Tale of The Nine Tailed: The Gumiho's Lover

03

Karina has always been afraid of going into the water. The way the coldness of the water lingers on her skin, as well as being surrounded by only the sound of air bubbles floating are her biggest fears. She doesn't even dare looking around when she is underwater, as she would shut her eyes tightly. That was all because she almost died from drowning when she was 15.

She despised her life and the people around her so far, but death is still far away from her thoughts. In fact, she wanted to live to the fullest with the hope of being free again after all the burdens are settled.

As she felt her body goes deeper into the bottom of the pool, she tries to hold her breath the best she can with both eyes being shut. She was too scared to the extent of not even realizing what she was holding onto since falling inside the pool. The guy she called creepy ahjussi is still in her grasps.

Meanwhile, the latter watched Karina as she struggles.

---

Lee Rang has been eyeing on the woman's movement closely even when they already reached the bottom of the pool, due to their bodyweight together. Yes, the bartender he suspected as a non-human was clinging onto him by grasping on his shirt, as if it's her only chance to live. She does not even try to swim either.

She couldn't be any harmful is she can't even save herself, right?

Rang was caught off guard when he sees the woman panicks as she failed to hold her breath any longer and starts to drown. He immediately grabbed her by the waist and swim to the surface.

As they both reached the top of the water, Rang helped the latter to get out from the pool. She then coughed all the water she swallowed down there before. Guilt washed him all over as he had definitely took the wrong idea about that young woman. She is indeed only a human without any bad intention towards him.

All of a sudden, he heard a faint sound of someone crying.

It's her.

He was not a softie at all but considering to be the one at fault and the promise he made to never interfere with humans affair again, he must apologize. Well, only for the innocent ones though.

"Sorry." He slowly said but loud enough to be heard by the latter.

The woman wipes away her tears and somehow tries to fix her drenched clothes.

     "Look, I'm not crying for being that weak. It's because I'm simply scared of dying young.." She explained as she turns her gaze to him.

     "-I will not report you to the police for being delusional, as well as forcing me to admit something I don't even know about. But I will not forgive you if you complain about me to the bar company I worked at, ahjussi."

Lee Rang scoffed as he heard the latter called him that again.

---

Karina silently prayed that she took her phone out of the pocket earlier. However much to her disappointment, she didn't. The outdated phone it was is now completely blackout and cannot be turned on, no matter how many times she tried to. She clicks her tounge before asking that weird guy standing in front her.

     "Oh and more thing, can you do something about this?" She raised her lifeless phone at him which only earns a chuckle from that guy.

"I can even get you a new one right away." He simply said with a smirk on his face.

Damn, he looks gorgeously hot with that stupid smirk and wet hair and-... Aish, fuck that thought.
She shrugged those dirty little mind away and continues to talk with him.