Ch.135135. Can’t Let Your Guard Down Even with a 1 Percent Chance

After that, time passed, and two months later.

A morning in mid-May.

When I opened my eyelids that had closed without my knowing, I saw a pair of sparkling emerald eyes.

Who brought such jewels to my bedside… I thought hazily for a moment. As I gradually returned to my senses, I opened my mouth.

“…Hwa Nabi?”

Having just woken up, my voice cracked noticeably even to myself. But the woman with pink hair that suited her well, staring at me intently, didn’t seem to mind.

“Siwoo, you’re awake.”

“Yeah… just woke up. What about you?”

“I woke up five minutes ago.”

She seemed quite alert for someone who woke up just five minutes ago, but if she said so, I’d believe her. I raised my right hand to rub my eyes.

Suddenly, Nabi quickly grabbed my arm to stop me.

“Wait, Siwoo, are you trying to rub your eyes?”

“Huh? Yeah, why?”

“Rubbing your eyes with your hands is bad for your eye health. I’ll prepare breakfast, so go wash your face in the bathroom first.”

“Mmm, okay.”

“…Hehe, good. Hurry and wash up? I’ll make something delicious.”

She seemed quite excited from early morning, though I wasn’t sure why. Did something good happen? Or maybe it’s some anniversary?

I tried to think of various possibilities with my foggy mind, but nothing came to mind.

Click. While I was lost in thought, Nabi left the bedroom. Left alone, I yawned widely and carefully massaged my collarbone, which was stiff for some reason.

“Maybe it’s nothing?”

There was no way I’d get an answer talking to myself. Nabi was always this cheerful and lively, so it was probably nothing special.

Having decided that, I got out of bed. As I entered the bathroom attached to the bedroom to wash my face, I suddenly recalled Nabi’s attire from earlier.

When she closed the door and left just now, it looked like she wasn’t wearing anything except pajama pants… Did I see wrong?

“…I must have seen wrong.”

*

Even though it’s Monday with no lectures, my daily routine remains unchanged. After waking up, I take a quick shower, change clothes, and eat the breakfast Nabi prepares.

On even-numbered days like tomorrow, it’s the opposite—I prepare breakfast while she showers first. This was our tacit agreement. Without explicitly discussing it, we’ve been taking turns accommodating each other since we started living together.

“Phew.”

Shower done. After thoroughly drying my hair, I opened the door connecting to the living room. A delicious aroma wafted toward me. It must be the breakfast Nabi was preparing, and judging by the rich smell, it seemed like fried eggs.

A little salt makes them savory and perfect as a side dish for rice. But Nabi doesn’t let me add salt. Something about too much salt being bad for men. I’ve heard that before, so I just eat it less salty.

With these thoughts, I entered the kitchen and our eyes met. Nabi, who seemed to have just finished cooking, stood by the table wearing a cute apron.

“Oh, you came out quickly? The stew isn’t ready yet.”

“Really? How long will it take?”

“About five minutes? I just need to simmer it a bit, so sit and wait. I’ll bring it to you soon.”

“Okay, got it.”

Nabi, who had already served the rice, turned around, and I put my phone down on the table. As I was about to sit down while watching her walk away, I suddenly froze.

“…Huh.”

Nabi’s smooth back was completely exposed.

Not that she was wearing something low-cut… she just wasn’t wearing a top at all. Nothing above her navel.

And instead of pajama pants, she wore some short skirt. From behind, it was just long enough to barely cover her bottom.

Am I seeing things wrong? For a moment, I thought my eyes were deceiving me, so I rubbed them and looked again.

Still the same.

“Um… Hwa Nabi?”

“Yes? Did you call me?”

Too busy cooking, she didn’t even turn around as she stirred with a ladle. With her movements, her bottom swayed gently.

“……”

I gulped and rubbed my face. Breakfast was no longer important. She must be doing this deliberately for me to see, right? Convinced of this, I decided to sneak up behind her and give her a surprise hug.

Just as I was about to take a step—

-Ring ring.

My phone on the table rang. The screen lit up, and naturally my gaze shifted to check it. It was a call from “Crew Cut.”

Should I just ignore it? Yeah, let’s do that. Thinking it wouldn’t matter to ignore it, I started moving again when Nabi suddenly turned to look at me.

“Siwoo, isn’t that a phone call?”

“Huh? Ah, yes. It is.”

“Why are you just standing there? It might hang up.”

“…Ah, right.”

Since I was caught, I had no choice. I’d have to wait for another opportunity.

…Let me answer the phone first.

“Hello?”

[Hey, Siwoo?]

“Yeah, it’s me. Why did you call?”

Having decided to block this guy’s calls in the future unless it was truly important, I answered curtly.

[What do you mean why? Haven’t you heard the news?]

“News? What news?”

[Lim Hansol is getting married, and they say he’s immigrating to Saudi Arabia?]

“…What? Hansol getting married? Immigrating? Who, who is he marrying?”

I was shocked. A guy who had more girlfriends than fingers on both hands was getting married? And immigrating to Saudi Arabia? With so much shocking information at once, I didn’t know what to ask first.

[Well, I heard it secondhand, so I’m not 100% sure. But from what I heard, this guy Hansol took all his girlfriends and immigrated to the Middle East. And the reason he immigrated was.]

“The reason was what?”

[They say he went to immigrate so he could marry all his girlfriends at once.]

“Come on… no way. That doesn’t make sense.”

He’s not some Middle Eastern oil prince—how could he go to Saudi Arabia to marry a dozen or so girlfriends simultaneously? It must be a malicious rumor spread by someone jealous of him.

[Right? He’s not crazy, Hansol wouldn’t do that, would he?]

“Yeah, exactly.”

[But I don’t know why I can’t reach him. Haven’t you heard anything, Siwoo?]

“No? This is the first I’m hearing of it from you.”

[Really? Alright. I guess I’ll have to call some other classmates.]

“You called this early in the morning just to ask about that?”

[Yeah, I’m curious. If there’s a rumor going around that your friend took all his girlfriends and immigrated to Saudi Arabia, wouldn’t you be curious too?]

“……”

To be honest, I’m curious about the truth too. So, carefully watching Nabi, I whispered:

“…Let me know if you find out anything.”

[Okay, anyway, sorry for calling so early. Take care.]

“What do I need to be careful about?”

[You’re living with your high school girlfriend, right? Unless you want to be a father at twenty, you know? Take care of things properly, man.]

Though he was on the other end of the phone, I could almost see him nodding knowingly, which annoyed me. I tried to sound nonchalant as I replied.

“That would be fine, wouldn’t it? I could get assigned to non-active duty service legally, which would be better.”

[Wow… listen to this guy. Should I expect a wedding invitation soon? If you’ve set a date, let me know in advance so I can clear my schedule.]

“Stop talking nonsense and mind your own business.”

-Click. I hung up unilaterally because I didn’t want to hear any more. Looking at the call log showing 1 minute 34 seconds, I laughed in disbelief.

He finally calls after a long time, and what does he talk about? Such ridiculous nonsense. What am I supposed to be careful about? How could I get someone pregnant after having a vasectomy?

“That’s absurd.”

When it was just the two of us, we would talk about all sorts of things without shame, but that was because both Nabi and I knew the probability was low in reality. That’s not to say we weren’t sincere. If I had to break it down, it would be half sincere, half whatever.

Of course, I love Nabi, and she loves me too, so someday we’ll have children. But right now, we’re both twenty. Neither of us has graduated from university, and I haven’t resolved my military service issue yet, so it feels a bit early—for now.

“Realistically thinking… at least six years from now?”

“What’s six years from now?”

Just then, having finished cooking, Nabi brought over the fried eggs in a pan. I pressed the power button on my phone to turn off the screen and vaguely answered.

“Just, you know, future plans?”

“Hmm, I see.”

I was wondering what to say if she pressed further, but it seemed she was letting it go. I set up her spoon and chopsticks, and took out mine as well.

Then I took a spoonful of rice and put it in my mouth. Additionally, I cut a piece of the slightly under-salted fried egg. Nabi watched me quietly, then placed some side dishes on top of my rice and said:

“Siwoo, do you have any plans this weekend?”

“I don’t have anything scheduled yet. Why?”

“Oh, it’s nothing special. My younger sibling wants to meet you. If you’re free this weekend, how about we go have lunch together?”

“Hmm, really? Then let’s go. Should I pick you up this Saturday?”

“Yes, that works. I’ll let them know we’re coming for lunch on Saturday.”

Nabi casually replied as she tapped on her phone. She was probably contacting her sibling… but that was fine by me. I took in every detail of Nabi as she leaned forward.

The apron, showing clear curves due to something with a large presence underneath—probably a man’s ideal was contained within. As I was staring intently without realizing it, I suddenly felt a gaze on me.

“…Hehe.”

Nabi, who had put down her phone, was looking at me with an expression that seemed to say “you’re hopeless.” Feeling awkward, I raised my head and resumed eating as if nothing had happened.

“Siwoo.”

“Yeah, what?”

“…Yap.”