Vacation (3)
"Alright, I'm going to go change into my swimsuit. Ha-neul, what about you?"
"Huh? I'm good. I can just do this."
I dropped my pants without warning, and the others recoiled in horror, whipping their heads away.
"I told you, it's fine."
I'd already been wearing the swimsuit I'd bought at the clothing store underneath, so I stood there without a shred of shame. It was a board-shorts style that came down to mid-thigh — a little shorter than the pants I'd had on, but unmistakably swimwear.
"I put it on at the shop earlier."
They all stared at me.
"Ha-neul! You should've said something first! You nearly gave us a heart attack!"
"Ugh..."
"......"
Camilla scolded me, still rattled. Valentina let out a long-suffering sigh. And Yuri had frozen solid. I waved them off toward the changing rooms and stretched out on a sun lounger.
"We'll be right back."
"Okay."
I watched them head for the locker room, then closed my eyes against the sun. The weather was that awkward kind of pleasant — not quite hot enough to complain about, but warm enough that lying there and letting the sunlight soak into my skin felt genuinely good. If I had my way, I could've stayed like this and slept the whole afternoon.
There was one downside, though. I found myself wishing it were just a little hotter. Weather like this, and the second you actually got in the water, you'd start getting cold.
...Yeah. Today I'm just going to lie here.
Truth be told, I'd never been the type to splash around in the ocean anyway. My idea of a beach day had always been renting a yacht, throwing a party, and floating around on the water with a drink in hand.
Still, it wasn't bad being at the sea again after so long. For one thing, there was plenty to look at.
I hid my eyes behind my sunglasses and started scanning the people nearby. It was only early June, so the beach wasn't packed, but there were still a decent number of people who'd come out in earnest.
Most of the men were wearing T-shirts up top, same as me — but a few had gone fully shirtless without a hint of self-consciousness, chests out for the world to see. And it wasn't just the men. For the women, bikinis were the default, and a handful had taken the top off entirely and were wandering around like that.
It didn't really do anything for me, though — maybe because it was the beach. Getting turned on takes more than just a visual; the atmosphere has to play along. And watching someone stroll around with their chest out like it was nothing kind of killed the mood.
If women had been walking around like that on a Korean beach, it would've felt completely different. But in Europe, scenes like this were just part of everyday life.
That said, they were out there putting it on display, so there was no real reason not to look. I rolled my eyes behind the sunglasses and started enjoying the view.
That was when someone tapped me on the shoulder.
"You're back already?"
"So you came with company, I see?"
I turned, expecting one of the girls to have changed already — and found a woman I'd never seen before in my life. She was about 184, 185 centimeters, in a white bikini, with a light tan and brown hair, and she looked more than confident enough to tap a strange man's shoulder in a place like this.
There's no way she recognized me, right?
This was Barcelona. If she knew who I was and asked for an autograph, people would swarm, and today's vacation would be over on the spot. I kept my mouth shut and waited to see where this was going.
Autograph, or a pickup?
My heart ticked a little faster as I waited for her next words.
"Those wouldn't happen to be male friends of yours, would they? I came with a friend myself, but looking at you... I get the feeling that sort of thing wouldn't matter."
The sunglasses covering half my face had done their job — this wasn't about an autograph. She was hitting on me. And from the way the words rolled off her tongue like they'd been buttered, she was Italian. Coming all the way from Italy to hang out on a Spanish beach was a little funny, but I obviously wasn't going to take her up on it.
"Sorry, but they're girls. I have company."
"Haha, of course someone as handsome as you wouldn't be here alone. Still, running into each other like this has to mean something, no? Could I at least get your number? Or a social media handle?"
"Sorry. I'm a minor."
"Oh my. You certainly don't look it — not at that height. I was sure you were a model. But is it even school vacation right now?"
Minors were supposed to be in school at this time of year, and she was looking at me with open suspicion. Or maybe she was asking what it even mattered if I wasn't in school.
Honestly, her look wasn't bad. But I hadn't come here with my friends just to get picked up, so I turned her down again. She was persistent, though...
"Hey. The hell are you doing?"
...and the whole thing only ended when Valentina's voice cut in from behind me.
She had her eyes hidden behind sunglasses, but she was pushing 190 centimeters, and the energy rolling off her was menacing enough all on its own. Of course the other woman backed off.
"Why are you even entertaining a guy like that? Tell her to get lost."
"Tina. If we make a scene and people start crowding around, we won't be able to enjoy anything. You might not get it, but I've got worldwide name recognition."
"Ugh..."
Valentina sighed and walked over to stand in front of me — and I was, briefly, at a loss. The bottoms of her bikini were strung so low they sat on her hips, putting those long legs on full display, and when my eyes drifted upward, her chest looked one wrong move from spilling out of the top entirely.
...They were that big?
I'd had some idea from the occasional collision during training, but this was basically the first time I'd seen her without a sports bra, and it was enough to throw me. Running around a pitch with those things... if sports bras had never been invented, her ligaments would've torn for sure.
Just looking felt like I was committing a crime, so I rolled my eyes away — and found Yuri, who'd wrapped some kind of cloth over her bikini like she was too awkward and embarrassed to just wear it.
But Yuri was about as tall as I was, and while she wasn't in Valentina's league, her chest was making a very loud argument of its own. I looked away again.
Okay...
Then I saw Camilla in a frilly bikini, and something in my chest settled.
Camilla was early 170s. Tall by the standards of women in my past life, but nothing remarkable in this world. Her chest was above average for an athlete, sure — but after Valentina's look-at-me-and-I'll-explode proportions and Yuri's don't-you-dare-ignore-these size, it was a relief.
"Who was that woman just now? A fan?"
Cami asked it with a completely innocent face, oblivious to everything going through my head.
"Not a fan."
"Come on, isn't it obvious? She was hitting on him."
"Hitting on him? ...Wow."
Camilla let out a halfhearted little exclamation and dropped onto a sun lounger. With all four of us lying there, I could feel the stares from every direction locking onto our spot. Not surprising — we were all footballers, so the physiques were a given.
"So are you guys not going to play?"
"Huh? N-no, we are."
I glanced at them. They didn't seem willing to leave my side — probably worried someone else would come over. If a scuffle broke out and my identity got out, the vacation was finished.
If they were going to actually enjoy this, I was going to have to be the one to lead them into the water. Decision made, I pulled the sunscreen out of my bag, squeezed out a generous amount, and started slathering it on.
"What are you doing? You guys not putting any on? Why? Want me to do it for you? Or are you just not going to play?"
That got the others moving, each of them scrambling to apply their own. For a second I thought about how I would've put it on for them if they'd been girlfriends... then let it go. We were friends. I didn't particularly want to. I stood up first.
"H-Ha-neul."
"Yeah?"
Yuri called out to me.
"Th-the sunscreen clumped up..."
She said it without meeting my eyes.
"What, you gonna put it on for me?"
"N-no. Th-that's not what I—"
Hopeless. I couldn't help worrying about who was ever going to take this girl off our hands. That was all it took to get a reaction like that.
I didn't actually want to make her any more miserable, so I just rubbed the spot she'd pointed at until it blended, then started walking toward the water.
"I'm going in first, then."
I left them still working on their sunscreen and stepped into the sea. The cool shock of the water climbed from my feet all the way to the top of my head.
It felt great — but I had a feeling that if I stayed in much longer, I'd start getting cold. I probably wouldn't last.
...June might've been a little early.
A short splash, then straight back to the sun lounger. That was the plan.
Hah... hah... does this kid never get tired?
They'd been in the water for about two hours. Lunchtime had already come and gone, and Ha-neul was still roaming around in the sea like it was nothing. Yuri was panting. At this point, she was starting to envy Valentina, who'd played for maybe thirty minutes before retreating to a sun lounger under the parasol.
Where's Cami?
She couldn't just leave Ha-neul in the ocean by himself, so Yuri looked around for Camilla, who'd been swimming with them until a few minutes ago. She spotted her on the shoreline, building a sandcastle by herself. Every movement of her hands was so careful and absorbed that Yuri clapped a hand to her forehead. It was going to be a while before Camilla came back in the water.
Fine. If I don't look after Ha-neul, who will?
Yuri sighed inwardly and turned her gaze back toward where he'd been playing. And then—
"Bluh...!"
Ha-neul's hand shot up, then he sank beneath the surface.
"Ha-neul...!"
A cramp? He'd been swimming nonstop without a single break, of course this would happen...! Even as she blamed him in her head, Yuri was already charging toward the spot where he'd gone under. The expression on his face as she ran looked suspiciously full of mischief, and for a second she wondered if she was being played — but she didn't slow down, just in case.
Running through water was slower than running on land, but they'd been playing close enough that it didn't take long to reach him.
"Are you okay?!"
Yuri grabbed his hand and tried to pull him up. Instead, she got yanked in by his strength — which, in hindsight, made it pretty obvious the sinking had been a joke.
She came up with her face dunked once, and Ha-neul was grinning.
"Surprise! Come on, you're at the ocean — you're supposed to swim. Why are you just zoning out?"
"Hah... you scared me."
"The water doesn't even come up to your chest. What's there to be scared of?"
He said it like there hadn't been any real danger at all, pointing at his own chest with one hand. Or rather — he was pointing at the waterline, which sat just below his chest. But behind her sunglasses, Yuri's eyes weren't on the water. They were on everything above it.
The soaked white undershirt clung to Ha-neul's solid chest, every line of muscle showing through. It was the kind of chest you built by training hard enough not to lose a physical battle, and it looked hard as stone. She shifted her gaze just a fraction to the side — and something that really shouldn't have been visible was standing out.
...Whoa.
For a split second, it felt like all her blood had rushed somewhere it shouldn't. Her face felt like it was on fire.
"What are you doing? Tired already?"
Ha-neul jumped in the water, threw her in a headlock, and dragged her under. Yuri went without a hint of resistance. If she stayed above the surface, he was going to see how red her face had gotten.
The beach really is dangerous...
And so Yuri had no choice but to stay underwater, waiting for the heat wrapping around her to finally cool down.