Vacation is Almost Here # 3
Vacation is Almost Here # 3
"Don't come! Don't you! I said don't come!"
"Yeah-huh! I'm gonna though? I'm gonna?!"
—Skrrt!
I messed with the rampaging Cheon-hwi while energetically bolting. Obviously, there was no way I could outrun him with my ability. Even though I dodged and weaved while fleeing, he caught me in no time.
"I'll kill you, you crazy bastard!"
Just like right now!
But I don't care!
"Aaaaaaaargh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Because right now, I was acting under Ryuna's orders!
The instant Cheon-hwi caught me, I let out an earth-shattering shriek like Guan Yu stepping on a LEGO, and the guy gave me a look of sheer disbelief.
"You lunatic...! Put some restraint on the histrionics!"
"Histrionics?! You grab me this hard and call it histrionics?! That's it! I'm telling Ryu A-ra everything!"
"Neeeigh-oooohm!"
He voiced his fury, but I could feel the strength rapidly leaving the hand that's got me.
Whatever else is true, this punk can never, ever act up against his own sister. See? At the start of the semester he acted like he was some top dog, but now the whole doofus thing has been fully exposed.
"Hwehehehehehehehehe!"
And so, I burst out laughing and ran off again.
"Grrk!"
Cheon-hwi chased after me, completely at a loss, but he didn't really have any options. Even when he got close, he couldn't recklessly lay a hand on me and could only growl at me.
—Ding.
While that was happening, Cheon-hwi's phone rang.
"What...! No!"
"What. Who is it?"
"Mind your own business!"
"Ryu A-ra!"
"Stop calling someone else's sister by name, you Taliban bastard! Anyway, just you try following me! I won't let it slide!"
—Fwoosh!
And with the phone to his ear, exactly like a third-rate villain, Cheon-hwi swore to get even another day and bolted off.
"Seriously, the funniest son of a bitch in the whole world."
Mun Min getting wrecked, Brian talking shit—those bastards don't even compare to Cheon-hwi. The guy is just too hilarious.
"Ah."
Anyway, I'm hungry.
Let's go eat.
* * *
"Kim Geun-cheol, why are you so late? I said I'd eat slowly, but I've already finished everything. We were going to talk about the trip schedule."
"Ah jeez, sorry. The call ended up running long... But Leona? What are you doing?"
—Slide.
I looked, and Leona was in the middle of piling vegetables onto my plate.
"Penalty for being late. Eat this and get healthy."
"What's with all these vegetables! This is torture!"
"Is there any torture in the world that makes you healthy? Woo Yu-ri!"
"You punk! Don't think you're getting up until you eat every last vegetable!"
The moment Leona called out, Yu-ri, arms crossed, started yelling at me like a demon. This... this leaves me no choice but to eat it all...!
"Sob!"
And so I had no choice but to cram lettuce, cabbage, bell peppers, olives, and tomatoes into my mouth.
It felt like I was getting healthier, but it was so damn tasteless. Once I scarf it all down, I'm gonna wash my mouth out with meat. I'm craving braised pork belly and chili shrimp today.
"Anyway, Kim Geun-cheol? We're thinking of going for 3 days and 2 nights, five days after vacation starts. Does that work?"
"Time-wise, it doesn't matter much to me. 3 days and 2 nights, five days later sounds real good. Everyone else agreed to go then, right?"
"Yeah."
Yu-ri nodded.
"Yeah. That timing should work."
Si-hoo agreed too.
Then no problem.
I shot Si-hoo a look to chat after school and keep eating. But maybe they can't just ditch me, because they're nibbling dessert and talking about the beach.
"So, Leona. East Sea? West Sea? Where are we going?"
Yu-ri asked.
"That's what I'm a little torn about. Woo Yu-ri, which do you prefer?"
"If nothing's decided, shall we go to the West Sea? The water at the West Sea is crazy clear these days."
"Oh, that sounds great! West Sea it is!"
Leona, coolly accepting the moment an opinion is out. She was torn between the East Sea and West Sea, so she just went with the one her friend pushed.
Ah. But the West Sea is clean?
Didn't people used to think the water was kinda bad? I had that thought for a second, but the moment I remembered that China got destroyed, I got it. With decades of trash dumped by billions of people gone, the West Sea literally became pristine, first-grade water.
"Then we'll go with the West Sea. Should look into lodging, huh?"
"I'll handle that. Better for me to do it if we want to book fast. The rest of you just prep for the trip!"
"As expected, our ArcAngel Leona!"
Just the thought of going on a trip got me pumped up!
* * *
"Ah, yes. Ma'am. Thing is, I made plans with those friends to go to the beach five days after vacation starts. So that's a bit..."
I'd been running my mouth off, saying I'd tag along on the family trip to mess with Cheon-hwi, but honestly, going on a trip with friends takes priority over a buddy's family trip where you feel like a burden.
So, I was saying if the schedules don't match, it can't be helped, but...
"Ohh, then that should be fine. The trip is planned for two weeks out."
Ah.
"Don't feel pressured. Do come along and have fun with Cheon-hwi? Both of them want Cheon-hwi to participate in the family trip no matter what. I'm trusting that Geun-cheol will handle it well."
Just how much do you love Cheon-hwi?
Well, I guess it can't be helped.
"Yes. Then I'll go along with Ryu... no, with Cheon-hwi. Ah, but when I said I'd come today, he basically had a fit?"
"Fufufu, even that fit is filled with Cheon-hwi's many emotions. Then I'll look forward to it?"
—Click.
The call ended.
"Well. If Ma'am says so, I gotta follow."
Ryu A-ra isn't just some friend's sister. She's a government official, so after I graduate, I'll be able to ask her all kinds of things I'm curious about.
Ah, but I didn't ask where they're going for the trip.
Probably doesn't matter.
—Knock, knock, knock.
Anyway, I knocked on Si-hoo's door.
"Hey, Si-hoo. I'm here."
"Yeah."
The door opened.
"Coming in?"
"Come in."
And so I went inside Si-hoo's room. This is really something. It felt like I'd walked into a girl's room, not a friend's. Feeling a little awkward, I pulled out the chair and sat down.
"No, but Si-hoo. Honestly, it's still a little awkward."
"What, what's awkward... Are you still hung up on that?"
"It just crosses my mind. Anyway, Si-hoo. About the beach. If it's you, me, Leona, and Yu-ri, naturally we'll get a two-person room, right? Then you and I will be sleeping together... that okay with you?"
"That's."
Si-hoo turned her head to the side for a moment.
"It's, it's what we've been doing all this time. So shouldn't it be fine?"
"You perverted bastard!"
"Who's a pervert!"
This guy's suspicious!
"I don't care! I wanna go to the beach too! Don't make an issue out of it!"
"You shameless punk...!"
Anyway, if Si-hoo's fine with it, I don't care.
Like she says, haven't we done it several times?
If I let it get to me, it gets to me, but I believe if I shake it off, I can handle it.
"Anyway, let's just get ready for the trip. Si-hoo, you got a swimsuit? No. That's not the issue. What're you even gonna wear there?"
Now that I think about it, this is another issue.
It involves getting in the water, so what does Si-hoo wear?
"For now, I'm thinking a sports swimsuit, beach shorts, and a beach shirt over it."
"Oh."
This guy's specific.
I briefly tried imagining Si-hoo wearing all that gear. A proper getup. But it's not really a problematic or suspicious outfit. With that clothing, she could fully conceal her femininity.
"Perfect. I can totally picture it."
"Right? Add a straw hat, sunglasses, and beach sandals and it's perfect."
"With a Maldives in the left hand and a tube in the right. Heuheuheu."
"Maldives? Don't you mean a mojito?"
Ah, see, the world is different so she doesn't know the famous line.
Actors and singers, sometimes they're similar or identical to my original world, but often they just don't exist at all. Especially movies—they're completely different.
"Guess so."
But I don't have a swimsuit.
Once vacation starts, I'll have to go buy one.
* * *
"Fufufu, the beach! When it's summer, it's the beach!"
Leona was thrilled.
Summer means the beach.
If you're playing at the beach with friends, it's bound to be a total blast. Just thinking about catching crabs, scrubbing them clean, and throwing them into ramyeon makes my mouth water... that's one of the great joys of a beach trip, right there.
But what she was looking forward to most of all.
"Kim Geun-cheol!"
Was regarding Kim Geun-cheol.
"To mess with Kim Geun-cheol, just what should I wear!"
She'd felt it last time too, but Kim Geun-cheol is a boy at the end of the day. He's guaranteed to show an incredibly intense reaction depending on what a beauty among beauties like herself wears.
Just thinking about it, she couldn't hold back the urge to mess with Kim Geun-cheol right this instant.
"I've gotta pick a swimsuit first!"
Lying on the sofa, Leona flipped through her phone screen, checking out swimsuits. But thinking about wearing something like that did make her a little embarrassed.
"Hmm... what should I wear? Something too bold is embarrassing. No, and also..."
As expected, you can't really choose properly just by looking on a small screen.
Leona resolved that the moment vacation starts, she would go straight to the department store and pick one out in person.
"Wait."
When she goes to buy the swimsuit, should she drag Kim Geun-cheol along? She had that thought for a moment, but Leona shook her head. If she did that, he'd find out everything she bought.
Because revealing it without him knowing would be more fun.
"Fufufu."
Leona, who had been happily thinking about buying a swimsuit, instantly recalled a certain fact and froze in place.
"Huh...?"
She had just been worrying about buying a swimsuit.
In other words, a state of having no swimsuit.
Then.
Isn't it obvious that Kim Geun-cheol doesn't have one either?
"Kim Geun-cheol!"
—Tu-tu-tu!
Leona immediately called Kim Geun-cheol.
"Uh, Leona, what's up?"
"Do you have a swimsuit!!!"
"What, what? No. I was gonna go buy one—"
"Gasp! I knew you didn't have one! Stay right there! I'll buy it for you! Let's go buy it together!"
"What?! Leona! Hold on! You—"
—Beep.
She immediately hung up.
"Perfect!"
On the first day of vacation, she'll quickly buy the swimsuit she'll wear to the beach, then drag Kim Geun-cheol along and buy him a swimsuit.
If Kim Geun-cheol goes by himself to pick a swimsuit, it'll obviously be nothing but some ratty thing. Rather than let him play around wearing that, it was a hundred times better if she bought it for him.