Beach event

“Hey, we’ve arrived,” Eloy whispered, softly elbowing Genta who had spent the two-and-a-half-hour bus ride sleeping. Genta’s head eventually ended up leaning on Eloy’s shoulder, but the thought of moving him from that position didn’t even cross Eloy’s mind.

“Geez, you really sleep soundly,” Ren said with an impressed tone from the seat in front of them, while Genta finally opened his eyes, still looking drowsy.

“Yes, you haven’t even reacted during the improvised singing game,” Ayaka said with a smile. “But don’t worry: I have recorded Eloy as he uselessly tried to hide when it was his turn to complete the song verse.”

“Hey, I managed to do it in time with the music, but asking me to be in tune was too much,” Eloy protested, making Ayaka chuckle. He turned towards Genta, who was finally awake. "So? Are you back among the living?"

“Shit, I didn’t expect to sleep through the whole trip.”

“Well, you were lucky to have Eloy acting as an improvised pillow,” Ren playfully said, showing Genta the picture he had taken of them, with Eloy showing a patient smile while doing the victory sign.

“What the–” Genta suddenly looked at Eloy in alarm. “Please, tell me I haven’t drooled on you.”

Genta’s overly concerned tone made it impossible for Eloy not to tease him. “Just a bit. But don’t worry, I have tissues, so it wasn’t that bad–ouch!”

“Jerk,” Genta snapped after jabbing Eloy, but the smile on his face was as big as Eloy’s. He was really glad to have been able to clear the air between them the past Tuesday, and that things were back to normal between them. He really owed Hiromi for that.

The bus stopped completely and the thirty remaining contestants exited from it. Eloy wasn’t a big fan of going to the beach, but he had to admit that Atami Sun Beach was very beautiful. Additionally, that Saturday the area had been reserved for the contest’s use only, transforming the normally crowded beach into a private one. A small stage had also been installed, and the judges were already present, accompanied by several cameramen ready to record as much as possible.

“Welcome everyone!” King greeted them with a wide smirk. Unlike Shiratori and Mr. Shin, who were wearing thin clothes over their respective swimsuits, King was in full beach mode, leaving his - rather built - upper body on full display. Surprisingly, Pink Candy wasn’t with them. “Today we’re going to do things a bit differently. First, I'll announce the third challenge, and then we'll continue with the event.”

“Do you still have those tissues?” Genta suddenly whispered to Eloy while King proceeded to climb the stage.

“Yes, why? Do you need one?”

“Yeah.” Eloy handed one to Genta, and frowned with confusion when Genta sustained it under his chin. “Here. You’re the one drooling now while staring at King’s abs.”

The comment caught Eloy so off guard that he blushed before hurriedly lowering Genta’s hand, causing this one to snicker.

“Idiot,” he snapped while adjusting his glasses, but he was fighting the urge to chuckle together with Genta because perhaps he had been staring a little.

“So, at this point of the contest, we can affirm that all of you are incredibly talented people,” King was saying from the stage, microphone in hand. “You’ve all managed to beat Candy and Mai’s challenges, which, let me tell you, weren't easy, and you’ve given us some memorable performances. However, there’s something that I’ve noticed in this contest, which is that compared to previous seasons, the dancing performances are clearly lacking. And that’s an absolute pity.”

“Oh no,” Eloy said unconsciously, already deducing what the former idol was going to say before this one showed a mischievous smirk.

“For that reason, on July 29th, every pair will have to impress us with a dancing performance. You can pick whatever song you like, invent a choreography on your own or copy one that already exists, it doesn’t matter. The only rule is that all of you, without exception, will have to dance.” Eloy would share that King was looking straight at him before continuing talking with him. “I hope you are ready. Because this time, an incredible voice or a talent to play an instrument won’t be enough to pass this challenge.”

“Well, this is it,” Eloy heard Ryo say with a defeated tone next to them. “This is as far as we go.”

“Wow, isn’t it a little too soon to give up?” Ren reproached his partner. “I mean, at least they have let us choose. That's something.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good thing, actually,” Ayaka commented in a pensive way.

“It’s not,” Kota confirmed with a matter of fact tone, his attention still on his phone. “They’re going to be stricter precisely because they have given us freedom, not to mention the added complication of choosing a proper song.”

“Yeah, it cannot be too simple, because that would mean we’re taking the easy route, but if we pick something too complicated and we screw up, it means that we were over our heads.” Genta snorted. “Shit, I think this challenge may be more complicated than the first.”

Eloy exhaled a nervous chuckle. “Well, since I was born with two left feet, I completely agree.”

Genta smiled reassuringly before patting his back. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out, as usual.”

Eloy nodded, feeling instantly better when seeing Genta look so confident.

“And now, one last thing before letting you enjoy the day at the beach,” King continued. “If you walk around, you’ll see that our efficient staff have prepared a bunch of group activities for the day. And while participating in those activities is not mandatory, I strongly recommend doing it. After all, it will not just allow you all to bond, but the pair that manages to win more activities will obtain an important advantage in the third challenge. Have fun, everyone!”

“Okay, I think the best strategy here is to separate the pairs,” Ren rapidly said while other contestants practically started to run towards the activities area. “That way we will cover more of them.”

After a bit of discussion, it was decided that Genta and Ryo had to be in separate teams, in order to compensate for the activities that could require physical strength. Also, since both Kota and Eloy played the piano, they would also be in different teams, which eventually left Eloy with Ayaka and Ryo in one group, and Genta with Ren and Kota in the other.

“It’s settled then! I’m so excited for this,” Ayaka said happily while clapping her hands, in contrast with Ryo who didn’t seem excessively motivated with the day prospect.

“Get going without us,” Eloy said, rapidly enclosing an arm around Genta’s neck before this one could escape. “We’ll go in a bit.”

“Wait, going where?” Genta rolled his eyes when realizing that Eloy was dragging him towards the bathrooms. “Come on, you gotta be kidding me…”

“Nope, your mother asked me to make sure that you used sunscreen, and that’s what I’m doing.”

By then they were inside the bathroom, and since it was empty, they didn’t bother entering one of the stalls.

“Eloy, it’s not necessary. I never get sunburn–”

Eloy extracted the sunscreen spray from his bag and pointed it at Genta before adopting a threatening tone. “Take your t-shirt off now, Genta Ishikawa. I’m not going to say it twice.”

Genta snorted in defeat. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

‘I am,’ Eloy couldn’t help to think as Genta crossed his arms in front of his chest and removed the t-shirt in a fluid motion. He really had to push some thoughts away. And also when he finally sprayed some sunscreen on Genta’s shoulders and started to spread it through the taut back muscles.

“Hey, you may think that the sun isn’t affecting you, but it is. So you have to be careful with it.”

“Yes, daddy.” Eloy stopped in his tracks with a dumbfounded expression while Genta brusquely turned his head with his eyes open wide. “Oi, I said it because you were sounding like an overprotective father, not because–”

“I mean, maybe we are close enough to start with pet names, but calling me that may be a little too much.”

Genta cursed and snapped a hand against Eloy’s mouth before laughing with embarrassment, causing Eloy to chuckle as well.

A couple of minutes later, Genta was properly protected, so they exited the bathroom in a hurry, as the others had texted them saying that the activities were already starting. As a result, Genta accidentally bumped into a woman who was exiting from the women's bathroom, causing her to almost fall.

“I'm sorry, I didn’t see you–”

Both Genta and Eloy’s eyes opened wide while staring at the woman, and then they spoke at the same time:

“Ms. Candy?”