Ch.155155. Surely Not

In conclusion, Nabi and I couldn’t make it to school until 2 PM when our afternoon lectures were scheduled. It should have taken 15 minutes to walk from home to school, and 20 minutes by car from the hotel to home, so we should have left the hotel at least an hour earlier.

I turned my head to look at the wall clock—it’s 4 PM. I’m not sure if we could make it to the last lecture even if we left right now, fully dressed.

“Hmm…”

So today’s lectures are definitely going to be marked as absences. When I first woke up, I thought we had plenty of time since it seemed earlier than I expected. But I guess human affairs are unpredictable. I never imagined Nabi would be ready to go as soon as she woke up.

If I had known this would happen, I should have carried her home while she was still asleep. I was thinking such absurd thoughts while staring blankly at the ceiling.

—Bzzzz.

I was playing with my slightly damp bangs after just finishing a shower. Then I heard a loud vibration from the phone I’d placed at my bedside. Who could it be at this hour? Curious, I checked and saw a rather familiar name.

“Hello. I’m speaking.”

[Hello? Is this Siwoo?]

“Of course, who else would it be?”

What’s with him calling me first for once? Despite my curt response, I only heard a snicker from the other end of the line.

[There’s that girl who’s always with you. Nabi, was it? She answers your phone sometimes.]

“Nabi answered my phone for me?”

[Yeah. Didn’t you know? She even answered a few calls from Father.]

Why didn’t I, the owner of the phone, know about this? A small question popped into my mind, but I dismissed it. It was probably nothing important, so she didn’t mention it. I let it slide. More importantly, what’s the main point? Calling at the odd hour of 4 PM means he definitely has something to discuss.

“So, why did you call? You’re in Korea, right? Do you need something?”

[I am in Korea, but I don’t need anything. I just wanted to hear your voice.]

“Oh, then work hard at your company. I’m busy, so I’m hanging up.”

[Ah, wait! Okay, I’ll get to the point.]

He urgently called out as I rustled around as if about to hang up. He should have done that from the start. I put the phone back to my ear and heard him clearing his throat.

[Are you free this weekend?]

“This weekend… I don’t have any plans yet…”

I have more days without plans than with them, but there’s no need to mention that, so I let my words trail off.

[Really? That’s good. What about your girlfriend?]

“Nabi should be free too… But why do you ask?”

It’s one thing to ask about my schedule, but why does he need to know about Nabi too? Is something going on? I questioned him curiously, but his answer was completely unexpected.

[Siwoo, I have a girlfriend too. Don’t worry, it’s not what you’re thinking.]

“What are you even talking about?”

[Besides, you know me. I prefer more modest women.]

“…What? What’s wrong with our Nabi? She’s incredibly modest.”

“Siwoo, are you on the phone?”

Just as I was about to launch into a speech about how modest Nabi is, I heard her voice from the bedroom doorway. I quickly sat up on the bed.

Her pink hair looked damp, probably from just having showered. Plus, she wasn’t wearing her regular clothes but a bathrobe. In her right hand, she was holding what looked like a plastic bag.

What’s that? I was staring blankly when I suddenly came to my senses, hearing a man’s voice from the phone.

[Oh, are you with her? Are you at home?]

“To be more precise, not at home but in the bedroom…”

[Not at home but in the bedroom? What does that mean?]

I hear my brother’s confused voice due to my vague explanation. As I was trying to figure out how to explain, Nabi, who had approached me, asked with her eyes.

‘Who is it?’

‘My brother.’

‘Your brother? Why did he call?’

‘I don’t know yet, I was about to ask.’

‘Okay. I’ll be quiet then.’

After our silent exchange, Nabi, now understanding the situation, nodded. She quietly approached and plopped down right next to me. I stretched out my arm and wrapped it around her waist.

‘Is it okay if I stay beside you?’

‘Yes, of course.’

[Why aren’t you answering? Did the call drop?]

“No, she is with me. She’s right next to me now.”

[That’s good. Then can you ask her something? Ask if she’s free for lunch this weekend.]

“Hold on… Nabi, my brother wants to know if you’re free for lunch this weekend.”

“I don’t have any plans, so I am free, but I need to be with Siwoo on the weekend, so I don’t think I can.”

“Hey, brother. She says she needs to be with me, so she doesn’t think she can.”

[…Stop joking around. I’m being serious.]

I thought it was our usual lighthearted conversation, but my brother’s voice was quite serious. It seemed like this wasn’t just a casual inquiry, so I became serious too.

“What’s going on? Did something happen?”

[Nothing happened. Anyway, you’re both free for lunch on the weekend, right?]

“Yes, we are. Why? Are we having some kind of family meeting?”

It was half a joke. If it were really something like that, we, the parties involved, would have been notified first. But for some reason, there was no response.

“Hello? Brother?”

[Oh, yes. Go on.]

“Why are you silent? Is it really a family meeting?”

[Hmm, it’s not exactly that. But maybe something similar?]

“What do you mean by ‘similar to a family meeting’?”

What kind of nonsense is this?

[Siwoo, you had lunch with the Vice Chairman of Hwa Group and his wife yesterday, right?]

“Huh? How did you know that?”

Since the head of Hwa Group is Nabi’s grandparents, the Vice Chairman and his wife would be Nabi’s parents. In other words, he’s correctly referring to the people I had lunch with. I didn’t expect this to reach my brother’s ears already.

[We had a garden party at our family home last night, and they were there. When I went to greet them, the Vice Chairman mentioned you.]

“…What did he say?”

It wasn’t just anyone, but my father-in-law—or rather, Nabi’s father—talking about me. This was something I couldn’t ignore, and I unconsciously straightened my back.

[Nothing much. Just that he had lunch with you and found you very polite and personable. That he felt he could trust you. Something like that. Oh, and he also asked why you two didn’t come.]

“I never heard about any party.”

[You didn’t come last month or the month before either. Even if we had told you in advance, you wouldn’t have come, right?]

I couldn’t argue with that because it wasn’t wrong. More precisely, it wasn’t that I didn’t go, but that I couldn’t go. For certain reasons, I absolutely couldn’t attend… but there’s no point in explaining that.

What should I say to smoothly change the subject? While I was seriously considering this, Nabi tapped my shoulder.

‘Does your family have garden parties every month?’

‘Not in winter or summer, only when the weather is nice. Just spring and fall.’

‘Ah… so that’s why those calls came occasionally.’

‘What occasional calls?’

This is the first I’m hearing of this. When I questioned her with just my eyes, Nabi awkwardly avoided my gaze.

[That doesn’t matter anyway, so let’s get back to the point. The Vice Chairman’s comments were heard by our parents too.]

“Yeah, and?”

[They didn’t say much, but they seemed a bit disappointed.]

Just hearing that much, I caught on to why my brother brought this up. I deliberately let out an exaggerated sigh and responded.

“Ah, is that so? Then I should call them and set up a lunch appointment.”

[Yes, that would be good. As it happens, our parents are free this weekend.]

“Okay, got it. Thanks.”

[Sure. You sound hoarse, so you must be tired. Get some rest.]

Click. With just those words, the call ended. I stared at the phone screen showing my brother’s number, then turned to look at Nabi.

“Now, shall we continue our unfinished conversation?”

“What conversation…?”

“You just mentioned it. You said you occasionally received calls on my phone. I’d like to hear more about that.”

I leisurely murmured while examining Nabi’s face. She’s not good at hiding her emotions, so when she lies, it shows on her face.

“Um, would you like some bread?”

Instead of answering, Nabi rustled around and pulled something out of the bag in her right hand. Looking closely, it was a small, bite-sized piece of bread.

I took the bread and placed it in Nabi’s mouth. She seemed momentarily surprised, but then started chewing, her lips moving.

“Is it good?”

“Yes. There’s cream inside, so it’s sweet… Ah!”

Taking advantage of Nabi’s distraction as she was tasting the bread, I pulled her into my arms and pressed my lips against her neck. She seemed startled by the sudden attack and just fluttered about, not knowing what to do.

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll leave a mark here.”

“Um, wait a moment. Siwoo, I’m feeling a bit…”

“No. That won’t work. Tell me properly first.”

“No, it’s not like that… I really don’t feel well.”

“Oh? Really?”

If this is acting, she deserves an Oscar for Best Actress. I released her waist and examined her complexion. For whatever reason, she doesn’t seem to be feeling well. Why suddenly? Maybe something was wrong with the bread she ate.

…As I thought that.

“Yes. I really feel a bit… Blegh.”