Water Park [Illustration]
‘Do I know that many people? Why are there so many messages…?’
Since I had been inside a Gate all this time, quite a number of unread messages had piled up.
It would take far too long to go through every message in the group chats.
There was no helping it.
After returning home for the first time in a week, I gave the group chats a rough scan and focused on checking my private messages.
Most of them didn’t seem to contain anything important. They had probably just been sent to ask how I was doing.
[Go Eun-bi]: I heard you went into a Gate!? Having a hard time during summer vacation, huh~~
[Go Eun-bi]: I’m going out to eat something delicious today lololol
…(A little while later)…
[Go Eun-bi]: (Photo of pizza)
[Go Eun-bi]: I’ll eat it deliciously in your place! Hahahaha
[Me]: So you ate a bomb of carbohydrates and fat
[Me]: Yep, you’re going to gain weight~~~~
I sent a brief reply to the spiteful Go Eun-bi, who clearly intended to tease me.
In much the same way, I informed the others that I had returned.
At the same time, I didn’t forget to ask how Kang Hanbyeol, who had been targeted by Bounty, was doing.
[Me]: Sorry, I was inside a Gate and didn’t see your messages
[Me]: Did everything work out with those thugs you got caught up with?
[Me]: And did you meet that older girl?
The reply arrived almost immediately.
[Kang Hanbyeol]: Oh, you’re out
[Kang Hanbyeol]: I owe my life to you calling Gwon Boram sunbae at the right time
[Kang Hanbyeol]: Thanks so much!! I’ll buy you a meal once the semester starts lololol
[Kang Hanbyeol]: And noona went back today
[Kang Hanbyeol]: As for what happened while you were gone—
[Me]: Sounds like it’ll take a while. Wanna call?
[Kang Hanbyeol]: Yeah, go go. I’ll call you
After hearing the story from Kang Hanbyeol over the phone, it seemed that he had safely wiped out Bounty and even made a tidy profit off the bastards.
The problem lay elsewhere.
[It seems this noona only thinks of me as her little brother…. What should I do, Gyeonu?]
“She’s four years older than you, right…. Well, from her perspective, it’s understandable that we might look young.”
[Even at seventeen, hunter aspirants are officially recognized as quasi-adults…. Isn’t there anything I can do?]
“True. That’s a difficult problem….”
Kang Hanbyeol had gone through all sorts of twists and turns, but apparently he had enjoyed spending time with Sin Seora.
However, he hadn’t been able to appeal to her romantically as he had planned….
His voice over the phone was tinged with gloom.
‘Am I really having this kind of conversation with Hanbyeol…?’
As someone who had been a veteran gamer in my previous life, I couldn’t help but let out a silent, bitter laugh at hearing about the protagonist’s love life—something that had never appeared in the game.
Then I gave him some serious advice.
“If you gradually and slowly reveal your feelings without making her uncomfortable, don’t you think the day will come when she starts seeing you as a man?”
[There’s really no other way, huh? Something faster, perhaps….]
“Hmm, a faster way…. How about this? Build up more muscle over there and tan your skin. Then you’ll look more masculine, overflowing with virility, and maybe even seem a little older. You could get some tattoos too, or start smoking….”
[Hmm… No. I think it’d be better to choose the righteous path rather than some unorthodox one. Thanks for listening to my worries.]
“It was nothing.”
[So how are things with Haneul? Have you made any progress since vacation started? It’s weird for me to ask if there’s been any progress between you two, but….]
“We’re the same as ever. I was inside a Gate until just yesterday, too…. If there’s anything new, I suppose it’s that Haneul and I decided to go to a water park together soon?”
[A water park? Ah, I’m jealous.]
“Next summer, let’s all go together.”
[I’d obviously love that!]
And so.
I stayed up all night chatting and joking around with Kang Hanbyeol.
As a result, I made Yeon Haneul, who had been waiting for my call, furious.
It was entirely my fault for failing to keep my promise.
[Was talking to Hanbyeol fun? Why don’t the two of you just start dating while you’re at it?]
“Hey, hey, hey. Don’t say something so frightening. Why would I date him?”
[Did you just call me ‘hey’?]
“This won’t do. Let’s talk face-to-face. I’m coming right now.”
[…If you’re coming, come in thirty minutes. I’m dressed pretty sloppily right now….]
“What’s wrong with the way you’re dressed? Fine, I understand. I’ll bring strawberry milk too.”
[Okay. Be careful on your way here.]
* * *
Time passed, and the day finally came for us to go to the water park, under Yaeun’s direction.
Ye-eun, Yeon Haneul, and I headed to a water park several stops away from the station near my house.
Yaeun’s boyfriend had arrived first and was waiting for us.
“Hello. My name is Sin Minseok. You’re Yaeun’s older brother, and you’re his girlfriend, right? Though you aren’t dating and are just in that ambiguous stage…. It’s nice to meet you. I look forward to getting along with you. As for me….”
“…”
Sin Minseok had known Yaeun since the first day of elementary school, when they had first been assigned seats together, and they had remained childhood friends ever since.
Then, apparently, he had confessed to her in February of this year and become her boyfriend.
Watching him calmly introduce himself with a composure beyond his years, I couldn’t help but feel conflicted.
‘This kid is my little sister’s boyfriend….’
The fact that my younger sister, who still seemed so young, had already come to harbor feelings for someone left me with a strange sensation as her older brother.
At the same time, I felt grateful to Sin Minseok for cherishing her, taking good care of her, and understanding her personality.
‘I had been worried when I first heard about him, but judging by how politely he greeted us, he seems like a good kid. He’s quiet and rather blunt, perhaps…. Even though he’s the complete opposite of Yaeun, they seem to suit each other.’
I was relieved that Yaeun hadn’t given her heart to some strange boy.
Seeing him hold hands with the chattering Yaeun and focus entirely on her, I felt relieved inside.
“It’s hot out. Let’s not stand around here and just go inside.”
We couldn’t keep standing there forever.
I led the three of them into the water park.
Yeon Haneul whispered to me just as we were about to split up and head to our respective changing rooms.
“Yaeun’s boyfriend doesn’t seem like a bad person. He seems kind and capable, too. What a relief.”
“I think so too. We’ll have to keep watching him, but I like my first impression.”
“Let’s observe him carefully today. I’m going to change. See you in a bit.”
“Okay. I’ll contact you.”
Yeon Haneul, who regarded Yaeun almost like her own little sister, seemed to have reached a similar conclusion.
We glanced at the two following behind us hand in hand and giggled.
Then we headed to our respective changing rooms to change into our swimsuits.
Sin Minseok and I, who finished changing quickly, came out first and waited for Yaeun and Yeon Haneul.
Before long, the two of them appeared.
“Oppa! Minseok! How do I look!?”
“Yaeun, the floor’s slippery, so don’t run around! …How do I look?”
“Yaeun and noona both look really pretty.”
“…”
Yaeun, wearing a swimsuit covered in colorful flower patterns, looked cute.
And Yeon Haneul….
“Why aren’t you saying anything? …Is it not good?”
“…It’s not bad. Uh, right. It’s not bad. Who said it was bad?”
“Ah… That’s a relief. Then… do I look pretty?”
Yeon Haneul was wearing a pink bikini.
The moment I took her in, I couldn’t close my mouth.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her as she shyly watched my reaction.
I felt sorry for Yaeun, but I could see nothing except Haneul.
My thoughts ground to a halt.
Even after I managed to regain some semblance of composure, I could barely get any words out.
In the end, all I could do was nod repeatedly like an idiot while saying that she looked pretty.
‘Seriously, her…. It’s great that she’s pretty, but what if other people see her? Why would she wear something like this?’
My common sense abruptly reasserted itself.
I stepped closer, positioning myself as though to hide Yeon Haneul, and quickly surveyed our surroundings.
Then I glared threateningly at the people passing by, as if warning them not to peek.
She’s only allowed to be seen by me.
She should only look at me.
“Gyeonu? What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly looking around with such a scary face…?”
“Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone who looks at you get away with it.”
“Huh? Who’s looking at me…. Who would even look at me?”
What a sight. He’s seriously weird.
Yeon Haneul, with my hands on her shoulders, covered the corner of her mouth and let out a little giggle.
For me, however, it was nothing but frustrating.
‘Does she have no sense of danger? No, why doesn’t she realize how pretty she is?’
Even when I told her she was pretty, she didn’t believe me. She even said it was enough if she only looked pretty to me….
As I had often felt, Yeon Haneul didn’t seem capable of viewing herself objectively.
There was no helping it.
‘I’ll have to keep a close eye on her so no good-for-nothing guys try anything.’
I wouldn’t be able to worry about Yaeun.
Fortunately, she had her boyfriend, Sin Minseok, so I could set some of my concerns aside.
Having made up my mind, I decided from that moment on to act as Yeon Haneul’s bodyguard.
Perhaps my efforts were paying off.
“Um… Could you stop looking elsewhere and focus on me?”
“I am focusing on you, Haneul. In fact, I keep looking at you so much that I can’t keep watch around us….”
“…Seriously, when you say you keep looking at me, do you mean you keep looking at my chest? I’ve been meaning to say this for a while, but could you stop staring so intently? You’re making me embarrassed….”
“It’s beyond my control…. Because of the height difference between us, when I look down at you, it naturally…. No. I’m sorry. That’s all just an excuse, isn’t it? I won’t look anymore.”
“When did I say you couldn’t look? Still… I bought this after working up a lot of courage because I wanted to show it to you… So…. It’s okay. You can look.”
“…Thanks. Then I’ll look properly.”
People didn’t look at Yeon Haneul.
Even if they did, they would meet my eyes, get frightened, and run away.
Otherwise, they would hurriedly turn their heads away under the glare of the woman accompanying them.
Thus, I was able to relax somewhat and enjoy myself with Yeon Haneul and the Yaeun–Minseok couple.
The incident occurred not long afterward.
“Haneul, apparently two people can ride together. Want to go with me?”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
One of the rides at the water park was a water slide.
We decided to pair up, one man and one woman, and ride the water slide in a tube.
When our turn came, Yeon Haneul and I plunged into the water slide, but….
“Ah, that was fun. Gyeonu, want to ride it one more time?”
“Haneul, you….”
“Huh? What about me…?”
“Down there….”
“….”
For some reason, when Yeon Haneul emerged from the water, the strings of her bikini had come undone.
At least there was one fortunate thing.
‘No, was it unfortunate?’
Her wet, white-and-blue hair happened to cover the place where the bikini strings had come loose with uncanny precision.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t seen anything.
That didn’t change the fact that a major disaster had occurred.
Only after realizing what had happened did Yeon Haneul hurriedly cover her chest with both arms and scream.
She quickly sank into the water and crouched down.
“D-do you see a swimsuit anywhere…? Help me look….”
“I’m looking, but… Where is it? I don’t think it’s nearby….”
“Sniff, what am I going to do…?”
“Haneul, come out of there for now. Yaeun and Minseok will be out soon.”
“You want me to move around dressed like this? Everyone else will see me….”
“…Hide behind my back. I understand how you feel, but I don’t think there’s any other way.”
“Ugh….”
With only her face showing above the water from the tips of her rabbit-like ears to just below her lips, Yeon Haneul looked utterly miserable.
But there was no suitable alternative.
In the end, though hesitant, she had no choice but to press her chest against my back.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
“Don’t feel anything, don’t feel anything, don’t feel anything. You mustn’t feel anything, okay? Forget it. I said forget it….”
“Okay. I’ll forget.”
A sensation far softer and broader than the touch of hands against my body pressed against my flat back.
When our bodies came into close contact, it spread wide.
And then….
‘This is really driving me crazy.’
Something brushed against me now and then.
Before it could even tickle, the sensation was strange.
It felt as though all the blood in my body was rushing there.
My ears burned.
“Don’t feel anything, don’t feel anything, don’t feel anything….”
Clinging to me from behind, Yeon Haneul repeated the same words over and over like a curse.
But there was no way I could avoid feeling it.
I didn’t think I could forget it.
Even so, I lied to calm her down.
At the same time, I recalled the forms of the Divine Sword Dao’s techniques in my mind to maintain my composure.
Before long, we were able to find the bikini through Yaeun, who came out of the water slide after us.
“Unni! Haneul unni! Isn’t this your swimsuit!? I was so surprised when I saw it floating on the water!”
“Ah, Yeeun… Thank you so much. It was there all along….”
“Well done. You saved us.”
“But oppa, unni… Were you two really like that the whole time? Haneul unni could’ve used dark-element magic to cover herself, couldn’t she…?”
“Ah.”
Faced with Yeeun’s wisdom as she tilted her head in puzzlement, we could do nothing but stand there with our mouths hanging open. We had been so preoccupied with dealing with what had just happened that we had completely overlooked it.
‘She’s right. That was an option….’
‘Yeah….’
After exchanging glances, neither of us could bring ourselves to lift our heads because of the embarrassment.
Both her face and mine were still bright red.
* * *
The time we spent enjoying the water was incredibly fulfilling.
By the time the water park closed and we had no choice but to leave, the sun was already setting.
Perhaps the heat from the day had yet to fade, because the air was still somewhat muggy.
After washing ourselves clean inside, we hurried toward the subway to escape the heat.
Then we began making our way home.
“I’ll walk Haneul home and come back. So, Minseok, can I leave Yeeun to you?”
“Yes, hyung. I’ll take responsibility for Yeeun and walk her home safely.”
“I’m counting on you.”
“Haneul unni! I had so much fun today! Have a nice date with oppa on the way home, too!”
At the water park, I had discreetly rolled my eyes around from time to time while keeping an eye on Shin Minseok.
Just as I did with Yeon Haneul, Shin Minseok had shown that he prioritized Yeeun.
I thought he had earned a passing grade as an older brother.
‘When I took a quick look at his status window, his stats seemed fairly decent for an ordinary person… And when we talked earlier, didn’t he say he was going to become a Hunter after Yeeun? I suppose I can trust him with her. Even if something happens, Yeeun should be more than capable of handling it with her skills.’
Even if I left the two of them alone, they probably wouldn’t engage in excessive displays of affection.
From what I’d heard over lunch, Yeeun seemed surprisingly strict when it came to physical contact.
‘Hadn’t she said that she only allowed him to hold her hand after three months, and didn’t let him kiss her cheek until six months had passed? And she said she would decide about kissing after graduating elementary school….’
I thought that was only right.
I wanted Yeeun and Shin Minseok to have a wholesome relationship, nothing more.
Putting those thoughts aside, I decided to walk Yeon Haneul home.
“Haneul, let’s go, too.”
“O-Okay….”
That aside… this was really awkward.
Because of what had happened at the water park, Yeon Haneul and I couldn’t treat each other as casually as we usually did.
It was embarrassing.
We simply walked along with our fingers interlocked, exchanging a few words now and then.
Before we knew it, we had arrived at the orphanage where she lived.
“This is far enough. If you go any farther, you might get held up by the kids again like last time and end up having a hard time. I’ll head inside now. Thanks for walking me home. And I had fun today.”
“I had fun, too. Let’s go again sometime. Go on in. Text me when you’re inside.”
“Yeah…. Let me know when you get home, too. I’ll be wondering if you arrived safely.”
“Of course.”
Perhaps because we had talked, the awkward atmosphere had become much more comfortable.
Yeon Haneul released the hand she had been holding with mine and began walking toward the orphanage.
I intended to stay there, waving until I could no longer see her back as she turned away.
Just then—
“Gyeonwoo.”
“Hm?”
Yeon Haneul, who had already gone some distance away, suddenly called my name.
She turned around and stopped where she stood, completely motionless.
Then, as if she had made up her mind about something, she pressed her lips tightly together….
‘Huh?’
It happened in the blink of an eye.
Yeon Haneul came running toward me, her bunny ears flapping, and suddenly pressed her lips to my cheek.
It wasn’t an illusion or a dream.
Yeon Haneul had kissed my cheek.
To emphasize it for the third time, it had definitely happened.
It had lasted no more than a moment, but I vaguely remembered the sensation of her lips and hair brushing against my cheek.
They had felt soft.
“….”
What had just happened to me?
Why had she suddenly…?
Question marks ran rampant through my mind.
My thoughts refused to turn.
More than anything, seeing Yeon Haneul standing in front of me, her face flushed as she fidgeted shyly, made me feel as if none of it was particularly important.
I was simply happy.
Having fallen under her spell after that surprise kiss, I could do nothing but blink at her blankly.
Then she spoke in a trembling voice.
“You know…. I heard from Yeeun earlier that childhood friends sometimes do things like this these days, too…. When they’re as close as we are….”
“…”
“She said it doesn’t count as dating unless you kiss on the lips…. She said it’s okay for childhood friends to do this….”
Yeeun had apparently made her boyfriend wait six months before allowing him to hold her hand….
Haneul, I think you’ve been tricked.
What utter bullshit.
Even if kids these days matured quickly, there was no way they could be so incapable of distinguishing between a friendship and a relationship between the opposite sexes.
Could she really expect me to believe that?
“Did I go too far? I’m sorry….”
“…”
Perhaps Yeon Haneul did know better.
The proof was in her trembling eyes as she watched me, the fear that flickered across her face.
And yet, the reason she pretended to believe it was—
‘You want to go further than this.’
That was what it meant.
And I felt the same way.
Yeon Haneul’s feelings were the same as my own.
Coming to my senses, I quickly reached out to comfort her anxious expression.
I lifted her long hair with the back of my hand and pressed my lips to her cheek, just as she had done.
“Ah….”
Yeon Haneul let out a quiet gasp.
Ignoring the sound she made, I focused on the information conveyed by the area of my lips in contact with her cheek.
‘So this is what it feels like.’
Her skin was soft and warm.
When I breathed, her scent reached the tip of my nose.
Fireworks burst in my mind, just as they had when I first held Yeon Haneul’s hand.
It wasn’t an overwhelmingly intense stimulation, but it possessed a cozy, irresistible charm that drew me in.
After calmly taking in as much information as I could, I finally pulled my face away.
Yeon Haneul blinked at me, her face frozen in shock and unable to speak, just as mine had been a moment ago.
As if to bring her back to her senses, I feigned nonchalance and said,
“I think you’re right, Haneul. Childhood friends can kiss, too. What’s the big deal? Little kids who can’t even talk bathe naked together, after all.”
“Y-Yeah…. Y-You’re right. This much is nothing…. Yeah….”
Yeon Haneul eagerly nodded.
A smile began to spread across her face.
The corners of my mouth rose along with hers.
But there was something we had to keep in mind.
“You know this is only allowed between us, right? You can’t do this with anyone else. Got it?”
“Hm? Who else is there besides us who are childhood friends…? Ah….”
“There are different levels even among childhood friends. We’re different from those lackeys.”
“Hehe…. Got it. Obviously.”
It was a day during one summer vacation.
Yeon Haneul and I looked at each other and broke into soft laughter.
I Became the Mid-Boss’s Childhood Friend