"Uh... beautiful?" Kurosawa Hoshino was confused. Shouldn't he be handsome? How did he become beautiful?
But seeing the two women's suppressed laughter, his heart skipped a beat. He suddenly stood up and hurried to the store's full-length mirror.
The female shop assistants and customers all brightened at the sight of him, then burst into smiles.
Kurosawa Hoshino reached the mirror, looked at his reflection, and gasped.
"Hiss~"
How to describe it? Stunningly beautiful. The only "flaws" were the long hair, the curvaceous figure, and the fact that his men's clothes had been styled into women's wear.
In the mirror, his face was jade-white, so delicate no pores were visible, with a realistic, soft pink flush on his cheeks.
Especially his eyebrows—they flowed naturally from his brow bone, ending perfectly at the tails, and his eyelashes were thick and long, each one curling into a perfect little fan.
As for the nose, lips, and other features below, under Vermouth's masterful touch, they were all flawlessly rendered, forming this breathtakingly beautiful face.
"..."
Brows furrowed handsomely, Kurosawa Hoshino turned and strode back to the three women—or rather, to Vermouth—and said angrily, "That's too much! You actually made me up to look like a woman! Take this makeup off right now!"
As soon as he finished, Ran and Sonoko's faces flushed, their eyes fixed on him.
Ran said shyly, "Hoshino, could you say that again? It's so cute. I really want to take a picture."
"Yeah, my heart is pounding so fast." Sonoko wore a lovestruck expression.
"Hehe." Vermouth smiled. "See? They like it. Are you sure you want it removed?"
Kurosawa Hoshino sat back in the chair, arms crossed, not saying a word, just staring intently at her.
"Sigh, alright." Vermouth's tone held a hint of regret as she began carefully removing Kurosawa Hoshino's makeup, asking the two women beside her, "Ran, Sonoko, how much did you learn?"
"I picked up a little, but I feel it's enough to last me a lifetime," Sonoko replied playfully.
"I only learned a little too," Ran said somewhat embarrassedly, feeling she'd been foolish and wasted the time.
Vermouth nodded. "That's already good. Any progress is worthwhile."
Kurosawa Hoshino said irritably, "Miss Chris, please hurry up."
"Little Brother Hoshino, don't rush. It'll be over soon."
"Little brother?" Kurosawa Hoshino was taken aback, his eyes darting. He deliberately brought up a topic women cared most about: "Miss Chris, are you very old? How can you call me 'little brother' without any awkwardness?"
"Hehe." Vermouth laughed. On the back of her fair hand, which was removing the makeup, a vein throbbed—much like someone clenching a fist in extreme anger.
"Little brother, I'll forgive you this time. But don't say that again." Her tone was gentle, but the hand on Kurosawa Hoshino's cheek was already pinching, ready to tighten at any moment.
Hmph, a threat. Kurosawa Hoshino thought to himself but said politely, "Miss Chris, don't be angry. I was just joking."
"I'm not angry. Not angry at all."
It was afternoon. The sun blazed.
The four of them went to play at the beach in the seaside park. After all, on such a hot day, the beach was the most comfortable place.
"Haha, so refreshing!" Sonoko ran into the sea, kicking at the water, her laughter echoing.
"Strange, why are there so few people?" Kurosawa Hoshino looked both ways down the beach. Fewer than ten people were in sight.
"Hoshino, look over here!"
"What?" Caught off guard, Kurosawa Hoshino turned his head and was immediately splashed in the face with a handful of seawater.
Kurosawa Hoshino: "..."
Sonoko laughed heartily, triumphantly pulling her hand from the water. "How about that? Fell for it?"
Kurosawa Hoshino wiped the water from his forehead and face, saying casually, "Sonoko, you started this."
Suddenly bending down, Kurosawa Hoshino cupped his hands, scooped seawater, and splashed it toward Sonoko.
Since Ran was standing right beside Sonoko, she was caught in the crossfire.
And so, a chaotic water fight broke out.
For a moment, the air was filled with the trio's laughter.
Vermouth stood not far away, arms crossed, watching them play. She murmured softly, "How wonderful, so carefree... ugh... ptui~"
Spitting out a mouthful of seawater, Vermouth wiped her face, never expecting to be attacked.
The culprit was none other than Kurosawa Hoshino, who had called her old.
"Miss Chris, sorry! It wasn't intentional." Kurosawa Hoshino shrugged. It really wasn't. He'd only meant to splash Ran, but Ran dodged easily, and the splash hit Vermouth instead, making her swallow a mouthful of seawater.
"Hoo..." Vermouth took a deep breath, feeling she couldn't let this slide. She slowly moved forward, dipping her fair feet into the cool water.
Just as she was about to bend down to scoop water, she paused slightly, straightened up, turned, and walked toward the shore path, tossing out a sentence: "You guys play. I just remembered something. I'm going to make a call and watch your things by the roadside."
"Hmm?" Kurosawa Hoshino looked at her suspiciously, but in that moment of distraction, he was attacked by the two women, getting thoroughly drenched.
Now, he temporarily set aside other thoughts and focused on splashing back.
Unfortunately, two fists were no match for four hands.
In no time, his T-shirt was completely soaked.
"I surrender! I surrender! Ladies, have mercy!"
"Haha! Say 'Lady Sonoko,' or I won't let you off!"
"That's right! And 'Lady Ran' too!"
"Alright, alright! Lady Ran, Lady Sonoko, I surrender!" Kurosawa Hoshino raised his hands high, spitting out a small mouthful of seawater.
The comical scene made the two women laugh.
"You guys play. I'm going to rest for a bit." Kurosawa Hoshino went ashore, took off his T-shirt, wrung out most of the seawater, and without putting it back on, draped it over his shoulder as he walked toward Vermouth.
Vermouth had said she was making a call, but she was just watching them from the roadside without phoning anyone—a bit strange.
"Miss Chris, what's wrong?" Kurosawa Hoshino sat down beside her, took the bottle of water next to Ran and Sonoko's bags, opened it, and took a big gulp.
"Nothing." Vermouth shook her head slightly.
"Really?" Kurosawa Hoshino took off his T-shirt, spread it out, and shook it. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the woman was wearing a high-heeled sandal on her right foot but not on her left, which was just tiptoeing in the sand.
Remembering her earlier odd behavior, he asked uncertainly, "Miss Chris, did you step on something and hurt your foot?"
Vermouth turned her head. Her aqua-green eyes behind the sunglasses met his gaze as she calmly said, "It's nothing. Just a minor injury."
"Pfft~" Kurosawa Hoshino admitted laughing out loud was a bit unkind, but he really couldn't help it.
The infamous Thousand-Faced Witch of the Black Organization, the woman who gave countless forces headaches, had actually gotten injured while playing at the beach.
"Hmm?" Vermouth didn't understand what he was laughing at, but she had a feeling it wasn't anything good. Her eyes sharpened.