“......”

After a pause, Veilach slipped his legs into the swimsuit and pulled it all the way up to his chest.

The swimsuit was a cute one-piece style, with frills spreading out neatly at the waist.

Any other sturdy male hamster might have objected to wearing such an unmanly swimsuit—

But since Veilach had little interest in its design, he silently finished putting it on.

While he tied the strings around his neck to keep the swimsuit from slipping, Mephisto and Woojoo waited nervously for his answer.

Veilach completed the look by sliding a tiny tube around his waist, his plump belly filling it snugly.

“Myu.” (To be honest...)

He stared at the two of them.

One was a bird, the other a child...

Veilach swallowed a sigh that wanted to burst out.

In every way, these two were hopelessly lacking as candidates for their master’s husband.

“Myu-myu.” (Neither of you. Come back when you’re a lot more grown up, brats.)

Veilach shook his head with a sour face.

Dududududu!

And then, to escape from the nuisances that would surely keep pestering him, he bolted out of the locker room like a shot.

“Wait! What did you just say!”

“Piiiit!” (Don’t make me laugh!)

“Kkyuu!” (W-we gotta go too!)

***

“Cuuute~”

Click! Click! Click!

After changing, Nayeon stepped into the pool area and immediately began snapping pictures of Guru with her phone.

Guru, her hair tied into twin buns like dumplings, struck familiar poses.

Beside her, a Maltese in a one-piece swimsuit lounged on a sunbed, resting its chin on its front paws.

Then Mephisto, trailing after Veilach and Woojoo, fluttered up and landed on Guru’s head.

“Pipit-pipit.”

Wearing a triangle swimsuit pulled all the way up under his chest, Mephisto puffed himself up to show off to Guru.

“...?”

But something felt wrong.

He glanced around at Guru’s followers.

“...!”

Yurian, Veilach, Lukshifer. All of them were wearing cute one-piece swimsuits.

So that was it—he alone was in briefs.

“Piii...”

Mephisto blushed and covered his chest with both wings.

Yurian and Veilach wrinkled their faces in distaste.

“Yip.” (You were naked before anyway.)

“Myu.” (Why cover up now?)

The two spoke at once, met each other’s gaze for a second, then jerked their heads away.

Meanwhile, oblivious to Mephisto’s embarrassment atop her head, Guru strapped on her chick floatie and toddled toward the kids’ pool.

A thick glass wall separated the children’s pool from the adult pool, where Raid Team 1 and the filming crew were recording.

As Nayeon carefully lifted Guru into the water, Guru fixed her sharp eyes on the other side.

Kang Je-i and Gu Hwiyeon had already given her a checklist of points to watch for in deciding who was number one.

First was the physical category.

Both Gidan and Serhi, wearing uniform shirts over their swimsuits, showed off well-trained muscles from constant training.

'As expected of Hyeonak’s top candidates.'

Floating round and round on her tube, Guru ticked the “Physical” category on her tablet.

[Physical: Gidan S / Serhi S]

Then she secretly snapped a picture of Serhi and sent it to Kang Je-i.

Kang Je-i

OK

5 yogurts

Strawberry flavor

Kang Je-i

OKOK stwobewwy

And thus, the shady yogurt deal for five strawberry cups was sealed.

Heheheh. Guru grinned like a villain.

Woojoo, too, studied the two intently for a while, then marked something on his tablet.

Guru scooted over with a splash.

“Woojoo, what scowe you give?”

“Oh? Well... I can’t say. For fairness.”

“Tchii.”

Guru pouted.

But after hesitating, Woojoo tilted his tablet just enough for her to peek.

“Don’t tell anyone. Shh.”

“Mm, got it.”

Giggling together as they shared notes, they drew Mephisto’s glare. His cheeks puffed up round with frustration.

He couldn’t lose to Seo Woojoo like this.

Meanwhile, as Guru floated idly, Veilach, Lukshifer, and Yurian drifted across the water too.

Nayeon snapped photos enthusiastically at their cuteness.

“Piiiiit!”

From atop the kids’ diving board, Mephisto spread his wings and cried.

“Ung? Mepi?”

Dududududu!!

Leap!!!

With all eyes on him, Mephisto ran down the diving board, wings stretched overhead, and launched himself at the end.

He tucked into a ball, spun midair, and tried to dive stylishly like an Angry Bird—

But just then, Veilach burst up from the water nearby, colliding with Mephisto in midair.

Fwoosh!

Mephi’s beak stabbed into Veilach’s tube, and air hissed out.

Fsshhhhhh!

As the tube shrank, both Veilach and Mephisto began to sink.

“Myu, myuuut!”

“Piiiiit!”

The ugly hamster and fat bird plunged into the water, and Woojoo scrambled, cutting through the pool.

At last, his small hands pulled both creatures out.

Guru, rushing up in alarm, clutched her chest in relief at the sight of Veilach and Mephisto in Woojoo’s hands.

“Mepi, you gotta pway nice!! It’s dangewous!”

Pfft! Scolded by Guru, Mephisto’s beak trembled.

Regardless, Guru bundled the teary-eyed Mephisto and the dazed Veilach into one towel, rubbing them dry.

Their fur stuck up in spiky tufts.

Veilach’s eyes spun dizzy as he sat on the towel, and Mephisto, slumped with drooping shoulders, wore a gloomy face.

All he’d wanted was to show Guru something cool.

'I got scowded...'

Tears rolled down his cheeks, dripping into the pool.

Lukshifer, watching sympathetically, bounded off somewhere.

Veilach clicked his tongue, thinking he was off to do something pointless again.

Meanwhile Guru whipped her ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) head toward the adult pool.

If she left things alone, they’d only keep causing trouble. She had to finish the check quickly and get out.

'Next category: Conduct!'

She had to see how diligently they worked.

Peeking through the glass into the adult pool, Guru entered cautiously.

Gasps rose around her.

“Isn’t that Guru?”

“So cute!”

“What’s going on?”

Raid Team 1 and the crew welcomed her, and Gidan and Serhi, who had been splashing each other, approached.

“Guru-guru!”

“Here to play? The kids’ pool’s over there.”

“Guru can just play here with us.”

When Gidan asked the crew if it was okay, the cameraman gave a thumbs up.

The staff pinned a sponsor logo onto Guru, saying she should join the shoot too, just as Woojoo peeked in.

“Oh!”

“Seo Woojoo?”

“They said Guru had a friend—so Woojoo’s here too!”

“Woojoo, I’m your fan!”

“Hello.”

Bowing politely, Woojoo stood beside Guru. Hearts seemed to shoot from the crew’s eyes.

“We’ll film while Team 1 plays with our babies.”

The team leader grinned ear to ear and pulled Woojoo closer.

“Sure, that’s fine.”

Woojoo nodded and followed after Guru.

As the filming crew bustled about, Woojoo quietly glanced around, then subtly edited something on his tablet.

“...?”

Suspicious behavior.

Mephisto caught it instantly, narrowing his eyes.