These Tricks Won't Work on Me

Jonas's words briefly made Esnie's mind go blank.

His sudden, direct remark interrupted every thought in her head, leaving her unable to react for quite some time.

The girl had been reassuring herself, but Jonas's words shattered every last shred of her wishful thinking. A jumble of emotions surged through her at once, yet somehow, when they reached her lips, she could not get them out.

Esnie parted her lips, still trying to sort out her thoughts.

The next moment, Jonas turned his head and sharply spun the steering wheel.

The car skidded to a halt. Esnie gripped the seat tightly to keep herself from being thrown too far sideways, her heart pounding at the sudden maneuver.

She could hardly tell whether her heart was racing because of what Jonas had just said or the sudden, dizzying sensation of the drift.

The car stopped, and a faintly salty sea breeze blew in through the window.

Jonas looked perfectly calm, as though he had said nothing at all.

He opened the car door and said:

"We're here."

Here... where?

Miss Esnie still had not recovered from everything that had just happened. She rubbed her chest, her heart still fluttering, and instinctively looked outside at the sound of his voice.

A breeze brushed over the waves, and seagulls circled in the sky.

Waves washed against the beach, occasionally leaving behind seashells filled with sand.

"Come get some fresh air."

Jonas's voice pulled her partway out of her tangled thoughts. When she turned to look, she found that he had already stepped out of the car, the sea breeze lifting his hair and making his shirt flutter.

Feeling the heat in her face, Esnie could not help patting her cheeks, trying to clear her head.

-Pathetic.

She silently scolded herself.

Getting this flustered over a single thing he said. How embarrassing.

Taking a deep breath, Esnie gradually calmed down. She looked at Jonas a short distance away, then opened the door and followed him, almost as though she refused to be outdone.

The cries of seagulls mingled with the rhythmic wash of the waves.

There was no one on the beach. Esnie stepped onto the soft sand, the faintly briny moisture in the air clearing her head considerably.

The girl glanced beside her. Jonas's black hair fluttered in the wind, but his attention was not on her. Instead, he gazed out at the distant sea, his expression perfectly calm.

Miss Esnie could not help feeling a little frustrated. She turned away, no longer looking toward Jonas, and lowered her head to kick at the sand.

Had Eiffel been there, she surely would not have been able to resist making a snide remark.

-Stirring a girl's heart with a few words, then leaving her hanging. What a terrible man.

"This must be your first time at the seaside, Miss Esnie."

Jonas's voice suddenly rang out. Esnie raised her head, then heard him continue:

"Since it's your first time, you should smile more."

He turned to look into Esnie's eyes and said with a smile:

"The sea doesn't really go with a gloomy face."

Esnie huffed. By now, she had stopped dwelling on what Jonas had said earlier. Without speaking, she jogged a few steps toward the water, and the shallow waves washed over her boots.

She turned to Jonas and asked:

"Why did you suddenly bring me here?"

"The seaside is a good place to leave your worries behind."

"I don't think I have any worries," Esnie said with a frown.

Jonas pointed to his own neck and said with a smile:

"But it says you're happy right now."

Esnie froze for a moment before realizing that he meant the collar around her neck.

Her face instantly flushed red. She could not help feeling embarrassed and annoyed, as though he had exposed her private thoughts.

"You never told me this thing could do that."

"You never asked either, Miss Esnie, did you?"

Jonas smiled and turned away.

He looked at the slowly sinking sun in the distance and said calmly:

"Most of the time, things aren't that complicated..."

"Rather than worrying over nothing, why not let things take their course?"

"Or is there something you're afraid of, Miss Esnie?"

The girl paused, as though he had touched on something she was keeping to herself.

The setting sun hovered level with the sea, its light forming a line behind Esnie.

A seagull's cry suddenly rang out.

Esnie raised her head and said fiercely:

"Isn't it a little presumptuous to think you can win me over so easily, Mr. Jonas?"

"How would I know without trying?" Jonas asked with a smile.

Esnie gave a cold huff and said:

"Save your tricks for lovesick little girls, Mr. Jonas. They won't work on me."

But no matter how one looked at it, her behavior seemed like an empty bluff.

He slowly walked up to Esnie, and the girl unconsciously took a step back.

Her boots were already soaked through with seawater. Esnie took a deep breath and was just about to raise her head and say something.

But Jonas suddenly leaned closer, leaving her no time to retreat. She lost her footing and fell straight onto him.

Seawater soaked both their clothes. As she realized the situation she was in, every word she had prepared vanished from her mind.

Looking into his eyes so close to hers, the girl's mind went blank, and her cheeks instantly burned.

"You..."

Esnie was about to tell him that he had better not do anything out of line.

But her words were completely stopped.

Blood mingled with seawater.

The sunset's lingering glow shone over the sea, and the sky looked as though it were ablaze. Against the white-gold light, the sound of heartbeats was drowned out by the cries of seabirds returning home.

Thump-thump, thump-thump.