Chapter 197
Chapter 197
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: Let's Build a Cool Sandcastle!
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Thus, the so-called Sandcastle Construction Team was formed.
Yuna jumped in too, saying she wanted to make one herself.
Manager So-eun unnie stepped up to help, just in case there was any heavy lifting involved.
"Da-jeong-ah, what's that for?"
To lay the foundation for the sandcastle, I kept stomping the ground flat with my feet.
While I was at it, Yuna—who'd been watching me closely—asked casually.
"Huh? Oh, you have to pack the ground down like this to build it right."
"Wow, you sound super professional."
"Hehe, honestly, I don't know much either. I'm just going by what I saw online."
I smiled sheepishly and kept stomping away.
Yuna rushed over, saying she'd join in, and started stamping too.
Manager So-eun unnie jumped in late, and just like that, we had a nice flat base.
Good.
Now, splash a little water on it to make it extra firm.
Then we can build the actual sandcastle.
"What vibe are we going for?"
"Something like this. A bit of an old European castle feel."
"That's cool. But won't it take a ton of work...?"
"It'll be small, so we should be fine!"
I showed them a rough sketch, and they both gave me those 'Can we really do this?' looks.
But when they saw me clench my fist with fiery determination, they nodded and got to work.
First up: the base castle.
Pack sand into the prepared molds, mix with water, and let it set just right.
Then carefully remove the molds...
"Oh, it set up nice and solid."
"Yeah, water ratio is the key, they said."
Sure enough, as Yuna pointed out, we had three pretty sturdy molds.
Stick sand between the three castles to seal the joints.
Then, like in the video, use this plastic knife to carve the outer surfaces down to size.
Scrape... scrape...
"Da-jeong-ah, can we try that too?"
"Yeah, go for it. Just carve the edges pretty like in the picture with this knife."
"I'm no good with my hands, so not sure if I can pull it off."
"It's fine. It's all just for making memories anyway."
The two who'd been watching picked up plastic knives and joined in.
Scrape scrape—they carved the sides of the castles.
Or drew lines to make brick-like patterns.
"Oh, it's actually starting to look like a castle. This is fun."
"Right? More fun than I expected."
"See? I saw it in a video and it looked so cool."
Sandcastles might seem like kid stuff.
But it actually takes way more effort than you'd think.
As expected—they get it.
We spent a few minutes refining it.
We'd started with three round, hill-like lumps from the molds.
Before we knew it, it was shaping up like something out of a fantasy novel.
Of course, that's just my hopeful take.
In reality, we'd only carved the shapes, so it wasn't fully there yet.
But we'd done more than half already!
"What are you all doing over there?"
"Building a sandcastle?"
"Hehe, yep!"
We were in the middle of making mud bricks to decorate the castle walls.
That's when Ji-ah unnie and Chae-yoon unnie—who'd been splashing around—came ashore and asked.
They came right up, full of interest.
They must've seen me decorating around the castle.
Because their eyes went wide as they snuck up behind me, bending way down to point at the mud brick in my hand.
"Whoa, maknae. What's that? Making bricks for decoration?"
"Yeah, shape 'em rectangular and stack 'em up—it gives that brick vibe."
"Takes so much work... Not the sandcastle I had in mind."
"Yeah, I couldn't even dream of trying. Da-jeong's got real talent."
"N-no, it's not that big a deal... Ehehe."
A little embarrassed by their praise,
I scratched my cheek with my muddy hand without thinking.
"Da-jeong-ah, you got dirt on your cheek. I'll wipe it—stay still."
"Yeah, thanks... Huh?"
Sure enough, dirt smeared on my cheek.
Yuna, who'd been staring at me, reached out to wipe it for me.
I was about to thank her when I sensed something off.
Wait a sec.
Yuna's hands were just as dirty as mine.
No way...!
Squish—
"Ehehe, fooled ya!"
"Ubue...!"
No way hits hard.
Yuna wasn't coming to wipe it clean.
She'd reached out to smear more dirt from the start.
Using her index and middle fingers,
she mashed my cheek like sticky rice cake.
A weird noise escaped my mouth—not sure if it was human or animal.
Woo... so mean.
I trusted you, Yuna!
"Jeez, pulling pranks even elementary kids wouldn't... I'll grab some wet wipes. Hang on, Da-jeong-ah."
"S-sorry, unnie."
Ji-ah unnie couldn't stand it anymore and let out a short sigh.
She dashed to the parasol, grabbed wet wipes, and cleaned my cheek.
Feels like I'm a little kid again.
"Da-jeong-ssi, how do you make the windows from the sketch?"
"Oh, that's...!"
We'd just about finished the decorations and were looking for the next step.
Perfect timing—Manager So-eun unnie asked while glancing at the picture on my phone.
I quickly pulled a tool from my little bag.
It was round, like a teaspoon.
"Use this to scoop out little bits where the windows go!"
I scooped lightly at the window spots.
It hollowed inward, really looking like windows now.
Everyone gasped in unison.
"There's a tool for that?"
"Sandcastle building is way more pro than I thought..."
"Maknae came fully prepared, huh?"
"Amazing. I made tons as a kid, but never anything like that."
And so, we kept at the decorations and window carving.
Not quite matching the castle in the phone pic.
But a pretty decent shape was coming together.
For the finishing touch: use the spoon to carve entrances into the three castles.
Top 'em with the pre-made pink cone decorations... and done!
"Ooh!"
"Whoa, it's a real castle!"
"So cool!"
"Da-jeong-ah, wanna take a pic just like this? It'll turn out adorable."
Everyone clapped at the finished sandcastle.
Ji-ah unnie snatched my phone and suggested it.
In my swimsuit, it felt a bit embarrassing.
But hey, memories are memories.
I nodded without hesitation and knelt daintily in front of the sandcastle as she asked.
"Okay, Da-jeong-ah, smile at the camera?"
"L-like this?"
"Yup, perfect! You're so cute, our Da-jeong-ie."
I managed an awkward smile without posing.
She loved it anyway, stomping her feet excitedly as she snapped away.
Click—click—click—click—
H-how many is she gonna take?
The shutter sounds showed no sign of stopping.
She's even switching angles.
"Why so into the photos?"
"Already done? I was gonna help after tanning."
The endless shutter finally paused when President and Ra-hee unnie approached from the sunbeds.
"President, check this out! Da-jeong's sandcastle—so cool, right?"
"Oh, that's well done. Da-jeong made all that?"
"N-no, we did it together."
I waved it off, denying it.
But President didn't seem convinced.
Hing, we all worked hard on it for real.
"Unnie, Da-jeong pics? Lemme see."
Meanwhile, Ra-hee unnie seemed more interested in my photos than the castle.
She toddled over to Ji-ah unnie and peeked.
"Yeah, look. Adorable, right?"
"...Damn, that's bad for the heart."
The second they checked the pics together,
a curse slipped from Ra-hee unnie's mouth.
In nearly a year together, it was the first time I'd heard her use language like that.
And honestly, her reaction was so intense,
I got curious about what the photo even looked like.
So I hopped up, dusted off my butt, and scurried between the two unnies...
"Eek...!"
I tip-toed hard to peer at the phone.
Well, not really the tip-toes.
Ji-ah unnie noticed me and showed it.
Woo... Lately, I've felt shorter.
Checked recently—down 0.5 cm.
Not shrinking more, right...?
"Whaddya think, Da-jeong-ah? Super cute?"
Trying to shove down my tiny worry, I checked the photo like Ji-ah unnie said.
There I was, sitting softly by the little sandcastle.
Smiling at the camera.
I'd thought it'd look super awkward, but surprisingly, it didn't.
"C-cute, I dunno... but it came out okay."
"Always like this—cute as heck but hates hearing it."
"Woo... D-don't know."
I turned away at Ra-hee unnie's teasing, twisting my body.
Anyway, I'm not cute.
"So, maknae, sandcastle all done?"
"Yeah, unnie."
I was still wriggling in Ra-hee unnie's hug when
Chae-yoon unnie sneaked up and spoke.
Her eyes had that 'got business' look, so I tilted my head for a sec...
"Yuna-ya, grab!"
"Okay!"
"E-eh...?!"
That instant, Chae-yoon unnie barked the order like lightning.
Yuna charged in and latched onto my arm.
And Chae-yoon unnie hoisted my legs... W-wait! Don't tell me...!
"W-wait, unnie! I can't swim...?!"
I didn't need future sight or anything.
I could guess what came next, so I flailed and protested.
But Chae-yoon unnie flashed her pearly gums like an anime scene and grinned confidently.
"It's fine! If you go under, unnie'll give you mouth-to-mouth!"
"That's not the problemmm!"
Splash—
And just like that, I turned into a drowned rat.
...I hate unnie and Yuna both.