Ch.167Because It’s Summer (10)

Originally, I had avoided taking the lead alone as Ban Doyoung, rather than letting Do Hamin, the protagonist of this world, take the initiative.

My personal belief was that physical contact without Hamin taking the lead, touches that occurred without confirming each other’s feelings, couldn’t be considered proper skinship between the protagonist and heroine of a pure youth romance.

But today was a bit different.

Miss Ban Doyoung’s body was longing to be close to Hamin more than ever before.

And it seemed Hamin had also noticed this fact to some extent from his experiences so far.

Perhaps Hamin was gradually developing the same values about skinship between the protagonist and heroine of a pure youth romance as I had.

Even if the connection began because of Miss Ban Doyoung,

ultimately, he realized that tying the final knot of that relationship was his responsibility.

In a moment that could have been driven entirely by Miss Ban Doyoung’s blind pursuit from beginning to end,

Hamin offered his lips to her first.

Or more accurately, he was the one who brought his lips to Miss Ban Doyoung’s mouth.

‘If we’re doing this, I’ll take the lead.’

It might seem trivial, but those words made me truly happy.

I liked how that final statement transformed Miss Ban Doyoung’s actions—which might have seemed desperate to the point of greediness—from forcefully “doing to” Hamin to “receiving from” him.

It gave me the feeling that Hamin knew how to avoid hurting Miss Ban Doyoung,

and how to make her happy.

“Haah… mmph. Just a little more.”

As he had been the one to approach first,

I clung to him with my whole body in response, wanting him even more.

“Mmm. Just one more minute… no, 30 more seconds… let’s stay like this a little longer. Hold me tighter. My stomach feels cold because you keep creating space between us. I’ll hold you as tight as I can too.”

Because I didn’t need to keep up appearances.

Because I didn’t need to back away as if I couldn’t handle it.

It’s okay. I won’t cross the line that this world doesn’t permit.

I’ll save that throbbing part between you and me—the one that feels like it could burst into flames at any moment—for the most important moment.

Instead, within the boundaries this world allows, I wanted to leave as much of Hamin on Miss Ban Doyoung’s body as possible,

and I wanted to leave traces of Miss Ban Doyoung on Hamin too.

The marks from arms embracing tightly,

small scratches from pressing against the rocks,

the reddened spine compressed while being held in place by legs,

the red marks left by the size of each other’s lips.

“Haa… haa…”

“Are you okay…? It might be a bit salty because of the seawater.”

“What about you?”

“…Sorry. I don’t know. I can’t think about things like taste when I can’t think of anything else.”

“If even the top student in school is like that, how do you expect me to think straight? It’s fine, just come closer. Come here.”

Perhaps it was because I was too happy about being in sync with Hamin.

“Do, Doyoung. Let’s stop here and go back. The tide seems to be coming in. The waves are getting rougher.”

“Just a little… just a little more.”

“If we come out too late, Scarlet might worry… mmph!”

“Last… just the last 10 seconds. Just 10 more seconds.”

Only when the thread of saliva mixed with the scent of the sea drew a semicircle from mouth to mouth

did I finally break away from being intertwined with Hamin and regain my senses.

Well, even if I pounced a bit greedily, it should be fine,

because it wasn’t what I wanted, but what ‘real’ Miss Ban Doyoung’s body wanted.

I thought this could easily be an episode within the original work.

It seems my self-control had naturally disappeared.

“Phew…”

“Haa… we can’t do it one more time, can we?”

“I told you it’s dangerous. Hurry and give me my pants string, and let’s go back to the lodge. The sun will set soon.”

To prevent our body temperatures from dropping after being in the water for so long,

we climbed up onto the rocky beach for a moment.

When asked where his pants string had disappeared to, I carefully raised one finger to negotiate,

but Hamin, whose mouth area was already covered in red marks, wouldn’t bargain.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and give it to me. The wind is blowing hard, and it’s already flapping too much.”

“Tch. Fine. Your pants string should be… uh.”

When exactly had I become so preoccupied with pressing my lips against Hamin’s?

“…Where did you put my pants string?”

“Um… well.”

At least I didn’t realize until after Hamin’s pants string, which I had been holding in my hand, had somehow slipped from my grasp,

been swept away by the waves, and disappeared.

“That’s how it left my hand.”

**

Before Doyoung and Hamin headed to the rocky beach,

Siyoung was watching the two of them during their swimming lesson near the food stall, as Hamin had asked.

“You really succeeded, Hamin oppa.”

While watching, she almost dropped the second yakisoba bread she was holding onto the sand.

To see that Doyoung calmly floating in water that came up past her waist.

It was a completely different sight from the Ban-thief unni who used to flail about in panic in water that didn’t even reach her knees back in elementary school.

“Normally, if she went into water that deep without a tube, she’d already be throwing a tantrum and getting leg cramps.”

It almost seemed like all her previous fuss had been an act to secure time alone with Hamin.

After Hamin’s strategy succeeded, Doyoung quickly picked up the knack for swimming and began skillfully following Hamin’s freestyle.

Something that couldn’t be accomplished through her father’s passion, her brother’s kindness,

or even the safety of her mother’s life-jacket-like embrace.

“Is there really something between those two? I never thought I’d live to see Ban-thief unni swimming without holding onto someone.”

At first, Doyoung’s face seemed somewhat dissatisfied, but that didn’t last long.

Soon after Hamin swam to a nearby rock and back, Doyoung became excited like a child and followed Hamin’s swimming style as they moved toward the rocky beach.

As if she had learned directly from Hamin’s form,

Doyoung, having gotten the hang of it, moved forward quite skillfully, swinging her arms.

Up to that point, Siyoung simply thought,

‘Ban-thief unni must be playing a prank on Hamin oppa with what she just learned.’

That’s all she thought.

Until the two disappeared behind the rocks,

and showed no signs of coming back out.

“…That’s strange. Why aren’t they coming out? The tide will be coming in soon.”

It felt like they had stayed in the same place where the rock was for about 20-30 minutes.

With no sign of coming out.

“Did something happen…?”

However, after a considerable amount of time passed and the two showed no intention of coming out from behind the rocks,

Siyoung’s mind was suddenly crossed by ominous thoughts.

Doyoung, who had just learned to swim and might have moved her body recklessly without knowing better, experiencing some problem,

and Hamin, trying to save her, venturing too deep and sinking as well.

Such accidents weren’t that rare at beaches during summer.

Moreover, the last expression she saw on Hamin’s face.

As she remembered, he looked slightly angry and flustered by Doyoung’s behavior.

She could guess that Doyoung had crossed a line or played some dangerous kind of prank.

Had Doyoung, and even Hamin, encountered danger because of Doyoung’s prank?

Once her imagination started running in an anxious direction, it branched out only toward the worst possibilities.

What if they both got leg cramps while Hamin was trying to save Doyoung and sank together?

What if one of their legs got stuck in a hole while swimming between the reefs?

“Unni! Hamin oppa!”

Siyoung reflexively called out for her sister Doyoung,

and with Doyoung’s tube in one hand, ran toward the rocky beach.

She had promised to rush to where they were if anything happened to them while they were learning to swim.

Though there was quite a distance from the food stall to the beach,

by Siyoung’s standards, it was just a few steps regardless of where she started.

“Are you both okay…”

Siyoung swam almost as if running on water and quickly arrived at the rocky shore where Doyoung and Hamin had been.

“Hey, don’t cry. I said I’m sorry. I’ll properly apologize for pulling out your pants string too.”

“Sniff… That’s why I told you we needed to find it quickly. What kind of situation is this? Trying to adjust the loosened pants and then having them come off completely and fly away with the waves… This is the worst.”

“Hey, earlier you said it was fine if your swimsuit came undone a bit as long as I wasn’t hurt. Now you’re changing your tune?”

“I’m saying this because you’re not hurt. What are we going to do about this? How are we supposed to get back to the lodge like this?”

The two were sitting on the rocks where the tide was coming in, looking relatively fine compared to what Siyoung had worried about.

“Ah, there they are… Ban-thief unni. Hamin op… EEEEK!”

However, before calling out to them, Siyoung let out an involuntary scream when she saw Hamin’s state.

“S-Scarlet?”

“Ah, perfect timing. Scarlet! Did you see a navy blue swimsuit bottom on your way here? Do Hamin was wearing it until just now.”

“If he was wearing it until just now… then now…”

Below Hamin’s yellow jacket, there was no sign of any clothing.

.

.

.

“I’m sorry. Um… would you like to touch my chest as an apology?”

“No thanks!”

“…Then would you prefer if I touched yours?”

“Get away from me! You’re sticking close on purpose to see my reaction!”

“Sharp observation.”

While Doyoung maintained her complete state from head to toe,

Hamin only maintained his upper body intact, with the rest of his lower body naked, precariously covering his important parts with only the jacket he was wearing.