How to Get on the Main Character’s Flower Path

 

***

 

A few weeks after returning to school.

 

“That’s it, we’re done with the vacation ceremony!”

 

Summer vacation finally began.

 

The kids gathered in small groups and started to go out of the classroom, talking about what they would do during vacation. We were no different.

 

“It’s finally vacation~”

 

“That’s right. This is my first vacation with my friends.”

 

“Ah, that also goes for Miss Nahyun? Me too!”

 

“Really? Exciting, isn’t it?”

 

“I’ve been researching ice art.”

 

“I’ll be looking forward to it!”

 

I packed my bags while listening to Choi Soojung, Na Yuri, and Lee Hana.

 

Despite the fact that there were still a few days left until the trip, they were already very excited.

 

Min Jaeyoon raised his hand and said,

 

“I don’t have a swimsuit, do you want to go buy one together?”

 

“If you insist on asking me, I won’t refuse!”

 

“Alright.”

 

I nodded coolly. Then I looked to the side and smiled brightly. 

 

“Instead, only the women should go!”

 

Scammer’s face, sitting next to me, was bright red. What did he imagine? I smiled brightly and shouted.

 

“What’s wrong, Yuhan? Are you sick? Your face is red!”

 

You need to be a little more embarrassed.

 

“N-No, that’s not it!”

 

“What did you imagine~?”

 

As Choi Soojung started teasing, Scammer started swinging helplessly. In the meantime, Na Yuri coldly stabbed him with a knife.

 

“Trash…”

 

I successfully criticized him again today. I stood up from my seat feeling refreshed.

 

“Let’s go!”

 

Na Yuri, who had given Na Yuhan a good slap, clung to me.

 

We headed to the department store with excited steps.

 

“This suits you too!”

 

“It’s cute!”

 

And we started shopping for this and that.

 

I’ll just say one thing.

 

“How about this rubber boat? Together… No, I mean, it’s not something I necessarily want, but we might end up going together!”

 

“Okay! Let’s buy it!”

 

“I’ll pay!”

 

“This suits you well.”

 

“Right, it’s so pretty~”

 

“I’ll buy it!”

 

Shopping with the daughters of rich families was really refreshing.

 

I didn’t stop the two daughters of rich families, Na Yuri and Shin Baran, who were starting to go wild.

 

There are too many things we have prepared, you say?  Then we can use as much as we bought! Let’s go!

 

…Yeah. Actually, I was a little excited too.

 

“Hmm… Isn’t it a little too much…?”

 

I nodded at Min Jaeyoon’s words.

 

“We can just have it shipped, right? Hmm, ahem, I definitely didn’t think about the weight.”

 

Shin Baran made an excuse next to her.

 

“Nyahaha, but it was fun! Right?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“That’s right!”

 

Choi Soojung and Lee Hana didn’t seem to reflect, and Na Yuri seemed to regret not being able to buy more. 

 

“Then since we still have time, shall we go out and play together?”

 

Everyone started to express their opinions noisily at my words.

 

“Movies.”

 

“Movies would be great!”

 

“How about a buffet together?”

 

“Let’s go for lunch!”

 

That’s how the first day of the noisy vacation began.

 

I suddenly realized that I had been laughing heartily without realizing it.

 

***

 

That was a story that came up while we were chatting at a cafe where we went to kill some time.

 

While we were chatting about this and that, the topic of Na Yuhan came up by chance.

 

“I hate that piece of trash.”

 

“Mmhm. I know.”

 

Na Yuri seemed excited by Lee Hana’s indifferent reaction and started talking fiercely.

 

“You all don’t know! Even after entering the Academy, that piece of trash is such a rotten person…”

 

I awkwardly laughed and listened to Na Yuri’s lament.

 

Na Yuri, who had been talking as if trying to persuade everyone, paused for a moment and blurted out something unexpected.

 

“However… he really has changed.”

 

“Is that so~?”

 

“Yet I keep feeling that person is so strange.”

 

“Why?”

 

“My intuition tells me that he hasn’t really changed. No, he has, but it’s not his personality that has changed…”

 

I swallowed my breath quietly.

 

Na Yuri muttered as if she was lost in her own thoughts. Then she let out a word of doubt.

 

“I know it’s ridiculous, but… I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Is this Na Yuhan really the Na Yuhan I know?”

 

A chilly atmosphere settled over the table.

 

“A g-ghost story?”

 

Min Jaeyoon’s words were faintly audible.

 

“Isn’t it because Na Yuhan has changed so much? He’s matured.”

 

Na Yuri made a face as if she didn’t know what to say to Shin Baran’s words, and then started talking nonsense.

 

“That’s not it… Even things that don’t usually change have changed. Like, his taste! He used to be a person who only drank blue cola even when he was dying, yet he suddenly started drinking red cola. It was as if he was a completely different person…”

 

I didn’t know what to say to her, who was talking nonsense, so I just kept silent. The silence stretched out as the others were also bewildered and wondering how to respond.

 

“I’m sorry. Did I say something so out of the blue?”

 

I don’t know how she interpreted the silence, but Na Yuri awkwardly smiled and changed the subject.

 

“No. That could be true! If you have any worries, tell us anytime!”

 

I smiled and simply changed the subject.

 

It wasn’t just that she thought he had changed, but that she had come to realize that he was a completely different person.

 

I briefly thought about how Scammer, who had come to accept this world as real reality, not a game, would deal with this situation, but I quickly erased the thought from my mind. This was something I couldn’t do anything about.

 

“Have you thought about what we would do when we go to the beach?”

 

“Scuba diving! And fireworks…” 

 

That brief uneasiness was buried in the forced daily routine and sank down for a moment.

 

***

 

And a few days later.

 

“It’s the sea!”

 

“We’re swimming!”

 

We were at the sea.

 

We had finally packed up all the luggage we had bought.

 

“Thank you for your hard work!”

 

At Shin Baran’s words, the men who had moved the luggage bowed their heads and disappeared.

 

Seeing the piles of luggage that were so big that we had to hire people to move them, Park Siwoo and Scammer looked exhausted.

 

I approached the con artist, asking.

 

“When are we going to go on the gate exploration?”

 

“Today… is a bit too much, how about tomorrow morning?”

 

“Great!”

 

“Then today is free time~ Shall we go swimming?”

 

After unpacking our luggage at our lodging, we decided to put on our swimsuits and go to the sea.

 

The hotel we had chosen was an ocean view hotel with a direct view of the beach.

 

By the way, Na Yuri had paid for the entire group’s hotel bill in one lump sum. Shin Baran insisted that she would pay for it herself, yet she couldn’t stand up to the determined Na Yuri.

 

“How spacious!”

 

My eyes widened at the luxurious hotel interior that I had never been to in my previous life.

 

As everyone looked around the room with excited expressions, Na Yuri smiled proudly.

 

“I chose it carefully! I even requested that we all take a bath together in the bathtub! Bath bombs too!”

 

It seemed like this girl was going to fulfill all her hotel vacation romances with her friends this time.

 

We planned to play around inside the hotel on the third day just like Na Yuri had prepared. But today was the first day, so we had to go to the beach. Everyone changed into swimsuits.

 

I wore a dress swimsuit, a white cardigan that was see-through, and a wide-brimmed straw hat.

 

In fact, the one I liked the most was the rash guard swimsuit, but I thought it didn’t match the sunny concept, so I declined.

 

“Welcome.”

 

“You’re here?”

 

Park Siwoo and Scammer greeted us. I was flustered when Park Siwoo, who had approached me, naturally took my luggage.

 

“Isn’t it heavy?”

 

So, knowing that Park Siwoo had sufficient strength stats, this is what I blurted out. Park Siwoo smiled slightly and playfully replied to my words.

 

“It’s not heavy.”

 

Then he started walking ahead briskly. I missed the timing to ask for it again and just started following him.

 

Scammer came up next to me and walked with me.

 

He wouldn’t care about my actions just now, right? It would be a shame if my points were deducted here.

 

I really need to catch Park Siwoo and tell him about the meta system one day.

 

I smiled brighter on purpose and started talking to Scammer.

 

“Yuhan, does my swimsuit look good on me? I just bought a new one!”

 

He looked at me and blushed slightly before turning his head forward again. Then he answered in a small voice.

 

“…It looks good on you.” 

 

I wanted to pretend not to hear that embarrassed tone. But it’s sad that it’s the fate of a sunshine character to not do that.

 

“Really? Thank you!”

 

I deliberately smiled brightly and clung to his arm. It was to score points with him.

 

When Scammer thought about my swimsuit, it would be conveyed to the readers—again, male readers—so that was also my aim.

 

When I clung to him, his face blushed even more, yet he didn’t let me go.

 

“Uhmmmm~ What are you two doing?”

 

When Choi Soojung saw that, she said something and flew past us, but I didn’t care.

 

Although my face felt slightly warm, that was because of my method acting.

 

…Really.

 

“I think this place would be good!”

 

We found a suitable spot on the beach. A large parasol provided shade, and our luggage was piled up neatly.

 

As soon as we finished packing, we all ran towards the sea. But Choi Soojung grabbed everyone with the wind and threw us out of the air.

 

“Senior!”

 

“Wait, Senior, I can’t—”

 

“Nyahahaha!”

 

SPLASH—!

 

The cold seawater soaked their bodies.

 

Everyone struggled at first because of the cold seawater that suddenly soaked their bodies, but soon they came to their senses and started swimming skillfully.

 

Some were swimming toward Choi Soojung as if they wanted revenge. Lee Hana was especially passionate.

 

After spitting out the water and coming to my senses, I dived back in and looked around the ocean. I swam down and briefly swam through the cool waves before looking up at the water surface where the light was shining.

 

Everyone was swimming toward the surface. They looked like mermaids freely swimming through the ocean.

 

Except for one person.

 

The bubbling bubbles rose fiercely toward the sky, yet for some reason, Scammer only made strange gestures and didn’t go up.

 

No, it wasn’t just that he wasn’t going up…

 

…Why was he sinking?

 

I thought calmly. In this world, you basically learn how to swim. But this isn’t Korea. So in Korea, there are many people who can’t swim.

 

And this guy is a possessed Korean.

 

At this point, what is the probability that Scammer is someone who can’t swim?

 

I thought of Scammer, who was trying to say something urgently before Choi Soojung threw us away.

 

[Wait, Senior, I can’t—]

 

I’m going to crazy!

 

I started swimming urgently toward Scammer.