Chapter 157: Causing a splash

“Why are you lowering your voice like that? Ah, you didn’t bring it to show us? Were you just going to admire yourself in the mirror then?”

Karen played innocent.

“Do you take me for a fool… Sigh, never mind.”

There was no point in interrogating Karen here. If I didn’t wear it, that was that.

Shaking my head, I put the bikini back into the suitcase.

Naturally, I finished unpacking first. After waiting a bit for the others, we had lunch.

After the meal, a short break. Everyone took pictures, played on their phones, or lay down on their beds. I did some light meditation.

“Choeun-ah. There’s a bed, why are you doing that? Lie down and rest.”

Sara spoke to me. I was sitting with my back straight, legs naturally extended to the side. I answered with my eyes closed.

“No. I’m resting enough like this.”

The other members chimed in.

“Unni, isn’t that uncomfortable? I think my legs would cramp up…”

“Look how prim she is. It’s like we should put a tea set in front of her.”

Was it an unusual posture? I couldn’t sit cross-legged in a dress, and sitting with my knees bent under me felt a bit unnatural. This was the most comfortable and familiar meditation posture, one I could maintain for hours…

Well, it probably wasn’t a posture humans could maintain for hours.

“Not lying down is one thing, but what’s with sitting on the floor when there’s a sofa?”

“It’s Leah unni.”

And so, the hot, slow afternoon passed.

“Everyone, stop!”

Suddenly, Koharu’s voice rang out in the room.

“If we keep lazing around like this, we won’t do anything! We have to go to the pool!”

Sara, lying face down on the bed, just waved her hand.

“Agreed. Let’s go later.”

“Later when? We have to go before the sun sets.”

“Mmm… Just five more minutes…”

“This unni, really!”

Koharu grabbed Sara’s arm and pulled her up. Sara mumbled as she was half-dragged.

“Ah, moving suddenly makes my head spin…”

The atmosphere naturally cleared up, and everyone dispersed into their rooms to change into swimsuits.

I was getting a towel from my suitcase. But there was a presence behind me. Without turning my head, I knew it was Karen.

“Why are you following me?”

“Bikini surveillance.”

“What?”

“You were planning not to wear it if I didn’t watch, weren’t you? I’ll turn around while you change.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Hey, I bought it for you. You should at least respect the sincerity of the person who bought it.”

“You just paid for it without asking…”

In the meantime, another uninvited guest arrived. Koharu, wearing a crop top rash guard that showed her belly button and high-waisted swimsuit bottoms.

“Perfect timing, Yoona. You help persuade her too.”

At Karen’s words, Koharu rushed towards me without even asking what the situation was.

“Choeun unni… Can’t you wear it just once? It’s my wish…”

“If that’s your wish, you wear it.”

Koharu was already holding my arm and swaying it gently.

“No! It’s meaningless if I wear it! Why are you trying to hide this perfect figure! When else are we going to take pictures if not now?”

“You’re even taking pictures? That makes me want to wear it even less.”

Click.

The door opened without warning. Sara entered and said blankly.

“You guys still haven’t changed?”

“Ooh~ Bomi unni, amazing! What’s with the bikini!”

Koharu was right. Sara was wearing a burgundy bikini, which was completely unexpected. She was the shortest among us, but her figure was quite voluptuous, making the bikini stand out even more.

“It just gets less wet and dries faster. It’s expensive, so it’d be a waste not to wear it.”

It was an answer I couldn’t comprehend. She’d risk exposing herself like that for such a reason?

Seeing someone else wear it, I could clearly feel that it looked no different from underwear.

Somehow, it felt embarrassing to look. It wasn’t that I felt any particular sexual attraction… it was just too revealing and defenseless.

Sara glanced around the room and tilted her head slightly.

“I see why it’s taking so long, but Choeun, it’s not something you need to feel so burdened about.”

“Excuse me?”

Sara crossed her arms and shrugged.

“It’s fine to wear it once. It’s just us girls, so what’s the big deal?”

Seeing Sara speak so casually made me feel slightly confused.

…Is this right?

Is it really no big deal among girls, and I’m just being overly sensitive?

Well, if everyone wants to see it so badly, maybe just once…

“Alright. I’ll wear it, so everyone get out.”

“Yay!”

“Yahoo!”

Koharu and Karen shouted simultaneously and left the room. Well, that was to be expected.

As I glanced towards the crack in the door for the last time, Sara uncrossed her arms, shrugged once more, and grinned. The grin lingered strangely.

…No way.

The door closed.

Silence fell, and I froze on the spot for a moment.

…So Sara was in on it from the beginning.

---

I went out to the pool.

The three of them were already dipping their feet in the water or sitting on towels.

When I appeared, there was a brief silence.

“Wow.”

Koharu was the first to react.

Then Sara. The corners of her mouth slowly crept up.

“Was it really that difficult? It looks really good on you.”

Karen’s laugh as she approached me was more blatant.

“Hey, your figure is unbelievably well-maintained. Can I touch it once?”

“As if.”

Koharu added another comment.

“Choeun unni’s lines are really insane. Abs, toned butt… What kind of exercises do you do? I’ve been doing Pilates for over a year, and I can’t even imitate it.”

Sara, who was splashing water, snorted.

“Why are you comparing yourself to her? You were born different in the first place.”

Koharu flinched.

“That’s not what I meant! You’re pretty confident too, Unni, right?”

Then she quickly turned sideways and grabbed Sara’s chest with her palm.

“It must be nice to be so big!”

“Yoona, you crazy b*tch, where are you touching!”

While a chase suddenly erupted in the water, I found a suitable shady spot and sat down.

After the commotion, when the frantic splashing subsided, I was still sitting by the water’s edge.

“Leah unni, why are you so quiet?”

Koharu tilted her head.

I tapped the edge of the water with my toe and replied.

“Just…resting a bit.”

“What, you haven’t even gotten in the water yet? Your posture is too stiff too.”

Karen chuckled softly as she spread out a towel.

“Awkward. Definitely awkward.”

Sara threw out a comment.

Koharu poked her head out of the water and squinted at me.

“Unni… do you know your face is a little red right now?”

“No, it’s not.”

The denial came out reflexively, but I couldn’t be sure of my own condition.

Karen chimed in.

“Wow, Leah. Are you still not used to the bikini and feeling shy? So cute!”

“I told you, no!”

“That natural monument-like reaction! Unni, you’re so kawaii!”

The members showed no sign of listening to me.

“If you’re embarrassed, you need to cool down.”

Sara suddenly started splashing water, so I stood up.

“In times like these, you just gotta pull her in! Launching Choeun unni~!”

But Koharu rushed in, and Karen approached from behind, grabbing my arms and legs.

Splash—

Straight into the water. A small splash erupted.

“Got her!”

“If you’re here, you gotta come in and play!”

I stood up from the bottom of the pool, pushing my wet hair back. I could feel water droplets trickling down the curves of my body.

Seeing the members’ efforts to ease my awkwardness, I felt inclined to play along.

In that case, a little revenge wouldn’t hurt, right?

I quietly dipped both hands into the water, up to my elbows, and gathered a large amount of water at once.

Swinging my arms wide from side to side—

Swoosh.

A large wave of water crashed over the three of them.

“Kyaak!”

“Alright, you wanna go?”

They tried to splash me back or grab me, but I dodged lightly.

I repeated the motion, smoothly and quickly parting the water with my arms.

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!

“Hey, hey, hey, stop! What are you, a motor? How are you making waves!”

“My eyelash fell off!”

“Unni, please spare us just once! We were wrong!”

I looked at the three of them, drenched by my water bombs, and nodded.

“I win.”

“…Kawaii, my ass. She’s like a gorilla.”

A somewhat rude comment reached my ears, but with the magnanimity of a victor, I let it slide.

---

After playing ball games, using tubes, and generally having fun together for a while, Koharu threw out a suggestion.

“It’s almost dinnertime, so how about one last bet for dishwashing duty?”

“What kind of bet?”

“How about swimming? We can time ourselves swimming laps.”

Sara immediately objected.

“Aren’t you just suggesting something you’re good at?”

“Well, yeah! Then let’s do teams! The worst swimmer and I will combine our times. Then we’ll compare that to the combined time of the other two. How about that?”

“For something Yoona came up with, that’s a pretty good rule… you crazy b*tch!”

Sara, having been teased (?) once more, jumped. Koharu seemed to have learned a new way to provoke Sara.

“I’m in! What about you, Leah?”

Karen asked me.

“I can do it. But the worst swimmer shouldn’t be on your team, Haru. They should be on my team.”

Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a proper bet, just forcing someone to do the dishes. My conscience wouldn’t allow that.

“Oh, Choeun unni, are you good at swimming too? I used to take lessons!”

“Yeah. I’m probably not bad.”

“That’s great for me! Then how should we make the teams…?”

After some discussion, Sara, who had admitted she wasn’t a good swimmer, and I formed one team. Karen and Koharu formed the other.

Karen went first. It was a lap in the 10-meter pool.

“I only know how to swim, that’s about it…”

Karen’s time was 30 seconds.

Next was Sara. As she had said, she wasn’t very good, and there were sections where she walked. Her time was 42 seconds.

Third was Koharu.

“I’ll try my best!”

Koharu’s form was excellent. She showed she had the skills to back up her confidence. Her time was 23 seconds.

“Wait. So Koharu and I are 53 seconds combined, right?”

Karen said.

“To be precise, 53.85 seconds.”

I corrected her.

“Anyway! But Bomi unni alone is already 42.11 seconds? Isn’t this over?”

“Hmm. Now that I see it, this was a Bomi unni avoidance game! But a bet is a bet!”

Koharu, having climbed out of the pool, said triumphantly.

“Sorry. Looks like we’ll have to do the dishes.”

I shook my head at Sara’s words.

“No, I still have to go.”

I went back to the room, changed out of the bikini into the swimsuit I had prepared, and came out.

“Yeah! Choeun should participate too!”

“But seeing her look so serious makes me a little nervous?”

“Hey, Unni. Even an Olympic athlete couldn’t break 11 seconds.”

Listening to the three of them chat, I stood at the starting line.

I placed my toes on the edge of the pool tiles, took a deep breath, and slowly bent over.