I quickly dived underwater and pulled Ye-rin, who was sinking, back to the surface.

Whether she had lost consciousness or not, she remained limp like a lifeless body while I dragged her to shore.

‘A girl who swims so well, why!?’

There was no time to solve the mystery or to catch my breath.

The only thought dominating my mind was to save Ye-rin, and that fueled my exhausted body with new energy.

“Si-hyun, what’s going on?!”

As we reached the shore, our classmates started gathering one by one. I told one of them to call an ambulance, then brought my fingers to Ye-rin’s mouth.

‘She’s not breathing..’

The desperate reality made me bow my head in despair. At the same time, I noticed her legs coming into view.

As I hadn’t seen before while dragging her to shore, there was a whip-like scar on her leg. Something tentacle-like was attached to her leg.

‘Could she have been stung by a jellyfish!?’

If that was the case, it made sense why Ye-rin, even with her excellent swimming skills, ended up nearly drowning.

The situation was rapidly worsening. There was no time to hesitate any longer.

One. Two. Three.

Carefully, so as not to put too much pressure on her ribs, I used the heel of my hand to compress her chest.

With each push, her body jerked, but her eyes remained closed.

“Han Ye-rin, come on, wake up!”

Where is the ambulance?

Despite knowing that it's only been a short while since the call for help, anxiety kept eating away at me.

Until the rescue team arrives, I have to keep Ye-rin’s lifeline intact somehow.

‘I will save you, just hang in there a little longer!’

After thirty chest compressions, I tilted her chin to secure her airway.

Then, I placed my palm on her forehead, pinching her nose shut with my thumb and index finger.

“Damn it, seriously…”

All that's left is to breathe oxygen into her through my mouth.

Though I knew I didn't have time for such thoughts, I couldn’t help feeling guilty about giving her mouth-to-mouth.

“I'll take all the scolding later if I have to, just hang in there a bit more!”

I pressed my lips to Ye-rin’s parted lips.

As I exhaled, I could see her chest rise and fall.

Twice a second. Quickly pulling away, I pressed my lips to hers once more.

‘Please, wake up..’

She remained motionless, so I began chest compressions again.

The thought of never seeing her playful smile or her happily eating food again filled me with indescribable fear.

“I promise I will save you.”

Tears of desperation rolled down my cheeks.

After another thirty compressions, gasping for breath, I didn’t waste a moment before sealing my lips to hers once more.

Sohui, having sent her friends ahead, stayed back at the lodging to prepare refreshments.

She loved looking at the sea but didn't enjoy going into the water, so she focused on making sure her friends had a good time.

‘It’s okay, I can join in the fun during the evening.’

Feeling that missing out on playing in the sea will be made up for during the barbecue or drinking games later.

Having made her decision, Sohui transferred the packs into the cooler.

Just as she was filling four insulated bottles with various drinks, she thought of her best friend.

‘Come to think of it, how is Chae-yeon doing?’

Sohui had watched closely as Chae-yeon alternated her gaze between her own bikini and Si-hyun, a determined expression on her face.

Although she didn’t know what had prompted this change, it seemed Chae-yeon was no longer going to wait for Si-hyun to approach her.

Hoping that whatever Chae-yeon did would result in something good, Sohui cheered her on.

Bang!

"Sohui!"

Startled by the loud slam of the front door, Sohui spilled the orange juice she was pouring all over the table.

"Oh my goodness..."

Wondering who would be venting their anger on the door, Sohui wiped the table with a cloth before peeking her head out from the kitchen. Upon seeing who it was, her eyes widened in surprise.

"Chae-yeon! Why are you back so early?"

Expecting Chae-yeon to be happily spending time with Si-hyun, Sohui was puzzled about why she had returned alone to the pension.

Seeing the sadness mixed in Chae-yeon's expression, she instantly realized Chae-yeon's plan had failed.

Returning with a blank face, Chae-yeon spoke in a flat voice.

“It took longer than I thought, so I came back to help.”

"R-right? I was just in need of some extra hands, so that’s great..."

Forcing an awkward smile, Sohui let Chae-yeon into the kitchen.

As she filled the drinks, holding the containers with trembling hands, she asked, “Chae-yeon, did something bad happen?”

“No, nothing."

Chae-yeon's face remained cold, yet her expression was unusually dark.

‘Something must have happened with Si-hyun...’

Figuring out the rough outline of the situation, a creeping sense of guilt stirred within Sohui’s heart.

In her heart, Sohui wanted to do something to help, but she was aware that her options were limited.

'No matter how much I beg Si-hyun, things won’t change unless Chae-yeon changes her attitude...'

Although she had tried to create opportunities for them to talk, it had only led to further deterioration in Si-hyun and Chae-yeon's relationship.

Even if they miraculously reconciled, there was a high chance they would break up again soon.

So, what could Sohui herself do?

'Chae-yeon needs to realize Si-hyun's worth and let go of her pride...'

Of course, changing someone's personality isn't easy. But if Chae-yeon could lower her pride even a little, sincerely apologize, and promise to treat him kindly in the future?

Sohui believed there was still a chance for them to work things out.

'Alright... Let's do this!'

Determined to help her friends reunite, Sohui steeled herself.

Then, she carefully dropped the bait for Chae-yeon.

"By the way, Chae-yeon, did you know that Si-hyun is often talked about among our female classmates these days?"

"...What are they saying?"

With a furrowed brow, Chae-yeon took the bait. Hurriedly pouring the drinks, she focused on Sohui's words.

"Well... They say he's quite a catch as a man, or that he's secretly dating Ye-rin... Those kinds of things."

Sohui wasn't lying.

Among their female classmates, Si-hyun's reputation was indeed climbing day by day.

Despite Chae-yeon's constant demanding behavior, he endured it and remained devoted to her as her boyfriend.

With his patience and unwavering love, Si-hyun was practically certified as a top-tier boyfriend.

'And the rumor about his secret relationship with Ye-rin is true...'

This was the reason Sohui brought it up. It was because she hoped Chae-yeon would wake up and realize the danger of losing him.

If things stayed as they were, she might lose him for good, and Sohui wanted Chae-yeon to change her behavior towards Si-hyun.

Crack.

Was it effective? The empty plastic bottle Chae-yeon was holding crumpled under her grip.

Sohui, observing this reaction closely, cautiously probed further.

"Chae-yeon, are you okay? If things keep going like this..."

After a deliberate pause to heighten the anxiety, she continued.

"Si-hyun might really go to another woman."

With Sohui's sincere warning, Chae-yeon recalled what happened at the beach.

Even though she tried to lure him, Si-hyun firmly rejected her. And she remembered how embarrassed he was by Ye-rin in her swimsuit.

For Chae-yeon, who wished to rekindle their relationship, these were alarming signs that made her anxious.

"No, I'm not okay..."

Chae-yeon's hand, holding the plastic bottle, began to tremble. Repeating that she wasn't okay, tears started to well up in her eyes, which Sohui noticed.

'Chae-yeon...'

Although Sohui wanted to comfort her seemingly about-to-break-down friend immediately, doing so would not achieve her original goal.

Resolute in her conviction, Sohui spoke again with difficulty.

"If you're not okay, you need to hold on to him from now on. But for that, you have to be kind to Si-hyun. Instead, you've been irritable and snapping at him. You fight over the smallest things… Do you think he'll want to come back to you if you're like that?"

As Sohui's valid criticism hit home, tears that had been welling up in Chae-yeon's eyes started to fall. The plastic bottle she was holding dropped, and she slowly sank to the ground.

Hugging her stomach with both arms, her lips and chin trembled as she spoke.

"I don't want to fight with Si-hyun either... I want to be good to him and tell him I love him. But whenever I see him, I can't get the words out..."

Sohui was taken aback, breaking into a cold sweat. She had expected Chae-yeon to blame Si-hyun, but her reaction was completely unexpected.

'Could this really be Chae-yeon's true feelings?'

There were too many things that didn’t make sense for that to be the case.

If she liked him, she should just say so. Why couldn't she?

Why was she always so harsh to Si-hyun and had never been kind to him even once?

'I really don’t understand...'

Even though they had been friends for a long time and Sohui thought she knew almost everything about Chae-yeon, it seemed she didn't know her at all.

What could possibly be the reason for this?

Sitting down next to Chae-yeon, Sohui asked gently.

"Why can't you say it? If you like Si-hyun, just tell him honestly."

Chae-yeon didn't respond. She just shook as she continued to cry.

"Is it something you can't talk about?"

Chae-yeon, sniffing, looked at Sohui. She nodded and, after some time, just as she was about to speak...

Bang!

"My, my phone!"

Their classmate, Na-hyun, came in, panting heavily.

Hurriedly finding her phone, she cried out in a frantic voice.

"Someone's drowning! The kid isn't breathing... What? The location... the location is..."

Sohui and Chae-yeon looked at each other in shock.

‘Who could have drowned?’

As soon as the call ended, they asked urgently.

"Na-hyun, who's drowning!?"

Na-hyun quickly answered as she rushed out the door.

"It's Ye-rin!"

Ye-rin, at the center of the love triangle, was drowning. The two women's jaws dropped, and without a moment's hesitation, they hurriedly left the lodging.

"Oh no!! Ye-rin, Ye-rin!"

"When’s the ambulance coming?"

"I just called! They said it'll take around 4 minutes!"

As soon as they stepped outside, frantic voices of their friends echoed everywhere. To quickly grasp the situation, Sohui and Chae-yeon headed to the lookout point overlooking the beach.

"There they are!"

Following the direction of Sohui's pointing finger, they could see their classmates gathered in a circle. Was Ye-rin in the center of that circle? The friends surrounding her were all busy screaming at each other.

"What... what should we do, Chae-yeon? Is there anything we can do to help?"

Sohui asked Chae-yeon, stamping her feet anxiously.

But...

Chae-yeon just stared down blankly. Her face was growing increasingly pale, and with her fists clenched to her chest, she slowly shook her head.

"No... please stop!!"

Then, she began to back away, and without realizing her slipper had come off, she ran towards the stone steps.

"Chae-yeon!"

Sohui tried to catch her, but Chae-yeon was already too far away.

For a moment, Sohui just watched her retreating figure, trying to understand why Chae-yeon had suddenly reacted that way. She looked down from the spot where Chae-yeon had been standing.

"What did she see?"

Unlike her own spot, here she could clearly see Ye-rin in the center. Squinting because her vision wasn't great, Sohui leaned forward for a closer look. Then, the scene came into focus clearly...

Seeing the same scene that Chae-yeon had, Sohui's legs gave out.

"No way..."

Si-hyun was performing CPR on Ye-rin, who was lying on the ground. As soon as he finished the chest compressions, he tilted her chin up...

Without any hesitation, he pressed his lips to hers.