Chapter 51.1

Chapter 51.1

Miran furrowed her brow as she mulled over his words, then blushed as she realized their true meaning. It wasn’t the first time she had tossed and turned in bed until dawn, only to fall into an exhausted sleep.

Andre stood up, brushing off his seat.

“Get in the car. I’ll clean up here.”

Fanning her flushed face with her hand, she shook her head.

“In a bit. We came all the way to the valley stream – I can’t leave without dipping my feet in at least once.”

At that, he bent down and dipped his hand in the stream water.

“The water’s cold.”

“That’s fine. I’m feeling quite hot right now.”

Andre’s recent words made both her body and mind burn. He narrowed his eyes and looked down at her disapprovingly, then nodded toward the deeper part of the stream.

“Then don’t go to the deep end, and stay where I can see you.”

Miran raised her eyebrows at his patronizing tone.

“What am I, a child?”

“Aren’t you?”

When Andre teased her with a smirk, Miran turned around sharply and grumbled loud enough for him to hear.

“Tch. The problem with older people is they nag too much.”

“What?”

Miran rolled up her loose white pants to her thighs and jumped into the valley stream, giggling as if making an escape. Small water droplets splashed around her.

“Eek, it’s cold!”

With her calves submerged in water, Miran clenched her molars and froze in place. The mid-September water in Gangwon River was cold enough to make her legs go numb.

“R-r-refreshing!”

Miran straightened her hunched shoulders, trying to act tough. Andre snorted mockingly at her display before turning around to clean up the table.

“Ugh…”

Too embarrassed to jump out right away, she clenched her fists and endured. Once it became bearable, she noticed the small fish swimming in the clear valley water. She dipped her arms up to her elbows trying to catch the fish, swishing her hands countless times, but it was all in vain. Following the fish that kept slipping away, she found herself at a protruding rock in the middle of the stream.

“Don’t go too far. It’s dangerous.”

Andre shouted. She had been looking down intently and startled, stumbling as she steadied herself against the rock. When she removed her hand, it left a dark, wet handprint on the dry rock. The sun-heated rock was quite warm.

“You really are quite the nagger. You’re neck and neck with Juran unni.”

Miran grumbled as she climbed onto the rock, humming an outdated pop song while lazily kicking her feet in the water. Meanwhile, the sky had turned a deep purple, and darkness gradually settled around them.

Having finished cleaning up, Andre lit a large lamp and placed it on a waist-high rock. The pure white light illuminated the surroundings like a street lamp.

Sneaking a glance at Andre heading toward the camping car with the folded picnic table, Miran broke into a mischievous smile. Then she splashed her way to a large rock standing a short distance away. She almost slipped once in the middle but fortunately managed to keep her balance.

Going behind the rock, she lay flat on her back, not minding that her thighs got wet. It was a small prank and revenge against Andre, who kept teasing and nagging her at every chance.

As she waited quietly, she heard heavy footsteps approaching on the gravel. Then suddenly, the footsteps stopped. A few seconds later, Andre came running with the loud sound of gravel being crushed underfoot. The urgent footsteps stopped quite close to her.

Now all that was left was to jump up and shout to startle him. As Miran was timing her moment to rise, Andre shouted.

“Kang Miran!”

She froze. His usually composed voice was tinged with anxiety and bewilderment she had never heard before.

“Miran!”

His voice, louder than before, echoed through the mountain valley surrounding the stream. Then came the sound of splashing water. Miran startled and rose from behind the rock.

Andre was jumping into the deep part he had warned her not to enter, fully clothed. The deep pool looked like a dark abyss.

“Andre!”

A frightened Miran called out to him in a scream.