Under Akira's "strong insistence," Sajuna took many intimate photos as he requested, then happily looked through her phone, picking out the best ones, debating whether to set them as her wallpaper or screensaver.
"Sajuna, come see the sea!"
Akira reached out and grabbed Sajuna's left hand, which was touching her lips, and led the still-debating Sajuna a few steps towards the sea.
The distance to the sea grew shorter, and the salty scent of the ocean, accompanied by a cool breeze, reached their senses directly. Waves rolled, countless spray danced within them, then disappeared again. The seawater continuously washed the edge of the beach, leaving some small marine creatures stranded on the sand.
Akira walked slowly on the beach, leaving footprints behind him. Then he bent down and dug out a large seashell from the sand, showing it to Sajuna like a child.
"Sajuna, it's a seashell."
Sajuna reached out and took the seashell Akira handed her, looking at its shape against the sunlight, then a faint smile bloomed on her face.
"It's very pretty."
Sajuna said, then quickly ran a few steps and placed the seashell in her backpack on the beach.
"A seashell gift, I'll take it."
"Next, I also want to find a beautiful seashell for Aki-Kun."
Sajuna hummed a soft tune, her small leather shoes actively hopping on the sand, their tips stained with a bit of fine sand, making Sajuna's mood seem even more joyful.
Akira seemed to have thought of something and quickly called out to Sajuna.
"Sajuna."
Sajuna, who was looking down for seashells, raised her head in confusion and looked at Akira.
"What is it?"
Akira walked over, looked at Sajuna's small leather shoes and over-the-knee socks, which already had a lot of sand on them, and reminded her.
"Sajuna, take off your shoes and socks for now. Otherwise, if they get too much sand and water on them later, they'll be uncomfortable to wear."
Only then did Sajuna look down at her shoes and over-the-knee socks, realizing that a thin layer of sand had already stuck to them at some point, making them look as if she had fallen on the beach.
"Oh, I was having so much fun I didn't even notice."
Sajuna said with a bit of a wry smile, then, with slightly flushed cheeks, she looked up and asked Akira.
"Aki-Kun, can you help me take them off?"
Akira was momentarily stunned, thinking Sajuna was a bit too lively today, showing a side he had never seen before.
But he still seriously led Sajuna to where the backpack was, pulled out a few books from the bag, placed them on the sand, and then motioned for Sajuna to sit on them.
"I didn't bring anything to sit on, so for now, just sit on the books."
Sajuna nodded obediently, then slowly sat on the books Akira had laid out. As soon as she sat down, she felt the books sink into the sand.
Sajuna shyly cleared away the fine sand near the edges of the books, then gently adjusted her uniform skirt, making sure it wasn't disheveled, and only then did she look with tender affection at Akira, who was squatting beside her.
Akira half-squatted, one hand holding Sajuna's ankle, the other gently gripping the heel of Sajuna's small leather shoe. With a gentle pull, one shoe was removed by Akira.
He lightly tapped it twice, then made a motion as if emptying trash, ensuring no sand remained inside the leather shoe. Only then did Akira confidently place the shoe aside, and then, using the same trick, he removed the other shoe and cleaned it.
After neatly arranging the shoes together, Akira finally saw Sajuna's tender little feet, which had been encased in the small leather shoes.
Because Sajuna had been wearing her shoes while moving around, a lot of sand had gotten inside them. Now, the front of both over-the-knee socks had more or less sand on them. Under the sunlight, the over-the-knee socks on her slender legs, which were close to Akira, reflected light slightly, and the fine grains of sand made the unique clumsiness and cuteness of the young girl even more apparent.
Akira couldn't help but want to gently poke Sajuna's nose in such an atmosphere.
He thought so, and then he did exactly what he wanted to Sajuna.
Sajuna gently rubbed her nose, playfully complaining to Akira with a soft hum.
"Aki-Kun, what kind of mischief are you up to now?"
"I just think Sajuna in this situation has an indescribable cuteness."
Akira replied, seeing the pouting Sajuna subtly wiggle her legs. Her toes, hidden inside her over-the-knee socks, moved restlessly, as if they couldn't wait to see the light of day again.
"Let me out!"
Akira always felt that the playful toes seemed to be saying something like that.
So Akira responded to Sajuna's unspoken request, reaching out to grasp Sajuna's foot, still clad in its over-the-knee sock, then looked up at Sajuna beside him.
Sajuna, who had been playful moments before, suddenly became quiet, then looked at Akira's hands, which were holding her sole and ankle.
Sajuna hesitated for a moment, then said with a little embarrassment.
"Aki-Kun, that's not how you take off over-the-knee socks."
Then, seeing Akira's awkward expression, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve upwards slightly, revealing her porcelain-white teeth. Her smile then spread across her lips, her eyes filled with a faint, sweet smile, carrying a hint of happiness and anticipation.
"I knew Aki-Kun likes to do these naughty things."
Sajuna suddenly said, then straightened her long legs, tensing her feet, and her toes wiggled, playfully messing around in Akira's hands.
She liked making her little movements freely under Aki-Kun's control, no matter what, it seemed to satisfy Aki-Kun's preferences.
But she just liked Aki-Kun like this.
Akira also felt a bit awkward looking at the lively Sajuna; his thoughts had been seen through by her.
Then he pretended not to have any naughty intentions, gently brushed the tiny grains of sand off Sajuna's socks, and let Sajuna's lively toes perform their "prison break" in his palms.
"The front is clean now."
Akira looked up and said, "This way, it will be easier to deal with the fine sand when you take them off later."
Looking at Akira's serious expression, Sajuna suddenly felt that she had been a bit unreasonable earlier, but they were clearly having so much fun together.
Aki-Kun wouldn't mind such things.
Sajuna suddenly wanted to hug her legs, hiding her face between her knees, looking at Aki-Kun in front of her with a blush, but because she needed Aki-Kun to help her take off her socks, she had to keep her legs straight.
Looking at Akira's serious expression, Sajuna suddenly remembered her own behavior since arriving at the beach today.
Aki-Kun must really like this lively Sajuna!