Ensnared by the Trap (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
“Can you handle it?”
Se Hee was being sucked into Kyle’s deep blue eyes, eyes so profound she felt she could never fathom their depth.
His unexpected reaction sent a strong shock through Se Hee’s heart.
The dizzying scent of his body rushed in so suddenly that she felt like her breath might stop.
“No answer means yes?”
Right in front of her, Kyle’s gaze tilted slightly and fixed on Se Hee’s red lips.
“O-of course, if a situation comes where I have to handle it, I will, but it doesn’t seem like that time right now.”
With difficulty regaining her senses, Se Hee turned her face away to avoid his gaze.
An unknown sensation sharply climbed up her spine, making her feel dizzy.
He let out a small scoff.
Se Hee tried to move her body to escape from him, but Kyle only pulled her even tighter into his arms.
He drew Se Hee close against him and whispered low into her ear.
“Next time, you’d better be careful. I might not let you go.”
His lips barely grazed past Se Hee’s earlobe.
In that moment, as if struck by electricity, Se Hee experienced a full-body shiver from the top of her head to the tips of her toes for the first time.
A little while later, Kyle loosened the strength in his arms and released her.
But Se Hee, frozen in place, couldn’t easily move.
“It seems even redder than the sunset.”
One corner of Kyle’s mouth lifted arrogantly as he gazed appreciatively at Se Hee’s face.
* * *
She couldn’t even remember how she had returned to her cabin.
She had been so nervous and trembling in front of that man that her hands and feet still felt numb.
It hadn’t been that long since Hyun Joon hurt her—Se Hee scolded her heart for reacting so easily again.
“Get a grip, Lee Se Hee.”
On the boat ride back, Kyle had looked completely relaxed, as if nothing had happened, which only made him more infuriating.
Isn’t this guy a total player?
He keeps toying with people’s hearts.
Her mind became complicated.
Looked like another sleepless night.
Flopping onto the bed, Se Hee closed her eyes.
The moment she did, the warmth of that man’s breath against her ear came back vividly.
“Ah… what the heck. Seriously.”
Se Hee forced herself to think of something else.
Just then, the cabin doorbell rang.
No way?
Se Hee shot up and checked herself in the mirror.
Should I change clothes?
No, no. Let’s not do this. Calm down.
“Who is it?”
“Good evening, guest. This is the cabin manager.”
Manager?
Se Hee cautiously opened the door.
“I’m sorry for the late hour. But I thought this should be delivered quickly, so please excuse the intrusion.”
With a kind smile, he gently held out a box.
“What is this?”
“It’s a gift prepared by our CEO as an apology for last night’s incident.”
“A gift?”
“We clearly failed in our responsibility to ensure the passenger’s safety, and that was unmistakably a mistake on the part of our cruise line.”
“Oh, no, really—it was me who entered that area.”
“We will do our utmost to ensure an even more comfortable journey going forward.”
“Ah… yes.”
Se Hee felt sorry toward the overly polite crew member.
Losing the earring, going into the underground engine room hatch because of it, and getting trapped—it was all pretty much her own fault.
“Then I hope you have a pleasant night.”
After Se Hee accepted the box, the crew member bowed politely and left.
Back inside, Se Hee stared at the box.
It was packaged extremely luxuriously.
No matter how she thought about it, this kind of gift felt way over the top.
With a dazed expression, Se Hee began opening the box.
Once the wrapping was removed, an exquisite jewelry case far surpassing the packaging appeared.
Se Hee was flustered once again.
‘What is this.’
Slowly lifting the lid, a pearl accessory set gleamed with radiant light.
And on one side of the set was a small box.
Inside it was the very pearl earring Se Hee had lost, carefully placed.
‘Oh my god.’
A full pearl accessory set as compensation for being trapped in the hatch.
Compared to the gifted pearl earrings, her own little earring looked pitiful.
Se Hee, who didn’t particularly welcome unexpected gains, pondered for a moment.
Yet on the other hand, she could understand such excessive compensation.
After all, it was a cruise line operated by Evans Hotel.
A place famous for top-class facilities and service—so naturally, their way of hushing a customer safety issue would also be top-class.
The person who probably told them to find the earring was most likely Graham.
He had sent her back first and filed a complaint with the captain.
The expression on his face while walking with the captain had looked anything but ordinary.
Se Hee wasn’t the type to go around broadcasting the incident even if they didn’t give her anything, but returning it might cause another misunderstanding, so she decided to gratefully accept.
The necklace, earrings, bracelet, and even a ring—all radiating a mysterious, lustrous light.
They were truly beautiful.
But was a ring originally part of the set?
The only ring Se Hee had ever worn was the couple ring she shared with Hyun Joon, so she just tilted her head in confusion.
Se Hee slipped the ring onto her finger.
Wedding rings are supposed to go on the ring finger, right?
Whoa. What.
“Why does it fit perfectly?”
As if it had been custom-measured, the ring fit her finger exactly.
“Was my size actually the international standard all along?”
Se Hee nodded as if she had just realized it.
Putting on each piece of jewelry, Se Hee stood in front of the mirror.
Bathed in the luminous glow of the pearls, her reflection shone brightly and smiled radiantly.
* * *
The next morning.
She had fallen asleep late in the early hours, but thanks to setting several alarms, Se Hee managed to wake up on time.
The Decora Ho, which had sailed all night without rest, had already arrived at its second port, Mykonos, even before Se Hee woke up.
Mykonos—the most beautiful island in the Aegean Sea. Se Hee was already buzzing with excitement.
After a simple breakfast at the buffet, Se Hee grabbed her camera and phone.
Then, together with the other passengers, she disembarked and happily boarded the cruise-provided shuttle.
She planned to first visit Mykonos’s landmarks—the windmills and Little Venice.
“Be careful with your camera.”
As she got off the shuttle, a crew member reminded her once more.
“Yes, thank you.”
Se Hee smiled brightly at the kind crew member and headed enthusiastically toward the windmills.
Wow!
She arrived at Kato Mili, the hill of windmills where five pretty windmills stood in a row.
The blue sea and sky visible behind the windmills blended perfectly.
Even random shots felt like works of art.
Should I just settle down here?
It was so overwhelmingly beautiful that she didn’t want to return to complicated Korea.
Se Hee gazed happily at the refreshing Aegean Sea.
So blue.
Really so blue.
That man’s eyes had a blue tint too, hadn’t they?
‘Can you handle it?’
Ugh.
What am I thinking?
Why does that man pop into her head while looking at the sea?
Se Hee shook her head vigorously.
Then she headed toward the downtown alleys.
Only to regret it almost immediately.
Is. This. A. Maze?
Se Hee couldn’t find her way out of the alleys no matter what.
For Se Hee, who would take second place to no one in Korea when it came to having no sense of direction, this was the highest difficulty level.
‘Damn it. I’m screwed.’
At that moment.
“Hey, you bastard. Hand over the bag.”
A familiar Korean voice rang out from somewhere.
Soon after, a foreign man came sprinting at terrifying speed into the alley where Se Hee was.
“Move!”
For a split second, Se Hee caught sight of the bag in the man’s hand.
It was a brand she often saw in Korea.
Pretending to press herself against the wall, Se Hee subtly stuck out her foot.
With a loud crash, the man tripped over her leg and fell flat.
‘That must’ve hurt.’
Ignoring the fallen man, Se Hee quickly picked up the bag that had flown far away.
The man scrambled up and approached Se Hee with a menacing expression.
“Hey! You damn thief. You’re caught. I’ll show you the taste of Korean Taekwondo.”
At that moment, a well-tanned, well-built Korean man with a scowl ran straight into the alley toward Se Hee.
Seeing the clear difference in build, the thief glared fiercely at Se Hee before quickly fleeing.
“Is this your bag?”
Se Hee asked the man.
“Oh, you’re Korean?”
“Yes.”
“Wow. Even here, I get help from a fellow countryman. Thank you. I’m Ban Sung Jae, friend of the bag’s owner.”
“Friend?”
Before Se Hee could finish, a woman in short shorts with long wavy hair came rushing into the alley.
“Ha… ha… Did you catch him? Ha…”
Breathing heavily up to her chin, she could barely speak.
“Of course. If Ban Sung Jae can’t catch him, who can? Though I did get a little help.”
Sung Jae winked at Se Hee.
“Here.”
Se Hee handed the bag to the woman.
“Thank you so much. You’re Korean too.”
“Yes. I just happened to help.”
Se Hee smiled brightly.
“You’re my lifesaver. Everything I have is in this bag. I’m Jin Jung Yeon, the owner.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Se Hee, solo traveler.”
Se Hee smiled and greeted them during their impromptu introductions.
“Well, introductions are over—shall we go have a nice cup of coffee? My treat.”
At Sung Jae’s suggestion, the three of them found a nearby pretty café.
The cute little café was packed with tourists.
“Wow, we’re the same age.”
When Se Hee answered Jung Yeon’s question about age, Sung Jae lit up.
“Then shall we drop formalities from now on? Why is our Se Hee traveling alone?”
Sung Jae leaned in close with greasy eyes and a wide grin.
At that moment, a dull, heavy thud sounded from the back of Sung Jae’s head.
“Hey! That’s super creepy, okay? Move your head!”
Jung Yeon, having smacked the back of Sung Jae’s head, glared at him.
“Urk.”
Sung Jae clutched his aching head.
“We came on that cruise ship anchored out there in the sea. How did our Se Hee get here?”
Yet Sung Jae, still not giving up, asked Se Hee with sticky eyes.
“Huh? Me too. I came on that one. The Decora Ho.”
Se Hee said in surprise.
“Really? How come we never saw each other? There aren’t that many Koreans.”
Jung Yeon said, sounding surprised at Se Hee’s words.
“Oh my god. This is fate. Destiny.”
Sung Jae closed his eyes tightly and placed a hand on his chest as if deeply moved.
“Bullshit. Say one more word, huh? I’ll make you meet your destiny today.”
Jung Yeon shot back in disbelief.
“Are you two on a cruise together?”
“Oh, no—no misunderstanding. We’re staying in completely different cabins.”
Jung Yeon answered Se Hee’s question immediately.
“I’m just a really nice person. You know, the kind people call a pushover?”
Sung Jae nodded, touching his forehead as if feeling sorry for himself.
“Hey, speak properly. It was your dad who sent it.”
Jung Yeon shouted, clearly annoyed.
“Anyway, I asked, and my dad sent it for me. So obviously it’s thanks to me.”
“Because of you digging up useless old stories, do you know how much I suffered because of that with my dad? And when did I ever say I wanted a cruise trip, huh?”
Jung Yeon pointed furiously at Sung Jae in outrage.
“If he was sending me on a trip anyway, shouldn’t I at least go on a Mediterranean cruise instead of that guy’s Alaska? …Oh, by the way, her dad and my dad are kind of close.”
Sung Jae added.
“What? This bastard, seriously.”
Jung Yeon grabbed Sung Jae by the collar and shook him.
Watching their back-and-forth, Se Hee could roughly guess how their trip had started.
The journey back after finishing their Mykonos trip with the hilarious duo was filled with laughter.
“We have a dinner reservation at Francois on the 21st floor. Would you like to join us, Se Hee?”
Back on the Decora Ho, at the entrance where they were about to part for their cabins, Sung Jae asked.
“Yes, come with us. It would’ve been hard eating alone.”
Jung Yeon also said to Se Hee.
Francois restaurant, famous even on the Decora Ho, was one of the places Se Hee definitely wanted to visit.
“Then I’ll gladly accept your invitation.”
Se Hee answered cheerfully.
* * *
After finishing his local inspection in Mykonos, Kyle was heading to a private room at Francois restaurant to wrap up business talks over dinner with the visiting delegation.
The moment he stepped into the gallery leading to the restaurant entrance, a familiar figure admiring the paintings caught his eye.
It was Se Hee, wearing a light pink dress.
The pearl necklace around her neck glowed luminously.
He had chosen it thinking that size would suit her perfectly, and he had been right.
The necklace on Se Hee’s slender neck made her look even more radiant.
A satisfied smile briefly crossed Kyle’s lips.
Just as Kyle was about to walk toward Se Hee,
“Se Hee.”
An unfamiliar man’s voice stopped Kyle in his tracks.
The man who called Se Hee’s name approached her quickly with a friendly smile.
In that instant, Kyle’s brow, which had been still, twisted completely.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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