Ch.1313. Never Lose Your Composure in Any Situation

“S-Siwoo. What are you saying right now? Daeun is going to misunderstand!”

Hwa Nabi’s face turned as red as a carrot as she tried to stop me. As if I had said something ridiculous, she attempted to push me aside by tapping my shoulder with her hand.

But the physical difference between Hwa Nabi and me is overwhelming. So I stood firm. Her frail hands weren’t enough to push me away.

“Why? I didn’t say anything wrong.”

I simply stated the facts since she seemed troubled. Therefore, I was confident.

Hwa Nabi stared at me with blank eyes, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“W-well, technically you’re not wrong. But still… the nuance is strange.”

“What’s strange about it?”

“Ah, where do I even begin explaining this? …Wait, Siwoo. Did you just smile?”

“What are you talking about? When did I smile?”

“Just now, just now! You’re smiling at me right now. Ugh, I knew it! You’re not the type to boldly say such embarrassing things! You’re teasing me, aren’t you?!”

Ah, I can’t hold back my smile. I turned my head away, trying not to look at Hwa Nabi tugging at my shirt sleeve. But I was already half—no, completely caught.

Still, I tried to pretend I wasn’t caught. I’ve felt this before, but Hwa Nabi has great reactions. She’s fun to tease. That’s why I was trying so hard not to laugh.

It’s cute how her face turns red when teased. Though it’s not something I should say about my fiancée, it feels like looking at a little sister.

“…What are you two doing? Am I invisible here?”

Nam Daeun started looking at us with cold eyes. I think I was being too informal with others around.

I cleared my throat to signal Hwa Nabi. She suddenly came to her senses and awkwardly lowered her gaze.

Looking at us, Nam Daeun suddenly let out a long, deep sigh.

“Now I see why you two are together. You really suit each other. You’re the best couple I’ve ever seen. Just go ahead and get married already. Oh, you were already planning to, weren’t you?”

“D-Daeun. You’re not angry, are you?”

“Me? Why would I be angry with you? I’m perfectly fine. Look. I’m smiling right now. Do I look angry to you?”

Even to me, an outsider, she seemed very angry. But if I, as a third party, honestly pointed this out, it would only provoke her more. So I remained silent.

Didn’t someone say that silence is golden? It was a saying perfectly suited to the current situation. The words of the ancient sages are never wrong…

“Daeun… are you really angry?”

Hwa Nabi, who had moved to the counter through the side aisle, was trying to appease Nam Daeun’s anger by using aegyo. And at the same time, though it was just for a moment, I clearly saw it.

The corner of Nam Daeun’s mouth trembled slightly as she looked at Hwa Nabi, like someone watching a cute animal. Surprisingly, Hwa Nabi’s aegyo was working.

But that didn’t last long. Nam Daeun’s curved lips instantly returned to an expressionless state as soon as our eyes met.

“High school must be nice. To think that such a quiet girl would suddenly come to my workplace and rub salt in my wounds. Some of us want boyfriends but can’t get them, want to go to school but can’t…”

Strictly speaking, we’re not even dating or anything.

So I’m not Hwa Nabi’s boyfriend, but… there’s no point in saying that.

“Siwoo, don’t just stand there silently. Say something. Daeun is angry.”

Even if I apologize with you, it’ll only backfire. My thought proved correct when Nam Daeun glared at me with dagger eyes as soon as I showed signs of moving.

With Hwa Nabi beside her, she was mouthing something to me, and from what I could glimpse, it was full of harsh words, which honestly scared me a bit.

I wonder if Hwa Nabi knows this side of Nam Daeun…

“…Sigh.”

*

The other customer left quickly, and the three of us continued our conversation. After a full thirty minutes of discussion, fortunately, this absurd misunderstanding was cleared up.

‘Really, it’s not like that?’

‘No, it’s not. Daeun, don’t you believe me?’

‘No, it’s not that I don’t believe you…’

‘Siwoo isn’t that kind of person. You can trust him.’

Nam Daeun was looking at me with strange eyes, so it seemed like her suspicions weren’t completely gone, but what could I do? Hwa Nabi herself said so.

Anyway, having somewhat resolved the misunderstanding, the two women began catching up on conversations they hadn’t been able to have.

From the words I overheard, it seemed they were discussing things I didn’t know about, women’s talk. So I stepped outside for a while to give them space.

“It’s raining heavily.”

Outside, it was still pouring rain. It seems this wasn’t just a passing shower.

If I had known it would be like this, I should have just waited at school. Thinking that, I took out my phone from my pocket to check the time.

Just then, I heard the automatic door of the convenience store opening behind me.

“I’m sorry. You’ve been waiting a long time because of us, haven’t you?”

Hwa Nabi was standing there. She looked at me with an apologetic face.

“What were you talking about for so long?”

Three’s a crowd. Since they’re old classmates, they probably have each other’s contact information and could chat via messenger.

“Well, we just got caught up in various topics.”

“Well, if you’re meeting a friend after months, I guess that can happen. So, are you done talking?”

“About that…”

“…You’re not done yet?”

I asked in genuine fear, thinking they must have talked for almost an hour already. Hwa Nabi shook her head.

“No, my conversation is over. But Daeun says she wants to talk to you for a moment.”

“Huh? With me?”

“Yes. She says it will be very brief… Is that okay? Should I just refuse?”

After talking with Hwa Nabi for so long, what could she possibly want to discuss with me?

Though I didn’t understand her intentions, it felt awkward to refuse, so I reluctantly nodded.

“Fine. Should I go in now?”

“Yes. But, Siwoo.”

Hwa Nabi stopped me with her words as I was about to pass by. When I turned around, she was fidgeting strangely.

“What?”

“Um, I’m just saying this in case, but…”

“Yeah, go on.”

“If Daeun says something, please don’t be too surprised. She’s just like that. She’s actually a really nice person, but sometimes she says strange things. She has some… quirks, I guess. Anyway, you understand, right?”

“…?”

She was rambling so much that I couldn’t understand what she was trying to say. I’ll find out when I talk to Daeun directly.

I just nodded vaguely and entered the convenience store, passing by Hwa Nabi.

Nam Daeun, scanning me up and down as if sizing me up, gestured for me to come over.

“What is it?”

She didn’t answer my question, just kept looking at me with that peculiar gaze of hers. Then she dropped a bombshell.

“You’re really not doing anything weird with Nabi, are you?”

“If we’re going back to that topic, I’m leaving.”

“Ah, okay. Then I’ll get straight to the point.”

Nam Daeun handed me an envelope containing something.

Curious, I took it and examined it. Whatever was inside was very small compared to the size of the envelope.

“What is this?”

Looking more closely, it was a small paper box. Chocolate? I took it out without much thought and then was horrified.

“What the hell? Why are you giving me this?”

My heart nearly stopped. The item Nam Daeun had given me was none other than a contraceptive device. You know, the one men wear on their precious parts.

Appalled, I tried to hand the envelope back to Nam Daeun. She shook her head and began expounding her worldview with a dead serious face.

“Koreans tend to neglect proper sex education, but contraception is more important than you might think.”

“I know that without being told. What I’m asking is, why are you giving this to me?”

“Don’t tell me you’re not planning to use protection? Are you planning to get a high school student pregnant?”

“What kind of crazy talk is that?!”

“When a man and woman who are attracted to each other spend the night in the same house, there’s only one thing that implies.”

“…What meaning are you thinking of? No, don’t tell me. I think I know.”

Despite my attempt to stop her, Nam Daeun paid no heed. This deranged woman made an OK sign with her right hand, then used her other hand’s index finger to repeatedly insert and withdraw from the circular hole.

The meaning of that hand gesture was obviously…

“…”

Why do I have to say this out loud?

“Why are you so serious? Isn’t it true?”

“It’s… not.”

The reason I couldn’t proudly shout that it wasn’t true, that I had never thought of such things, was because my conscience pricked me.

To be honest, really honest, if someone asked if I had never thought about it at all…

That wouldn’t be true either.

“It doesn’t seem like that’s the case… Well, if you say it’s not, then it’s not. Still, keep this. You never know what might happen.”

Seeing Nam Daeun nodding with a knowing look, I felt I needed to make this absolutely clear.

I leaned toward Nam Daeun, who was trying to force the envelope into my hands.

“I said it’s not like that.”

“Yeah, right. All men are the same, aren’t they? Saying ‘I’m not like that, I’m different’ while seducing innocent girls. At least be thorough with contraception. If she accidentally gets pregnant, you’ll just run away saying it’s not your problem.”

“What guarantee do you have that I’m that kind of guy?”

“Then what guarantee do you have that you won’t do that to Nabi?”

“Don’t just spout nonsense when you don’t know anything. I’m thinking about this seriously.”

“What are you thinking about seriously?”

“Why should you know that?”

“Look. The fact that you can’t give a proper answer shows that the one spouting nonsense is you, not me.”

I growled at Nam Daeun, who was calmly talking nonsense.

I could feel the veins in my neck bulging. The reason was probably because of Nam Daeun in front of me.

No matter how much she’s Hwa Nabi’s friend, there’s a limit to my patience.

They say if kindness continues, people start thinking it’s their right. I really didn’t like how she was trying to cross the line more and more, acting like she knew about me, about us.

“I told you before. We’re getting married. Did that sound like a joke to you? I don’t joke about these things. I can’t. I have no such thoughts now, but if the day comes when I touch her, it will be when I’m completely resolved.”

That’s probably why I said such things.

Having suddenly poured out my true feelings, I stared at Nam Daeun with a deeply furrowed brow. At this point, I was ready to counter whatever nonsense she might spout.

Suddenly, a crack appeared in Nam Daeun’s expressionless face.

On top of that, Nam Daeun, who had been criticizing me until just now, started laughing as she looked at me. I was dumbfounded.

“What? Why are you suddenly like this?”

Nam Daeun ignored my question.

She laughed, making “ahahahah” sounds, even holding her stomach.

After laughing for a while, she suddenly straightened up and said to me:

“Ah, my stomach hurts. I laughed so hard. …He says that. What do you think?”

Wait, I realized she wasn’t talking to me. Nam Daeun’s gaze was directed not at me but behind me. I turned around, hoping it wasn’t what I thought.

And there…

“…Hiccup.”

Hwa Nabi, making a cute hiccup sound, was looking at me with a bright red face.

And at that moment, I realized.

“…”

…I had fallen into a trap.