Chapter 9

Swallowing down her discomfort, Min-joo approached the dock where the kayaks were moored, and Sang-ho waved at her happily.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“No.”

Min-joo answered briefly, trying to hide her nervousness.

The closer she got to the water, the more rigid her toes became, and her palms grew damp with sweat at the thought of falling in.

She pulled the strap of her life jacket one more time, took a deep breath to herself, and cautiously approached the kayak.

As she placed one foot inside, the bottom shifted slightly.

Startled by the unexpected rocking, Min-joo hurried to bring her other foot aboard.

But at that moment, the kayak tilted sharply.

“Ah!”

“Careful!”

Before she even had time to scream, her entire field of vision flipped upside down.

Splash!

With a burst of white spray, her body fell straight into the lake.

Cold water rushed simultaneously into her nose and mouth.

I… I can’t breathe.

The life jacket immediately brought her body back toward the surface, but she couldn’t find her balance at all and thrashed helplessly as she rolled over in the water.

She wasn’t wearing goggles, and her vision blurred as the waves swept across her eyes. The buoyancy of the life jacket tangled with her panicked movements, making her breathing grow increasingly ragged.

“Min-joo!”

Before Sang-ho could even get to his feet, there was another loud splash.

Kwon Seok-jun jumped into the water without a moment’s hesitation.

“Oh my God! What do we do?”

As the situation grew more serious, the contestants and staff began frantically looking around.

Seok-jun cut through the water without hesitation and swam straight toward Min-joo.

Just as she thought, I’m going to die like this, she felt someone firmly grab her around the waist.

A strong arm caught hold of her life jacket and pulled her through the water.

Before long, she was hauled out of the lake by sheer force.

Kwon Seok-jun carefully laid her down on the ground and partially removed her life jacket.

“Seo Min-joo! Are you okay?”

Even as he urgently called out to her while brushing the water away, Min-joo could barely open her eyes. All she could do was gasp for breath.

“Min-joo! Seo Min-joo!”

At that moment, water poured from her mouth as though a vacuum had suddenly been released.

“Hngh! Cough, cough, cough!”

She broke into a series of harsh coughs, her shoulders heaving as she struggled to draw breath.

Her wet hair clung to her cheeks, while hot breaths mixed with cold droplets of water running down her face.

Kwon Seok-jun silently supported her back and slowly rubbed it with his palm.

“That’s it. Just like that. Breathe slowly… You’re doing well.”

Min-joo barely managed to draw a breath.

As her lungs, chilled by the cold water, gradually began to regain their warmth, she felt the hand supporting her tremble ever so slightly.

As her blurred vision slowly cleared, she saw the face of the man right in front of her, brushing her wet hair away as he looked at her.

“…Kwon Seok-jun…?”

Min-joo murmured his name like a whisper.

The moment his name left her lips, Seok-jun’s chest rose and fell heavily.

“Are you conscious? Can you hear me?”

His low, wet voice came from directly above her.

There was a complicated emotion in it that made it impossible to tell whether he was angry or worried.

Only then did a realization flash through Min-joo’s mind.

What…? The person who saved me… was Kwon Seok-jun?

Her eyes widened in shock.

She had assumed that the person who pulled her out would be Sang-ho, who had been in a kayak nearby, or one of the staff members closest to her.

She had never even imagined that it would be Kwon Seok-jun, who had been some distance away.

Why… did he do that?

There had been plenty of other people who could have saved her.

Besides, she had been wearing a life jacket, so she hadn’t actually been in a truly life-threatening situation.

And yet, the first person to jump into the water had been him.

Perhaps it was because he knew that even while wearing a life jacket, she would panic if her feet couldn’t touch the bottom.

At that thought, Min-joo felt something strange press heavily against her chest.

Unlike her body, which was still cold from the water, the inside of her chest felt hot.

A tremor she couldn’t explain mixed with her emotions, causing the steady breathing she had just regained to become shaky again.

She knew she should thank him for saving her, but no words came out.

Just as Min-joo managed to part her lips slightly, she heard hurried footsteps approaching from a distance.

“Min-joo!”

Sang-ho came running toward her, out of breath, and stopped in front of her.

“Are you okay?”

“…Yes.”

“That was really dangerous just now.”

His face clearly showed how genuinely shocked he had been.

Min-joo staggeringly pushed herself upright.

She was freezing, and her body felt heavy, like wet cotton.

“…I’m sorry. You must have been really… surprised because of me.”

Min-joo squeezed the words out.

“Why are you sorry? I should’ve grabbed you sooner. I’m sorry…”

Just as Min-joo was about to tell him it wasn’t his fault, the Love Coach and several staff members came rushing over and draped thick towels and blankets over her shoulders.

“Seo Min-joo, are you all right?”

Min-joo nodded weakly, her face pale.

“You’re extremely pale. Just to be safe, I think you should get checked out at a hospital.”

At the Love Coach’s words, Min-joo carefully shook her head.

“…I’m really okay. I was just… a little startled.”

But the Love Coach remained firm, unwilling to overlook even the slightest possibility of danger.

“Even a small amount of water entering your lungs can cause irritation. If possible, we should take you there immediately…”

Before he could finish, Kwon Seok-jun quietly stepped forward.

“She needs to warm up first.”

His voice was calm but left no room for argument.

“Let’s take her back to the accommodation and check her condition first. If there’s anything wrong, we can take her to the hospital then.”

The Love Coach and the PD hesitated for a moment, but after seeing Min-joo’s pale face and trembling hands, they eventually nodded.

“…All right. Get plenty of rest at the accommodation, and let us know immediately if you feel even slightly unwell.”

“…Okay.”

Min-joo answered in a small voice.

“Can you stand?”

At the staff member’s question, Min-joo tightly gripped the towel and slowly put weight on her legs.

However, her cold, soaked legs couldn’t support her, and her strength suddenly gave out.

“Ah…!”

Just as her body tipped forward, Kwon Seok-jun’s arm shot out and wrapped around her waist.

Startled by the warmth of his body pressed close to hers, Min-joo hurriedly tried to pull away.

But Seok-jun held her firmly and murmured,

“You can’t walk like this.”

Before she could react, her body suddenly lifted off the ground.

“Uh… huh?”

Min-joo’s eyes widened in alarm.

Her arms didn’t even have enough strength to move properly, so she only clutched the blanket tighter.

“W-What are you doing?”

“You looked like you were about to fall again.”

“P-Please put me down. I can walk.”

Min-joo couldn’t even struggle properly and could only protest verbally.

Seok-jun lowered his head and briefly checked her face.

“You can’t even put weight on your legs. How are you going to walk?”

“That’s because I moved suddenly…”

Min-joo’s cheeks flushed bright red.

“That’s exactly why it’s dangerous.”

He answered firmly.

“If you don’t want to tumble down the stairs, just let’s go. And don’t make the staff worry.”

His tone was calm, but his eyes made it clear that he had no intention of giving in.

The Love Coach, who had been watching the situation nearby, spoke up.

“She’s right, Min-joo. I think you should just go with him for now. Your body temperature has dropped, so it’s better to get back to the accommodation quickly and rest.”

Min-joo had no argument against that.

She turned her head and saw everyone around her looking at her with concern.

In the end, she had no choice but to nod.

Once she gave her permission, Seok-jun carried her in his arms and strode toward the women’s accommodation.

Sang-ho watched them with a complicated expression.

Relief, worry, and another emotion he couldn’t quite explain were tangled together, and he could only press his lips tightly together as he continued staring after them.

A little farther away, the female contestants who had shown interest in Seok-jun began whispering among themselves.

“Wow… Did he really have to go that far? Min-joo isn’t a child.”

“But seeing him act like that, don’t you think Seok-jun is interested in Min-joo?”

“I didn’t think so…”

“You never know. Maybe the two of them made a connection without us knowing.”

At that moment, Na Seon-young quietly joined them.

“Aren’t you reading too much into it just because he helped someone who fell into the water?”

“No, we were just…”

“Let’s not create unnecessary misunderstandings.”

Na Seon-young said coldly before turning away and disappearing among the staff.