On the second and third floors of the cruise ship, there were countless rooms for parties that would last until morning.
The hallway was dark and quiet, with minimal lights turned on. The atmosphere was pretty frigid, but I didn’t have to worry about anything because Jiun was following me.
I followed the man slowly, looking carefully at his back.
His walking was so straight that I couldn’t see any of the man from before who had staggered and pushed me. The white jacket worn by waiters was stark in the dark hallway, making it feel contrived.
The man stopped at the very end of the hallway, in front of the most spectacular door covered in shiny crystals, and took out a key to unlock the door.
“This room is still available. You can use the sink that’s on the side of the terrace. I’ll just open the terrace door first and go back.”
I looked at Jiun, who leaned against the door and nodded as if to give permission to go.
The room beyond the man was more spacious and spectacular than expected. It’s amazing how there can be so many things in a cruise ship on the sea.
Gorgeous chandeliers hung precariously from the high ceiling like a temple. A cluster of unlit crystal lights sparkled in the moonlight.
On the wide wall hung a large, brilliantly luminous painting, and on either side of it, streams of water gushed from the engraved fountain in colorful patterns.
From the large glass window, the sea beneath the night sky was visible. Since this was a two-story structure, the terrace the man was talking about seemed to be on the second floor.
I thought I was supposed to go upstairs first, but the man turned back and looked down at me as he raised the corners of his mouth.
“The stairs are steep, so grab on.”
I’ve felt this from the first time I heard it, but his voice was so sweet that he could captivate people just by speaking.
Holding the man’s hand, I felt the firm grip beyond his glove’s fabric.
As I went up to the second floor, I saw a door leading to the terrace in the glass wall next to the luxurious fireplace.
“Were there originally a thousand working people? Or are they just taking part-time jobs?”
“We can’t let people we don’t know in. I think you know what The Hundred Thousand is like.”
The man smiled skillfully and opened the terrace door.
I went out to the terrace after passing the man who smiled and nodded for me to go in.
There were luxury rocking chairs and a marble table on the terrace. On one side of it, there was a bathtub and a sink to enjoy a bath while looking out at the sea.
After roughly washing my hands, I walked to the railing and leaned against it. As I looked down at the black waves below my feet, I looked up and exhaled a long breath.
“Wow…”
The night sky, filled with stars that seemed to pour down my eyes, was a dizzying sight to see like a dream.
The cold wind flew by along with the sound of music.
The unrealistic sight made me realize that this was certainly a different world.
There was nothing that surrounded me that could be called mine, nothing that could be called my world.
Like the gun in the drawer from before, I was out of touch with the rest of this landscape. Even if I wore something flashy, my nervousness was bound to be noticed at any moment.
I lowered my eyes from the beautiful sky to the endlessly flowing sea.
And when the sound of the waves engulfed the music in this dark view.
“…”
The cold wind cast a shadow over me in an instant.
The music had disappeared. But it was not the black waves that engulfed its sound, it was a voice.
“You looked cold.”
A jacket was placed over my shoulders with a soft voice.
When I stared at the man, a languid smile appeared on his lips.
“To be exact, you looked lonely.”
I stared indifferently at his light-colored eyes that moved as if trying to look through me into my heart.
“You’re still standing out here?”
There was the tickling sensation of my hair that fluttered in the wind. It didn’t feel so bad to have my heart discovered.
Not telling him to leave was just a whim that stemmed from that reason. I laughed and uttered out a lie.
“I can’t be lonely on a day like this. My beloved brother threw me such a grand party.”
Although the mask he wore was thin, his emotions were still hard to discern.
The man leaned against the railing and tilted his head.
“You seem to have a good relationship with him?”
“Because we’re family.”
As soon as I made up the funny answer, his mouth that had been curled into a soft smile seemed stiff.
However, after a blink of an eye, his smile turned back to normal, as if I was hallucinating.
The man reached out towards me. His touch was slow as he tucked my fluttering hair over my ear.
The fingertips that touched my ear were chilling.
I didn’t notice when his gloves disappeared. Since the piece of fabric that covered his skin was gone, my body trembled at the cold that passed by with the fingertips that touched me.
“Do you know what I’m best at?”
A low breath glided over my lips. My heart thumped at his whisper.
‘Boss, do you know what I’m best at?’
My eyes couldn’t even shake as they met him.
The memory flashed through my mind as my heart beat so fast it could make my whole body tremble.
It was a line I’ve read before. But the page with that line did not contain this moment.
‘It’s lying.’
‘Then, do you love me?’
He had looked at him with the burning desire akin to desperation then shook his head.
I hoped for my intuition to be wrong, for the next words to be not what I expected.
As if I was being mocked at, the man narrowed his eyes and smiled sweetly.
“It’s lying.”
Those words were the same sentence I’ve read from the novel.
Yugeom, this is what you whispered to Baek Hawon while confessing your love.
Wasn’t it?
He shouldn’t be doing this.
My mind became blank and I couldn’t move. With a shaky breath, I took a step back and the jacket that hung over my shoulders slid to the floor.
The man who looked at me as if he was appreciating the day came one step closer to me in return. Dark shadows casted over my vision.
“But I’m so curious that I can’t stand it.”
He whispered with a low voice into my ear.
As soon as my breath stiffened, coldness spread over my cheek. That sensation made my whole body nervous.
No, wait a second.
This is probably the time to say that my heart is about to burst.
I really wanted my heart to burst and let me die right about now. I thought that was ideal.
I couldn’t help but check something even if my eyes didn’t want to move.
“…The first snow.”
The first snow should be when the first meeting between Baek Hawon and Yugeom takes place.
Which is right now.
All sorts of swear words tried to come out of my mouth, but the sense of dread that moved through my body was worse than all of them combined.
“How the princess of The Hundred Thousand knows.”
Unfortunately, I was not currently a reader of this novel, so I couldn’t stop even if I didn’t understand.
“Even Baek Hawon doesn’t know… pft!”
At that moment, I instinctively reached out to the man and covered his mouth, which had been moving continuously.
Beyond his mask, I could clearly see his eyes turning round.
I felt like I wanted to cry. But the only way to stop this man from speaking was with this stupid way.
I didn’t have time to think about what happened. That’s how desperate I was.
Please don’t say more, I’m almost leaning on this man and covering his mouth with both hands.
It really seemed like this situation would be irreversible if we took it further from here.
The man shifted as if he was trying to escape. There was no more time left for silence. I hurriedly opened my mouth.
“W-wait a minute!”
What should I say?
I don’t know what I can say to get out of this.
I tried to search through my head, but I couldn’t think of something right away.
In that moment, the man’s eyes, which had become large in surprise, narrowed, and a clear laughter leaked out like the wind.
The man grabbed my wrist. The hands that covered his mouth fell away helplessly.
“That mask, are you going to take it off?”
His breath tickled the palm of my hand.
“Are you in your right mind?”
If a person’s voice could be embodied, his voice would be the colorful sparks of flame that exploded in the night sky.
“I might have a crush on you.”
I wasn’t able to come to my senses like a child possessed by fireworks.
The man slowly smiled and took off his mask with his hand, still holding my wrist in the other.
His white hair, which was brilliant in the moonlight, fluttered enchantingly in front of me. His light eyes, which were darkly half-shaded by his eyelids, shone brightly towards me.
The moment his eyes closed into a soft line, I felt as if my heart was going to fall from dizziness.
His flawless pale skin was unbelievable for a human. As he bit his red lips lightly, blood rushed to them, making them an even more deeper red.
His lips swelled like a balloon just before it burst.
“So, Princess.”
“…”
“How did you know I was Yugeom?”
There was no answer I could give to the question of how I knew.
This is how the story started, when the death flags between him and I bloomed.
It marked an indescribable beginning.
Not gonna lie, when I saw Yugeom’s image in the cover and his descriptions, he seems more scary than anything. He literally looks like a vampire lol. It ain’t that kind of story, though.
Also, I tried to find a picture that was similar to the description of the yacht’s terrace, and I think this one matches it the most. However, in the story, the bathtub is on the side, not against the front railing. Hope this helps!