Idle days - Nao's Summer (Side Story - Reincarnated as a Beautiful Girl and Aim to Become a Top Actress!)

“So hot...”

Nao muttered the words as soon as she stepped outside, overwhelmed by the blazing sunlight. According to the forecast, today’s high would hit around 33 degrees Celsius.

As a member of the volleyball club, Nao couldn’t help but wish the temperature would drop just a little.

The school gym was shared between different clubs at scheduled times, and the worst was when they had to share with the badminton team. Because the shuttlecock is so sensitive to wind, they wouldn’t let anyone open the windows.

Nao understood their reasons, but still wished they’d find somewhere else to practice instead of sharing the gym. Their coach also told them not to drink too much water since it would tire them out more, but sometimes it felt like a real health risk—no joke.

After making it through the scorching walk to school, Nao picked up the gym key from the staff room and headed to the gymnasium. Though there were other first-years in the club, she always tried to arrive first to set up the court—balls, nets, and all—and do warm-ups before practice started. She’d gotten into the habit of being the first to arrive not long after joining the team.

Some of her fellow first-years had gently asked her not to come so early, since it made them look bad by comparison. Nao didn’t think they were slacking off at all, but she knew people whispered that she was trying to curry favor with the upperclassmen or act like a goody two-shoes. None of that mattered to her. If you wanted to get better, you had to practice more. That was all.

After all, Nao had someone in her life who embodied what it meant to push yourself—Sumire, who was living away from her family in Tokyo and working hard every day. Nao still relied on her mom for meals, laundry, and most things at home. She helped out with chores on off-days, sure, but it was more like a child lending a hand. Unlike Sumire, Nao wasn’t responsible for every aspect of her life. For a middle school first-year, Nao had a surprisingly disciplined mindset.

Still, even those minor chores were off-limits now. After bombing her finals—despite doing well in her midterms—her parents had laid down the law. She was now banned from helping around the house and was enrolled in an intensive summer tutoring course after club activities.

Being mentally alert for cram school lessons right after exhausting physical training was a challenge, but she was managing thanks to having her best friend Fumika there with her. They were in the same class and spent a lot of time together, though that had changed a bit since they’d joined different clubs. Especially with Nao joining the notoriously tough volleyball team, there was no way for book-loving Fumika to be in the same one.

But Fumika seemed happy in the literature club—it suited her. Nao, on the other hand, felt she hadn’t changed much since elementary school, other than getting taller. Fumika, meanwhile, was growing more and more beautiful, and it made Nao grit her teeth seeing shady upperclassmen starting to hang around her.

“I promised Su-chan I’d look out for Fumika too...” she sighed, pushing a mop across the gym floor. She thought about the third-year boy who kept stopping by the first-year classrooms recently. He wasn’t exactly ugly, but Nao didn’t like how he would interrupt conversations without a care.

When practice started with all the members present, they warmed up with running and strength training before finally moving on to ball drills. At first, Nao’s arms would bruise from every receive, but now her skin must’ve toughened—or maybe the tan just covered the marks. Either way, for a girl in the middle of puberty, either explanation was fine with her.

After the intense workout, the team collapsed into the shade outside the gym. The heat was still brutal, but compared to the sweltering gym, the breeze felt almost cool. As Nao let out a sigh, a third-year senior approached.

“Tired? You tend to push yourself a little too hard, Nao. Make sure you don’t overdo it,” she said kindly.

The senior was the team’s ace spiker, admired for both her skill and her leadership, and Nao respected her deeply. She felt genuinely happy to be cared for and gave a sincere, “Thank you.”

Nao then wondered if this senior knew anything about the delinquent bothering Fumika. She’d asked another senior before, but they hadn’t wanted to talk much. Word was that he’d gotten into fights with thugs from other schools and was generally avoided by even his own grade—especially since he was a third-year with exams coming up, and any trouble could hurt his record.

“Um, senpai... can I ask you something?”

Nao asked cautiously. Her senior nodded without hesitation. When Nao described the guy, the senior grimaced and muttered, “Ah, you mean Yamamoto.”

When Nao explained that he’d been bothering her best friend lately, the senior openly scowled.

“Your best friend... is she the one with the braids?”

Nao and Fumika usually walked home together on literature club days, so the seniors knew her by face. A petite and cute first-year like her would certainly draw unwanted attention. The senior clicked her tongue in disgust.

“The delinquents at our school might get into fights, but they don’t usually harass girls. Still, if anything happens, go to the captain of the boys’ volleyball team. I’ll talk to him. He’s got good connections with other clubs too.”

Nao nodded, grateful but still unsure whether someone—even with a warning—would want to get involved with a known delinquent.

Sensing her hesitation, the senior leaned in and whispered:

“He and I have been friends since kindergarten. We’ve known each other forever, and we’ve helped each other out a lot. If I ask him, he won’t say no. Trust me—he’s dependable.”

Nao thought back to how the two interacted during practice. She never would’ve guessed they were childhood friends. Maybe they were deliberately hiding it?

Whatever the reason, Nao decided to respect their choice. Just then, the call came to resume practice, and she and her senior headed back into the gym together.

---

The second half of practice was as tough as ever. Exhausted, Nao dragged herself home and took a cold shower to cool off. She would’ve loved to collapse into bed, but she had to head to Fumika’s house so they could go to cram school together.

After a short break and some water, she grabbed her cram school bag and made her way to Fumika’s. Fumika answered the door in a light blue summer dress, and her mom saw them off as they left.

Walking toward the station under the deep orange of the sunset, they chatted about their day. Nao made sure to pass along what her senior had said about Yamamoto.

Fumika blinked in surprise, then chuckled softly.

“You’re worrying too much. I don’t think he’s the type to lash out violently for no reason.”

“You don’t know that!” Nao puffed out her cheeks. “My mom says delinquents can lose it and do who-knows-what when they get angry.”

Nao’s mom, though now a respectable housewife, had a rough past, so her words carried weight. Fumika’s expression turned a bit more serious.

“You might be right... if it’s not just him but other delinquents who get involved. Thanks, Nao. If anything happens, I’ll count on you.”

“You could’ve just said that from the beginning,” Nao pouted, cheeks puffed like a squirrel.

Fumika giggled and poked her friend’s cheek with a finger, making Nao squeak out a silly “Pffyooh” sound. That did it—both girls burst into laughter, their earlier tension gone, the easy air between them fully restored.

“Hey, did you catch Su-chan’s drama today? It was so—”

“Ahh! Don’t spoil it! I haven’t seen it yet—I had practice!”

Their mutual obsession, of course, was Sumire, their childhood friend and rising star. Since summer started, Sumire had been starring in a daily lunchtime drama series. She’d run into all kinds of trouble since moving to Tokyo, and from what little she shared, this role had been no exception.

Sumire didn’t talk about the details much, but she’d definitely been venting about how hard it was. Compared to her, the troubles of Nao and Fumika felt tame—though still very real.

“Someday, I want Su-chan to act in a story I wrote.”

Fumika had started writing fiction since joining the literature club. She loved reading, but writing was a different beast, and she was constantly revising her work based on feedback from her seniors. Nao had read one of her stories—it seemed great already, so she didn’t see what needed fixing.

When Sumire had left for Tokyo, the two of them had promised to chase after her in their own ways. For Fumika, that meant writing. For Nao, it meant joining an athletic club—something she did on her mom’s advice, who said “whatever you do, you’ll need stamina.” She chose volleyball because the spike in the demo was just so cool.

(T/N: The side stories about Fumika and Nao are so cute <3 There's 6 more chapters before this goes on a monthly update, but stay tuned for other novels!)