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Chapter 16
The next day, Bada opened her eyes in bed, her body feeling much lighter.
As her mind cleared, she finally remembered that she had missed her flight back to Korea yesterday.
She raised her upper body and let out a sigh.
“Haah, it would’ve been impossible to board that flight yesterday anyway.”
She quietly looked around the peaceful bedroom.
What should I do now?
She couldn’t stay here forever.
‘First, I’ll pick up my luggage from the guest house and then look for a flight ticket.’
After making up her mind, Bada got out of bed, took a shower, and changed into River’s T-shirt that was placed on the bedside table.
It was a unique black shirt with a skull printed on it and the logo of a band called Metallica.
When she went downstairs to the first floor, she saw the kitchen island covered with groceries for some reason.
Tropical fruits, bread, cheese, snacks, and even several bottles of wine.
It looked like enough to last for weeks.
Just then, River, who was carrying grocery bags in his arms, noticed her and winked.
“My T-shirt looks good on you.”
“…The Metallica T-shirt?”
“Yeah.”
It seemed he quite liked the fact that she was wearing his clothes.
‘Come to think of it, it smells like River.’
Not knowing what else to say, Bada hesitated before speaking softly.
“Anyway, thank you for taking care of me. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you….”
As if she were about to leave, her words made River look down at her with an unreadable expression.
“Are you going somewhere?”
“Huh? Ah, actually I was supposed to go back to Korea yesterday, but I missed my flight. I guess I should start packing and look for a ticket home.”
He placed the grocery bag on the table and walked toward her in long strides.
“You’re not even fully recovered yet.”
He placed his hand on her forehead. For some reason, his voice sounded slightly displeased.
“See? You still have a fever.”
“…Really? I feel fine. Anyway, I should at least go to the guest house and get my things.”
“I already had Morgan bring your luggage into the dressing room in the bedroom.”
“When?”
Just then, Morgan appeared from the pantry and bowed respectfully to River.
“I will take my leave to the annex now, Your Highness.”
For a moment, a strange silence filled the air. Bada looked at Morgan in confusion.
‘Your Highness?’
Avoiding River’s cold gaze, Morgan quickly controlled his expression and turned to Bada.
“I’m joking.”
“Pardon?”
“You kept ordering me to buy this and carry that, so I made a joke. Was it not funny after all?”
Looking at Morgan’s sharp eyes, she felt like she had to laugh even if it wasn’t funny.
“…Ah. I understand.”
“Then I’ll be heading to the annex.”
After bowing politely like a soldier, Morgan left the villa.
‘His sense of humor is a bit dry.’
Shrugging as if it were nothing, Bada asked River,
“By the way, why did you buy so much?”
He casually set the paper bags on the table and replied,
“Well, we can’t go outside.”
She tilted her head.
“What do you mean we can’t go outside? Why?”
As she frowned and thought, she suddenly remembered the night they had rushed out of Devil’s Den as if fleeing.
Her pupils slowly filled with fear.
‘Don’t tell me… those gang members are after us?’
Seeing her uneasy expression, River placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
“If we go out now, we might end up in jail.”
“…Jail? What are you talking about!”
River looked down at her with an unreadable expression.
Something felt seriously wrong.
He said in a flat voice,
“If you’re going to stay by my side, shouldn’t you be prepared for that much?”
Bada looked up at him, unable to speak.
I knew he seemed suspicious. So there really was something.
As she turned pale, the corners of his eyes curved like crescents, and he burst into hearty laughter.
“What? Why are you laughing?”
She frowned in confusion.
He barely stopped laughing and gently pinched her cheek as if she were cute.
“You should’ve seen your expression just now in a mirror.”
“…….”
“Today is Nyepi Day. Didn’t you know?”
“What day?”
“Nyepi Day. You’re not allowed to go outside today.”
After thinking for a moment, Bada suddenly remembered.
“…Ah, right! I completely forgot!”
Nyepi Day, also called the Day of Silence, was one of Bali’s biggest holidays.
On that day, not only the internet and electricity but even phone service were cut off, and even the airport was closed.
Movement was forbidden, and if someone broke the rules and went outside, they could even be punished with jail time.
Even foreign tourists were not exempt.
That meant they had no choice but to stay inside all day.
Only then did Bada remember that she had purposely booked her flight for the day before to avoid Nyepi Day.
River winked.
“Don’t worry. I bought food and supplies in advance.”
Looking at the groceries on the island, Bada said,
“It’s just one day. Why buy this much?”
“You never know what might happen.”
After saying something meaningful, River calmly began stocking the pantry.
But inside, he could barely control his excitement.
He felt sorry that Bada had been hurt, but the fact that she had fallen right into his grasp as he had hoped made his whole body tremble.
‘I wish Nyepi Day would last a few more days. But one day is enough.’
He had exactly one day.
And he planned to firmly capture her heart within it.
Since not only mobile data but even the TV didn’t work, the only thing the two of them could really do was stay close to each other.
So they lay on the sunbeds by the pool, listening to music through a Bluetooth speaker to pass the time.
River, who had been reading a newspaper, glanced at Bada, who was sipping an orange-colored Aperol Spritz.
“By the way, what kind of work did you do in Korea?”
“Packaging.”
“Packaging?”
Stirring her cocktail with a straw, she replied,
“Yeah. Wrapping nonsense nicely and then double-wrapping it with flashy PowerPoint slides so no one notices it’s nonsense.”
He laughed at her expression.
When people heard she worked at an investment bank, they assumed she did something impressive.
But in reality, her main job was digging through massive amounts of data and creating convincing materials that matched the conclusions the executives wanted.
She often mixed in complicated English terms to impress investors.
“Do you know what my team leader’s nickname was? ‘Business Bullshit Generator.’”
“What was he like?”
“For example, he’d say things like: ‘Analyze the data more granularly and derive disruptive action items while considering core competencies.’ Doesn’t that sound like complete nonsense?”
Imitating her team leader’s voice, Bada made River let out a low laugh.
“Oh dear. I’ve had plenty of people around me who spoke nonsense too.”
“Like what?”
“For example, saying, ‘That’s quite an original proposal. I must have misunderstood, but it’s slightly different from what I expected, so let’s review it again.’”
“What? Doesn’t that just mean he wants to review it again?”
“No. It means, ‘Your proposal is unpredictable garbage. It’s tiring to even argue about it, so I’ll say I misunderstood and end the conversation—but I have no intention of reviewing it again.’”
“Wow, that’s such a roundabout way of saying it. I’d never understand that.”
“Wasn’t it hard?”
“Don’t even ask. Working eighty hours a week was normal. I often fell asleep in taxis at three in the morning.”
She had been recognized for her performance, but she had always felt a deep skepticism about the industry.
“When you go back to Korea, will you return to that job?”
“I don’t know. I’m used to it since I’ve done it for so long, but honestly… I want to do something more meaningful.”
“Meaningful?”
“Yeah. The slides I made brought in billions in funding for companies, but I didn’t really create something with real value. It was more like moving money from one person’s pocket to another’s.”
River felt a deep sense of connection to her. He, too, was tired of the hypocrisy of the royal family and high society, where people only spoke beautifully polished words.
He asked,
“Then what do you want to do?”
“I’m still thinking. Actually, that’s why I came to Bali. Not to find something grand or dramatic. Even making a cup of coffee that makes someone’s day a little happier feels meaningful to me.”
“I agree.”
“…What about you? What do you want to become?”
After a moment of thought, River answered,
“A transparent man.”
