Picking Up Unrequited Love Chapter 72

Pre

Chapter 72: The Swimming Pool

It was the day Eun-ha had been eagerly waiting for: the day to visit the swimming pool.

In other words, it was the day to see Eun-ha in her swimsuit. Despite trying not to, I couldn’t help but feel excited.

After all, who wouldn’t be? My beautiful girlfriend even went on a diet to show off her bikini.

With my bag packed with a swimsuit and a tube, I arrived at Eun-ha’s house, feeling joyful.

As I rang the doorbell and waited, today, it was Eunwoo Hyung, her brother, who opened the door.

“Ah, Han-gyeol is here?”

“Yes. Is Eun-ha around?”

“She’s in the middle of a final training, or whatever it’s called... Come see for yourself. It’s quite a sight.”

“Huh?”

Following Eunwoo Hyung into the living room, I saw Eun-ha busily doing sit-ups.

“Hi, Han-gyeol~”

Eun-ha and Hyun-joo Noona, greeted me cheerfully, as Hyun-joo Noona held onto Eun-ha’s calves.

“Hello. How are you, Eun-ha?”

“Han-gyeol-! Just a moment...! I’m almost done...!”

“Eun-ha, you have ten more to go!”

“That many?! Ugh...! Okay!”

Eun-ha finished her sit-ups and collapsed on the living room floor.

“Hi, Han-gyeol.”

“Hey. Aren’t you going to be too tired for the swimming pool?”

“It’s, it’s just a final one...”

At Eun-ha’s words, Hyun-joo Noona burst into laughter.

Her laughter filled the living room.

“Hey, Unnie! Don’t laugh!”

“Sorry...! It’s just too cute...! Doing sit-ups on the day you’re going to the swimming pool to show your boyfriend your bikini...! It’s just adorable. What do you think, Han-gyeol?”

“I think it’s adorably cute. You must be tired from exercising since the morning. Did you have lunch?”

“I had a salad~ Let’s rest a bit before we leave!”

Eun-ha looked up at me, beaming with joy.

“Did Han-gyeol see which swimsuit Eun-ha picked out?”

“No. Eun-ha said she would show it at the swimming pool.”

“Oho~ So Eun-ha said that? She’d reveal it at the swimming pool?”

“It has to be at the swimming pool, or else it loses its meaning!”

“You must be really looking forward to it, huh? Excited to see your girlfriend in her swimsuit?”

Hyun-joo Noona looked at me with a sly grin.

I averted my gaze slightly and mumbled.

“Of course...”

“Hahaha! Why are you two so adorable?”

“Unnie! Don’t tease Han-gyeol! Han-gyeol, let’s leave now!”

“Okay. We’ll be going then.”

“Have fun and make sure to compliment Eun-ha~”

“Will do~”

Together with Eun-ha, I left the house and headed for the bus stop.

“How are your legs, Eun-ha? Are they okay?”

“Yeah, they’re fine. They loosened up after resting a bit.”

“Still, don’t overdo it, okay? It would be bad if you got a cramp while playing in the water.”

“I’ll be sticking with Han-gyeol the whole time, so it should be fine. Oh? Here comes the bus. Let’s get on.”

Eun-ha seemed even more excited about the swimming pool today, smiling brightly as she boarded the bus.

We sat next to each other at the back of the quiet bus, holding hands.

“Are you that excited?”

“Yeah. I’ve been waiting for this day for two weeks~ I’m so thrilled. Can’t wait to splash around with Han-gyeol.”

“Alright. Let’s have a great time there.”

Upon arriving, we immediately entered the water park.

“There should be a central meeting plaza. Let’s meet up in front of there.”

“Okay. I won’t be long. See you in a bit~”

I watched Eun-ha enter the changing room, and then I went in myself.

After showering and changing into my swimsuit, I headed straight to our meeting spot.

I had thought it would be less crowded on a weekday, but there were more people than I expected. There were families and quite a few couples.

It wasn’t long before I heard Eun-ha’s voice beside me.

“Han-gyeol.”

“Ah, you’re here?”

Excited at the prospect of finally seeing Eun-ha, I quickly turned my head. The sight of her standing there, shy and hesitant, left me completely frozen.

Eun-ha was clad in a white bikini, with a sheer white beach cardigan draped over it. Her fair skin was on full display, and her damp hair added a touch of allure. She looked even more beautiful and lovely than I had imagined, leaving me speechless. All I could do was cover my agape mouth with my hand.

“How... how does it look? Say something, please.”

Eun-ha couldn’t look me straight in the eyes, seemingly embarrassed. I struggled to find words to express my feelings but managed to convey my emotions as best as I could.

“You’re really... beyond words beautiful. It suits you incredibly well. You’re just so pretty...”

“Really? It doesn’t look weird or anything?”

“No. Not at all. Absolutely not. It suits you perfectly. You’re so pretty that I can hardly look at you.”

“No, don’t... I wore it because I wanted you to see it! It’s meaningless if you don’t look.”

Eun-ha’s words were endearingly sweet. Seeing her smile happily, my heart kept fluttering.

“I’ll try. Shall we start with the lazy river?”

“Yeah, let’s go. I really want to get into the water.”

Eun-ha came to my side.

I knew it already, but Eun-ha’s skin is incredibly fair...

My eyes kept drifting to Eun-ha in her swimsuit.

Even after we entered the lazy river, I couldn’t help but keep looking at Eun-ha.

“Do you know how to swim, Han-gyeol?”

“Me? Not really. Barely manage to float. What about Eun-ha?”

“I think I learned to swim in kindergarten, but I’ve forgotten it all. Did you wait long?”

“Not really? I didn’t wait much, and you came quicker than I thought.”

“What were you doing while waiting?”

“Just looking around the pool. Why?”

“When I came earlier, I saw there were many pretty girls here... Han-gyeol.”

Eun-ha looked at me with a slightly annoyed expression.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Only look at me... okay?”

Wow - she’s just too adorable.

Hearing Eun-ha’s words, my mind went blank.

Her expression and tone were so endearing that my heart beat even faster than before.

Despite being in the pool, I felt a warmth spreading through my body, and my face flushed.

“I will... only look at Han-gyeol too.”

“Eun-ha...! If you say more, my heart might really burst.”

“That would be troublesome... I can’t live without Han-gyeol now.”

Eun-ha’s continuous words made my head spin.

So this is what it feels like to be so happy you could die.

“Eun-ha.”

“Yes?”

“I really love you. The most in the world. I’ll love you until I die.”

“I love you too. So, so much.”

“I’m burning up. I need to cool my face.”

“Your face is really red right now, Han-gyeol.”

“It’s all because of Eun-ha.”

“Is it? I didn’t know~”

Eun-ha and I giggled as we made our way around the lazy river.

“Han-gyeol, let’s go on the water slide. The one for two people over there. It’s not too crowded.”

“Yeah. Let’s try everything here.”

“We have to ride everything we can together~”

“Right. I want to ride everything with Eun-ha too.”

There weren’t many people waiting, so our turn came quicker than expected.

“Han-gyeol, I’ll sit in front.”

“Okay. I’ll be right behind you.”

Eun-ha climbed onto the tube first, and I followed. But as soon as I saw Eun-ha’s pale back, I quickly looked up at the ceiling. It was just too much...

“Here we go~”

As the staff member pushed the tube, we were sucked into the slide.

Eun-ha screamed with excitement as we zoomed down the dark tunnel of the water slide.

“Ahahaha-! It’s so fast-!”

After the thrilling ride, Eun-ha took off her cap and fixed her hair.

“Ugh, my hair is a mess.”

Watching Eun-ha tidy her bangs and re-tie her hair, I fell for her all over again. I couldn’t take my eyes off her delicate, pale neckline and shoulders.

“You’re really... beautiful. Like a goddess.”

“Really? You’re so generous with compliments today.”

Responding to my words, Eun-ha approached me with a smile.

“Your cap is crooked too, Han-gyeol. Let me fix it for you.”

As Eun-ha closed the distance between us, I instinctively raised my arms slightly. Eun-ha, seemingly unaware of the meaning behind my action, tidied up my hair and adjusted my cap for me.

“Han-gyeol, shall we go around the lazy river again?”

“Yeah. Let’s take another round and then go for hotdogs. I’m getting a bit hungry.”

“Sounds good. Come on, let’s hurry.”

Eun-ha grabbed my hand and led me straight back to the lazy river. We were floating leisurely in the flowing water when suddenly Eun-ha let out a short gasp and looked at me.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah! Han-gyeol...!”

“Yes? What is it?”

“I think I have a cramp in my leg. It hurts...!”

“Which leg? Come closer.”

As I approached Eun-ha, she placed her arm over my shoulder.

“Which leg is it? I’ll massage it for you.”

Just as I was about to massage Eun-ha’s leg, she leaned close to my ear and whispered in a very soft voice.

“It was a lie.”

Then she embraced me.

“What, what-?”

“Shh- People will think it’s a cramp, so let’s just hug for a moment.”