"It would be so much fun if all of us went for the snorkeling. How did you hurt your feet last night? And why did you not call us?" asked Jae Kyung as they were preparing for their trip.

"I was on the phone while walking down the steps, and missed a step. You all were having so much fun, so did not want to bother you," replied Ha Jin meekly.

She was not comfortable hiding the facts from her friends. But to let them know she spent her night at Ji Hoo's cottage would be next to impossible for her. They were of the impression that she retired sooner to her room because of her injury.

"Are you sure you will be ok? I do not want to leave you alone behind," said Ga Eul.

"Ji Hoo said he is going to take care of her injury. Trust me, she is in the best hands," said Woo Bin.

"Take the name and the devil appears," quipped Jun Pyo.

Ji Hoo came smiling to his friends who were all gathered for their snorkeling trip.

"All set for the day? Where is Yi Jung?"

Everyone, except Ha Jin, stiffened at the mention of the name.

"Sunbae is not feeling well…"

"He is just hung over. He is sleeping. So, no need to bother," added Jun Pyo quickly.

"Ok. Have a good trip. I will take Ha Jin to the nearby clinic. We will meet you when you are back."

….

Yi Jung stared at his ceiling for a long time after his eyes opened in the morning. All the scenes from the last night flashed in front of his eyes one by one.

He was about to leave his room for the yacht when his phone beeped with an incoming message. He opened it to see some picture messages sent from an unknown number. He frowned a little and clicked to open the message. The couple of pictures flashing on his phone hit his mind immediately. They were pictures of his father and a girl, who was too familiar to him, in compromising positions. And the attire on the girl, which was almost half way off her shoulders, confirmed the day all these must have taken place.

Yes, it was the day he had come back from Sweden for a short vacation with Elsa, the Swedish girl who he had been dating for some time. He was not sure whether he had already started loving her, but knew that love would grow between them eventually. He had brought her to their family art museum, when he received a call from his mom's number. But this time it was not a frantic voice of his mother, threatening for suicide; but a worried voice of their butler, informing him about his mother being admitted to the hospital. He apologised to Elsa, and asked her to wait for him at the museum, while he would quickly visit his mom at the hospital. He did not want to overwhelm her with his mother's condition. Never had he expected the situation to be so grave for him to see his mom taking her last breath in front of him. Ironically, this time she had not even attempted suicide, she had accidentally slipped and rolled down the flights of stairs.

Yi Jung had lost his mind completely, desperately trying to reach his father's phone. It kept on ringing. None of his friends knew where he was. It was not before the next morning that his father called him back. And even later, it dawned to him that Elsa was supposed to wait for him at the museum. On calling her she told him that she was going back to Sweden that day. He apologised for his absence, and told him he had a family emergency which he needed to attend to.

And here he could see why his father had not picked up his numerous calls. And more importantly, why Elsa had refused to keep in touch with him after returning to Sweden. All this while he thought she felt left out in a foreign land which made her angry. And with his personal life in turmoil, he did not pursue her anymore.

His blood boiled at all the thoughts of betrayal, his father's, Elsa's, and above all his fate's. He could not think straight anymore. He wanted to scream at the Almighty, or drown himself in oblivion. But all he could do was douse himself in alcohol and walk on to the bar for some more, when he met her…

Yi Jung closed his eyes in regret. Never in his life he had misbehaved with any girl. He might have been cold sometimes, but had never humiliated any girl. His head was throbbing with a searing pain. His thoughts were all getting tangled again. But he needed to do something urgently. But what, he could not remember. He rose from his bed with great difficulty and dragged himself to the toilet.

He did not remember clearly what happened after that, because next time he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by a few hotel staff who were tending to him.

"You passed out at the bathroom, sir. Should we bring the doctor?" asked a worried hotel boy.

"No, I need to see my friends."

"But they have all gone out. It might be late before they come back."

Yi Jung sent all of them out of his room immediately. His headache had not gone entirely, but it felt much better. He closed his eyes in resignation, when two beautiful tear-filled eyes flashed in his mind. And he immediately realised what he needed to do.

"Mianhe Chu Ga Eul…"

….

After everyone left, Ji Hoo helped Ha Jin get in the car. At the clinic, her ankle was inspected and wrapped with a crepe bandage. On their way back to the resort, Ji Hoo noticed her silence.

"Are you disappointed that you could not go for the snorkeling?"

Ha Jin just sighed and looked away again. Ji Hoo smiled and drove the car towards the beach. As they reached there, Ji Hoo helped her out of the car.

"I can walk."

"No, you cannot. Do not put any pressure on your ankle now."

"Where are we going now?"

"To the sea."

"Eh?"

Before she could argue any more, Ji Hoo bent over in front of her and carried her on his back to the shore where few kayaks were laid on the sands. Ha Jin could not help thinking of all the romantic dramas where the guy would carry the girl on his back and somehow it would turn into a love story.

This can't be happening! This is so embarrassing!

But all she could do was hold on to his shoulders and wait until they reached the beach.

"Are we going to the sea on this?!" asked Ha Jin with shock.

Ji Hoo just flashed a smile and placed her down on the ground carefully. Then he turned the kayak, held out his hand to help Ha Jin get on it and pushed it on to the sea. He then sat on the back and handed her a lifejacket and a paddle.

Ha Jin had never done kayaking before. But all her initial apprehensions faded as Ji Hoo continued to instruct her how to paddle and steer the kayak. In no time, she started enjoying paddling through the sea water. After kayaking for almost 45 minutes they reached a small atoll which was surrounded by numerous colourful colonies of corals. They carefully steered the kayak so as not to destroy the corals and brought it close to the land. It was still a few feet in the water so he jumped in the knee-deep water and pushed it on to the dry sands. Both were very tired, so once on the beach, they found a cool shade and sat down. The atoll was pristine with white sands, tall coconut trees and lush green foliage. The shallow water was crystal clear, with numerous bright, colourful fishes playing around and in between the beautiful corals.

After catching her breath and cooling down, Ha Jin looked around and saw the most beautiful scenery that she could ever imagine in her dreams in front of her eyes. There was a small lagoon surrounded by the coral reef and lush green foliage at the centre of the atoll. The water was crystal blue, and the gorgeous reflection of the sky made it look like out of the world.

Ha Jin's mouth was agape and her eyes as big as they could possibly be. Ji Hoo smiled contentedly seeing her amazement, and he lazily strolled towards the lagoon.

"This is so breathtakingly beautiful, Ji Hoo. I am so glad that you brought me here," said Ha Jin elatedly.

"Would you like to go in the water?" asked Ji Hoo and pointed to the lagoon.

Ha Jin pouted and nodded her head in disagreement. Ji Hoo did not insist any further and took off his shirt before diving in the clear blue water. He swam through the crystal-clear water, and his rippling muscles were quite a sight for Ha Jin to admire. It took several minutes for her to realise that she was gawking at him and immediately she covered her eyes with her palms.

What has got into your head Ha Jin? This is so wrong, in every way!

She turned away and closed her eyes, as the cool breeze blew on her face. It was so comforting that she did not realise when she lay on her back and fell asleep. It was the sound of a thunder that woke her from her nap. She looked around to see the sky darkened by heavy black clouds, and a white curtain of heavy downpour steadily approaching the atoll.

Ha Jin gasped at the thought of being stuck in the island in this heavy rain, when she spotted Ji Hoo sitting on the sand not too far away, looking at the approaching rain.

"Shouldn't we be leaving this place right now? Before the rain hits us?"

"We won't be able to beat it with our kayak," replied Ji Hoo nonchalantly.

"But…"

Even before she could complete, the rain showered on them, and soon they were fully drenched. With her injured ankle, she could not scurry to a bigger shade. Ji Hoo stared at her sorry state, then handed her his shirt to cover herself.

This cannot be happening to me! Here I am struggling to stop my mind from distracting, and there he sits half naked in front of me, with his cologne all over me in his shirt! God! Please stop this rain, and get me back to the shore.

The next 20 minutes seemed like an eternity, as the rain kept on pouring. All this while Ha Jin made sure not to look at Ji Hoo even for a moment. As the rain stopped, Ji Hoo squatted in front for her to hop on his back.

"I do not want to ride on your back," spurted out Ha Jin.

"Okay."

Ji Hoo stood up and held out his hand. Ha Jin took it and carefully walked back to the kayak. The kayak ride back to the shore was quiet, as Ha Jin kept looking in front all the time and did not want to start any conversation. The awkward silence between them continued until they reached back to the resort and Ji Hoo helped her walk to her room.

"You need to wrap a new crepe bandage on your ankle. This one is fully soaked."

"I will do it on my own. Thanks for all the help."

Ji Hoo nodded lightly and left her room. As he walked back to his cottage, he saw Yi Jung sitting on the steps, waiting for him.

"Yi Jung-ie! How are you feeling?"

"I need your help, Ji Hoo."