Ch.125125. What Happens When You Provoke a Man

“That’s nice. Being called ‘oppa’.”

“…Huh?”

“…Hmph.”

Hwa Nabi cutely blew air through her nose with a “hmph” sound, then walked right past me. Left alone at the perfect photo spot, I mulled over her words before quickly running to catch up with her.

“Nabi, you’re not upset, are you?”

“…What are you talking about? I’m not. Do I look like someone who would be jealous of a little girl?”

Her noticeably snippy tone and adorably pouty lips were typical signs of someone who was clearly upset, but I decided not to point that out.

Well, I had gotten a bit carried away with my explanations, doing things I didn’t need to do. In my defense, I hadn’t had many chances to talk about photography lately, so I ended up explaining various things as if it was a good opportunity.

But that was just my situation. From Hwa Nabi’s perspective, whatever the reason, it probably didn’t matter.

“…”

The fact that the object of her jealousy was a young girl… let’s set that aside for now. Mentioning it would only make things worse.

I cleared my throat awkwardly, casually moved closer to Hwa Nabi, and held her hand.

“Don’t worry. You’re the only one I like.”

“…That’s ridiculous, really.”

Hwa Nabi muttered as if exasperated, but gently pressed her shoulder against mine.

Seeing this, it seemed she wasn’t genuinely upset after all. Relieved, I put my arm around her.

“Is there anywhere you want to go?”

I had several date courses in mind, but right now, I wanted to prioritize Hwa Nabi’s preferences.

When I asked casually, she appeared to be deep in thought before suddenly speaking.

“I want to… eat something.”

“You mean lunch? Sure, what would you like to…”

We’d already had breakfast and snacks, so it seemed a bit early for another meal. Maybe she got hungry from all the walking. That’s what I thought as I was about to ask her.

“No, not lunch.”

Hwa Nabi suddenly stopped walking and gave me a meaningful look that made me pause.

What’s with this atmosphere…? Sensing something unsettling, I tried to step back slightly. But since we were holding hands with our shoulders pressed together, I couldn’t.

-Squeeze.

A hot sensation transferred from her tightly gripping fingers. Hwa Nabi stared at me with eyes swirling with desire, then slowly opened her mouth.

“…I want to eat Siwoo.”

“…Huh?”

That’s quite a bold statement to make in broad daylight. And eat what exactly? I wondered if I’d heard correctly, but Hwa Nabi took a step closer.

The already close distance between us became even closer, close enough that she could touch me anywhere just by reaching out.

“Right now.”

“Wait… calm down first. It’s still morning, you know?”

I waved my free hand, suggesting she reconsider. But she advanced like an angry bull seeing red cloth and interlocked fingers with my other hand too.

“…Siwoo.”

“Y-yes? What is it?”

“You said you like me the most in the world, right?”

“Well, of course I do, but…”

…Did I say it like that? I knew it wasn’t appropriate in this situation, but I couldn’t help but mentally replay what I’d just said.

“But I can’t believe those words.”

“…”

“Yes, I can’t believe it. So…”

A moment of silence.

Finally, her crimson lips moved.

“…Show me proof.”

“Proof…?”

“Yes. Proof.”

Perhaps embarrassed by her own words, she slightly turned her head away after maintaining eye contact with me all this time.

I looked at Hwa Nabi’s smooth, reddened cheek… and took half a step forward.

Then I released the hand holding hers and somewhat roughly wrapped my arm around her waist.

“S-Siwoo?”

“You asked me to show you proof, didn’t you?”

I was just holding back, not that I wasn’t feeling it too. If you’re going to be like this, I have no choice. I lowered my face and pressed my lips against her cheek.

“…Nabi.”

Probably no man could resist when the cutest, most beautiful girlfriend in the world speaks like this.

I was no exception, and unable to hold back any longer, I whispered in her ear.

“Don’t regret this…?”

She probably knows better than anyone what she might regret, so there’s no need to mention it. I issued this warning in a voice lower than usual and gave her an intense look. The meaning in that gaze was: ‘No matter how much you ask me to stop, I absolutely won’t.’

Seeing the intent in my eyes, she seemed to understand, turning her face as red as a ripe persimmon and avoiding my gaze in embarrassment.

But soon she slightly turned her head to meet my eyes again, and in a voice that seemed excited despite trying to hide it:

“…Yes, okay.”

She replied shyly.

*

Evening.

We had spent time together, completely losing track of time, and only emerged onto the night streets late in the evening.

The streets decorated with colorful lanterns were beautiful and pleasing to the eye, but the most urgent matter was satisfying our tremendous hunger.

Having skipped lunch and dinner while staying in the room, my stomach felt like it was sticking to my back, with only slight exaggeration.

“Nabi. Is there anything you want to eat?”

“Hmm, I wonder? I’m fine with anything.”

The most difficult phrase in the world—”anything”—had appeared. This “anything” carries many implicit meanings… basically it means “I don’t have a specific craving right now, but I want something that suits my taste and is appropriate to eat.”

Just because someone says anything is fine doesn’t mean you should actually choose just anything. That would likely result in lost affection points.

But Hwa Nabi’s “anything” is a bit different. From what I’ve observed, she genuinely likes anything sweet.

“Hmm…”

So I’m conflicted. If she had clear preferences, the choices would be limited and easier to make, but when almost anything works, I have to be more careful.

As I was looking around for a suitable restaurant, Hwa Nabi suddenly tapped my shoulder.

“Siwoo, how about that place?”

“What, where?”

“There, the place that says ‘Sukiyaki.’ Doesn’t it look nice?”

The restaurant she pointed to was a Japanese specialty restaurant with an elegant-looking sign. Seeing the words “omakase” and “kaiseki” written in small letters under the sign, it seemed to specialize in those dining styles.

“Yeah, it looks good. Let’s go there.”

“Yes, let’s.”

Hwa Nabi stuck close to my side.

With her beside me, we walked for about a minute to reach the restaurant. The automatic door that detected our presence slid open, and a kimono-clad employee standing at the entrance greeted us with a bright smile.

“Welcome. Table for two?”

“Yes, two people. Do you have any available seats?”

“Ah, the restaurant is quite full right now. For two people, you’ll need to wait about ten minutes. Would that be okay?”

“That’s what they’re saying. Want to wait?”

“Yes, let’s wait. Ten minutes isn’t long.”

“Understood. I’ll show you to the waiting area.”

The employee who heard our conversation guided us to the waiting area. Matching the sophisticated sign, the interior decoration of both the restaurant and waiting area seemed carefully designed to look elegant.

“Oh? Siwoo. Look at this. There’s a capsule machine.”

Hwa Nabi ran over and tapped on something that looked like a slot machine.

It resembled a gambling machine you might see in a casino, but according to the explanation on the front, despite its appearance, the contents were quite wholesome.

“It seems you put money in and it randomly gives you a charm.”

“Looks like it. Want to try?”

“Yes, is that okay?”

Two hundred yen for one charm isn’t exactly cheap, but when such an adorable fiancée is looking at you with sparkling eyes, it’s impossible to say no.

Hmm, I’ve really gone soft. With that idle thought, I inserted the coins. I stepped aside so Hwa Nabi could press the button.

“Go ahead, press it.”

Hwa Nabi pressed the red button on the front of the machine. With a clunking sound, two plastic balls containing charms came out one after another. Apparently, it wasn’t two hundred yen for one charm, but for two.

“Here, this one’s for you.”

“You’re giving me one too?”

“There are two of them. And they say charms only work one at a time anyway.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

I opened the plastic ball containing my charm.

A small red paper with the Japanese characters “無病息災” embroidered in gold thread. Directly translated, it means “safety and well-being”—essentially wishing for a healthy life without illness.

“What did you get?”

I asked casually while putting the charm in my pocket.

However, for some reason, Hwa Nabi was standing still with flushed cheeks.

“What’s wrong? Why are you like that?”

She didn’t answer my question, just shook her head from side to side. All the while, she was preciously holding the charm with both hands.

It was clear she was determined not to show it to me. But human psychology being what it is, this only made me more curious.

“…”

“Wh-what?”

Unable to contain my curiosity, I quickly snatched the charm with a swift movement.

Hwa Nabi noticed too late and tried to stop me, but it was already taken. I wrapped my arm around her waist to keep her from moving and examined the writing on the charm.

‘安産祈願’

I froze.

And for good reason—this phrase isn’t commonly used for ordinary people, but rather in specific, limited circumstances…

It’s typically used to wish for a safe childbirth for pregnant women.

Perhaps because of what we’d been doing until just before coming out, the phrase seemed even more meaningful.

Facing this unexpected situation and frozen in place, I heard Hwa Nabi murmur quietly:

“…Just in case, should we keep it?”

“…”

To that question, I simply couldn’t respond…