The sea rippled darkly.

The night air was more humid and heavy than usual. Would it rain? Clouds had gathered thickly in the sky, but moonlight shattered and sparkled across the waves below.

She would always just watch Kian secretly from behind rocks. Now she was walking alongside him on the coral beach. In a way, it felt like a novel experience.

How strange. She always thought keeping pace with Kian was burdensome. Today, matching his stride felt remarkably easy.

Perhaps because Kian was adjusting his pace for her. This unfamiliar behavior made Vivianne feel peculiar.

Kian remained silent as we walked. Between them, only the crunching sound of sand breaking underfoot and the splashing waves circled around.

Vivianne stopped only after Kian had already halted.

“What is it, Kian?”

“I’m keeping my promise.”

“Promise?”

“We agreed to practice waltz. Have you forgotten already?”

The waltz lessons had been suspended indefinitely. I thought we would never dance together again.

Apparently, he hadn’t forgotten.

“Lady Vivianne. May I have this dance?”

Kian extended his hand politely. Vivianne felt bewildered by the sudden invitation.

“…But there’s no music.”

The waltz instructor always came with a piano player. When the keyboard melody flowed, we naturally surrendered our bodies to it and danced. This felt odd.

“Who needs such things?”

When she hesitated momentarily, Kian gently took her hand.

“Come on, listen carefully.”

Splash— Whoosh—

Splash— Whoosh—

The waves collided and broke, creating a rhythmic cadence.

Still, it felt somewhat ambiguous.

“If you’re unsure, you can follow my lead.”

“I’m quite good, you know?”

After retorting primly, she recalled the basic waltz rhythm the instructor had taught.

…One, two, three.

Two, two, three.

One, two, three.

Two, two, three….

Splash— Whoosh—

Splash— Whoosh—

Listening alongside the sound of waves, it seemed to match reasonably well.

“For someone who claims to be good, you’re taking a long time to prepare.”

“Let’s start. Now.”

Following his lead, Vivianne naturally began to surrender herself to the dance.

His firm arm supported her waist, while their hands clasped together.

Before she knew it, she had forgotten about counting beats and melted into the splashing sound of waves. Though her shoes sank into the sand, she didn’t mind.

…He had suddenly changed.

Was Kian truly caring for her as Matilda had said? Was giving her contraceptives also to protect her?

Somehow, there was an inexplicable sense of discomfort that made it difficult to accept.

But with his continued kindness, it seemed to be true.

Even the memory of crying as though the world was collapsing now felt distant.

“You dance well.”

“I dance well on flat ground. Right now it’s because of the sand.”

“Isn’t that the same for me too?”

He’s teasing me. Since I boasted about being good, I needed to live up to it.

“Just a moment.”

Vivianne paused briefly, removed her shoes, placed them neatly to the side, and took Kian’s hand again. Feeling the soft coral sand crumble beneath her feet, she danced back and forth under the moonlight.

“How is it?”

“Your skill doesn’t seem much different, but it’s certainly more enjoyable to watch.”

“How cruel.”

Though she wanted to retort, Kian was undeniably flawless and skilled.

Still, he had kept his promise, even if belatedly. It felt like her hurt feelings were healing a little.

Tap.

A cold droplet fell on her cheek. Startled, Vivianne flinched.

Must be my imagination. Just as she thought this, another thicker droplet moistened her cheek.

By the time she wondered if it was raining, countless raindrops were already falling.

“Follow me.”

What should I do? Before she could think, she was running somewhere, led by his hand.

* * *

The place they hurriedly entered was old, narrow, and dark.

Outside, heavy rain was pouring down. When Kian closed the door at the entrance, everything went pitch black for a moment.

The air had felt heavy, but she hadn’t expected such a downpour to suddenly start. Summer weather was truly unpredictably capricious.

That aside, the Larson mansion wasn’t far from the coral beach. Why had they come here instead of returning home?

A strange space she had never visited before.

In the darkness without a single candle, there were only Kian and Vivianne.

“…W-where are we, Kian?”

Vivianne asked with a trembling voice.

“A lighthouse.”

“Why here…?”

“We can’t get completely soaked… we need to take shelter for a while.”

Though she agreed with Kian’s words, listening to the fierce rain in this place without a speck of light gave her a somewhat desolate feeling.

They were still holding hands. She could feel Kian’s fingertips growing cold. Suddenly, she recalled his suffering on that rainy night. The blood drained from Vivianne’s face.

“Shall I help you?”

“…Stop.”

His low voice was already trembling slightly.

“It’s just a passing shower. So… don’t make a fuss and stay quiet.”

Seeing him struggling to maintain composure, Vivianne decided to observe his condition for now.

Contrary to his prediction, the rain didn’t stop for quite some time.

Was he shivering from getting wet?

Or was it fear?

Even trying to suppress it, his knees wobbled and shoulders trembled violently. Kian seemed equally anxious. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could faintly make out what looked like stairs.

“…Seems like it’ll take a while.”

He exhaled a faint sigh and rubbed his face with his hands.

“Sit down for now. I’ll look for candles.”

Vivianne obediently sat on the stairs. She couldn’t take her eyes off his back as he searched for candles in the darkness, looking somehow vulnerable.

Crash-!

Something shattered, and Kian stood there looking dazed. Vivianne reflexively embraced his waist from behind. He tried to twist away, but she held him more firmly.

“…It’s just a shower, Kian.”

Burying her face against his solid back, she felt a slight trembling along with the sound of his heart racing: thump, thump.

“It’ll stop soon. We don’t need light.”

A brief silence fell between them. With a long sigh, his back expanded greatly and then deflated.

“Vivianne.”

A low chuckle scattered from his lips as he called her name rather than her nickname.

Vivianne’s eyes widened slightly.

“I told you to sit down.”

“F-forget the candles, j-just stay beside me, Kian. I’m c-cold.”

She had hoped to persuade him to sit down that way. He removed her arms from around his waist and turned around.

Their gazes met in the dark void. There was an unfamiliar intensity in his eyes that had seemed only black before.

Rumble! Boom!

Just then came a thunderous sound like the sky was collapsing. Kian collapsed to the floor.

“…K-Kian!”

Vivianne wrapped her arms around his huddled body. Was he anxious like that time? He had his head bowed down and was breathing heavily, unlike his usual self. His entire body was trembling violently, and she could feel cold sweat seeping through.

“It’ll pass soon. I’ll… stay beside you and protect you.”

“…You’ll get hurt, so leave. If I’m alone for a while…”

His voice came out strained. Though her heart sank, she wanted to calm him somehow.

“Kian… it’ll be alright, just breathe slowly…”

“…I said get out!”

He staggered to his feet and roughly pushed Vivianne outside the lighthouse.

Bang! When she turned around, the lighthouse door was already firmly shut.

“Kian!”

It’s locked. She tried knocking and opening the door, but it was useless.

She had seen it before and knew his claim that he would be fine alone was a lie.

What should I do? The iron door seemed impossible to break through like last time. The heavy rain soaked her completely, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave. Vivianne also slumped down with her back against the door.

Suddenly she looked at her wrist.

The lace ribbon Kian had tied was thoroughly soaked and clung to her skin pathetically.

“Hic, huu…”

Sobs burst forth foolishly.

Kian was in such pain. And there was nothing she could do.

Remembering how he had stayed by her side all night when she was sick made her chest ache as though she were being stabbed.

Vivianne tightly closed her eyes as she faced the fierce downpour.

Yes. Back then… when she sang to him, he had calmed down a little.

Sobbing, she began to sing.

Though she felt like fainting from the cold, she sang endlessly to provide even a little help.

Hoping her voice would somehow reach Kian inside the lighthouse.