Ch.202202. Is This Love? – side. Hwanabi

“So… let’s enjoy all the nervousness, excitement, and heart-fluttering moments together.”

While holding my hand, he looked straight at me. Our eyes met naturally. He smiled at me.

Then without any warning, he leaned forward and lightly kissed the top of my veil.

*Smooch.*

“Got it?”

He smiled faintly and whispered to me, and I, who had been in a daze, finally came to my senses.

…Huh, what just happened? To be honest, I don’t remember clearly. I vaguely recall him saying something about enjoying things together, but I can’t remember what came after. Was it because I was distracted by his face and his formal attire?

“Ah… yes. I understand.”

“Good.”

He released our intertwined hands and took a step back. The warmth that had lingered suddenly departed. Missing it, I unconsciously let out a small “ah” sound.

After saying it, I realized my mistake and looked at him. I briefly hoped he hadn’t heard since it was just a small sound, but judging by the curious expression on his face as he looked down at me, he definitely heard it.

“Should I hold your hand again?”

He asked with a smile, having perfectly read my feelings of longing. I fidgeted with my fingers and pretended to look away. Though I desperately wanted to hold his hand, it felt a bit awkward to eagerly suggest it myself.

It’s funny to think this way when we’re getting married in just a few hours, but I didn’t want to seem too easy by agreeing to everything he suggested. It wasn’t playing hard to get—more like I’d already given 90 percent and wanted to keep the remaining 10 percent to myself.

“Hmm…”

While I was hesitating with these complicated thoughts, he suddenly grabbed my hand as he stared at me. Then he brought his face close and kissed me without asking.

Surprised by the familiar sensation of his lips touching mine and then pulling away, I looked at him with wide eyes.

“S-Siwoo? Why so suddenly…”

As I tried to make sense of the situation while flustered, he leaned his upper body forward again, coming closer. As the distance narrowed to where our lips would touch if I fell forward, I closed my eyes with a feeling of “whatever.”

“…?”

But nothing happened even after a moment passed. Sensing something odd, I carefully opened my eyes.

Right in front of me, I saw his face, slowly blinking.

“W-what is it?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“W-weren’t you going to kiss me?”

“I never said I would.”

He casually murmured as he reached out his hand. His fingers lingered briefly on my exposed shoulder, then changed direction and lightly moved up to my veil.

After gently placing his hand there, he tapped it softly as if giving a signal, and smiled.

What could this gesture mean? Simple curiosity? Or was it his strategy to tease me? I wasn’t sure which it was, but he wasn’t doing this for no reason…

“Did you want me to?”

“…Want what?”

“What else? A kiss.”

“…”

More precisely, it wasn’t that I wanted it, but that I was preparing for it because I thought he was going to do it first… but if I said that now, it would just sound like an excuse.

Deciding that speaking up would do me no good, I simply kept my mouth shut without answering. Then, without waiting, he came close and stole another kiss from my lips.

“You looked like you wanted it.”

I glanced at him, and he freely offered an answer to a question I hadn’t asked. As if he had prepared it in advance.

“I’ll have to do it whether I want to or not in a little while anyway.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to kiss me but are forced to?”

“You just did it without even asking me.”

“Then should I ask before doing it from now on?”

There’s nothing that kills the mood more than asking if you can kiss someone. As I quickly tried to stop him before he developed a bad habit, I noticed him quietly smiling while staring at me.

I stared back at him and realized that his question had been a joke.

“…You were teasing me just now, weren’t you?”

“No, I was sincerely asking.”

“Then why are you smiling at me like that?”

“I’ve been told I have a naturally smiley face.”

What is he saying? He looks ice-cold when he keeps his mouth shut. Does this man lack self-awareness? I was about to say something but barely held back. It wouldn’t do any good in this situation anyway.

“Anyway, about the kiss we’ll have in a little while, how should we do it?”

“Can’t we just do it normally and then separate?”

“But that’s no fun. Since we’re doing it in front of everyone, shouldn’t we make it more special?”

Does this man… have no sense of nervousness? I’m dying of anxiety just thinking about kissing in front of everyone, but he, the other party involved, seems completely unfazed. And it’s not an act—he genuinely seems fine.

Or could it be that he’s pretending to be okay while gritting his teeth just to tease me? Like an actor consumed by method acting?

Suspicious, I stared at him intently. His smiling lips, his perfectly fitted suit, his long limbs.

“…”

…It’s frustrating, but the suit suits him too well. Especially that one unbuttoned button revealing his firm chest.

Even at a glance, seeing his overflowing masculinity made even my faintly rising anger melt away.

If I liked him a little less, I would have smacked his behind… but the fact that I couldn’t and just took it made me think I was in serious condition. If we end up getting married at this rate, I might not only fail to keep my remaining 10 percent but lose what I still have.

“I’ve been working out really hard. You know that, right?”

“Y-yes… but why bring that up?”

“So I was thinking, since I’ve built up my body, it would be a waste not to use it.”

“That’s true, but… you’re not planning to take your shirt off for the kiss, are you?”

If he did that at the wedding venue, both families’ relatives would be in an uproar. I looked at him with a worried expression, and he chuckled as if finding it absurd.

“That’s not what I meant. I’m saying I’m stronger than you think.”

“…Stronger?”

At his meaningful words, I glanced down and gulped.

…He’s already very healthy and vigorous, can he get even stronger? Then how long could he last? Since it’s not my body, I don’t know for sure, but I’d guess about twice as long.

Of course, this is just my speculation, so to know for sure, I’d need to verify it later. Then tonight—no, that won’t work. We’ll be spending tonight on the plane.

So tomorrow night then. Yes, it wouldn’t be bad to rest well and recover our energy since we’ll both be tired. We could rest and play at the beach during the day, then return to the hotel late at night and pour out the energy we’ve accumulated…

“…What on earth are you imagining?”

In the middle of spreading my wings of imagination, I was brought back to reality by his low voice. Not stopping at just words, he tapped my forehead with his finger.

Finally coming to my senses, I took my eyes off his waistband and looked at him.

“What? What is it?”

“I wasn’t talking about that kind of strength, but the strength in my arms and lower body. Though it’s not completely unrelated to that, what I’m talking about now isn’t that kind of thing.”

Oh, so it wasn’t about that. Pretending I knew all along even though I didn’t, I nodded with a smirk.

“Ah, I know. I was just looking to tease you a bit, Siwoo.”

“You really have to tease me even at times like this to feel satisfied, don’t you?”

It was a difficult question to answer, and as I was trying to think of a plausible response, he spoke first.

“Anyway, I want to carry you like a princess and kiss you. What do you think, Nabi?”

“Hmm… like a princess?”

Is he talking about the act where a man supports a woman’s legs and waist to lift her up? I could recognize it immediately from dramas where the male and female leads commonly do it.

“Yeah, would that be okay? If it’s too burdensome, we don’t have to.”

“Since you’re the one carrying, I don’t have anything to be burdened about… but will it be okay? It would be a disaster if you dropped me.”

Setting aside the possibility of my body getting hurt, if such a thing happened, it wouldn’t end with just embarrassment.

It wouldn’t be in front of strangers, but in front of guests consisting of relatives and our friends… I don’t even want to imagine it.

“Come on, that won’t happen. Don’t you remember? When you couldn’t walk after we finished at night and you were going to shower, I always carried you there.”

“W-why are you bringing that up here and now?”

This man, really, what if someone hears? With a flushed face, I looked around in surprise, then tapped his shoulder for saying such things without any sense of propriety.

“Sorry, you were just worrying unnecessarily. Anyway, what I’m saying is you don’t need to worry about that. As long as you don’t struggle while being carried, I can hold you up just fine.”

“…Really? How long can you hold me?”

“Well, if you stay still, I could probably manage at least ten minutes.”

“Then let’s test it now. You never know.”

“Hmm, should we?”

He straightened his back with a dubious response. I carefully stood up while holding the hem of my dress, and he placed his arms under my waist and knees before lifting me up.

“How is it? Okay?”

A low, deep voice, like being deep inside a cave, reached my ears as I held onto his shoulders for support.

It sounded so good that I almost let out an exclamation of admiration, but I swallowed it and nodded instead.

“Yes… this should be fine.”

“Good, so the carrying part is settled. Should we practice the next part too?”

“The next part?”

What else is there? Being off guard, I asked without thinking. Then with a *smooch* sound, his lips touched mine and pulled away. He had suddenly kissed me.

“Ah…”

Surprised, I tried to pull away, but since my body was entrusted to him, I couldn’t. He probably knew this would happen when he kissed me.

Realizing I had fallen for his scheme, I gave him a sulky look, but he continued speaking without paying any attention to it.

“Just so you know, in the real thing, I won’t end it this quickly.”

“With everyone watching, how long are you planning to…”

“Curious?”

It would be a lie to say I’m not curious. As I was debating whether to be honest or not, he brought his face closer while gazing at me intently.

“…”

Though no words were spoken, I knew what he wanted. But is it okay to do this already, before we’ve even started anything?

Despite thinking this, I didn’t avoid him. Naturally, the distance between us closed, and just as our breaths began to tickle each other’s faces…

—*BANG!*