It’s that man.
The man who had given a fierce look before entering the restaurant with Se Hee.
Seong Jae felt intimidated just by looking into the man’s eyes.
Perfect looks, even from a man’s perspective.
Plus, the aura of a top predator that he seemed to naturally exude, as if born with it.
Seong Jae instinctively detected a danger signal.
“W-What is it?”
Seong Jae asked sharply, extremely tense.
The man didn’t even bother to respond, as if annoyed.
He simply took a step back to let Seong Jae pass.
He clearly seems to have business in this room?
Seong Jae raised his hand to press the doorbell with an uncomfortable expression.
“Wait.”
The man finally opened his mouth.
“What business do you have here?”
The man’s voice was as oppressive as his gaze.
Seong Jae and the man’s sharp gazes intersected.
“My girlfriend is in this room?”
Seong Jae said, raising one eyebrow as if telling the man to back off.
I, Ban Seong Jae, am not someone who gets intimidated easily.
The card Seong Jae pulled out to subdue the man in one go was ‘girlfriend’.
It was somewhat of an overplay, but he thought he needed to show this level of hand to have a chance.
“So?”
However, the man arrogantly asked back.
The man’s appearance, with his chin slightly raised, even had an air of dignity.
Although the tension was reaching its limit at that sight, Seong Jae didn’t back down.
“So please step aside.”
“I have clothes I left in this room.”
However, at the man’s next words, Seong Jae’s expression, which he had been barely maintaining, shattered.
The man turned around with a sneering sound and boldly pressed the room’s doorbell first.
“Seong Jae?”
The one who came out was Jung Yeon.
“Ah… so this is the girlfriend.”
At the man’s sarcastic remark, Seong Jae took a proper hit.
“Seong Jae. Who… might this person be?”
Jung Yeon was in awe.
Could there be another creation of God as perfect as this among His creatures?
“I’m not really curious? If you’re curious, ask him yourself.”
Seong Jae said in an unpleasant tone.
Then he roughly tried to push Kyle aside to enter, but…
Seong Jae was once again taken aback when Kyle didn’t budge an inch.
He had already confirmed the superior physique earlier, but to be overpowered in strength as well.
Seong Jae felt even more irritated.
Amidst the invisible tension between the men, the real owner of the room finally came out.
“Mr. Graham?”
“Are you feeling alright? I sent room service three times, but it seems you didn’t receive any of it.”
Kyle’s low voice clearly revealed his dejected mood.
“Ah… So those doorbell sounds were room service. I couldn’t get up. I’m feeling a bit better now.”
Se Hee smiled palely with a haggard appearance.
How could she have become so gaunt in just one night?
Early in the morning, before leaving for the port meeting, he had deliberately ordered room service for Se Hee’s room, but the report he received upon return only stated that it had never been delivered.
Kyle had come straight to find Se Hee without even entering his office.
But there were unexpected unwelcome guests.
“For now, since Se Hee isn’t feeling well. Why don’t you come back later?”
Momentarily surprised by Kyle’s natural Korean, Seong Jae spoke sharply in Korean, blocking between the two.
However, Kyle didn’t even glance at Seong Jae.
“Come out.”
It was a command directed at Se Hee standing behind Seong Jae.
“Hey, didn’t you understand what I said? I thought you understood Korean since you spoke it a bit, but I guess not?”
Seong Jae glared at Kyle, speaking in a confrontational tone.
“I said Se Hee needs to eat porridge because she’s not feeling well. Do you understand now?”
Seong Jae spoke emphatically in accurate English, staring directly at Kyle.
“You seem unaware of the cruise ship’s internal regulations, but bringing in outside food is not allowed.”
Kyle’s cool, low voice, unwavering despite Seong Jae’s rough provocation, pierced Seong Jae’s ears.
A voice full of arrogance.
The atmosphere was getting increasingly bleak.
“That place yesterday. I’ll give you ten minutes.”
After speaking as if giving an order, Kyle turned around.
But no one could stop Kyle.
All three people just stared blankly at Kyle’s retreating figure.
“Wow. What’s with this overwhelming charisma?”
Jung Yeon shuddered, rubbing her arms as if she had goosebumps.
“I’ve never been overpowered by anyone before.”
Seong Jae couldn’t bring himself to admit that he had been overpowered.
“I’m sorry. It’s because of me.”
Se Hee said with a troubled expression.
“Why are you apologizing, Se Hee? Come in. Let’s eat this first. And you can just ignore him. Do you have to go just because he says so?”
Seong Jae snorted.
“Yeah. It seems like the kind of atmosphere where you have to go.”
Jung Yeon answered seriously to Seong Jae’s words.
“Why? What’s the deal? Is he your boyfriend or something, Se Hee? He’s not, right? You’re not in any kind of relationship, right?”
Seong Jae asked Se Hee as if he needed confirmation.
“Huh? Yes.”
Se Hee nodded reluctantly.
“Then just ignore him. Let him wait or not.”
Seong Jae shook his head, crossing his arms.
“Um… But I think I should go. I’m sorry.”
Se Hee said carefully, watching Seong Jae’s reaction.
“Why?”
Seong Jae glared.
“He’s someone who has helped me a lot.”
“His arrogance is through the roof, and you say a guy like that helped you?”
Seong Jae’s voice rose as if it made no sense.
“Ban Seong Jae. What’s wrong with you? This is Se Hee’s decision to make. Are you her father or something? Why are you making such a fuss?”
Jung Yeon scolded Seong Jae.
“Hey, Jin Jung Yeon, out of all the words you could choose, why ‘father’? There’s oppa, boyfriend, and husband! With so many words to choose from.”
Seong Jae snapped at Jung Yeon as if in disbelief.
“Well… From what I see, you’re acting like a father. Let’s just leave. Ten minutes will pass quickly. If we don’t go, it seems like something bad might happen.”
Jung Yeon pulled on Seong Jae’s arm.
“You’re sending Se Hee to a guy like that? What if something happens to Se Hee?”
“See, see. That’s a father’s mindset, right?”
Jung Yeon clicked her tongue, looking at Seong Jae.
“Se Hee is an adult. From what it looks like, she was with that person last night too. The choice is Se Hee’s to make. Get up while I’m asking nicely. Don’t be clingy.”
Jung Yeon advised sharply.
“Sigh. Se Hee. Are you really okay with this?”
Seong Jae stood up as if he had no choice, his expression clearly hoping that Se Hee would stop him.
“…Yes. It’s fine.”
But Se Hee didn’t give Seong Jae the answer he wanted.
“If anything happens, call me. I’ll be on five-minute standby, no, one-minute standby.”
Still uneasy, Seong Jae wrote down his contact information and gave it to Se Hee.
* * *
Pushed out by Jung Yeon, Seong Jae walked slowly, clearly reluctant.
“It feels strangely familiar.”
Jung Yeon, walking alongside him, tilted her head.
“You feel it too, right? That unpleasant feeling isn’t unfamiliar.”
Seong Jae’s suspicion about that man deepened as Jung Yeon expressed the same feeling as him.
__________
“Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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