Dumped by One, Chased by Another? My Ex's Sister Is a Gal and She's Coming for Me - Episode 46

“Whoa, this is my first time seeing a sand court!”

“Same here…”

Truthfully, I hadn’t planned on doing anything like this today.

A sand court is, to put it simply, a giant sandbox.

Not for building sandcastles, though—this is a place meant for sports and other physical activities on sand.

Haruki and I stood in front of a sign listing all the activities available at the sand park.

“Oh wow, they even have beach flags!”

“Yeah, but we didn’t bring a change of clothes…”

Anything that would get our clothes seriously dirty felt like too much trouble.

“Well then, how about that one?”

Haruki pointed toward a net and a rectangular court.

“Ah, badminton, huh?”

“We probably won’t get dirty except for our feet, right?”

“Good point.”

Rackets and shuttlecocks were available for rent, and we didn’t need shoes on the sand.

I watched absentmindedly as Haruki eagerly pulled off her shoes and socks, then rolled up her pants.

Her slender feet, smooth ankles, and lean calves were suddenly revealed.

“Hmm? What’s up, mister? You’re staring.”

When I came to, Haruki was grinning at me.

“N-no, I wasn’t…”

I couldn’t exactly admit I had been captivated.

“Aww, no need to hide it. You were totally admiring my legs, weren’t you? You’re such a guy.”

“I’m sorry…”

My face flushed red.

“You know, I don’t mind if you look all you want.”

It was my first time playing badminton on sand. Actually, I hadn’t played badminton at all since PE class.

“Alrighty then, let’s get started!”

“Are we doing penalties again?”

“N-no way! Not this time! You’re so mean…”

The way she turned her face away, cheeks blazing—it was unbelievably cute.

“A-anyway, let’s just play already!”

Still blushing, Haruki swung her racket.

“Oops—”

I quickly hit the shuttlecock back.

It’s not just badminton—generally speaking, sports tend to favor guys because of differences in physique and strength.

“Aw man, missed that one!”

“Haha, that one just happened to land in a lucky spot.”

Neither of us wanted to get our clothes dirty, so we were both holding back quite a bit.

“Alright, I got a point!”

“Not bad!”

My physical advantage and Haruki’s athleticism seemed to balance out pretty evenly. The match was surprisingly close.

Before we knew it, the score was 9–10.

If Haruki scored the next point, she’d win.

…Now that I think about it, we’ve been playing with a “first to lead by 2 wins” rule, but… is that even a real rule?

“Here I go! Taah!”

With a voice that sounded more cute than competitive, Haruki served the shuttle.

I managed to return it, but the shot was weak.

There was just no helping it.

The sandy footing, the fact that I hadn’t played in forever—and more than anything, my opponent.

Haruki, with her golden hair swaying, swinging her racket with such joy, looked like something out of a painting.

Maybe it was her natural athletic grace, but her form was beautiful—so much so that I kept getting distracted and missing shots.

“Take this!”

Haruki smashed the shuttle.

It dropped behind me with a soft plop.

“Yes! Victory for me!”

“Ahh, I lost…”

I slumped my shoulders.

Can’t believe I lost… like, actually lost.

Wow, is my coordination really that bad?

“Wanna go another round?”

“No, I’m good… That was enough.”

First bouldering, now this—everything today has been completely new to me.

“Didn’t you play around here last time you came?”

As I wiped the sand off my feet with a wet wipe, I handed one to Haruki.

I’d brought them to clean myself off, but I never expected them to come in handy like this.

“Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

Haruki glanced over at me as she put her shoes back on.

What is she going to ask?

“What kind of dates did you go on… with her?”

“Ah.”

It was immediately clear she meant Fuyumi.

At that moment, I finally understood Haruki’s intention.

She wanted to take everything away from Fuyumi.

She was dead serious about it.

And the truth is… I wanted that too.

“Back then… I think it was mostly shopping and walking around.”

We’d browsed a bunch of places, bought little trinkets…

Those memories are still vivid inside me.

But now, I can say this for sure—

“Haruki-chan, right now—”

“…Yeah?”

“Today feels like the most fun I’ve ever had in my life. So please… don’t look so anxious.”

On impulse, I gently patted her hair.

“Eep!”

“Sorry… but I just felt like it was the right thing to do.”

“…Geez.”

Haruki smiled, as if to say, You really are hopeless.