"So... it was all a misunderstanding...?"
"Yes! That's what I've been saying!"
[What in the world were you thinking?]
His voice, thick with injustice, and the author-nim’s snickering laughter echoed in my ears.
...All a misunderstanding?
"But you were all pressed together like that..."
"They were just poking at me because they thought it was interesting."
"And the part about it being... hard?"
"Muscles."
Ah.
I want to die.
It was just a passing thought, really. I swear on my life, I’m not a pervert!
"...Hey, Arte."
"S-Siwoo and Amelia...! And Dorothy are the ones at fault!"
"Huh?"
"I didn’t do anything wrong!"
Right. I didn’t do anything wrong.
It was Siwoo’s fault. Amelia’s fault. Dorothy’s fault.
And honestly, they *were* in swimsuits.
Siwoo was in square-cut swim trunks, and Dorothy and Amelia were in bikinis.
On an empty beach.
One guy and two girls, pressed together like that, talking about things being hard—how was I *not* supposed to misunderstand?
"I—I..."
Right. Siwoo’s the protagonist. Dorothy and Amelia are heroines, aren’t they?
So wasn’t it natural for me to misunderstand a little?
I couldn’t see where his hands were. Of course I assumed it was *that*.
I was just shocked, that’s all.
Even if there was no one around, doing something so indecent *outside*—of course I’d be shocked.
But it was all a mistake?
Siwoo’s flustered face and Amelia’s inexplicable thumbs-up as she ran toward him flashed in my mind.
"I didn’t do anything wrong!"
"Arte?!"
Desperate to hide my crimson face, I covered it and bolted toward the sea.
Shame twisted my entire body.
"How was it?"
"Y-You...! Why did you suddenly run away?! Now I got misunderstood because of you!"
As soon as I managed to clear up Arte’s misunderstanding, I sprinted toward the sea and confronted Amelia.
I almost got labeled as some creep doing weird stuff in public.
If it were just Amelia misunderstanding, I wouldn’t care, but Arte...?
"I ran so you’d misunderstand."
"Y-You...!"
"No, Arte’s face was all red, right? So I thought, *this is my chance*."
"Your chance?"
What the hell was she even talking about?
I decided to listen to her excuse.
If it wasn’t convincing, I wasn’t going to forgive her.
I’d make her suffer, no matter what it took.
I was even prepared to secretly slip mint chocolate into her coffee.
"I just thought you were misunderstanding something. I was only teasing, but you looked so flustered."
"Then you should’ve cleared up the misunderstanding."
"Ha, so you’re still a virgin, huh?"
Amelia let out a derisive snort, as if my answer was ridiculous.
Watching her adjust her sunglasses while lounging on the floating tube was infuriating.
Wait, so what was I supposed to do in that situation?
"You’re right, I should’ve cleared it up."
"Then I was right!"
"No, the problem is that I shouldn’t have helped you clear it up."
"…What?"
"Think about it. If I helped you clear up the misunderstanding, it would’ve just been a simple misunderstanding. But if I *had* helped you…"
Amelia smirked and tilted her head.
Behind her, Arte was still blushing, repeatedly dunking her face in the seawater.
"She could’ve just enjoyed the ocean normally. Without being this embarrassed."
"So what? Isn’t that a good thing?"
"Have you ever seen Arte this flustered before?"
"…"
"No, right? Sometimes shock therapy is necessary. Now Arte might be more aware of you. That’s actually better for you."
I’d misjudged.
Only after hearing her words did Siwoo realize he’d made a mistake in his judgment.
How many times had he fallen for Amelia’s silver tongue before?
How many times had he been convinced by her words, only for them to come back to bite him like a boomerang?
It was already too late.
He’d already started thinking her reasoning made sense.
Well, it *was* true that Arte had never looked this flustered before.
Her reaction on the Ferris wheel had been less about embarrassment and more like her trauma being triggered, so that was a little different.
But this—Arte’s face red with shame, flustered and flailing—was the first time he’d seen it.
"So? A new side of Arte, huh?"
"…She’s cute."
"Hm?"
Ah, damn. Wrong thing to say.
Amelia frowned slightly, as if she hadn’t expected that answer.
Then, after a moment of thought, she burst into a fit of giggles.
"Ohhh, so *that’s* it?"
"W-What do you…"
"No, nothing. Yeah, whatever. That’s fine, actually. Better, even. Now I can scheme without holding back."
Amelia laughed, as if she’d discovered something amusing.
If anyone else had seen her, they might’ve called her beautiful and fallen for her.
But I didn’t feel that way at all.
No matter how beautiful she was, I never saw Amelia like that.
Even if she tried to seduce me in a place where it was just the two of us, there was no way I’d fall for it.
Because it was *Amelia*, after all.
"What are you plotting now…"
"Well, it’s just… I handle things as they come. Don’t worry, nothing bad will happen to you."
At that moment, despite not being religious, Yu Siwoo prayed.
God, please, just make sure Amelia doesn’t do anything stupid.
[Hmm, won’t something fun happen like before?]
"Author-nim, I was wrong, so please forgive me…"
Even after a long time, my face still felt hot, so I splashed seawater on it—only for the author’s voice to ring out again.
She was probably cooking up another scheme for "fun," so I begged for mercy.
Right now, I just wanted to rest.
I was so embarrassed by my ridiculous misunderstanding that I couldn’t stand it…
[…Hmm, but Reader-nim. Four people at the beach feels a little… underwhelming, don’t you think?]
"Huh? Underwhelming how?"
[I mean, coming to the beach is nice, but there’s not much to work with here…]
The author started listing her complaints to me.
[Beach volleyball is boring with just four people, and the blonde rich boy can’t hit on the heroine because it’s a private beach…]
"It’s a vacation… Do you *really* need to force an event?"
[Of course! It’s more fun that way!]
A sigh escaped me.
It seemed the author had been racking her brain for beach-worthy events, only to conclude there weren’t any—so now she was itching to create one.
"Author-nim, it’s a day off. Everyone’s enjoying themselves."
Floating in the water, I glanced at the others.
Amelia was lazily drifting on a tube, Dorosi was resting on a sunbed on the sand, and Yu Siwoo was chatting with Amelia about something.
"If an event *does* happen, we’d still need downtime afterward, Author-nim. Even protagonists and heroines can’t be at their best all the time."
[Hmm… I guess that’s true…?]
"Obviously."
…This is kind of uncomfortable, though.
Floating like this made it easy to zone out in the water, but my face still felt warm.
[Then I won’t nag you about it—just go put on some sunscreen!]
"Huh? Why bother? It’s just going to wash off in the water anyway."
[I *saw* you frowning because your face was burning! There are waterproof kinds, so go put some on! This is *my* creation we’re talking about!]
"Ugh…"
No, why do I have to bother with that?
Even if I get a little sunburned, I’d still look good.
But the author clearly didn’t agree.
She started lecturing me about how she didn’t want the skin of the body *she* made to get damaged.
…After a short while, I was the one who surrendered.
"Sigh… You’re *really* not going to force an event, right?"
[Yes! Yes! So go put on sunscreen already!]
"Fine…"
It’s not even her body, and she’s making a fuss.
Is this some kind of vicarious satisfaction? I really don’t get it.
"Dorothy, do you happen to have any extra sunscreen?"
"Huh? …You didn’t bring any?"
"Ah, yeah. The sun’s a bit harsh."
Dorothy jolted in surprise and frantically rummaged through her bag.
…Was I too indifferent?
Hmm, now that I think about it, maybe I should’ve been more careful.
Flawless skin really is precious.
Everyone was so shocked and told me to apply it, so maybe I shouldn’t let it get ruined, even if I don’t plan on maintaining it.
"Here you go."
"Thanks. I’ll return what’s left…"
"No, it’s fine. You can keep it. I’m planning to stop by the villa to grab some drinks since I’m running low. Do you need anything?"
"…Then a cola, please."
"Got it."
After handing me the sunscreen, Dorothy said she was heading to the villa and left.
The villa was a bit far, so it’d probably take some time.
If it were just her body moving, it’d be quick, but with the bulk, it’d take longer.
"Hey, where’d Dorothy go?"
"She said she was going to grab something to drink."
"Oh? We could’ve gone for her. Weird she didn’t ask."
Amelia, who’d been tubing in the sea, must’ve noticed Dorothy leaving the sunbed. She came over to ask what was going on, then spotted the item in my hand and looked confused.
"…Is that sunscreen? Why’d you take it out?"
"Ah, the sun’s a bit harsh, so I thought I’d apply some."
"You didn’t put any on?! Why?!"
Did I do something that bad…?
All three women around me were horrified, making me feel like I’d made a huge mistake.
"…Ah, right. So you’re gonna apply it now?"
"…? Yeah. That’s the plan."
Amelia suddenly grinned like she’d realized something and started scribbling on a piece of paper on the table beside the sunbed.
"Uh, what’s that…?"
"Oh, it’s nothing. I’m a little worried about Dorothy, so I’ll head to the villa too. I should grab some food while I’m at it. It’ll take a while. About an hour?"
"Yeah, sure. See you later…?"
What’s with that specific time estimate?
As Amelia left, she turned back to me one last time.
"Don’t forget to apply sunscreen regularly! And since you’re in a bikini, be extra careful with your back."
"I will."
"And when Siwoo gets here, tell him to read that note!"
I figured she could’ve just told me directly, but I didn’t press further and just nodded.
Well, she must have her reasons.