Ch.171171. Not Allowed, Even It’s You

Men each have one secret they can’t talk about. You know, like a personal utopia filled with their own tastes. These days, with real-time streaming so widespread, collectors have lost their place, but when I was young, there was nothing like that.

Even though websites existed, most required paid subscriptions, so I couldn’t use them. To see that kind of content, you had to go through specific programs or web hard drives, pay points, and download files before you could access them…

“…”

Why am I explaining this? Anyway, what I want to say is this. It’s a somewhat embarrassing confession, but I was a collector type rather than a streamer. And traces of that, which could be called remnants, are sleeping inside the computer in my room.

In other words… the “New Folder” in my C drive must never be discovered. No matter what happens, if such a terrible and miserable thing were to occur, I might never be able to hold my head up in front of Hwa Nabi again.

“Excuse me for intruding.”

It was an unusual greeting, but I didn’t have the energy to point that out. Hwa Nabi opened the door and entered as if it were her own room. Following behind, I scanned the entire room. It looks exactly the same as three months ago. No furniture has been rearranged, and there are no signs that anyone has been searching through things.

There’s nothing that absolutely shouldn’t be discovered, but I still feel relieved. Just to be safe, I quietly locked the door. Finally able to breathe, I sniffed the air. My room, which would normally be filled with a strong masculine scent, was now permeated with a fresh yet soft citrus fragrance.

“What’s this smell?”

“It’s the aroma candle scent. I told you I used it in your room, remember?”

“Ah, right.”

So this is the smell of that mandarin or whatever aroma oil. This kind of fragrance would definitely help with prenatal care. Would it make sense to say it’s a scent that calms your mind and body just by smelling it? When she finishes using it, I should buy one as a gift later.

“What’s in the shopping bag you’re holding?”

“Clothes. For me to wear later.”

“Ah…”

I see. I nodded, figuring there was no need to check the contents. Hwa Nabi put the shopping bag on the desk chair and went to the bed, plopping down.

“Siwoo. Could you turn off the light?”

“Why the light?”

“They say being in the dark helps calm your mind and body.”

“Ah, sure.”

My heart nearly stopped when she went near the desk with the computer. Swallowing those feelings, I casually responded.

Click. When I pressed the switch to turn off the light, the entire room instantly darkened.

“Why are you standing there? Come sit here.”

In the darkness, Hwa Nabi patted the spot next to her. I obediently went and sat where she indicated, and she immediately leaned over and rested her head on my shoulder.

“It’s been a while since we’ve done this.”

“Since what?”

“Being alone together in your room. It’s the first time since we were students, right?”

Come to think of it, that seems right. The last time Hwa Nabi came to my room was probably during our senior year of high school, when we were preparing for college interviews. It’s been well over six months by rough calculation.

“I guess so.”

“After becoming seniors, we were too busy for proper dates. We just studied in either your room or mine, and when we occasionally had time, watching movies was the extent of our dates. And even then, we often couldn’t finish them.”

“I regret that too, but what could we do? If we’d slacked off on studying for dates, we wouldn’t have gotten into the same university.”

I was in a safe zone from freshman year, but that wasn’t the case for Hwa Nabi. When she first entered, she was like a blank slate who didn’t even know logarithmic functions. How much effort it took to make her master calculus… I won’t bother mentioning.

“You don’t sound like you really regret it.”

“Of course I do.”

“Do you really?”

“Yes, I really do regret it.”

I said while gently tickling the back of her hand. The soft touch like baby skin—as I playfully pressed the tips of her fingers, she giggled.

“Mmm, that tickles.”

“Should I tickle somewhere else?”

“Heh, what are you saying? You pervert.”

Maybe it’s because we’re alone. Every little word, gesture, laugh, and breath feels amplified. Add to that the fragrant smell throughout the room and the blackout curtains making everything dark—the atmosphere is quite peculiar.

It would be perfect to just lie down holding hands. While thinking this, my eyes met Hwa Nabi’s. Perhaps she felt the same way, as she quietly smiled and moved her lips.

“Siwoo.”

“Yes?”

“Since we both have regrets, shall we catch up a little?”

This is… the signal I think it is, right? I’m glad I locked the door just in case. The lock on my room is perfectly functional, so there won’t be any unfortunate interruptions.

Without saying anything, I took Hwa Nabi’s hand. Her plump, rose-red lips that looked deliciously inviting caught my eye.

“Is it okay if I go first?”

She wants to take the lead? Normally, Hwa Nabi would follow my lead, but today I thought it might be good to do the opposite. I nodded to signal that it was fine.

With my permission, Hwa Nabi slowly brought her face closer. And then…

“Well then, let me take a look.”

“…?”

Look at what? I couldn’t understand what she meant for a moment. While I was just blinking in confusion, Hwa Nabi suddenly stood up. She walked briskly forward.

Then with a thud, she sat down in the computer desk chair.

“…Oh.”

Belatedly, I snapped to attention. I felt disappointed that she broke the mood and went somewhere else, but that feeling quickly vanished. Because Hwa Nabi pressed the power button on my computer.

“N-Nabi. What are you doing?”

“What do you think? I’m trying to catch up, of course.”

Catch up using the computer? For a moment, a strange thought crossed my mind, but I soon realized that wasn’t it. There was a meaningful smile on Hwa Nabi’s face. The kind of smile that says, “I’m going to expose everything about you.”

First, stay calm. Even though I’m close with Hwa Nabi, I never gave her my computer password. So it should be fine… except it’s not. I told her earlier on the rooftop, didn’t I? 03090x. I managed to stop just before saying the last digit, but I essentially revealed the whole thing.

Besides, 03090x is my birthday, so anyone who isn’t a fool would know it. Hwa Nabi must have figured it out. Once I realized this, I knew I’d been had.

She’s getting more and more skilled at handling me. To play with a man’s pure heart like this. Just wait until next time…

“What are you trying to do with the computer?”

I asked even though I knew, just in case. Maybe she suddenly got curious about something after almost kissing me. The possibility is extremely slim, but not entirely impossible.

“I’m curious about your tastes, Siwoo.”

“…”

I had pinned my hopes on that thread-thin possibility, but of course, my expectations crumbled. Hwa Nabi entered the password. 030902.

-Ding!

With a cheerful sound, the lock was pathetically released. Hwa Nabi, who guessed the password on her first try, glanced at me. Is it my imagination that she looks like she’s saying, “Just as I expected”?

“Is it okay if I look?”

“You won’t find what you’re looking for.”

I’m not a fool. Since Hwa Nabi started coming in and out of my room, I’ve hidden the folders thoroughly.

Properties, security, folder icon changes, hidden settings—I even meticulously changed the file extensions just in case. So there’s no way she could easily find…

“Oh, found it.”

“…What?”

She found it this quickly? I was hanging my head but looked up in shock. When I checked, some program was running.

Everything—true to its name, it listed all files, hidden or not, in plain view. [1.mp3], [2.mp3], [3.mp3]…

“These days, you can find everything with just one click. Convenient, isn’t it?”

“…What is this.”

Has the world become too advanced? In my day, you had to manually search for these things one by one with great effort.

While I was disappointed by the computer’s pathetically weak security, Hwa Nabi unhesitatingly clicked on the [1.mp3] icon and changed it to [1.avi]. I quickly grabbed her wrist.

“…Wait, Nabi. Do you really have to see this?”

“Yes, I’m your wife, aren’t I? I should know my husband’s tastes.”

“Do you really need to know that…?”

“Could you let go?”

An intense battle of nerves unfolds over a single video file. I held her wrist to prevent her from moving the mouse pointer, while Hwa Nabi ignored me and tried to play the video file.

I know there’s no point in winning a physical contest with my fiancée, but… I need to win just this once. With that thought, I forcibly removed her right wrist, but Hwa Nabi quickly extended her left hand and hit Enter.

“Hey, wait…!”

There was no time to stop her. She pressed the right arrow key on the keyboard, and the video skipped ahead. Past the introduction familiar to any man, a female actress changes her clothes.

A sleeveless school uniform top revealing her armpits, a short skirt that comes up well above her thighs. And decisively, a choker around her neck. It’s an outfit that combines extremely niche elements, making even the viewer feel embarrassed.

“I thought you said you didn’t like armpit exposure.”

I said I don’t pathologically like only armpits, not that I dislike them… I wanted to explain, but realizing that would just be digging my own grave, I kept my mouth shut.

While I hesitated, time passed in the video. A man and woman are talking at a study desk. It’s a scene I’ve watched many times. The male actor is a private tutor, and the female actress is a flirtatious student trying to seduce her teacher. Given her outfit, the atmosphere is quite suggestive even though nothing has happened yet.

“If you liked this kind of thing, why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“No… this is, well.”

“Come to think of it, didn’t I dress in a similar concept for you before?”

“…Yes, you did.”

I just didn’t say it, but I actually really liked it. Unable to say that out loud, I averted my gaze, and Hwa Nabi tilted her head and reached out. Her fingers touched my chest.

“Should I wear it for you again?”

“…”

The fact that I can’t answer quickly here probably means I really am a fool…