CF Chapter 4

“…?”

 

Yudam glanced down at herself, puzzled by the man’s intense gaze. He was staring directly at her chest.

 

Not understanding why, she slowly followed the line of his sight.

 

Her left breast, the spot where her name tag was pinned.

 

A dull gold plate, reflected clearly in the polished lenses of his glasses.

 

“Ah.”

 

The man dropped his arm to the side of the chair. As his broad shoulders shifted, the open collar of his shirt revealed a tattoo carved across his collarbone.

 

That…

 

Yudam held her breath, eyes fixed on the tangled lines of ink.

 

Then, his sharp brows softened into a gentle curve. Like a warm breeze settling, the icy look behind his glasses melted.

 

His ashen eyes narrowed, and at the same time, the corners of his crimson lips lifted, slow and high, into a smile drenched in rapture.

 

The transformation was startling.

 

His expression bloomed like a newly opened flower, so radiant, it even seemed a little shy.

 

A man impossible to read had, in an instant, become a boy washed in sunlight.

 

His sudden shift made it impossible to guess his age. Yudam blinked in disbelief.

 

She hadn’t known a person could smile so sweetly.

 

That indescribable bliss radiating from him sent a jolt through her, like a seeker who, after a lifetime of hide-and-seek, had finally found his mark.

 

And then, belatedly, a chill scraped across her skin.

 

A terror unlike any she had ever known, not even when her parents died, not even facing loan sharks, crept over her in a cold, primal wave.

 

It was the kind of fear one feels when faced with something utterly incomprehensible.

 

She instinctively stepped back, trying to put distance between them.

 

“Jin Yudam?”

 

Her name sliced through the air, striking her ear with eerie precision.

 

He said it clearly, syllable by syllable, a dazzling smile painted on his lips.

 

His wide mouth stretched, repeating it again and again.

 

“Jin Yudam… Yudam.”

 

Not fast, not slow, just like a predator savoring its kill, chewing it over and over before swallowing.

 

Each time he repeated her name, his smile deepened, becoming blinding in its intensity.

 

He stood there, glowing with sunlight, while Yudam’s back crawled with cold, as if a snake were slithering up her spine.

 

Her own name, so familiar, so intimately hers, now sounded foreign, even wrong.

 

“Yes, of course. I should give you what you need.”

 

Whether she turned pale or not, the man’s voice brimmed with excitement as he reached into his jacket and pulled out his wallet.

Fingers plunged in, pulling out a thick wad of bills.

 

Yudam stared at the cash he offered, a conflicted expression on her face.

 

An amount she’d never even touched in her life. Even at a glance, it was far too dangerous whether she accepted it or not.

 

Still beaming, the man held it out to her.

 

But something about it, about him, made her recoil.

 

She didn’t want to take anything from this man, no matter the amount.

 

And yet, she knew, this would mark the end. If she wanted to escape, she had to take it.

 

“…Thank you.”

 

Yudam accepted the tip and stepped away quietly.

 

Pulling her empty trolley behind her, she left the lounge. But even then, his eyes trailed her like a shadow, persistent and hungry.

 

She quickened her pace, trying to stay ahead of the eyes that clung to her heels.

 

Was it those eyes that made her feel this way?

 

Like her legs were tangled, like a snake had coiled around her ankles.

 

The image of him, glasses shimmering under moonlight on the open sea, whispering her name, burned into her mind.

 

Yu, for blooming flowers. Dam, for depth.

 

A name her parents had given her, hoping she’d live a life as warm and vibrant as a deep spring in full bloom.

 

But when he said it… she felt as if she’d been hurled onto the coldest floor of winter.

 

A strange shiver ran down her spine.

 

Does he know me?

 

But no, Yudam had no memory of such a man.

 

He was not the kind of face one would forget.

 

His age was impossible to guess.

 

Why had he said her name that way?

 

She didn’t even know his name.

They’d only just met, barely crossed paths at a flowerbed, if it had even been him.

 

Maybe he was filing a complaint?

 

Then why… had he smiled at her like that?

 

Even if he’d met a long-lost brother returned from the dead, he couldn’t have looked more overjoyed.

 

Even a clown under flickering lights in a closed amusement park would’ve been less unsettling.

 

His afterimage haunted her like a nightmare.

 

He’s just… insane.

 

People always said you meet all sorts on a cruise.

 

They weren’t wrong.

 

 

 

⚜︎ ⚜︎ ⚜︎

 

 

 

She wondered if she might be summoned by a superior, but even the next day passed in silence. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to ask if a complaint had been filed. No need to stir up trouble that hadn’t yet come.

 

Yudam, who had ended up being the last to clock out due to a delay in cleanup, was finally able to leave after retrieving her phone.

 

She was making her way wearily toward the staff quarters when a shadow blocked her path.

Her day wasn’t over yet.

 

She looked up, and saw the face she’d been expecting.

 

The man, reeking of alcohol, thrust out a hand as if she had something of his. Yudam stared at it without moving.

 

She hadn’t boarded this ship alone.

 

There was nowhere to run in the middle of the vast sea, and yet they’d still assigned someone to watch her.

 

Not to prevent escape, but to make sure she didn’t throw everything away and fling herself into the ocean.

 

And also…

 

“Got anything?”

 

no doubt with the petty goal of pocketing her tips too.

 

The watcher showed up like clockwork around the time of her shift change, demanding everything she’d earned that day.

 

It was money she owed anyway. But not even being able to hold on to it for a few hours made it all the more hollow.

 

Yudam’s fingers twitched at the hem of her skirt.

 

“I said, got anything?”

 

With a low growl of impatience, the man prompted her again. Yudam slipped a hand into her skirt pocket, pulled out the cash she could feel, and handed it over.

 

“…Here.”

 

“This all of it?”

 

“Yes.”

 

She nodded, keeping her tone flat and her expression neutral, just as she always did.

 

The man still eyed her suspiciously, scanning her face for any sign of a lie. She’d expected this too.

 

Yudam reached into her pocket again.

 

This time, she used both hands and turned them inside out, yanking the fabric to show they were empty.

 

Only when the inverted pockets were in plain view did the man finally relax.

 

He licked his fingers and began counting the bills one by one.

 

Yudam fought to keep her face composed as he worked. Tips varied by day, but this amount should pass without raising further doubt.

 

She ignored the crawling itch on her back and forced her entire body into stillness.

 

“Hey.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You were in the lounge today, right?”

 

“Yes, that’s right. I got almost everything there.”

 

She’d expected this line of questioning too. Yudam answered honestly and without hesitation.

 

This man made it his business to track her every move, of course he’d know she’d been in the lounge.

 

It wasn’t a lie.

 

“And that’s all you got from there?”

 

“Yes.”

 

This part was a lie.

 

Not that she was great at it, but she pulled it off without blinking.

 

After all, he was just a loan shark’s thug.

 

No way he’d be able to question that man, the one in the premium lounge.

 

The tip she’d received from that man had been far beyond anything she’d ever earned.

 

She had sneaked into the restroom and counted it in secret.

3.2 million won.

 

The wad had felt thick, but the sum had shocked her.

 

Yudam had hidden 100,000 won under her blouse and placed the rest in her pocket.

 

She planned to send it along with the loan payment on payday, money for her brother.

 

“Some of it came from elsewhere too. It’s all mixed together.”

 

Bills and checks were jumbled anyway, so the explanation would sound plausible.

 

Lying was one thing, skimming off money was another. It made her nervous.

 

She was terrified she might look suspicious without realizing it.

 

But when she thought of her brother, she couldn’t give it all up.

 

She just wanted him to have at least one proper meal.

 

She’d agonized over whether to keep 200,000 instead of 100,000.

 

In the end, to avoid raising suspicions, she had settled on handing over 3.1 million instead of a clean 3.2.

 

“I see. That so?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Please, just let this be enough.

 

“I gave you everything I have. Really.”

 

Yudam kept her voice even, careful not to let her desperation show.

 

“All right. Get going.”

 

At last, permission was granted.

 

She exhaled quietly in relief and stepped aside to pass him.

 

But then….

 

“Wait.”