NOVPUBLeiza stiffened. "I—I don't!" she shot back, a little too quickly.
Rina smirked. "Really?"
"I just don't want him getting distracted," Leiza insisted, folding her arms. "He's my bodyguard, and if he's busy messing around with some girl, it could interfere with his job."
Rina chuckled and patted Leiza's shoulder. "Relax, princess. I won't get in his way."
With a playful wink, she jogged off toward the volleyball court, where Azzy was waiting.
Leiza stood there for a moment, feeling an uncomfortable weight settle in her chest as she watched Rina easily slip into conversation with him.
With a quiet sigh, she followed after them, shaking off whatever strange feeling had crept into her mind.
*
The game carried on with an intense energy. Azzy stepped in for Ciesta, and Rina took Wendy's place. From the moment he entered the game, it was clear he was on a completely different level.
Azzy didn't know beach volleyball—not the rules, not the proper serving techniques—but that didn't matter. What he did know was how to read movement, how to react with precision, and how to strike with power.
His jumps were impossibly high, and each time he spiked the ball, it landed perfectly in an empty spot within the boundaries, leaving the opposing team scrambling helplessly. He couldn't serve, but he could receive and attack, and that alone was enough to dominate the game.
Leiza, watching from her side, felt her earlier discomfort slowly fade away. She was caught up in the excitement, cheering every time Azzy scored. It was thrilling to watch him move, to see her team winning so effortlessly.
But not everyone felt the same.
Zack's jaw clenched as he watched Azzy steal the spotlight. With every powerful spike, with every effortless point, the knot of frustration in his chest tightened.
Then, a mistake. Zack, attempting to return a difficult shot, hit the ball too far to the side. It rolled across the sand, stopping near the massive sandcastle Azzy had built earlier.
He jogged over to retrieve it, but as he bent down, an idea crossed his mind.
Turning back toward the group, he pretended to aim a throw in their direction. But instead of a normal pass, he hurled the ball with unnecessary force—right at the sandcastle.
The impact sent a portion of the structure crumbling down, a whole side of the grand castle collapsing into a heap of broken towers and fallen walls.
The group went silent. All eyes flickered to Azzy.
Zack immediately put on a look of fake shock. "Oh—oops," he said, widening his eyes as if he had just realized what he had done. "I didn't mean to throw it that hard…"
Before anyone else could react, Rina stormed up to him, fury flashing in her eyes. "Zack! What the hell is wrong with you?!" she snapped. "That was an amazing piece of art, and you just destroyed it!"
The others murmured in agreement, sending disapproving glances at Zack.
Azzy, however, remained completely calm. His face was unreadable as he looked at the ruined castle, then back at Zack.
For a moment, silence hung in the air.
Then, Azzy simply dusted the sand off his hands, his expression indifferent. "It's fine," he said coolly. "It was just sand."
His reaction—or lack of one—somehow made the tension worse. Zack felt an odd frustration bubbling inside him. He had expected at least some irritation, some kind of emotional response. But Azzy didn't seem to care at all.
Leiza narrowed her eyes at Zack, seeing through him immediately. "That wasn't an accident," she muttered under her breath.
Zack avoided her gaze. "Like I said, it was just an accident," he replied, shrugging.
The game didn't resume after that. The mood had shifted, and everyone seemed unsure of what to do next.
Ciesta sighed, breaking the silence. "Let's take a break and grab something to drink."
Everyone agreed, though the atmosphere felt different now. As they walked away, Rina lingered beside Azzy.
"Seriously, you're not mad?" she asked, peeking up at him.
Azzy glanced at her and gave a small, barely-there smile. "Things that can be rebuilt aren't worth getting angry over."
Rina stared at him for a moment, her lips parting slightly. She wasn't sure whether to be impressed or frustrated by his attitude.
As they headed toward the resort, Leiza glanced back at Zack, her eyes full of suspicion.
Something told her that this wouldn't be the last time Zack caused trouble.
Zack put on a sheepish expression. "Sorry, man. I really didn't mean to do that."
Azzy didn't even look at him as he responded. "It's fine," he said calmly. "Sandcastles are like mortal lives. Eventually, they cease to exist."
Without waiting for a response, Azzy walked toward the ball, picking it up with one hand. His gaze flickered toward the ruined castle for a brief moment, and he mumbled under his breath, "He did it on purpose… but there's no need to get angry unnecessarily. Soon, I'll be out of their lives anyway. Why bother ruining their friendships over something like this?"
Leiza, watching him from behind, felt a strange sense of worry settle in her chest. There was something about Azzy's back as he stood there—his posture, his quiet demeanor—that made her uneasy.
Then, without a word, Azzy knelt down and started repairing the sandcastle. His hands moved quickly, but it was clear the rebuild wasn't as smooth or detailed as before. It wasn't about perfection this time—just fixing what was lost.
No one interrupted him.
By the time Azzy finished, he stood up, dusted off his hands, and returned to the group as if nothing had happened. "Let's keep playing," he said casually.
The others exchanged glances but said nothing. If Azzy wasn't making a big deal out of it, they wouldn't either.
And so, the game continued.
When it finally ended, the group prepared to return to the resort for lunch. Some of them stayed back for a bit, taking pictures with the newly rebuilt sandcastle, admiring how Azzy had managed to salvage most of it despite the damage.
Zack, however, wasn't pleased. His fists clenched as he saw how little impact his act had caused. Azzy wasn't even phased. If anything, the others seemed to admire him even more now.
His jealousy shot through the roof.
