Ch.190190. Moments With the Bride

“So don’t worry. Understand?”

Hwa Nabi looks up at me with a charming smile. Her gently arched eyebrows, long eyelids, and beautifully shining eyes. Everything about her is lovable without exception, making my heart flutter endlessly as I gaze at her.

…You know how they say the excitement fades when relationships get long? From what I’ve seen, that’s clearly a blatant lie. After all, every time I face her like this, my heart pounds and I want to kiss her. How could anyone say the excitement has diminished?

If I could convert my feelings for Nabi into numbers, it would definitely be 100 points. Of course, the perfect score is 10.

“Mmm, okay…”

Like a bee following a scent to spring flowers, I unconsciously moved closer to Nabi. She removed her index finger that had been pressing against my lips and said with a smile.

“Heh, what are you trying to do?”

“…Nothing, just…”

There’s nobody passing by right now. Would it be so wrong to just pull her in for a kiss? I genuinely thought so and reached out my hand, but Nabi gently took it in hers.

“Wait a moment. We don’t know when people might come out, right?”

“Still… can’t I?”

Even I was surprised by my own voice after speaking. I didn’t know I could make such a voice. Nabi seemed equally taken aback.

She quickly glanced around, then brought her face closer as if she had no choice.

“Really, just this once, okay?”

-Smooch.

Then a soft sensation on my lips. I was dazed before I finally realized. Nabi had kissed me first.

After a very brief kiss, she stepped back and smiled broadly.

“Is that still not enough?”

“Yeah, of course it’s not enough…”

If she hadn’t done anything at all, maybe I wouldn’t feel this way. But this is like giving just one sip of water to someone in the middle of a desert. Now that I’ve tasted cool water, how could I possibly hold back in front of an oasis?

When I looked at her with a plea for just a little more, Nabi gulped. Was she conflicted too? I waited, secretly hopeful.

But contrary to my expectations, Nabi gently shook her head.

“Still, not right now. You’re kind, Siwoo, so you can wait, right?”

Setting someone’s heart on fire and then asking them to endure? It seemed too cruel, but this isn’t something to force. Besides, as Nabi said, it’s risky to do anything outside where others might appear at any moment.

Becoming a bit more rational, I pulled back my upper body that had leaned in. But I still felt plenty of lingering regret. It’s just too disappointing.

As if trying to comfort me, Nabi reached out and gently stroked my hair.

“Good boy. My man.”

“……”

She’s petting my head like I’m a pet, but strangely, it doesn’t feel bad. No, it actually feels good. Have I been tamed by Nabi without realizing it?

Just as I was trying to think about when this started happening, footsteps approached from nearby. We simultaneously stepped apart without either of us taking the lead.

“Ah, there you are, bride. The dress is all set up. Would you like to try it on now?”

“Yes. I’ll come right away.”

The staff member started walking toward the fitting room first. Nabi was about to follow, but hesitated for a moment and turned to look at me.

“Siwoo, do you want to come along and watch?”

“…You want me to be there with you?”

“Yes. You’re already done with your preparations, right? You can watch from the side and help if there’s anything you can do. What do you think?”

“I’d like to, but I’m not sure if there’s anything I can help with.”

If I try to help and make a mistake, wouldn’t that just be a nuisance? It’s not that I don’t want to, but I don’t see the need to insert myself when there are professionals handling things.

“You could help zip up my dress. I can’t reach my back.”

“……”

Zipping up my bride’s dress with my own hands. That’s certainly an attractive proposition. In less than five seconds, I seriously, genuinely contemplated it before opening my mouth.

“Really? Then…”

“Heh, I’m joking. You didn’t take that seriously, did you?”

“…Right? That makes sense. Yeah, I was going to decline anyway.”

Ah, it was a joke. I feel embarrassed for giving it such deep consideration. Is there a mouse hole I can crawl into somewhere?

Nabi looked at me as I laughed awkwardly, then suddenly smiled brightly. It’s her characteristic mischievous smile that I often see.

“Well, if you really want to touch that zipper so badly.”

Then she took a step closer, leaned in close to my ear, and said:

“…You can pull it down later when we’re alone. Understand?”

After leaving just those words, she scurried away with quick steps.

I stared blankly at Nabi’s retreating figure before finally coming to my senses and letting out a hollow laugh.

“Oh, geez…”

The fact that my earlobes had turned red will remain my little secret.

*

About fifteen minutes later, Nabi called me to the bridal waiting room after finishing her dress fitting. The moment had finally arrived.

My heart is already pounding foolishly at the thought of seeing Nabi in the dress I chose. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.

“…Phew.”

Then I grabbed the doorknob, turned it, and slowly entered the bridal waiting room.

—Creeak.

“Ah, Siwoo, you’re here?”

A woman in a pure white dress sitting in a white chair welcomed me. With an incredibly charming smile on her lips, more beautiful than anyone else in the world, her name is Hwa Nabi.

She’s the person I love.

“…Are you all dressed?”

“Yes. What do you think? This is the one you chose, right?”

Nabi slightly lifted her veil to show her dress. If the one she wore earlier embodied a sensual beauty, this dress represents a pure beauty.

The overall design is calm and settled, diluting her usually bubbly image to make her look gentle and innocent.

“Yeah, it’s incredibly beautiful. I want to get married right now.”

“Heh, just be patient a little longer. We still have a lot to do, right? We need to choose invitation cards and have the family meeting too.”

I want to get married first regardless of all that. But that wouldn’t be right, would it? I was about to seriously suggest it but stopped myself. It would be wrong to ruin the mood with nonsense on such a special day.

“If both the bride and groom are ready, shall we proceed with the photoshoot now?”

“I’m ready. Nabi, how about you?”

“Yes, I am too.”

Then there’s no need to wait any longer. I nodded and extended my hand to Nabi. She looked at my palm, smiled shyly, and then bashfully interlaced her fingers with mine.

“Aren’t you being too nice today?”

“It’s your special day, so this much is only natural, right?”

“If I’m the main character, then you are too, Siwoo. They say husband and wife are one body and soul.”

As we walked toward the photo studio exchanging trivial banter, the staff member walking ahead burst into laughter. With a kind smile, the employee turned to us and bowed.

“Ah, I’m sorry. You two just look so happy together. Was I being too rude?”

“No, it’s fine. Please raise your head.”

There’s no reason to be upset when someone laughs because we look happy. In fact, I was feeling quite proud.

Even the wedding studio staff thinks we look like a good couple, right? It might be my over-interpretation, but it felt like we’d received some kind of certification as a happy couple.

“I’ve been in this business for ten years now, and it’s been a while since I’ve seen a couple looking as happy as you two. I’m not just saying that, really.”

The staff member glanced at Nabi, then looked at me and added:

“If you don’t mind me asking, how long have you two been dating? I’m just personally curious…”

“Um… about 3 years, I think. Right, Nabi?”

“Just under 3 years. Exactly about 2 years and 11 months.”

Ah, it’s already been almost 3 years since Nabi and I met. While I was lost in this newfound realization, the staff member walking ahead was surprised.

“Oh my, 3 years? So you met when you were students?”

“Yes. He and I first met on the first day of school. We were in the same class at the same high school. And right next to each other.”

“So you’re marrying someone you met as desk mates in school. That’s truly romantic. You must have more memories than other couples.”

There’s a bit of embellishment there, but I don’t need to point it out, right? Listening to their conversation, I casually added:

“We’re still making memories. We’re in different departments, but we attend the same university.”

“The same university after the same high school? Wow, that’s really rare… You two must be amazing! You must have worked really hard.”

“Yes… I suppose we did.”

We did work extremely hard. Not me, but Nabi. She studied to death to go from barely getting average grades to becoming top of the class.

As for me, I was just doing what I always did, so it wasn’t particularly difficult. If I had to find something challenging, it would be the time in our senior year when we were alone together as I tutored her.

Without any exaggeration, it was a continuous struggle between temptation and responsibility… If I had to go back to that time, each day would be nothing short of hell.

“Siwoo, is there something on my face?”

“No, just…”

I stopped mid-sentence and reached out my hand. With a soft rustle, I slightly lifted her veil. Nabi’s face with light makeup appears.

…Really, looking back, I must have had superhuman patience back then. I don’t know how I managed to restrain myself all day with such a pretty and lovable girlfriend right beside me.

“Um… just?”

What did I say back then? That we were still young, so we should wait until we’re both adults before doing such things?

I don’t know what confidence I had to say such things. I’m guessing I could say that because I didn’t know any better, but the current me probably wouldn’t have been able to hold back.

As they say, it takes a thief to catch a thief. Once you’ve tasted happiness, self-restraint flies out the window.

“Just that you’re so beautiful, I wanted to look at you.”

“…Thanks.”

At a loss for words, I glossed over it. Nabi blushed and smiled shyly, which made me feel guilty, but I couldn’t exactly be honest about my thoughts.

These bad thoughts I’m having now, I’ll take them to my grave…