Chapter 126: Gazing at the Night Sea
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 126: Gazing at the Night Sea
Thanks to the foreign ghost's trolling, an embarrassing moment from Ryuji's past was broadcast live, but fortunately, the crowd's attention quickly faded.
That was because the arm-wrestling match had only been a way to kill time while the main contest's votes were being tallied, and the organizers announced that the count was finished right as the men's and women's matches concluded.
And finally, the winner of the swimsuit contest, with its grand prize of 100,000 yen, was announced.
The honor went to—
It wasn't me, Ryuji, or the muscleman named Yoshida, but that clumsy female contestant from before.
"Huh? Me? Awesome! I hit the jackpot!"
A completely unexpected twist.
I had initially expected the men's votes to be split, but when the results were in, it was the complete opposite.
Instead of the men, it was the women's votes that were more divided.
Thanks to my efforts in the preliminaries, I got a decent number of votes myself, but I was narrowly beaten, ending up in second place.
It was a shame to miss out on the first-place prize of 100,000 yen, but the second-place prize wasn't bad either.
That was because the second-place prize was a Nintendo Switch the whole family could enjoy.
I had finally gotten my hands on the console, something I'd always hesitated to buy because it felt like a bit of an unnecessary luxury.
"That's great. Now we can play games together."
"Yeah."
Ryuji, who had stood with me during the award ceremony, was as happy as if he had won himself.
This guy really is a good person.
If it weren't for my prejudice against him for being a rom-com protagonist, we probably could have become friends sooner at the start of the semester.
I looked down at the 10,000 yen bill I'd won from the arm-wrestling match and said.
"Let's go. I'll treat you guys to something on the way back to the inn with this."
Ryuji whistled and asked.
"Can we get something expensive?"
"You worked hard, so I'll let you have one thing."
And so, after the swimsuit contest was completely over, we met up with the rest of our group waiting below the stage and headed for our inn.
*
After returning to the inn, we had dinner in the courtyard.
The menu was a seafood barbecue, and since we were starving, it tasted absolutely amazing.
The best part was after we finished the shrimp, when we collected the heads and fried them in butter. It was a real delicacy.
Afterward, we chatted while eating the snacks and drinks we'd bought in bulk from the convenience store with the prize money from the arm-wrestling contest.
"It's gotten so late already."
Rika murmured, squatting in the inn's courtyard and staring blankly at a sparkler, one of the fireworks we'd bought with the snacks at the convenience store.
Karen was the one who responded.
"Yeah, it's been a while since I had so much fun I lost track of time."
The class president, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
"Isn't this what you'd call the magic of summer?"
"Indeed… a plausible theory."
As Sasha nodded with a serious expression, Satoru, who was eating ice cream, chimed in.
"So, what's next? We've eaten dinner, had snacks, and played with fireworks. Are we just calling it a night?"
"Shouldn't we? It's getting pretty late."
I said, checking the time on my phone.
10 PM.
In the city, it would still be early, but in a place like this, an out-of-the-way beach, most shops close after 9 PM.
"Alright."
As the sparkler in her hand went out, the class president was the first to dust herself off and stand up.
"Let's start heading in. We need to save our energy if we want to have fun again early tomorrow, right? At this rate, we'll all oversleep."
It was a valid point, so no one disagreed with her.
Soon, even the firewood in the bonfire turned to white ash, and the embers died out.
That became something of a signal, and we got up one by one.
"Alright, let's call it a night. Everyone get a good rest, and let's see each other with smiling faces tomorrow morning."
With that, the class president wrapped things up and led the way inside the inn.
That created an awkward atmosphere for anyone left in the courtyard, so we exchanged glances and began to file inside one by one.
Rika, who was the last to go in, met my eyes, gave me her usual bright smile, and waved.
"Good night, Ryu-chan."
"Yeah. You too."
After saying that to Rika, I followed Satoru and Ryuji into the inn.
*
The room the guys were using was a moderately sized room for four.
I spread my futon on the tatami mat and lay down, my eyes drawn to the fluorescent light flickering slowly overhead.
"Feels like we're visiting grandma's house in the countryside."
When Ryuji, lying next to me, muttered that, Satoru agreed.
"Totally. Especially this mosquito coil smell. It's intense."
Indeed, the musty smell of the mosquito coil provided by the inn was intensely stimulating my nostrils.
If we just had a mosquito net, the picture would be complete.
Listening to them talk, I asked Satoru.
"Oh, by the way, Satoru, are you still pissed?"
Satoru replied, sounding incredulous.
"Do you normally just ask someone that outright?"
"Well, I wouldn't know if I didn't ask."
A moment later, Satoru said.
"Forget it, man. I was the one who went too far earlier anyway."
Surprisingly, Satoru readily admitted his fault.
After hearing his reply, I thought for a moment and then spoke.
"Let's make sure the three of us hang out later. I'll go along with whatever you want, whether it's picking up girls or anything else."
Satoru chuckled and said.
"Yeah. Next time, let's go on a guys' trip or something."
"That doesn't sound bad."
As Ryuji agreed, Satoru yawned, perhaps getting sleepy from lying down, and said.
"Anyway, let's get some sleep. Like the class president said, it's probably best to sleep early if we're going to be active again tomorrow."
"Yeah. Good night."
With that, I sat up slightly and turned off the room's only light.
As the room went dark, only the sound of quiet breathing could be heard.
Soon, I heard someone start to snore, and I gently closed my eyes.
*
I had a dream for the first time in a while.
And the dream wasn't mine, but a memory of 'Kim Yoo-Sung'.
In the faded memory, back when Kim Yoo-Sung's grandmother was still alive, his parents were busy with work, so he was raised by her.
In the memory, his grandmother's face was covered in wrinkles.
With hands that bore the full brunt of time, she would gently stroke Kim Yoo-Sung's hair and tell him old stories.
It seemed Kim Yoo-Sung had been very fond of his grandmother.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for the emotions I felt indirectly in the dream to be so sad.
Perhaps the scent of the mosquito coil, which I hadn't smelled in a long time, had triggered 'Kim Yoo-Sung's' memory.
Though at this point, that was just speculation.
*
I opened my eyes in the darkness.
When I rubbed my eyes, a single tear fell.
Given the dream's content, my body must have had a physiological reaction.
I quietly got up and left the room alone to wash my face.
The hallway was dead silent.
The creaking floorboards with every step created a strange atmosphere.
After quickly washing my face at the sink in the nearest bathroom, I started to head back to the room to try and sleep again.
But on the way, I ran into someone I never expected to see.
"Huh? Ryu-chan?"
It was Rika, in a rare set of pajamas.
*
Since we'd run into each other, we decided to take a short walk outside.
I had woken up to use the bathroom anyway, and now I was wide awake, so it didn't seem like I'd be able to fall back asleep right away.
We walked along the white sandy beach that stretched out beside the night sea.
Grains of sand slipped between my sandals and toes, scattering with a soft touch.
Even though it was summer, the sea breeze blowing in from the night ocean was quite chilly.
It seemed I wasn't the only one who felt it, as Rika, walking beside me, shivered slightly.
It was a good thing I'd thought to bring a cardigan, just in case.
"Here, wear this."
"Oh, thank you."
I held out the cardigan I was carrying in my right hand, and Rika accepted it without hesitation, draping it over herself.
A subtle silence fell between us.
I hung out with Rika all the time, but this was the first time it had ever felt like this.
To break the atmosphere, I looked up at the moon in the sky.
"The moon is beautiful tonight."
"Huh?"
Rika looked at me with a startled expression.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing."
Rika mumbled, trailing off, and then quickened her pace slightly.
I asked as I followed her small back.
"Why are you walking so fast?"
Rika answered.
"I just felt like getting a little exercise."
Honestly, it was an excuse anyone could see through.
But I decided to play along.
"To think about exercising at this hour, that's impressive."
"Hehe, you praised me."
She said, glancing back with a bright smile.
"So, Ryu-chan, what about you? What are you doing out here?"
"Me? Well, my head was just a bit of a mess."
Walking in a situation like this was a great help in organizing my thoughts.
Because the memories of Kim Yoo-Sung that surface from time to time make me feel as if I'm doing something terribly wrong.
In reality, I was just someone who got caught up in all this.
Living someone else's life was by no means an easy thing.
It would probably be the same for anyone in my shoes, not just me.
I gazed at the dark night sea and said.
"It's nice and quiet."
"Right?"
We walked along the quiet beach, making small talk.
In the middle of our conversation, Rika suddenly looked at me with a serious expression.
"Ryu-chan, there's something I want to say."
"Something to say?"
"Yeah. Something I've wanted to tell you for a long time."
After saying that, Rika paused for a moment.
And then—