Episode 4

River, exuding a dominant aura, was quite imposing to his opponent.

Pressed by River’s presence as he looked down on him with his tall stature, the man got up from his seat without a word.

Relieved when the man disappeared, sea spoke.

“Phew, thanks for helping me.”

Only then did he slowly release the arm that had been wrapped around her shoulder and wink.

“Don’t mention it, ‘Darlin’.”

At his shamelessness, sea shook her head, but somehow both corners of her mouth curled up involuntarily.

“Well, even if I hadn’t helped, it seemed like you could have handled it on your own.”

Having sat down next to her, he scrutinized sea with his blue gaze.

Whether it was because of that intense stare or the scent emanating from him, sea heart fluttered.

‘He actually came.’

River, with his long black hair neatly swept back, was wearing a white linen shirt and beige chino pants.

He looked luxurious and overflowing with elegance.

It seemed a bit different from the first impression he gave off, which was slightly dissolute.

‘I wonder if it’s my imagination, but it feels like he dressed up deliberately.’

His gaze seemed to land on the glass sea was holding, and in an instant, he snatched it away.

“Hey!”

Calmly taking a sip of sea drink, he furrowed his handsome brows.

“Long Island Iced Tea? What, are you a college student here to enjoy spring break in Miami?”

“What’s wrong with Long Island Iced Tea? It’s sweet and tasty.”

As sea pouted and tried to grab the glass back, he raised the hand holding it up high.

“This is a terrible drink, mixing cheap vodka with rum and tequila. It’s a drink you have only when your goal is to get drunk quickly.”

“…It is?”

“Be careful. Ordering things like this attracts bugs.”

“Oh, come on. Then what are you drinking?”

sea gestured with her chin towards the crystal glass he held in his other hand.

“Single malt whiskey.”

She could tell that what he was drinking was quite expensive whiskey. Balvenie? No, with that strong disinfectant smell, maybe Laphroaig?

“Ducati and amber whiskey. You’re just like a prince, aren’t you?”

At that, he looked at her silently for a moment, then shrugged.

“Let’s just say I have taste. Unlike some people.”

“Well…”

He lightly ignored sea sideways glance and called the waitress over.

“Would you like to order?”

“Please bring two glasses of water.”

She thought he was going to order alcohol. It was unexpected.

“I want to drink a cocktail.”

“Then one glass of water and one non-alcoholic cocktail. How about a Pina Colada?”

At the words ‘non-alcoholic,’ sea looked at him dumbfounded.

“A non-alcoholic cocktail isn’t a cocktail, it’s just juice.”

Then, with a serious look, he whispered in her ear.

“Why would you trust me enough to drink alcohol with me? You don’t know what kind of person I am.”

His cool expression made sea heartbeat quicken slightly.

Was he subtly warning her now?

“…Why are you like this? I can control myself and drink in moderation, you know?”

“I know, I believe you. But today, I want to get to know you slowly.”

At that, sea laughed softly.

He seemed a bit different from the thuggish men who would approach her out of the blue and try to buy her drinks.

“And by the time we leave here, we’ll probably be holding hands, and I’d like you to be sober then. I wouldn’t want you to try to kiss me when you’re drunk.”

“You’re pretty confident, aren’t you?”

Shaking her head, sea asked.

“By the way, what do you do for a living?”

He propped his chin on his hand and grinned.

“Well. Why don’t you try guessing?”

“Hmm, your face does look familiar, though…”

sea looked at him intently.

Just then, the wind blowing from the terrace tousled his hair.

Seeing his unrealistically handsome face, she thought he might be an actor, but she had no memory of seeing him on screen.

‘His looks are good enough to be cast as Superman right now. But with that scar on his neck, he also seems like he might be in some rough line of work.’

However, judging by his dignified tone and presence, he was every bit a nobleman.

He seemed to find the situation amusing, his eyes sparkling.

sea narrowed her brow and moved her lips. Whenever she met his sharp gaze, it felt like her mind went blank with tension.

“Maybe…”

“…….”

“An athlete? Hockey, perhaps?”

“Wrong.”

“Hmm. Then a model for luxury brands or Harlequin romance novel covers?”

Why not? English-language romance novel covers often feature photos of male models.

His appearance certainly had an aspect that stimulated fantasy.

But at that, River frowned in displeasure.

“…It’s not a bad thing to say, but it feels weird.”

“Then this time, you guess about me.”

River folded his arms and stared intently at her.

“Judging by your accent, you probably studied in the Eastern US. Considering you look young for an Asian, your age is mid-to-late twenties. You worked a corporate job, got sick of it, and came to Bali.”

“…What, that’s too accurate? Are you sure you didn’t investigate me?”

“I’m just exceptionally observant.”

“Like you’re Sherlock Holmes or something.”

Just as she was making a joke mixed with sincerity, startled by his accurate guesses, the waitress, who had approached, placed the drinks on the table and asked.

“Your drinks are ready. By the way, would you be interested in participating in our special event, tarot card reading?”

At that, sea eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“Tarot card reading? Here?”

“Yes. As it happens, a famous tarot reader from Ubud is at our club. You pick cards, get a reading, and then order a food menu item matched with your card.”

It seemed like marketing to get customers to order expensive food using the tarot reading as bait.

But it did seem like a fairly interesting concept.

Perhaps reading sea mind, River nodded.

“Alright then, let’s give it a try.”

Before long, a woman in hippie-like attire appeared and introduced herself as Esmeralda.

She spread a purple cloth on the table, shuffled the deck, and asked.

“By the way, you two look really good together. Are you here in Bali on your honeymoon?”

“Oh, we’re not a couple.”

At that, River propped his chin on his hand and sighed.

“You called me ‘Honey’ just a while ago. That’s harsh. You just want to have fun with me and not take responsibility?”

At his unexpected teasing, sea eyes widened and she slapped his shoulder.

“What are you talking about! Haha, this guy’s jokes are a bit much.”

“Fine, I’m hurt.”

“I told you to stop joking. You’re making me look like the weird one.”

Esmeralda watched them and smiled adorably, spreading the cards in a fan shape.

“Who would like to go first?”

“Ladies first?”

“Okay, I’ll go first.”

“Please concentrate and draw nine cards.”

As sea drew cards with a fairly serious expression, River chuckled as if he found her cute.

Esmeralda turned over the cards sea had drawn and read them.

“The ‘Ten of Wands’ card has appeared for your past. It seems you’ve had many difficult things lately, things that were hard to endure physically and mentally. Or perhaps you’ve been exhausted from handling everything alone.”

“Oh, that’s right. Actually, I recently quit the company I worked at for a long time. Plus, my younger brother got into debt, and I had to use all my severance pay to cover it…”

Suddenly, surprised by her own unintentional outpouring of grievances, sea closed her mouth.

There was no need to broadcast her financial situation in front of people she’d just met today.

“For your present, the ‘Lovers’ card has been drawn. Have you met a fated partner recently? Perhaps the person next to you?”

At the woman’s question, their eyes met in mid-air.

Under his probing gaze, sea ears tinged pink.

“No…?”

River, propping his chin, silently mouthed ‘liar.’

Flustered, sea pretended not to hear and quickly turned her gaze back to the cards.

“Is that so? That’s strange. Looking at the card combination, it indicates a fairly old karmic connection. It seems to point to the person beside you.”

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