---

It’s a private beach.

Well, even if it’s not a beach, having a vacation home like this is definitely a dream come true.

I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a dream, though. Aside from the cost, managing a house that’s far away is much harder than you’d think.

Even in our country, it’s just an ordinary private vacation home, yet people come invading it and vandalizing it just because someone couldn’t manage it themselves.

To keep a vacation home like this in such pristine condition, you’d have to spend a lot of money as well.

But knowing that and still wanting one just goes to show how nice it is to relax properly.

When playing at someone else’s pension, you have to consider what time to go in and when to leave the next day, right? But here, there’s no need to worry about any of that.

……

Hey, seniors, are you guys just not studying because you have a loophole or because you have so much money that you’re not worried about it?

Well, I can’t outright say that, but…

“…Something feels off.”

Ah, Ji-hye just said that directly. But she merely compared her own assets to that of the seniors and it ended there, so it wasn’t much of a problem.

The good thing about not having anyone around us was that we didn’t need to change our clothes too seriously.

Chae-yeon had put on clothes over her swimsuit when we were outside, but coming indoors like this in just a swimsuit feels a bit embarrassing. Even if I just popped in for a moment.

So we all wore outer clothes that suited our swimwear. Clothes that wouldn’t mind getting wet, looking somewhat waterproof.

Can I be honest?

Unless I cinch it up, this outfit is actually counterproductive.

Especially when I wear it, with my chest sticking out unreasonably, it just emphasizes it even more.

Those wearing this outfit are all flaunting it open, so if I were to cinch it up here, I feel like I’d be the one getting teased.

“I’m going to get some drinks!”

Seo-hee said that and dashed off to the kitchen.

The other kids also followed her to get snacks and stuff.

This vacation home was much bigger than a typical pension. It was almost a mansion, something you’d see in a place like America with vast land and rich folks.

Chae-yeon just flopped onto the sofa as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She must be dry now, but she’d still have some moisture left, right?

…Ah, but we’re wizards after all, right? There are lots of useful magic spells for daily life. Just like the one that rapidly grew our vegetable garden while we were hiding.

“Huh?”

Speaking of which, I didn’t see Yeon-woo, one of the lead characters.

Where did she go?

I didn’t seem to see her among the kids rattling around in the kitchen.

Hmm.

She probably didn’t go too far, so I think I’ll take a stroll around here. I’ll bump into her eventually.

*

This vacation home wasn’t just some standalone building.

Oh, of course, there’s the sea nearby, so that could be considered part of its charm, but there was something even more extraordinary.

Behind the vacation home, flowers were planted. Not just a few, but quite a well-kept garden.

The soil in the garden was incredibly soft. It felt like they expected us to walk around barefoot after playing in the sea.

White and yellow.

Even though the size of the garden isn’t excessively large, I think they chose those two colors for a reason.

They planted those two colors of flowers along a path that ran through the middle, creating small flower beds on either side. There was a white flower bed on the seaside and a yellow one across from it.

Yeon-woo was there, among the flowers.

I wondered what she was doing, loitering outside when the air conditioning was on inside, and as I got closer, I saw she was inspecting the flowers one by one.

“…Oh, you came?”

Noticing my presence, Yeon-woo stood up.

Her hair isn’t blonde. It’s actually a dark brown, more like the color of trees than flowers.

But maybe it’s because of that color? The yellow bikini really suited her. It wasn’t like mine, which had strings; it covered a bit more skin, but—well, a bikini is a bikini.

With her yellow outer clothes, she blended perfectly into the yellow flower bed.

Or maybe it’s just because she’s pretty.

“What are you doing here all alone?”

I asked, carefully standing still so I wouldn’t step on any flowers.

“Look, these flowers are really pretty.”

Yeon-woo replied as she came over to my side.

“So, I come to admire them every time I visit.”

“I see.”

It definitely looked more like she was tending to them than just admiring, but hey, who cares? There are many ways to appreciate flowers.

“Did you come just to find me?”

“…I like flowers too, you know.”

Feeling shy, I answered.

I did come here for that.

I mean… I’m really the type of person who gets bothered by annoying traits. I can see that about myself, so others probably feel it even more.

Sometimes I put up thorns to keep people away, but really, I still want them to come close. I did that with Ha-yoon, and Pang-pang too.

And once someone overcomes those thorns and approaches me, I can’t let them go later on. Like Ji-hye.

Once I consider someone as mine, having that person alone standing far away makes me really uneasy. That’s why I did something with Chae-yeon today.

Which leads to me being here right now.

“…Ah!”

Suddenly, Yeon-woo seemed to remember something, grabbing my shoulder and turning me around.

And then, she shoved me forward right into the flower bed.

“What the heck?”

“Squat down there.”

“In the flowers?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. Bugs are natural, you know. Since it’s magically treated here, nothing bad will happen.”

“……”

Ugh, I wish she hadn’t mentioned bugs.

But then again, it did seem like there weren’t many bugs around here. There were some, but far away, there was even a honeybee sitting.

“Wow, you really blend in well.”

Yeon-woo said this while pulling out her phone from her clothes. She must have grabbed it when we entered the building earlier.

Click.

“…Wow.”

She took a picture without asking and was admiring it, making me frown.

“Why? What’s so interesting about it?”

“Um, it’s just… how should I say this.”

Yeon-woo looked back and forth between the picture and me, then said,

“Seriously, I think you need some diet for your chest fat.”

“……”

I closed my eyes, sighed deeply, and got up. Upon closer inspection, Yeon-woo quickly showed her phone to me.

…..

Is it because it was taken from above while I was squatting?

Definitely, well, it does emphasize things a bit. My bikini was… um, a bikini.

“No need to take it off, though.”

Having nothing more to say, I flipped her phone back to her.

“Why? Your future boyfriend is going to love it.”

Her words made me unable to hold back, and I slapped Yeon-woo’s arm. She only giggled in response.

“Want me to let you touch it?”

“Huh?”

But at my counterattack, Yeon-woo’s face turned bright red.

No way, is it really that serious?

I honestly don’t quite get how it is between girls. I’ve known Ha-yoon and Ji-hye for quite some time…but well, Ha-yoon was very shy, and Ji-hye knew me too well to cross certain lines.

I mean, just like how guys hardly have a desire to touch another guy’s chest, I’d think it would be similar for girls. There may be videos floating around the internet, but those aren’t common cases.

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

“……”

“What’s with that serious face? I’m just kidding, just kidding.”

“Huh, huh?”

Yeon-woo finally snapped back to reality.

“Why, were you really wishing to touch it? Your taste is a bit unique.”

“No, it’s just… how should I say, it’s more of an academic curiosity.”

“……If Chae-yeon had said that, it would have been more believable.”

“What?”

Yeon-woo slightly pushed me away, laughing as if she couldn’t believe it.

We ended up playfully pushing each other a bit as we made our way back to the vacation home.

Hmm, it seems like people can bond even without any major incidents. After all, just proximity in school can lead to a lifelong friendship.

In that sense, I think I might be quite lucky.

Not just because of proximity—

It’s because they are all so kind-hearted and just couldn’t bear to see me suffer alone, that they’re around me.

If it weren’t for that, not only would I not be here, but we wouldn’t matter aside from that.

……

Well, I doubt I can outright say all of that. It’s not in my character to be that easy-going.

But someday, I would like to tell them.

 

---