Ensnared by the Trap (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
Se Hee hurriedly wiped away the water streaming down her face and lifted her head.
It was that man again.
The same man who, who last night had left a strong impression on her while awakening her to international issues about Mediterranean environmental protection.
Moist droplets slid down from the man’s soaked, deep black hair, gliding smoothly over his pale cheeks.
Up close, there was something strangely seductive in the man’s eyes.
Se Hee felt as if she were being deeply pulled into those dangerous-looking eyes.
He must have jumped into the water in a hurry after only taking off his suit jacket, because the white dress shirt clinging to his upper body was completely soaked.
Through the shirt that stuck tightly to him from the water, the man’s chest muscles were fully visible.
In that moment, a tense Se Hee ended up swallowing hard.
The blatant sound of the small amount of saliva passing down her throat immediately twisted the man’s expression.
“…The sign in front of the pool isn’t there just for decoration.”
And the next bone-chilling warning from the man instantly reawakened Se Hee’s anger, which had momentarily been forgotten under the spell of his appearance.
The unpleasant words he had spat right after saving her also flashed through her mind like lightning.
‘Do you think the life jacket is just for show?’
Of course, if you can’t swim, you should be careful whether the water is one meter or three meters deep.
She admitted it was her fault for precariously sitting on the edge of a pool that was deeper than her height.
But was that really something to say to someone who had almost just died—someone he himself had saved?
Wasn’t it common sense to first ask if the person you saved was okay?
There’s not a single wrong old saying.
One word can repay a debt of a thousand nyang, but conversely, it can also create a debt of a thousand nyang.
Hey, you handsome-faced jerk.
You’ve just earned yourself ten million punches.
The moment her anger swallowed her gratitude, Se Hee’s expression turned fierce.
“…Excuse me. I read that warning sign perfectly well.”
Se Hee glared at the man and spoke in a sarcastic tone.
She was looking up at him with quite a sharp gaze, but the man’s expression didn’t change at all.
Rather, the look in his eyes as he gazed down at her felt even more threatening.
But Se Hee wasn’t the type to be intimidated by that.
“There seems to be some misunderstanding here. I didn’t jump into the pool on purpose—I was pushed.”
Se Hee straightened her neck even more stiffly, strongly expressing how deeply offended she was.
“First of all! Thank you very much for saving me. So I’ll generously forgive your overly nosy nagging with my broad generosity. And now could you please let me go?”
After saying everything she wanted with all sorts of expressions, Se Hee finished with a haughty look.
For a moment, she heard the man let out an incredulous scoff, but pretending not to hear, Se Hee took her next action.
Fortunately, the stairs to get out of the pool were close enough that she could reach them with just an outstretched hand.
Having calculated the distance, Se Hee pushed the displeased-looking man away and hurriedly grabbed the stairs.
Or rather, she tried to.
But then something shocking happened.
As Se Hee twisted her body to forcefully pull away from him, the string of her bikini top got caught on one of the buttons of his shirt.
Because she had twisted so roughly, the bikini string came completely undone.
It was a development she could never have imagined even in her dreams.
“Kyaaah!”
A startled Se Hee screamed.
That decorative string—which she had firmly believed was only meant to make the bikini look prettier by being neatly tied—had betrayed her so spectacularly.
“Ha, you really are something else.”
The man pulled Se Hee—who was hastily trying to hide herself underwater—back into his arms and muttered in a low voice, as if he couldn’t believe it.
Unlike before, Se Hee was now completely pressed against his chest, and her face instantly flushed hot.
The thin wet shirt had lost all function and was instead making the sensation of the touching areas even more suggestive.
Se Hee was at the point where she needed to pray for God to send down a lifeline to resolve this embarrassing situation.
And at that very moment, God sent down a soft towel.
The man, faster than Se Hee, snatched the towel and wrapped it around her before quickly dropping her.
It was as if he were brushing off a bug that had landed on him.
Then he lifted Se Hee up and roughly tossed her out of the pool, almost like throwing her.
In the blink of an eye, now out of the water, safety staff on standby and a blonde woman—who appeared to be the cause of the incident—hurriedly approached Se Hee.
By the time Se Hee escaped from the apologizing woman and the concerned staff, that arrogant man had already disappeared.
* * *
Once everything had settled and she safely returned to her cabin, Se Hee couldn’t get that mysterious man out of her head.
Thanks to him, she had been saved twice.
But that man possessed an unnecessarily outstanding ability.
The ability to instantly erase any feeling of gratitude with his sky-high arrogance.
Thanks to the verbal disaster caused by a man whose only perfection was his looks, she once again hadn’t been able to properly thank him.
Come to think of it, not only his appearance but also a nice fragrance had wafted from him.
The faint, refreshing scent revived at the tip of Se Hee’s nose.
What perfume was that?
The memory that sparked her curiosity gradually began to summon even the sensual feelings from her body.
His firm chest muscles that had been felt so vividly through the clinging wet shirt.
And her own body that had been practically bare…
Suddenly her face burned hot.
You’re crazy, Lee Se Hee.
Get a grip.
Se Hee rushed to the bathroom, turned on the shower, and poured cold water over her heated face.
* * *
“Ha.”
In Kyle’s silent office, a sound never heard before echoed.
Dave’s ears instantly perked up.
Sensing an unusual energy, Dave cautiously shifted his gaze toward Kyle’s seat.
Dave, doubting his own ears while observing Kyle, soon looked away at the sight of Kyle staring coldly at the screen.
Of course.
It wasn’t laughter—it must have been a sneer that escaped because something displeased him.
Dave tensed up and focused on his work.
How much time had passed?
The same sound came from Kyle once again.
Something serious must have happened. Thinking so, Dave stood up from his seat.
“Um… President?”
Dave had noticed Kyle’s broken concentration like a ghost.
“Is something wrong?”
“Wrong? Wrong with what?”
Instead, Kyle asked back.
“Ah, no, sir. I’m sorry.”
Quick-witted Dave immediately bowed his head.
For a while now, the scene at the pool had been disturbing Kyle’s mind.
More precisely, it was the face of that woman who had recklessly provoked him.
Rather than angry, he was dumbfounded.
That was why, the moment her face came to mind, he had involuntarily let out a scoff.
On his way to the event hall, Kyle had seen her loitering around the pool area.
He had never cared about superstitions like “Zaina Ho’s curse” from the beginning, and the first voyage date had already passed anyway.
So he could have just ignored her and walked past.
Yet the sight of her hesitating for a long time in front of the life jackets and awkwardly sitting at the edge of the deep pool bothered him.
It irritated him in many ways.
Eventually, Kyle headed to the pool, thinking he should once again instruct the crew to make outdoor pool users wear life jackets.
But right in front of him, she fell into the water.
Despite safety staff being right there, Kyle jumped in himself.
Why had he done that?
No matter how many rational reasons he tried to come up with to justify his actions, he couldn’t find one.
The moment she fell in, the only thought in his head was that he had to save her.
It was as if he had jumped in on instinct.
If he had to find a reason, was it because she was Korean?
But that wasn’t a valid reason either.
He had met countless Koreans before.
He himself couldn’t understand his actions.
To clear his complicated thoughts, Kyle walked over to the coffee machine.
When he pressed the button, a rich aromatic coffee extract flowed out.
‘British?’
But this time, her voice echoed in his head like an auditory hallucination.
“Ha… this is driving me insane.”
Finally, Kyle’s rough words slipped out.
“P-President! I’m sorry. I’ll have the coffee machine replaced immediately.”
At Dave’s words, Kyle let out a deep sigh and pressed his fingers against his brow.
* * *
“A cocktail party, huh.”
Because of the incident earlier in the day, Se Hee had ordered room service in the afternoon and rested in her cabin until late evening; now she checked today’s event party.
Tonight’s party was a “cocktail party”—perfect for Se Hee, who wasn’t good with alcohol.
To fully enjoy the cruise, Se Hee planned to attend every single event party.
Of course, the fact that she was alone without a partner was a bit of a drawback,
but who knows?
She might meet someone special in this unfamiliar place.
Suddenly, that arrogant man popped into her head again.
Se Hee waved her hand as if to chase away the illusion, checked the dress code, and opened the wardrobe.
She had prepared for this day.
An off-shoulder mint-colored long dress.
Se Hee carefully took out the dress and put it on.
After doing a half-up hairstyle that matched the dress perfectly, she opened her accessory case.
Her pearl necklace set was stored preciously inside.
It was Treasure No. 1 that Se Hee had bought for herself for the first time.
She had brought it without forgetting because she wanted to wear it on a special day like today.
The pearl necklace settled beautifully along Se Hee’s slender neckline.
The small, cute earrings were also put on prettily.
Holding a sparkling clutch in one hand, Se Hee—now perfectly ready—headed to the party venue with elegant steps.
With every step, the feel of the silk dress brushing against her legs made her mood even better.
Upon arriving at the event party venue, sweet melodies filled the air.
Se Hee naturally blended in among the people already enjoying the party.
As soon as she sat down, a waiter brought her the menu.
Se Hee chose the Grand Blue cocktail, which suited the Mediterranean perfectly.
A little while later, a cocktail glass containing the blue Mediterranean was placed on Se Hee’s table.
When she took a cool sip of the cocktail, a sweet and fragrant taste lingered on the tip of her tongue.
Since unlimited free cocktails were being provided in the event hall to all passengers attending the cocktail event, many guests were already quite drunk.
She suddenly remembered what Manager Kim, her former senior at work, had said: underestimating cocktails could knock you out in one go.
At that moment, a foreign man who had been watching the lone Se Hee carefully slowly approached.
“Alone?”
Placing the glass he was holding on the seat in front of Se Hee, the man scanned her with sticky eyes.
“I am waiting for someone.”
Disgusted by the man’s creepy gaze, Se Hee frowned and stood up.
But the man also shot up from his seat.
To get away from him, Se Hee quickly walked toward the exit of the event hall.
The man who followed right after roughly reached out toward Se Hee.
The moment Se Hee tried to dodge his arm, his hand sharply grazed past, and intense pain shot through her earlobe.
Startled, Se Hee grabbed her hurting ear and stepped back.
“Oh no, oh no. I didn’t mean to scare you—I just wanted to have a cocktail together.”
The man looked at Se Hee with half-lidded eyes and slowly approached.
Feeling threatened by his actions, the horrified Se Hee kept backing away.
Watching Se Hee’s face turn pale, the man approached even faster, as if he found it amusing.
The man reached out toward Se Hee again.
At that instant, someone else’s strong grip stopped the man’s arm in mid-air.
At the same time, an intimidating voice flew at the man.
“You should drink your cocktail inside the event hall.”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
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