Chapter 14

Chapter 14: The Ex-Girlfriend Fears Losing Her Ex-Boyfriend

—

I dived into the water and quickly pulled Yerin up, who had been sinking deeper into the sea.

She hung limply, like a lifeless doll, as I dragged her toward the shore.

‘She’s an excellent swimmer—how could this happen?’

There was no time to answer my questions or even catch my breath.

All that mattered was saving Yerin, and that thought alone filled my exhausted body with renewed energy.

“Si-hyun, what’s going on?!”

As we reached the sand, classmates began to gather around. I told one of them to call an ambulance, then placed my fingers against Yerin’s lips.

‘She’s not breathing…’

Realizing the severity of the situation, my head sank in despair—until I noticed her legs.

There were welt-like marks across her thighs, almost like whip lashes. Tangled around her legs were faint, tentacle-like strands.

‘Did she… did she get stung by a jellyfish?’

If that was the case, then it made sense why Yerin, a strong swimmer, had nearly drowned.

The situation was turning worse by the second, and I knew I couldn’t afford to hesitate any longer.

Once. Twice. Three times.

Pressing down on her chest, I was careful not to put too much pressure on her ribs.

Her body jerked with each compression, but her eyes remained closed.

“Come on, Han Yerin! Wake up!”

Where was that ambulance? I knew it hadn’t been that long since we called, but every second felt like an eternity.

I couldn’t let go of her life—not until the rescue team arrived.

‘Hang in there, Yerin. I’m going to save you…!’

After thirty compressions, I tilted her chin to open her airway.

With my right hand, I gently pressed her forehead back and pinched her nose shut.

“Damn it…”

All that was left was to breathe air into her mouth.

I knew I didn’t have time to think about it, but guilt prickled at me as I realized what I had to do.

“Yerin… Yell at me later if you want, but hang on just a bit longer!”

Pressing my mouth to hers, I exhaled.

Her chest rose and fell, showing that the air was flowing in.

I repeated the process, pulling back quickly to take another breath before leaning in again.

‘Please, Yerin… Please wake up…’

Still unresponsive, I went back to compressing her chest.

The thought of never seeing her playful smile again, or watching her happily devour food, sent a wave of fear washing over me.

“I’ll save you, I promise.”

As desperation tightened my throat, tears began to stream down my face.

After another thirty compressions, I leaned down to give her another breath without even pausing to catch my own.

—

Meanwhile, So-hee had stayed behind at the pension to prepare drinks while the others went to the beach.

Though she loved watching the sea, she wasn’t fond of going by herself, so she focused on making sure her friends would have a great time.

‘I’ll make up for missing out by having a blast at the BBQ and drinking games tonight.’

Determined to make up for her absence on the beach, So-hee transferred some packs of drinks into the cooler.

As she poured a variety of drinks into four thermoses, she suddenly thought of her best friend.

‘Now that I think about it, I wonder how Chae-yeon’s doing.’

So-hee had seen Chae-yeon’s intense expression as she looked between her bikini and Si-hyun earlier. Something had clearly changed in her; she wasn’t going to just wait for Si-hyun to come to her.

Silently cheering Chae-yeon on, she poured the orange juice into a glass.

Bang!

“Ahhh!”

Startled by the loud slam of the front door, So-hee spilled the orange juice all over the counter.

“Gosh, who’s slamming the door so hard…?”

Curious, So-hee grabbed a cloth to wipe up the spill and peeked her head out from the kitchen.

Seeing who had come in, she widened her eyes.

“Chae-yeon! You’re back already?”

She had expected Chae-yeon to be enjoying herself with Si-hyun right now, so why was she here alone?

So-hee’s question faded as she noticed a hint of sadness on Chae-yeon’s face, and she realized that her friend’s plan had likely failed.

With a blank expression, Chae-yeon spoke in a dull voice.

“It was taking you longer than I thought, so I came to help.”

“O-oh…? Well, I actually could use an extra pair of hands.”

Forcing a smile, So-hee welcomed her into the kitchen.

As Chae-yeon grabbed a thermos with trembling hands and poured the drinks, So-hee asked hesitantly, “Chae-yeon… did something bad happen?”

“No, nothing.”

Her tone was cold, but an unusual darkness clouded her face.

‘Something definitely happened with Si-hyun…’

Guilt started to creep into So-hee’s heart as she pieced together what must have happened. Though she wanted to help her friend somehow, she knew there wasn’t much she could do on her own.

‘No matter how much I beg Si-hyun, nothing will change unless Chae-yeon softens up.’

She’d tried to give them opportunities to talk, but it had only made things worse between them.

Even if by some miracle they got back together, it wouldn’t be long before they broke up again.

So what could she do?

‘I have to make Chae-yeon realize how much Si-hyun means to her and encourage her to let go of her pride…’

Changing someone’s personality wasn’t easy, but if Chae-yeon could lower her guard just a little, apologize sincerely, and promise to be more open and kind to Si-hyun, there was still a chance.

‘Alright… Let’s do this!’

So-hee braced herself, determined to see her friend’s relationship restored.

She threw out a casual bait to see if she could reel Chae-yeon in.

“By the way, Chae-yeon, did you know Si-hyun’s name has been coming up a lot among the girls lately?”

“…What do you mean?”

Chae-yeon’s brow furrowed as she took the bait, setting down the thermos and turning her full attention to So-hee.

“Well… they’ve been saying Si-hyun’s quite a catch as a guy, or that he might be secretly dating Yerin.”

So-hee’s words weren’t just an exaggeration.

Lately, Si-hyun’s reputation among the female classmates had been steadily rising.

Despite Chae-yeon’s constant cold treatment, he’d been nothing but loyal and caring—a boyfriend with endless patience and devotion. Many of the girls considered him the gold standard of a boyfriend.

And truthfully, the rumors about him and Yerin weren’t baseless either.

So-hee had brought up these rumors deliberately, hoping to shake Chae-yeon into action, to make her realize that she could actually lose him if she didn’t change her attitude.

Crack.

It seemed to be working. The empty plastic bottle Chae-yeon had been holding crumpled under her grip.

Watching her reaction carefully, So-hee pressed further.

“Chae-yeon, are you okay with this? If things keep going like this…”

She let the question hang to heighten the tension.

“Si-hyun might really end up with someone else.”

As So-hee’s genuine warning sank in, Chae-yeon recalled the scene from the beach—the way Si-hyun had firmly rejected her advances and then blushed when he saw Yerin in her swimsuit.

For someone hoping to reconcile with him, these were undeniably alarming signs.

“No… I’m not okay.”

Chae-yeon’s hand holding the bottle began to tremble, and her voice, barely above a whisper, repeated her words as her eyes filled with tears.

‘Chae-yeon…’

So-hee wanted to comfort her friend, who looked ready to crumble at any moment, but she knew that doing so now would be counterproductive.

Determined to stay strong, So-hee continued, her voice gentle but firm.

“If you’re not okay with it, then you have to hold onto him. But to do that, you need to start treating him kindly. Stop being so sharp and critical… If you keep fighting with him all the time, do you think he’ll want to come back to you?”

As So-hee spoke, Chae-yeon’s tears finally spilled over, and she let go of the bottle, slowly sinking to the floor.

Hugging her arms tightly around herself, Chae-yeon’s voice trembled as she admitted, “I don’t want to keep fighting with Si-hyun… I want to be good to him. I want to tell him I love him, but whenever I’m in front of him, the words just won’t come out…”

So-hee felt a cold sweat on her back. She’d expected Chae-yeon to blame Si-hyun, but her friend’s honest confession had taken her by surprise.

‘Could this really be Chae-yeon’s true feelings…?’

And yet, there were so many things that just didn’t add up.

If she truly felt this way, why couldn’t she just tell him?

Why was she always so harsh, never once showing him any warmth or affection?

‘I don’t get it at all…’

As Chae-yeon’s long-time friend, So-hee thought she knew her well, but it seemed there was a side to her she didn’t understand.

What could be stopping her from expressing her feelings?

Sitting beside Chae-yeon, So-hee asked gently, “What’s holding you back? If you care about Si-hyun, why not tell him honestly?”

But Chae-yeon didn’t answer. She only sat there, trembling as silent tears fell.

“Is it something you can’t talk about?”

Sniffling, Chae-yeon looked at So-hee. She gave a slight nod, as if the words were too difficult to say, and finally opened her mouth—just as the door burst open.

“My… my phone!”

One of their classmates, Na-hyun, burst in, panting. She quickly snatched up her phone, her voice panicked as she made a call.

“Someone… someone’s drowned! She’s not breathing… What? Our location? It’s…”

So-hee and Chae-yeon exchanged shocked glances.

Someone had drowned? The news hit them like a bolt of lightning, and they both rushed forward to ask as soon as Na-hyun finished the call.

“Na-hyun, who’s drowning?!”

As Na-hyun ran out the door, she yelled over her shoulder.

“It’s Yerin!”

Yerin? Yerin, the girl at the center of their love triangle, was the one who had nearly drowned. The shock left So-hee and Chae-yeon speechless, but they didn’t hesitate. They immediately sprinted out of the pension.

“Oh my God, Yerin! Yerin!”

“Where’s the ambulance?!”

“They said it’ll take about four minutes to get here!”

Outside, their classmates’ frantic voices echoed across the beach. So-hee and Chae-yeon quickly ran to the lookout point that overlooked the beach.

“There, look!”

Following So-hee’s finger, Chae-yeon spotted a crowd of classmates forming a circle near the shoreline. In the center of that circle, they could just barely make out Yerin’s figure. The students surrounding her were shouting in panic.

“What should we do, Chae-yeon? Is there anything we can do to help?”

So-hee nervously bounced on her feet, turning to Chae-yeon for guidance.

But…

Chae-yeon was frozen, staring down at the beach with a pale face, her hand clenched over her heart. She began shaking her head slowly.

“No… please… make it stop…”

As she took a step back, her breathing turned ragged. Then, turning on her heel, she ran toward the stone steps, her flip-flops slipping off without her even noticing.

“Chae-yeon!”

So-hee reached out, but Chae-yeon was already too far away.

Watching her friend retreat, So-hee tried to make sense of Chae-yeon’s sudden reaction. Moving to where she had been standing, she looked down at the beach again to see what had caused her to flee.

“What did she see…?”

From this angle, So-hee could see more clearly into the center of the circle where Yerin lay. Squinting her eyes, she leaned forward to focus. Then, the entire scene came into clear view, and So-hee’s legs buckled under her.

“No way…”

Si-hyun was giving Yerin CPR, his face set with a determined focus. He finished another round of chest compressions, lifted her chin, and—

Without a moment’s hesitation, he pressed his mouth to hers, breathing life back into her.