New swimsuit. It makes my head spin to think about it, but I have to keep my promise.
Two hours later, I came out to the beach with everyone when the sun was at its brightest. Wearing the swimsuit Liam had once picked out for me.
“Wow, what’s with you? That’s a pretty daring swimsuit. Are you planning to go all out today?”
At Virgil’s question, I asked back who exactly I was supposed to be competing with. Alice, who was next to Virgil, said she thought I’d have no sense in picking swimsuits since I have no sense dressing in regular clothes, and asked where I found something so bold.
“……Someone bold picked it out for me.”
Liam, who appeared wearing a loose rashguard, said to Alice with his shoulders tensed up. As soon as Alice saw him, she criticized him, asking where on earth he got such a lame rashguard.
“Lame? I bought it because I liked it.”
“I thought you at least dressed well. Was I mistaken?”
“Yeah, I guess you were mistaken.”
Liam answered Alice as if dealing with something very annoying, then put his arms around mine and Virgil’s shoulders. Then he naturally started walking and moved away from Alice.
“Even if I brought this on myself, being hated isn’t easy.”
At a decent distance from Alice, Liam whispered in a small voice. At those words, Virgil threw a sympathetic vote, saying he could empathize a hundred or a thousand times.
“But in this case, Alice is also trying to provoke you, but it also seems like she really likes Cheick. Not in a romantic way, but simply as a friend.”
So don’t worry too much, when Virgil comforted Liam, Liam thanked him and smiled brightly as usual.
“But really…… I picked it out, but it’s killer, this swimsuit. No wait, is it the person wearing the swimsuit who’s killer?”
When Liam asked me lecherously, Virgil complained that being sandwiched between me and Liam made him feel too shabby. Then with eyes full of envy, he just watched the kids playing on the beach.
“Honestly, I’m not even good at swimming. Hazel and Blair, I don’t envy them for anything else, but I have to acknowledge their figures. Ugh…… I’m still like this but Sophia keeps getting prettier and more confident…… There’s no way she’d notice someone like me anymore, right?”
To Virgil, who was making weak sounds while falling into self-loathing, Liam encouraged him to cheer up, then advised him that ‘you have your own charm so you don’t need to feel inferior.’
“My own charm? Do I have such a thing?”
“Everyone has their own charm.”
As if he gained strength from Liam’s words, Virgil said he hadn’t even greeted Sophia yet and headed toward her. However, after walking a few steps with his shoulders tensed up, he was discovered by Blair—who seemed bored since her best friend Hazel was absorbed in her romance with Olivia—and was in danger of becoming a target for bullying.
“What, who brought this loser?”
“I was invited here……”
“Who would invite someone like you?”
“Cha, Charlotte and Liam. A, Alice also said she was glad I came!”
When Virgil barely gathered the strength to speak, Blair snorted as if she couldn’t believe it. Then she tried to say something insulting, but the situation was settled when Liam kicked her butt as a greeting.
“Speaking of which, who invited you to be here?”
Liam asked Blair after finishing his ‘greeting.’ Blair was dumbfounded by Liam’s words and explained that she was someone who didn’t need an invitation.
“That’s strange. Honestly, I don’t think there’s anyone here who would be happy you came.”
Alice, who had somehow come to our side, said to Blair.
“Even your friend Hazel is distracted by Olivia, so honestly she said it was annoying when you said you were coming.”
“What?”
“Yesterday she briefly told me that. Honestly, she came to try something with Olivia, so it’s bothersome that you’re here.”
At Alice’s words, Blair asked if that was really true, and Alice asked back why she would make up such a story if it wasn’t true. At this, the angry Blair huffed and went off to find Hazel, and Alice smirked, raising one corner of her mouth as if mocking her.
“So simple anyway. Anyway…… I think I just heard something interesting.”
Do you like Sophia, when Alice asked Virgil, he couldn’t say anything with his face turning red. Alice laughed heartily and earnestly asked him to just trust her from now on, and Virgil showed a skeptical reaction.
“Unless I’m reborn as Liam, getting together with Sophia would be impossible.”
“Hey, stop being ridiculous. If you were born as him, you’d only like guys, so how could you get together with Sophia?”
At Alice’s words, both Virgil and I instantly froze and looked at Liam. He just had a calm expression and smiled subtly as usual.
When Liam came out to me sometime ago, he clearly said. That until he told me, no one except Leda knew he was gay.
After that—at least as far as I know—he only came out to Charlotte, Nathan, and Virgil. But why does Alice know Liam is gay?
When the poor actors that Virgil and I are rapidly lost our words and looked at her, Alice made an expression as if it was no big deal and shrugged her shoulders.
“Why are you guys suddenly freezing up? I’m just saying there’s that possibility. Honestly, right? He looks like he’s been so absorbed in ‘someone’ lately that he can’t think straight. But since that ‘someone’ is a guy, I just wanted to say it might simply be that.”
“Right, Alice. Thanks for the explanation, but really…… that was a statement with zero caution.”
Liam said to Alice while smiling brightly. Alice snorted at those words.
“Haha, why should I be cautious? You’re not even my friend. Anyway, I suddenly have an important mission, so I should get going. Hey, Virgil. You’re coming with me.”
“Me…… me?”
When Virgil pointed to himself and asked, Alice told him not to make her say it twice, then dragged him off somewhere.
“……Can I honestly say just one thing?”
Liam, who had been watching Alice and Virgil become dots in the distance, asked me.
“Sure, what?”
“I really hate Alice Miller. But I hate it even more because it seems like a kind of self-hatred.”
Liam said something incomprehensible and pulled my hand toward the sea where blue water was rippling.
“But thanks to Alice we’re finally alone, so let’s not think about annoying things and just swim.”
“……Are you trying to swim without even warming up right now?”
I grabbed Liam, who was about to rush into the sea recklessly, and started nagging about how important warm-up exercises before entering the water are. Then I realized again that I was acting like a mom or dad to Liam and apologized to him.
“Sorry. I nagged you terribly.”
“No. It’s not like you said anything wrong.”
Liam said that and followed my guidance to do warm-up exercises and prepare to enter the sea. While doing that, Sophia ran up to me with a playful look and suddenly held up her smartphone and took a photo.
It’s become a rare thing now that we don’t get along well anymore, but when we used to hang out almost daily, we often took photos of each other like this. Of course, without asking for the other person’s consent at all.
“Hey there, handsome.”
When Sophia greeted me with sluggish hand gestures, Liam, who was next to me, laughed holding his stomach.
“Wow, you really…… What’s with that swimsuit? I also bought a bikini with determination this time, but I’m kind of disappointed because it’s overshadowed by your boldness.”
Sophia told me that Alice’s friends, with whom she’s been distant, don’t even recognize me.
“They kept coming to me asking who that hottie is because they think they know me.”
“……Don’t joke.”
“I’m not joking. If you talk to them later you’ll know right away? They’ll like you so much—”
When Sophia was speaking as if ready to matchmake at any opportunity, Liam cut into her words and gave her an out-of-the-blue greeting.
“Hi, Sophia.”
“Uh, oh! Hi. Liam.”
Quite differently from when she was playing silly pranks and acting cheeky with me, Sophia passively accepted Liam’s greeting and didn’t know what to do. I thought right now was the time to tell Sophia, but the plan fell through when Nathan, who woke up from his hangover last, came looking for us.
“Hey, you guys, when did you get here! Anyway, good you came. Let’s have even more fun today than yesterday.”
Deciding to aim for nighttime since there are too many people now, I entered the sea. And as soon as I got in the water, I could only float in the water blankly for a while, watching Liam swim like a dolphin. What on earth can’t this guy do?
After entering the sea, I didn’t join the noisy group and just spent time watching Liam, who looked the happiest in the middle of the group. Liam invited me to all sorts of activities in between, but I refused them all and just observed him.
It would have been fun to play with Liam, but still my heart felt it was too precious. Only by watching from a slightly distant place like this could I fully capture in my eyes his appearance of being so happy.
“Let’s play touch football!”
