The Sea Trip (Revised)
I couldn't help but freeze when Sia asked me to put sunscreen on her too.
“Ugh… um…”
While I stood there frozen, Sia set the sunscreen on my palm and then lifted the hem of my T-shirt just a little.
She didn't apply it everywhere—only her waist was exposed, the rest covered by her swimsuit.
“Just the bare skin.”
“A-Alright… got it…”
Luckily, there weren't many spots to apply.
But since I had to do it, I discreetly glanced around at the aunt and uncle to see what they were doing.
“Hey, what the hell is that?!”
“It's called sunblock—way better! Come here!”
“Kyaa! S-Stop it!”
They were busy.
I had no choice but to apply sunscreen to Sia's waist.
Swallowing hard.
I rubbed the sunscreen on my hand without realizing it.
Then Sia dropped right down.
“This is better, isn't it?”
No matter how hard I tried to stay composed, my heart was hammering.
It used to feel so casual… but now my chest was pounding so loudly I could hear it.
I rubbed the sunscreen on with trembling hands.
Then I slowly stroked her back.
“……”
She didn't complain, which meant it wasn't too cold.
I moved my hand smoothly and quickly.
I didn't want her to ask me to apply it again.
After I finished, we stretched while waiting for it to dry.
“Everyone, sunscreen's done! Time to hit the sea!”
“Waaa!”
“Let's go, Siwoo!”
“Yes!”
At the uncle's call, the three of us jumped straight into the water.
The aunt decided to watch us from the tent.
The tube was ready, and we borrowed life jackets.
Splash splash.
We didn't know how to swim, but the tube and life jacket kept us floating. We just kicked our legs to move forward.
“Siwoosia! Don't go too far! Play near here!”
“Yes!”
“Yeah!”
Following the uncle's words, we splashed around near the shore and gradually got used to the water.
Once we were comfortable, he said, “Then let's play tag in the water!”
Splash!! Splash!! Splash!! Splash!!
He chased us fiercely. We ran for our lives.
“Waaaah!”
“Come… together!”
Sia lagged behind, so I held her hand and pulled her along while swimming.
The uncle's chase felt faster… but it was probably just my imagination.
After two hours in the water, we were hungry and came back up.
“Alright, let's eat before we get hungry.”
The aunt spread out all kinds of food.
Everything was already cool from the ice box.
We ate cold noodles.
Actually, we had planned to order delivery, but the uncle wanted cold noodles, so they put it in the ice box.
Even if it was “delivery,” it was chicken or pizza… so eating cold noodles felt surprisingly nice.
After filling our stomachs with the cool noodles and eating the watermelon we brought, we sat for a bit to digest.
“Umm… I want ice cream. Is that okay?”
Sia said she wanted ice cream.
“Sure, Siwoo, want to go with me?”
“Sure.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“Just buy me anything.”
“Got it.”
This time the three of us went to the convenience store nearby and bought several ice creams.
“Put them in the ice box,” the aunt said, and the uncle bought a bunch and stuffed them in a plastic bag.
A few people were standing in front of our tent.
At that moment, the uncle spotted trouble and rushed over.
We followed right after.
“Hey, what do you say to playing with us?”
“Yes, we reserved a big room here. Why don't you join us for some drinks?”
A lot of men had gathered around the aunt.
Of course, she wasn't paying them any attention.
“You can't just speak to someone… at least look at them!”
“Why do I have to deal with these guys?!”
“This… you—!”
I almost punched the aunt, but.
Tap.
“W-What…?”
“Hey.”
The deep, low voice of the uncle I had never heard before was terrifying.
He was tall with a muscular build, and under the sun his skin had turned copper. His deep voice sent chills.
“Who the hell do you think you are, suddenly acting like this?!”
“Me? I'm this guy's husband, you damn kid.”
“……”
Thump!
“Ugh!”
Then he grabbed the man's jaw with his other hand and said coldly,
“Get out of this beach right now. Understand?”
“Y-Yes… yes…”
“If I see you in front of me again, it won't end with just this.”
Then he tossed him away. The man crashed onto the sand and fled with his friends.
“Haah… those bugs…”
“It's okay, there are kids here.”
“Yeah… I know.”
“Hehe, I can handle it myself… but thanks anyway.”
“Thanks for what, you did it yourself…”
“You think I'm weak?”
“No, that's not what I meant…”
“Anyway! Let's all go back into the water!”
“Eh? Mom said she wouldn't swim?”
“I feel like swimming now, so come on! Everyone digesting?”
“Uh… yeah…”
“Then let's go!”
This time we went into the water with the aunt.
But this time we didn't play like before—we floated lazily on the tubes and had fun in the sea.
While floating, we started splashing with each other, and soon the aunt and uncle joined in.
After playing so hard, it was already five o'clock.
Time to pack up.
“Alright, everyone ready to go?”
“Yes!”
We cleaned up quickly.
After packing, we left the beach and headed back to the pension.
There had been a bit of trouble on the way, but we arrived in a good mood.
We unpacked our bags.
Then at the grill in the yard, we started barbecuing.
The sky was turning orange with sunset. If you turned your head, a beautiful view of the sea below spread out.
While enjoying the scenery, we ate the meat deliciously.
We wrapped perilla leaves and ate together. Soon our stomachs were full.
We sat on the deck chairs, resting.
Splat.
Sia sat down next to me.
“Hey, I'll be back in a minute. Want anything?”
The uncle asked, but I said I was fine with anything.
So the uncle and aunt headed to the convenience store.
When only the two of us were left in the pension.
Tap.
Sia's head fell onto my shoulder.
“!”
I turned my head in surprise and saw Sia sleeping peacefully on my shoulder.
I was flustered, but Sia was quietly sleeping.
Looking at her, I stopped moving and turned toward her side.
Then I turned my head to check if she was comfortable.
“Umm…”
Somehow I ended up looking straight at her face.
I tried to turn away, but I couldn't.
Her face was so beautiful I couldn't look away.
Sia's features were like a finely crafted porcelain doll, and her black hair, reflecting the sunset, was like a crystal.
The part that caught my eyes most was her lips.
Her lips, red like cherries, made me lose my mind.
I almost leaned in to kiss her lips.
I quickly pulled back and took a deep breath.
Otherwise I would have kissed her.
My heart was racing like I had run a marathon.
Once I realized my heart was beating fast because of her, the memory of what I had talked about with friends came back.
“How do you know when you like someone? It's simple. Your head goes fuzzy and your heart thuds—that's love.”
Thinking of that, I finally understood my feelings.
I liked Sia.
I didn't know when it started, but I knew I liked her.