Chapter 85: Water Park (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 85: Water Park (1)
The following morning.
Lee Seung-ah followed me, grumbling every step of the way.
“I told you I didn’t want breakfast...”
She could barely keep her eyes open, looking half-dead. She’d been tossing and turning until late last night, and this was the result.
I shot back at her complaining.
“And then you’ll just whine later that you missed out.”
I could already see her pouting because she missed the buffet.
“...No, I won’t.”
She avoided my gaze as she spoke, which didn't make her very convincing. If Mom hadn’t told me to bring her along, I would have just left her to sleep.
“......”
When we arrived at the restaurant, I saw Ji Nuri eating with her family.
“Mornin’.”
Ji Nuri gave a small nod while chewing.
“Yeah.”
I nodded back. For some reason, this reminded me of our school trip...
— “...Somehow, this reminds me of the school trip.”
Ji Nuri’s Mini-Me muttered while chewing on her food.
It seemed we were thinking the same thing. Well, we were in the same class and had hung out together back then, too.
“......”
I grabbed a plate and sat at the table across from Ji Nuri. The tables weren’t far apart; in fact, they were right next to each other.
“Hwaaaa-am...”
Lee Seung-ah, who had followed me with her food, let out a long, languid yawn.
“Hm?”
Seeing that, Ji Nuri tilted her head.
“Didn’t you sleep last night...?”
“Ugh...”
I spoke up for the nearly dozing Seung-ah.
“Her internal clock is all messed up.”
“Ah...”
Ji Nuri looked at her with a slightly worried expression.
“......”
I calmly chewed on my bread. There was no need to worry. Once we hit the water park in a bit, she’d be wide awake anyway.
“Right. You said you were heading straight in this morning?” I asked Ji Nuri, who was glancing over.
“Yeah, we can just walk there.”
Since the water park was right next to the hotel, there was no need to drive. It meant we could take our time heading out.
‘Being right next door is definitely convenient.’
There was a reason this place was expensive. I guess location really does determine the price.
*
After breakfast, we walked over to the water park.
“See you later!”
Seung-ah, whose eyes were now sparkling, gave a small wave. She disappeared with a light step.
“......”
I headed to the changing room with the two fathers. As I took off my shirt in front of the locker, sandwiched between the two dads...
“......”
For some reason, it felt strangely suffocating.
“Whoa. You must work out a lot?”
Ji Nuri’s father raised his eyebrows as he looked at my bare torso. It was a look of pure admiration.
— “Being young is definitely nice.”
He nodded to himself, thinking about how he used to look like that once. I let out a polite laugh, playing along.
“......”
Thinking about it again, it was a bizarre situation. How did I end up in a changing room with my friend’s father? The whole thing felt surreal.
‘...Are they not out yet?’
We were the first to leave the changing room. It usually took women longer to change and get ready.
“Want something to eat?” the Mister asked.
“Oh... then, I’ll have a Cola.”
Since we had nothing to do while waiting, I bought a churro and a Cola from a nearby snack shop. Thankfully, the Mister paid for them.
“...”
Slurp—
I took a sip of the Cola. As I was waiting and snacking...
‘Ah, there they are.’
Ji Nuri and Lee Seung-ah walked out from the distance. The mothers were right behind them.
“......”
Lee Seung-ah had a dazed expression as she trudged toward us.
— “...Whoa, they’re freaking huge.”
“Pfft!”
My eyes instinctively squeezed shut. I almost sprayed my Cola at Seung-ah’s sudden thought. I knew exactly who she was referring to.
“Cough, hack...”
Cola trickled down the corner of my mouth.
— “Totally squishy—”
Seung-ah’s thoughts continued. I turned my head away, letting the rest of her words go in one ear and out the other.
“......”
Ji Nuri stared at me intently.
— “...Hmph, look at him getting all shy.”
Her Mini-Me gave a sly grin, snorting with a boastful air.
“......”
Seeing that made my brow furrow. It’s not because of you. Well, technically, it is because of you, but...
“We’ll go grab a spot, so you kids go ahead and play.”
Ji Nuri’s mother waved as she tapped her keycard on a bench.
— “Hehe. It’s been a while since the two of us could spend some relaxing time together.”
The Ma’am hummed excitedly while looking at the Mister.
‘I knew it.’
The suggestion to go on a trip with a friend’s family I’d never met before... it seemed this was part of the plan. They probably wanted some quality time as a couple. After all, if Ji Nuri was with them, they’d have to play together.
“We’ll be back!”
The three of us headed outside. The hot sunlight beat down on us. The buzzing voices of the crowd served as background noise. There were people everywhere you looked.
“Where should we go first?”
“Hold on...?”
Ji Nuri tapped on her phone, which was inside a waterproof pouch. It looked like she had planned an itinerary in advance.
“First, let’s go rent life jackets.”
I nodded. The rental shop was easy to find since it was right nearby.
“One Large and...”
I started to tell the employee, then stopped to ask the two of them.
“What are your sizes?”
“Small.”
“Uh, um. Me too, Small.”
Seung-ah answered immediately, while Ji Nuri hesitated before responding.
“One Large and two Smalls, please.”
“Got it, one Large and two Smalls. Here you go.”
I took the life jackets from the employee one by one and handed them to the two girls. I quickly threw mine on.
“?”
Then, my eyebrows twitched. I had finished putting mine on, and Seung-ah was done quickly too, but for some reason, Ji Nuri was twisting her body this way and that.
— “Nngh...”
Her Mini-Me was grunting, trying to pull the zipper up, but it wasn’t working. It wouldn’t close at all. It looked like it might burst if she forced it.
— “Ah...”
Seung-ah’s Mini-Me watched the scene with a deadpan stare. Perhaps she realized the reason why.
“...Please exchange this for a Medium.”
Ji Nuri gave up quickly and changed the size. The new one fit after she loosened the straps a few times.
— “Tsk...”
Seung-ah clicked her tongue lightly. I could see her favorability toward Ji Nuri dropping in real-time.
“......”
Now that we had our life jackets on, it was finally time to play.
“Let’s go ride that first...!”
Ji Nuri pointed at a ride.
— “That looks so fun!”
Her Mini-Me hopped up and down. She seemed incredibly excited.
— “Gah.”
On the other hand, Seung-ah’s Mini-Me flinched and backed away. Her mouth hung wide open.
— “What the hell is that...?!”
She looked horrified at the towering structure. Right, I forgot. Seung-ah had been unable to handle scary rides since she was little. I still remember her bawling her eyes out on a Ferris wheel when she was six or seven because she was scared. She’d gotten better as she grew up, but that tendency hadn’t completely vanished.
“...Unnie? Won’t the line for that be really long?” Seung-ah asked with a strained smile.
“It’s okay. We have Pass Tickets, so we can ride right away without waiting.”
“Huh?”
Seung-ah and I looked down at our bracelets at the same time. She was right. These tickets included a Pass Ticket. That "unnie" Seung-ah knew... just how nice of a gift did she give her?
“Let’s go, quick!”
Ji Nuri led the way excitedly.
“......”
I followed behind her and quietly asked Seung-ah.
“You gonna be okay?”
“...Uh, I guess one should be fine.”
Seeing how excited Ji Nuri was, Seung-ah decided she couldn’t back out and put on a determined face.
“Kyaaaaaaaah—!”
That face quickly turned into one of regret, though.
“Kyaak! Kyaaaaaah!”
Seung-ah screamed with a face that looked like she was about to cry. After finishing the first ride, we returned to solid ground.
— “That was so much fun...!”
Ji Nuri’s Mini-Me was breathing heavily with excitement.
“My legs are shaking so much...”
Ji Nuri let out a laugh while looking at her legs. It wasn’t that she wasn’t scared, but she seemed to enjoy the thrill.
“Uuugh...”
Seung-ah was barely standing, leaning on my shoulder.
— “I seriously thought I was going to die...”
She muttered under her breath, hunched over.
“......”
I looked down at her and blinked slowly.
‘I thought my eardrums were going to burst...’
My ears felt muffled. The combined noise from Seung-ah and her Mini-Me had done the trick.
“Let’s go to the next one right away.”
Ji Nuri swiped through her phone.
“Let’s catch our breath with something simple this time.”
“...What is it?” Seung-ah asked warily.
“That one.”
Ji Nuri pointed upward. A long slide stretched from high in the sky down to the ground. Seung-ah’s face immediately froze.
— “You said it was simple...!”
Her Mini-Me shrieked.
‘No wonder Ji Nuri’s parents liked this.’
Ji Nuri enjoyed playing more than I expected. I don’t know how she held back during the school trip.
“...Wait a minute, you can only ride this in pairs.”
Seung-ah’s eyes flashed. Ji Nuri nodded and wagged her finger.
“That’s true, but they said people with Pass Tickets can ride alone if they want.”
“No, that’s no fun...!”
Seung-ah let out a bright smile. It was a deliberate one.
“I’ll be waiting down here, so you two go ahead.”
“Huh? What?”
Ji Nuri looked confused.
“Go on, go on.”
Seung-ah quickly gave us a nudge on the back.
“I’ll be eating ice cream right in front of here, so hurry back~”
And then, before we could catch her, she ran off as if escaping. We were left standing there blankly. Ji Nuri’s gaze slowly drifted toward me.
— “Ahem...”
Her Mini-Me cleared its throat.
“......”
For some reason, I felt like I knew what Ji Nuri was going to say next. I spoke up a step faster.
“She’s been bad with scary things for a long time.”
“Ah...”
Ji Nuri nodded.
“She definitely seemed that way.”
She bobbed her head, reflecting on the situation just now.
— “I should change the course to the wave pool. I’ll take out all the rides in between...”
Ji Nuri immediately adjusted the plan. Since she already had a few things in mind, it didn’t take very long.
“......”
Meanwhile, we arrived at the next ride.
“The lady in front and the gentleman in back, please.”
Following the employee’s instructions, we climbed onto the tube one after the other.
— “This is going to be so fun!”
The Mini-Me clung to the tube, kicking its feet in excitement.
“Please place both feet between her arms.”
“Ah, okay.”
I tucked my calves under Ji Nuri’s armpits.
“......”
Ji Nuri looked back slightly and let out a "hehe" laugh. She had a bit of a teasing expression. I flicked my finger at her, telling her to look forward. Ji Nuri let out a snicker and turned her gaze back. Her energy was quite high since we were out having fun.
“Hold onto the safety handles tight. We’re starting now~”
The tube we were on slid forward.
“Oh...!”
At first, I thought we were going down slowly, but then we picked up speed, going faster and faster.
“Kyaak!”
Ji Nuri screamed. It was a shout of joy rather than fear. Our bodies swayed back and forth with the movement of the tube.
Shuaaaaaak—!
After racing down at high speed, we reached the end.
Chwaaaaaaaaak——!
Due to the impact of the descent, water sprayed all over the tube.
“Cough! Hack!”
I started coughing. I had accidentally swallowed some water because I’d had my mouth open. As I was wiping my wet face with my hands...
“Pfft.”
Ji Nuri burst out laughing while looking at me.
Man.
It was a truly childlike laugh.
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(!Signboard!)
(Scroll down for AI illustrations!)
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(Ji Nuri Swimsuit 1)
(Ji Nuri Swimsuit 2)
+ The reason it's not a bikini is because it's a family trip.