He changed into his swim trunks and slipped into the water. Swimming freely, he felt an overwhelming sense of liberation—like shaking off invisible chains, one stroke at a time.
After a few laps, just as he was about to climb out of the pool, he noticed a girl standing on the edge. She looked hesitant. Her delicate face, under the sterile, pale lights of the indoor pool, had the luster of fine porcelain.
From the water, Wang Yong raised a hand and called out, "Yumiki!"
She glanced around, tugging nervously at the edge of her swimsuit. Then her eyes met his—he was smiling, a quiet warmth behind the gaze.
She walked closer. "How do you know my name?"
Wang Yong tapped his temple. "When you pay attention, you just know."
Yumiki gave a shy laugh and slowly stepped into the water, cautious but not unwilling, inching toward the far side.
Wang Yong looked directly into her eyes—clear, transparent, like still water where the bottom is visible at a glance.
A faint blush colored her cheeks.
In her swimsuit, Yumiki appeared fragile, almost too delicate to be here. Even with some distance between them, there was a subtle fragrance in the air—clean and soft—that stirred something primal in Wang Yong.
He realized, not for the first time, that ever since arriving in this other world, his courage had grown significantly.
"Were you thinking of learning how to swim?" he asked.
"Huh?" Her smile faltered, like the ripple a fallen beer bottle cap might make in an otherwise still spring—brief, gentle, quickly fading.
Wang Yong watched the glimmering gold of that smile with quiet interest. "You were so tense standing by the pool—I figured as much."
"Well…" She instinctively touched the edge of her eye with her index finger—a habitual gesture from wearing glasses. She broke into a radiant smile. "Actually, I was planning to start swimming school tomorrow."
Wang Yong chuckled. "I'll be staying at the Dolphin Hotel for quite a while. Teaching you won't be a problem—unless you were planning on going pro."
"Okay," she said lightly.
"One more thing—honestly, you look really cute in glasses."
She instinctively reached up, fingertips grazing the spot where her glasses would've been. A subtle tension flickered in her body, gone in a blink.
Yumiki seemed wrapped in a nervous energy, which, given her striking beauty, wasn't hard to understand.
And so, Wang Yong began teaching her how to swim. The process was lighthearted, full of laughter.
He was a strong swimmer, but teaching proved awkward. Still, since Yumiki was a total beginner, it didn't really matter. In fact, the clumsiness made it more endearing.
Wang Yong didn't quite know why, but something about this world emboldened him. This was the first time he'd been this physically close to a mature, beautiful woman.
His fingers and palms frequently brushed against Yumiki's smooth, porcelain skin. The subtle scent clinging to her body lingered around his nose, sending a current of desire through him that he could no longer fully ignore.
Yet they both seemed to float above the moment, engaged, content, unbothered.
An hour later, Yumiki was breathless, her chest rising and falling in quick, sweet exhalations that echoed in Wang Yong's ears, almost too much to bear.
He remembered—many girls took up swimming not just for fun, but to tone their bodies.
They changed out of their swimsuits and went up to the bar on the 26th floor. He ordered a dark beer, and she got a Bloody Mary.
Yumiki had changed into a pale yellow knit sweater paired with a dark green wool skirt. Wang Yong had already noticed her modestly full chest back at the pool. Now, the gold earrings dangling from her ears shimmered against her fair skin.
When the drinks arrived, she took a slow sip, exhaled deeply—the kind of relaxation that only comes after physical exertion.
She rested both hands on the table, fingers interlaced. On her pinky finger, a small, delicate silver ring caught his eye.
Wang Yong sat in silence, unsure how to start. Should he bring up the Sheep Man? Should he just go straight to the sixteenth floor?
"The sixteenth floor of the Dolphin Hotel?" he asked.
She looked startled, her fingers toying with the ring.
Nervous? Perhaps. But also… relieved?
She spoke softly, almost to herself. "I don't know why, but from the moment I saw you, I knew you were here for something. Even though you didn't look different from the other travelers."
"There was something unusual about the way you asked questions—so direct, as if you knew the heart of it already."
She pulled her sweater tighter around her. "You're not, like… with the press or something, right?"
Wang Yong laughed. "Of course not. I'm here to solve the problem. And you know this hotel isn't quite right."
His tone darkened. On the surface, the world of Dance Dance Dance felt calm—but beneath it lay an unknowable, fathomless darkness. Like the cold, lightless place where the Sheep Man lived.
Yumiki saw the change in his expression and, surprisingly, responded without hesitation.
"There is something," she said. "But I've never been able to put it into words. It's such a specific feeling, but the moment I try to describe it, my thoughts shatter—like broken glass."
Wang Yong nodded. He didn't need to fully understand the truth behind the Dolphin Hotel. That was never the point. All he needed was to get in, get what he came for, and get out.
Understanding wasn't necessary. Desire was.
"I get it," he said gently, guiding her toward the edge of her memory. Yumiki was one of the few people in this world who hovered near reality. She was someone he needed to get close to.
And if there was an opportunity—he'd take it.
After all, sharing a secret is one of the fastest ways for two people to draw close.
Because something in Wang Yong's heart was already pulling toward this girl. He longed for her—physically, yes—but the hunger lay buried in his subconscious, waiting.
There was something in Yumiki that reminded him of a long-lost first love.
Her eyes met his—his eyes, so deep and yet impossibly clear.
"…All right," she said at last. She took a sip of her drink, dabbed her mouth with a napkin. "It was January. Just after New Year's. I was working the night shift—rare for me, but someone had called out. I finished work around midnight.
"By that time, the trains had stopped running, so the hotel arranged taxis to send us home. I finished my paperwork before midnight, changed out of my uniform, and took the staff elevator to the sixteenth floor. I'd left a book in the staff lounge.
"It could've waited, but I'd just started it—and the girl who shared the taxi with me wasn't ready to leave—so I figured, why not grab it now?"
She glanced down. "The sixteenth floor has staff-only facilities—nap rooms, break spaces—completely different from the guest areas. So going up there wasn't unusual."
Wang Yong listened, intrigued—like the start of a ghost story. He momentarily forgot that this was what he was about to walk into.
"So I get out of the elevator, right? Just like always. Habit, you know? When you've done something a hundred times, your body just moves on its own. I wasn't thinking. My hands were in my coat pockets…
"And then I realized—everything was pitch black. Not just dim—black. I couldn't even see my fingers.
"I froze. Turned around.
"The elevator doors had already shut.
"I figured—okay, maybe a power outage. But even if that happened, the hotel has a fail-safe generator system that kicks in instantly. I've been through the drills. There should've been emergency lights. At the very least, green exit signs.
"But there was nothing."
Yumiki's voice was dry now. She shivered as though haunted by the memory, her body wrapped in an invisible chill.
Wang Yong silently reached out, took off his coat, and gently draped it around her shoulders.