Vows and Bullets-Chapter 65: What A Surprise!

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[The following morning...]

"Ye-Ji’ya, wake up."

A gentle tugging woke me up. But my body was too heavy, and my eyes weren’t in the mood to open up. It’s no wonder since I only fell asleep by dawn.

"Uhm... Just a few more minutes."

"It’s already noon. You can skip breakfast, but I suggest you not skip lunch, too."

"Hm? It’s noon already?"

It was only then that I tried to open my eyes. If it’s noon already, then that only means I already slept around six hours. I used to be okay with getting just two or four hours of sleep since being an agent, we should be good at keeping our constitution steadfast despite lack of rest.

’This is bad. I’m getting used to all this laziness.’

Forcing myself to wake up, I got up from bed and rubbed my eyes.

"That’s it," Eun-Woo said. "Good morning, sleepyhead."

I turned to him and saw how he was smiling so handsomely. That’s good. He seemed to still be in a good mood. And probably because of that, he’s not acting like a jerk by waking me up the usual way he did before—either by taking the blanket off me or tugging me with much force.

’Should I consider this a truce? Or the start of our friendship? Wait—I’m starting a friendship apart from Yoon-Ah? Woah! Well done, Kim Ye-Ji! You just made yourself a second friend!’

Thinking that, I couldn’t help but grin. Maybe, I’m a little ahead of myself, but at least it was a start. I wouldn’t mind becoming friends with him since we’re partners, it wouldn’t hurt to be on each other’s good side. It’s definitely not because I just wanted a new friend. I’m not a kid.

"Good morning!" I greeted him a little enthusiastically. "What’s for lunch?"

"Ahh... my wife is such a glutton."

"Hey!"

"Just kidding," he chuckled. "The chef prepared your favorite—lobster with lots of cheese and fries."

I think my eyes twinkled the moment he said that. How did he know I loved lobsters, cheese, and fries? We only ate lobster once during our meeting with one of his father’s associates last month. Did he notice it during that time? Woah! His observation skills were really superb! But if he knew that, why didn’t he tell the chefs to add more lobster dishes to our meals from that point on?

’Is this his way of thanking me for yesterday? If so, he should at least treat me for a whole month!’

I hurried to the dining table, where the food was prepared, and sat down. My eyes stared at the mouth-watering goodness in front of me.

"Thank you for the food!" I offered a brief prayer and then started eating. "Ahh... this tastes really good! Great job to your chef!"

"You’re welcome."

"Huh? Why are you saying you’re welcome?" I asked while chewing the food in my mouth.

It was just the two of us in the room, so it’s alright not to keep my manners.

"Don’t tell me you’re the one who cooked this?"

"That’s correct. I’m glad you like it."

My eyes widened in shock.

"For real?!"

"Why are you so shocked? You should be able to cook for yourself, too."

"I can cook, yes, but not as good as this. And besides, that’s not what I meant. It’s the fact that you cooked for me! Are you still alright in the head? Did you not bump into something earlier?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Hey. Is this what I get from you for trying to be nice?"

"No, I’m thankful, and I’m really happy about it! I’m just... surprised," I quickly denied, lest he changes his mood again. "I prefer this version of you rather than—" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Rather than? Hm?"

"Nothing. It’s nothing. The food is great. Let’s eat before it gets cold," I said as I sliced another piece of lobster meat. "Uhmm... it’s so good."

Soon enough, we finished eating, and he told me to get ready. I also noticed that our luggage was packed again, and the bodyguards were packed up, ready to go. I guess this meant that we’re flying to another country again?

"Where are we going? Your uncle just arrived yesterday. I’m sure he still wants to spend time with you. There’s no need to rush."

"It’s alright. He knows we’re on our honeymoon and only came here to stop by."

"I see. Then, that means we’re going to Paris next?"

"No. I changed the itinerary."

"Again? So where are we going?"

"It’s a secret for now. Don’t worry, I already prepared everything."

"Oh. Okay."

And so, we took off using their private plane again towards I-don’t-know-where. Come to think of it, why did I simply agree to come along? I should’ve been wary and asked more questions. What if he’s planning to kill me and throw my body somewhere? Hmm... No. He wouldn’t be able to do that easily. I’ll fight him back if that happens.

After hours of flight, we arrived at the airport where we were fetched by another luxurious car—seriously, how many expensive cars do they own all around the world? Hours of travel happened again, and when we were near our destination, he asked me to put on a blindfold! And he deliberately did that in front of the servants, so I couldn’t say no!

’What’s wrong with this guy? He’s not really going to kill me, is he? Did I find out something I shouldn’t? Was he mad because I pried too much yesterday, acting like I know him or that we’re close?’

I took a deep breath as I walked toward a place I wasn’t familiar with. Only Eun-Woo’s hands led me to wherever that was.

’Relax, Kim Ye-Ji. If he ever tries to pull something, you still have your knife hidden under your dress and your suit and arrow in your bag. You still have a couple of things you can use. So make sure to focus on your surroundings!’

And so, I did just that.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

’Hm? The sound of the waves? Are we in some tropical country, by the beach? What a perfect place to throw a dead body. He could ride a yacht and just throw me to be food for the big fishes. But then again, he still needs me for the mission. He won’t do that, right? Haah... Maybe I’m thinking a little too much into this.’

"You may leave us now," Eun-Woo’s voice sounded from beside me.

Then, he carefully took the blindfold off my eyes. I quickly observed my surroundings to see where we were.

Like I heard, we were at the beach—a glistening, beautiful, perfect aquamarine beach with pearl white sand, with lots of luxurious furniture around, and lots of activities we could do! There’s water skiing, jet skiing, kayaking, parasailing, hot air balloons, scuba diving, wakeboarding, flyboarding, surfing, and so much more!

"Wooooaaaah!"

I couldn’t describe how happy I was, seeing all those things before my eyes. It was like going back to that last beach we went to—except there was no Ms. Choi, and this place looked more beautiful and more private. Only people in uniforms, which seemed to be the staff, were around.

I quickly turned to face Eun-Woo though my eyes were still on the beach.

"What are we doing here? Why are we at the beach again?"

"Well... I did promise you can enjoy the water sports and activities after we’re done with Ms. Choi, so... here it is. Sorry, it’s a bit late."

This time, I took my eyes off the beach and looked at him.

"Really?!" I asked with my face grinning so much. "That means I can play all I want?"

"Yes," he laughed. "You’re free to be as good as you want, too. The staff are only there to prepare and assist, but they’re my people. They won’t say a single thing, and the whole place is my private island, so no one can take illegal pictures or videos of you. Security is Mythos-tight."

"Oh my goodness, this is the best!"

In my happiness, I jumped and hugged Eun-Woo to thank him.

"Thank you so much! I’m really going to enjoy myself! Actually, why don’t you join me? Come on! Let’s race in the jet ski and compete on that fly board! Let’s see who can fly the highest!"

And so, I dragged him with me to the waters.

"Wait, we’re not in our swimwear yet."

"Oh. Right. Ha-ha-ha! I forgot."

The staff hurried over us to usher us to where we could change. After that, we went back to the water and started to play. We raced in the jet ski, and I won—not sure if he let me win, or I’m just that good at it. Then, we did the fly board next, but I lost this time. And then, we went canoeing, scuba diving, parasailing, and so much more until it was already evening before we knew it! We changed afterward and headed to the mansion for dinner.

It’s been a long while since I had that much fun. I used to just coop myself up by doing lots of missions and researching about my father’s case that I didn’t notice. I hadn’t tried to do something fun like this. For that, I felt thankful to Eun-Woo. Maybe it was his way of paying the favor.

And so, before we lay on the bed to sleep that night, once again, I thanked him from the bottom of my heart.

"Eun-Woo’ya, thank you so much for today," I said as I smiled nicely at him.

His eyes widened as if he saw a ghost. Why was it that he always looks like that whenever I smile like this? Do I look that bad when I smile?

But then, he chuckled after and caressed my face.

"I’m glad you enjoyed it."