Into the Water
Swallowing her discomfort, Minju made her way toward where the kayak was moored, and Sangho greeted her with a cheerful wave.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“No.”
Minju answered shortly, hiding her nervousness.
The closer she got to the water, the stiffer her feet became, and her palms grew damp with the fear of slipping and falling in. She tugged the straps of her life jacket one more time, took a deep breath, and carefully stepped toward the kayak.
The moment she set one foot down, the floor beneath her swayed faintly. Startled by the unexpected rocking, she hurried to bring her other foot up—but in that instant, the kayak tilted sharply.
“Ah—!”
“Careful!”
Before she could even cry out, her vision flipped upside down.
Splash!
Amid a spray of white water, her body plunged straight into the lake. Cold water forced its way into her nose and mouth all at once.
I can’t…… I can’t breathe.
The life jacket shot her back up to the surface, but she couldn’t find her balance at all and flailed upside down. She wasn’t wearing goggles, yet her vision blurred in the churn of waves, and the buoyancy of the vest tangled with her panicked struggling until her breathing grew ragged.
“Minju!”
Before the startled Sangho could even rise, there was a loud splash—Kwon Seokjun had thrown himself into the water without a moment’s hesitation.
“Oh no, what do we do!”
As the situation turned serious, the contestants and staff stamped their feet in alarm. Seokjun cut through the water without pause, swimming straight for Minju.
Just as she thought, I’m going to die like this, she felt someone grip her waist firmly. Strong arms seized her vest and carved through the current. Within moments, she was hauled up out of the water by that powerful grip.
Seokjun laid her gently on the ground and half-removed her life jacket.
“Seo Minju! Are you all right?”
Despite his urgent calls as he shook the water from himself, Minju could barely open her eyes, only gasping for air.
“Minju—Seo Minju!”
Then, as if a vacuum had released, water poured from her mouth.
“Hhk! Cough, cough, cough!”
Rough coughs burst out one after another, her shoulders heaving as though desperate to draw in air. Wet strands of hair clung to her cheeks, hot breath mixing with cold droplets of water.
Seokjun silently supported her back, slowly rubbing it with his palm.
“That’s it, just like that. Breathe slowly…… you’re doing well.”
Minju managed to draw a breath at last, her chilled lungs slowly warming again. And then she felt it—the hand supporting her was trembling, ever so slightly.
As her blurred vision gradually cleared, she saw a face right before her, brushing wet hair back from his own eyes as he looked down at her.
“……Kwon Seokjun……?”
Minju murmured the name in a whisper. The moment it left her lips, his chest rose and fell roughly.
“Are you back with me? Can you hear me?”
His low, water-soaked voice fell from just above her, laced with an emotion she couldn’t parse—anger, or worry, or something tangled between the two.
Only then did a belated realization strike her like lightning.
What…… the person who saved me…… it was Seokjun?
Her eyes wavered. She had assumed it would be Sangho, who’d been in the kayak, or one of the staff nearby. It had never even crossed her mind that it would be Seokjun, who had been quite a distance away.
Why on earth…… would he do that?
Plenty of other people could have saved her. And she’d been wearing a life jacket—it wasn’t as if she’d been in any real danger. And yet he’d been the first to dive in—probably because he knew that even with a life jacket on, she froze in terror the moment her feet couldn’t touch the bottom.
At the thought, something pressed strangely against her chest. Unlike her cold, chilled body, only the inside of her heart burned hot. An inexplicable tremor crept in, and the breath she’d finally steadied began to shake again.
She knew she should say thank you for saving her, but no words would come. Just as her lips barely parted, she heard footsteps hurrying toward them from a distance.
“Minju!”
Sangho came sprinting, breathless, and stopped in front of her.
“Are you okay?”
“……Yes.”
“That was a close call just now.”
Genuine shock was written plainly across Sangho’s face. Minju staggered to her feet. She was cold, and her waterlogged body felt heavy as wet cotton.
“……I’m sorry. I gave everyone…… quite a scare.”
She forced the words out through a strained voice.
“Why are you sorry? I should have grabbed you sooner. I’m sorry……”
Just as Minju was about to tell him it wasn’t his fault, the Love Coach and several staff members came rushing over, draping thick towels and a blanket over her shoulders.
“Ms. Seo Minju, are you all right?”
With a pale face, Minju gave a small nod.
“You look terribly pale. Just to be safe, you should get checked at a hospital.”
At the Love Coach’s words, Minju carefully shook her head.
“……I’m really fine. I was just…… a little startled, that’s all.”
But the Love Coach was firm, unwilling to overlook any possible danger.
“Even a little swallowed water can irritate the lungs. If at all possible, you should go right away——”
Before she could finish, Seokjun quietly stepped forward.
“First, we need to warm her up.”
His voice was calm but left no room for argument.
“Take her to the lodging, check her condition, and if anything’s wrong, we move her then.”
The Love Coach and the PD hesitated for a moment, but seeing Minju’s pale face and trembling hands, they finally nodded.
“……Then rest at the lodging, and if you feel even the slightest bit off, tell us right away.”
“……Yes.”
Minju answered in a small voice.
“Can you stand?”
At the staff member’s words, Minju clutched the towel tightly and slowly put weight on her legs. But her cold, soaked legs gave out, and her strength buckled all at once.
“Ah……!”
The moment her body pitched forward, Seokjun’s arm shot out and wrapped around her waist. Startled by the warmth pressed so close, she tried to pull away—but he held her firmly and murmured,
“You can’t walk like this.”
Before the words had even finished, her body lifted off the ground.
“Wh…… what?”
Minju’s eyes went wide with panic. Her arms wouldn’t obey her, so she only clutched the blanket tighter.
“Wh-what are you doing?”
“You looked like you’d fall over again.”
“Pu-put me down. I can walk.”
Unable to even struggle, Minju could only protest with words. Seokjun dipped his head to glance at her face.
“Your legs won’t even hold you. How are you going to walk?”
“That’s just because you moved so suddenly……”
Heat flooded her cheeks.
“Which makes it all the more dangerous,” he said flatly. “Unless you want to tumble down the stairs, let’s just go. Don’t make the staff worry any more than they already do.”
His tone was calm, but his eyes showed not the slightest intention of yielding. Just then, the Love Coach, who had been watching from the side, spoke up.
“That’s right, Minju. I think it’s better to just go with him for now. Your body temperature has dropped—you should get to the lodging and rest as soon as possible.”
With no argument left, Minju turned her head—and found everyone around her watching her with worried eyes. In the end, she had no choice but to nod.
The moment she gave her permission, Seokjun carried her in long, purposeful strides toward the women’s lodging. Watching them go, Sangho’s expression was complicated—relief, worry, and some emotion he couldn’t name all tangled together, his lips pressed tight as he couldn’t tear his eyes away.
A little distance off, the female contestants who usually fawned over Seokjun were whispering among themselves.
“Wow…… did he really have to go that far? Minju’s not a child.”
“But seeing him like that—doesn’t it seem like Seokjun’s interested in Minju?”
“It didn’t look that way to me……”
“You never know. Maybe the two of them already fell for each other without us noticing.”
Just then, Na Seon-young—who knew when she’d crept over—quietly cut in.
“Aren’t you all reading way too much into him helping someone who fell in the water?”
“No, we were just——”
“Don’t go creating misunderstandings out of nothing.”
Spitting the words out coldly, Seon-young turned on her heel and disappeared among the staff.