Episode 2

Some time later, Bali.

sea arrived at Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali late at night.

After retrieving her luggage and exiting the gate, the humid tropical air touched her skin.

“Ah… how long has it been since my last overseas trip?”

She had recently resigned from the investment bank where she’d worked for the past four years.

She had endured, grinding herself down at an investment bank notorious for its late nights and high workload, but ended up leaving due to a betrayal by her superior.

So, to soothe her battered body and mind, she had come here to relax before finding a new job.

Her friend Caroline’s influence played a part in choosing Bali as the destination.

‘Go to Canggu in Bali. What you need right now are beaches, cocktails, sunsets, and shirtless hot guys.’

After that, Caroline tagged Bada’s account in every Bali travel post that appeared on her social media feed.

Seeing those posts piqued her interest, and she ended up deciding to come on the trip.

‘Well, I’m not interested in hot guys, but beaches and cocktails are quite appealing.’

Leaving the airport, sea got into a taxi she had booked in advance.

Her destination was a guesthouse located in Jjanggu.

For several days, sea traveled around various places in Bali.

Her itinerary mainly consisted of quiet beaches, temples haunted by thieving monkeys, and local restaurants.

sea liked the atmosphere of Jjanggu, which exuded a sense of youthful freedom.

Hip cafes that wouldn’t look out of place in Seoul’s Seongsu-dong coexisted with Hindu temples, and Western tourists and locals mingled together, creating a vibrant energy.

Today, leaving the guesthouse late, she headed to Batu Bolong Beach.

She settled into a seat at a quiet beach café overlooking the ocean and ordered a glass of coconut juice. The waitress taking her order giggled.

“That’s a very cool t-shirt.”

“Haha, thank you.”

sea smiled sheepishly and looked down at her t-shirt.

The shirt she’d bought from a street vendor said ‘I Love Bintang.’

Was she too blatantly advertising herself as a tourist? But oh well, this was also part of the freedom you can only enjoy in a resort town.

Sitting in the plush chair, sea slipped off her sandals. The soft feel of sand met the soles of her feet.

‘This is real relaxation.’

Her mind and body felt at ease, surrounded by scenery so different from bustling Seoul.

sea gazed at the waves in the distance, lost in thought.

‘Life really doesn’t go as you want it to.’

Swoosh.

Just then, a surfer riding the waves caught her attention.

A foreign man with a significantly large build was cutting through the water with ease, as if he were a god of the waves.

The man calmly evaded a wave that seemed ready to swallow him whole and passed through the barrel.

‘Is he a professional?’

Soon, the man rode the rough wave, soared upwards, and twisted his body nimbly.

“Wow…”

For a moment, as if he had heard her exclamation, he turned his gaze towards her.

Was it her imagination that their eyes seemed to meet?

But the man soon disappeared among the diamond-like, sparkling spray.

It was like a scene from a movie.

Leaving the cafe, sea walked along the street, searching for a place to have lunch.

‘What should I eat? Maybe try some traditional Indonesian food?’

As she walked along the narrow sidewalk and turned a corner, a motorbike suddenly roared out from an alley.

Startled by the engine sound as she hurriedly rounded the corner, sea stepped back.

Then, she lost her balance and fell flat on her bottom.

“Ouch!”

Squeak.

The driver, spotting her, hastily stopped the bike and rushed over.

The man knelt on one knee and checked on her condition.

“You okay, Darlin’?”

“Ah, are you crazy? You almost hit me!”

Clutching her throbbing bottom, she lifted her gaze, and her vision was filled with particularly blue eyes.

For an instant, sea flinched involuntarily.

The man’s gaze was so intense it was reminiscent of a Siberian Husky.

The moment she met his eyes, sea felt a strange sensation.

It felt as if the axis of her life had lost its center, tilted askew, and deviated from its orbit.

“……You’re.”

Surprisingly, the man was the surfer she had seen on the beach earlier. His eyes sparkled oddly as he looked at her.

Like someone who had finally obtained something they had been searching for all their life, he murmured lowly.

“It’s you.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you remember me?”

“……I think this is our first meeting.”

sea looked at him with suspicious eyes. There was no way she wouldn’t remember seeing a face that handsome somewhere else.

‘Is he trying to hit on me?’

As expected of handsome men.

At sea sharp reaction, he let out a hollow laugh, then changed his expression as if switching masks and changed the subject.

“Anyway, I’m sorry. Are you hurt anywhere?”

Clutching her heart, sea scanned him from head to toe.

Black, long hair, still wet from the seawater, swept back.
Unusually thick eyebrows and a delicately sculpted nose.
His perfectly chiseled features, devoid of human warmth, even felt chilly.

Beyond simply being handsome, his aura made one forget to breathe for a moment.

Moreover, the large scar on his neck, rather than being a flaw, actually amplified his rebellious vibe.

‘His face is familiar, though. Have I seen him somewhere?’

Ignoring the hand he offered, sea dusted off her bottom and stood up.

“I’m fine.”

As he awkwardly withdrew his hand, sea grumbled.

“…Almost ended up in the hospital on the first day of my trip. And I even bought the cheapest travel insurance.”

“First, let’s go to the hospital together.”

“I’m fine, no injuries.”

“Where are you going?”

“Huh?”

“I’ll give you a ride.”

He gestured with his chin towards his motorbike.

It was an unusually high-end matte black bike.

‘That’s a Ducati, a top Italian motorbike brand.’

In Bali, where road conditions are poor and traffic congestion is severe, motorbikes are the main mode of transportation.

But most people rent Honda scooters for about 10,000 won a day; it was rare to see someone riding such a high-end bike.

sea said with a knowing look.

“I’m fine, so just be careful with your driving from now on,  (spoiled young master).”

At that, he furrowed his thick eyebrows.

“master?”

sea shrugged calmly.

“If someone rides a Ducati around Bali, you can roughly figure them out. Either they’re growing and selling illegal hallucinogenic mushrooms on a deserted island, they’re a retired guy going through a midlife crisis, or they’re a children from a wealthy family. From your posh accent, I guessed it’s the latter.”

Having graduated from a US private school attended by children of the wealthy and worked at an investment bank, sea inadvertently knew a lot about luxury brands.

Also the fact that a Ducati Panigale is a trophy for wealthy men.

Amused by sea words, the man’s lips curved into an arc.

“That’s a bit rude.”

“I don’t think that’s something to say to someone you almost hit with your bike.”

“I just want to make sure you’re okay, in case you feel pain later.”

“If you’re that worried, why not just give me your contact information?”

At that, he tilted one corner of his mouth upwards.

“That’s a bit difficult.”

sea eyes narrowed.

“Suspicious. Do you have something to hide?”

“Maybe? But I don’t have a girlfriend.”

At his nonchalant joke, sea let out a small laugh.

But unfazed, he erased the smile from his eyes and asked seriously.

“Your name.”

“Huh?”

“You have to tell me your name.”

His firm tone made sea, as if spellbound, end up telling him her name.

“sea. Yubada. And you?”

“River Grant.”

“…That’s a bit unusual. Is it a pseudonym, by any chance?”

At sea words, he rolled his tongue inside his mouth. Sharper than expected. What now?

But his fluster was momentary. He soon replied calmly.

“Speaking of which, your name sounds quite unusual to my ears too.”

“Ah, that’s my Korean name. I lived in the US for a while, but my nationality is Korean. Anyway, River is a unique name. Actually, my name also means ‘ocean’ (sea in Korean). That’s a pretty strange coincidence.”

Upon hearing this, the man’s pupils seemed to dilate subtly, and a languid smile spread across his lips.

“So that’s what it meant.”

“……Huh?”

“Then it’s not a coincidence, but fate. Like how a river flows and eventually meets the sea.”

At the unexpected remark, sea tilted her head.

He looked perfectly normal, so why did he keep talking nonsense?

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