Splash! 

A lithe young woman dove gracefully into the sea. 

Ah, that was me at eighteen. 

Unlike now, I had a slim, youthful face, with firm lips, thick eyebrows and brown eyes that forgot everything else when they focused. 

Over my black mulsot-jungi (traditional diving suit), I wore a white jeoksam (light top), and a few loose strands of hair floated around my face. 

I dove deeper, prying abalones and conches from the rocks scattered along the seabed. 

Light and shadows danced beautifully across my body in the water. 

Then, the dark shadow of a boat passed overhead. 

A boat? 

Startled, I looked up. 

The shimmering sunlight reflecting off the surface was interrupted by a large black shape sliding in, almost like a whale. 

I quickly turned my body and began swimming upward. 

This was back in the days before rubber suits or fins. 

Even so, my body felt free and light, as though I had become a creature of the sea. 

As I kicked up my pale legs, the startled fish scattered, scurrying in all directions. 

Whoooosh! 

Breaking through the surface with a long exhale, I saw that the older haenyeo—the samchon (aunties)—had already risen from the water and they were shouting angrily. 

“Are you out of your mind? Who brings a boat into a diving site? Are you trying to kill someone?” 

“Is that fool blind or what?” 

“Get out of here right now! Men aren’t allowed in this area!” 

It was a sizable fishing boat, clearly out of place. 

Why had it come into this area, where it wasn’t even following a proper route? 

The fishermen would often make a scene, claiming that women would bring bad luck if they boarded a boat. In turn, the haenyeo, harbouring their own resentments, would make a commotion and hurl insults whenever a fishing boat entered their designated area. 

The foul-mouthed fishermen didn’t back down either. 

When they argued, “This is a path too. We’re allowed to pass,” the haenyeo shouted back, “Didn’t you see our floats on the water? Do you have a death wish today?” 

I poked my head out of the water, watching the heated exchange between the samchon and the fishermen. 

This wasn’t my place to intervene. 

As I playfully blew bubbles into the water brushing against my lips, I saw him. 

The man. 

He was sitting at the back of the fishing boat, leaning casually. 

His white shirt flapped in the wind and his hair was tousled by the breeze. 

He was a man of such elegance that it was impossible to mistake him for a fisherman. 

For a moment, the bubbles I was blowing stopped. 

Unconsciously, my eyes widened. 

In my entire life, I had never seen a man so handsome. 

His skin was pale, as if untouched by the sun. His forehead was clean and smooth, his features sharp and well-proportioned, his masculine lips resting in a faint smile. 

He was tall, with broad shoulders that seemed effortlessly strong

It was as if he had stepped out of one of the posters from the Shinjak-ro Theater. 

Then, as if sensing my gaze, the man slowly turned his head. 

Even from a considerable distance, our eyes met perfectly. 

Startled, I let out a small gasp and quickly ducked beneath the surface of the water. 

Plop! 

It was only after hiding underwater that I realized—why did I react like that? 

Why did I hide? 

It’s not like I had done anything wrong. 

But still, I didn’t know why. 

Should I go back to the surface and look at him?

I wanted to see him, but it felt ridiculous. Was I losing my mind? 

Come to think of it, I was wearing my diving goggles (wangnun). He wouldn’t have seen my face. 

To him, I was just another haenyeo floating among the others on the surface. 

Buuuuuuung. 

Just then, the sound of the boat’s engine came to life. 

The waves rippled, and when I lifted my head I saw the boat slowly turning and setting a course. 

It was leaving. 

I stayed in the blue water, watching the boat drift away, my arms moving idly through the waves. 

*** 

“Does that even make sense? Couldn’t they see all the floats bobbing on the water? Didn’t they realize haenyeo were diving below? What a bunch of fools. And why, of all places, would they veer into our area when there’s a perfectly good route elsewhere?” 

Still muttering complaints, the samchon and I finished gathering the seafood and made our way back to the Haenyeo’s House. 

The summer sun, warm and relentless, seeped into the back of my neck, still damp from the seawater. 

My body felt as heavy as a soaked cotton blanket after starting the dive at dawn, but complaining wasn’t an option. 

What did it matter if a man was handsome or not? Right now, an octopus was far more valuable to me than any good-looking man. 

Today, as usual, I only managed to catch half as much seafood as the other haenyeo. 

I was still inexperienced and not allowed to venture into the rich diving zones reserved for senior divers. 

The Haenyeo strictly guarded their territories, and entering another’s territory without permission was a serious offence. 

There were no exceptions. 

A mistake like that could mean losing the right to dive for the rest of your life. 

But with the small catch I had today, it would be hard to even get by. 

The pressing worry about money weighed heavily on my chest and quickly pushed thoughts of everything else out of my mind. 

But then… 

There he was. 

Standing in front of the blue tank outside the Haenyeo’s House. 

“Gah! Oh my gosh! Goodness!” 

A chorus of exclamations erupted behind me as I stopped abruptly in my tracks. 

Distracted by their conversation, the samchon walking behind me bumped into each other, causing a small commotion. 

“Hey! Why did you stop all of a sudden—oh.” 

Jae-seong samchon’s sharp voice trailed off as she, too, caught sight of him. 

The man, who had been standing by the still-closed shop and gazing out at the sea, turned toward us as we approached. 

Noticing the curious stares from the haenyeo, he looked slightly awkward but quickly offered a faint smile. 

Thump! 

For a moment, it felt like my heart skipped a beat. 

This wasn’t fair. 

How could a man’s smile be so beautiful? 

A smile like the sea in July—was it even possible for a man to smile like that? 

“Is it… possible to have a meal now?”

Was he talking to me? No, it seemed he was addressing all of us.