“Um…… Where am I?”

The sunlight spreading through the balcony brightly illuminated the cabin where Se Hee was sleeping.

Awakening to that bright light, Se Hee stared at the unfamiliar ceiling for a while, as if still not used to this place where she had woken up, before smiling broadly.

“Where else? The land of happiness, the Decona cruise ship.”

Speaking to herself, Se Hee grinned.

Rather than the uncomfortable reality she originally belonged to, this unfamiliar feeling made Se Hee’s heart feel at ease.

Suddenly last night’s events came to mind, but she had decided to forget about that trash as of yesterday.

She decided to just bury everything as it was.

So from this moment of opening her eyes anew, she would proudly enjoy with a fresh mindset.

Getting up from bed with a light heart, Se Hee decided to abandon her gloomy self until now and live as a new person.

First, she decided to make a change starting with her outfit.

Lee Se Hee’s fashion had always been synonymous with achromatic colors, but from now on she would challenge herself with bright colors.

She pulled out a light pink dress in pastel tones that she would never normally buy or wear, one that looked as if a gentle breeze would flutter just by looking at it.

Changing into the dress she had ambitiously prepared just for the cruise trip, Se Hee headed to the buffet where food was available at any time for a leisurely breakfast.

As she left her room, Se Hee’s long straight hair fluttered endlessly in the cool sea breeze.

The blue of the Mediterranean Sea spread out before her eyes was indescribably beautiful.

Yes. This is it.

With a happy smile spread across her face, Se Hee headed to the dining room.

Perhaps because it was a day with no port calls and they would only be at sea, there were many people like Se Hee leisurely enjoying breakfast.

Se Hee also picked up a plate and examined the prepared foods one by one.

Fresh salmon, moist scrambled eggs, and an appetizing sausage.

Lastly, an apple with a vivid red color reminiscent of Italy, the port of departure.

After placing the foods on her plate satisfyingly while maintaining the beauty of empty space, Se Hee headed for an empty table.

Looking around, most people were traveling with lovers or family.

Though she was alone, Se Hee decided not to care about the eyes of others.

She first dipped the salmon generously in dressing and popped it into her mouth.

Perhaps in consideration of passengers from various countries, several sauces and dressings were prepared, so Se Hee chose a familiar sauce.

The soft salmon flesh seemed to melt in her mouth.

The moist scrambled eggs and well-grilled sausage were also delivering taste beyond expectations.

Of course, since the food was prepared by the famous Evans Hotel business division.

After a satisfying meal, Se Hee decided to finish her breakfast with a cup of coffee.

A deep, rich aroma wafted from the coffee extract falling into a clean cup, emitting hot steam.

“Is it British since it’s a British ship? Even the aroma is refined.”

As she carefully took a sip of the hot coffee, it seemed as if the rich aroma spread throughout her chest.

There’s no heaven but this.

Se Hee took her coffee cup and headed to the terrace with a good view of the sea.

The weather was nice, so the sky was blue and the sea even bluer.

The refreshing sea breeze added to the invigorating feeling.

Carried on that wind came the sounds of travelers happily enjoying swimming in the wide deck pool.

Se Hee’s gaze naturally moved following the sound.

The Decona cruise ship had pools on each deck level.

Among them, the main deck had two wide pools, so it was the most crowded with people.

As the introduction to this pool took up quite a lot of space in the cruise pamphlet, the facilities were also extremely excellent.

A ship floating on the blue sea.

And a transparent water slide installed inside it.

Isn’t it truly fantastic?

Just thinking about flying over the sea on the water slide made her heart race already.

To properly enjoy the pool, Se Hee quickly drank her coffee and headed straight back to her cabin.

* * *

From the crack of dawn, Kyle finished a meeting with the food and beverage department head and headed to the ship’s food storage.

Even at the headquarters’ Evans Hotel business division, Kyle’s direct inspections were known for being strict.

Among them, because of the unannounced secret inspections, all employees could never let their guard down.

As this was the first cruise business venture, Kyle was not one to just quietly observe the maiden voyage of the Decona.

As expected, Kyle boarded the cruise ship himself.

The captain of the Decona and all the crew members had already heard about Kyle’s perfectionist personality from the headquarters staff.

They were all on high alert, preparing for the inspection with their utmost effort, knowing that he paid meticulous attention even to the coffee beans used for casual coffee.

The first place the inspection began was Francois, the Decona’s finest restaurant that prepares formal dinners.

Seeing Kyle thoroughly check the condition of the food going out to passenger tables from start to finish while going around the kitchen interior, the crew members were dumbfounded.

Therefore, even for places that had undergone meticulous preparation, not a single place passed without Kyle’s comments.

After inspecting like that, Kyle finally headed to the buffet restaurant where food is provided at all times, expecting a long inspection.

“Hello, sir. Would you like to see the ingredients first?”

The buffet manager who was waiting to greet Kyle politely asked.

Following the manager’s guidance, Kyle entered inside.

Clean kitchen conditions and fresh food.

The buffet restaurant, which needed more careful management as it always had a constant flow of passengers, was prepared in the best condition without any shortcomings.

“Not bad.”

It seemed satisfactory even to Kyle’s sharp eyes.

The manager, who had been constantly checking the inspection results via radio from other restaurant managers on the cruise ship, was grinning from ear to ear with joy at passing without any comments.

Dave, who was following behind, also nodded as if to say “good job” and encouraged the manager with gentle eyes.

Just as Kyle was about to leave the buffet after finishing the inspection like that.

“Is it British since it’s a British ship? Even the aroma is refined.”

He stopped abruptly at the vivid Korean he heard.

It was clearly her voice.

The one who caused the serious incident that surprised everyone last night.

Kyle’s thick eyebrow raised disapprovingly.

The manager froze, seeing the representative’s expression turn cold as he stood still.

He sensed that something had happened.

Kyle slowly approached the coffee machine where Se Hee had disappeared.

His chilly gaze turned to the manager.

“Make sure the country of origin is clearly labeled for anyone to see.”

British?

Not even close.

It was the finest Jamaica Blue Mountain that Kyle had personally selected after even trying the roasting himself.

Of course, unless one is a coffee maniac, it may be impossible to distinguish.

That’s why a sign with the exact country of origin was attached right in front.

Nevertheless, to confidently say it’s British.

“The, the country of origin label?”

The manager asked back as if he had misheard.

But he quickly nodded at Kyle’s cold gaze that flew in.

“I understand. I will change it right away.”

In the end, even the last buffet restaurant could not escape Kyle’s comment.

* * *

Returning to her cabin, Se Hee took out the swimsuits she had prepared.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

These bikinis, specially prepared to be worn by day of the week, were swimsuits in a style that would be absolutely difficult to attempt in Korea.

She chose them thinking they were much more Confucian than what the models wore in the cruise ship pool introduction she saw in the travel information guide, but when she actually took them out, she felt burdened to wear them.

After having a staring contest with the swimsuits for a while, Se Hee finally made a decision.

She decided to be bold, as she had prepared them for this special place.

The pool fashion she had briefly scanned earlier was mostly women wearing bikinis, as Se Hee had thought.

So what she chose was a white bikini that matched very well with the blue Mediterranean Sea.

A 1,000% bold swimsuit that the original Se Hee could never have imagined.

Se Hee, changed into the bikini, stood in front of the mirror.

Her reflection in the mirror looked too shy.

No. I decided to change.

Courage! Courage! Courage!

After chanting earnestly as if reciting a spell, Se Hee began to hypnotize herself.

This body is good enough to look at.

No. It’s close to perfect.

After forcibly injecting that into her brain, she lightly put on a beachwear and left the cabin.

Arriving at the pool on deck with quick steps, Se Hee quickly stripped down to her bikini before the hypnosis wore off.

Now, stand tall with your chest out…

Just then, a foreign woman wearing a daring bikini passed in front of Se Hee, flaunting her voluptuous body.

In an instant, Se Hee’s shoulders hunched.

Feeling somewhat inadequate compared to the physiques of the women at the pool, the self-hypnosis she had forcibly put on shattered.

“Let’s, let’s be brave. Lee Se Hee.”

She tried to gather her wits again.

After hypnotizing herself again like that, Se Hee moved to the pool doing a power walk.

But the real obstacle was elsewhere.

3 meters deep, really?

She already knew the cruise ship was very large in scale, but she thought the pool built on a ship wouldn’t be that deep, so it was a disaster.

Se Hee, who couldn’t swim, had to wear a life jacket to enter the pool.

Imagining herself wearing a life jacket, showing only her arms and legs, let alone a bikini, made her laugh.

The tubes she thought of as an alternative were already all rented out.

Then the water slide?

There was already a long line.

Okay, time is all I have now.

I’ll wait as long as it takes.

But first, shouldn’t I at least get wet a little?

While waiting for the water slide line to shorten, Se Hee splashed around with just her legs in the pool for now.

Sitting looking at the sea, even this alone made her feel good.

It was a moment of naturally understanding what healing is.

As she sat leisurely looking at the Mediterranean Sea with a happy smile, at that moment.

With giggling laughter, something heavy pressed down on Se Hee’s shoulder and pushed her forward with strong force.

Losing balance from that force, Se Hee toppled over and fell into the pool.

Entering the pool while off guard, Se Hee began flailing about in the water without even being able to scream.

It happened in a split second.

A foreign woman playing with a ball behind Se Hee had accidentally bumped into her and pushed her into the pool.

Se Hee, who couldn’t swim, reflexively flailed about aimlessly, but her body, stiffening with fear, was sinking more and more.

Trapped underwater, she began to run out of breath.

The water pressure pressing down on her body and the silence underwater drove Se Hee’s fear to the extreme.

The fear made even her flailing arms and legs unable to move.

The word death vividly flashed through Se Hee’s mind.

No.

To die so futilely.

At that moment, images of her past life flashed by quickly like a panorama.

It was too unfair to end her life like this.

I don’t want… to die.

I want to live.

No, I must live.

She struggled once more as if pleading, grasping at the thread of life, but Se Hee’s body was getting heavier than before.

She could no longer hold her breath.

As she reached her limit, even her consciousness began to fade.

A large air bubble burst out of her mouth, as if signaling Se Hee’s last breath.

At that very moment, someone quickly pulled Se Hee’s body up to the surface.

Exposed to the air, Se Hee exhaled all at once the breath she had been holding back with difficulty.

It seemed God had not rejected Se Hee’s will to live at the moment she thought she might die.

Se Hee, who had been breathing roughly, felt indescribable gratitude towards this lifesaver who had rescued her.

Se Hee, who had barely steadied her breathing, looked up at her benefactor with a choked voice mixed with emotion.

“……Haa. Haa…… Th……”

However, before Se Hee could finish her words, a sharp male voice painfully pierced her ears.

“Do you think life jackets are decorations?”

It was a shocking statement that hit the back of Se Hee’s head repeatedly, who had just escaped from the threshold of death and still hadn’t regained her senses.