After getting our swimsuits, we headed straight to the beach.

As expected, the road to the beach was incredibly congested.

I was worried we might arrive late at night, but somehow we managed to get there before sunset.

Whoosh—the refreshing sound of waves and the dazzling deep blue sea.

Plus a vast sky without a single cloud.

"Now I understand why people say just looking at the ocean makes you feel cooler."

"Of course you feel cool when you're looking at it from in front of the air conditioner."

I frowned at the mood-killing comment from beside me and turned around.

Hyun had already turned his back, perhaps feeling guilty after saying it.

"You always have to add unnecessary comments."

"Who was it that wanted to check into the hotel first because it was too hot the moment we got out of the car?"

"Ahem..."

I had nothing to say to that, so I cleared my throat and avoided eye contact.

But seriously, I almost got steamed alive when we got out of the car...

The air near the beach was even more humid and hotter than elsewhere, so I couldn't help it.

"It really is hot, though."

"True. So, are you going to stay cooped up in the hotel because it's hot?"

"Of course I'm going out. We came all this way, and I'd hate to waste the swimsuit I bought if we don't go because it's hot."

"Why wouldn't you be able to use the swimsuit?"

"Huh?"

I blinked for a moment, wondering what Hyun was talking about.

Oh, wait. When I realized what he meant, my face flushed with heat.

My face must have turned bright red.

"You crazy bastard...! Is that all you have in your head!?"

I was so indignant that I tried to punch him in the side, but Hyun blocked my fist while chuckling, ruffled my hair roughly, and left the room ahead of me.

"I'll go ahead, so take your time coming out."

After Hyun left, I stared at the door and sighed deeply, pressing my forehead.

I hate how my heart still flutters even in situations like this...

I shook my head and tried on the black bikini I bought at the department store first.

Naturally, when I tightened the back straps to fit my size, it looked absolutely ridiculous.

If I went out like this, Hyun would probably get arrested just for walking around with me.

It barely covered the essentials... actually, could this even be considered covering anything?

"...I thought it would work, but this won't do."

I sighed deeply and changed into the children's bikini instead.

It's a blow to my pride, but it fit perfectly, which was truly surprising.

"Sigh... I want to grow up quickly too."

Since receiving a portion of the Gate Core and rejuvenating, I've only been molting once a year.

While it's nice not to go through that painful process more than once a year, my growth has slowed down considerably...

"I wonder how long it will take to get to a size similar to Hyun's like before..."

By the time I'm fully grown, Hyun will probably be a wrinkled old man.

When that thought crossed my mind, I unconsciously held my breath.

...No. What am I thinking about while on vacation?

With a bitter smile, I patted my cheeks and put clothes on over my swimsuit before heading out.

"How's the new swimsuit?"

"The black one didn't fit. So I just wore the second one we bought."

"See? I told you it wouldn't fit. It's still too early for you."

"You're right. Painfully right."

I lightly hit Hyun's stomach with the back of my hand and giggled as we headed toward the beach.

Well, "headed toward" just meant leaving the hotel and crossing one crosswalk.

"I guess we should change clothes first?"

"I'm already wearing my swimsuit underneath, so I just need to take off my clothes. I'll just take them off here."

As I was about to remove my clothes without thinking much of it, Hyun covered my body with a large towel he pulled out from somewhere.

"Use this to cover yourself while changing."

"What's the big deal? No one's watching. And there's nothing to see anyway."

"Don't you have any shame in the strangest situations?"

"You know you're the only one having weird thoughts about me, right?"

I said with a smirk, and Hyun sighed deeply, seemingly at a loss for words.

Finding his reaction quite funny, I giggled as I took off my clothes and removed the towel.

"It suits you well."

"Really? That's good. I was worried it might be too flashy."

"Who cares? You're more dazzling than any swimsuit."

What kind of compliment is that?

I smiled and took off my slippers to step onto the sand.

The soft sand that gently supported my weight and tickled between my toes... was quite hot.

If I weren't who I am, it would have been too hot to stand properly.

"It's hotter than I expected."

"Really? If you're saying that, it must be really hot. No wonder there aren't many people around here."

As Hyun said, whether because the entire beach was hotel property or because the sand was too hot, there weren't many people nearby.

It felt almost like we had the place to ourselves, which made my heart flutter a bit.

I was humming without even realizing it.

While I was looking around and humming, Hyun set up a large parasol and sun bed nearby.

"Hey, where did you get that? We didn't bring anything like that."

"I asked at the hotel front desk, and they said we could rent it."

"Maybe because it's a beachfront hotel? They have everything. That's cool."

I nodded and was about to enter the water when Hyun, who had finished setting up, tapped my shoulder.

I looked at him, wondering what he wanted, and Hyun grinned.

*This guy always does something weird when he makes that expression.*

"Hey, want to do that?"

As expected, my fluttering heart immediately cooled at his sudden strange suggestion.

I'm not joking—it's practically routine for Hyun to say something ridiculous at moments like this.

"You're going to do something weird again."

"It's not weird this time, really. You know, that thing they do in manga and anime. The 'It's the sea~!' thing. Let's do that."

"How old are we to be doing something like that? Are you serious?"

"There aren't many people, and we came all this way. So, are you not going to do it? I'll do it with you."

"...Who said I wouldn't?"

Actually, I did want to do it a little.

Pretending to be in an anime at the age of thirty—it's embarrassing, but how could I resist?

Trying hard to suppress my twitching lips that wanted to smile, I found a spot where there weren't many people and looked around.

No one would see us here. With that thought, I looked at Hyun.

"Ready?"

"Of course."

"We'll do it on three? One, two, three!"

After counting down, I flapped my wings slightly and jumped up.

The cool breeze that felt nothing like a summer sea breeze, the bright sunlight... and the sense of freedom.

"It's the sea~!"

I must have been more excited than I realized because my voice came out louder than expected, but who cares? I wasn't doing it alone!

I landed with a carefree laugh and stretched, looking to the side, but no one was there.

"..."

Ah, I've been tricked again. With that thought, I turned around to see Hyun filming me with a camera, looking pleased.

"Didn't you say we'd do it together...?"

"Come on, I'm too old for that kind of thing."

"Haha, you creative bastard. Who are you talking about age with? Don't you know we're the same age?"

"But you look young on the outside, so it's fine for you."

We looked at each other, laughing for a moment.

Then I fully spread my wings and charged toward Hyun.

"Waaah! Wait! Let me put the camera down first!"

"No way, you bastard! Take this!!"

Hyun threw the camera onto the pile of clothes, and I hugged him and flew up into the sky.

It wasn't particularly to enjoy the romance of flying over the summer sea.

"Hey, you're not going to drop me from here, are you?"

"If you're jealous, you should learn to fly too."

I said with a grin and then flipped 180 degrees, diving straight down toward the sea.

Of course, since he could really get hurt, I changed direction just before landing, throwing him in a curved trajectory.

"Puha! Hahaha! Hey! Do it one more time!"

"No way!"

He's trying to use me as a water slide!

Anyway, since it was all in good fun, we laughed it off and started playing in the sea.

You might wonder what two people can do for fun, but it was simple.

We splashed water at each other until one of us fell first.

"Hey! Using your wings is—pfft! Using wings is cheating!!"

"The wings are part of me!?"

Or like before, I'd fly up into the sky and perform aerobatics before diving...

Wheeeeee!!!

"You there!! No dangerous pranks!!"

"Yes, sorry!"

It was a bit strange that this was considered a "dangerous prank."

Other than that, we raced to see who could reach a target first.

"Wait, it's not fair to jump up and fly low in the middle of a swimming race!"

Hyun complained seriously because there was a bet on the line, but I just shrugged.

"Haven't you heard of flying fish? They fly too. I was just imitating them."

"Wow... Really? No matter what, that's not right."

"Are you being petty because you lost? Hyun, that's really ugly."

I was confident I could crush him with logic.

We played so hard that before we knew it, the sun had set.

We played without even noticing the sunset or feeling hungry.

After playing like crazy, we returned to the hotel room.

We ate dinner and played to our heart's content.

While the sunlight didn't tan my skin, Hyun's had darkened considerably.

"...Hey."

"Yeah?"

"Want to see me in that black swimsuit from earlier?"

Of course, it was still too early to sleep.