Ch.168Because It’s Summer (11)

The day is drawing to a close.

The depth and color of the seawater have darkened compared to earlier.

What does this mean?

It means it’s now impossible to find Doha-min’s navy blue swimming trunks with the naked eye.

Why did he have to choose navy blue of all colors for his swimwear?

Ah, well. I suppose red pants would have been a bit much.

The world can be so cruel.

His [summer essence] was trying so hard to hold up Doha-min’s elastic-less pants around his waist to maintain this world’s ethical standards.

However, from what I had indirectly confirmed about his growth before,

Doha-min’s [summer essence] wasn’t particularly impressive in size during its normal, unstimulated state.

If it had been able to maintain some of its original size even when deflated,

If that had been the case, just like Miss Ban Do-young in her swimsuit who attracted the attention of all men at the beach,

Doha-min would have similarly drawn the eyes of all women at the beach.

And of course, the attention of the police who would come after someone reported it.

Doha-min’s [summer essence], despairing at the realization that the swimsuit string was gone, quickly lost its vigor and became dejected.

The very thing that had been holding his swimsuit in place instead of the elastic had become dejected.

What would happen then? Obviously, it would slip right off.

He jumped into the water trying to somehow recover it where I couldn’t see,

But in his panic, he ended up watching his swimsuit float away on the waves that came with the wind, which brings us to the current situation.

“Ban Si-young, you didn’t see a navy blue swimsuit on your way here either, right?”

“Um… well.”

Si-young, who had run over from the beach, didn’t seem to have seen Doha-min’s swimsuit either.

She might not have looked around at all, having rushed over in one breath thinking something dangerous had happened to us.

If even someone with 20/20 vision in both eyes couldn’t find Doha-min’s trunks,

We essentially had no choice but to give up searching for the lost item on our own.

“Th-then where on earth did it float off to…?”

“I did look around while rushing over, but I didn’t see anyone who had picked up a swimsuit. It probably drifted quite far away, or it might be caught somewhere strange. There are a lot of rocks around here.”

“Hmm, for now, maybe you could wrap the jacket you’re wearing around your waist to cover up. If it’s in a shrunken state, it might work.”

“…I’ll give it a try.”

Doha-min moved away slightly, then tied the jacket he was wearing around his waist.

“D-does it look weird?”

“It’s fine, it’s covering everything well, Hamin oppa.”

“Hmm, this much is just fashion.”

The jacket was large enough that simply tying it around his waist covered his lower body down to above his knees, like an apron.

There were plenty of people at the beach with similar fashion, so it wouldn’t look too awkward.

Of course, those people were all wearing proper swimwear underneath.

“Phew… at least with this, I won’t be exposed on the way back to the lodging.”

“Kid, you should have done this from the start instead of crying! See, there’s always a way out!”

-SLAP!

I heartily slapped Doha-min’s back, which was hunched over as if physically expressing his gloomy emotions.

Anyway, he’s protected by this world’s all-ages safeguard, so there’s nothing to worry about.

“Oh… look at Doha-min’s broad back. It wasn’t long ago that I was giving you piggyback rides.”

“…”

“Whoa, wait. What’s happening? Why is it suddenly growing again…!”

Doha-min’s face turned red faster than the sunset,

And the knot of the jacket wrapped around his waist suddenly came undone.

It was because of the fabric rapidly rising up as if something had been stimulated.

Don’t tell me this guy.

Is he getting excited just from remembering the first time he gave Miss Ban Do-young a piggyback ride?

Even if that was the day of your first kiss, come on.

Your nostalgia filter is way too strong.

-FLOP

“Eek!”

Si-young covered her eyes with both hands and screamed as she saw the jacket fall down after the knot came undone.

“S-Scarlet. Are you okay?”

“I-I didn’t see anything! Not the knot coming undone, not the jacket falling off, not something mushroom-like shooting up from Hamin oppa’s lower body like it was being filmed in super slow motion…!”

“It’s okay, Scarlet. That means you saw everything. That’s all I saw too.”

“Why aren’t you looking away?!”

I’m not sure if this kind of expression is allowed in an all-ages webtoon,

But for a moment, Doha-min was literally in a state without a single thread on his body.

“Hmm, I guess covering up with just a jacket is difficult after all.”

“It’s because Ban Do-thief unnie said unnecessary things. What are we going to do now…? Do we have to wait until it shrinks again? The tide is coming in soon.”

“Sigh… there’s no choice. I’ll have to take responsibility.”

“What… what are you planning to do?”

“First, I’ll take off my underwear and give it to Doha-min—”

“Grrrr!”

-THUD!

“Ow!”

The tube in Si-young’s hand struck Ban Do-young squarely on the head.

Hit in the forehead by the air-filled hammer, I fell straight into the incoming tide.

“Cough… wh-what are you doing? I was someone who couldn’t swim until just now, you know? Take it easy.”

“It’s because Ban Do-thief unnie keeps saying things like that that we’re not making any progress! Instead of helping Hamin oppa!”

Saying that, Si-young separated me from Doha-min,

And positioned him behind her.

“F-for now, if we want to get back to the lodging without anyone noticing he’s lost his swimsuit, I think Ban Do-thief unnie and Hamin oppa need to keep their distance.”

“Th-thank you, Scarlet. I’ll only impose on you for a little while.”

Doha-min retied the jacket that had been around his shoulders

And moved to Si-young’s side instead of mine.

“Phew… now I feel a bit relieved.”

“It’s amazing that you managed to teach swimming to Ban Do-thief unnie who only plays pranks like this, without getting angry.”

“Well, she was too scared to play these kinds of pranks until I learned to float… Do-young really does have remarkable adaptability. Hahaha…”

“Well, Ban Do-thief unnie is the type who would somehow survive even if she fell into a completely different world… but sometimes I think Hamin oppa indulges her whims even more than my mom and dad do.”

“Ahaha… well…”

Doha-min scratched his face with an embarrassed expression and said:

“I like… that side of her too.”

“…”

“O-of course, what just happened was a bit too much even for me to handle. Hehe.”

“Sigh. What’s this? There’s no way to get between you two.”

“Huh? What did you just say…?”

“I said tie it well so there’s no gap for it to come undone again. So our unnie’s pranks won’t make it fall off again.”

“Yes… I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Hey, why have you two been chatting by yourselves after throwing me into the water?”

Thankfully, although Si-young had launched me into the water, I didn’t struggle like before.

Ban Do-young’s body, having already learned how to float from Doha-min, was able to maintain a floating position without any problems.

“Doha-min, how long are you going to stay next to Scarlet? If you’re going to stick to someone, shouldn’t it be your girlfriend, not your girlfriend’s little sister?”

“That’s because… if I’m next to you, I never know when you might suddenly play a prank that would cause a reaction. Next to Scarlet… I can at least feel safe.”

“…Heh.”

Si-young smiled with slight satisfaction, as if pleased to have earned his trust.

However, as soon as she realized I had caught her making that face, she quickly cleared her throat and returned to her usual demeanor.

“Ahem, don’t be too relieved, Hamin oppa. If I wanted to, I could play pranks that would make you blush just as easily.”

Si-young confidently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she spoke to Doha-min who was standing behind her.

“I-it’s okay! If it’s a prank from Scarlet, I can always find it cute! No matter what happens, I won’t have the same reaction as with Do-young, so don’t worry too much!”

“…Grrrr!”

-THUD!

“Ugh! Why…?”

“Because if you proudly declare ‘you’re just a pervert,’ people get angry.”

Doha-min was hit by the tube Si-young threw at the exact same spot where I had been hit, and fell into the water.

It didn’t seem like he had any ill intentions, but he unintentionally drove the point home.

“Whatever. You two figure it out yourselves. You can set up house here like the Little Mermaid for all I care.”

“…Is my skin that tanned?”

“…Wait, Scarlet.”

After delivering the finishing blow to Doha-min, Si-young abandoned us to the sea and leisurely returned to the lodging by herself.

.

.

.

“Achoo! Ugh… another cold coming on?”

“So… that’s why both Do-young and Hamin were at the shore so late. After most people had left.”

“I was wondering why Hamin, who’s a good swimmer, was wearing Do-young’s tube around his middle. He picked up what Si-young abandoned and used it to cover his essential parts.”

“I was really… so nervous about other people seeing.”

“It’s okay, only Scarlet and I saw yours.”

“Don’t say that so loudly, Ban Do-thief unnie.”

After returning to the lodging, it was dinner time.

The classic summer activity was undoubtedly a barbecue party on the porch of the guesthouse.

As if they had anticipated our request,

Sol-young and Teacher Miso, who had returned after finishing their schedule, brought plenty of meat for grilling from their family home.

“Ah, these are all cooked. Hamin, could you bring a plate?”

“Yes, Sol-young hyung. Here it is. I’ll also get some drinks from the ice box.”

“Doha-min, I want a zero lime!”

“I know!”

As usual in these situations, the men were actively grilling the meat.

Sol-young and Doha-min were skillfully cooking the meat they had brought in front of the grill.

Thanks to both of them being skilled cooks, the meat on the grill was cooking to an appetizing color.

Huh? What am I doing, you ask?

Grilling meat in the middle of summer is men’s territory.

Ban Do-young, the delicate high school girl, is strictly in charge of eating.

“When will it be ready? Hurry up and give me some. I’m hungry.”

“Now, now, the eldest should pick up their chopsticks first. Let’s serve your teacher first.”

“A-are you treating me like an old lady already?”

“Well, with Sol-mi here too, if we add +1 to your age, you are overwhelmingly the senior. My brother will live well off your pension later, Teacher.”

“Do-young student…!”

Like sparks that flare up and disappear on the grill,

We enjoyed the moment with light-hearted, meaningless conversations that didn’t matter.

“Give me more pork neck.”

“…Did you enjoy the beach?”

When I went over to Sol-young, who was grilling meat to replenish what had run out,

Instead of giving me the meat I asked for, he suddenly spoke to me.

“I was a bit worried about sending just the three of you, but it seems you had a good time.”

“It might have been more enjoyable without annoying people around.”

“Hahaha, I can’t bother you anymore. I have two other people I need to annoy now.”

“I’m sure you do.”

“There weren’t any more incidents or progress beyond what I heard earlier, right?”

“Why, curious? Worried about Sol-mi getting a cousin?”

“I was concerned that you might not be able to control yourself and get carried away after such an incident. Or the opposite case too. Judging by Hamin’s reaction, it doesn’t seem to have gone that far though.”

“…You know, I’ve always been the type to eat my favorite side dishes first. Meat first in school lunches, drumsticks first when eating chicken. Because they’re delicious. Until now, I’ve always thought I was the type to eat what I like first.”

“So now you’re not?”

“Hmm, half right and half wrong.”

I picked up a piece of pork neck sizzling on the grill with my chopsticks.

“Ah, I was going to give that to noona.”

“I still eat what I like first. Like this pork neck you just grilled. Nom nom.”

“Then it’s not just half right.”

“Hehehe. Well, that’s because this is just something I like.”

After taking the piece of meat I had been eyeing,

I moved to sit next to Doha-min, who was across from Sol-young.

“D-Do-young…?”

“But maybe I want to save what I truly love for last…?”