The Swimming Pool
Neither Seol-hwa nor I owned a swimsuit.
Seol-hwa had never been in any position to go somewhere like that, and I'd never imagined myself setting foot in a place like that either.
With no other choice, we decided to combine it with a belated birthday celebration and head out to buy swimsuits. I called the usual two and waited for them to arrive.
"Happy birthday~! Ah, even if it's a day late!"
"Th-thanks..."
"That girl really has no brakes, even first thing in the morning."
The moment she spotted Seol-hwa, Eun-ha came sprinting from way off in the distance, threw her arms around her, and started rubbing their cheeks together. Watching that high-tension whirlwind, I clicked my tongue inwardly.
When would I ever get used to that excessively high energy of hers?
As I was thinking that, Tae-yang, who had been watching the two of them fondly, waved and came over.
"Cut her some slack. She was whining about not getting to celebrate on the actual day, so I hung out with her until late last night."
"...You had it rough."
"Not really? I never thought of it as rough, so it's fine. More importantly—did you two have a good time yesterday?"
At those words, I couldn't help recalling what had happened the evening before.
It must have shown all over my face.
Tae-yang grinned the way you might soothe a child and said, "Looks like you did," leaving me with nothing to say. All I could do was hang my head.
"Oh, right. Yu Eun-ha, if you don't mind, could you help pick out some regular clothes for Seol-hwa too, not just a swimsuit?"
"Oh, a surprise mission! I'm totally down for that~ Can I dress her up however I want?"
"Keep it reasonable. Reasonable."
I could have just accepted whatever my mother sent over without complaint, but when it came to spending time with friends, this felt like the better option, so I'd put it off for a while.
"I wonder what kind of clothes would look good on Seol-hwa~♪"
"W-well..."
Watching Seol-hwa still held in Eun-ha's arms, looking flustered yet smiling happily, I smiled to myself. I hadn't been wrong after all.
"Then I'll take care of Yu-seong, right?"
"What?"
"Yep! Leave it to me♪"
Before I could even tilt my head at the sudden declaration, Eun-ha said with a mischievous look, "Trying to leave Yu-seong out of it~?" and with no escape route left, I had no choice but to nod.
"...You and Eun-ha both. Why are you so desperate to get your hands on me?"
I grumbled under my breath with a sigh, and Tae-yang, wearing his usual sunny smile, patted my shoulder and said, "The ground's gonna cave in under all that sighing."
"You said you wanted to change, didn't you?"
"That's... true."
"We just want to help with that. Because we're friends."
"Friends, huh..."
As we walked in silence toward the men's clothing section, Tae-yang started again with a casual, "Hey, so..."
"Do you like Seol-hwa?"
"...What?"
I went rigid at the sudden question. Tae-yang watched me with that same unbothered smile, as if the whole thing were endlessly entertaining.
"...I do. Like her."
After several seconds of blank silence, I forced the words out one by one.
"You admitted it surprisingly easily. I figured you'd dodge a little."
"...Because it's the truth."
Ever since middle school, I had given up on myself.
I decided a person like me was worthless, stopped thinking about the future at all, and ran away telling myself I was better off alone.
But... I met her.
In a reality everyone else had abandoned, she worked harder than anyone, cried and laughed over the smallest things—
and told the me I had given up on that I was a good person.
She—Seol-hwa—had become someone I could no longer live without.
"Why not just go ahead and confess already?"
"...I can't."
I answered with my head lowered.
I knew. I knew Seol-hwa felt something for me too.
Honestly, if I just pushed forward, she might nod for me... might smile the way she always did and tell me she loved me.
But...
"...I don't want it like that."
Was I even the kind of person who deserved to stand beside her?
If someone else had been the one to run into her in that rain, to take her hand and lead her out... wouldn't the result have been better?
She herself had told me she liked me, that it was fine... but pitifully enough, I still couldn't shake those thoughts.
So at the very least, I wanted to become someone worthy of standing at her side.
I wanted to take that step only when I could accept it myself.
Otherwise, once again...
"...Anyway, not now."
I shook my head, trying to drive away the formless ache rising in my chest.
Tae-yang had been listening quietly. Then, without warning, he gave me a solid thump on the back.
"You're a rare pure-hearted type, Yu-seong."
"...Shut up."
"Do your best," he told me, and I answered, "I will."
"This is... pretty..."
"I put some real work into it."
I had no idea how much time had passed.
After being dressed in this and that, having things I didn't even recognize smeared all over my face, and having my hair fussed with endlessly, the person staring back at me in the mirror was so transformed that even I almost said, "Who are you?" out loud.
"You're always so gloomy, so I went for a fresher look."
"I can't even deny it, which just makes me hate myself more."
The me in the mirror—wearing new clothes and a hairstyle I'd never seen before—had gone from the kind of wallflower who blended perfectly into the back of the classroom to someone who looked like he could actually step forward a little. The so-called "fresh" impression Tae-yang had mentioned.
"See, see! I told you it'd look good once I got my hands on you—! Pretty much everything looks better after I work on it~♪"
"Yeah, yeah. You're amazing."
I answered halfheartedly and looked around, but the person who should have been there was nowhere in sight.
"...Where's Seol-hwa?"
"About that~"
Eun-ha shrugged with a sigh and pointed with her chin. "Over there." Looking in that direction, I spotted a familiar head of black hair poking out from behind a wall, as if she were hiding.
"She's embarrassed."
"...Honestly."
I went to fetch her, intending to drag her out—and the moment I took in the full sight of her, I swallowed my breath without meaning to.
Hair like polished obsidian, glossy and dark.
Her slender frame was wrapped in a warm-looking pure white knit sweater and a beige cardigan.
Probably Eun-ha's stubborn refusal to completely abandon femininity.
Under a black skirt with a silver check pattern, she wore stockings in a matching tone, the same soft feel as the skirt itself.
To put it simply: it suited her. Extremely well.
Because of her weak constitution she was small, almost fragile-looking.
That delicate impression was still there, but the neat, polished outfit pushed it aside and filled the space with a quiet, full femininity instead.
The balance was so right that I honestly thought I'd done well leaving it to Eun-ha.
"...What are you doing?"
Despite how radiant she looked, Seol-hwa was crouched in the classic earthquake-safety pose, trembling. I crouched down to her level and spoke.
"I-it's just... I can't meet your eyes..."
"...Does it look that bad on me?"
Thinking maybe it really didn't suit me after all, I fiddled with my hair as I answered. Seol-hwa frantically waved her hands.
"Th-that's not it! It... it looks really good on you. It's just... I don't know where to put my eyes..."
I let out a small sigh, took hold of both her temples, and gently turned her face toward me.
Even as I did, I felt how different her skin was now—no longer the rough texture from before, but soft and smooth like a baby's—and I was quietly surprised, while also feeling grateful for how hard Eun-ha must have worked.
"...H-hey?!"
Seol-hwa squirmed, but the difference in strength was obvious.
She flailed like a fish on land for a moment, then seemed to give up and went limp.
"Calmed down?"
"That method is... unfair..."
Cheeks flushed, she kept sneaking little glances at me.
...Honestly, I wasn't calm in the slightest either.
I glared toward the outfield, where the two of them were watching me with open amusement while I desperately pretended to be composed. They immediately looked away and started whistling at the ceiling.
"U-um... Yu-seong."
"...What?"
"It's just... Eun-ha kept saying it was fine, but still..."
Watching Seol-hwa fumble for words, I swallowed the sigh I'd been about to release.
Instead, I gently rested my hand on top of her head.
"You're more than cute enough."
I could have sworn I heard a soft pop.
Seol-hwa's eyes went wide; she couldn't say a word. I simply kept stroking her hair in silence.
Even the once-dry, brittle strands had improved dramatically—what used to feel like touching a broom now felt like running my fingers over a soft brush.
After a moment she seemed to come back to herself. She started to say "Thank..." then swallowed the rest and blurted out instead, "Y-Yu-seong, you look really cool too!"
Passersby started glancing our way.
Of course, the person who had caused the scene only realized it after the fact and froze solid. All I could do was let out my usual sigh.
"They're not even dating yet and they're like this. Weird~"
"That's the charm of it, I guess."
"You two in the outfield—if you don't shut up, I'm getting mad."
"Wow, it's crowded even though it's winter."
"It's indoors. Places like this actually get busier in the winter."
"You'd only know that if you'd been before."
Women take longer to change, or so they say.
I sat quietly on a bench with Tae-yang, looking out over the swimming pool—or rather, what they called a water park these days.
"First time for you too, Yu-seong?"
"Do I look like someone who's been to a place like this?"
"Yeah, fair enough."
"Agreeing that easily is kind of depressing, you know."
While we were trading that half-hearted banter, I spotted a familiar black-haired girl and a yellow-haired one approaching from a distance.
"Sorry we took so long~"
"S-sorry... I still can't get used to wearing this."
"It's fine, it's fine. Beautiful people are supposed to take time getting ready, right?"
"You really just say whatever comes into your head."
I muttered that with a shake of my head, but Tae-yang shot back, "You're not exactly one to talk."
The sight of Seol-hwa in a swimsuit made me understand, from the bottom of my heart, exactly what she'd meant earlier about not knowing where to put her eyes.
Her skin, catching the lights, shimmered like a white sand beach under sunlight.
Seol-hwa had always preferred clothes that covered as much skin as possible.
I'd thought she was slender before, but seeing her like this made it clear just how thin she really was, and that part left me a little sad.
A pure white bikini with frills at the chest, standing out against her black hair, and—probably because of her dislike of exposure—a piece of fabric wrapped around her waist.
A pareo, I think it was called. The amount of skin showing wasn't extreme, but simply revealing her body to other people seemed to embarrass her terribly; her cheeks were dyed a deep red.
I was still struggling to process the fact that a scene I'd only ever seen in manga was right in front of me when Tae-yang jabbed me in the side with his elbow and finally snapped me out of it.
There was no way Seol-hwa would have chosen such a bold design herself. The meddlesome girl next to her must have pushed it through.
I shook my head hard to clear the stray thoughts and managed, "I-it looks really good on you." Seol-hwa let out a long breath of relief and murmured, "...I'm glad."
"Wow. You're completely smitten, huh~"
Eun-ha giggled as she watched us. I couldn't flatly deny it, so all I could say was, "...Shut up."
Then I felt eyes on us.
More precisely, not on me—on the two of them in front of me.
Objectively speaking, both of them were strikingly beautiful, so it wasn't strange that other people's gazes would gather. I knew that.
Even so, an unpleasant feeling settled in my chest, and I draped the outer shirt I'd been wearing over Seol-hwa's shoulders.
When she tilted her head in confusion, I muttered, "...Other guys are looking."
At that, some idiot whistled and called out, "Whew~ What a player~" so I lightly smacked him on the head and told him to be quiet.
"Yu-seong's bullying me~!"
"You earned it."
"Hmph!" Eun-ha clung to Tae-yang, who sighed, "There, there," and then suggested, "How about we split up and meet later?" I answered with a nod.
"Shall we go, then?"
"...Y-yeah."
Seol-hwa answered briefly—then suddenly pressed herself right up against my arm.
"...Isn't that a little close?"
My heart started pounding like a rice-cake mortar. I forced myself to sound as casual as possible.
"...Do you hate it?"
"...That's not fair, is it?"
When she looked up at me with those pitiful eyes, what man could possibly refuse?
Eun-ha put her up to this, didn't she...
I sighed inwardly, steeled myself, and said, "Do whatever you want."
"If you get tired or start hurting, tell me right away, okay?"
Honestly, a water park assumes you already know how to swim, so I didn't think it was a great place for a complete beginner to learn.
But these days they seemed to take that into account; there was a relatively shallow pool with lanes lined up just like a school swimming pool.
"I'll hold you, so first let's try kicking your legs and making a splash."
"I'll do my best."
Seol-hwa's expression was deadly serious—she'd flipped the switch for giving something her all.
She was also surprisingly good at following instructions, so once I taught her the basics she picked them up quickly.
I'd expected it to take a while, but in a shorter time than I thought she was already able to go back and forth across the short pool.
"H-how was that?"
She kept glancing at me anxiously. I stroked her hair in praise and said, "You did great."
The way her face lit up so obviously every time I did that meant my heart had been taking a lot of damage these days.
"You must be tired, so rest for a bit. I'll go grab us something to drink."
It wasn't much of an amusement, but when I rented a tube and handed it to her, her eyes sparkled with curiosity, so I figured I didn't need to worry.
That prediction, of course, turned out to be one of those uselessly accurate ones that reality loves to prove wrong.
When I came back with two cups of hot chocolate, I found a couple of freeloaders hanging around Seol-hwa.
I'd put my outer shirt on her in the first place precisely to prevent this kind of thing.
But whether they simply didn't understand that basic logic, or their manners hadn't grown to match their size, the two of them kept pestering her no matter how uncomfortable she looked.
Seol-hwa was weak in situations like this; maybe they'd targeted that on purpose.
Either way, my carelessness was the bigger problem. I let out a heavy sigh of self-reproach and walked over quickly.
"Sorry for the wait. Let's go—"
I reached for Seol-hwa's hand, only for a rough hand to knock mine away.
"Hey, buddy, someone was here first. Cutting in line isn't cool."
I was thoroughly sick of this type. I made no effort to hide my disgust and sighed right in their faces.
"Seol-hwa isn't an object."
Same as those guys with Ju-hui—did people like this simply not have the word "consideration" installed in their brains?
"Know your place, will you? You think a girl like her would hang around a loser like you?"
A vein twitched in my temple.
It wasn't wrong, but it wasn't something guys who spent their time hitting on girls at a water park had any right to say.
I held back the fist that wanted to fly and was briefly considering how to handle them when I heard Seol-hwa's voice—a cold tone I'd never heard from her before.
"You're wrong."
"I don't care what you say about me. But... please take back what you said about Yu-seong."
Her voice was quieter than usual, yet it carried a chill that made you feel like you were walking on thin ice.
No matter what, this was a girl who always lowered her head. Seeing her angry like this was almost certainly a first for me.
"He's not that kind of person. He's far, far better than people like you who never think about anyone else."
The two guys' expressions went blank for a second, then twisted with anger in an instant.
Before I could even step in to stop them from swinging, a calm but unmistakably commanding voice cut through.
"Excuse me."
"Do you have business with my friends?"
I didn't know when he'd arrived, but Tae-yang was standing there with an expression I'd never seen on him before, gripping both of their wrists so hard I could hear the joints creak.
Prey in front of a predator—that was the only way to describe it.
The two of them looked thoroughly terrified. They yanked their hands free, spat out a line even a third-rate villain would be embarrassed to use—"Just you wait...!"—and fled.
"Sorry. I wasn't planning to butt in, but it looked like it was getting serious."
"What are you apologizing for? Thanks for the help."
"Things like that need to be nipped in the bud. Seol-hwa, you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine... thank you."
I caught Seol-hwa's head as she started to bow and added, "I should be the one saying that."
"Huh? But I'm the one who got help...?"
"You got angry for me."
"Th-that was because they were saying awful things about you..."
Whatever had happened to her earlier composure, she was back to her usual hesitant self. I gave a small laugh and stroked her hair.
"Where's Eun-ha?"
"She should be here soon. There she is."
In the direction Tae-yang pointed, Eun-ha was running toward us with her arms full of snacks.
"I brought snacks~ Huh? Did something happen?"
"Nah, nothing much. Right?"
Tae-yang winked at me behind Eun-ha's back. I sighed and played along.
"Yeah. Nothing at all."
"Wow, you've gotten so good already! Talent explosion!"
"I-it's not that big a deal..."
Tae-yang and I had rented a nearby parasol and were watching the two of them splash around in the pool.
"Cute pair having fun. Nice to watch."
"You sound like an old man."
I needled him without thinking, but Tae-yang just let it slide and grinned. "Do I?"
"You're looking pretty content yourself, you know."
"Yeah, I won't deny it."
Seol-hwa playing with Eun-ha was showing the brightest, most carefree smile.
There wasn't a trace of the expression she'd worn in the rain... and after what had just happened earlier, I thought again how much she had changed.
Seeing her enjoy herself like that, I couldn't help but feel happy too.
"You've changed a lot yourself."
"...Have I?"
When I tilted my head, Tae-yang just smiled and said, "You have."
"Just a few weeks ago you were famous as the delinquent who never listened to anyone."
"If you bring that up, I've got nothing to say."
If I told the me from back then about my life now, he'd probably just tell me to shut up and stop spouting nonsense.
People say you never know what the future holds, but I never expected it to turn out like this.
"Love changes people, after all."
"Shut up."
"Seol-hwa used to look so worn down it was hard to approach her. Now she's locked onto Yu-seong and it's actually kind of wholesome."
"...Is that so."
"It is. So, future boyfriend—man up and get some energy." Tae-yang gave me a solid slap on the back.
At the same time a voice called out, "Hey, you two guys over there! What are you doing leaving cute girls waiting—!"
Eun-ha was waving both arms wildly. Beside her, Seol-hwa was carefully waving her hand too, as if asking us to come play.
"We already paid the entrance fee, so let's go have a ton of fun."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Haa~ It's been forever since I played this hard—"
"The kids are gonna get jealous."
"Kids?" I tilted my head, and Tae-yang blinked. "Wait, you don't know?"
"Ah, did I never mention it? My family's huge~ I've got six younger siblings under me!"
"Whoa."
I couldn't help but be impressed. These days people talked about low birth rates and one or two kids being normal, yet her family had seven children.
Seol-hwa seemed to feel the same way. "Th-that's amazing..." she said, a little overwhelmed.
"You should come over next time! Mini kept saying, 'I miss Seol-hwa unnie~' and acting all spoiled."
"R-really?"
"Would I lie about something like that~?"
"...That must be a lot of work. Having that many."
Eun-ha just beamed. "It's fine!"
"Because it's fun! And now I've got Tae-yang too."
"That's right, that's right."
"Well, as long as you're happy."
"I hope you come again soon— Next time Seol-hwa can wear the one she didn't take out today... mmph, mmmph!"
Seol-hwa frantically clamped a hand over Eun-ha's mouth just as she was about to say something.
"...What was that about?"
"N-nothing at all?!"
"You're really bad at lying, you know that?"
Eun-ha quickly wriggled free from the flustered Seol-hwa and started again with, "Well, you see~"
"Y-you said you'd keep it a secret!"
"But the more I think about it, why hide it? Just go bold with the black biki—mmph! Mmmph!"
"...Maybe I should have covered my ears."
I'd already heard everything, though.
Seol-hwa seemed to realize she'd lost the battle; she hung her head, face completely red.
"...I-I was thinking maybe I'd try wearing it next time if I got the chance..."
At those words I casually peeked into the shopping bag and spotted a black bikini with a distinctly small surface area. I completely lost the ability to speak.
If she'd worn that today, it would have been a full-blown panic for a lot of reasons.
...On my end, that is.
I could say that with absolute confidence.
"Today was a valuable day—I learned Seol-hwa's secretly the action type~"
"If you say one more word, I'm not helping with your vacation homework."
"I'm sorry!"
Eun-ha switched attitudes with impressive speed and bowed at a perfect right angle.
"You still haven't done it?"
"You haven't done yours either, Yu-seong! I believe in you!"
"Don't believe that, idiot. I already finished."
"Shock! Our homework-skipping alliance was this fragile?!"
"Officer, there's an illegal alliance over here."
"Report received. I'll take full responsibility for re-educating her."
"Seol-hwa, help me!"
"You have to do your homework."
"You traitors—!!"
"Leave the idiot alone. For dinner tonight, I'd like omelets."
"Okay. I'll try my best."
"It's nice that things are warm and fuzzy, but isn't my treatment a little too harsh?!"
I lightly ignored the death throes coming from behind us and, looking forward to dinner, stroked Seol-hwa's hair the way I always did.
She answered with the same soft smile she always gave me, and I returned it in kind.