Chapter 160

This place is the department store’s swimwear section.

“Just try it on first.”

“Are you seriously asking me that?”

Kim Seo-yoon was holding a sky-blue bikini in her hands.

It was a classic bikini, with absolutely no frills.

“Why not? It’ll look cute on you.”

“No, that’s not the issue here.”

Seeing my lack of enthusiasm, Seo-yoon Unni vigorously shook the swimsuit, trying to persuade me.

“Anyway, it’s not like you’ll be wearing it in front of anyone else, so why not just try it on this time?”

Of course, I had no intention of accepting that.

“I’m not wearing it.”

“Come on, Do-hee! We should at least create a memory together before we let you go. What do you say?”

“What does making a memory have to do with my bikini?”

Is she out of her mind?

“If not now, then when are you going to try it on!”

“How is it any different from just wearing underwear!”

“Who are you trying to show it to if not us!”

“Who am I even showing it to?!”

As the voices were starting to rise, Seo-yoon Unni glanced around, then put her finger to her lips and whispered.

“Hey, hey…! Voice, voice…!”

Fortunately, no one recognized us.

Seo-yoon Unni continued whispering.

“Well, you have a point… Aww, just wear it already! I want to create some memories too, okay?”

Then, Sara Unni, who had come to watch, also nodded and whispered along.

“Right, let’s make some memories…!”

“But what does making memories have to do with me wearing a bikini…? Ugh.”

Seriously, these crazy girls.

“With how you always brag about your chest size, why are you hiding it now?”

“Exactly…!”

The two continued their gaslighting from the sidelines.

“How can you refuse just once? We’re not asking you to do anything crazy. Just try it on.”

“Exactly…!”

“What’s there to be embarrassed about between us? We’ve seen everything already…!”

“Exactly…!”

“Seen what? Did you see me walking around in just my underwear at the dorm? If it was Ha-rang Unni or Hana Unni, maybe, but did you really see that? Huh?”

“You always try to act so composed and rational during times like this. Ugh!”

“Exactly…!”

More than anything, I’m just too shy about this!

Anyway, I brushed off my Unnis and chose a green frilled one-piece swimsuit that didn’t feel much different from the usual outfits I wore for the camera.

‘I haven’t tried it on, but the size should fit roughly.’

“I’ll take this one.”

“That’ll be 89,000 won. Please bring the receipt for refunds.”

Finally finishing the swimwear shopping, I headed to the gathering spot that Hana Unni had mentioned.

“I was hoping to create some memories, but because of Do-hee, it turned into a total failure.”

“Exactly…! Total disaster…!”

The two became protagonists of a tragic tale again, facing each other as they kept whining.

“How can the youngest never give in to her older sisters just once? Seriously.”

“Exactly…! Just give in a little…!”

“Ugh, come on! It’s usually the older ones who give in, not the younger one! Why should I give in?! And why are you all buying similar stuff to me and complaining!”
“Isn’t it usually the older ones who let go? Who’s going to let go, huh!? And why are the unnis buying similar things to me and acting like this?”

“Again, stop nitpicking!”

“I know…! Always being so petty!”

In the end, I decided it was too annoying to deal with the two who were just joking around, so I ignored them and continued walking.

“Isn’t she ignoring us now?”

“Right, pay us some attention…!”

“Wow, look at how completely ignored we’re getting.”

“Don’t ignore us…!”

“See, Sara’s getting super scary right now?”

This, I couldn’t ignore.

“This is seriously lame.”

“Only replying at times like this!”

“Exactly…!”

Seo-yoon Unni pretended to cry and hugged Sara.

“You’re really the worst. Sara, don’t you agree?”

“Well… t-that’s not true, is it?!”

And then the two of them split apart.

“Oh, Eun Se-ra, who might not even be a couple, it looks like you caught a case of jealousy again.”

“But Do-hee’s still doing fine!”

Thanks to that, I felt a little better until we arrived at the meeting point.

After about five more minutes of walking, we reached our destination.

The members who had gone shopping were loading a ton of stuff into the van.

And there was our helpful manager, Oh Hyun-soo.

“Oh, I thought I’d be taking a taxi today. Are you spending time with us too, Manager?”

The manager replied with a smile.

“Come on, do you think I’d join a bunch of girls on a trip to a pension? I just came to drop you off.”

“Oh, really? I feel like we’re bothering you for no reason…”

“Aw, don’t worry about it. I’d just be stuck at the company looking at people I don’t want to see anyway. Today, the Inus members are just practicing, so it’s fine. It’s better for me to drop you off and go have some fun by myself. Now, give me your bags!”

The manager snatched the bags from my hands.

‘By the time he heads back, it’ll probably be quitting time.’

His words clearly aimed at reassuring us so we wouldn’t feel bad, and I thanked him before hopping into the van.

As soon as I got in, I could hear the complaints from Hana Unni and Ha-rang Unni.

“Why are you all late when we finished shopping before you?!”

“For real. Which one of you three—Kim Seo-yoon, Eun Se-ra, or Lee Do-hee—is the culprit?!”

Kim Seo-yoon slyly pointed at me.

“That’s her. Our little maknae took ages picking a swimsuit.”

“I figured that would be the case. It’s you again, Lee Do-hee!”

Ah.

Even before we started, I already felt utterly drained.

“Is that really me?”

Of course, I’m extroverted and cheerful, with an MBTI score that shows I’m about 75% extroverted.

But there’s a limit to my energy; at least occasionally, I need some quiet time when I’m not working.

“How rude, that’s informal speech!”

I figured there wouldn’t be any quiet time on the way.

“Right, right! Lee Do-hee talks to me informally all the time…!”

“When did I ever? I’m always calling you Unni, Unni!”

“You do call me Unni, but you always scold me too…! But I am the Unni…!!!”

So I wanted to quietly sit in the passenger seat to escape some of the yelling echoing in the van.
I wanted to go, but.

“Chae-rin, where’s the pension again?”

“Oh, it’s in Yangpyeong.”

Chae-rin Unni was already sitting with her headset on, so I couldn’t do anything.

“Oh~ it’s pretty close.”

And the Manager seemed used to this vibe as he entered the pension address into the GPS.

I envied the two sitting in the front.

*

What woke me from my tired slumber was the commotion of the members.

“Wow! Jackpot, what is this?”

“Is this a whole place to ourselves? Are we the only ones using it!?”

“It’s so pretty…!”

The members dashed out of the car, repeatedly gasping in awe.

Outside was a fancy pension that looked like something you’d see at a resort.

“Do-hee, are you awake? You should take your bags out first.”

And Hana Unni spoke to me as she pulled her luggage outside.

“Oh, okay.”

“You guys too! Don’t let the Manager carry it!”

– Yes~

While Chae-rin Unni was getting the handover from the pension owner, the members were unloading their luggage from the car.

“Thanks! It’s just the leader who looks out for me.”

“Aw, this is really the least I can do. By the way, thank you so much for driving us, Manager.”

“Yeah, yeah, I should slowly get going now.”

“Now? Just rest for a bit. We’ll cook dinner for you, so please eat with us before you leave.”

“No, I have plans for dinner.”

The Manager smiled as he rejected our invitation and left in the car.

After dropping off our luggage, we obviously ran back to the pension.

The pension Chae-rin Unni booked was a private villa with a pool.

“Wow, this is insane.”

“I’ve never been to a place like this…!”

“Me neither…!!”

I too wandered around the glamorous interior, checking everything out.

Then I found my favorite room.

This room, with only one bed, seemed like the perfect spot for some peaceful downtime.

“Oh, Hana Unni! Can I use this room? It’s a private room!”

But while I waited for Hana Unni’s answer…

“This room is now mine~”

Kim Seo-yoon came in late and dumped her stuff in my room.

“Ah, are you serious, Unni?”

“Yep, next is Dorahee.”

“I got here first!”

“But I unloaded my stuff first!”

“Seriously?!”

“What’s wrong with that?!”

Our battle for room ownership escalated when Ha-rang Unni came in.

“Oh, this is my room’s smell.”

“What about you, Unni?”

“I’m just saying. Unni, you leave first.”

Ha-rang Unni ignored both of us and flopped down on the bed.

“Oh, it’s so comfy. This is mine! I’m here!”

Our tangled struggle on the bed continued until Hana Unni came in to separate us.

“What are you two doing, fighting over a room? And Kim Seo-yoon, Jeon Ha-rang. You’re adults, fighting with a kid? With a 17-year-old?”

Oh…?

If this goes well…?

“I mean… Hana Unni, I’m so scared… all these big Unnis… it’s so overwhelming…”
“Hana Unni, I’m so scared… The big sisters are… overwhelming…”

“Do-hee, you go out too. I’m just trying to have my room.”

“Ah, come on, send Hana Unni out first!”

Of course, it was us who got kicked out.

We ended up sharing a room together with the three of us.

Well, since we unpacked our stuff, the next thing we needed to do was eat.

We walked to the indoor barbecue area connected to the pension.

Sizzle!

The meat was grilling.

Bubbling

The retort stew was boiling.

Clink!

The sound of drink glasses clinking filled the air.

Yum Yum

Amidst that, I quietly ate.

“How can you not even grill meat? I mean, how can you burn meat like this?”

With a sulky expression.

“I dunno, maybe I just don’t have the talent… How can I not grill meat? Phew…”

“It’s okay…! Do-hee, ah~”

I got to enjoy a wrap made by Sara Unni.

“Ugh, I should’ve sent you to cooking school.”

So Kim Seo-yoon stood alone, sweating by the grill.

“But we can just order instead of cooking ourselves, right? What’s the point of making money?”

“We’re cooking it ourselves right now!”

“Oh, that’s true.”

“Do-hee, ah~”

“Hey! Eun Se-ra! You come and grill!”

Grilled Hanwoo by someone else’s hand was truly delicious.

*

After finishing the meal and letting it digest, it was time.

“It’s pool party time…!!”

“Wow, Hana’s bikini is something else!”

“I’m Hana Kwon, and I feel like a complete hot girl today?”

“Hana, marry me! I don’t want to go home today!”

The members started changing their clothes one after another.

Watching them, I didn’t feel particularly embarrassed.

Honestly, seeing the members in their swimsuits is old news.

I’ve seen them in their underwear back at the accommodation, so what’s the big deal?

‘Moreover, seeing my own perfect body has become routine.’

Naturally, I’m now used to seeing others’ bodies.

However, there are still some things that make me quite shy.

One is wearing attire I’m not used to yet.

Especially when doing it in front of other people… it feels way more embarrassing.

The fact that swimsuits exist at all is just a bit, no, a lot embarrassing.

Even though it has been quite a while since I became a girl.

My physical age is catching up with my mental age.

Yet still, I felt shy.

‘It’s actually weirder not to be shy about it. Ugh.’

“Can I just not swim?”

“Ah, no way.”

I wanted to excuse myself saying it’s cold in winter, but the internal boiler was warm, and even the pool was a cozy hot tub.

I had no excuses left, and eventually, I had no choice but to pull out the swimsuit I had just bought today from my bag.

“Ah, how am I even supposed to wear this?”

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