Ch.142142. This Time, I Wanted to Lie in Bed

After the dinner with Hwa Nabi’s parents ended, we said our goodbyes, saw them off, and went our separate ways. Despite the unexpected joint meal, we had filled our stomachs, so our next destination was a multiplex with shopping facilities.

“By the way, Siwoo. How did you do that earlier?”

After moving to the first floor of the multiplex, Hwa Nabi asked abruptly while carefully comparing two pairs of women’s sneakers in a shoe store.

“Do what?”

When I casually responded, Hwa Nabi put down the sneakers she was holding and glanced at me.

“Did you give him pocket money?”

“Pocket money? …Oh. You mean your father?”

It took me a moment to understand her contextless question. She was asking about her father.

He had been somewhat stiff until the middle of the meal, but after we came out of the bathroom together, his attitude changed and he became quite friendly. Hwa Nabi seemed curious about the reason.

But why would she think it was pocket money? The fact that her guess was pocket money made me smile. How much would I need to spend to impress the future head of a conglomerate?

“There’s a certain level to these things. Do you think your father would be pleased just because I gave him some pocket money?”

“That’s true, but what’s with this way of addressing him? You’re naturally calling him ‘father’ now. It’s suspicious. What happened between you two?”

She narrowed her eyes and gave me a look that said, ‘Tell me honestly.’

It was a sharp observation, but honestly, nothing much happened. After a one-sided investigation into my personal life, he just suggested we go fishing together. That was it. When I told her a slightly edited version of the conversation, Hwa Nabi suddenly sighed deeply.

“Ah, I see. So Dad did that to you too.”

‘To you too’? It sounded like there were others besides me. I fiddled with the shoes on display and picked out a functional pair, asking for size 250.

Soon after, the clerk brought the shoes. I took them and handed them to Hwa Nabi.

“Here, try these on. But what do you mean by ‘to me too’?”

“I meant it was obvious. When you met him in the bathroom, he probably talked about how you don’t know life and suggested going fishing together, right?”

“What? How did you know? Were you listening outside?”

I was surprised that Hwa Nabi could guess so accurately despite not being there. She sat down on a small chair and took off her heels.

“No, Dad always does that. He invites employees he likes to go fishing, saying he’ll teach them about life.”

“…But I’m not his employee. Then why did he invite me fishing?”

“I’m not sure, but I think it means he likes you… Ugh.”

She seemed to be struggling to focus while changing shoes, so I knelt in front of her. I held her slender ankle and carefully helped her put on the shoe, widening it slightly so her foot slipped in easily.

“How is it? Comfortable?”

“Yes, it feels good… Thank you.”

Hwa Nabi’s face turned slightly red as she turned her head away. I stood up and said:

“Walk around a bit.”

After walking around the empty space in the store, she stood in front of me again. Perhaps because she had changed from heeled shoes to flat sneakers, her eye level was slightly lower than usual. When we stand side by side outside, the top of her head usually reaches my Adam’s apple, but now it’s around my neck.

“Comfortable?”

“Yes, they’re comfortable.”

“Good, let’s get these sneakers.”

Since I had promised to buy them for her, I coolly took out my wallet. They were quite expensive, being functional sneakers from a well-known brand, but I didn’t feel it was a waste since they were a gift for Hwa Nabi.

I called the employee over, paid, and held out the shopping bag. Hwa Nabi, who had changed back into her heels, hesitated a bit before taking the bag.

“…You were really buying them for me?”

“Did you think I was joking?”

It wasn’t a promise I made with someone else, but with Hwa Nabi, so of course I’d keep it. I tried to buy her another pair, but she firmly declined. I couldn’t force her to accept, so our shoe shopping ended.

We left the shoe store and got on the escalator heading to the second floor.

“Siwoo, we still have some time. Should we watch a movie? I noticed there’s a theater on the fifth floor.”

“A movie? I’m fine with it, but we just watched one this morning. You want to watch another?”

“Do you remember the content? …I don’t remember anything.”

I couldn’t readily say yes to that question. As Hwa Nabi said, from the middle of the movie, I was too distracted doing other things to pay attention. All I remember is the intense love scene somewhere in the middle.

Thinking back on it made me feel embarrassed, so I cleared my throat and said:

“Well, anyway. You want to watch a movie, right?”

“Yes, this time for real. Just purely watching the movie.”

It somehow implied that until now, her intentions weren’t pure…? I was about to ask about that but swallowed my question, afraid of the answer.

“Alright, let’s go watch a movie purely.”

*

At the movie ticket kiosk on the fifth floor, we looked for a good movie to watch. There were two movies in the real-time HOT recommended lineup—one action movie and one romance movie.

“I already watched an action movie at home, should we watch the romance one?”

“But action movies are best enjoyed on a big screen. Isn’t it a shame to give that up?”

When she put it that way, it made sense. I was about to reach for the action movie banner when I paused. It was because of a one-line review under the romance movie poster.

[Highly recommended for couples. Not sure about the content, but perfect movie for skinship.]

“……”

“Huh? That’s a romance movie. Did you press the wrong one?”

Beep. For some reason, as if possessed, I pressed the romance movie. Hwa Nabi, who was watching from the side, asked in surprise, but I pretended not to hear. I quickly booked VVIP seats for the showing that would start in 15 minutes.

“Here’s your ticket.”

She took it, but with a suspicious expression. Hwa Nabi looked at her ticket with a puzzled face, then noticed something and tapped my shoulder.

“These are VVIP seats, aren’t they?”

“Yes, they are. Why?”

“Hmm, is that so? I see. Okay.”

What did she see? When I silently questioned with my eyes, Hwa Nabi looked around. After confirming no one was nearby, she took a step closer, stood on her tiptoes, and whispered in my ear.

“Our Siwoo must be in quite a hurry.”

“…What are you talking about? Let’s go buy some popcorn.”

“Heh, let’s go together.”

With Hwa Nabi wearing a knowing smile, we went to buy snacks. Caramel popcorn for my sweet-toothed companion, plus two zero colas for each of us, and it was already time to enter.

“Here’s our ticket.”

“Yes, confirmed. Enjoy your time.”

We showed our receipt/ticket to the staff at the entrance and entered the VVIP theater. Perhaps because it was Monday at 2 PM, there wasn’t a single other viewer.

Our seats were in the very back row of the VVIP section. I hadn’t intended it, but somehow the most private spot became our viewing area.

Thump. Hwa Nabi carefully sat on the edge of the bed that replaced regular seats.

“Wow, it’s really soft. It feels like a waterbed.”

Waterbeds are usually found in B-grade hotels or motels. She’s talking like she’s tried one even though we’ve never been to such a place together.

Hwa Nabi pressed the bed cover a few times, then crawled carefully to lie down at the edge of the bed. I put the popcorn on the headboard and lay down beside her.

“Siwoo, doesn’t this remind you of the old days?”

“Yes, it does.”

Come to think of it, we did come to a movie theater just the two of us when we were students. Back then, we unknowingly booked VVIP seats and were both greatly embarrassed, but now it’s different.

We can lie on the same bed without awkwardness, looking at each other and conversing comfortably.

“Ah, your face was so funny back then.”

“When are you talking about?”

“Don’t you remember? We were lying on a bed like this, and when I asked if you’d ever kissed anyone, your face turned so red.”

This was news to me. The way she spoke, it didn’t sound like she was making it up.

“Well… I couldn’t help it.”

I’m being honest now because it’s all in the past, but I think my reaction was justified at the time. After all, an extremely pretty classmate was asking me at close range if I’d ever kissed anyone—how could I remain calm? It might have been different if I’d had more experience with women, but such conversations were rare for me.

“Really, you were so innocent as a student. I wonder how you became like this nowadays.”

“…What have I done?”

As we chatted about various things, the movie began. After the familiar opening of a well-known distribution company passed, the screen showed a currently popular actress failing to get a job and feeling frustrated.

“What have you done? Look at now. Why did you bring me to an empty bed seat?”

Well, what else would we do but watch the movie? I was about to retort when the actress on screen narrated her hidden secret. It was long, but essentially she had the ability to see the future of anyone she kissed.

Kissing. While it’s an essential element in romance movies, I somehow had different thoughts.

“Nabi, can I ask you something?”

“Yes, what is it?”

I wanted to surprise Hwa Nabi, who was looking at me with a knowing smile and eyes that said, ‘I knew you’d be like this.’

So the words I chose were:

“…Before, you asked me if I’d ever kissed anyone. Why did you ask that?”