Chapter 10

“……Put me down.”

As soon as they arrived at the accommodation, Minju hurriedly spoke.

Kwon Seok-jun carefully lowered her to the floor.

Her legs nearly gave out from exhaustion, but Minju forced strength into her toes and barely managed to keep herself standing.

Just then, the Love Coach approached and said,

“Minju, for now, safety comes first, so we’re going to temporarily stop filming. Please get some rest.”

After turning off all the cameras in the room as well, the Love Coach quietly closed the door and left.

Only Kwon Seok-jun and Minju remained in the small room.

The faint, fishy smell of lake water lingered between them.

When Minju shivered, Kwon Seok-jun quickly found the remote control and turned off the air conditioner.

Then he opened the window to let the cold air inside the room escape.

“You must be cold. Go inside and take a shower.”

At his words, Minju gave a small nod and went into the bathroom.

She took off her wet clothes and turned on the shower.

Whoosh.

The moment the hot water touched her body, her stiff muscles slowly began to relax.

But as her body warmed up, the moments from the lakeside came back vividly to her mind.

The sensation of sinking into the water.

The terror of being unable to breathe.

The strong arms that had grabbed her around the waist and pulled her up.

The sound of his ragged breathing when they emerged from the water.

Kwon Seok-jun saved me…….

The sudden realization made her heart begin pounding again.

She was grateful and amazed, but she was also so embarrassed that her face burned at the thought of falling into the water simply because she could not properly ride a kayak.

Her determination to make him regret dumping her had, in the face of his actions—jumping straight into the water to save her—taken on an entirely different shape in an instant.

I shouldn’t have come here…….

If she hadn’t, she would never have had to face him again, suffer this humiliation, or, most of all, have her emotions shaken so violently like this.

From now on, she had no idea how she was even supposed to face Kwon Seok-jun, let alone the other contestants and staff.

They even had to stop filming because of me…….

She felt sorry for ruining the pleasant atmosphere.

As she stood beneath the hot water, Minju repeatedly dwelled on her regrets.

After a while, once her trembling had subsided somewhat, she put on a robe and slowly walked out of the bathroom.

The moment she crossed the threshold, Minju froze.

In the middle of the room, Kwon Seok-jun was standing there, letting the faint breeze coming through the gap in the window brush against him.

“……Why haven’t you left?”

Startled, Minju clutched the hem of her robe more tightly.

Drops of water rolled from the tips of her hair and trickled down onto the tops of her feet.

Kwon Seok-jun merely raised his head slightly and looked at her.

“I was worried you might…… pass out.”

His tone was calm, but beneath it lingered a subtle anxiety and tension that had yet to completely settle.

Minju avoided his gaze and quietly drew in a breath.

“……I’m okay now.”

But Seok-jun stared at her intently, as though he couldn’t believe her right away.

Minju didn’t look away and quietly added,

“I really am.”

Only then did he slowly nod.

“Okay. Get some rest.”

Without asking anything else, he turned toward the door.

Just as his hand was about to grasp the doorknob, Minju called out to him without realizing it, overcome by an inexplicable tremor.

“Um…….”

Kwon Seok-jun’s hand stopped on the doorknob.

His hair, still damp and beginning to dry from the water, moved slightly.

He slowly turned around, and his gaze immediately met Minju’s.

For some reason, Minju felt her throat go dry. After swallowing hard, she slowly opened her mouth.

“……Thank you…… for saving me.”

It was something she hadn’t been able to say earlier.

At those words, Kwon Seok-jun’s expression changed ever so slightly.

It was a look very similar to the one he had worn when he pulled her out of the lake.

“If you’re afraid of water, why did you ride a kayak?”

Minju avoided his gaze as she answered.

“I didn’t want the filming to be disrupted because of me.”

At that, Seok-jun’s brow furrowed even more deeply.

“And yet you still volunteered to do it even though you get terrified when the water only comes up to your waist? Are you stupid?”

“Why am I stupid?”

Minju’s eyes widened, and her voice trembled slightly.

“You really have to ask? You almost died.”

His voice was quiet, but it had become noticeably colder.

“I was wearing a life jacket.”

“A lot of people die even while wearing life jackets. When you panic, you can flip over and swallow water first. A life jacket won’t help either.”

Minju was momentarily speechless.

Just as he said, she remembered the moment underwater when she had been so terrified that she had forgotten she was even wearing a life jacket and had desperately thrashed around.

Her chest hurt at the memory, but because it felt like he was continuing to berate her, a sense of injustice suddenly welled up inside her.

“……Then why are you getting so angry? It’s not like I fell in on purpose.”

As the end of Minju’s sentence trembled, Seok-jun’s gaze wavered for a moment.

He took a short breath and roughly ran a hand through his hair.

“……Sorry. I remembered when you fell into the water before…… I guess my emotions got the better of me without realizing it.”

At that moment, a scene buried deep in Minju’s memories resurfaced.

Back when they were dating, there had been a day when he suggested they go to the beach.

Unable to tell him that she was afraid of water, she had forced a smile and gone along with him.

They had been playing around in shallow water when, all of a sudden, the bottom dropped away and the water became deep.

Minju had sunk straight down, unable to breathe as she desperately flailed in the water.

Fortunately, he immediately noticed that something was wrong, jumped into the water, and pulled her back up.

“Minju, I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

His voice had trembled with fear as he held her in his arms, his face soaked with water.

Only after seeing him like that had she finally confessed that she was afraid of water.

Then, as though shocked, he had become furious.

“Why didn’t you tell me? If you’re afraid of water, you should have told me.”

“It was my first trip with you, sunbae…… I was afraid I’d ruin the mood for no reason…… so I couldn’t tell you.”

The moment she finished speaking, his expression twisted further.

It wasn’t anger so much as a mixture of shock and guilt.

“Seo Minju, you’re more important to me. I…… thought I’d lost you. I thought I was going crazy.”

Barely steadying his trembling breath, he had pulled her tightly into his arms again.

As though he never wanted to experience what had just happened again.

After that day, once he learned how deeply Minju feared water, he never suggested going near the water again, despite loving swimming and surfing himself.

Remembering that incident, Minju could understand why he had been unable to control his emotions when he saw her fall into the water again today.

Just as she was about to apologize, feeling that she had been too harsh toward someone who had gone out of his way to save her, he spoke first.

“……I’m leaving. Get some rest.”

And before he could even hear her response, he opened the door to the accommodation and walked out.

Bang.

With the sound of the door closing, the air in the room suddenly felt completely empty.

Minju stared blankly at the place where he had been standing.

Why did he suddenly leave before I could even finish speaking?

I didn’t even get to properly apologize.

When she pictured his face, a mixture of hurt and guilt washed over her.

His voice from earlier, when she had snapped at him, echoed vividly in her ears.

Did I speak too harshly……?

He had gone out of his way to save her, yet she had argued back at him. He must have found it ridiculous and absurd.

Confused emotions churned violently inside her chest.

Then—

Knock, knock.

“Minju…… are you okay for a moment?”

A familiar voice came from outside the door.

It was the Love Coach.

Minju quickly adjusted her robe and opened the door.

The moment the Love Coach saw her face, she looked concerned.

“Are you feeling a little better?”

“Yes.”

When Minju gave a small nod, the Love Coach carefully began to speak.

“There’s something I’d like to talk to you about. May I come in for a moment?”

Minju silently nodded and stepped aside.

The two of them sat side by side at the edge of the bed.

“You were really frightened earlier, weren’t you?”

The Love Coach looked at her with concern.

Minju gave a faint smile.

“……I’m okay.”

Perhaps because her expression looked self-reproachful, the Love Coach swallowed a sigh before continuing.

“If continuing the filming feels like too much for you, you can stop here.”

Minju froze for a moment.

“……Are you telling me to leave the show?”

“No. No! That’s not what I mean.”

The Love Coach quickly waved her hands.

“I just…… wanted to tell you that you don’t have to force yourself. Today’s accident happened because we pushed ahead with the schedule even after you told us you were afraid of water…… I’m sorry.”

Perhaps remembering how they had told her not to worry and that everything would be fine when she had said she was afraid of water, the Love Coach’s expression was filled with nothing but regret and guilt.

Minju lowered her head and quietly fell into thought.

Should I leave the show like this?

It was already difficult having to spend all day with people she didn’t know, and on top of that, her first love—the person she had never wanted to see again—had appeared.

The filming had even been stopped because of her, and she was overwhelmed with embarrassment at the thought of facing the other contestants.

It was still early in the show, so she didn’t think it would cause a major problem if she left.

She did feel bad about Sang-ho, who had chosen her during the first-impression vote, but there were plenty of women who had better qualifications, were prettier, and even had better personalities than her.

He’ll turn his attention to someone else soon enough.

At that moment, a cold yet familiar voice whispered from deep inside her heart.

Seo Minju. Are you trying to run away again?

Me?

Yes. You.

You know better than anyone that you avoided meeting people by using work as an excuse because you were afraid of getting hurt.

That cold criticism cut through her heart like a knife.

That’s right.

She was a coward.

Afraid that someone else would hurt her again, just as he had abandoned her before, afraid that she would become lonely again, she had kept hiding behind everything.

Only then did she realize.

She still hadn’t escaped from his shadow.

The uncomfortable truth clawed at her chest.

When she imagined herself quitting and locking herself away in her room, she felt even more suffocated.

She didn’t want to run away.

If she backed down now, she felt that the version of herself she saw today would become even more pathetic.

More than anything, his attitude—as though he still had feelings for her—kept getting under her skin.

What were his true feelings?

Why had he left without saying anything?

And what was the “real reason” back then?

She wanted to know.

Minju slowly raised her head.