The endless waves crash against the shore, dyeing the sand.
On the wet beach, where the sand sinks underfoot, a young man and woman run around, playing.
Before we know it, the sun is setting.
Against the backdrop of a horizon painted in shades of yellow and red, their shadows intertwine and separate repeatedly.
They seem to be getting along quite well.
The two? Kim Lara and Kim Jinsu.
“When did they become like that?”
“Yeah, seriously.”
Wi Seoyeon and I watched the scene from a distance, somewhat dumbfounded.
Though they weren’t officially a couple yet, anyone could tell they gave off that kind of atmosphere.
Maybe it wouldn’t be long.
Perhaps we were witnessing a historic moment—the step from ‘something’ to ‘officially dating.’
As I was lost in thought, Wi Seoyeon suddenly turned to me and asked,
“So, when are you two going to start dating?”
“What?”
I almost spit out my drink.
I drew a firm line.
“Dating? What are you even talking about? We’re not like that.”
“You’re not?”
“Nope.”
“Hmmm.”
The faster a misunderstanding is cleared up, the better.
But looking at Wi Seoyeon’s narrowed eyes, I wasn’t sure if she was convinced.
Honestly, I’m getting tired of this.
Everyone around us keeps jumping to conclusions.
“Why do people keep assuming that?”
“Assuming?”
“What makes you think Kang Han and I are dating?”
“Well… you kind of make it obvious.”
“Who? Kang Han?”
“So you did notice.”
“…”
My throat suddenly felt dry, and I took a sip of my drink.
Wi Seoyeon was watching me intently.
I had no idea what kind of answer she was trying to get out of me.
Should I just run away? That thought crossed my mind.
This isn’t a conversation I want to drag out.
There’s a saying: it only takes one word to plant suspicion, but refuting it takes stacks of evidence.
No matter what I say, people will probably stick to the whole strong denial means strong affirmation logic.
It already felt like that was happening.
‘No need to fall into their trap.’
I was about to make some excuse and get up when—
“I showed him the catalog.”
“…What?”
Wi Seoyeon spoke with her back turned to me.
“The catalog of your swimsuit, Joo Yidam. I showed it to Kang Han.”
“What?”
“The details of rented swimsuits are all recorded. You can easily find example images online. He seemed really curious, so I told him.”
What the hell—
I reached out to grab her by the collar, but since she was wearing a swimsuit, there was nothing to grab onto.
So instead, I grabbed her face.
Wi Seoyeon let out a pained whimper as my hands pressed against her cheeks.
“Speak, you crazy girl. Why are you doing this to me today?!”
With her face squished like a puffed-up octopus, she still held her ground.
“Because it was frustrating.”
“What was frustrating?”
“Do I really have to spell it out for you?”
“…”
I pulled at her cheeks one last time before giving her a warning.
“Don’t pull this kind of crap again.”
Wi Seoyeon rubbed her reddened cheeks but replied as if nothing had happened.
“Are you embarrassed?”
“…Just don’t do it again.”
Now that I thought about it, I couldn’t see Kang Han anywhere.
Where did he go?
“What the…”
Kwak Dohyeong and Kang Han—
The two boys were huddled together in a shady spot at the edge of the beach, plotting something.
Behind the facilities set up for post-swimming showers, a faint blue light shimmered.
The source of the blue light was the dazzling array of magical polygons swirling at the fingertips of Kwak Dohyeong.
He was in the middle of using magic to materialize an object.
“Kang Han, I knew you’d come to me for a commission like this someday. You found the right guy. This is my specialty.”
“Ahem.”
The polygons, twisting like a whirlwind at Kwak Dohyeong’s fingertips, began shifting in shape, fusing seamlessly.
Then, in an instant, they transformed into the slender figure of a well-proportioned girl.
At that moment, Kang Han raised his phone and showed a picture of a swimsuit.
It was a piece of information he had secretly acquired from Wi Seoyeon just a moment ago.
The catalog image displayed on the screen was of the swimsuit Joo Yidam was wearing beneath her outerwear.
Kwak Dohyeong’s eyes widened.
“Wow… she’s actually wearing this…?”
“Don’t get any weird ideas.”
“Are you really the one to say that…? Anyway, I’ve memorized the shape, so you can turn it off now.”
Kwak Dohyeong closed his eyes and focused seriously on his magic.
Kang Han, who had been anxiously kicking at the sand beneath his feet, asked,
“Why is it taking so long?”
“Just wait. My craftsmanship doesn’t allow for half-baked quality.”
At first glance, it seemed like a simple task.
But in reality, creating a swimsuit—especially one with minimal fabric and intricate straps—was one of the most difficult things to materialize.
If the wind made it flutter, if it got wet and clung to the body—every possible scenario had to be accounted for in the construction process.
Kang Han’s expression turned slightly pale.
“Are you a pervert?”
“For the last time, you were the one who requested this.”
As they continued their back-and-forth, a perfectly crafted magical figure was finally completed at Kwak Dohyeong’s fingertips.
The girl’s body, made entirely of mana, glowed with a soft blue hue different from reality, but the shape was flawlessly replicated.
Unlike Kim Lara’s curvy physique, this was the pinnacle of a slender body type—a slender beauty idealized into reality.
Kwak Dohyeong nodded in satisfaction.
“Whew, I was a little nervous since it’s been a while, but it turned out great. Guess I haven’t lost my touch.”
Kang Han stared at the work, his mouth slightly open.
He had no words.
His eyes moved busily, desperately trying to etch the form into his memory for eternity.
With the superhuman focus of a berserker, his brain processed every detail in an instant.
His pupils darted rapidly, absorbing and storing every possible fragment of information about the figure.
The only thought in his mind was: Beautiful.
Then—
“Something seems off here.”
A finger pointed toward the figure’s waist.
“In the catalog, this part wasn’t visible, but here, it’s connected with a round metal ring instead of a string. If you fix that, it’ll be perfect.”
“Oh, I’ll adjust that ri—”
Kwak Dohyeong, about to refine his work upon receiving a thorough briefing, suddenly sensed something was wrong.
When he lifted his gaze—
Joo Yidam was standing right in front of them, smiling sweetly.
His heart plummeted.
Kwak Dohyeong let out a dumb sound.
“Uh… uh… um…”
“You did a great job. When exactly did you get such a close look at my body?”
“Huh? No, that’s, uh—”
“We can talk about that later.”
With a chilling smile, Joo Yidam grabbed the back of a co-conspirator’s neck.
“Hey, Berserker.”
“I-Idam…”
“Any last words?”
A string of long-winded, intellectual-sounding excuses spilled out—pointless, meaningless drivel, at least from Joo Yidam’s perspective.
She listened with one ear and let it slip out the other.
Then, with her shadowed face breaking into a grin, she said,
“Let’s play a fun little game, shall we?”
“H-Huh? What kind of game?”
“I’m going to throw you both into the ocean.”
“…That’s it?”
“Fun, right?”
“Uh, not really—?”
“Then die!”
For some reason—
“Wow…”
“This is nice.”
“You’re good at it~”
The night at the beach was filled with small fireworks.
It was almost a rule that any anime set at a beach had to include a fireworks scene.
So, it was only natural that, upon stopping by a nearby shop, we ended up buying a set as if under a spell.
Holding a sparkler in one hand, Kim Lara propped her chin on her other and murmured wistfully,
“It’s already this late… We have to return to the academy soon, don’t we?”
“We had fun, so that’s all that matters.”
“Ugh, thanks to someone, I almost died. I can’t wait to go back.”
Kim Jinsu and Jin Mugyeol looked utterly drained after spending the entire day looking after Kim Lara, who had been scattering electricity across the ocean nonstop.
Their faces were visibly hollowed out.
And as for Kwak Dohyeong and Kang Han—
They were completely pickled in salt water.
As the price for keeping their dignity intact and not revealing what had happened to the rest of the group, they had endured a harsh session of water torture.
Honestly, it felt refreshing.
Those two deserved it.
Just then—
“Oh.”
“It went out.”
One by one, the fireworks started to fizzle out.
It was a bit disappointing, but that was our cue to leave.
It would have been nice if it were summer break, but we had classes scheduled for tomorrow.
“Alright, time to head back?”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s go already, I’m exhausted.”
“Ugh…”
As everyone was getting up, my phone rang.
On the other end of the call was Lee Rasol.
She hadn’t been able to join us at the beach today because of something important.
What was it again? Something to do with her family, if I remember correctly.
She had sounded pretty disappointed about missing out.
I casually answered the call.
“Hello?”
“Yidam, where are you right now?”
“I’m still at the beach, but we’re about to head back. Why? What’s up?”
“You can’t go back.”
Lee Rasol’s chilling words froze me in place.
“Investigators from the Association have been dispatched to the academy. Just in case, I need you to spend the night outside. I’ll find out what’s going on in the meantime.”
I stopped walking.
My gaze turned toward the dark night sky.
‘So it’s finally here.’
The inevitable had arrived.
The dark waves rolled under the moonlit sky.
Watching my friends walk ahead, I listened to Lee Rasol’s words with my phone still pressed against my ear.
“We still don’t know the exact reason for the investigators’ visit. So don’t panic. It’s probably nothing serious.”
Maybe it was because I had stopped walking—
But suddenly, I could feel every grain of rough sand sticking to the soles of my feet, the tension coiling in my calves.
Every sensation was heightened.
My heart pounded.
“…Yidam?”
Her voice on the other end sounded worried, as if she was gauging my reaction.
But I already knew.
This was the end of these peaceful days.
Realizing that sent an odd chill through me.
I thought I was fine.
But maybe I wasn’t.
‘Should I not have come back after all?’
The thought crossed my mind.
“Joo Yidam?”
Kang Han approached, sensing my stiffness.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Yeah? Well, we need to hurry. Curfew is almost up. If we don’t go now, we’ll be la—”
“I’m not going back.”
“What?”
Kang Han turned to look at me.
I met his confused gaze and repeated myself.
“I’m staying out tonight. You guys go ahead and return to the academy without me. Let the others know too.”
“Hey, what are you—”
“I’ve stayed out overnight before. Why are you acting like this is new?”
“I mean, yeah, but…”
I was about to send Kang Han off and continue my call when—
Lee Rasol gave me another piece of information.
“Oh, and… I’m not sure why yet, but the investigators seem to be looking for Kang Han as well. Just in case, both of you should avoid returning to the academy for tonight.”
“…Haah.”
I let out a sigh and called out to Kang Han, who had started walking away.
“Hey, Kang Han!”
“Huh?”
“Come here for a sec.”
“Uh… okay?”
“Don’t go back to the academy tonight. Stay with me.”
“…What?”
Kang Han blinked at me, looking utterly dumbfounded.