Ch.210IF Side Story: Somehow, Everyone Seems to Like Me (11)

A private beach.

Well, even if not necessarily a beach, having a vacation home like this is somewhat of a dream.

I wouldn’t sincerely call it a lifelong dream. Besides being expensive, I know that managing a house far away is much more difficult than people imagine.

Even in this country, there are perfectly normal private vacation homes that people break into just because the owners aren’t actively managing them—damaging the property and stealing items inside, treating them like abandoned houses.

To maintain a well-kept vacation home like this, you’d need to spend quite a lot of money.

But even knowing all that, it’s still something I want—because being able to truly relax is such a wonderful thing.

When you stay at someone else’s pension, you have to be mindful of check-in times and think about check-out times before falling asleep. But here, there’s no need for any of that.

…

Those seniors, I wonder if they’re not studying not because they have escape routes, but simply because they’re so rich they don’t need to worry?

Well, I have enough tact not to say that out loud.

“…It’s kind of frustrating.”

Ah, Jihye actually said it out loud. But she just compared her wealth to the seniors’ and muttered that one comment, so it wasn’t a big deal.

The good thing about having no one around is that there’s no need to change clothes frequently.

Chaeyeon was wearing clothes over her swimsuit outside when that happened to her, but even so, it would be embarrassing to walk around naked indoors. Even if we’re only here for a short while.

That’s why we all wore outer garments that matched our swimsuits. Clothes that looked somewhat waterproof, so getting wet wouldn’t be a big issue.

Should I be honest?

Unless you button it up, this clothing actually has the opposite effect.

Especially when worn by someone like me whose chest protrudes abnormally forward—it ends up emphasizing my breasts even more.

But since everyone else wearing these clothes kept them open, I couldn’t button mine up without looking like I was making a fuss.

“I’ll go get some drinks!”

Seo-hee said that as she ran to the kitchen.

The other girls followed her to get snacks and other things.

The vacation home was larger than a typical pension. It was almost a mansion—the kind of building you’d only see in places like America where there’s plenty of land and wealthy people.

Chaeyeon flopped down on the sofa as if it were the most natural thing. She’d dried herself off, but there must still be some moisture left.

…Oh right, we’re magicians after all. There are many types of magic that are useful in daily life. Like the magic we used to speed-grow vegetables in our garden while we were on the run.

“Huh?”

Come to think of it, one person was missing.

Where did Yeonwoo go?

She doesn’t seem to be among those bustling in the kitchen.

Hmm.

She probably didn’t go far, so I might as well look around. I’ll run into her eventually.

*

The vacation home wasn’t just a single building.

Of course, with the sea nearby, that could be considered part of the vacation home’s features, but there was something even more impressive.

Behind the vacation home was a garden with flowers. Not just a few, but a well-maintained garden.

The soil in the garden was incredibly soft. It seemed designed for walking barefoot after playing at the beach.

White and yellow.

The garden wasn’t unreasonably large, so I think that’s why they limited the flower colors to just two.

Those two colors of flowers were planted on either side of a path that cut through the middle, creating small flower beds. With the path as the center, there was a white flower bed toward the ocean side, and a yellow flower bed on the opposite side.

Yeonwoo was among those flowers.

Wondering why she wasn’t inside the air-conditioned house, I approached and saw that she was examining each flower carefully.

“…Oh, you’re here?”

Sensing my presence, Yeonwoo stood up.

Yeonwoo’s hair isn’t blonde. It’s more of a dark brown, closer to the color of wood than flowers.

But perhaps because of that hair color? The yellow bikini really suited her. Unlike my string bikini, hers covered a bit more skin—but still, a bikini is a bikini.

With her yellow outer garment as well, she matched the yellow flower bed perfectly.

Actually, I think it’s just because she’s pretty.

“What are you doing here alone?”

I stayed where I was, afraid I might step on the flowers.

“The flowers here are so pretty.”

Yeonwoo said as she walked toward me.

“So I like to look at them whenever I come.”

“I see.”

To anyone watching, her expression looked more like she was tending to them rather than just looking, but that doesn’t matter. There are many ways to appreciate flowers.

“Did you come looking for me?”

“…I like flowers too.”

I answered, feeling suddenly embarrassed.

I had been looking for her.

I am… well, a person with a very troublesome personality. I think so myself, so others probably feel it even more.

Sometimes I put up thorns to keep people away, but even while doing so, I still want them to keep approaching me. I was like that with Hayun, and with Pang Pang.

And once I see that person enduring all those wounds to get close to me, I can never let them go after that. Jihye was like that.

When I think someone has become “my person,” it really bothers me when they’re off somewhere alone. That’s why I did what I did to Chaeyeon today.

And why I’m here now.

“…Ah!”

Suddenly, as if she’d just thought of something, Yeonwoo grabbed my shoulders and turned me around.

Then she pushed me forward into the flower bed.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Crouch down there.”

“Among the flowers?”

“Yes, it’s fine. Bugs are natural, but this place has been magically treated so nothing bad will happen.”

“…”

I wish she hadn’t mentioned bugs.

But now that she mentioned it, there weren’t many insects around. Not that there were none—I could see a honeybee sitting far away.

“Wow, it really suits you.”

Yeonwoo said as she took out her phone from her clothes. She must have brought it when we entered the building earlier.

Click.

“…Wow.”

She took a picture without permission and exclaimed in admiration, which made me frown.

“What? Why are you doing that?”

“Well, how should I put this…”

Yeonwoo looked back and forth between the photo and me, then said,

“You definitely need to diet in the chest area.”

“…”

I closed my eyes, sighed deeply, and stood up. As I approached, Yeonwoo quickly showed me her phone.

…

Maybe it was because she took the picture from above while I was crouching.

Certainly, well, they were somewhat emphasized. And my bikini was… well, a bikini.

“You don’t need to lose anything there.”

Having nothing else to say, I handed the phone back.

“Why? Your future partner will love them.”

At that, I finally couldn’t hold back and slapped Yeonwoo’s arm. She just giggled.

“What, want to touch them?”

“Huh?”

But at my counterattack, Yeonwoo’s face turned bright red.

Really, that much?

I’m not sure how it is between girls. I’ve known Hayun and Jihye for quite a while, but… Hayun was too shy, and Jihye knew me too well to cross any lines.

Well, just as men don’t usually want to touch other men’s chests, I assume it’s similar for women. There are videos circulating online sometimes, but those probably aren’t typical cases.

“If you let me touch yours, I’ll let you touch mine.”

“…”

“What’s with that serious expression? I’m joking, joking.”

“Oh, r-right?”

Yeonwoo finally returned to reality.

“What, did you really want to touch them? You have some unique tastes.”

“No, it’s more like, how should I put it, an academic interest.”

“…If Chaeyeon had said that, it would have been more believable.”

“What?”

Yeonwoo laughed incredulously and gave me a light push.

We headed back to the vacation home, gently pushing each other back and forth.

Hmm, it seems people can become close without any dramatic events. Well, even at school, sitting near someone can be the first step toward becoming lifelong friends.

In that sense, I think I’m quite lucky.

Not just because we happened to be close—

But because they were so kind and righteous that they couldn’t bear to see someone suffering alone, they stayed by my side.

If not for that, forget about the others—I wouldn’t even be here myself.

…

Well, I don’t think I can say that out loud. My personality isn’t quite that outgoing.

But someday, I’d like to tell them.