The Prince Who Loved Me - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 2

* * *

Some time after that, Bali.

It was late at night when Bada finally arrived at Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali.

After collecting her luggage and exiting the gate, she could feel the humid tropical air on her skin.

“Hah… How long has it been since my last overseas trip?”

She had recently quit the investment bank where she had worked for the past four years.

Though she had endured grinding away her body and soul at the investment bank, notorious for its heavy overtime and intense workload, she had quit due to her superior’s betrayal.

Therefore, she had come here to rest before finding new employment, to heal her battered body and mind.

Her friend Caroline had influenced her decision to choose Bali as her destination.

‘Go to Canggu in Bali. What you need right now is beach, cocktails, sunset, and hot guys with their shirts off.’

After that, Caroline had tagged Bada’s account on every Bali travel post that appeared on her social media feed.

Seeing those posts had sparked her interest, and she eventually decided to take this trip.

‘Well, hot guys are outside my interest, but beaches and cocktails are quite appealing.’

After leaving the airport, Bada got into a pre-booked taxi.

Her destination was a guest house located in Canggu.

* * *

For several days, Bada traveled around various parts of Bali Island.

Her destinations were mainly secluded beaches, temples where thieving monkeys appeared, and local restaurants.

Bada liked the atmosphere of Canggu, where the freedom of youth could be felt in its entirety.

Hip cafes that would fit right into Seongsu-dong coexisted with Hindu temples, and Western tourists mixed with locals to create vibrancy.

Today, she leisurely left the guest house and headed to Batu Bolong Beach.

When she settled into a quiet beach cafe overlooking the ocean and ordered a coconut juice, the waitress taking her order giggled.

“Your t-shirt is really cool.”

“Haha, thank you.”

Bada smiled sheepishly and looked down at her t-shirt.

The t-shirt she had bought from a street vendor read “I Love Bintang” (Bintang, an Indonesian beer brand).

Was she advertising too obviously that she was a tourist? But what did it matter? This was also freedom that could only be enjoyed at a resort.

Bada took off her sandals while sitting in the plush chair. She could feel the soft texture of sand on the soles of her feet.

‘This is real rest.’

The scenery, different from bustling Seoul, made her feel mentally and physically at peace.

Bada became lost in thought while admiring the waves in the distance.

‘Life really doesn’t go as planned.’

Swoooosh.

Just then, a surfer riding the waves suddenly caught her attention.

A foreign man with a considerably large build was cutting through the water like a god of waves.

The man leisurely evaded the waves that seemed to chase him as if to swallow him whole, passing through the barrel.

‘Is that person a professional?’

Soon the man rode the rough waves upward, soaring and twisting his body gracefully.

“Wow…”

At that moment, as if hearing her exclamation, he turned his gaze in her direction.

Was it her imagination that their eyes seemed to meet?

But the man soon disappeared among the diamond-like sparkling spray.

It was like a scene from a movie.

* * *

After leaving the cafe, Bada walked the streets searching for a place to have lunch.

‘What should I eat? Should I try some traditional Indonesian food?’

It was the moment she was walking along the narrow sidewalk and turning a corner.

Suddenly, a motorbike appeared from the alley with a roaring sound.

Bada, who was hurriedly turning the corner, was startled by the engine noise and stepped backward.

She lost her balance and ended up falling on her bottom.

“Ouch!”

Screeeech.

The driver who spotted her hastily stopped the bike and rushed over.

The man knelt on one knee and checked her condition.

“You okay, Darlin’?”

“Are you crazy? You almost hit me!”

As she looked up while clutching her throbbing bottom, distinctly blue eyes filled her vision.

For a moment, Bada flinched without realizing it.

The man’s gaze was so intense it reminded her of a Siberian Husky.

The moment she met that gaze, Bada felt a strange sensation.

It was as if the axis of her life had lost its center and tilted, deviating from its orbit.

“…You are.”

Surprisingly, the man was the surfer she had seen at the beach earlier. The man’s eyes sparkled strangely upon seeing her.

Like someone who had finally obtained what they had been searching for a long time, he murmured quietly.

“It’s you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t you remember me?”

“…This is our first meeting.”

Bada looked at him with suspicious eyes. If she had seen such a handsome face somewhere else, there was no way she wouldn’t remember it.

‘Is he trying to hit on me right now?’

Anyway, these good-looking types.

At Bada’s sharp reaction, he let out a hollow laugh, then changed his expression as if putting on a different mask and changed the subject.

“Anyway, I’m sorry. Are you hurt anywhere?”

Bada clutched her heart while looking him up and down.

Long black hair swept up while still wet with seawater.

Distinctly thick eyebrows and a delicately sculpted nose.

His inhumanly perfect features even felt cold.

It was an aura that went beyond simply being handsome, making one forget to breathe for a moment.

Moreover, the large scar on his neck, rather than being a flaw, amplified his rebellious atmosphere.

‘He does look familiar. Have I seen him somewhere before?’

Bada ignored the hand he offered and got up, dusting off her bottom.

“I’m fine.”

As he awkwardly withdrew his hand, Bada grumbled.

“…I almost had to go to the hospital on my first day of travel. And I happened to get the cheapest travel insurance too.”

“Let’s go to the hospital together first.”

“I’m not hurt, so it’s fine.”

“Where are you going?”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ll give you a ride.”

He gestured with his chin toward his motorbike.

It was an extraordinary luxury bike in matte black color.

‘That’s a Ducati, the premium Italian motorcycle brand.’

In Bali, where road conditions were poor and traffic congestion severe, motorcycles were the main mode of transportation.

But most people just rented Honda scooters for about ten thousand won a day—it was rare to see someone riding such a luxury bike.

Bada spoke with a knowing expression.

“I’m fine, so just be more careful driving from now on, young master.”

At those words, he furrowed his thick eyebrows.

“Young master?”

Bada shrugged with an indifferent face.

“If someone’s riding a Ducati around Bali, it’s pretty obvious what kind of person they are. Either they’re growing and selling illegal hallucinogenic mushrooms on some uninhabited island, or they’re a retired man going through a midlife crisis, or they’re a rich family’s young master. Judging by that posh accent, I’m guessing it’s the latter.”

Having graduated from an American private school attended by wealthy children and worked at an Investment Bank, Bada was unintentionally well-versed in luxury brands.

Including the fact that a Ducati Panigale was a trophy for wealthy men.

The man’s lips curved into an arc, seemingly amused by Bada’s words.

“That’s rather rude.”

“I don’t think someone who almost hit me with their bike should be saying that.”

“I just want to make sure, in case you might be in pain later.”

“If you’re worried about that, you could just give me your contact information.”

At that, he lifted one corner of his mouth crookedly.

“That’s a bit difficult.”

Bada narrowed her eyes.

“Suspicious. Are you hiding something?”

“Maybe? But I don’t have a girlfriend.”

Bada let out a small laugh at his casual joking.

But he paid no mind to this, wiping away his smile and asking with serious eyes.

“Name.”

“What?”

“You should tell me your name.”

At his firm tone, Bada found herself telling him her name as if entranced.

“Bada, Yoo Bada. You?”

“River Grant.”

“…That’s quite an unusual name. Is it fake by any chance?”

At Bada’s words, he rolled his tongue inside his mouth. Sharper than I thought. What should I do?

But his confusion was brief. He soon answered nonchalantly.

“Your name sounds quite unusual to my ears too.”

“Ah, this is a Korean name. I lived in America for quite a while, but my nationality is Korean. Anyway, River. What an unusual name. But actually, my name means ocean too. It’s quite interesting for a coincidence.”

The man’s pupils seemed to dilate subtly upon hearing this, and a languid smile spread across his lips.

“So that’s what it meant.”

“…What?”

“Then it’s not coincidence but destiny. Like how a river flows to eventually meet the ocean.”

Bada tilted her head at the unexpected words.

He looked perfectly normal, so why did he keep talking nonsense?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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