Chapter 77

Her eyes opened.

Thus, a world that was so close to reality it could hardly be distinguished began to fade, and true reality started to reveal itself more vividly.

And what appeared at the forefront of that world was not the horizon or the setting sun, but the face of the boy who had been playing at the beach until just before she closed her eyes.

…She was startled.

Erica brushed her hand against her chest to calm herself down.

“Are you awake now?”

“Why are you here?”

The boy in the swimsuit and the girl in everyday clothing looked at each other curiously, asking questions, but no answers came.

They just opened their mouths, waiting for each other to respond to their own questions.

Amid this silence, Erica did not wonder where the women who had been by her side had gone, but instead recalled the last voice she had heard before waking from the dream.

“Kim Ha-neul isn’t too bad. She’s not kind, but she at least maintains etiquette. That’s why she told me the secret.”

“What kind of secret is that?”

“I can’t tell you. He didn’t want me to, and even though he used me and betrayed me, he’s still my friend; we must keep a friend’s secrets.”

Because there was sadness in ‘my’ voice when declaring that the boy’s secret wouldn’t be revealed, Erica couldn’t inquire further into what that secret might be.

The boy, who carried the secret—whether it involved coming from another world like herself, or something else entirely, was unknown. After all, they weren’t close enough to call each other true friends yet.

However, she did know one thing from the clue about the secret provided by ‘me’:

“That secret is important only to him and causes no harm to others. Sure, some might feel slighted, but it’s only minor.”

The boy’s secret would absolutely not harm her.

And there was one more thing she knew: since the secret wouldn’t harm her, it wasn’t worth being curious about unless things became desperate, regardless of whether it held value.

“Why are you staring at me like that? It’s embarrassing.”

As he spoke, the boy made a gesture as if to cover his chest.

Needless to say, his one-piece swimsuit already covered it, so the act seemed meaningless. But despite his mischievous grin, his eyes did not reflect that same playfulness. His gaze was scrutinizing, trying to gauge what her intent was in looking at him. Erica, perceiving the weight in his probing eyes, had no choice but to divert her gaze.

The boy, who was perceived to always smile, had such a firm countenance that, despite her protection and her thoughts that ‘the Protagonist’ wouldn’t k*ll her, his presence carried enough force to cause her to instinctively look away.

“I was wondering where everyone else went.”

“Ah, they’re all changing clothes. We played enough, so it’s time to head back to the accommodation.”

Though aware of Erica’s attempt to change the subject, Kim Ha-neul went along with her smile and smoothly transitioned to a different topic. Because he understood that while Erica was smart, she wasn’t wise enough to pretend not to remember her forgotten secret convincingly.

It could be seen as underestimating Erica in some sense, but fundamentally, one becomes better at something by practicing it. Considering how rarely Erica mixed with others, it was only natural that she wasn’t adept at acting.

Besides, Kim Ha-neul had his own means to detect acting when it happened. After casting his sight into empty space for a moment, his gaze returned to Erica.

—Having just confirmed that she hadn’t recalled his secret.

“So, why didn’t you play with us?”

While Erica was sleeping, he had learned from Han Ye-seul—someone with whom he had grown friendly since their 1st grade days—that she had been quietly observing instead of participating. However, knowing Erica’s strict criteria for friendship—where she was overly kind to those she liked but could be cold to others—left Kim Ha-neul with lingering doubts.

Given this, the thought crossed his mind that Erica, who didn’t regularly interact with Han Ye-seul, was likely being considerate of her. Yet, he also reasoned that if Erica was considerate enough to not play because of Han Ye-seul, then wouldn’t it contradict her behavior now?

“Inna didn’t tell you? Over here.”

Since Erica was already confident about the situation, there was no need to lie. She raised her wrist to his eye level and shook it.

The clearly visible self-harm scars.

Although her wrist’s condition had improved to the point where water wouldn’t hurt, seawater could still cause pain, but that wasn’t the reason she avoided entering the sea. She simply didn’t want to expose her scars to everyone.

Wearing a swimsuit would inevitably reveal her self-inflicted scars, so she refrained from wearing one. Playing without a swimsuit would undoubtedly draw unwanted attention.

“Ahh, those.”

Was it something akin to a celebrity syndrome?

Grinning bitterly, the boy recalled a woman who believed her kindness was reciprocated simply because she was special. He thought about how he had failed to provide her with the right setting to play and had harbored the unrealistic hope that he might persuade her otherwise.

—Unless his silence stemmed not from hope but from a calculated move to make her dislike him by forcing her into the sea despite the knowledge of her self-harm scars.

Although, if the side offering such invitations had initially considered her aversion to water, mentioning it to Inna would only invite retaliation.

And forgetting such a fact on his part wasn’t entirely without fault either.

Thinking back, he chuckled bitterly. The woman, who otherwise maintained a friendly demeanor, became terrifyingly aggressive when matters involved Erica.

As for himself, he was surprised by how quickly he had forgotten the significance of those particular marks.

Nevertheless, from Erica’s perspective, when she showed her wrist and he began chuckling, it seemed like remorse to her.

—Though in some sense, her perception wasn’t far from the truth.

“It was my oversight. I should have thought a bit more and been considerate.”

“There was nothing good about it anyway, so I didn’t bring it up. You wouldn’t have known.”

Erica patted the boy’s dejected back, congratulating herself on this adult-like gesture of consideration.

And the boy’s mere presence offered Erica a sense of reassurance and comfort, which wasn’t entirely wrong.

The reason for this wasn’t because Erica liked him or because he was a being that possibly came from the world she originally lived in, but rather because he was just a boy. Erica thought herself a Casanova who understood women better than anyone, yet in reality, she felt more comfortable conversing with other males she had known since childhood rather than females.

Though technically not the same gender anymore, she still found emotional stability with ‘males’ as a category, although this wouldn’t evolve into romantic interest.

“It’s coming to an end for the day.”

“Calling it a task after already finishing it?”

“Yes, I was tired.”

The girl, experienced in the concept of real work—unlike part-time jobs—answered decisively while observing the setting sun.

The first day of the school trip drew to a close without any incidents. Despite missing the last playtime at the beach, she hoped these quiet, mundane days would continue until the end of the trip.

*

Nothing happened until the group boarded the bus to head back to the accommodation. The distance was far enough to require a bus ride. The lodging was located where the sea was visible, but it wasn’t so distant from the beach they had just left. It was an appropriate distance—close enough that there was no need to wander far when tired from playing.

Except for the fact that Erica wouldn’t join in the sea activities, Kim Ha-neul had made an excellent choice as a group leader.

Thus, upon hearing, “First, head to your assigned rooms,” the group dispersed. Kim Ha-neul, being a boy, went his separate way while the remaining girls headed theirs.

Erica was about to go to her assigned accommodation when she was unexpectedly stopped by a faceless group.

“Don’t we have something to talk about?”

Even though the situation called for the question, “Who are you?” Erica didn’t ask. Instead, she looked above the heads of who she assumed to be the leader of the group.

Unfamiliar name. A face darkened with malice. And the stereotypical role of a secondary villain.

The words she had to say were apparent.

“No.”

Erica said this directly to the apparent leader of the roughly ten people surrounding her.