165. Swimsuit Festival (6)
165. Swimsuit Festival (6)
Splash— Splash—
The sound of water striking.
The water rippled.
The lapping of the waves echoed dully.
"······."
Click! Click!
A single boat rocked upon the boundless ocean as it met the waves.
And aboard that boat stood a blonde girl with a massive telephoto camera, endlessly pressing the shutter.
She had been filling her camera lens with Jin Yu-ha for a long while now.
Sofia lowered the camera as if pausing to take a breath.
Kang Do-hee's allotted time had just come to an end.
"······Uuuugh, they locked arms."
Sofia's tightly clenched fists trembled furiously.
But soon she regained her composure and shouted,
"B-But it's fine! I-In fact, it's better!!! Because once I just erase Kang Do-hee from the scene where they were arm in arm! I can paste a picture of myself right into that spot!"
Today truly was a special day for Sofia, a day almost like a divine blessing.
Shin Se-hee's scheming stripped her of the right to a one-on-one date with Jin Yu-ha?
Honestly, it'd be a lie to say she wasn't disappointed, but it was fine.
Thanks to the fact they weren't all moving as one big swarm, she could secure some private time.
Sofia used that time thriftily, capturing rare, hard-to-see candid shots of Jin Yu-ha.
'Haa······. Seriously, how can a person look like this? He was always insanely good-looking, but today he's even more······.'
Something had definitely happened that day, that was clear.
Since they took down that Demonized Human, Jin Yu-ha's looks had only become more radiant.
Sofia had always been captivated by his appearance, but since that day, her symptoms had deepened considerably.
Sofia's pupils glazed over dreamily as she flicked through the photos she had taken.
Gulp—
She usually loved the look where his hair fell forward, a precarious balance between innocence and decadence,
but today Jin Yu-ha had swept his bangs back, eliminating any hint of innocence to exclusively emphasize a dangerous and decadent vibe.
And shockingly, he paired it with the audacious fashion sense of wearing nothing but a pair of swim trunks!
In the scenes where he played in the water with Lee Yu-ri, he looked like a sea spirit beguiling mortals.
When swimming with Kang Do-hee, he seemed like a mischievous pretty boy proposing a forbidden wager.
How could a single face be so endlessly captivating?
She had really netted countless photos worthy of treasuring as lifelong heirlooms.
Even his casual glances could tear right through a photo, but when he was all styled up, the sheer visual impact was nothing short of destructive.
Just then, the middle-aged woman gripping the controls on the rocking boat groaned from behind her, sweat pouring off her.
"Ugh, e-excuse me, miss······. H-How much longer do we have to stay out here······. It's already been two hours! I get really bad seasickness, you see, bleegh—!"
"······Didn't you tell me earlier to just leave it to you?"
"W-Well, that's because I didn't know we'd be out this long······!"
"Here, I'll give you more. So keep your mouth shut and just hang on for one more hour."
Plop.
Sofia pulled another wad of cash from the bag she'd brought and handed it to the boat driver.
The driver's expression instantly hardened.
She took the helm with a solemn face.
"Ma'am, just leave it to me! From the moment I was born on the sea, I decided I'd die on a boat. I can do this all day long if you just give the order."
At this textbook-perfect about-face, Sofia gave her a sour, dry look.
Then she turned her head back and raised her camera.
"······Ah! I-In the moment I looked away! Where did Jin Yu-ha go?!"
The camera lens swiveled around frantically, searching for Jin Yu-ha.
And soon, she captured the backs of two people entering a suspicious-looking building.
Confirming the sight, Sofia let out a hollow laugh.
'······Ha, so you mean to hide away somewhere completely out of sight?'
Sofia zoomed the lens in to the maximum, magnifying the building they had entered.
'They seem to be eating. Hmm, well, he must be hungry by now. It's not a bad choice.'
Sofia nodded.
Honestly, it was hard to discern exactly what was happening inside,
but she could roughly guess from the hazy silhouettes of their movements.
Still, taking pictures of this was pointless.
Because she couldn't get a proper shot of Jin Yu-ha's figure!
"······Ugh, that vixen! Pulling this kind of sabotage again!"
Sofia bit her lip, swiveling her camera around trying to find any opening.
That was when it happened.
'Huh······?'
Sofia's head, which had been holding the camera, slowly tilted to the side.
'What are you doing right now······?'
The two stood up from their seats, their meal apparently finished.
And just when she thought they were about to come back outside.
'Lying down······?'
The silhouette that looked like Shin Se-hee suddenly lay down on the spot!
'Why? Why are you suddenly lying down?'
And then the silhouette that looked like Jin Yu-ha sat down on top of her.
The light vanished from Sofia's pupils.
The boat driver rubbed her arms, as if the temperature around Sofia had suddenly plummeted below zero.
"A-Are you alright?"
"······."
Silently watching the scene, Sofia pulled a small earpiece from her pocket.
'This was meant as a precaution in case some trash, hypnotized by Jin Yu-ha's looks, tried to kidnap him or something······.'
Sofia had been in charge of Jin Yu-ha's makeup today.
Since Jin Yu-ha was such a famous face, the idea was to at least alter his look for outdoor activities so he could freely enjoy the beach.
Having originally worked as a model, she was quite knowledgeable even about makeup for men.
And in the process of transforming his image, she had planted one little device.
That was, the fixing hairpin she used to sweep back his bangs.
It was a micro-recorder capable of real-time audio surveillance.
'I had no intention of using this originally.'
After all, no matter what, Jin Yu-ha was a person with personal privacy, and the idea of even eavesdropping on his voice gave her some resistance.
'Because that's too stalker-like.'
Thought the stalker who was actively engaged in voyeuristic filming at that very moment.
'But isn't using it now unavoidable?'
Jin Yu-ha was alone with another party member from Utopia. Lying down in an enclosed space.
This was a situation she had no choice but to verify.
Even for the party's continued existence.
Beep—
She put the earpiece in her ear and pressed the button.
A voice streamed out.
And the words she heard were shocking.
— J-Jin Yu-ha!? G-Gently, p-please, gently!
'······Huh?'
— Endure it. Once you get used to it, it'll feel good.
'Endure what?! Get used to what?! What will feel good?!?!'
Sofia's pupils shook violently in utter confusion.
— Th-This isn't something you can get used to! It's t-too intense!!!
— Let's change positions a bit. Lift your hips just a little.
— Mmph!? Th-That spot! Not there, n-no! I'm gonna die!!
— It's okay. I'll be gentle. Relax your body.
— Nnnnngh! Hahh!
A woman's seductive cries and a man's soft, soothing voice.
The voices sounded almost reversed from typical gender roles, but that was the last thing she cared about.
'······.'
Sofia's eyes went dead.
Her whole body began to tremble furiously.
She had exercised immense patience all day today.
When Shin Se-hee deliberately excluded her and Im Ga-eul at the start to only look out for herself.
When Jin Yu-ha was pressed close against Lee Yu-ri like childhood friends, sharing what looked like intimate skinship.
Even when he walked arm in arm with Kang Do-hee, looking like they were enjoying a pseudo-romance.
She endured it all.
Because whenever she saw Jin Yu-ha smiling happily, she thought those scenes were bearable enough.
But was she really supposed to endure this, too?
'This?'
No. She absolutely could not endure it.
She couldn't forgive that vixen for hogging Jin Yu-ha—the person who belonged to both the Utopia Party and everyone within it—all to herself and pulling these kinds of tricks on him.
'Now that things have come this far, it's war.'
What on earth was happening inside that secret space?
She had to go see with her own two eyes.
"Driver."
"······Yes?"
The driver jumped in alarm at the cold, low voice.
"Take us to shore. Right now."
"······Right now?"
"Hurry!!!!"
"Y-Yes!!"
The driver scrambled to raise the anchor and quickly get ready to head back.
But this was taking too long.
Watching the proceedings with visible anxiety, Sofia turned on her phone and dialed Im Ga-eul.
Brrrrrrr—
Click—!
The call connected before the first ringtone could even finish.
— Hoobae? What's going on?
"Ga-eul sunbae, where are you right now?"
— Me? I'm waiting for my tornado potato?
"Forget the damn tornado potato! Hurry! Go to where Shin Se-hee is! And bring all the other party members with you!"
— Huh? B-But there's still time left. And even the other party members? What is it?
"Jin Yu-ha's chastity is in danger! By now it might already be too late······!"
— Wha, what?! O-Okay, got it! I'll bring the kids and head over now! I've got the location pinned!
Vrooooom—!
At Sofia's urging, the boat sliced through the water, racing toward Jin Yu-ha.
