Why Is Everyone in This Dating Sim Trying to Kill Me?!

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: Swimsuit Festival (3)

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'Did Gukbap even have a swimsuit outfit...?'

I stood a good distance away, staring blankly at Lee Yu-ri.

What was it about the sight of her in that simple swimsuit that made me stare so intently?

Of course, I hadn't thought she'd come here with me today and be the only one not wearing a swimsuit.

But, how should I put it?

Isn't it true that seeing something you've only ever imagined in person doubles the emotion?

Velvet Sra was serious about character merchandising, so the developers created and sold swimsuit outfits for all characters except the male ones.

Just one.

Except for Gukbap.

Because, well, she didn't have money at home.

The game's setting was that her friends had pestered Lee Yu-ri to come along to the beach, but she hesitated to buy a swimsuit.

That's why Gukbap would show up at the beach alone, awkwardly wearing her training uniform.

And when her friends asked why she wasn't wearing a swimsuit, she'd give an embarrassed laugh.

— Hmm, I'm a bit shy, and this is just more comfortable for me. Plus, I can't even swim... But still, there's the sand, so I think I can do various kinds of training.

— ...Really? If I'd known you disliked the sea, I wouldn't have dragged you along. My apologies.

— No, I don't dislike the sea. I like looking at it from afar like this. Thank you for bringing me.

And from behind, she'd force a smile as her friends laughed and played in the vast ocean.

— Ah, this is my first time at the beach, and it's really vast and beautiful...

Countless users opened their tear ducts and their wallets at that bittersweet scene.

And naturally, I was one of them.

But now, Lee Yu-ri was wearing a swimsuit.

Why?

In the game, there wouldn't really be any difference from how she is now.

'Ah, it's because of the incident where her house was ransacked?'

It didn't appear in the game, but originally, Gukbap would be under a lot of stress because of her house right now.

As soon as summer break started, that scumbag Hye-ji ransacked Lee Yu-ri's house,

and her family would have been out on the streets.

At a time like that, even if she had earned a decent amount of money from her hunter activities, buying a swimsuit?

Lee Yu-ri would never do that.

"It's a relief..."

Right now, Lee Yu-ri's family is living bustlingly on one floor of my house.

Sometimes, when I passed by and saw them, they'd greet me, and their faces were always full of bright smiles, without a single shadow.

Indeed, it was truly fortunate that Gukbap was the very first person I met,

and that I could become someone she could lean on.

I chuckled and approached the gathered party members.

* * *

"What's everyone doing?"

"... ..."

Jin Yuha walked over, trudging along.

Everyone was speechless, staring blankly at Jin Yuha.

"Huh? Did something happen?"

Jin Yuha asked Shin Se-hee.

"...Uh, um. W-what it is... We were d-discussing if it would be a good idea for the p-party members to go around in p-pairs, taking turns."

Shin Se-hee completely forgot the excuse she had originally thought of and just blurted out whatever came to mind.

"In pairs?"

"Y-yes, yes... Th-that is to say..."

"Ah, so everyone wants to do something different?"

"Yes, yes! Th-that's exactly it!"

Shin Se-hee nodded vigorously, expressing strong agreement with Jin Yuha's casually picked-up words.

"Hmm, I actually wanted us all to go together... But if that's what you guys want, then I guess it can't be helped."

Jin Yuha nodded as if it were no big deal.

"Thank you for understanding."

"So, who's going to stick with me today?"

Jin Yuha asked.

Lee Yu-ri urgently grabbed Shin Se-hee's shoulder.

Then she whispered in a small voice.

"S-Shin Se-hee. C-can you switch the order with me, even now...?"

Shin Se-hee then murmured with a smiling face.

"Mmm-hmm, just go on and enjoy yourself."

* * *

The first one to be paired with Jin Yuha.

Lee Yu-ri.

Currently, she was in a state of utter confusion.

So much so that she couldn't control her own clumsy movements.

Gulp—

'This guy... I-I didn't think he was like this, but w-was he always this bold?'

To wear nothing on top, just the bottoms.

It was full exposure of his upper body.

And he didn't seem to have any reservations.

Of course, it wasn't a strange or inappropriate outfit.

Rather, it was perfectly suitable attire for a beach.

However, such daring attire was usually only worn by models with excellent physiques, celebrities confident in their bodies, or people who liked to show themselves off.

Most men, even when wearing swimsuits, typically wore a top as a basic.

Since Jin Yuha usually avoided exposure to an extreme degree, always wearing his cadet uniform, training uniform, or otherwise plain black everyday clothes, Lee Yu-ri had never imagined he would dress so boldly.

Lee Yu-ri's eyes spun around.

It was like her familiar childhood friend had suddenly undergone a complete image transformation since summer break.

Glance—

Snap!

Lee Yu-ri, who had turned her eyes sideways to steal a glance at Jin Yuha's body, fixed her gaze forward again.

'...Crazy.'

Lee Yu-ri's face flushed a deep crimson.

Firm, bulging chest muscles.

Precisely sculpted abs.

Smooth, flawless white skin.

Jin Yuha's body, forged through hellish training, was so perfect that not an ounce of fat could be found.

His bare body, combined with his already decadent appearance, created an immense synergy.

So much so that she could feel the gazes of people around them constantly sneaking glances at Jin Yuha!

'C-can a single pair of trunks be this... revealing?'

At that, Jin Yuha, whose senses were keen, frowned, seemingly uncomfortable with the stares.

"Tsk, I even changed my look today so people wouldn't recognize me, so why are they staring so much? They don't recognize me, do they?"

Jin Yuha spoke such words with a perfectly innocent, oblivious air.

In fact, Jin Yuha had swept up his usually covering bangs, revealing his forehead, and

had even gotten waterproof makeup with Sophia's help.

But even so, his original charm was undeniable.

Even if they didn't recognize him as Jin Yuha, it was certainly a face that anyone would turn to look at.

'If he walks around like this, even I'd stare! Even I would!'

Lee Yu-ri's mouth fell open in disbelief.

Does this guy really have no awareness of his own face?

Fortunately, since she was standing firmly by his side, no one dared to approach, but

the gazes of envy and jealousy couldn't be hidden.

'What are you looking at, dammit!'

As Lee Yu-ri was shooting glares at her surroundings in a state of heightened alert.

Jin Yuha spoke first.

"Gukbap, being like this reminds me of the old days. Doesn't it?"

Lee Yu-ri, who had been busy warding off the surrounding women with just her gaze, turned to him and replied.

"O-old days?"

"Yeah, when we first came to the Academy. We came together, remember?"

"Ah, that time..."

When she first entered Velvet Academy with Jin Yuha.

Come to think of it, even then, people's gazes converged on them from all directions like this.

"Heh. Back then, too, all eyes were on us. I apologized to you, and you told me not to worry about it."

"...M-me?"

"Yeah, you said you expected it would be like this from the moment we started going together, and you stuck to me like a barnacle."

"When did I ever!!"

"Oh, and didn't you say you'd protect me? That you were my tank."

'I said something that embarrassing to him? And we weren't even that close back then!?'

But, it was hard to deny, because she had actually felt that way. And even now, that feeling hadn't changed.

Lee Yu-ri's face turned a fiery red, as if it couldn't get any hotter.

"Actually, I was kidding."

"...What?"

"Back then, I was the one chasing you, actually. Asking you to be my tank. And I even got rejected once."

"...Hey!!!"

Jin Yuha wore a mischievous smile.

"This time, I'm going to tell you the same thing. Don't mind the stares."

With that, Jin Yuha took her hand and pulled her closer.

"...Huh?"

"We came all the way to the beach, are you just going to keep staring at other people?"

At that, the surrounding gazes intensified even further, but

Jin Yuha turned his body towards the sea, as if he no longer cared.

"Here, look. This is the sea."

Jin Yuha took Lee Yu-ri by the shoulders from behind and turned her towards the sea.

And in Lee Yu-ri's pupils, the scenery full of blue water was reflected.

"Wow... It's vast."

The only impression that came out of her mouth was merely the word 'vast'.

She resented her own poor vocabulary, but honestly, she couldn't say anything else.

The blue water relentlessly rolling in, then retreating as if pulling itself back.

The horizon stretched out so wide that its end was unknown.

Lee Yu-ri's mouth slowly parted at the expansive scenery.

"How is it? Amazing, right?"

"...Yeah. It's amazing. It's my first time seeing so much water."

Truly, everything was a fantastical sight.

It was while she was blankly admiring the sea before her eyes.

Suddenly, Jin Yuha spoke.

"Lee Yu-ri, thank you."

"...Huh? For what?"

"Just... for everything."

"..."

'Honestly, I'm the one who should be saying that.'

Starting from the day they first met, when they were strangers, and he followed her into a dungeon and saved her life.

Even after entering the Academy, their connection continued unbroken.

And somehow, she had even ended up securing the main tank position in the Utopia party.

All of this was thanks to Jin Yuha.

What if he hadn't been there?

She'd probably be working a part-time job even on a day like today, living a harsh life just earning money.

And she would have gone her whole life without ever knowing such beautiful scenery existed in the world.

Lee Yu-ri turned her head and met Jin Yuha's eyes.

"...I'm more thankful."

"Huh? For what?"

At that, Jin Yuha shamelessly repeated the exact words he had just spoken.

"Just... everything since we first met."

"Hmm..."

Hearing that, Jin Yuha nodded deeply.

"First time? Are you talking about when you doubted I was a male cadet, and then when I leaned in close, you were so surprised you almost dropped your phone?"

"...!"

At Jin Yuha's mischievous words, Lee Yu-ri's face flared bright red.

"N-no! Not, not that!!!"

At that, Jin Yuha's expression hardened.

Then he lowered his voice, making it strict and solemn.

"Or perhaps, you mean this? Everyone──Retreat──!!!"

"..."

Tremble, tremble—

Lee Yu-ri glared at Jin Yuha and pouted her lips.

'Even when I'm trying to say thank you, this guy just has to!'

It was then.

Thud.

Jin Yuha instinctively extended his foot and lightly touched Lee Yu-ri's ankle.

Then he shoved her shoulder.

"Kyaahk!?"

Lee Yu-ri's eyes widened as her body was launched into the air.

Splash—!

Tripping over his foot, Lee Yu-ri splashed face-first into the sea.

"Ugh!!! Salty!!!!"

Ptui! Ptui ptui!!!!

She shot up and spat out the seawater that had gotten into her mouth.

She'd heard seawater was salty, but she never imagined it would be *this* salty!

"Hey! Jin Yuha!!"

She snarled and glared at Jin Yuha.

At that, Jin Yuha annoyingly shrugged his shoulders, as if he'd done nothing wrong.

"You came all this way and even put on a swimsuit, are you just going to stare at the sea?"

Splash!

In response, Lee Yu-ri bit her lower lip hard and unleashed a barrage of water on Jin Yuha.

Dash, swirl—!

Splash!

Jin Yuha kicked off, did a somersault in the air, dodging the water attack, and dove behind her.

Because of that, Lee Yu-ri was drenched in seawater once again.

"You're dead. Just you wait, Jin Yuha."

"Hah, do you really think a hopeless Gukbap who can't even swim is a match for me?"

As Lee Yu-ri began playing in the water with Jin Yuha, a deep smile spread across her lips.

It was a refreshing smile, as if she had shed all her usual burdens.

* * *

As I was continuing to play in the water with Lee Yu-ri.

I dove underwater, grabbed Lee Yu-ri's ankle, and tripped her.

Splash—!

"Kyaahk!! *Ptui ptui*! Salty!!!"

Beep— Beep beep—

It was then that an alarm suddenly went off from the watch strapped to Lee Yu-ri's wrist.

"W-wait a minute!! Jin Yuha, just a minute!!!"

Lee Yu-ri heard the alarm, frowned, and raised her hand to stop me.

"Phew! Huh? An alarm? What's that for?"

I tilted my head, with only my head poking out of the sea.

"Uh, um. I-I need to go to the b-bathroom."

Lee Yu-ri stammered out an excuse.

"...You set an alarm to go to the bathroom?"

When I asked, dumbfounded by her words, Lee Yu-ri nodded awkwardly.

"Y-yeah, I-I do."

"That's strange. Well, go on. I'll stay here."

"O-okay! I-I'll be back!"

Splash, splash—

Lee Yu-ri hurried out of the water as if she were truly in a rush.

'Hmm...'

I thought something was suspicious, but I figured it was probably nothing and got out of the water for now.

"Phew— It's fun playing in the water after a long time..."

It was while I was taking a breather.

A group of women approached me.

They were the same women who had been sneaking glances at me ever since I was with Lee Yu-ri.

"Excuse me, did you come alone?"

"We've been watching you for a while. If you have time, wanna hang out with us? We'll show you a good time."

"I'm interested in you. How about a drink with us? We'll make sure you have fun."

'What are these bitches? They kept watching me play with Gukbap. Alone, my ass.'

I knitted my brows and looked at the women who had approached me.

There was no need to be sharp with civilians, so I politely brushed them off.

"Ah, I'm with someone."

"Oh, that plain-looking girl? Come on, why bother with that here? It's just for a bit of fun with us, and maybe with others too."

"Exactly. If anything, she can join us too!"

"She looks really timid, don't you think we're better than someone like that?"

'Hah, these bitches couldn't even hold a candle to Gukbap...'

"Wow, do you work out? Your body is amazing!"

Now the women were even touching my body, pestering me.

It was then that I was really starting to get annoyed.

"Hey, you fucking bitches. Take your hands off him."

An familiar voice came from behind.

And there stood Kang Do-hee, with fiery red hair and a red bikini, her face twisted in a deep frown.