The poolside was packed. The scent of water vapor mixed with sunscreen floated in the air, warm and humid.
A line was queued up at the general admission entrance. A young mother stood in the middle of the line, holding her child. A bag hung from her wrist, containing a few diapers and a bottle of water. She was looking down at the child's face, not at the pool.
The VIP area was on the other side, partitioned off by a glass divider. Empty loungers were lined up there. No one was sitting on them.
On the other side of the pool, four or five foreign tourists were gathered under an umbrella. Two women were flipping through a travel guide, a man was rubbing sunscreen onto his arms, and another was adjusting a waterproof camera.
I had changed into a white bikini. She had changed into a light pink bikini.
A staff member jogged over, his face set in a practiced smile. "Little misses, this way please. We have seats reserved for you in the VIP area."
"No need." I adjusted my shoulder strap. "It's nice over here."
He paused. "But the queue on this side is much longer."
"No problem. This girl here likes the crowd."
He nodded and walked off. Tsukago glanced at me but said nothing, just sat down on the tiles by the pool's edge.
The floating interface lit up, the livestream camera automatically starting.
[chat] Are those empty seats reserved for someone
[chat] Tickets are too expensive, I guess
[chat] It's not about the ticket price
[chat] That seagull looks so carefree ✨
"This girl here is doing a belly dance today, the kind you learn from the ocean waves."
Tsukago took over the floating interface and retreated to the pool's edge. She held up the phone, the camera focused on me.
"Sister, do you think people will say we're just dancing around every day instead of doing proper work?" She tilted her head.
"You can watch if you like, scroll away if you don't. This girl here is wearing this for you.
One, this girl here isn't cheating you out of your money. Two, this girl here isn't cheating you out of your lust. Three, this girl here isn't cheating you out of your feelings.
Not interested? Stay away."
A sea breeze blew in from the pool, lifting a few strands of hair and letting them fall. Music streamed out from the interface. The drumbeats hadn't kicked in yet, only the string prelude drifting in the air.
[chat] Not cheating money, lust, or feelings, just pure eye candy ❤️
[chat] Hahaha Wifey is ruthless
[chat] Eye candy is enough 👀
[chat] Irrelevant people can get out
The music poured out with a Middle Eastern drumbeat. I closed my eyes, my body sinking into the rhythm. Tsukago slid into the frame from the side. We faced each other, arms up, hips thrusting forward, spinning, our movements synchronized.
That man's reaction, it was a hundred times more real than a clapping crowd.
From the corner of my eye, I caught movement at the edge of the crowd. Someone was standing there, not watching—stopping, walking away, then coming back. The same man, a gray T-shirt, clutching his phone. The screen showed a recruitment app's chat interface.
That young mother was in the crowd too. She was waiting for something.
I kept dancing. As my arms stretched toward the sky, Tsukago was behind me, her hands resting on my shoulders. The final beat of the drum fell, and the music stopped.
I caught my breath for the camera.
"Darlings, belly dance, got it now?" This girl here shook her head.
[chat] Learned nothing 😂
[chat] So beautiful ✨
[chat] Do it again
[chat] Wifey is too good 👏
"This girl here is danced out." I took the interface from Tsukago's hands and turned to go sit at the pool's edge. Just as I took a step, Tsukago shoved me from behind. I pitched forward.
Standing right in front of me was that man in the gray T-shirt.
My chest collided solidly with his face. The soft breasts wrapped in the white bikini top pressed against his mouth and nose, the cleavage perfectly aligned with the bridge of his nose.
His whole body went rigid. His hands instinctively flew up and hovered beside my waist, not daring to touch, not daring to let go.
My chin knocked against his shoulder, my wet hair whipping across his face.
Tsukago stood behind me, her jaw hanging open.
"Ah, your heart's beating so fast. Is it the sun? It really is a little hot by the pool." I turned my head. "She's the one who shoved this girl here."
He raised his head. His lips moved but no sound came out. After two seconds, he managed to squeeze out a sentence.
"Y-yeah, it's pretty hot."
He shoved his phone into his pocket, turned around, and walked off, his flip-flops nearly tripping him.
Tsukago walked up from behind and leaned on my shoulder, her jaw hanging open. "Sister, this girl was trying to play a joke on you."
"I'm listening." I held her hand.
"That person is under so much pressure. Getting sat on by Sister, and he didn't even react. His head was full of other things. No room to take care of himself."
I turned my head to look at her. Her eyes were still fixed on the direction that man had vanished.
"So?"
She looked up at me. "When you're being swallowed by misery, at least you're looking at pretty girls. That's better than being swallowed by pain. We made him look up, even if it was just for a few seconds."
"Calculated clearly."
"Just the right touch."
"This girl knows. The force, the timing, the angle—all just right."
She bent down and scooped the squirrel up from the ground.
I glanced back at the pool. The dance had ended, and the crowd was dispersing. That young mother appeared again, standing at the very edge of the crowd.
Her child was asleep in her arms. She was standing in a different spot than before. Earlier she'd been on the left, near the entrance. Now she was on the right, closer to the deep end.
I turned and walked out of the pool area. As I passed her, she raised her head.
The VIP chairs were empty. The general queue was still there. Empty things are more glaring than full ones.
Tsukago followed behind me, stuffing the squirrel into her light pink bag. Her footsteps were very soft.
In the corridor, the sea breeze gusted through the portholes. Tsukago pulled the squirrel out of her light pink bag and held it up before her eyes.
"Lychee, do you think that mom will come find us again?"
The squirrel didn't answer.
"This girl thinks she will. Because her button is still there. As long as the button is there, it means she hasn't found a reason to stop touching it. We need to let her know that coming to us is more useful than waiting for an interview notice."
She placed the squirrel back into her light pink bag and caught up to my steps.