Even Water Fun with My Juniors Can't Change My Outsider Life
“Why?”
He looked at me with that utterly innocent face of his and asked.
And just a moment ago, he’d been pressed so close against Songha that their lips had met.
Well…
Of course, all I’d actually seen was the back of it. More precisely, I’d seen Songha wrapped in his arms.
I couldn’t swear with one hundred percent certainty that they’d kissed.
Even if they hadn’t, the fact that they’d been hugging in such a public place was already…
It meant they could turn into a kissing relationship any time they wanted.
Honestly, whether they’d kissed or not wasn’t the important part…….
“Oh. You mean to run together?”
“……”
There was that saying about the cat that quietly sneaks up onto the hot stove first.
I’d been wondering just when Songha, who hadn’t shown the slightest interest in dating—or even in guys at all—through all of middle and high school, had started sharing that weird little something with Lee Sunwoo.
But that wasn’t what mattered right now.
“Right. Good thinking. No matter what anyone says, people should be consistent.”
“Are you dating Songha?”
What mattered was whether this oppa was involved with Songha or not.
If they weren’t, that was a relief.
But if they were…….
“Huh? Out of nowhere?”
Sunwoo looked flustered by the sudden question.
But I ignored that and kept staring at him, waiting for an answer.
“……”
“……”
By then, even Sunwoo had started to catch on.
That I was asking seriously.
“…No, we’re not dating. Why?”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Really.”
“Really, really? You’re not lying?”
“I said yes. Really, really.”
“……”
“……”
Kim Hayun, in her bikini, stared straight at him.
…Hmm.
The outfit alone was one thing, but the look in her eyes made the whole situation feel absurdly pressure-filled for Sunwoo.
Still, if he avoided her gaze, she might think he wasn’t telling the truth. So he forced down the discomfort and met Kim Hayun’s eyes head-on.
Then—
“…Really? ……Okay.”
Kim Hayun muttered, lowering her gaze a little.
Only then did Sunwoo let out a relieved breath.
…She’s at it again, just like last time.
Today her eyes had been even more serious than before. He’d barely managed not to crack.
Apparently she was doing this as revenge because he’d asked her to run with him. He definitely shouldn’t suggest exercising to Kim Hayun again after this…….
While he was making that absurd resolution, Kim Hayun—who’d been chewing on her lip—made one of her own at the same time.
……So they’re not dating yet. But.
That didn’t change the fact that Songha and oppa had been hugging.
She couldn’t afford to let her guard down like this.
She needed to do something, and fast.
That was the vow she made.
“……”
“……”
Their gazes met, each of them carrying a different thought.
And at that moment—
“Ah, Hayun! Senior!”
Coincidentally, someone came waving toward the two of them.
It was Mo Yuna.
She must have had so much fun on the water slide that she’d lost all track of time; her hair, which had been tied back and lifted, and her bikini, and her whole body were drenched through.
Looks like she had a good time.
If anyone saw her, they’d probably believe she’d just come from swimming.
Sunwoo greeted her with a smile.
“Did you have fun?”
“Yes. It was so much fun!”
“Good. It looks like it.”
“Hehe…. Ah, what about you and Hayun, Senior? You said you taught her how to swim. How was it?”
Mo Yuna sat down beside Kim Hayun, firing off all the questions she hadn’t been able to ask while she was busy playing.
Sunwoo naturally handed over the towel he’d had around his neck, and Mo Yuna accepted it with a soft eye-smile before carefully drying herself off.
“We had fun too. Hayun picked up swimming really fast.”
“Really? Does Hayun have talent?”
“Yeah. She’s got almost national-team ace-level talent.”
“…Ahem!”
Apparently pleased by the praise, Kim Hayun stood up with a little cough.
Mo Yuna, having mostly dealt with the water on her body, smiled and hugged her.
“Oh? Then our Hayun. Want to have a swimming match with me?”
Kim Hayun’s eyes narrowed a little.
“You think I don’t know how good you are at swimming, Yuna?”
“Ah, busted.”
Sunwoo, listening to the exchange, chimed in.
“Yuna, you’re that good at swimming?”
“Well… not a lot, just a little?”
“Oppa, she’s lying. Yuna’s been swimming since she was little, so she’s insanely good.”
“Oh…. Really?”
So that was it.
In that case, why not see just how good she really was?
“Yuna. Want to race me instead of Hayun? We can put something on it.”
“What are you betting?”
Mo Yuna answered with a smile, not backing down at all.
She’d claimed she was only a little good, but the fact that she was willing to take on Sunwoo—who had a massive physical advantage—at swimming already said she was no amateur. Maybe she really was quite skilled.
Realizing that, a smile crept onto Sunwoo’s lips.
Look at her.
She really could swim, huh?
That would make this even more fun.
“Obviously food. The loser buys a meal.”
“Just food?”
“Then what?”
“If we’re making a bet, we should make it exciting. How about the loser has to grant one wish?”
“A wish, huh…. Think you can handle that?”
“Senior, are you sure you can handle it?”
After a light exchange of dares—
the two smiled at each other, then suddenly turned serious at the same time and got to their feet.
“Want to make this a clean one-on-one?”
“Yes. One race.”
“Okay. You don’t need to change into a different swimsuit?”
“It’s fine. This much is a penalty.”
“Really? Don’t come whining to me if you regret it.”
“Don’t worry. Even if I lose, I won’t make excuses about it being because I wore a bikini.”
* * *
“……If it hadn’t been for the bikini, I wouldn’t have lost.”
Mo Yuna pouted and grumbled under her breath.
She’d said she wouldn’t blame the swimsuit if she lost, and yet here she was. Apparently losing by a hair had been so frustrating that she was already on her fifth repetition of the same line.
“Who was it who said this counted as a penalty?”
“……”
At my muttered words, Mo Yuna’s cheeks turned red.
“I can’t quite remember. Who was it again?”
I leaned close and whispered.
“…Eep.”
She flinched.
She was clearly pretending not to hear me, but with me saying it right beside her like that, she couldn’t really keep up the act. After a few more whispers from me, she finally gave up and gently pushed at my body with her hands.
“…L-Let’s do it again later. Next time, I definitely won’t lose.”
“So you’re asking for two wishes?”
“……No, I’m not. Next time, I’m absolutely going to win!”
Absolutely going to win, huh.
Well, if Mo Yuna had shown up in a normal swimsuit, maybe I really wouldn’t have won either. If we raced again under different conditions, I might lose instead.
“Fine. Come properly dressed next time.”
Obviously, I was talking about the swimsuit.
But Mo Yuna seemed to misunderstand something.
“…?!”
Her face turned bright red, and she glared at me with wide eyes before glancing at the other two and then blurting out—
“……Agh. Come on! Senior, how long are you going to keep bringing that up?!”
At first I had no idea what she was talking about.
Ah.
She thought I meant underwear, not a swimsuit.
Since things had already gone this far, I decided to tease her a little and added with a grin,
“Huh? What are you talking about? Bringing up what?”
“……Y-you’re pretending not to know again! You know exactly what I mean!”
“No, I’m serious. I don’t know what you’re talking about. What did I do?”
“……”
Mo Yuna, her ears burning red, stared at me hard.
She was probably thinking that if I knew, I shouldn’t make her say it out loud.
She’s cute.
Of course I knew without her having to spell it out.
When I only smiled and didn’t answer, Mo Yuna muttered softly in a voice only I could hear.
“…I’ll get you back, Senior.”
Like the friend she was, she was saying she’d take revenge on me too.
Well, I had no idea what exactly she or Kim Hayun intended to do for revenge, but I decided to look forward to it for now.
After meeting Chae Songha again, who’d joined us after the swimming bet, the four of us were finally whole, and we headed to the wave pool to actually have some fun together.
Normally the rule of the wave pool was to stand in the very front, but considering that everyone in the group except me was a girl, we settled somewhere around the middle.
“Waves aren’t something you calculate. They’re something you overcome.”
I tossed out a proverb I’d picked up somewhere and folded my arms.
Then I planted my feet shoulder-width apart and got ready for the wave that was about to come crashing in.
Tug.
Someone gently grabbed my right arm.
When I turned my head to check, it was Mo Yuna, who’d just said she was going to get revenge on me.
“…There wasn’t anything nearby I could hold on to. …Ahem.”
Her face went red right away, embarrassed that she was leaning on me.
She looked so cute that I smiled before I could stop myself and tightened my arm a little.
“Hold on tighter. If you let go halfway, you’ll fall.”
“……”
Clasp.
Mo Yuna’s hand, wrapped around my forearm, tightened its grip.
And then—
“Ah, then I will too.”
Someone else grabbed my left arm.
This time it was even more unexpected. Chae Songha.
“Excuse me for this, Sunwoo senior.”
She said that and pressed herself against my left side.
If Mo Yuna had only taken a careful hold of me, Songha was acting like she intended to cling and brace herself entirely against my arm, wrapping around it as though it were an armrest.
…What is going on?
Right when I’d gone a little dumbfounded at having not one but two girls doing this to me—
“Oppa.”
Kim Hayun’s voice came from behind me.
“Me too.”
And suddenly two slender arms slid around my waist from behind, grabbed my torso, and—
Thump.
Something soft pressed heavily against my back.
“I’ll hold on to you for a bit, okay?”
“……”
Kim Hayun had hugged me from behind.
…What do they think I am?
Do they think I’m some kind of sturdy post they can all grab onto?
Not one, not two, but all three…….
-SPLAAAAAAAAASH!
“Hey! It’s coming!”
With someone’s shout, the wave surged toward us.
It was far taller than I was.
Reflexively, I lifted my arms to shield my face—
…Huh?
Only to realize too late that both my arms were being held by Mo Yuna and Chae Songha, respectively.
“Songha, cover your face! Your face!”
“Ah, yes!”
Chae Songha burrowed into my side and covered her face.
Since there was a bit of a height difference between us, that meant her face and Mo Yuna’s would be protected.
Wait, then what about me…?
I, however, had no way to cover myself. My arms were already trapped.
So as a last resort, I tried to duck my upper body at least.
“W-wait! Oppa, don’t duck!”
“…?!”
Kim Hayun, who had me from behind, stopped me from doing even that.
She was trying to use my body as a shield.
“Hey, you little—if you all do this, then….”
“Eek!”
-SMACK!
The wave crashed over all four of us in one sweeping blast.
And naturally—
“-Pwah! Tch!”
I was the only one who took the full force of it.
Water flooded into my mouth and nose, and I shoved the three of them away.
“Hey! Because of you guys, water got in my mouth and nose!!”
“…Ah. Sorry.”
Chae Songha said it while smiling.
“Aah, sorry, Senior…!”
“I’m sorry, oppa!”
But the other two were the same.
They seemed to at least realize they’d used me as a human shield, since they were apologizing, but their faces didn’t look even remotely sorry…….
“……You brats.”
So.
Unable to take it anymore, I—
“?!”
grabbed the nearest one, Chae Songha, first.
Then I held her firmly from behind like I was arresting a suspect on the spot, and with a single-minded desire to make them share my suffering too—
“You try it once, too.”
I whispered in her ear.
“……”
That made Chae Songha go quiet in my arms, but—
“S-Senior! That’s way too perverted…!”
“Oppa! You’re not actually dating each other, are you? Huh?!”
The other two, who didn’t understand the situation, immediately started spouting nonsense.
I looked at them both and shouted,
“Mo Yuna! You just wait your turn too. You’re after Songha!”
“……Eh. Wha?!”
For some reason, Mo Yuna’s face went bright red.
“Hey, why don’t I get one too, oppa!!”
And Kim Hayun just kept making nonsense until her turn came around.