My Ex-Boyfriend is Sold Out

Chapter 13: The Childhood Friend Reveals Her Secret Weapon

—

Could a person’s skin be this smooth? Despite being a grown woman, Chae-yeon’s skin had the soft smoothness of a baby’s cheek.

“Do it slowly… That way, the cream absorbs better,” Chae-yeon said, her cheeks flushed as she made her request.

Si-hyun, who had been admiring the softness of her skin, snapped out of his trance.

‘What am I doing?’

After everything he’d gone through to end things, he was letting himself get swayed by such a shallow temptation?

Disgusted with himself, Si-hyun gritted his teeth. He quickly wiped the sunscreen off his hands by rubbing it on his arms and spoke in a flat tone.

“We’re not in that kind of relationship anymore. You should ask So-hee to help when she gets here.”

“So-hee said she’s running late because she’s getting drinks at the pension.”

“Then ask one of the other girls. Don’t go asking random guys like me.”

Random guy. Si-hyun’s words, drawing a clear boundary, made Chae-yeon look back at him in shock. Realizing that the sunscreen had been wiped off, she spoke in a hurt voice.

“…You used to do it for me all the time.”

Si-hyun couldn’t hear her quiet complaint, but he could sense her disappointment.

After fastening her bikini hook, he spoke in a low voice.

“Don’t expect the old me. I regret the time I spent with you more than anything.”

“…”

Chae-yeon looked down, clutching a handful of sand in each hand. Her eyes trembled, and she opened her mouth several times, struggling to find the words.

“I… I don’t regret…”

“Si-hyun!”

Chae-yon’s faltering words were cut off by Yerin’s bright voice.

She inserted herself between them, grabbing Si-hyun’s arm with a grin.

“Come on, get up! I’m dying to go swimming!”

“We just got here, and you’re already—”

Si-hyun’s complaint stopped mid-sentence as he stared blankly at Yerin.

A chest that looked like all the food she’d eaten had gone straight to her cleavage?

A tiny swimsuit barely covering her curvy hips?

But those weren’t what caught Si-hyun’s eye. His gaze was fixed on one specific thing.

‘This bikini… it’s the same model as Chae-yeon’s.’

Chae-yeon’s black bikini, in white.

Why was Yerin wearing the same one? With curiosity filling his expression, Yerin’s smile grew wider.

“It’s a new swimsuit. What do you think? Does it suit me?”

Si-hyun found himself looking between Chae-yeon and Yerin.

While Chae-yeon’s figure was lovely, Yerin’s was striking, flaunting an impressive figure that made her swimsuit seem like a different style entirely.

“Yeah… it suits you.”

Feeling the warmth rush to his cheeks, Si-hyun quickly looked away, flustered and unsure where to rest his gaze.

Watching this, Chae-yeon’s expression twisted, while Yerin led Si-hyun down toward the beach with a victorious smile.

‘He just said he sees me as family!’

In the past, he would’ve just paid her a brief compliment with a blank expression.

But something had changed; Si-hyun was clearly more conscious of her now.

‘Guess those mixed-bath photos were worth studying!’

Was he into outfits like this? It felt a bit embarrassing, but his reaction more than made up for the risk.

Barely containing her glee, Yerin suggested in a lively voice, “Before we start swimming, let’s do some stretches!”

“Sure…”

Si-hyun tried to keep his gaze averted as he started to stretch.

Yerin watched his reaction with a playful grin.

“So, you were with Chae-yeon earlier. What were you two doing?”

She narrowed her eyes as she started her interrogation.

“Nothing,” he replied flatly.

“Liar. I saw the two of you talking.”

Yerin stopped stretching and walked over to him, making sure his attention was focused on her.

“Be honest. What were you two talking about?”

“Really, it was nothing… The most she asked was for me to put sunscreen on her back.”

“What? She asked that of you?”

The audacity of Chae-yeon’s attempt at seduction made Yerin grind her teeth.

Glaring daggers at Si-hyun, Yerin gripped his wrist tightly and asked, “So, did you put it on her? Her back, I mean?”

“No. I just told her to ask So-hee and turned her down.”

“Really?!”

She could only imagine how mortified Chae-yeon must’ve felt after being turned down so confidently.

Yerin scoffed in Chae-yeon’s direction, then reached up and patted Si-hyun’s head as a reward.

—

After finishing their stretches, the two waded into the sea.

With her wet hair swept back, Yerin held both of Si-hyun’s hands and asked, “Now that I think about it, you weren’t very good at swimming, were you? Should I teach you?”

The last time she’d gone swimming with Si-hyun had been back in high school.

Back then, Si-hyun, who couldn’t swim, had bobbed around in a life jacket like a little turtle. Yerin, watching him flounder, had unbuckled his life vest a little, then buckled it back, teasing him.

‘He was so adorable back then.’

Each time she loosened his life jacket, Si-hyun would cling to her, terrified. His dependence on her had filled her with a quiet joy.

‘Guess I’ll do the same this time~’

Ready with her plan to use “swimming lessons” as an excuse for some skinship, Yerin was stunned by his next words.

“No, that’s okay. I’m good at swimming now.”

Surprised, she tilted her head.

“How come?”

“After our last trip to the pool, I enrolled in swimming lessons.”

While Yerin had fond memories of teasing him at the pool, for Si-hyun, that day had been a humiliating experience. Determined to never make a fool of himself like that again, he’d dedicated himself to learning how to swim.

‘Well, this changes things…’

She had planned to get close to him while teaching him to swim, but that idea was ruined now.

As she pondered her options, Si-hyun smirked.

“Honestly, I bet I could swim better than you now.”

“Hah.”

Yerin had spent countless summers swimming in the sea during trips to visit her grandmother on the western coast, even learning directly from local divers.

Since she was a kid, she’d been known in her neighborhood as an excellent swimmer.

“Are you challenging me?”

“Of course. I’ve been waiting a long time to get back at you for embarrassing me at the pool.”

Their swimming challenge was set on the spot. Yerin squinted at him and asked, “Fine. Where do we start and finish?”

Si-hyun pointed to a rock about 200 meters away.

“First one to touch that rock wins.”

“Okay.”

Yerin turned to a classmate nearby and asked for a countdown.

“Three… Two… One.”

As the countdown reached zero, Yerin and Si-hyun started kicking their legs and stroking through the water.

‘Even with all those swimming lessons, there’s no way he’s on my level,’ Yerin thought. She was determined to knock Si-hyun’s confidence down a peg—how dare he challenge her to a swimming race? Swimming was a matter of pride for her.

‘He must be falling behind by now.’

Expecting to see Si-hyun floundering somewhere behind her, Yerin opened her eyes.

But instead…

With about 80 meters to go, Si-hyun was right beside her, keeping pace.

‘Even though I’m swimming at top speed…?’

Realizing that Si-hyun’s swimming skills were much better than she’d anticipated, Yerin knew she couldn’t afford to be complacent.

‘No more holding back.’

She put all her strength into each stroke and kick.

The sea was her domain. From a young age, she’d honed her skills in these waters, to the point that even the seasoned divers back in her hometown were impressed.

Swish—

Like a mermaid, Yerin sliced through the water with ease, and soon she was ahead by about 10 meters, reaching the rock first and touching it triumphantly.

“Haa…”

The race had been so intense that she barely had the energy to celebrate her victory.

Si-hyun, who arrived a few moments later, surfaced, panting.

“How…how are you that fast? I felt like I was racing against a seal.”

Yerin laughed. “You’re still ten years too early if you want to beat me.”

Despite her words, she knew that he could probably catch up in just a few years—Si-hyun’s swimming skills had become that good.

‘I’ll have to take Si-hyun with me to the west coast and go diving for seafood someday.’

Instead of feeling frustrated at his progress, Yerin felt a thrill at the thought of sharing the diver’s life with the guy she liked.

—

Leaving Yerin to swim a little longer, I returned to the beach.

I headed back to the shade under the parasol to escape the harsh sunlight.

Thankfully, Chae-yeon was nowhere to be seen.

“Haa… I didn’t think I’d lose.”

Mulling over my defeat, I sat in the shade to catch my breath. Before long, three classmates walked over to where I was sitting.

‘Looks like they’re just here to rest too?’

With most of the guys in our year off for military service, the group was all female. I wasn’t particularly close with them, so I figured they’d just sit nearby. But, strangely, they all looked at me with curious eyes.

“Si-hyun, we saw you swimming with Yerin just now, and you’re both really good!” one of them remarked, striking up a conversation that instantly filled me with a sense of unease.

I masked it and replied as nonchalantly as possible.

“Yerin’s way better than I am.”

Of course, the moment I mentioned Yerin, they leaned in, clearly intrigued.

“Right! Yerin!”

“What’s going on between you two?”

“And what happened with Chae-yeon?”

I should’ve known. They were all keen on prying into other people’s relationships.

Feeling a headache coming on, I ruffled my wet hair in frustration.

“Look…just to clear things up, Yerin and I have known each other forever. That’s all. There’s nothing going on.”

“Really? That’s weird. You two seem like a perfect match.”

Then another classmate leaned closer, asking, “So why did you break up with Chae-yeon? You were really into her, weren’t you?”

It was no secret on campus that I’d followed Chae-yeon around like a lovesick puppy. I even had the nickname “Chae-yeon’s biggest fan.”

“…We broke up because I got tired, that’s all.”

“Guess that makes sense. Chae-yeon’s personality isn’t exactly easygoing.”

“Yeah, honestly, you deserve credit for lasting over a year with her.”

While two of them agreed with my explanation, another classmate asked me a pointed question.

“So, does that mean you have no intention of dating Yerin?”

“Why would I date her? And just so you know, don’t go asking Yerin about this stuff. She feels the same way I do.”

But one of them shook her head.

“I don’t think that’s true. From what I’ve seen, Yerin definitely has feelings for you.”

“Yeah! Even when you were dating Chae-yeon, she’d watch you two with this envious look… You never noticed?”

Yerin… likes me?

Their baseless assumptions were enough to leave my head spinning.

We were so comfortable around each other that I’d never once considered she might feel that way.

“Lately, it seems like the two of you are practically inseparable. Why not give it a shot?”

“Yeah, we’re rooting for you!”

Feeling awkward with their obvious encouragement, I quickly stood up.

“Oh, look at him blush!”

“Since you’re already up, why don’t you go check on Yerin?”

I felt like a little kid being teased for having a crush.

Ignoring them, I was about to head to the pension to grab a drink when—

“Look over there! Yerin’s waving at you.”

Waving?

Curious, I turned my head.

Sure enough, Yerin was waving both hands in our direction.

‘Is she telling me to come back?’

Maybe she was tired of resting and wanted to play again, or maybe she had something to tell me. Deciding to ask her directly, I started back toward the shore.

With each step, I closed the gap between us, and Yerin’s figure became clearer.

But as I got closer, I started to sense that something was wrong.

Instead of the carefree attitude she’d had earlier, her hands were moving erratically, almost flailing.

Her head dipped below the water, only to resurface with a look of distress.

It was a reaction I recognized all too well—the same panicked look I’d had the first time I nearly drowned.

“Hey, Han Yerin!”

My heart pounded with a chill as I dashed into the water.

As fast as I could, I put every ounce of strength I had into swimming toward her.

Then…

About halfway to her, Yerin’s head disappeared beneath the surface and didn’t reappear.