Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Our Summer Vacation Together (5)
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-Tweet tweet! Tweet tweet!
I woke up without realizing it to the sound of birds chirping.
As I roughly ran my fingers through my tousled hair and sat up, a super cute sound came from right on top of me.
-Snoooore... Snoooore...
Dasom had climbed on top of me and was fast asleep.
Why on earth had I fallen asleep like this?
I racked my brain, retracing my steps, and finally remembered what I'd been doing before bed last night.
After dinner yesterday, once everything was cleaned up, I was so exhausted that I'd just used Seol-i's lap as a pillow and passed out right there.
"Ughhh..."
It was embarrassing. No matter how tired I was, how could I sleep on a friend's lap?
But it was unavoidable. Seol-i's lap felt so good just to rest on. It was incredibly soft and squishy. Plus, it had this nice scent.
So, falling asleep on Seol-i's lap was inevitable. Yeah, that's it.
With that self-justification complete, I looked down at my stomach.
-Rub rub...
Dasom was clutching the hem of my shirt and rubbing her cheek against my belly like crazy.
The moment I saw the adorable Dasom, the thought "Who cares about anything else?" started creeping in. This must be Dasom's ultimate healing.
Of course, that's one thing...
"Dasom... time to get down..."
I whispered super softly as I gently lifted her off and laid her beside me.
Dasom must have been in a really deep sleep because she didn't wake up even when I picked her up and moved her. She just kept snoring away.
I stroked her a little, then pulled the blanket back over her.
Then I checked the clock...
"...It's only 7 a.m."
It was ridiculously early.
If it were the school semester, it'd be a perfect wake-up time, but this was vacation. Sleeping in was fully legal. So yeah, this was early.
"Ugggghhh..."
I stretched out long and hard, shaking the sleep from my body.
Then I looked around the room properly for the first time, since I hadn't really seen it last night.
This room was too big for just me. Even for me and Dasom, it felt spacious.
I seriously thought Seol-i could share it without issue.
Of course, I had no intention of inviting her in. Sure, if we were little kids, maybe, but now that we're high schoolers, sharing a room with Seol-i would feel totally different.
With those thoughts, I quietly slipped out of the room.
The pension was dead quiet. Mom and Dad were probably still sound asleep, and Seol-i must've gone to bed later than me, so she'd be sleeping too.
I was the only one awake in the whole place.
Once that sank in, I wondered why I even needed to be up right now.
Wouldn't it be better to just crawl back into bed during sleeping-in hours?
Wouldn't hugging our soft, squishy Dasom for some sweet sleep be the real win?
I was about to head back inside with that in mind when...
"...Haneul?"
Looks like I wasn't the only one awake in the pension after all.
"Seol-i?"
Seol-i rubbed her eyes as she approached me and looked up with a big, sleepy smile.
"Haneul... did you sleep well...?"
"Yeah, slept great. You?"
"I'm still sleepy..."
"Then go back to bed. It's only 7."
"7...?"
"Yeah, 7 a.m."
Maybe it was the morning haze, but Seol-i seemed even dopier than usual as she looked up at me, then flashed that bright smile and...
...walked straight into my room.
"Hey, Seol-i?"
Ignoring me completely, she headed inside and flopped right onto my bed.
My brain just flatlined.
She'd said she was sleepy and acted like she was heading back to sleep, only to barge into my room and crash there?
What was she thinking? What thought process led her to decide she'd sleep in my room?
I had a ton of questions, but they quickly stopped mattering.
-Sniff... Sniff...
-Snoooore... Snoooore...
Seol-i cuddling Dasom in her sleep was insanely cute.
Combined with Dasom's cuteness, it doubled the adorableness.
And to top it off, her favorite plushie, Teddy, was snuggled right there with them. It was hilarious.
She really loves that doll. I could totally feel it in that moment.
I grabbed a glass of water, came back up, and just stared at the two princesses sleeping soundly.
Their endless cuteness had me grinning like an idiot.
I didn't bother hiding my smile as I spent some time just watching them.
About an hour later, around when Mom and Dad started stirring...
"Hey, Seol-i. Seol-i~"
"Mmm... Huh...?"
"Parents are up. You gonna stay here?"
I woke her as a courtesy.
Even though both sets of parents knew we were close, being in each other's rooms might come off weird.
Seol-i heard me, her face turned beet red, and she bolted out of the room.
On her way out, she dashed back in to grab Teddy—her flustered cuteness was laugh-out-loud funny.
And with that, day two of the trip kicked off.
*
Day two started with hangover ramen.
Both moms had gone all out: leftover meat from yesterday, onions, bean sprouts, soybean paste, hot pepper paste... a massive, spicy bowl of hangover cure ramen.
It felt like a kitchen sink mishmash, but how could it taste this good? Totally unfair.
Though I'd welcome this kind of cheating any day.
"Ah~ so good."
"Son, you must really like it."
"Yeah, it's amazing."
"The meat yesterday didn't get this reaction."
"The meat was great too."
I chuckled as I finished my bowl, and Dasom grabbed my hand, pointing somewhere.
"Oppa, let's gooo."
"Where?"
"Ocean, ocean! Let's go to the ocean!"
Dasom's finger pointed straight at the sea.
The beach sparkling under the blazing sun.
...Guess we had to go. To the beach.
"Alright, let's hit the ocean."
"Yaaay~!"
Dasom hopped around excitedly. She must've really wanted to go.
As I petted her, Seol-i whispered to me.
"...Um, Haneul."
"Yeah, Seol-i."
"I'll come too... just wait a sec...?"
She said that and dashed to the second-floor bathroom.
I heard brushing and washing sounds. I helped Dasom brush her teeth, brushed mine, helped her wash her face, washed mine.
Once we were ready to head out, I went back upstairs for Dasom's swimsuit and mine.
Might as well use them since we're at the beach. For both of us.
Seol-i showed up with a waterproof bag—must've packed her swimsuit too.
"Okay... let's go...!"
Her determined tone made me pat her shoulder right away.
"Don't stress too much."
I said that, but Seol-i didn't seem capable of relaxing.
Look at her now—just a shoulder pat and she's flinching hard from nerves.
Isn't she too tense? If we're going in the water, that could be dangerous.
The ocean's no joke. I haven't been to the beach much, but as someone who's hit the pool a few times, I know.
Tensing up in water can make your body stiff and cause accidents. Better to be excited like Dasom.
...Though Dasom's excitement might be over the top.
I led Dasom and Seol-i out, calling to the parents.
"Mom~ Dad~ We'll be back~"
"Okay~ Be safe~"
They just waved us off—trusting me, or maybe Seol-i, who knows.
We stepped outside and headed straight for the beach.
Free entry, so we strolled right in and set our stuff under a parasol.
Spread out the waterproof mat, unpacked the cooler with water and drinks, and Seol-i immediately took Dasom's swimsuit from me.
"Haneul, I'll help Dasom change."
"Sure, thanks."
"Dasom, let's go change."
"Okay! Oppa! Bye-bye!"
"Bye-bye~"
I waved to Dasom and finished sorting the bags.
Then I hung out under the parasol until they returned.
No one to watch the stuff if we all changed at once.
About five boring minutes later...
"Oppa!!"
That super familiar, heart-melting voice rang out.
-Hop! Hug!
Dasom came barreling into my arms like a missile.
She was in the cutest kid's swimsuit ever, and of course, our Dasom made it look adorable.
"You changed into your swimsuit?"
"Yeah! And goggles! Unnie has 'em too! Unnie wore hers!"
Dasom pointed somewhere, and I looked.
And there was Seol-i.
...In a swimsuit the color of pure white snowflakes.
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