Summer Time - Sistar

/look here.

Chapter 23: Summer Time.

“Wah! It’s Boracay!”

As soon as the service bus came to a stop, Tao immediately got out and marvelled at the breathtaking sight of the said beach. The beach was just absolutely amazing. The palm trees were dancing to the rhythm of the winds blowing from the northeast, the white sands seem as if it was sparkling under the scorching sunlight, the shimmering blue water was stirring from the clear vast ocean, and together with the other tourists of different races who can’t seem to get enough of their summer getaway—the beach is just like an ideal place where you can experience Nirvana.

Feeling the need to share his flame of excitement, Tao quickly rushed back to the bus and dragged Jaera, who just got out from the bus, to the shores.

“This is like…” Jaera mumbled, staring in awe at the sight of one of the nature’s wonder. “A place made out of happiness.”

“I know, right?” Tao agreed, beaming at the sight as well. “This is the ideal summer paradise.”

“But before we play in your so called paradise, I think it’ll be much better if we check in at the hotel first.” Kai interrupted, gaining the attention of both Jaera and Tao. “We can’t play without having to keep our luggage first, right?”

“Yah you two, come here and get your luggage.” Lu Han called, pointing to the bags beside him.

Lay and Xiumin, who were in charge of the whole vacation, already got inside the lobby. Kai, Lu Han and Tao followed afterwards with Jaera and Sehun trailing behind them.

After confirming their reservations, Lay and Xiumin walked back to them with a few cardkeys on their hands. “So the rooms will be by twos. 1 room for me and Xiumin.”

“1 room for Kai and Tao.” Lay said, handing out 2 cardkeys to the boys. He then turned to Lu Han and Sehun to give them 2 cardkeys as well. “1 room for you two as well.”

“And for our only girl,” Lay said, handing Jaera a single cardkey with a smile. “You’ll have your room all to yourself.”

“I-is this okay?” Jaera asked, eyeing the cardkey with an unsure look. “I mean, I can just room in with Lu Han and Sehun, it’ll be cheaper that way—“

“No, no. A girl needs her privacy, okay?” Lay said, as Kai nodded in agreement.

“Besides, why bother thinking about the expenses? Lu Han-hyung’s a very capable man, you know.”

Jaera turned to Lu Han, only to see him smiling smugly, his cockiness oozing in the air. With a small sigh, the former held onto the cardkey and nodded. “Yeah, sorry about that. Just forget what I said.”

“Okay, enough with that!” Tao chimed in, grinning widely at the rest. “Let’s finish unpacking so we could immediately play! Let’s go!”

Without even having to wait for the others, Tao immediately dragged Kai towards the elevator, leaving the rest chuckling.

Jaera was about to follow behind them when the suitcase she was pulling behind, suddenly got lifted off from her hands. She then turned to her side and saw Sehun pulling the bag together with his. “Hey, you don’t need to do that. I can carry it for myself—“

“I only become a gentleman for quite a few times so might as well make use of it, okay?” Sehun said, giving Jaera a mocking smile as the latter just gave him a look of disbelief.

Seeing as the boy won’t hand her suitcase anytime soon, Jaera just let him be and patted his shoulder. “Thank you, Mr. Oh Gentleman.”

Lu Han watched the two from afar with a blank expression. He was about to catch up to them when he heard his name being spoken.

“Just give it to Lu Han.” Xiumin said, looking at the hands of Lay before noticing Lu Han who was staring at them from afar. “Yah, Lu Han.”

The two quickly walked up to Lu Han as they rode the next elevator. As soon as they entered, Lay handed Lu Han another cardkey, raising the confusion of the man. “I forgot to give the spare key to Jaera.”

“Well, just keep it.” Xiumin said, stretching his sore neck. “She’s your cousin anyway. You might need it in case of emergency or something.”

As soon as the elevator doors opened, the three quickly walked out and proceeded to their assigned rooms. Lu Han looked at the cardkey in his hand for a brief second before a small smirk appeared on his face as he walked inside his and Sehun’s shared room.

Upon setting foot inside the hotel room, Jaera’s eyes widened in astonishment. It was a spacious room, but not bigger than the ones used by the others. Nevertheless, it was more that she imagined. Various furniture such as a queen sized bed, coffee table and couch, study desk and other basic appliances were present as well. The theme of the room was very modern with the fixtures made of the colours black, white and gray, but the feel was very nature-like as summer plants and flowers were scattered at every part of the room.

Having never experienced such a luxurious accommodation as this, Jaera can’t help but feel as if she was living a dream. She never really went to a vacation before, much more staying at a hotel, so the new experience was a bit overwhelming for her.

Jaera swallowed hard in an attempt to snap out of her thoughts, to which it fortunately worked. She actually wanted to observe and scan the whole room more but came to a conclusion that that can wait. She didn’t really want to deal with Tao’s whines, as well as Lu Han’s naggings.

Pulling her luggage towards the closet, Jaera plopped her bottom on the black carpeted floor and removed her backpack. She laid the suitcase on the floor right in between her and the cabinet and zipped it open. One by one, she fished out all of her clothes and placed them neatly inside the closet in a rather careful manner so as not to rumple the fabrics. As soon as she emptied her suitcase, she got her back pack and unloaded all of her other necessities as well.

“That should do it.” Jaera mumbled, staring at her things with a satisfied look. She then placed her suitcase and backpack beside the closet before noticing the digital clock placed on top of the study desk. 30 minutes had passed since she entered her room. “Ahjussi and Tao’s seriously going to kill me.”

Jaera then rushed back to her closet and looked for the bathing suit that Baekhyun and Chanyeol packed for her. Since Jaera never really experienced having to go to a summer beach trip before, she didn’t possess any kind of swimwear. Feeling no need for such clothes, she decided to just pack some shirts and cycling shorts to use. Jaera was already done packing her luggage when Baekhyun and Chanyeol suddenly found out that she and Lu Han were going to the beach they went to as well. The two were more than happy to let her off from summer work and even gave out few tips and tricks in buying souvenirs and such—they were more than excited themselves for the girl.

They were really absorbed into their own little world when they saw the contents of Jaera’s suitcase. A very dumbfounded look immediately appeared on their faces as they quickly ransack the thing afterwards, replacing it with other girly clothes that they own but can’t wear. Jaera was in fact a bit annoyed at first, but seeing as they were only eager for her, she just let them be and pack her clothes for her. She knows that they only want what’s best for her anyway.

“Now where was it? I think it’s colour black—“ Jaera has her eyebrows creased while rummaging through her closet when the swimsuit finally appeared. At the sight of the swimwear, Jaera’s eyes literally popped out of their sockets as her face fell, not believing what she was seeing. “Oh. My. God.”

The cloth was a black and white two piece twister swimsuit that has a halter back and a wide bar like line that connects the upper and bottom piece, all the while covering the wearer’s navel but leaving the back bare. It’s not really flashy but wearing such a skimpy attire still made Jaera feel nervous. She’s not really confident with her body so seeing the skin tight swimsuit was a nightmare for her. “I’m seriously going to kill those two when I get back—“

“Yah Jaera, aren’t you done yet?”  Lu Han’s ever all familiar voice suddenly resonated from across the door, causing for Jaera to jump in place. “What’s taking you so long?!”

“I-I’m coming!” Jaera answered back as she immediately tried to look for another attire that she could possibly wear, not caring how much she had messed up her tidied clothes.

After looking through her things, Jaera’s search failed. A few seconds later, knocks were heard from her room’s doorstep again. Having no other choice, Jaera breathed heavily and rushed to the bathroom with a very heavy heart.

“Hyung, we’re going ahead, okay?” Kai said, dragging Sehun with him as Xiumin just nodded at them. Turning back to Lay, Lu Han and Tao, he then raised an eyebrow. “Is she still not coming out?”

“A girl needs her time to prepare.” Lay said, shaking his head with an