LWR 04

Chapter 4 

“Could it be… that man was actually worried about me?”

With a bewildered expression, I replayed everything he’d done since we met.

At first, he had simply approached me after our eyes met.

Then he suddenly appeared in the restroom, and I had mistaken him for a dangerous criminal trying to force himself on me.

But now…

As strange as it sounded, it seemed he had only been trying to protect me.

But why?

Why would a complete stranger do that?

Were all handsome men naturally this courteous?

Or had he simply felt sorry for an obviously inexperienced girl who looked completely lost in a nightclub?

…No.

That couldn’t be it.

I had learned during my time studying in Japan that this wasn’t exactly a country overflowing with kindness.

This was the same country where a pharmacy once refused to sell me cold medicine because I was short by a single one-yen coin.

“There has to be an ulterior motive. Maybe he’s after a one-night stand or something.”

A face like his might make most women lower their guard after just a little kindness.

But not me.

Thanks to my father’s devastatingly handsome face—and all the trouble it had caused our family—I had long ago decided to stay as far away from handsome men as possible.

Well…

I had made one mistake before.

But once was enough.

I wasn’t the naïve fool I used to be.

No matter how attractive this unbelievably gorgeous man was, I was confident I wouldn’t fall for him.

Meanwhile, the passionate moans from the neighboring restroom stall only grew louder.

It sounded as if they had entered an entirely new stage.

Bang.

Thud.

The stall itself was shaking so violently it sounded as though they were destroying the fixtures.

This was like listening to a live adult film.

Unable to endure the increasingly explicit sounds any longer, I hurried out of the restroom.

This place was no longer a place to rest.

I had completely forgotten about calling Jin-kyung.

Back inside the club, beneath the dazzling lights and deafening music, the man from earlier was waiting for me, leaning casually against the wall.

Even standing still, he looked like he belonged in a fashion magazine.

Life really wasn’t fair.

The moment he saw me, he smiled.

It was an innocent smile like an angel’s…

Yet somehow dangerously captivating, like a devil tempting people in.

My feet froze.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

My heart pounded as if I’d just sprinted a hundred meters.

Why?

Why was my heart racing just from looking at him?

He wasn’t my type.

He wasn’t even close to my ideal man.

So why was I feeling this way?

My heart had to be broken.

There was no other explanation.

No matter what my mind insisted…

My heart was reacting honestly.

How could it not?

A ridiculously handsome man was smiling at me as though I were someone precious.

Stop smiling… please…

Afraid my flustered expression would show, I quickly lowered my head.

I’d been telling myself he looked like a player.

That every woman must fall for him.

I’d even forced myself to judge him just so I wouldn’t be attracted.

But all those carefully built defenses were already collapsing.

Before I realized it, he had walked over and taken my hand.

He started walking, still holding it.

And somehow…

I simply followed after him as if enchanted.

Annoyed with myself, I tried to pull my hand free.

He glanced back.

Then, instead of letting go, he laced our fingers together.

“Huh?”

I exclaimed, but whether he couldn’t hear me over the music or simply ignored me, he kept walking.

He never looked back again.

All I could see was his broad back.

Even from behind, his shoulders and straight neck were ridiculously attractive.

So this is what people mean by someone who’s handsome even from behind…

Whether he had bad intentions or not…

Anyone could recognize good looks when they saw them.

Now that the spell surrounding Jin-ho had completely broken, I couldn’t help comparing them.

Jin-ho’s narrow shoulders had looked almost pathetic next to this man’s perfectly built frame.

Suddenly, something came to mind.

“The moment I first saw her, I knew she was the one.”

“I immediately felt she’d become my wife.”

Those cliché interviews celebrities always gave when announcing their marriages.

I’d always assumed they were just rehearsed lines.

But now…

Watching this man refuse to let go of my hand…

Could he really have felt something like fate?

Could he have fallen for me at first sight?

The thought made me feel ridiculous.

Seriously… what’s wrong with me?

I must have lost my mind.

I’d only been dumped yesterday.

Dumped like a piece of chewing gum.

And I was already imagining nonsense like this?

The breakup must have affected me more than I realized.

Why would a man like him…

Be interested in a woman whom even someone like Jin-ho had thrown away?

The more I thought about it, the lower my self-esteem sank.

No.

This mysterious man’s touch no longer felt innocent.

I couldn’t keep following him.

Who knew where he was taking me?

I gathered all my strength and tried pulling my hand away with both hands.

Instead…

He tightened his grip even more and walked faster.

He led me across the crowded dance floor, climbed several flights of stairs, and finally stopped on the third floor.

Unlike the chaotic first floor, the third level was elegant and quiet.

It looked more like an upscale lounge than part of a nightclub.

Large security guards stood at the entrance, making it obvious that this wasn’t an area just anyone could enter.

Breathing heavily after being practically dragged upstairs, I glared at him with the fiercest look I could manage.

Apparently he understood.

He chuckled softly before leading me to a seat.

He pulled out the chair tucked furthest inside for me and sat beside me on the outer side.

It almost felt like he was deliberately blocking my escape.

Still…

There were plenty of other guests around.

This wasn’t a private room.

Surely he couldn’t do anything here.

Besides…

The first floor was overflowing with gorgeous young women dressed far more provocatively than I was.

Why bring me up here instead?

The more I thought about it…

The stranger only seemed weirder.

And somehow…

He still hadn’t let go of my hand.

“Um… could you please let go of my hand?”

Because I was nervous, my Japanese came out clumsily.

Suddenly I remembered something my Japanese teacher had once told us.

“The day you can argue fluently in Japanese is the day you’ve truly mastered the language.”

Apparently…

I wasn’t there yet.

I’d always thought my everyday Japanese was good enough.

Maybe I should’ve learned some stronger words for rejecting persistent men.

Judging by the fact that our hands were still firmly connected…

Either he hadn’t heard me…

Or he had simply chosen to ignore me.

Without releasing my hand, he casually prepared a drink with his free hand and placed it in front of me.

“Drink.”

Then he rested his chin on one hand and watched me.

The look in his eyes…

It was almost as though he were gazing at an adorable pet.

Seriously?

I’m not foolish enough to drink something a complete stranger hands me.

And I certainly don’t like taking things just because someone tells me to.

But…

Between the heat inside the club and the sprint upstairs after him…

I was incredibly thirsty.

My body desperately wanted water.

It was just one drink…

Just one sip…

It suddenly felt like that was all I wanted in the world.

The longer I resisted, the more irritated I became.

Why am I even putting up with this?

I had money.

I wasn’t an underage kid trying to buy alcohol.

I could simply leave.

I even remembered exactly where the convenience store and vending machines outside the club were.

All I wanted now was an ice-cold bottle of lemon water.

The moment that thought crossed my mind, the hand still holding mine felt like a shackle.

I shoved his hand away.

Smack.

I had put far more force into it than intended.

His hand fell away limply.

Seeing how roughly I’d knocked it aside, I cautiously looked at his face.

Oh no…

I hadn’t meant to be that rough.

Surely he wasn’t angry?

He wouldn’t hit a woman… would he?

The first thing I noticed was how large his hand was.

Just seeing it made me instinctively nervous.

In a panic, I quickly picked up the cup with both hands and pretended to drink.

Unexpectedly…

He simply looked at me with gentle eyes, as though nothing I did could possibly offend him.

“Would you prefer something warm?”

I looked down.

The drink he’d given me wasn’t alcohol.

It was iced cocoa.

It was strange enough that a nightclub served iced cocoa.

But stranger still was the fact that he had apparently chosen it for me.

I quietly shook my head.

“This is fine.”

He might not seem like a bad person…

But after everything he’d done tonight…

He definitely wasn’t ordinary.

And if I stayed with him any longer…

I’d end up losing Jin-kyung completely.

No matter how capable Jin-kyung was…

We were still in a foreign country.

“Um… I should be going now.”

Of course I had to leave.

Yet the moment I said it…

He looked at me as though his entire world had collapsed.

Why did that expression bother me so much?

It wasn’t frightening.

Just…

Strangely difficult to ignore.

“I have to find my friend. She doesn’t speak Japanese, and I’m worried about her.”

His expression instantly darkened.

For a split second, he looked almost frightening.

Then, as soon as he heard my explanation, his face relaxed again.

Even so…

With a face that handsome, even a slight frown looked intimidating.

The more I watched him…

The more convinced I became that he wasn’t exactly normal.

When I repeated, as gently as I could, that I needed to find my friend…

He sighed softly.

Like a child reluctantly giving back a piece of candy.

“As you wish.”

Then he stood.

“I’ll take you.”

“Take me where?”

I was only planning to go downstairs and call Jin-kyung.

Why did this man keep insisting on doing things together?

Then he spoke again.

“Your name.”

“Huh?”

Before I knew it, he had leaned in so close that his body nearly enclosed me in the chair.

I instinctively leaned backward.

Farther.

Farther.

Soon my neck was stretched back so awkwardly that I probably looked like a turtle trying to retreat into its shell.

I wished I could reject him with some dignity.

Instead, I was making a complete fool of myself.

Even if we’d never meet again after tonight…

It still hurt my pride as a woman to embarrass myself in front of someone this impossibly handsome.

“Your name…”

“Please tell me.”

Slowly…

His hand reached toward me.

He gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

The intimate gesture shocked me so badly that my whole body froze.

Even Jin-ho had never touched me like this.

The spot where his fingers brushed my ear burned as though it had been scorched by fire.