CHAPTER 2: Island of Pleasure (Part 5)

The summer vacation came for Moon-kyeong, who had been busy with a tight schedule of overseas performances.

She planned to spend this vacation doing nothing but lying in bed all day.

Lying persistently enough not to know whether the sun rose or set. She had plans to indulge in hearty late-night snacks when darkness fell.

Last weekend, while having dinner together, Lee Hee-jin suggested going to Ibiza Island in Spain for summer vacation, but Moon-kyeong declined.

Hye-ran would have fainted if she heard about it, but it was a vacation and she wanted to relax.

She didn’t want to be dragged there and had to cater to Lee Hee-jin, who had no brain and only knew how to sleep with men.

Unexpectedly, a phone call from Bora interrupted Moon-kyeong’s sleep. Her cell phone rang non stop as she stretched out on the bed, not even bothering to clean up the leftover cup noodles.

Unable to ignore the call, she picked up, and heard Hye-ran’s voice on the other end.

• Professor, she’s at the airport.

“What?”

• She’s taking this vacation to go to Moscow, where you are.

Moon-kyeong, who had heard nothing from Hye-ran, was taken aback and quickly got up from her seat. She immediately called Hye-ran and fortunately, she was still at the airport.

“Mom?”

• Yeah, did you hear?.Mom is going to you. I miss you. We haven’t seen each other in a while.

Chewing on her lip, Moon-kyeong finally managed to say Lee Hee-jin’s name.

“Uh, well. Hee-jin asked me to go to Ibiza, Spain with her for a summer vacation.”

• Really? When?

“Tomorrow, we talked about it last week, but I forgot, I’ve been a bit absent-minded lately because of the performances. I’m sorry.”

There was a strong sense of hesitation on the other end, as if this was an unexpected retaliation. 

After a moment of silence, Hye-ran spoke up.

• It won’t be just the two of you going, and don’t play around recklessly. Do you understand what I mean?

“Yeah, I do.”

• Alright. Pick out something to wear on the trip right now, take a picture and send it to me.

“Okay.”

As soon as she hung up the phone, Hye-ran deposited a large sum of money into Moon-kyeong’s bank account. Even if one roughly estimated the expenses used by conglomerate heirs during summer vacation, it was still a significant amount.

“Looks like I have another debt to repay.”

Moon-kyeong packed up the luggage she hadn’t finished unpacking yet and headed straight to Spain where Hee-jin was. 

To the island of Ibiza, the mecca of clubbers and paradise of pleasures.

When she arrived at the accommodation, a day had already passed.

Three men and two women. Ah, including herself, the pairs matched now.

Then again. Three men, three women. And yet, Hee-jin had rented a mansion with more than eight rooms.

The other woman was a familiar face, but the two men were strangers. One of them was Russian, but regardless, they were both too loud.

Hee-jin gestured to Moon-kyeong.

“He’s a model, and he’s a hockey player.”

It seemed like she was asking Moon-kyeong to choose the one whose vibe she liked. Disliking noisiness, Moon-kyeong, unquestioningly chose the third man.

It didn’t matter who he was, she thought, as long as their mood matched, but she hoped the third guy would be quieter.

As she set down her luggage, Moon-kyeong asked,

“What about the third guy?”

Lee Hee-jin, sitting on the couch in a bikini, rolling a wine glass, smiled strangely.

“Kim Seojun.”

For a moment, her breath caught. She couldn’t show any change in expression, so Moon-kyeong casually opened the living room window wide.

The pouring sunlight and the warm air engulfed her at once. Without asking, Hee-jin spoke again from behind.

“I thought I’d give it one last try and made another offer, and well, he came.”

Moon-kyeong now realized that Hee-jin’s words at the club were a lie.

With as little emotion as possible in her voice, she asked dryly, 

“I thought you said he was gay?”

Hee-jin stood up calmly and whistled.

“Well, maybe he’s changed.”

At that moment, Seojun came through the door, shirtless and wearing only short shorts.

Moon-kyeong had thought of him as just having a masculine physique, but his upper body was much more toned and finely muscled than that.

She’d seen so many ballerinas n*ked, she shouldn’t have found anything out of the ordinary, but once again, her breath caught in her throat.

As the sticky heat from the island of pl*asure drenched her cheek, his gaze seemed to turn in her direction.

“Senior.”

Hee-jin, with her voice a tone higher than usual when addressing him, leaned close to him and linked arms with him.

Moon-kyeong blankly stared at the backs of the two climbing the stairs together.

Her ego, which she had endlessly pushed down without knowing its lofty heights, now arched like a projectile. Anger rose from the tips of her toes.

“Sh*t…….”

Jealousy and resentment.

Between these two conflicting emotions, Moon-kyeong was just confused.

* * *

The island of Ibiza, a Mediterranean paradise where parties never stop day or night, was truly a haven for young people.

The lifestyle of sleeping during the day and waking up intensely at night was quite unfamiliar to Moon-kyeong.

Last night, Hee-jin and others went out to enjoy a foam party.

Using the excuse of being tired from the long flight starting from overseas performances. Moon-kyeong stayed in her room alone.

A day later, at around 1 p.m., she was the only one awake.

“Should I try some coffee?”

As she made an iced coffee with plenty of ice, she looked for a string to tie up her hair, which had been bothering her since earlier.

She tied her hair back into a loose bun with a floral towel that happened to be in the kitchen.

After downing the freshly made coffee in one shot, she felt a refreshing sensation piercing through her chest. She placed the empty cup on the shelf and walked over to the window.

The beach in the distance was as deserted as ever, and she wondered where all the people she’d seen last night had gone.

When the clock struck 3 p.m., the Russian male model approached Moon-kyeong, who was awake alone.

Even though his clothes concealed his figure, his long and slender arms and a well-proportioned physique seemed to capture her attention.

“You’re a ballerina, aren’t you?”

“Yep. Is there a problem?”

“Of course not. Just curious. Since you’re a ballerina, you must be good at dancing. How about going out together when it gets dark tonight?”

Moon-kyeong shook her head hastily.

“I don’t like dancing.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t like it. Sorry.”

“Okay.”

Russians are known for their initial stoicism.

With Lee Hee-jin’s other girl friend picking the hockey player, the Russian model naturally became Moon-kyeong’s supposed pair. Fortunately, he wasn’t as loud as his first impression.

He didn’t insist on Moon-kyeong, who made it clear several times that she had no intention of hanging out with him or sleeping with him.

After he disappeared from her sight, she stood at the sink to wash her empty coffee cup.

As she turned on the water and gave the cup a quick rinse, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

Tap, tap, tap.

Since arriving here last night, Moon-kyeong had never gone upstairs to the second floor. Only Hee-jin and Kim Seojun could climb the stairs from this place. They were the only ones.

It felt like an unwritten rule. Even Lee Hee-jin’s other friend always stayed on the first floor.

On several occasions, during her brief awakenings after dawn, Moon-kyeong had heard young men and women running up the stairs.

Lee Hee-jin must have been drunk, and Kim Seojun…….

What would he look like? 

At the thought of being fixated on Kim Seojun again, Moon-kyeong felt a sense of resentment.

Stop thinking, Seo Moon-kyeong. 

Remember what he said to you.

[Do you get w*t down there when you look at me?]

As his words came to mind, her cheeks quickly turned red. Meanwhile, the noise that had been coming from the stairs was getting closer.

Could it be him? Then I shouldn’t look back. It’s okay, I just have to act like I don’t care.

Having already washed the cup several times, Moon-kyeong stood still in that spot absentmindedly.

Mixed with the sound of water, footsteps from someone approached and stopping directly behind her back. The silhouette behind her didn’t move.

Unconsciously, Moon-kyeong turned around. It wasn’t Kim Seojun, but Lee Hee-jin.

She playfully poked Moon-kyeong with a mischievous, unfamiliar face.

“Boo!”

“….”

“What? No fun. Why aren’t you surprised? Did you think it was me?”

Moon-kyeong turned around again, placing the cup on the shelf, and responded nonchalantly. In reality, she was deeply disappointed but pretended otherwise.

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you come yesterday? I told you to come even if it’s late. Do you know how amazing last night was?”

“I heard.”

Lee Hee-jin lifted her feet and whispered in Moon-kyeong’s ear.

“I kissed Senior last night.”