Vacation (2)
"...So you're saying you'll be here for a few weeks?"
"Yeah, I've got contract stuff to deal with anyway. Figured I'd wrap it all up before I leave. Oh, Yuri—when are you heading back?"
"Me? Well, I..."
After answering Valentina, I tossed the same question at Yuri, and she just gave me a vacant look. Judging by her face, she hadn't even thought about when she'd go back to Korea.
Well, she'd only just come back from her loan. Fair enough.
"For now, I was just going to rest at the dorms for a bit."
For Yuri, the La Masia dorms were basically home, so of course she'd want to unwind there before heading out.
"What's going on? What were you guys talking about?"
Right on cue, Camila sat down with her food.
"Just talking about when we're heading back to Korea, that kind of thing."
"Oh, Ha-neul. When are you going back to Korea?"
"Me? I'll have to renew my contract first, right? I've been getting a lot of transfer offers."
The moment I answered Camila, the table went quiet. Not just our table—even the younger players eating nearby had fallen silent. It was a reminder of just how high my standing had gotten.
Still, it's a little uncomfortable. Maybe I should get a place of my own once I turn eighteen?
I didn't want this kind of atmosphere hanging over me even when I was trying to relax. Hanging out with friends was fun, but not being able to talk freely about this stuff was a bit of a pain. I'd become the dorm's senior-most resident, more or less, and I was a first-team player besides. It was starting to feel like time to move out.
I'll probably have to stay through the end of this year, at least.
Then again, my parents definitely wouldn't let me leave the dorms, so I'd have to wait until I was of age anyway.
"Let's talk about this later. Too many ears around."
"Okay."
The others seemed to pick up on the vibe too. They nodded, and we shifted back to everyday conversation. Most of it was Yuri's stories—she'd gone on loan by herself, so she had plenty of fresh episodes to share.
Once mealtime wrapped up and the other kids headed off to school, the dorms finally quieted down, and we could get into the real conversation.
"So which clubs sent offers? Ha-neul, you're not actually leaving, are you?"
Camila was the one who opened the floodgates. She stared at me with a restless look, clearly worried I might actually go.
"I already told you I'm not. But yeah, offers came in from Man City and Real, among others."
"Real? Madrid? Those guys went after you?"
"Yep."
"...You're not actually considering it, right?"
"Come on. No way I'd ever go there."
"Phew... thank god. So that's what you were talking about earlier?"
"That, and vacation plans."
"Oh, right. Vacation. Ha-neul, when are you going to Korea?"
"I'm planning to stick around for a bit. Gotta handle the contract renewal. But aren't you two going home? Yuri and I are from Korea, but you guys live close by."
"Please. Going home at this age would just make my parents way too happy. My mom told me to stay at the dorms anyway. Stick around and get more football in."
"True, Tina's mom was a footballer. What about you, Cami?"
"...Me? Yeah, pretty much the same."
"So how long are you two staying in the dorms, then? I'm planning to move out once I turn eighteen. Yuri, you're staying here, right?"
"Hmm... I'll probably stay, yeah. I don't even know if I'll make the first team next year..."
Should I stay in the dorms too, then? The thought of leaving Yuri there by herself didn't sit right with me.
"Ugh, I don't know, I don't know. Let's think about that later."
The idea of me leaving the dorms seemed to bum Camila out. She waved her arms, changing the subject.
"But why were you thinking of moving out right away?"
Valentina, though, clearly still wanted to talk about it. She looked at me and asked. The answer was simple, of course.
"Me? I want to buy a car."
Honestly, living in the dorms did mean watching how the other kids looked at me, but after years of this, it wasn't a big deal. Driving my own car around while living in the dorms, though—even I couldn't pull that off. The cars I wanted weren't cheap, either. I was looking at sports cars, and cruising around in a sports car while living in a youth academy dorm just felt... off.
"You and your cars. What kind of guy is this into cars? First time I've seen someone leave the dorms just to buy one."
"I'll give you a ride sometime."
"I'll pass."
"So what are you getting? Got something in mind?"
"Yeah. Check this out."
"Oh, not bad."
While Valentina and I were looking at cars,
"Ah! Ha-neul!"
Camila suddenly called my name. She'd clearly just had a great idea.
"Yeah?"
"You're staying here for a few days, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Then let's go to the beach!"
"The beach? Not a bad idea."
The beach? After a brutal season, she probably just wanted to have some fun. And June had just started—it was getting hot, too.
"What about Yuri? You're not heading back to Korea right away either, right?"
"Huh? Yeah, I was planning to rest a bit before going."
"And Tina, it's not like you've got anything else going on."
"...That's annoying, but you're not wrong."
"Then let's go to the beach. How about it? Wait—should we just go right now?"
In the old days, we would've rented a whole private island, but I didn't have that kind of money yet. If we were going to the beach, it would be Barceloneta nearby. Just an hour on the metro, and it was the perfect spot for a casual day out.
"When you say beach, you mean Barceloneta, right?"
"Yeah! Let's go! Let's go!"
"Is that place okay, though? A lot of people will recognize us."
Valentina glanced at me. With me in the group, she was probably uneasy about going somewhere crowded. Sure, people recognized us just walking down the street, but luckily it was a weekday, and it wasn't even summer break yet. Even if people went to the nearby beach, it probably wouldn't turn into a circus. Besides, Camila wanted this so badly. Taking a break at the beach after so long didn't sound half bad.
"People? Just grab a pair of sunglasses. Let's get some sea air for a change. If you don't want to come, Cami and I will go by ourselves."
"I never said I wasn't going."
"Then should we just leave Tina behind?"
"...I never said I wasn't going either."
"Okay, then pack your stuff and meet outside."
With that, we headed inside to pack. It was a nearby beach, so there wasn't much to bring anyway.
I'm still a minor, so showing too much skin probably isn't a great idea.
Last time we went, plenty of guys showed up in just swim trunks, it being a beach and all. But I was still underage. And if someone snapped a photo of me with my shirt off, it could start some weird rumors. So I put on a light undershirt and threw a Hawaiian shirt over it. Shorts for the bottom, plus oversized sunglasses that could hide my face. I packed a change of clothes in case anything got wet, and headed outside. The others started coming out one by one.
"How are you slower than a guy?"
"Ha-neul just came out too early. Oh, but dressed like that, you actually look like you're going on vacation."
Camila was the first one out. She was dressed similarly—Hawaiian shirt, shorts, sunglasses perched on her head. Her bag probably had a swimsuit in it.
"Ha-neul, did you pack a swimsuit? Are you going in the water?"
"Depends on how it goes. Honestly, I just want to lie down."
We stood around chatting while we waited, and then Valentina and Yuri walked out. The moment we saw them, we were speechless.
"..."
"..."
"...Is this a uniform?"
All four of us were dressed identically, like we'd been measured with a ruler. It made sense, really. Our daily lives overlapped so much that we shopped at the same stores. And since we didn't have our own places, the clothes in the dorms were limited. Then we figured out the real reason.
"...Did Bruna give you guys one too?"
"...Yeah."
"She could've at least gotten different colors."
The shirts we were wearing were gifts Bruna had brought back from vacation. The patterns were slightly different, but the colors were identical.
"...Should we stop by a clothing store on the way?"
"Let's."
And so, before heading to the beach, we decided to buy some new clothes, and left the dorms.
The moment she saw the people strolling along the beach, Yuri swallowed hard. Most of the men on the sand had their shirts off, skin on full display, and it was too much for her.
She'd been to the winter beach a few times, since winter break was short, but once summer hit she was always rushing back to Korea. This was her first time at a European summer beach—and the European summer beach she was seeing for the first time was a whole new world. In particular, the sheer number of people—men and women alike—with their chests completely exposed was more than Yuri could process.
...Thank god I wore sunglasses.
Wearing sunglasses right now was a blessing. If she hadn't, Ha-neul would've caught her eyes darting all over the place. Letting out a sigh of relief, Yuri glanced at Camila and Valentina. Unlike her, they didn't look the least bit flustered by the people walking along the beach. Was this just everyday life for Europeans? She'd spent quite a while in Spain, but this was still hard to get used to.
Ah, I just want to get in the water already.
If she went in and splashed around, it might be better... She just wanted to exhaust herself so all these stray thoughts would disappear.
"We'll go rent a parasol and some sunbeds."
"Okay. Go ahead. I'll wait here."
While Yuri was still flustered, Camila and Valentina headed off to rent a parasol.
"Yuri."
"H-huh?"
"Your face is all red. You like it that much?"
"W-what are you talking about. I-it's the sun."
"Hmm... is that so?"
Her eyes met Ha-neul's. Even with sunglasses covering half his face, she could see the mischievous look on it. She had a feeling today's trip to the beach was going to be a long one.