"Ah, seriously, how am I supposed to wear this?"
I avoided the members' eyes, holding my swimsuit, and secretly went to a secluded bathroom on the 2nd floor of the pension.
And first, I looked in the mirror and held the swimsuit against my body a few times.
Of course, the only thing that kept coming out was sighs.
"Sigh... I have to at least try it on."
Since I'd have to wear it someday anyway, I decided to really just squeeze my eyes shut and give it a try.
And while putting it on, I realized.
That I had picked the wrong size.
"Damn... this is digging in like crazy. I should've bought one size bigger."
I had planned to try it on at the store, but this happened because of the chattering Seoyun unnie and Sera unnie, forcing me to buy based on eyeballing and the size chart alone.
"You're really no help, Kim Seoyun, seriously..."
Of course, I didn't mean the swimsuit's length was short.
Since this swimsuit's design was a skirt-style one-piece.
Meaning the fabric naturally came down to my thighs.
'More than anything, I'm tall and have good proportions...'
Anyway, the problem was the clinging fabric.
It was that I could feel severe pressure in certain areas.
"Is this some kind of shapewear?"
As someone who usually prioritized naturalness and comfort over looking pretty, I always wore either my exact size or one size bigger, so this was the first time I'd felt pressure on my chest like this.
After all, the reason girls wear tight underwear or stuff in shaping pads even though it's suffocating is to create cleavage and look pretty.
I obviously had no intention of doing that.
"But this..."
However, the mistakenly purchased swimsuit was revealing my figure this explicitly, regardless of my intentions.
First, the strong built-in underwire in the bust area gathered my breasts together to create cleavage, my chest line.
The shirring at the waist clung tightly to my waistline.
In other words, this swimsuit was accentuating my waist to look thinner and my chest to look bigger.
—Click!
I took out my phone and took a selfie.
Since it was pretty.
"Holy crap, I gotta save this one."
It's fine as long as I'm the only one seeing it.
As I struck poses and took various concept shots like that, realistic problems crept back into my head.
For one, this swimsuit was well-made design-wise.
On someone else, it would be a pretty swimsuit with moderate shaping and little exposure.
But on me, it was unusually and excessively revealing my figure.
The conclusion was.
"Ha, this really isn't it..."
I was really too embarrassed to go outside.
I wondered if it would get a little better if I loosened the underwire and fiddled with it, but since it was a built-in band type, it cinched right back, and unless I tore the garment, it seemed hopeless.
And right then, a knocking sound.
—Knock, knock, knock.
"What! Who is it!"
'How do they know I'm here?'
The one knocking was Sera unnie.
"Dohui, when are you coming out...! Everyone's in the pool except you right now...!?"
Sera unnie urging me in a tone that was urgent without actually being urgent.
"Ah, wait a bit!"
"You have to come out now...!?"
"I said I got it! I'll be right out!"
I really didn't want to go out.
But nothing would change if I just stayed still like this.
So I stepped out.
Of course, wrapping myself in the robe hanging in the bathroom.
"......Eh."
"What. What are you looking at, got a problem?"
"......Hmph."
But in the end, I stood at a crossroads of choice again.
Whether to throw off the robe and reveal the swimsuit or not.
"Oh, she's here."
"Dohui-ss, hurry up and get in! It's really nice here!"
"Yeah, our maknae, hurry up and take off your gown and come in! We'll play with you!"
With all the members' attention focused on me.
I naturally lay down on the beach chair, the sunbed, placed in front of the pool.
"Playing in the water is for kids."
And I picked up the wine glass that Chaerin unnie had been drinking from on the side table.
"Today, I'd like to enjoy this leisure with a glass of wine, how about it? Right, Chaerin unnie?"
If it was Chaerin unnie, she'd understand my desperate gaze.
"Uh, no. Go play with the kids."
And I was quickly subdued by the unnies who dashed out of the pool.
"Hey, grab Lee Dohui's arms! Let's drag her in!"
"Yeah, who do you think you are, drinking!"
In my urgency, I even cursed, which I always vowed not to do.
"Ah, piss off! I said I'm not swimming!"
"OMG, Lee Dohui cursed!"
"Wow, it's my first time seeing her curse! Hey, do it more!"
The reactions only grew stronger.
"I won't curse, I won't curse!!"
"Forget that, hey, let's get this off her!"
"Ah, stop!! What do you mean get it off, have you lost your mind?!"
The conclusion: I had my robe stolen.
And the members' mouths gaped open.
"Gasp... It's bigger than Hana unnie's..."
"I've really never seen this in real life. Seriously, Kwon Hana's hot girl credentials are revoked, seriously."
"Hey, I'm not losing either!? Look! I said look! Who do you think you are, acting so superior!!"
—Gulp.
"Damn, your boobs are just all plumped up and squished, seriously."
Kim Seoyun, you crazy bitch.
And who was that gulping sound just now.
"Enough, just hurry up and get in! You said we'd play!"
For now, to avoid showing any sign of embarrassment, I calmly entered the spa pool.
Because if I reacted for no reason, I'd only get teased more.
"Hey, her face is a tomato again."
"I-It's because it's hot, okay!?"
In the photos I checked later from that day, there I was, sticking only my neck out from inside the spa pool.
* * *
Before I knew it, it was past 3 AM.
The members, tired from playing drinking games and board games, went to their rooms and lay down one by one, but.
I was still wide awake, repeatedly kicking my blanket.
"Damn it!"
With my mind growing clearer by the moment, I sprang up from my spot.
I knew that forcing my eyes shut in this situation would only result in more kicking.
Instead, I put on a long padded coat and headed to the balcony.
In my past life, when I was forced to serve in the army.
Just like how I used to fall asleep quickly after finishing night watch.
I thought maybe getting some cold wind and looking at the night sky and stars would make me sleepy this time too.
'Winter stars are pretty... I guess I'll see them better since we're in the countryside.'
And when I reached the balcony, I was slightly startled and stepped back.
"Ugh, you scared me!"
Because there was someone already there.
"Oh... it's Dohui! Hehe."
Yeeun unnie, crouching on the balcony floor with her face flushed red, welcomed me with a giggle.
"No, unnie, what are you doing here?"
"Um, my body was just hot... so I was getting some air for a moment..."
"Your body is hot?"
Of course, the inside of the pension was warm, but it wasn't to the point where you'd be hot in winter.
Then I noticed the empty beer can at her feet.
"Don't tell me you drank this?"
Yeeun unnie was flustered.
"Huh...? Ah, no?"
I thought her face was red from the cold wind.
Now it was clear it was from drinking alcohol.
"I d-didn't drink!"
"Then what is this?"
I picked up the empty beer can and showed it to Yeeun unnie, who was making excuses.
"Huh? Busted."
"Are you really an idiot?"
Only then did Yeeun unnie put on a dejected expression and spout excuses.
"But the unnies always drink by themselves... They have fun playing drinking games... but they never let me drink... so I was curious..."
Well, it made sense that Yeeun unnie had ended up drinking, since she liked copying everything the older members did.
"But they don't let me drink either."
"Y-you're totally a baby! A high school freshman!"
Do I really have to be treated like a baby by her too?
"Then aren't you one?"
"A-again, look at this! Speaking informally! Y-you always... always!!"
"Ah, right. Sorry."
I guess I use it sometimes without realizing.
Maybe it's because Yeeun unnie's personality is so childlike anyway.
"But it tastes bad... why do you drink this?"
"It gets better the more you drink. Anyway, it's late now, so let's go in and sleep."
Yeeun unnie smiled broadly with a coquettish tone.
"No! I'm not sleepy!"
'I'll have to warn her about this later.'
It's a habit guys would love.
Not to mention she's pretty, too.
"You usually fall asleep the moment you lie down. Let's hurry up and sleep, hm?"
"No... but today was so much fun!"
"Yeah, yeah, it was fun, so let's go to the living room for now. It's cold here, and unnie can't catch a cold. You're a star, right?"
"Hm... is that so?"
"Right~ You're Park Yeeun, the most popular member of Seven."
"That definitely makes sense...!"
Sigh...
"Yeah, yeah, let's go in."
I helped Yeeun unnie up and moved her to the living room.
And Yeeun unnie, sitting on the living room sofa, had been excited for a while before starting to tear up.
"I'm suddenly sad..."
"Why again."
"It's our day off today, but I didn't go see my family... and we all came on a trip together... so it really hits me that there's not much time left... and when it ends, I'll be alone again..."
"What do you mean alone, we'll see each other at award shows, during vacations, and while broadcasting. We'll call and text too."
At that, Yeeun unnie giggled again.
"Really?"
"Yeah, really. Let's sleep now."
Without listening to me, Yeeun unnie listed her feelings again.
"But sometimes I think...? If I hadn't met Dohui, where would I be and what would I be doing right now."
"You'd be doing something."
With that face.
"I think I'd probably just be jealous... of the unnies on TV."
Sigh...
"So unnie's the sentimental drunk type."
"That's why I'm thankful to Dohui... Even when it's tiring and hard... you always teach me..."
Thankfully, it was dark around us.
Because my cheeks must have burned red again from my slightly heated face.
"But anyway, your celebrity life is over now."
Feeling awkward for no reason in this situation, I decided to just tease her.
"...Why?"
"You drinking is illegal, isn't it. I'm going to report you to the police. Now your image will hit rock bottom for underage drinking and it'll be over."
"Uh... really?"
"Yeah, so just go to sleep. Ah, wait."
Then she cried again.
"Ah, it's a lie, a lie. I was just teasing you."
"Sniff... r-really?"
"Yeah, so please sleep now."
"Y-you're really mean!"
"If you ask me to drink with you later."
She cried even more.
"Ah, unnie, I'm sorry. Let's stop crying, hm?"
I'm going crazy, seriously.