Several girls gathered around Hayakawa Sakuno in front of the ticket vending machine.
"Hey, hey, Sakuno, what's wrong with you just now? How come you didn't even recognize your own friend?"
A short-haired girl nudged Hayakawa Sakuno with her arm.
"Is there even a question? It must be that the young couple had a fight. Seriously, Sakuno is so sneaky. Even if he's a handsome boyfriend, you don't have to hide it so much. You keep saying you're single."
With her pink hair, Ogasawara kept turning her silver earrings with her fingers, looking somewhat absent-minded.
"He's not my boyfriend."
Hayakawa Sakuno blushed and vehemently denied it.
"Really?" The girls immediately perked up.
As the organizer of this beach trip, Shiina Hitomi clearly didn't want to cause trouble, and reminded him, "Forget about Haruka, Ogasawara, you know Oshima's personality. The guy who tried to chat you up last time was beaten up and ended up in the hospital by him."
"He's not my boyfriend, so why should he tell me what to do?" Ogasawara pouted, a little annoyed.
If I hadn't asked Oshima to cut costs this time, I would have been able to take the initiative.
Seeing how interested the others were in her useless older brother, Hayakawa Sakuno felt inexplicably irritated for some reason.
"I advise you not to have any expectations of him; he has someone he likes."
Hayakawa Sakuno hesitated for a moment, but still spoke.
But after saying that, Hayakawa Sakuno regretted it a little.
She didn't even understand why she said that, when that girl named Yamagami Airi was clearly a terrible woman.
"Huh? Really? That's such a pity." The short-haired girl, who had been somewhat interested, immediately became discouraged.
Ogasawara retorted nonchalantly, "Sakuno, what era are we living in? Don't say it's just liking someone. As long as you're not married, it means there's still a chance. Look, you even asked him out, which means he doesn't love that girl that much."
"Or..." Ogasawara suddenly leaned closer and asked, "Do you like him too?"
"Idiot, how could I possibly like a guy like that?"
Hayakawa Sakuno quickly denied it.
But the image of that handsome face involuntarily surfaced in her mind.
He was clearly a terrible guy, how could he have changed so much?
Hayakawa Sakuno tapped her head, feeling that she was becoming increasingly strange.
It's all Ogasawara's fault for asking such strange questions!
Ogasawara chuckled, grabbed a tuft of pink hair, and scratched the short-haired girl's neck: "Did you hear that? You can go ahead and attack with peace of mind now."
"Oh, no~" Upon hearing this, the short-haired girl was ticklish and flinched, her face flushed slightly. She was somewhat tempted, but she still wouldn't admit it: "I think you're asking for yourself, why are you dragging me into this?"
Ogasawara shrugged and stopped arguing.
Handsome guys are such rare creatures, of course we have to take the initiative!
While the girls were buying tickets, news came from the boys' side.
"The staff over there won't let us use our own sun umbrellas; we can only rent them from the convenience store here."
Ryohei Oshima ran up, panting, and because of his tall stature, he blocked most of the sun.
It's practically a natural human sunshade!
Shiina Hitomi hesitated for a moment: "How much would it cost to rent it?"
Ryohei Oshima said with a wry smile, "2000 yen an hour, and that's for a small one. A large one would cost 3000 yen!"
The girls' faces immediately fell. They were all students, and they were basically having fun on a tight budget. They had already spent a lot of money on tickets, and suddenly having to spend several thousand yen, especially since it was charged by the hour, was a bit too much for them.
Considering the angle of sunlight, a small umbrella is generally just enough for one person, while a large umbrella is enough for two people, and if you squeeze in, then it can be three.
Including Junichi, a temporary member, there were a total of 7 people in their group. They would need to rent at least 3 umbrellas, and it would cost at least 40,000 to 50,000 yen for a few hours. If they split the bill, it would cost 6,000 yen per person.
Money becomes a sensitive topic. Even if one person is willing to spend money, it doesn't mean everyone is. The first person to speak up is more likely to cause dissatisfaction among others.
They all fell silent immediately.
“I think we can squeeze in and rent three small parasols to get closer together. Four or five people should be fine. Others can take turns using them. After all, we can’t stay together for hours without moving.”
At that moment, Junichi Sei and another boy wearing glasses also walked over.
It was Sei Junichi who spoke. As a temporary addition to the small group, he was also an 'outsider,' so it was most appropriate for him to offer suggestions without worrying about damaging the internal harmony.
Who knows, we might never see each other again.
Shiina Hitomi gave Sei Junichi a grateful look and then explained to the group, "You can do whatever you want later, whether you want to sunbathe or go diving. We'll rent three small umbrellas for four hours, which will cost about 3500 yen. If we split the cost, it'll be 3500 yen. What do you think?"
Shiina Hitomi was the unanimous leader among them, and since she had spoken up, and the cost had been reduced by half anyway, they all agreed.
"How about we just buy a big umbrella? I can cover the extra cost."
Just as everyone was about to reach an agreement, Ryohei Oshima volunteered.
Seeing this, Junichi Sei shook his head helplessly.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this guy wanted to impress the girl he liked, but he chose the wrong time.
If the other party takes the initiative to offer it from the beginning, others will feel grateful because they are willing to share more of the financial burden.
But now that everyone is willing to pay, if you then suggest a larger umbrella or offer to pay more, it's like you're indirectly implying that everyone is stingy and unwilling to spend money.
You're putting on airs and acting all generous while stepping on someone's face—who would be happy about that?
As expected, everyone's expressions became somewhat unnatural upon hearing Oshima Ryohei's words.
The most embarrassed person in this situation is naturally Ogasawara, who brought the other party out. He is so angry at this terrible teammate.
"Hey, why would a grown man like you need such a big umbrella? Men need to get some sun to be masculine. Don't worry about it, just use the small umbrella."
Ogasawara gave the other person a push, her tone slightly coquettish.
Seeing that the other party had misunderstood, Ryohei Oshima quickly tried to explain, "No, I was going to give you the Ogasawara umbrella..."
"Shut up, I'm dying of heat!"
Ogasawara, however, gave him no chance to explain and led the way towards the convenience store.
The girls looked at him like he was an idiot, glanced at him, and then followed him one by one.
"..."
Ryohei Oshima looked at his younger brother beside him, feeling annoyed: "Hikaru, what's wrong with them?"
The bespectacled boy felt a little embarrassed to say it, so he simply lowered his head and shook it.
Junichi sighed and followed after them.
After spending most of the day without earning a single point, Sei Junichi began to regret coming here.
These girls are all too innocent; it feels a bit difficult to make a move on them!
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