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“Hey, how about we hit the beach today?”

Just because it’s the weekend doesn’t mean the Academy stops training. But at least they let up a bit.

Today was definitely the perfect day to go to the beach.

While I wasn’t exactly sweating buckets, I felt like I could use something refreshing. Yet, at the same time, I still wanted to move around.

“Today? Sounds great! But it’s surprising to hear you suggest it, Blanca.”

Yeonhwa chimed in happily while changing clothes, clearly surprised that I was the one initiating the fun.

When she asked if something was up, I simply said I just wanted to wear my swimsuit.

“Wow, that’s unexpected. I thought you’d cling onto not going until the bitter end.”

“I spent good money on that swimsuit, so it’s a crime not to wear it at least once. Plus, you all bought it for me to hang out together, right?”

I mean, I do have some shame. I shrugged, trying to sound a bit defensive.

“Finally, I get to see a summer watermelon!”

“W-Watermelon? Didn’t we just eat a bunch? W-What does that even mean, Seolhwa?”

“It’s fine if Lapiz doesn’t know. You’ll learn eventually. Anyway, I’m totally in. Let’s hit the beach!”

“The beach…”

Lucia seemed to want in on the fun, softly echoing “the beach” with a drained tone.

Maybe that’s why the mood slightly dipped, but these folks weren’t the kind to wallow for long.

We made plans to meet at the entrance, divided tasks like “bring this” and “contact the boys,” and it was clear everyone was pumped.

I couldn’t help but think I might be making a mistake again, but today, I decided to roll with it. After all, it was my choice.

No regrets.

Since I didn’t have much to pack, I just tossed in some clothes, my swimsuit, and a few creams into my bag.

Realizing this was the only bag I bought with my own money left me confused whether to laugh or feel embarrassed.

But since the others didn’t splurge excessively, I told myself it was okay… right?

As I went out, I suddenly had a silly idea. It wasn’t anything I couldn’t do, so I went for it.

I wondered what the kids would think.

After adjusting my headband, I headed out.

As soon as we gathered at the accommodation entrance, the kids jumped straight onto the bus heading to the beach without a word.

“The beach is… a bit, but if I’m with friends…”

“It’ll definitely be fun, Lapiz! Really! So, Minho, can you hold this for me? Your hands are free!”

“Uh, yeah. But… why today?”

Minho, who received the bag from Ageha, looked excited yet puzzled.

“Because Blanca said so!”

He asked why today specifically, but I had no solid answer.

I thought it would seem lame to say “just because,” so I replied that the weather was great.

He didn’t seem to care much, mumbled about being excited, and that was that.

Jinhyeon silently reached over to take my bag, glancing around like he was asking for permission.

But Yeonhwa wouldn’t let that fly, so he ended up with her stuff instead.

“Thanks for carrying it!” Yeonhwa smiled creepily at Jinhyeon, who looked down at his empty hands with a frustrated laugh.

You’d think he’d give up at some point, but the guy really has stamina. Does he seriously believe that a tree that won’t fall after ten chops exists?

The situation had become a curious mix of pity and annoyance.

At some point, I really should just tell him to back off. At the very least, suggest staying friends.

As I leaned against the window and the bus jolted, before I knew it, we were at the beach.

Humans, whether they were picky or shape-shifters, swarmed like crazy, all trying to cool off from the heat.

“So, let’s change into our swimsuits… Blanca?!”

When the others suggested we change and gather, I just casually stripped right in front of them.

Even Seolhwa, who usually doesn’t react much, almost shielded her eyes in shock and asked what the heck I was doing, but then just managed a short “ah” upon realizing.

“I came in wearing it already.”

“You scared me! But… yeah, it looks really good on you. But if you wore it here, what about when we go back?”

“Don’t worry! I brought proper underwear!”

I quickly slipped on a transparent cover-up from my bag, urging the others to change up too.

The guys looked like they were about to explode, turning bright red, before shuffling off to the showers.

We’d changed, but we needed to stash our stuff somewhere, so I stuffed all the unnecessary bits into an unattended locker in the changing room.

“If someone saw us, they’d think we were just cousins playing with our niece.”

That was Ageha’s impression when she saw us huddled together after changing.

It wasn’t entirely wrong, considering Lapiz was wearing a kid-like one-piece swimsuit with a float ring on.

“W-We don’t even look alike!”

Lapiz reacted sensitively to being called small while also worrying her float might sink.

I reassured her that as long as she didn’t poke it with her tail, it should be fine, and nudged Ageha and Lapiz toward the sea.

“What are you waiting for? Let’s go!”

Despite not having warmed up yet, I pushed the two who were dawdling right into the water, splashing around happily myself.

“…So this is it…!”

Ageha, still wringing out her hair, flashed a grin saying it was a good ambush as she started whispering, surrounding herself with a magic circle.

Before long, watermelon-sized chunks of seawater floated behind her.

“I started first!”

Wait a minute. Using abilities is cheating. Before I could protest, a splash of water hit my face.

Abilities… okay, fine, I’ll roll with that. I shook off the water and pointed a finger at Ageha, shooting water back at her.

“I can’t do stuff like that with my powers.”

“Then you just have to splash around normally!”

Teasing the kids who just dipped their toes in the water, I continued to blast them with water.

After some chaos, Seolhwa, who finally got hit by Ageha’s water bomb, quickly conjured an ice bucket.

“Catch this!”

Instead of throwing it at us, she drenched Lucia and Yeonhwa who were close by.

Lucia, caught off guard, made a shadow shovel and retaliated with water towards us.

Yeonhwa, who couldn’t use her ability, just splashed around with her hands.

What started as a random water play quickly turned into a coordinated splash battle, with everyone drenching each other.

Well, everyone except Lapiz. She seemed worried her float was sinking, and before long, she bolted to the shore to build a sandcastle.

We had no idea what we’d end up doing next, splashing, swimming, playing ball.

Then feeling peckish, we considered grabbing snacks from a vendor, only to be shocked at the prices. Disappointment struck when we realized the watermelons we brought had gone lukewarm.

We admired Lapiz’s unexpectedly high-quality sandcastle, and I playfully knocked off the flag at the top.

Before we knew it, the sun was dipping below the horizon.

Weird, right? It felt like we didn’t do that much, but how is it already this late?

Looking around, the bustling crowd was almost completely gone. With the weather turning chilly, it was clear we had been out for quite a while.

It felt like only an hour had passed, but it had actually been several.

“Phew… that was fun~ Ugh. I hope I didn’t get sunburned.”

“I got a little burnt.”

Seolhwa and Yeonhwa seemed to have enjoyed everything, suggesting it was about time to head back.

“I’m tired, really tired… but it was fun. Let’s go. We have evening roll call soon, so we can’t be late!”

The kids, upon hearing Minho, seemed to recall the time and dashed out of the water.

“Blanca, I know you feel disappointed, but it really is time to go. There’s still more camp left, so we can come back later.”

Ageha reached out her hand to me while gazing at the setting sun.

“Today was so much fun. The best of my life…”

She looked like she was about to ask what I meant, but instead, she patiently listened for my explanation.

“It’s the first time I’ve really lost myself in fun with friends like this.”

In this life or the previous one, this was the first time I felt free, wanting to play without any reservations.

“I see. Then be happy. It doesn’t have to be the last, right? So what if it came a bit late? What matters is that you did it, right?”

Ageha pondered my words for a moment before replying, sounding slightly arrogant.

“…Thanks.”

But it didn’t leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Because it was something my friend said.

 

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