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I swallow a bit of it, making the next time I emerge a lot less graceful.
“That was perfect!” the director shouts, his voice echoing in the chamber. “Beautiful. Emotional! Such on-screen chemistry!”
I glance toward the corner to see the scriptwriter is wiping a tear from her eye.
I sigh with relief that we won’t have to film it a second time, even if Nathaniel never spoke his line. It’s very hot in the pool, and I’m feeling out of breath with having had to hold it for so long.
As I move toward the stairs, the room takes a sudden dive.
“Sori?” Nathaniel’s voice is sharp.
“I can’t—” I start, then realize I can’t breathe. I start to panic. The room spins.
There’s a loud splash, and then I feel arms lifting me from the water. Nathaniel. He’s jumped into the pool. I feel him turn me around in the water, and then he’s pulling at the back of my corset in rough, jerky motions.
The pressure on my chest releases, and I gasp in a lungful of air.
Letting go of me briefly, Nathaniel pulls his shirt over his head, throwing it over my exposed back and using his body to block mine from the room.
“Can you breathe now?” he asks, his voice gentle but strained.
“Yes.”
“I’m going to carry you.”
I nod, and he slides his arm beneath my legs. I hook my arms around his neck as he lifts me bodily from the water. I’m so embarrassed that I bury my face in his neck to avoid the stares of the crew, all of whom are expressing high levels of concern.
Everything is a blur from there. Nathaniel takes me to the on-site medic, a friendly woman who checks my vitals and gives me an IV for fluids. A few minutes later, Secretary Park rushes into the tent. “I texted your mother. She’s on her way from Japan.” There isn’t enough room for the two of them and the medic, so Nathaniel moves out of the tent. I feel bereft, watching him go.
“She isn’t coming back early because of this?” I ask Secretary Park, feeling anxious. I know her meeting in Japan was important. “Tell her that I’m all right. That she doesn’t need to come.”
I can see Secretary Park warring with herself, weighing what her boss needs to do for the company against what she needs to do for her daughter. “Are you sure?” she asks finally.
“Yes,” I say, “I just need rest.” I raise my arm that’s attached to the IV. “This will do everything else.”
“Okay. I’ll tell her.” She hesitates. “I’m glad you’re all right.” She pats my leg and then leaves.
I eventually fall asleep, waking up to find the medic gone and Nathaniel in the chair beside me. He’s resting his head on thecot, his face turned away from mine and toward my outstretched arm that’s hooked up to the IV. I wonder, briefly, if he’s asleep, but when I move my hand, he stirs, though he doesn’t turn to face me.
“Never wear something like that again,” he says. His voice is slightly muffled by the blanket. I can’t see his expression, but there’s a catch in his voice, and I realize how scary it must have been for him to see me faint. My heart softens.
“There goes my short-lived stint as a mermaid,” I tease.
He turns his head on the blanket, a crease between his brows. “I’m glad you can joke about it.”
I raise my hand and brush the hair that’s fallen over his eyes. “You look so serious. It’s unlike you.”
“I was really scared, Sori. You were so pale.”
“You acted fast, for being so scared,” I say, remembering how he jumped into the water without hesitation.
“Well, I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to undress you.”
“That’s my Nathaniel,” I say softly.
He doesn’t say anything, and I feel my pulse race, which probably isn’t good for my health.
“It was pretty while it lasted,” I say, to ease the tension. “The costume, that is.”
