DH ✦ Ch 5

✦ Chapter 5 ✦

❦

“—Gayoung, you came all the way to Korea, and I’m putting you to work. I’m sorry. Starting tomorrow morning, your aunt will take care of everything. Is there anything you want to eat? I’ll go grocery shopping.”

“Please don’t worry about that right now. Just send your friend off properly.”

After hanging up, Gayoung let out a small hum and took a deep breath of the fresh air. The air, infused with phytoncides, tasted refreshing on the tip of her tongue.

Inside the gate was a different world entirely.

The two-story main house looked like any ordinary country home, but the front yard, meticulously tended by Bongman, was anything but ordinary.

All sorts of summer flowers were in full bloom. The refined green was dotted with vibrant colors, forming a picture-perfect scene.

Strolling leisurely past the hydrangea trees blooming along the high walls, Gayoung made her way to the annex.

Her aunt and uncle lived in the annex, a cozy one-story house nestled in the corner of the property. The space, furnished simply with only the essentials, was impeccably neat.

After setting down her suitcase, Gayoung headed straight to the storage shed to fetch some cleaning tools.

Before going abroad, she had stayed here for about two weeks, helping out. Back then, she had roamed the unoccupied villa as if it were owned by just the three of them.

Since the caretaker was only away for a day, there wasn’t much to clean.

She swept the already spotless front yard, opened the windows in the main house to ventilate it, and tidied the bedding in the bedroom. She checked that the dishes in the kitchen cupboards were clean and filled the fridge with water and drinks that her aunt had ordered in advance.

She then lightly wiped down the floors with a dry mop.

After two hours of cleaning, Gayoung stepped out through the back door.

Though hidden behind the main house and cypress trees and invisible from the front of the villa, the backyard was about four times larger than the front. What she secretly considered the highlight of the place now spread before her.

The swimming pool.

“It’s huge.”

It wasn’t just wide—it was deep enough that the water would reach over her head. The wealth of the GB family struck her anew.

Gayoung turned on the pool’s water system.

Her only task was to fill the pool; the next day, Bongman would clear the leaves floating on the surface and add chlorine. Filling it was her responsibility.

With her task complete, she returned to the annex and tore into a loaf of bread she’d bought at the airport.

But lounging around alone quickly grew boring. Even opening a book didn’t help—she couldn’t focus.

After resting for two hours, Gayoung went back to the pool.

The water hadn’t even reached halfway yet. Sitting on a sunbed beside the pool, she watched the sun dip behind the mountains to the west. The sky shifted from a mysterious orange to dull grey.

She gazed at the tranquil ridgeline under the sky.

The forest darkening under the twilight wasn’t especially beautiful. But there was something delicate, almost sacred, in the green air. Something that washed away the grime and fatigue from her difficult life as a poor international student.

The soft chirring of cicadas tickled her ears, carried on the breeze.

Lying on the sunbed, Gayoung smiled and closed her eyes. She drifted on the edge of sleep for hours, indulging in the longest rest she’d had in a long time.

Time passed, and night fell completely.

Not a single light was on in the entire villa. Everything was shrouded in shadow. Yet the moon hung closer than it would in the city. The full moon was so bright it illuminated everything clearly.

“This should be enough.”

The water level was about two hand-widths below full. Gayoung turned off the tap and sat on the edge of the pool, slipping off her slippers.

She playfully tapped the water with her soles, making droplets splash into little crown-like shapes. She kicked the water a few more times just for fun.

The last time she’d stayed here was in late summer, just before the fall semester began at Columbia University.

She’d seen this pool every day back then, but never dipped a toe in. It wasn’t right to use the owner’s facilities without permission.

“Should I try swimming?”

She had only recently discovered how fun swimming could be, thanks to a college elective. She wasn’t particularly good at it, but she could swim a lap comfortably.

“No.”

Shaking her head, Gayoung stood up.

It wasn’t her house. Acting on such a selfish impulse felt wrong. Not even a single blade of grass from someone else’s property should be touched without permission.

She turned to leave the pool—but her feet lingered with hesitation.

After taking a few steps, she looked back over her shoulder.

The rippling surface of the moonlit water was mesmerizing. The desire to glide through it hadn’t faded.

“Just one lap won’t hurt, right?”

There was no one around—not even her aunt and uncle, the caretakers.

No one would know. It’s not like swimming a lap would damage anything. Even if she stayed in the pool all night, no one would ever find out as long as she kept quiet.

Unable to resist the temptation, Gayoung approached the pool and began to undress.

She wore a single dress, with underwear beneath. At first, she thought about swimming in her underwear, but changed her mind.

No one would be passing by this remote mountain at night, and even if they did, the villa was completely walled in. The only witness was the moon.

She left her three garments neatly rolled up under the sunbed.

Feeling a sudden self-consciousness under the moonlight, Gayoung quickly jumped into the water.

SPLASH!

The pool was even deeper than it looked. Panic surged through her as she flailed in the water—but her face soon surfaced.

“At least those swimming classes paid off.”

The panic faded, replaced by a calm joy.

She could manage freestyle and backstroke. She started with freestyle, then switched to backstroke.

Swimming under the dark forest, beneath the white moon, the peace of the night enveloped her. Floating in the water felt like a primal form of bliss.

Her original promise of just one lap became two, then three.

She was halfway through her fourth lap when it happened.

❦

Suddenly, a light flicked on from the first floor of the main house, spilling into the backyard.

Was her aunt and uncle back already?

Gayoung stopped swimming and tried to get out of the pool quickly—but then, all the yard lights surrounding the pool turned on at once.

Panicked, she hurried to the nearest corner of the pool.

It was probably her aunt or uncle, but she needed to hide first.

They would scold her for using the pool without permission. She braced herself for that and planned to ask for their understanding.

But before she could fully gather her thoughts, she heard the sharp click of dress shoes on the polished granite.

A small stroke of luck amidst misfortune: the edge of the pool jutted inward by about 15 centimeters. Decorative features added more shadow, and there was a safety bar she could grip.

Submerged up to her neck, she slowly turned her head—and froze.

A man she didn’t recognize stood there.

Judging by the suit, he was clearly no thief or criminal.

He strolled confidently to the poolside, scanning the area with a calm gaze, as if to declare, This place is mine.

Who is he?

One thing was clear: he was very tall. Though backlit and hard to see clearly, he seemed to be in his late twenties to early thirties, and strikingly handsome.

She had seen photos of the GB Group chairman in newspapers, but this man didn’t match anyone she knew.

Gayoung pressed herself even closer to the pool wall.

When she glanced back at the man, what she saw made her jaw drop.

He was undressing. Jacket off. Unbuttoning his shirt while unfastening his belt. In one smooth motion, he took off everything.

Even his underwear.

Gasp!

She clamped a hand over her mouth to stop the scream.

What had she just seen?

It felt like an illusion crafted by moonlight or her own imagination—a hyper-realistic statue come to life.

SPLASH!

He dove into the pool.

Unlike Gayoung’s clumsy entrance, his dive was clean and professional. Emerging from the water, he began cutting powerful strokes across the pool. He reached the far end in no time.

While Gayoung pressed her face to the wall, the man turned and swam back just as gracefully.

She didn’t even dare breathe.

A girl hiding in the corner of a pool, a man confidently swimming naked—they couldn’t be more different, yet they shared one thing: both were completely nude.

She absolutely couldn’t be discovered. If this man found out, she’d want to bite off her tongue from the shame.

He continued swimming, thoroughly enjoying himself.

She lost count of how many laps he did—at least five minutes passed, the sound of water cutting echoing continuously.

It was still early July, far from a heat wave. Staying submerged without moving made her body break out in goosebumps.

As her hands numbed from the cold, she shifted her grip on the safety bar—and then splash, a small noise escaped.

A mistake she should never have made.

“You. Who are you?”

The deep, resonant voice shattered the silence of the pool.

Eyes wide with dread, Gayoung slowly turned her head.

Only two meters away stood the man—with a face as flawless as the rest of him.