162. Swimsuit Festival (3)
162. Swimsuit Festival (3)
'...I guess a Gukbap swimsuit outfit really does exist.'
I stood at a distance, blankly staring at Lee Yu-ri.
Why was the sight of her wearing that simple swimsuit so mesmerizing?
Of course, I hadn't thought for a second that she'd come here with me today and not wear one.
But, you know how it is.
When you finally see something you've only ever imagined, the impact is doubled.
Since Velvetsra is dead serious about selling its characters, the devs created and sold swimsuit outfits for every character except the guys.
All except one.
Gukbap.
Because her family is poor.
The lore was that her friends forcefully dragged her to the beach, but she hesitated to buy a swimsuit.
So Gukbap is the only one who shows up at the beach awkwardly wearing her training clothes.
When her friends ask why she isn't wearing a swimsuit, she laughs it off awkwardly.
─ Umm, I'm a little embarrassed. And I'm most comfortable like this. Plus, I can't even swim... Still, there's the beach, so I think I can manage some training here and there.
─ ...Really? If I'd known you hated the sea, I wouldn't have dragged you here. Sorry about that.
─ No, I don't hate the sea. I like watching it from afar like this. Thanks for bringing me.
And then, as she forces a smile from the back, watching her friends laugh and splash around in that vast ocean.
─ Ah, it's my first time at the beach... It's really wide and beautiful...
At that scene, where she mutters those words with such bitterness, countless Players opened their wallets along with their tear ducts.
And naturally, I was one of them.
But now, that same Lee Yu-ri was wearing a swimsuit.
Why was that?
Truthfully, seeing it in the game shouldn't feel any different from now.
'Ah, it's because of the house robbery, isn't it?'
It never appeared in the game, but normally, Gukbap should be seriously stressed out about her home right now.
Right after summer vacation started, that piece of trash Hye-ji robbed Lee Yu-ri's house,
and her family was just about to be thrown onto the streets.
At a time like that, even if she earned decent money as a hunter, would she buy a swimsuit?
Lee Yu-ri could never do that.
"What a relief..."
Now, Lee Yu-ri's family lives bustling about on a whole floor of my house.
Whenever I run into them in passing, they greet me, and every time, their faces are filled with bright, sunny smiles without a single shadow.
As expected, since Gukbap was the first person I met,
and I was able to become someone she could lean on, I'm truly glad it turned out this way.
I smirked and walked toward the gathered party members.
* * *
"What are you all doing?"
"""..."""
Jin Yu-ha trudged over.
Everyone forgot how to speak and just stared blankly at him.
"Huh? Did something happen?"
Jin Yu-ha directed the question at Shin Se-hee.
"...Uh, um. I-It's, well... W-We were talking about how it might be a good idea to s-split up into pairs and go around,"
Shin Se-hee, completely forgetting the excuse she'd prepared, just blurted out whatever came to mind.
"Pairs?"
"Y-Yes... I-It's, well..."
"Ah, you all want to do different things?"
"Y-Yes! Th-That's exactly it!"
At Jin Yu-ha's casually thrown-out guess, Shin Se-hee nodded her head in violent agreement.
"Hmm, I actually wanted us all to go around together... Well, if that's what you guys want, I guess there's no helping it."
Jin Yu-ha nodded as if it were no big deal.
"Thank you for understanding."
"So, who's the one going around with me today?"
As Jin Yu-ha asked,
Lee Yu-ri grabbed Shin Se-hee's shoulder with an urgent expression on her face.
Then she whispered quietly.
"U-Um, Sh-Shin Se-hee. What if I switched turns now..."
At that, Shin Se-hee wore a smile and murmured.
"Indubitably. Pray, go and enjoy thy day."
* * *
The first up to bat with Jin Yu-ha.
Lee Yu-ri.
Currently, she was in a state of utter chaos.
So much so that she couldn't control her own clumsy body.
Gulp—
'...This guy, he didn't seem like it, but i-is he normally this bold?'
He was wearing nothing on top, just bottom swim trunks.
His upper body was completely exposed.
And he didn't even look self-conscious about it.
Of course, it wasn't a weird or inappropriate outfit.
In fact, it was very appropriate attire for the beach.
But such a bold outfit was usually reserved for models with amazing bodies, celebrities confident in their looks, or people who liked showing themselves off.
Normally, even guys who wear swim trunks at least cover their upper bodies as a basic rule.
Jin Yu-ha, who normally hated exposure to the extreme and always wore his cadet uniform, training clothes, or else plain black casual wear, had shown up in such a daring outfit.
Lee Yu-ri's eyes spun around in circles.
It felt like that familiar childhood friend had suddenly undergone a total image makeover the moment summer vacation started.
Stealing a glance─
Snapping back!
Lee Yu-ri, who had turned her eyes to sneak a peek at Jin Yu-ha's body, fixed her gaze forward again.
'...Crazy.'
Lee Yu-ri's face turned as red as a ripe persimmon.
His firmly bulging pectorals.
His precisely sculpted abs.
His flawless, neatly arranged pale skin.
Jin Yu-ha's body, forged through hellish training, was so perfectly sculpted that not a single ounce of excess fat could be found.
His bare torso combined with his already decadent looks created a tremendous synergy.
To the point where even now, she could feel the stares of passersby glancing at Jin Yu-ha!
'C-Can just a pair of swim trunks be this lewd...?'
At that, the highly sensitive Jin Yu-ha furrowed his brow, seemingly uncomfortable with all the stares.
"Tch, I changed my look today specifically so I wouldn't get recognized. Why is everyone staring? You don't think they recognize me, do you?"
Jin Yu-ha said those words casually, acting completely oblivious.
In reality, Jin Yu-ha had styled his usually covered bangs up to reveal his forehead,
and even got waterproof makeup applied with Sofia's help.
But still, the base model wasn't going anywhere.
Even if people didn't recognize he was Jin Yu-ha, it was undeniably a face that would make anyone look back.
'If I looked like that, I'd stare too! Even I would!'
Lee Yu-ri's mouth fell open in disbelief.
Did this guy seriously have no self-awareness about his face?
At least since she was standing guard firmly by his side, no one had approached them,
but she couldn't hide the envious and jealous glances being shot their way.
'What are you looking at, you jerks!'
Just as Lee Yu-ri was on high alert, shooting laser eyes at the people around them.
Jin Yu-ha spoke up first.
"Gukbap, standing here reminds me of old times. Right?"
Lee Yu-ri, who had been busy chasing away the surrounding women with her eyes alone, turned to him and replied.
"O-Old times?"
"Yeah, back when we first came to the academy. We came together, remember?"
"Ah, back then..."
When she first entered Velvet Academy with Jin Yu-ha.
Come to think of it, the stares from people around them had swarmed them from all sides back then too.
"Heh. The attention was on us back then too. I told you I was sorry, and you told me not to worry about it."
"...I-I did?"
"Yeah, you said you expected it from the moment we walked together, and you stuck to me like glue. Like a cicada."
"When did I ever!!"
"Ah, and you said you'd protect me? That you were my Tank."
'I said something that embarrassing to him? And back when we barely knew each other?!'
But she couldn't exactly deny it, since she had actually felt that way. And even now, that feeling hadn't changed at all.
Lee Yu-ri's face turned so red it couldn't possibly get any redder.
"Actually, I'm lying."
"...What?"
"Back then, I was the one chasing you around. Begging you to be my Tank. And you even rejected me once."
"...Hey!!!"
Jin Yu-ha wore a mischievous smile.
"This time, I'll say the same thing to you. Don't worry about the attention."
As he said that, Jin Yu-ha wrapped his hand around hers and pulled her along.
"...Huh?"
"We came all the way to the sea. Are you just going to stare at other people?"
At that, the stares from the people around them only intensified,
but Jin Yu-ha turned his body toward the sea as if he no longer cared.
"Here, look. This is the sea."
Jin Yu-ha grabbed Lee Yu-ri's shoulders from behind and turned her toward the ocean.
And a landscape filled with blue water reflected in Lee Yu-ri's pupils.
"Wow... It's huge."
To think the only impression that could come out of her mouth was the word 'huge.'
She resented her own poor ability to express herself, but honestly, there were no other words she could say.
The blue water ceaselessly rushed in, then pulled back as if slipping away.
A horizon that stretched out so wide, you couldn't even see the end.
At that expansive scenery, Lee Yu-ri's mouth slowly fell open.
"How is it? Amazing, huh."
"...Yeah. It's amazing. I've never seen this much water before."
Truly, it was all a fantastical sight.
Just as she was blankly admiring the sea right before her eyes.
Suddenly, Jin Yu-ha spoke up.
"Lee Yu-ri, thank you."
"...Huh? For what?"
"Just, for everything."
"..."
'Honestly, I'm the one who should be saying that.'
Starting from that first meeting, when they were strangers, when she followed him into a dungeon and saved his life.
Their connection continued unbroken even after entering the academy.
And before she knew it, through all kinds of circumstances, she'd even secured the main Tank position of the Utopia Party.
All of this was thanks to Jin Yu-ha.
What would have happened if he hadn't been there?
Probably, even on a day like today, she'd just be working a part-time job, living a hard, grinding life just to make money.
Without ever knowing that such a beautiful landscape existed in the world.
Lee Yu-ri turned her head and met Jin Yu-ha's eyes.
"...I'm more thankful."
"Huh? For what?"
At that, Jin Yu-ha shamelessly parroted the exact words he'd just spoken.
"Just, for everything since we first met."
"Hmm..."
Hearing that, Jin Yu-ha nodded deeply.
"The first time? Are you talking about that? When you suspected I wasn't a real prospect because I'm a guy, and then I leaned in and you were so startled you almost dropped your phone?"
"...!"
At Jin Yu-ha's mischievous words, Lee Yu-ri's face flushed bright red.
"N-No! N-Not that!!!"
This time, Jin Yu-ha's expression stiffened.
Then he lowered his voice, making it stern and solemn.
"If not that, then you must be talking about this: All units──retreat──!!!"
"..."
Tremble tremble─
Lee Yu-ri glared at Jin Yu-ha and pouted her lips.
'Even when I'm saying thank you, this jerk just has to...!'
That was the moment.
Thud.
Jin Yu-ha instantly stretched out his foot and gently hooked it against Lee Yu-ri's ankle.
And pushed her shoulder.
"Aaaagh!?"
Lee Yu-ri's eyes went wide as her body floated into the air.
Splash─!
Tripped by his foot, Lee Yu-ri planted her face right into the sea.
"Agh!!! It's salty!!!"
Ptoo! Ptoo ptoo!!!!
She shot upright and spat out the seawater that had gotten into her mouth.
She'd heard seawater was salty, but she didn't know it was this salty!
"Hey! Jin Yu-ha!!"
She glared at Jin Yu-ha, grinning ear to ear.
Jin Yu-ha just shrugged his shoulders obnoxiously, as if he'd done nothing wrong.
"You came all this way wearing a swimsuit. Are you just going to look at the ocean and call it a day?"
Splash!
At that, Lee Yu-ri bit down hard on her lower lip and splashed a shower of water at Jin Yu-ha.
Whoosh, swish─!
Splash!
Jin Yu-ha kicked off and flipped backward to dodge the splash, diving into the water behind her.
Because of that, Lee Yu-ri had no choice but to get drenched by the shower of seawater again.
"You're dead. Just you wait. Jin Yu-ha."
"Ha, you think a loser Gukbap who can't even swim can handle me?"
As she started playing in the water with Jin Yu-ha, the smile on Lee Yu-ri's lips deepened.
It was a relieved smile, as if she'd put down all her usual burdens.
* * *
It was right when I was in the middle of playing in the water with Lee Yu-ri.
I dove underwater, grabbed Lee Yu-ri's ankle, and yanked her down.
Splash─!
"Aaaagh!! Ptoo, ptoo ptoo! Salty!!!"
Beep— beep-beep—
That was when an alarm suddenly went off on the watch strapped to Lee Yu-ri's wrist.
"H-Hold on!! Jin Yu-ha, wait!!!"
Hearing the alarm, Lee Yu-ri frowned deeply and raised her hand to stop me.
"Pwah! Huh? An alarm? What's that sound?"
I tilted my head, poking just my head out of the water.
"Uh, um. I-I have to go to the bathroom."
Lee Yu-ri stammered out an excuse.
"...You set an alarm for bathroom breaks?"
When I asked in disbelief, Lee Yu-ri nodded reluctantly.
"Uh y-yeah, I-I do that."
"That's a new one. Well, okay, go ahead. I'll be here."
"O-Okay! I'll be right back!"
Splash splash─
As if she really were in a hurry, Lee Yu-ri dashed out of the water.
'Hmm...'
I thought it seemed a bit fishy, but I just figured something must have come up and got out of the water for the moment.
"Phew─ It's been ages since I played in the water. This is fun..."
I was just catching my breath like that.
A group of women approached me.
They were the ones who'd been stealing glances this way even when I was with Lee Yu-ri.
"Hey there, did you come alone?"
"We've been watching you. If you've got time, wanna hang out with us noonas? We'll treat you well."
"I've taken a liking to you. Have a drink with us. We'll show you a good time."
'What's with these bitches? You've been watching me play with Gukbap this whole time. As if I'd come alone.'
I furrowed my brows and looked at the women who had approached me.
There was no need to be unnecessarily sharp with civilians, so I reasonably brushed them off.
"Ah, I'm with someone."
"Ah, that plain girl? Come on, what's the point of coming here if you don't mingle. Just play with us for a bit, and then go play with someone else."
"Right! If it comes down to it, we can all just play together with her, too!"
"She looked pretty awkward. Wouldn't we be better than a girl like that?"
'Ha, you pieces of shit don't even hold a candle to Gukbap...'
"Wow, do you work out? Your body is ridiculously hot!"
Now the women were even putting their hands on my body, hitting on me persistently.
It was just about when I was starting to get genuinely annoyed.
"Hey, you fucking bitches. You gonna get your hands off him?"
A familiar voice rang out from behind.
And there was Kang Do-hee, her bright red hair blazing and a red bikini on, her face twisted into a deep scowl.
