LAL 19

Chapter: 19

Lee Soo raised one hand and pressed firmly against the space between his brows, looking as though a headache was creeping in.

“By the way, we made a bet. The first person to come out of the water gets a punishment. You’re not bad with horror movies, are you?”

Was Jaws even a horror movie to begin with? Frederick shrugged again.

“…”

Absurdly enough, it was only after Frederick asked that Lee Soo realized he didn’t actually know whether he was good with scary movies or not.

Come to think of it, he’d never gone out of his way to watch that kind of film before. If he’d had friends, there probably would have been chances to watch them together, but unfortunately, Lee Soo hadn’t had any friends for years.

He disliked disgusting, gory things. He wasn’t fond of blood splattering everywhere, either.

Isn’t it just a story about a shark attacking people?

It’s not like there’s a serial killer. No zombies or monsters, either.

And above all, he hated the idea of looking weak in front of Frederick.

So his answer was already decided.

“No, I can watch them.”

Despite not being a private beach, there wasn’t another soul in sight.

Lee Soo suspected the entire neighborhood had secretly worked together to hide the entrance so that random passersby would never find their way down to the shore.

“Hey! Ni-el!”

The moment Joshua, who had been playing beach volleyball, raised one arm and shouted, not only the male students but even the spectators and girls sunbathing whipped their heads around to look at Lee Soo walking down the stairs.

Hi.

Without making any gesture, Lee Soo mouthed the greeting.

He had considered calling Joshua Roder “Josh” just to annoy Frederick, but the nickname felt awkward on his tongue. Pretending to be friends felt awkward too.

Ignoring the other stares, Lee Soo walked across the sand where his feet sank deeply with every step and headed toward the ocean where a massive screen had been installed.

Lee Soo had doubted whether watching a movie in the ocean was even realistically possible, but the preparations were surprisingly thorough.

Three lifeguards, whom he hadn’t noticed at first, were stationed on the beach. There was even a safety net stretched across the water to prevent the floats from drifting away. Several of the tubes had been tied together as well.

Watching a movie projected on a screen while floating on an inflatable tube.

What an incredible waste of money.

Yet now that he was sitting on a fully inflated tube and sipping orange juice, it wasn’t bad at all. The seawater brushing against his legs was pleasantly cool.

Except for Joshua, who was floating on his back in the water, everyone lounged on tubes or floating mats according to their preference.

Frederick had suggested they share a large mat, but Lee Soo firmly chose a single-person tube.

“I want to focus on the movie by myself.”

“If that’s what you want… I’ll respect it. The most important thing is that you enjoy your time here.”

If he stayed next to Frederick, he’d spend the entire time attracting attention anyway.

Instead of watching the movie, he’d be treated like a zoo animal.

Being alone was better.

When the movie finally began, Lee Soo was astonished by the quality of both the screen and the sound system.

How expensive were those speakers and that screen for everything to be so clear even out here in the ocean?

Even though the sun hadn’t fully set, the nighttime scenes on the screen were displayed with remarkable clarity.

As a woman appeared on screen entering the ocean alone, the chatter among the students gradually died down.

The camera showed her swimming near the surface from what seemed like the shark’s perspective.

Then, barely three minutes into the movie, the woman’s scream exploded from the speakers and echoed across the beach.

“—Oh! God help me! God! Argh!!!!”

“Geez, I think she’s dying.”

“Is the shark showing up already?”

According to what Lee Soo had searched on his phone earlier, this movie had originally been released in 1975.

In fact, it didn’t look like anyone here had ever seen it before.

Lee Soo’s face stiffened.

“—It hurts! It hurts! Oh my God!!”

The moment he realized a shark might actually appear, his entire body tensed.

The woman’s screams were horrifying.

The woman disappeared beneath the water, and the film moved on to peaceful ocean scenery, but Lee Soo remained frozen.

Slowly turning his head, he noticed that the sky, which had been bright blue when he first arrived at the villa, was gradually turning red beneath the setting sun.

Even the orange juice that had merely felt refreshing now seemed strangely colder.

I-I’m sure it’ll be fine.

Lee Soo rubbed the goosebumps that had risen on his arms.

“What’s the punishment?”

“Being locked in a closet alone.”

If he ended up receiving the punishment by himself…

No way.

He could already picture, in crystal-clear 4K quality, everyone laughing at him and treating him like an idiot.

Lee Soo hated being mocked and looked down on in front of others.

He had experienced it so many times that he was sick of it.

And things weren’t much different now, even while pretending to be Frederick’s fake girlfriend.

His tense body gradually began to feel cold.

Watching the screen, where ordinary scenes were playing once more, Lee Soo steadied his breathing.

It’s okay. As long as I avoid the gruesome parts.

But the rapid heartbeat that had started when he heard the woman’s screams refused to calm down.

At that moment—

Ding.

Even the tiny notification sound from his phone made him flinch.

A text message had arrived.

Wouldn’t it be better to just go inside?

It was from an unfamiliar number.

The unexpected message confused him, but he replied anyway.

Who is this?

The response came almost immediately.

You don’t have my number? I was hoping you’d recognize me anyway.

Stop playing weird games. I don’t text people I don’t know.

You’re the one who never saved my number. I can’t believe you don’t have it.

Makes my offer to help whenever you need it seem pretty meaningless.

“Whenever you need help, just tell me, Daniel.”

Chris Fassbinder?

Lee Soo whipped his head around.

His eyes met Chris’s. Chris was sitting on a mat with Cove and was holding a phone in one hand.

When their gazes met, Chris gave a faint smile and lightly waved his phone in the air.

Only then did Lee Soo realize who it was and begin typing a reply.

Not that he intended to send a friendly one.

How would I know your number?

I have yours, don’t I? Think carefully about how that might have happened.

If you keep getting distracted like this, the movie will seem less scary too.

Without hesitation, Lee Soo sent back an icy response.

It’s not scary enough for you to worry about me. Stop paying attention to me and watch the movie.

It was true that focusing on the messages had eased his fear somewhat.

Still, Lee Soo didn’t want to rely on Chris.

He turned off his phone screen and looked back at the movie, only for another notification to light up the display.

He had thought his previous message was rude enough to discourage any further conversation.

Apparently not.

Another text from Chris had arrived.

I know you hate gross things and blood. Remember in middle school when someone smeared fake blood on an anatomy model as a prank? You almost cried.

Lee Soo’s eyes widened.

How long ago had that been?

It was embarrassing.

Maybe because it felt so unfamiliar that someone else remembered something he himself had forgotten.

After his younger brother collapsed from illness, Lee Soo had grown accustomed to taking care of others rather than being taken care of.

Having someone worry about him and look after him like this felt awkward.

How about this? If you’re startled by the next text I send, you have to keep texting me.

In the end, Lee Soo replied.

The phrase startled by the next text sounded far too ominous.

Don’t send me weird pictures or anything. If you do, I’ll really block you.

What could possibly surprise him otherwise?

That was what Lee Soo thought.

But when he saw Chris’s next message, his eyes truly widened in genuine shock.

And because he was staring so intently at the screen, he completely missed the other eyes watching him.

“…”

Turning his head slightly, Frederick looked at Lee Soo, who seemed completely absorbed in his phone.

His dark brown eyes were wide with curiosity.

When Frederick shifted his gaze slightly, he noticed Chris holding a phone as well.

Frederick slowly faced forward again.

His eyes lifted into the empty air, and one corner of his mouth twisted upward.

It was an expression no one in the world had ever seen before.

Not even Frederick himself knew it existed.