TPWLM 07

Episode 7

As River had said, the sunset viewed from Devil’s Den was breathtakingly beautiful. The sunset, now coloring the western sky, blazed a rosy hue, spreading into shades of purple and orange. Beneath it, golden ripples danced on the sea’s surface, which had transformed into a deep wine color. Even the people dining were busy capturing the sunset with their eyes, each letting out exclamations of awe.

sea and River chatted quietly against the backdrop of the sunset.

It was quite strange, really. With him, conversation flowed as easily as if they had known each other for a long time.

But that didn’t mean she felt completely at ease with him. In front of him, she kept getting nervous, conscious of even the smallest things. Was her hairstyle messed up from the humidity? Had she just laughed too loudly? A little while ago, she had even gone to the bathroom to reapply her lip gloss. It was unlike her usual easygoing self.

‘Why am I like this?’

Even though she hadn’t had a single sip of alcohol, she felt as if she were drunk.

Feeling oddly shy, sea turned her gaze away, pretending to admire the sunset. It felt like her heart would explode if she kept meeting his eyes.

He, on the other hand, rested his chin on his hand and stared intently only at her profile. Feeling embarrassed, sea fixed her gaze on the sunset and said,

“Stop staring only at me and look at the sunset. We came here to see the sunset, remember.”

“I am looking.”

“Sure you are. I can feel you staring only at my face, it’s so intense.”

“If that’s the case, then to me, you must be the sunset. Actually, I came here to see you.”

“…….”

“How can you be this pretty? You look like a sunset in mid-July.”

At River’s directness, sea face flushed hot. His words likely meant she was as beautiful as the sunset on the peak day of summer, the longest and hottest day. Her heart fluttered violently.

‘What’s with this guy, flirting so sweetly like a poet? Did he major in English literature?’

sea tried to calm her pounding heart and met his gaze steadily. Before she knew it, his eyes were filled with the warm orange glow of the sunset. He moved, closing the distance between them, and whispered near her ear.

“Breathtakingly gold.”

Whenever he whispered sweet nothings with that noble voice and refined language, her heart trembled.

River then tucked a strand of her hair, which had been blowing in the wind, behind her ear. As his touch lightly grazed her ear, a tingling spark flew.

“…….”

sea gaze, which had been wandering over his facial features, landed on his full lips. River also lowered his eyelashes and stared intently at her lips.

Was he thinking something similar?

‘…Is he going to kiss me?’

sea swallowed hard. What would it feel like to kiss those lips?

The surrounding noise faded, and all she could hear was the sound of her own pulse. The tension and excitement were so intense her entire body trembled.

“…….”

Just as the distance between them was about to close even further.

“I thought I recognized you from somewhere, you’re that bitch whose pictures are up on Only Fans.”

At that moment, a low-quality voice flew in and struck the back of her head, popping the bubble that had surrounded them. sea flinched at the nasty voice. Even without turning her head, she knew who the voice belonged to. It was the man who had hit on her earlier and been chased away by River, along with his group.

When he was alone, he hadn’t dared to utter a peep in front of River. But now that he had his crew with him, he seemed emboldened. Plus, with his slurred speech, he seemed to have gotten drunk in the meantime.

‘…Only Fans?’

sea eyes narrowed. Only Fans was a platform primarily known for individuals posting adult content to make money. Rumor had it that you could see all sorts of dirty pictures and videos by paying a monthly subscription fee. sea didn’t even remember ever signing up for such a site.

It was a classic sour grapes tactic, treating a woman he couldn’t have like cheap goods.

“Buying dinner for a bitch you can see naked for just a few bucks a month, what a sucker this guy is.”

The group of men snickered unpleasantly. The man grinned wickedly and muttered the ‘C-word’ under his breath at the end of his sentence.

sea face flushed red with shame. Her tightly clenched hands trembled violently.

‘You don’t even use that kind of swear word as a joke in America. Such trashy guys. Anyway… did River hear that too?’

She couldn’t even muster the courage to look at him, overcome with humiliation. sea glanced at him sideways. But he showed no sign of disturbance, silent as if deep in thought.

“…….”

Soon, the group of men began to pass by the two of them with a threatening demeanor. The man who had sworn looked at sea with a vile expression and gathered phlegm in his throat.

“Kuaaak, ptoey.”

Filthy spit landed on the steak plate River had been eating from. The man snickered and patted River on the shoulder.

“Enjoy your meal, pretty boy.”

The men laughed their heads off and headed towards the restroom.

River’s face had hardened, becoming frighteningly cold. His eyes were murderous, as if he might commit murder at any moment. This was the same River who had been playful and looking at her with kind eyes all this time. Facing his brutal expression, sea was startled.

Fidgeting anxiously, she gestured to the waitress.

“Ah, those dirty bastards. I need to ask for a new plate… Excuse me!”

The pupils of River’s blue eyes seemed to blaze red, and he rolled his eyes, staring intently at the restroom the men had entered. Soon, he rose from his seat and said,

“Excuse me for a moment.”

“……Where are you going?”

“Let’s leave once you’re done eating. Could you pay the bill with this instead? Meet me at the entrance.”

He had somehow wiped the terrifying expression from his face and smiled at her as if to reassure her. Then he took a leather wallet from his back pocket, placed it on the table, and headed towards the restroom.

He probably wanted to get out of this place. Although it left a bitter taste, she could completely understand his feelings.

‘He probably feels bad for getting dragged into an ugly scene because of a woman he barely knows. If it were me, I wouldn’t want to stay a second longer either.’

Then the thought crossed her mind: what if River believed what those men said?

It was unfair. She decided she would strongly deny it when he came back. That she wasn’t that kind of weird person.

But then, the strength drained from her body.

What would be the use, anyway?

After all, to him, she was just a girl he met for the first time on a trip.

So why would he need to bother verifying the truth?

She paid for the food to the waitress who approached the table and then lifted her gaze.

‘Wait, but what if he runs into those guys in the restroom?’

sea started biting her nails in anxiety.

Just then, she saw a customer go into the men’s restroom and come running out with an ashen face. Her heart sank instantly. Something was definitely happening in there. Those thugs were the type to easily jump River, three against one.

sea sprang up from her seat like a spring and hurried towards the restroom. No sooner had she entered than, sure enough, she heard a man’s groaning.

“River! Are you in he…!”

At that moment, sea froze in place at the bizarre sight unfolding before her eyes.

Contrary to her imagination that River would be in danger, three men were lying on the floor like corpses.

One of them was face down on the floor, heaving and making gagging sounds. Looking closely, the joint of his elbow was bent at a grotesque angle.

“Ugh… fuck.”

The man in the worst condition was the one who had hit on sea and spat on River’s plate. He was staring blankly into space with unfocused eyes, his face sunken as if it had been beaten with a sledgehammer. If it weren’t for the metallic sound of his breathing, she would have mistaken him for dead.

“…What the hell is all this.”