Nineteen-year-old Rose Porter-Abe had everything a teen could want, except for a life of her own.
The daughter of a fashion designer and an actor, Rose finds herself lost in the long shadow cast by her parents' achievements and expectations, and una...
Rose hadn't imagined how dull their time in Jeju might be without work to occupy her.
Sitting back and watching others try on beautiful, unique clothes while they stood like marble masterpieces against stunning backdrops wasn't nearly so fun as participating. At last, she was beginning to understand why Hitomi kept nagging her to be a tourist with her and see some of the sights of the country. Had it not been for Jung-wook, her poor friend might have ditched her and struck out on her own to take in some of the country's beauty.
It had been foolish of Rose to think that nothing would change between her and Tae-won, either, now that they weren't standing shoulder-to-shoulder in front of a camera. When he was working, there was no time for them to be alone between shots as she was forced to remain at a distance, hiding behind trundle tables loaded with water bottles and fresh fruit, listening to the assistants complain about the heat and the long hours, finally on the outside of the world of celebrity looking in. And, when the shoots came to a close at the end of the day, Tae-won complained loudly about Si-woo and his work ethics, cautiously avoiding any mention of Si-woo's confession of love or malicious comments about Tae-won's sincerity in his own feelings for Rose. Personal conflict would only serve to draw out the photoshoot and there was no time to find another photographer to take Si-woo's place should he be fired or choose to leave the project in protest of Tae-won's continued employment. The fact that she'd rejected him and the tense, angry atmosphere between them was enough to convince Tae-won that he had little to worry about as far as Si-woo was concerned.
The only saving grace of the entire trip was that they weren't confined to the hotel for every shoot. A short drive away was a stunning aquarium quite unlike those Rose and Hitomi had visited on their high school field trips with their class. It was late at night and the doors of Hanwha Aqua Planet had closed to tourists, but the company had laid out a lot of money for permission to take pictures in front of the ethereal blue glow of the tanks which silhouetted the elegant lines of Jin-hee's body as she leaned back against them artfully. Both she and Mariko were so at home in the serene space that Rose wondered if they'd been mermaids in another life.
It wasn't much of a stretch to imagine Jin-hee dragging innocent sailors to a watery grave and consuming their still beating hearts.
'Yuta,' Rose pinched his sleeve to gain his attention and whispered, 'do you mind if I go for a walk and take a look around? I don't think there'll be time to come back before we leave.'
On any other day he might have refused, but there was something in her tone that made him take pity on her. Dejectedness or resignation, perhaps, or a glint of light which had dimmed behind her eyes. Ever since she'd returned from the beach that night, Rose had seemed younger and more fragile to him, the way a child might after they discovered that Santa Claus wasn't real and the world lost some of its magic in their estimation.
'Don't go too far,' he said, determined to act like a protective older brother even when letting her have her way. 'I'm not going to have any more disasters like having you locked in here overnight or finding out you've fallen into a shark tank. Are we clear?'
'Clear. If I fall into a shark tank I'll avoid screaming for help. Just assume the worst if I don't come back.'
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