Chapter 99: Beach volleyball

We sat around the table under the parasol, sharing slices of watermelon.
Eating watermelon with beautiful girls under the cool shade of a parasol on a hot summer day… It was a scene I could only have dreamed of in my past life.

“Wow, this is so delicious!”
“Right? It’s from Kumamoto!”
“Oh, Kumamoto…!”

I remembered learning about Kumamoto in geography class. It was in the Kyushu region, right?
They also had delicious strawberries. I’d like to try them sometime.
Though it wasn’t strawberry season yet, since it was still summer.

Perhaps because she saw how happily I was eating, Aya leaned closer and smiled.

“Rina, is it good?”
“Yeah! It’s so good~”
“You have some on your cheek.”
“Huh?”

I was startled when Aya suddenly reached out and waved my hands flustered.
Aya chuckled and gently wiped the watermelon juice off my cheek.

“You didn’t have to…”

Reina-senpai and Sena-senpai, who were also enjoying the watermelon, burst out laughing, and Mizuki playfully wagged her finger at me.

“Rina-tan~! You should have graduated from eating with food on your face in kindergarten~”
“Mizuki…!”

My face flushed even more, and Mizuki giggled.
Then, as if she’d suddenly remembered something, she jumped up and grabbed a ball that was lying on the ground.

“How about we play some beach volleyball after we’ve digested this~?”
“Hmm… Can we even…?”

I looked at Mizuki doubtfully, and she grinned.

“Sena-senpai can’t, but the rest of us can, right? Aya is really athletic, so how about Yukikawa sisters vs. the non-Yukikawa team? That sounds fair, right?”

Aya seemed to consider it for a moment before nodding, and Reina-senpai also seemed to agree.
Sena-senpai looked at us with a gentle smile and said,

“I’ll be the referee, so everyone, do your best~”
“Hehe, let’s finish eating and get started!”

We laughed and quickly devoured the rest of the watermelon.

After finishing the watermelon, we drew a court on the sand.
The warm sand felt pleasant between my toes.

“Okay, shall we begin~?”

Mizuki tossed the ball to Reina-senpai with an energetic voice.
I was worried about whether Reina-senpai, who wasn’t as healthy as Sena-senpai, could play properly… but my worries were immediately proven unfounded.

“Alright… Here I go!”

The ball Reina-senpai tossed arced beautifully through the air and then…

Bam!

A surprisingly powerful serve whizzed past me.

“Huh…?”

Mizuki shouted at me as I blinked in surprise.

“Hey, Rina-tan! Focus!”
“Sorry, the ball was faster than I expected…!”

Reina-senpai smiled sheepishly and picked up the ball again.
“Okay, one more time~ Can you receive this one properly?”

She was a Yukikawa, after all. If this was her holding back, how amazing must she have been in her prime?

Bam—! The ball came flying towards us again.

This time, I focused and got into position to receive. I managed to receive the fast serve, and as the ball flew high into the air, Mizuki jumped up and spiked it.

Bam!

The ball flew straight towards Aya.
But Aya, with a calm smile, easily received the ball.
As expected of Aya…!

The ball Aya received went straight towards Reina-senpai. Reina-senpai jumped to spike it, but…

Whoosh—

Her hand swiped through the air, missing the ball completely.
“Onee-chan…!”
“Ahaha… Sorry, I was a little slow.”

There was a definite delay in Reina-senpai’s reactions.
I caught a glimpse of the aftereffects of her head injury, the reason she was always in the infirmary.

‘Ah, so that’s why Mizuki suggested this combination…!’

It was Reina-senpai’s turn to serve again.

“I’ll go easy this time~!”
Despite saying that, Reina-senpai’s serve wasn’t “easy” at all.

A powerful serve came flying towards me, as if it would bury itself in the sand right in front of my feet.
“Rina-tan, receive it!”

At Mizuki’s shout, I snapped out of my daze, cupped my hands together, and managed to bump the ball.

“Good job, Rina-tan!”
Mizuki jumped towards the ball as it bounced into the air.
“Mizuki, I’m counting on you!”
“Leave it to me!”

Mizuki’s pink ponytail swayed as she jumped.
She hit the ball with perfect timing.

Bam!

The perfectly angled spike seemed destined to land in the sand on Aya’s side of the court, but…

Aya moved swiftly and managed to receive even that difficult shot.
“She received that?!”
Mizuki exclaimed in surprise. But Aya was already moving onto her next move, smiling faintly.
She looked so elegant that I couldn’t help but admire her.

Aya sent the ball back into the air, and it flew straight towards Reina-senpai. This time, Reina-senpai managed to react.

“Ha!”
Reina-senpai’s spike headed back towards Mizuki.
“Hehe, you won’t get me this time!”
Mizuki jumped again and easily received it, sending the ball high above my head.
“Rina-tan, send it this way!”
I set the ball as accurately as I could, and Mizuki jumped again, shouting,
“Alright, here’s the real deal!”

Bam!

Mizuki’s spike flew towards Aya, and this time, perhaps because the ball was so fast, even Aya seemed surprised.
“Uh…!”
Aya managed to receive the ball just before it hit the ground, almost losing her balance. The ball came back to our side of the court.
“Rina-tan, your turn!”

It was my turn, as Mizuki said. Time for me to try a spike.
I focused, jumped with all my might, and hit the ball.

“Ha!”

My spike connected perfectly and flew towards Aya.
But Aya, somehow already back on her feet, calmly received the ball.
“Ugh… Aren’t you too good, Aya?”
“You’re doing great too, Rina.”
Aya responded with a smile, completely unfazed.
“Here it comes—!”
“I won’t let you do as you please, Aya!”
Aya spiked the ball again, and this time, Mizuki managed to receive it near the edge of the court and send it back towards the senpais, earning us a point.
“Woohoo~! Good job, Rina-tan~!”
“We scored!”

Mizuki and I high-fived, and Aya looked at us with a slightly annoyed expression.

“Okay, Rina’s serve.”

Aya suddenly took off her cardigan and placed it on the ground, then handed me the ball.
“Uh… Ah… Thanks.”
Aya’s visual attack…
Not to be outdone, Mizuki also took off her parka.
With Mizuki removing hers, Reina-senpai and I had no choice but to do the same.

Before me stood the Yukikawa sisters, with their silver and platinum blonde hair and incredible figures.
My face flushed, but a competitive spirit also ignited within me. I wanted to win.

“Alright, here I go!”
I served the ball with all my might.

The game continued, the score rising on both sides, increasing the tension.
Mizuki and I made a pretty good team.
Mizuki would hit powerful spikes, Aya would receive them with difficulty, and then I’d receive the returned ball.

Reina-senpai, though slow, had powerful serves and spikes that we couldn’t afford to underestimate. We tried to target her to score points, but her receives were surprisingly good, making it harder than we thought.

Aya pressed us with her exceptional athleticism, and Mizuki and I fought back with good teamwork. We rallied back and forth for quite a while, the game remaining close throughout the afternoon. Sweat dripped down my forehead, but I felt invigorated by the exercise.

“Rina, Mizuki, you’re pretty good.”
“Hehe, Aya! We’re not bad ourselves, are we?”

Our shadows on the sand grew longer as the sun began to set.

The game ended with a narrow victory for the Yukikawa sisters.
As expected, if this novel were a battle manga, Aya would be the final boss.
She practically carried the team, playing for both herself and the weaker Reina-senpai.

I plopped down on the sand, panting.

As I caught my breath, Mizuki grinned and pointed towards the ocean.
“Okay, everyone, let’s go wash up~!”

“Yeah, let’s go back to the villa…”
“No! To the ocean!”

“Huh?”

I narrowed my eyes at Mizuki, and she chuckled.
“No way! If we go in the ocean, we’ll get all salty! We’ll have to shower again!”
“Aw~ Rina-tan, that’s the best part of the beach~!”

Mizuki linked arms with me and tried to pull me along, but I dug my heels in. If Mizuki had been serious, I would have been dragged along, but thankfully, she was just teasing.
“No! Let’s just go back and shower…!”

“Mizuki~ Let’s just go back. You don’t have to do a penalty round.”
“Fine, if Aya-ring says so.”

Thankfully, we reached an agreement, and we headed back to the villa.

Back at the villa, I dragged my tired legs towards the bathroom.

Sena-senpai, who was sitting in front of the bathroom, looked up from gazing out the window and waved at me.

“Rina-chan, you go first.”
“Uh… You can go first, senpai.”
“No, I didn’t exercise, so you go ahead.”

“Okay, I’ll be quick.”

As I was about to enter the bathroom, Sena-senpai’s phone rang.
“Mom?”

I heard clear Korean.
The villa was quiet, so I could hear her voice clearly even though she was on the phone.

[How are you, my dear? How’s Okinawa?]

“It’s great! I wish you and Seo-yeon could have come too.”
[I miss Seo-yeon a lot too~ Are you feeling better?]
“Yes, I’ve been getting a lot of sun, so I’m definitely feeling better. Don’t worry.”

Sena-senpai replied cheerfully.
‘Ah, it’s her parents.’

I was about to open the bathroom door, figuring I should give her some privacy, when Sena-senpai’s next question made me freeze.

“Mom, how’s my little sister, Ria?”

[She’s doing well. Serena’s third album came out. Should I send Seo-yeon a copy?]
“Yes, please do!”

I unconsciously gripped the doorknob and turned my head.
Huh?
Wait…

Serena…?!
Serena was that super popular K-pop girl group that was trending among Japanese high school girls!

I wasn’t interested in idol groups in my past life, but now, I was a Japanese high school student.
I’d often hear idol group names mentioned during breaks and lunch at school.
There was a girl in my class, Kuramochi, I think, who always talked about Serena…

Could it be that Serena?

I hurried into the bathroom, closed the door, and immediately searched on my phone.
“Ah…!”
The search results showed the profile of the popular K-pop idol group, Serena.

Ria, Ria… I felt like I’d heard that name somewhere before. I clicked on the Namuwiki link that appeared at the top of the results, and there was only one Ria listed.

Yu Ria.
Main vocalist.
Leader.

And family relations…

Mother, Seo Ye-eun.

Eh…

Wasn’t she that incredibly famous actress?
Back in Korea, everyone knew her. She was practically as famous as Bae Yong-joon in his prime.

So… Sena-senpai’s mother was that Seo Ye-eun?

My hands trembled.
Wait a minute.
Sena-senpai was Ria’s older sister and the daughter of a legendary actress?

The Yukikawa family controlled the hospitals and pharmaceutical industry in Japan, the Asakura family was a traditional prestigious family and owned the Takamari Foundation…

‘Do… Do I even belong here…?’

I suddenly felt dizzy.
Everyone around me was so amazing… Did an ordinary person like me, who’d stumbled into this world, even have a place here?

I stood there frozen, staring blankly at my phone.