Ensnared by the Trap (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 3
“This is absolutely ridiculous.”
Se Hee let out a sigh as she picked up the card with a hollow expression.
She thought she had thrown it away, so why was Hyun Joon’s wedding invitation inside her travel bag?
Did it get mixed in while she was hurriedly packing?
In that case, that too?
Se Hee turned the wedding invitation envelope upside down and shook it.
Then, a shiny thin ring fell out along with it.
“Ha.”
It was the couple ring she had intended to throw away together with the invitation.
At that moment, the loud horn of the Decora Ho announced the ship’s first departure.
As the ship began to move, sea breeze blew into the cabin through the open balcony.
Wanting to cleanse her stuffy heart with that fresh energy, Se Hee headed to the balcony.
The Venice port was gradually getting farther away, and before she knew it, they were sailing in the middle of the blue sea.
The Mediterranean, dyed red by the sunset, turned into a black night sea as time passed.
As she gazed at the scenery, a sudden thought popped into Se Hee’s mind.
Her meaningful gaze turned toward Hyun Joon’s wedding invitation that she hadn’t dealt with yet.
Se Hee found a heavy black pouch with a chain from her travel bag and emptied its contents.
Then she put Hyun Joon’s wedding invitation and her couple ring inside the pouch.
“You who boarded without permission—what is the fate of stowaways?”
Se Hee stood up while roughly closing the pouch’s zipper.
“Execution by drowning.”
Wearing a fishy smile, Se Hee glared at the pouch.
Dressed in a black dress that matched the black pouch perfectly, Se Hee left her cabin.
She had her own cabin balcony, but if she was going to do it, she wanted to throw it from the highest place into the farthest sea.
The place she chose was the rooftop, the very top floor of the cruise ship.
When she climbed up high, the moon floating in the sky looked close enough to touch.
Even though the moon was unusually bright, perhaps because of her mood, it appeared gloomy to Se Hee right now.
Looking around, fortunately—or unfortunately—there were no passengers or crew members in sight.
Se Hee moved to a spot where she could see the sea directly and checked the angle and direction below to make sure she could sink the pouch properly in one throw.
The seawater hitting the fast-moving cruise ship was creating white sea spray.
“Farewell. Forever. Into the deep sea.”
Se Hee quietly recited as if leaving last words to the black pouch in her hand, then stretched her arm holding the pouch out over the railing with a serious expression.
Just then, the ship’s movement grew large as it hit a huge swell.
Se Hee’s body lost balance and tilted outward over the railing along with the pouch.
“Kyaaah!”
When the surging black sea appeared right in front of her, Se Hee screamed and closed her eyes.
The moment Se Hee was about to fall into the sea.
Someone’s strong arm quickly grabbed her.
Se Hee, who had been screaming, realized that what touched her skin was not the icy cold seawater she expected but a hard floor, and she opened her eyes wide.
And she was startled.
Oh my god, is this heaven?
The stranger who saved her was a man with perfect visuals rarely seen in this world.
The man’s eyes staring at Se Hee were a deep navy blue like the unfathomable deep sea.
“Could you get off me first?”
A cold voice flew toward Se Hee, who was staring blankly staring into his eyes as if bewitched.
“S-sorry!”
Only then did Se Hee realize she was sitting on top of the man and hurriedly stood up.
As soon as Se Hee got off, the man slowly stood up with a frown.
“…What were you doing? What on earth were you thinking, doing that in the middle of the Mediterranean….”
It was an extremely restrained low voice, but from his chilly expression, Se Hee could feel she had done something terribly wrong.
It seemed the man glaring at her with cold eyes hadn’t grabbed her to save her from danger.
To find the real reason he held onto her, Se Hee quickly reviewed the words he had said.
What was I doing?
In the middle of the Mediterranean… doing that?
Oh no!
Is it because of this pouch?
Only then did Se Hee realize.
The true reason this man had thrown himself at her.
In short, this was the pristine Mediterranean, so he was stopping her from littering.
A bit extreme, though!
Snapping back to her senses, Se Hee immediately bowed 90 degrees.
“Ah… um, well. You’re talking about marine littering… right? I’m really sorry. I didn’t think that far. I’m so, so sorry.”
Shame rushed over her in an instant.
Even elementary school kids know that marine waste is a global issue these days, yet she felt ashamed of her recklessness in choosing “sinking” as the method.
How dare she litter here of all places.
“What?”
The man’s expression turned ambiguous for a moment as he looked at Se Hee sincerely reflecting and apologizing for her heinous act.
“Ma… rine litter?”
Instead, the man frowned as if he couldn’t understand her words at all.
He even looked somewhat dumbfounded.
“…I’m sorry. I’ll just throw it in the trash bin.”
Thinking the reason for his strange expression was the trash, Se Hee firmly promised to dispose of it properly in the bin.
Of course, that wouldn’t satisfy her, but she couldn’t pollute the beautiful Mediterranean with this nuclear-waste-level garbage.
Yet the man’s expression remained oddly crumpled.
By then, many crew members had already gathered around.
“Are you alright?”
A female crew member hurriedly approached Se Hee.
“Ah… yes. I’m fine.”
Se Hee naturally answered in English, then realized something late.
Wait… speaking of which, this man?
He definitely doesn’t look Korean.
Yet how did we converse in Korean this whole time?
The man’s unusually fair skin, deep blue eyes, and large build that looked over 190cm tall were far from East Asian features.
“I’ll escort you to your cabin.”
The crew member who confirmed Se Hee was safe said kindly.
“Ah… wait a moment.”
Due to the strong recoil earlier, the pouch had long flown far from Se Hee’s hand.
Se Hee turned around to look for the pouch that must have rolled to the opposite deck and embarrassingly spilled its contents.
But a foreign man in a neat suit was already handing her the neatly organized pouch.
“Th-thank you. Ah… thank you.”
Se Hee accepted it in surprise and thanked him.
After that, she safely returned to her cabin under the guidance of the female crew member.
Left alone in her room, Se Hee looked down at the pouch still in her hand that hadn’t been resolved and let out a sigh.
What kind of international embarrassment is this.
You’re not supposed to disgrace your country abroad, yet she would now be remembered as a Korean woman who tried to dump marine trash in the sea.
It seems the problem was thinking so grandly about “sinking” it.
Her solemn plan to execute the stowaways was completely ruined due to the international issue of global environmental problems.
Se Hee let out a low sigh and shoved the pouch deep into the safe.
Exhaustion suddenly overwhelmed her, and she flopped onto the bed.
Then that man suddenly came to mind.
The man who cared so deeply for the Mediterranean that he blocked trash dumping with his whole body.
He had deliberately turned his body toward the floor to protect the falling Se Hee.
Otherwise, in a situation where he was pushing Se Hee inward, his body wouldn’t have ended up underneath.
Thanks to that, Se Hee barely felt any pain when she fell.
‘Who is that guy?’
The man who completely ruined the sinking ritual.
The man with exotic looks who spoke Korean like a native.
Who are you.
As thoughts of the man slowly filled her mind, Se Hee’s heavy eyelids finally closed.
* * *
“Marine littering, huh.”
Kyle’s gaze toward Captain Marcus was icy.
“But it was a situation that could easily be misunderstood.”
Marcus couldn’t accept the earlier incident as a simple happening.
He had been shocked to receive a report that an Asian woman in a black dress was climbing to the rooftop deck with a serious face.
On the first night of sailing, it was eerily similar to the “Curse of the Zaina Ho.”
He immediately ordered all crew to gather on the upper deck and ran there himself.
By the time Captain Marcus arrived, the situation was already over.
Kyle, who was personally inspecting the facilities of the Decora Ho with his secretary Dave, happened to be there at that exact moment.
After causing such a commotion, Marcus was speechless watching the scene unfold.
“The first day of sailing will be over in about an hour.”
Kyle’s calm expression as he stared straight at Captain Marcus was close to a threat to obey orders from now on.
“…I’m sorry.”
The captain obediently bowed his head and stepped back.
He had never thought he lost a power struggle to anyone, but somehow he could never do so in front of this young CEO.
Once the captain left and the door to Kyle’s office closed, secretary Dave approached.
“There is something you need to check, sir.”
Dave showed Kyle the phone screen he had recorded earlier.
“What is it?”
“These are the contents that came out of that black pouch.”
As expected of a capable secretary, Dave had gathered a lot of information in a short time.
“A wedding invitation and a ring… so?”
Kyle’s voice rose sharply at the end as if he didn’t like it.
“The date written on that wedding invitation falls during the voyage… so I think it would be best to keep watching for now.”
“Dave. You’re not actually believing in the curse of the Zaina Ho, are you?”
“Of course I share your view on superstitions, sir. However… that date is a bit…”
“Stop with the unnecessary worries and leave. Just make sure tomorrow’s food and beverage warehouse inspection goes smoothly.”
As if telling him not to talk nonsense, Kyle coldly snapped.
“…Yes, sir. I’ll prepare it.”
Dave immediately shut his mouth at Kyle’s sharp tone and left the office.
Left alone, Kyle quietly walked to the balcony.
The night sea shrouded in pitch-black darkness would have been indistinguishable without even moonlight.
“The curse of the Zaina Ho…”
Kyle also knew why Captain Marcus couldn’t hide his anxiety.
The legend-like tale passed down about the “Curse of the Zaina Ho.”
Any crew member working on a cruise ship knew the contents of that curse.
Sailors like Captain Marcus tended to fiercely believe anything related to ships.
They were especially sensitive to things grouped under the name “curse,” like the Zaina Ho that became forever moored in port due to an unfortunate incident during its maiden voyage.
About 50 years ago,
The luxurious cruise ship Zaina Ho, preparing for its grand maiden voyage, had every cabin fully booked.
However, just days before departure, one cabin was suddenly canceled.
The room remained empty until the very end, but on the last day, a female passenger booked it.
Sudden cancellations and last-minute bookings were common at travel agencies, so no one imagined it would lead to a tremendous incident later.
Thus, the fully booked Zaina Ho began its maiden voyage amid enthusiastic cheers.
But that very night of departure.
The woman who boarded the last cabin jumped into the sea.
Many crew members desperately tried to rescue the passenger who jumped, but rescue operations in the dark sea were not easy.
The rescue was delayed, and in the end, the woman was found dead.
After that, every time the ship set sail, incidents of female passengers jumping occurred on the Zaina Ho.
Moreover, all those who jumped were found dead.
As such incidents repeated, bad rumors began to spread.
The rumors spread from mouth to mouth.
“The cursed Zaina Ho.”
“A ship that takes human lives as sacrifice every time it sails.”
The rumors spread like wildfire, and eventually neither passengers nor crew wanted to board the Zaina Ho.
The cruise ship no one visited, the Zaina Ho, ended up permanently moored in the port where it had its maiden voyage, bearing the dishonor of a curse.
Since that incident, it became an unspoken rule to never accept guests for cabins canceled right before the first sailing.
To avoid the curse of the Zaina Ho.
Yet unfortunately, the exact same situation had now occurred on the Decora Ho about to set sail.
The suddenly canceled room 1305.
And the female passenger who booked a room alone right before departure.
Captain Marcus had protested to cancel it immediately.
But Kyle did not comply.
Fortunately, unlike what Captain Marcus and all the crew of the Decora Ho had feared, today’s incident ended as a simple happening.
Kyle’s gaze turned to the empty air.
“…A curse in this day and age. I don’t believe in superstitions. Don’t you agree?”
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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