Ch.163Because It’s Summer (6)

Siyoung meticulously adjusted her swimsuit several times in front of the changing room mirror.

“I hope I didn’t put it on wrong…”

Despite being accustomed to changing clothes quickly from her years of kendo training—able to change into her uniform in pristine condition in less than three minutes—she had already spent over ten minutes just putting on this swimsuit.

Was her bottom eating the swimsuit?

Were the frills on her shoulders and lower body folded anywhere?

Was her abdominal muscle definition too pronounced?

Siyoung swayed her body back and forth in front of the mirror multiple times, carefully checking once more for any awkward angles.

“Hair… okay. Outfit… okay. Beach ball to compensate for volume instead of breasts and add cuteness… okay.”

Unlike Doyoung, who was so excited about the beach that she had worn her swimsuit from the start, Siyoung had kept her swimsuit choice a complete secret from the others until entering the beach changing room.

And now, that secret was becoming a burden to her. Having built up expectations by keeping it hidden for so long, she couldn’t help but worry about her appearance in front of Hamin.

“…I wonder if this makes my butt look too big.”

Had she been too greedy with the size? She had deliberately chosen a slightly smaller, form-fitting swimsuit to accentuate her figure.

Now she slightly regretted it, feeling that it might be emphasizing her lower body—her thighs and buttocks—too much.

“I wonder how Hamin oppa will react when he sees me like this.”

Today was the day she would reveal herself in a bold swimsuit to Hamin for the first time, breaking away from her usual casual attire of worn hoodies and shorts.

Of course, a swimsuit was still casual attire, but its extreme minimalism had a way of making others nervous.

Siyoung was curious about what expression Hamin would make when he saw her swimsuit. It was because of something she had heard from her sister Doyoung the night before their trip, as they shared a blanket.

‘A man’s true expression doesn’t come from his face, but from his lower body.’

Siyoung still didn’t fully understand what that meant.

The lower body—specifically between the legs, as her sister had mentioned—didn’t have a face, so how could it show a “true expression”? Her sister’s words alone weren’t enough to understand.

Having no immediate male reference, Siyoung first thought of her father and brother, the closest men in her life, but realized they wouldn’t provide the reaction she was looking for.

Her father, Bandoche, was already so direct and honest that his facial expressions revealed all his emotions.

Conversely, her brother Solyoung was so dry in his expressions and emotional displays that even as his sister, she had no idea what he was thinking most of the time.

One showed everything on his face, while the other would be hard to read even if she looked at his crotch.

So she chose Hamin as her subject. Hamin was emotionally rich but also the type to moderate his words and expressions in consideration of who he was talking to.

Since Siyoung herself was interested in Hamin, she was naturally more curious about his reaction than her family’s.

She honestly wanted to hear Hamin compliment her, saying she looked pretty and that the swimsuit suited her. And she also wanted to see what kind of reaction Hamin would have when, as her sister had explained, his lower body said she was pretty too.

“D-don’t get the wrong idea, Bandoduk unni. It’s not like I want to monopolize Hamin oppa’s attention. This is just… an experiment to see what kind of expression his lower body makes, like unni mentioned.”

She had no intention of stealing Hamin from her sister. Nevertheless, her desire to look good in front of someone she liked remained.

If Doyoung were still the “Bandoduk bitch” she used to hate calling “unni,” things might have been different. But she didn’t want to do that to the “Bandoduk unni” who seemed to have changed little by little since meeting Hamin.

Perhaps that too was because of her desire to look good in front of someone she liked.

“I can’t believe I’ve started to like that Bandoduk girl.” Even as she thought this to herself, she shook her head in denial, but stopped when she realized it might mess up her carefully arranged hair.

“…Alright. Let’s go.”

With a bit more confidence in herself, Siyoung opened the changing room door and stepped outside.

Beyond this thin wall made of a single curtain, she anticipated what Hamin would say to her.

First and foremost, before anyone else, she wanted to imprint the image of herself in her swimsuit in Hamin’s eyes.

“Hamin oppa… sorry I’m late, it took me a while to change. I hope Bandoduk unni didn’t do anything bad while I was—”

Just as Siyoung spotted Hamin and Doyoung in the distance and was about to join them,

“Excuse me?”

A man from a group behind Siyoung stopped her.

“…Huh?”

Siyoung responded with a bland expression, showing no interest in the man suddenly approaching her.

“You have an amazing body. Are you an athlete? Oh, maybe a swimmer?”

“…No, I’m not.”

“Ah, I see. Anyway, your figure is so impressive and your face is so pretty that I couldn’t help but talk to you.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Trying to ignore the man’s unwanted attention and head toward Hamin, Siyoung found her path blocked as the man stepped in front of her.

“Um… if you have a Pingstar ID, could you maybe share—”

“I don’t do that kind of thing.”

Siyoung lightly dismissed the man and tried to walk past him.

“Wait! I’m enlisting in the military this September! Can’t you meet me just once, as a favor to a poor guy?”

“I’m a minor. Still a student.”

“Hehehe…! Well, that won’t be a problem after I finish my service, right?”

“Look, I’m here with people, so please stop bothering me…”

“Please! I already gathered my courage to ask another girl for her Pingstar account earlier, but she had a boyfriend and rejected me! Do you have a boyfriend? If not, we could at least meet casually!”

“…Sigh, I’m telling you.”

“Isn’t it a waste? You’re wearing such a cute and pretty swimsuit, but there’s no special event!”

“…”

Hearing the man’s plea that bordered on whining, Siyoung glared at him, seemingly bothered by his words.

“Oh, are you perhaps considering hanging out with me after hearing what I said?”

The man’s eyes sparkled expectantly, misinterpreting Siyoung’s silence as a positive sign after her previous sharp rejections.

“…Why are you the first one to say that?”

“…Huh?”

*Squeeze*

Siyoung tightly gripped the beach ball she was holding. With the sound of muscles and bones trembling, the beach ball’s shape began to distort according to the shape of her hand.

“Who are you to talk about my swimsuit before Hamin oppa!”

*Whoosh!*

The beach ball left Siyoung’s hand and struck the man’s face. Despite being an extremely light ball made of thin vinyl, the man’s body flew into the air as if hit by a real volleyball.

“Oof!”

*Thud!*

The man, now with a beach ball pattern imprinted on his face, lost consciousness and collapsed onto the sand. The second attempt of a man emboldened by summer memories ended there.

…

“I’m here.”

Siyoung, hiding her gloomy face, wandered around until she found Hamin and Doyoung waiting for her on the beach.

“Ah, Dohamin. Bansiyoung is coming.”

“Oh, you’re right. Scarlet-jjang, over here…!”

Noticing that Siyoung had spotted them, Hamin and Doyoung waved in her direction and began walking toward her.

“What took you so long? Were you making the swimsuit yourself?”

“You sound like an old man… Me being late was probably good for you two. You probably wanted to be alone anyway.”

Siyoung was the only one without a partner on this trip. She hadn’t particularly felt the absence, but seeing Hamin and Doyoung laughing together before she arrived, she honestly didn’t see where she fit in.

“Hey, beach ball.”

“Who are you calling a bitch? I’m still a virgin.”

“Whatever. I brought this for you two lovebirds to use. I’ll be playing by myself over there, so just call me when it’s time to go.”

“What are you talking about? Scarlet-jjang, you and Dohamin promised to teach me how to swim. We’ve been doing warm-up exercises and waiting for you this whole time. I’ve been waiting so long my neck almost grew to 175cm.”

“…Swimming? Were you really planning to do that? I thought we were just going to splash around at the water’s edge.”

“Of course! When I found out that Dohamin has a third thing he’s better at than me besides studying and cooking, how could I not learn it?”

There had been many attempts to teach Doyoung how to swim at home. Letting the mischievous and troublesome Doyoung near water was extremely dangerous.

However, everyone—her mother, father, and even her brother Solyoung—had all tried and failed. When even the reliable eldest son Solyoung failed to teach Doyoung how to swim, both parents decided to be more vigilant instead.

“Hamin oppa. Is this for real?”

“Yes, Doyoung. I think she’s serious. So Scarlet-jjang, please help us too. I heard from your mom that your swimming skills were better than even the swim club members at your school in Japan.”

“Ahem… Well, with a little more practice, I might be able to walk on water. But teaching Bandoduk unni to swim—Mom, Dad, and even Solyoung oppa all failed.”

“But you and I haven’t tried yet. If we do it together, I’m sure we can succeed.”

“With Hamin oppa…”

“You heard him, this time Scarlet-jjang is my teacher too. I’m counting on you.”

“Me, being Bandoduk unni’s teacher.”

Color began to return to Siyoung’s previously gloomy face.

“Now, Scarlet-sensei! What should Bandoyoung’s body do to swim well?”

“Well… the first thing we need to do is—”

Siyoung plopped down in a chair under the parasol and addressed Doyoung, who had become her one-day student.

“Go buy some bread. Yakisoba bread.”

“…This Banshipal girl only learned bad things in Japan.”

“No, I think she learned that from you, Doyoung.”