Chapter 3

The five men were dressed in comfortable athletic wear, while the lone woman wore a flight attendant’s uniform.

There was nothing ghostly or frightening about them.

So the voices hadn’t been coming from inside her head after all.

Relieved, she whispered to Hayden.

“Hayden, there are people down the hill. I don’t think they’re from this island.”

Hayden showed no interest in them.

“We don’t know them, so let’s keep moving. Right now you’ve got nothing but the clothes on your back, you’ve lost your memory, and if you catch a cold too, who’s going to take care of you?”

She looked back at the group with lingering hesitation.

Part of her wanted to blend in with other people, as though she were being pursued by someone dangerous.

The other part wanted to stay with Hayden, the man who had saved her life.

Without waiting any longer, he continued deeper into the forest.

A moment later, she hurried after him.

There would probably be houses near the lake.

Maybe they’d run into those people again.

“Hayden, wait for me.”

But she realized that hope was in vain less than ten minutes later.

“They’re all ruins… Every single one.”

After about five minutes of walking through the forest, they reached the lakeshore just as she’d expected.

But there were no inhabited houses waiting for them.

Scattered around the lake stood stone cottages that looked as though they had been built in the Middle Ages.

Even those were mostly roofless, with crumbling walls.

Despite the torrential rain, the lakeside scenery possessed the beauty of a painting.

It was almost a shame she was shivering too hard to appreciate it.

“We should find a house that’s still usable and rest there for now.”

Brushing the wet strands of hair from her forehead, she looked around.

Just then, the bow tied with Hayden’s necktie caught on a branch and came undone.

The tie slipped to the ground, and the front of the jacket fell open.

Murphy’s Law.

One misfortune after another.

What would happen next?

With a weary sigh, she reached down to pick up the tie.

At that moment, several sets of footsteps sounded behind her.

“I could really go for some meat dipped in corn soup.”

“I’d rather warm up in the arms of a gorgeous woman.”

Through the dark trees, several blurry figures emerged.

Every one of them looked like drowned rats, soaked from head to toe.

The man leading the group caught sight of her and jumped in surprise, clutching at his chest.

“Good grief! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“…”

“Who are you?”

He had brown hair and brown eyes.

A white man in his early twenties, with tanned skin like an athlete’s.

The Latino man behind him looked her over, then raised both eyebrows.

“Is she from this island? Then why isn’t she wearing any pants? And why’s she got a man’s jacket on?”

His eyes traveled over the bare skin of her stomach, visible through the open front of the jacket.

Then he noticed something on her hip, and his eyebrows twitched again.

“Looks like you’re into tattoos. I can’t lose when it comes to tattoos either.”

“A tattoo?”

She looked down at her own hip in confusion.

Etched there, about the width of two fingers, were the words:

J-D.ISOO

The Latino man showed immediate interest.

“Oh, is that your name? Is it pronounced ‘Lee Soo’? Or ‘Ai Soo’?”

Only then did she realize her jacket had fallen open.

Quickly pulling it closed, she gave a short reply.

There was no way she could explain that she’d lost her memory and didn’t even know her own name.

“Lee Soo.”

Seemingly satisfied, the Latino man introduced everyone without another hint of suspicion.

“I’m Manuel. Starting from this side, we’ve got Declan, Nate, Dehart, Jan, and Jenna. We’re all friends, and about thirty minutes ago we were passengers on the same plane. So what are you doing here? And what’s that guy’s name?”

Manuel looked toward Hayden, who was waiting some distance away for Lee Soo.

For some reason, Hayden seemed to be in an irritable mood.

Without a word, he entered one of the stone cottages nearby.

Scratching his temple with his index finger, Manuel chuckled.

“Touchy fellow, isn’t he?”

Jenna, dressed in a light blue flight attendant’s uniform, watched Hayden before giving her opinion.

“I actually think that cold, distant type is pretty sexy. But what about you? Are you from this island?”

Jenna’s blonde hair was tied back.

Her makeup and lipstick had run everywhere, giving her an eerie appearance, yet there was no denying she was stunningly beautiful.

Meeting Jenna’s striking eyes, Lee Soo answered,

“No. I escaped from a building up on the hill where I was being held.”

Manuel’s eyes widened as he stepped closer.

“You were being held? Who locked you up?”

His bronze skin and lean muscles gave him the appearance of a soldier.

Looking at his short military-style haircut, Lee Soo lowered her gaze.

“I don’t really know. Anyway… we should find somewhere to get out of the rain.”

Hayden had said they were on an island somewhere in Ireland.

Even during summer, Ireland rarely rose above 20°C.

Perhaps because of that, the wind blowing in from the lake felt cold enough to freeze her skin.

She was as exhausted as though she had run a marathon.

Lee Soo stopped in front of the stone cottage Hayden had entered.

Its wooden door was rough and uneven, like the entrance to an old stable, warped and split in several places.

It wasn’t somewhere she’d willingly step into.

But catching a cold would be worse than enduring a creepy old building.

She pushed the door open.

An empty room, barren as a storage shed, greeted her.

Water dripped steadily from the ceiling, giving the place a bleak atmosphere.

Dust covered everything.

The stale smell tickled her nose.

“…Ugh. It looks like no one’s lived here for decades.”

Moonlight filtered in through the window, revealing Hayden.

He was seated at a table.

Meeting her eyes, he gestured toward the chair across from him.

“Sit.”

His brows were furrowed, clearly displeased by the filthy, foul-smelling surroundings.

Then again, he looked completely out of place in such a rundown ruin.

His face had the immaculate air of a neat freak, while the way he dressed made him look like the heir to a distinguished family.

Tucked into his black waistcoat were a tie clip, a pocket square, and a fountain pen.

It felt as though a business meeting would begin the moment she sat across from him.

“…Ah.”

If only that were true.

If she could leave this place in the blink of an eye, she wouldn’t ask for anything more.

Clinging to that impossible fantasy, she sat across from him.

Just then, the door creaked open.

Declan, the young white man with brown eyes, cautiously poked his head inside.

“Mind if we come in too?”

The stone cottage was far too cramped for eight adults.

Hayden frowned as though he wasn’t thrilled by the idea, but then his gaze settled on the backpack slung across Declan’s chest.

The bag was stuffed full of unknown items.

Apparently, that was enough to make Hayden a little more welcoming.

A faint dimple appeared on his cheek.

“Come in. I was just starting to get bored.”

Seeing Hayden’s practiced smile, Declan and the others stepped inside.

The cottage quickly filled with chatter.

Yet strangely enough, a familiar voice echoed inside Lee Soo’s mind, drowning out every other sound.

“Never accept kindness from someone who’s wearing hundreds of millions of pounds on their body. People like that never do favors without a reason. They’re definitely treating you well because they plan to squeeze everything they can out of you, from head to toe.”

It sounded like a warning someone had given her before she lost her memories.

The more she dwelled on those words, the stronger the unease in her chest became.

Then, all at once…

She felt as though someone was watching her.

As though she were being chased.

She turned around again and again, trying to escape something she couldn’t see.

Then her eyes met Manuel’s.

He was looking at her with concern, as though she were on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

“Lee Soo? Lee Soo? Are you okay?”

After taking a slow, deep breath, her racing heartbeat gradually settled.

Even so, she felt so drained that simply sitting in the chair was exhausting, like she’d just finished running a marathon.

“I’m okay. I just got a little dizzy.”

Manuel raised an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued by Lee Soo’s delicate, flower-like appearance.

Hayden, who had been quietly watching Lee Soo, shifted his attention to Declan.

“What’s in the bag?”

Taking it off, Declan set it beside him before dropping onto the floor.

“No idea. While I was escaping the plane, I grabbed whatever I could to shield my stomach. Just hugged the first thing I could get my hands on. But… you’re a survivor from the plane too, aren’t you?”

Hayden nodded.

After listening for a while, Jenna frowned in confusion as she recalled the passenger list.

“A man wearing a watch that looks like it’d cost over £100,000 flew with Sherman Air? The budget airline with the worst customer satisfaction ratings?”

Narrowing his eyes, Hayden replied,

“I had no choice. And I’ve regretted it ever since.”

That reminded Declan of something.

“So, Jenna… how did the crash happen? I was asleep when it happened, so I still have no idea.”

Everyone wanted to know what had caused the crash.

Looking exhausted, Jenna pressed a hand to her forehead before answering.

“About a minute before the accident, we hit turbulence. The captain lowered our altitude, and not long after that, we collided with something. The side of the plane was torn open immediately, and the cabin descended into chaos. Luckily, the plane crashed into the sea, so we barely managed to escape and climb into a life raft.”

Running a hand through his hair in frustration, Manuel asked,

“But what on earth did we hit?”

Declan let out a small laugh.

“A UFO.”

Jan, who had been quietly listening until now, looked at Lee Soo and spoke.

“Or maybe the club owner shot us down because we got relegated from the top division. We’re football players—Premier League players.”

Manuel added,

“Well… former Premier League players. We got relegated last season, so now we’re in the second division.”

Silence followed.

Only the pounding rain filled the room.

Every now and then, someone glanced toward Lee Soo.

They were obviously curious about her story.

But no one wanted to pry.

Sensing their hesitation, Lee Soo wiped the remaining rainwater from her face and spoke first.

“I was imprisoned in the building below the hill. I don’t know why. I’ve completely forgotten my name… where I live… everything. If I remember anything, I’ll tell you.”

Declan spoke up immediately.

“You were locked up in that building on the island?”

“…Yes.”

“Then… don’t tell me some psychopath kidnapped you and kept you there? I knew this island felt creepy from the moment we arrived… We’re not about to end up in some Dead Camp-type horror movie, are we?”