Ch.114114. History is Made at Night

On the day of the trip, afternoon.

I had classes until late afternoon today. Because of that, we had no choice but to leave home late in the evening. As a result, we only arrived at Narita Airport in Japan close to midnight.

“Sigh… Siwoo, why do they have so many questions?”

“I know, right.”

Hwa Nabi grumbled after finishing the questioning with the immigration officer and retrieving her personal belongings that had passed through security. I walked beside her, casually agreeing while looking around.

Indeed, the title of Japan’s largest international airport wasn’t an exaggeration. Despite the late hour, the airport interior was bustling with people.

“Every time I go abroad, I wonder about this. I understand asking why I’m visiting and how long I’m staying, but I don’t get why they need to see return tickets or hotel reservations.”

“Well, probably because of people who try to stay without visas?”

I had thought you could enter with just a passport without a visa, but at some point, that changed to make entry impossible without a visa.

Moreover, Japan’s recent policy was to not even issue tourist visas for independent travel, only for package tours.

“Are there illegal residents who come on first-class tickets too? It would be nice if they could be more flexible after seeing our tickets.”

We were obviously exceptions. We entered with a business management visa with my father’s help. Though I was only nominally listed in the company, the visa was processed smoothly in just one day.

“The staff are just doing their job, so we shouldn’t complain too much about them.”

I tucked the green passport into my chest pocket and took out my phone to gauge the location of our next destination, Aman Tokyo Hotel.

The distance from Narita Airport to the hotel was about an hour by car. Since there was no direct subway route and the connections were complicated, it would be better to take a taxi despite the higher cost.

“…When you put it that way, I can’t really complain, can I?”

Hwa Nabi pouted her lips and linked her arm with mine, pretending to be slightly upset. I quietly offered my arm to her as she clung tightly to it, and we walked forward.

“But Siwoo, where are we going right now?”

“Huh? What do you mean? We’re going to the hotel.”

“Then shouldn’t we take the subway? The subway station is that way.”

The direction Hwa Nabi pointed to was opposite to where we were walking. I showed her my phone screen and said:

“It takes two hours by subway. I thought taking a taxi would be faster, so I was going to call one.”

“Hmm, Siwoo. Taking a taxi for an hour would be really expensive… Are you sure? Of course, I’ll pay half.”

“Well, how much could it possibly cost? We don’t know the area well, so it’s better to spend a bit more for peace of mind.”

“If that’s what you want… I can’t argue. But don’t complain later if the fare is too high, okay? I warned you twice.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

How expensive could a taxi fare possibly be?

…That was my mistake.

*

The fare from Narita Airport to the hotel entrance came to 11,000 yen. That’s well over 100,000 won in Korean currency.

I expected it to be a bit expensive due to the late-night surcharge… but I never imagined it would cost this much.

I’d often heard that taxi fares in Japan were on a different level compared to Korea, but experiencing it firsthand made me realize it wasn’t just a joke.

You probably wouldn’t even pay 100,000 won for a taxi from Seoul to Gyeonggi-do. Yet here I spent that much on a journey less than a quarter of that distance. Even though I hadn’t worried about money for quite some time, I wondered if this was really okay.

“See? I told you the taxi fare would be enormous.”

Hwa Nabi commented as she unpacked her suitcase on the bed in our Aman Tokyo suite. But I was still in shock from the 100,000 won taxi fare, so I just lay on the bed in a daze.

“I didn’t think it would be this much…”

While I could accept the cost of the hotel reservation as unavoidable, this was money thrown away unnecessarily. It’s impossible not to feel the sting of such waste. My wallet isn’t an endless fountain of money, after all.

Anyway… as I lay there, I naturally took in the room’s scenery.

The overall atmosphere was modern, yet with subtle traditional elements remaining. It had a curious interior design.

I thought it wouldn’t be anything special since it was an Asian hotel, but looking at the ceiling with tatami-like patterns, I could clearly feel how different the aesthetic was from Korean hotels.

“Huff.”

I continued with my irrelevant thoughts, interlocking my fingers behind my head. I was feeling bad and unmotivated, thinking maybe I should just go to sleep, when suddenly…

“Hey!”

While I was counting ceiling stains, I felt someone’s weight on top of me. There was no need to check who it was—obviously Hwa Nabi.

“Siwoo, why are you so unmotivated?”

She whispered softly as she hugged my torso, pressing her chest against me. I silently stroked the back of her head.

“Your fingers don’t even seem sincere… This won’t do. Siwoo? Get up for a moment.”

With those words, Hwa Nabi put her hands under my armpits. She wiggled her fingers trying to make me get up, but she had so little strength that it only tickled.

“Hmm, what is it?”

I finally raised my upper body on my own. Hwa Nabi immediately stopped her fingers and said with a bright smile:

“There’s an indoor pool in the hotel basement. Want to go there together?”

“Swimming pool? I don’t mind… but now? It’s probably closed.”

Hotel indoor pools operate year-round, so it would be open, but it’s late at night so the opening hours have probably passed. They do stay open overnight in summer, but it’s winter season now so the hours would be shorter.

“Come on, do you think I would suggest this without checking? I have a way.”

“A way? What way?”

Hwa Nabi, who had been hugging my torso, straightened her upper body. Then she looked at me with a confident, self-assured face and smiled.

“The Hwa-il Group doesn’t only have branches in Korea, you know?”

That’s true. Since the Hwa-il Group has several businesses in Japan, they naturally have people going back and forth. I vaguely heard that for employee welfare, they had even permanently leased several hotel rooms…

“…Ah, don’t tell me.”

My thoughts reached that point and I trailed off. Come to think of it, Hwa Nabi was the one who made the hotel reservation, right?

I looked at Hwa Nabi with disbelief. She met my gaze and nodded slightly.

“Well then, shall we go?”

***

In the indoor pool in the hotel basement, specially opened for my VIP privileges, I began changing into the swimsuit I had prepared in advance.

I forced my tight chest halfway into the swimsuit top, adjusted the shoulder straps, and checked in the mirror.

“Hmm… should I just buy a new one?”

Parts that the swimsuit fabric couldn’t contain were slightly poking out, ruining the fit. Though it bothered me greatly, I had no other option at the moment. I just had to wear it as is.

“Sigh.”

After changing into the bottom piece and putting on a thin beach cover-up that concealed my chest area, I left the changing room. I had a small bottle of sunscreen in my hand.

-Creeak.

I opened the door leading outside. The panoramic view of the indoor pool appeared, and I saw the familiar back of a man.

A firm back, straight erector muscles. Colorful thighs… It was a very attractive body, but in contrast, his shoulders were slumped.

The reason was probably because of what happened earlier.

“…Really, he never listens.”

The late-night surcharge on Japanese taxis is truly beyond imagination. Without exaggeration, even short rides can cost tens of thousands of yen. That’s what people call a “fare bomb,” right?

It’s a common mistake tourists make—expecting Korean taxi fares and then getting hit with a fare bomb.

I knew this because I had traveled here with my family before. That’s why I kindly warned him, but…

Well, what’s done is done. Bringing it up again won’t comfort anyone; it’ll just make him resent me. I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

Then, very carefully, I walked toward his back without making a sound.

Looking closely as I approached, I saw he had his feet slightly dipped in the water-filled pool. Lost in thought, he just stared ahead even though I was nearby…

“…”

I didn’t quite like that.

How should I put it… We came on this trip just the two of us, but he wasn’t focusing on me? I can’t explain it well, but anyway.

“…Siwoo.”

So I called him quietly.

He flinched his shoulders, then turned his head toward me.

“Oh, yeah. You’re here?”

“What were you thinking about so deeply?”

I asked lightly as I carefully sat down next to him, our shoulders touching. He glanced at me and, pretending nothing was wrong, looked straight ahead as he answered.

“Just thinking about tomorrow’s schedule.”

That didn’t seem to be the case, but since that’s what he said, I decided to let it go. That wasn’t important right now anyway.

“Hmm, is that so?”

Following his lead, I looked straight ahead while very naturally pulling down the zipper of my beach cover-up.

As the zipper slide came down, his gaze shifted to my chest.

“…”

Gulp—someone’s Adam’s apple moved loudly. I tapped his shoulder as he couldn’t take his eyes off my chest.

“Um, Siwoo?”

“…Oh, yeah. What is it?”

“Sorry to ask this suddenly, but could you put some sunscreen on me?”

Without hesitation, I handed him the sunscreen bottle. He hesitated before taking it and asked me:

“But we’re indoors. Why sunscreen?”

“What are you saying? Don’t you know how bad the UV rays reflecting off the water are for your skin?”

“…But it’s nighttime?”

I’m trying to do something nice for him, why does he keep questioning it? He could just nod his head. Is he really this clueless, or is he pretending not to understand?

I narrowed my eyes and looked at him.

“So, are you not going to do it?”

“…No, I’ll do it. Where should I apply it?”

“Ah, wait a moment. Come over here.”

I took his wrist and led him to a corner where the pool sunbeds were located. I lowered the head part of a sunbed and lay down on it face down.

“Now, Siwoo?”

“Y-yes?”

“Could you untie my swimsuit straps here?”

“…Huh?”

His face turned bright red.