“Yes. So don’t get any ideas that I’ll make a move on you. Isn’t it too presumptuous of you? I’m not that kind of person. A Confucian girl, a Korean Confucian girl.”
Se-hee glared at him displeased.
And why has this man been using informal speech all along?
“Also, why are you talking down to me? What if you’re younger than me?”
Se-hee challenged him.
“I’m not that young,” Kyle replied casually.
Oh, this man uses informal speech quite naturally.
“Really? How old are you this year?”
Se-hee asked sarcastically.
“You want me to say it first? Do you think I’ll fall for such a shallow trick?” Kyle retorted, seeing through Se-hee’s intent.
“Really, do I look like someone who would use such a petty tactic? Fine. Let’s be fair and say it at the same time. Count to three.”
Se-hee began to count seriously.
“One. Two. Three.”
“Thirty-three.”
“Twenty-nine.”
Both Kyle and Se-hee stated their ages simultaneously.
What? He’s older than me?
Should’ve guessed a bit higher.
Se-hee felt slightly at a loss for being too honest.
“So, I’m older. I’ve heard that in the Land of Courteous East, the hierarchy follows the age.”
“Hmm. You don’t look it, but okay, I’ll accept it.”
“We’re both using informal speech now?” Kyle slyly picked on Se-hee’s manner of speaking.
“Then let’s both use honorifics. It’s customary to use formal speech when meeting someone for the first time, in the Land of Courteous East.”
“Thought we were familiar enough.”
He answered slyly.
This man really pays attention to detail.
Se-hee frowned displeasingly.
“Ah… yes, yes. I acknowledge it, sir.”
Then, in a teasing tone, Se-hee continued mockingly.
Kyle almost let out a laugh at her expression but quickly covered his mouth.
Regaining his composure, Kyle checked his wristwatch.
The hatch to the engine room could only be opened from the outside.
Without someone opening it, they couldn’t get out.
They had to wait helplessly until the early morning patrol time.
Three hours to go.
Kyle let out a long sigh.
Dave, thinking Kyle would be in the event hall, wouldn’t search the deep engine room.
If only he hadn’t seen that sparkling dress hem on the stairs above.
Or better yet, hadn’t followed her down.
Kyle’s uncomfortable gaze turned to Se-hee.
“Why? You think I’m going to pounce on you now? What do you take me for? Keep your distance then. I’ll knock on this door to signal someone’s inside.”
Se-hee gestured to Kyle to step back with an irritated look.
“Didn’t you hear on the way down? With all the machinery noise, yelling won’t be heard by anyone.”
“The door won’t open, so we should just stay still? We have to do something. We need to get out quickly.”
Se-hee spoke anxiously.
“We can leave when the patrol arrives in three hours, so don’t waste your energy and just wait quietly.”
Kyle spoke calmly.
“Three hours? The door is a steel door, the space is small… What if the oxygen level drops? What if the floodgate opens and water fills up? What if we hit an iceberg and start sinking? Huh?”
Se-hee rattled off her worries in rapid succession.
“Ha. Really.”
Kyle pressed his forehead in exasperation.
“Look. The oxygen pressure gauge over there shows we have plenty of oxygen. And the floodgate doesn’t open just any time. Lastly, we’re sailing the warm Mediterranean Sea. So, there’s no chance of encountering icebergs.”
Kyle addressed each of Se-hee’s concerns systematically.
“Once more, the patrol will arrive precisely in three hours, well, two hours and forty-five minutes. They check every twelve hours to ensure the hatch is functioning safely.”
Kyle reassured her, specifying the time precisely.
Yet, Se-hee’s expression didn’t improve.
Her unease was still apparent.
“I see. But what if we get stuck on a reef or something? This is the lowest space…”
“The Evans Cruise Line is equipped with experienced crew members and cutting-edge technology, so there’s no chance of it colliding with a reef.”
Kyle spoke with confidence.
But he regretted it immediately.
Giving such a detailed explanation might reveal his connection to the cruise line.
He had unwittingly got entangled in her fuss.
“Oh, you sound like an expert. You must cruise often. Now I suddenly feel much more reassured.”
Se-hee finally smiled.
For some reason, the deep blue of the man’s eyes seemed to calm her anxious heart.
Kyle, realizing Se-hee saw him as just another cruise passenger with her innocent look, wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or slightly embarrassed.
“I’m Se-hee. You seem to know I’m Korean.”
Se-hee, now calmer, extended her hand to Kyle.
“Oh wait, you probably don’t like this kind of skinship, do you?”
She quickly withdrew her hand.
Kyle silently observed her.
“…Kyle Graham…”
“Mr. Graham, then. I was curious about your name.”
Se-hee interrupted before he could finish introducing himself.
Kyle’s brow furrowed momentarily.
“Thank you for saving me. I wanted to thank you properly, but you didn’t give me the chance. Now, finally, I can.”
Unaware of the change in Kyle’s expression, Se-hee continued speaking.
“Don’t just stand there, sit down. It will be hard to keep that posture for three hours. I promise I won’t pounce on you.”
Se-hee joked as she found a spot to sit, maintaining a distance from Kyle.
Despite her invitation, Kyle did not relax his posture.
“Captain, Captain!”
Captain Marcus burst into Kyle’s office.
“Captain Marcus. What’s the matter?”
Dave quickly rose from his seat in the office.
“Dave, are you alone? Where’s the CEO?”
“Uh… he’s currently inspecting the event hall…”
Dave hesitated, catching Captain Marcus’s eye.
“The event hall? That’s not the issue right now. There’s a big problem.”
“What? Has there been an accident?”
Dave asked with a startled expression.
“Passenger in room 1305 has disappeared.”
Marcus spoke gravely.
“Room 1305?”
Dave’s eyes widened.
Marcus, who had been particularly attentive to ‘Jaina’s Curse’, had secretly ordered the crew to monitor the passenger in room 1305.
This included off-duty crew members, watching her every move. However, during the cocktail party she attended, she suddenly vanished. All that was left on her table was her used phone.
Hearing this, Marcus felt his heart freeze.
Hoping nothing untoward had happened, he secretly ordered all crew members to look for the passenger in room 1305.
But even after two hours, no one had found her.
Marcus, convinced a problem had arisen, had come to find Kyle, believing it was beyond his ability to handle.
“We need to check all the CCTV in the cabins right away. Please report to the CEO.”
As checking all the CCTV required the CEO’s approval, Marcus urgently requested Dave to do so.
But Dave’s expression was troubled.
“What are you dawdling for, hurry up and contact him.”
Marcus, frustrated, urged Dave.
“Uhm… Captain.”
Dave, unable to stay still, looked at Marcus with anxious eyes.
“What is it?”
“The thing is… the CEO has also been unaccounted for since 2 hours ago.”
Dave said with difficulty, sweating profusely.
Marcus’s face turned pale with shock at these words.
“…What… What did you just say?”
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
