Ch.218218. A Minor Misunderstanding

“What does my husband think?”

Hwa Nabi asks, tapping her plump lips with her finger. I reach out to touch those lips, but barely manage to come to my senses.

Hmm, I almost did something strange in front of everyone. Hwa Nabi might have done it when no one was looking, but I shouldn’t do that now, right? If not for the other party members who just walked in, I might have ended up on someone’s social media as “the kissing guy at the airport duty-free shop.”

That thought cools my heated mind. I extend my previously hesitant hand again and tap the champagne bottle as I reply.

“Well, I’m not sure.”

“Hmm, why? Doesn’t it make sense?”

Drinking mead to make kisses taste sweeter. The idea is incredibly romantic, but the intention is too obvious to simply agree with.

Well, as Hwa Nabi says, there might be some truth to it. Mead is usually very sweet and low in alcohol content, so if you drink it carelessly, you might gulp it down.

If you drink a lot, the taste will linger in your mouth, making kisses taste sweeter, right? Plus, it’s alcohol, so it dulls your senses.

And when a married couple loses their inhibitions, well… what more needs to be said?

“It’s not that it doesn’t make sense, but if that’s really the purpose, isn’t it a bit… you know?”

…The point is, there’s a reason why newlyweds frequent certain places. But isn’t it a bit much to openly advertise those underlying intentions? Then all couples or married people who buy mead would seem like they have those kinds of intentions.

So they attach plausible excuses on the surface. Like saying it boosts vitality, or it’s good for your health so you can have more children, those kinds of reasons.

“Then, what does Siwoo think is the real reason?”

“Umm… well.”

I think similarly, but expressing it verbally is the problem. Should I say that it’s really good for newlyweds, but I can’t quite explain why it’s good?

How should I phrase this? As I pondered, a certain champagne caught my eye. It had the word ‘baby’ written on it.

“…”

As I stared at the somehow meaningful champagne label, something occurred to me. I kept my gaze on that champagne and said:

“Maybe it helps with making babies.”

“…The mead?”

“Just a thought.”

I should have given an obvious reason like boosting vitality. That thought immediately crossed my mind, but the water was already spilled.

Embarrassed by my own words, I moved ahead, leaving Hwa Nabi behind. She quickly caught up to me, tapping my arm as she spoke.

“Siwoo, your cheeks are a bit red. Are you actually embarrassed? By what you just said?”

“…What are you talking about? It’s not like that. I’m going to ask for champagne.”

“I don’t think so. You look really embarrassed right now.”

Ignoring Hwa Nabi’s chatter beside me, I approached an employee and asked them to set aside a bottle of Dom Pérignon or whatever it was. I’m not sure about Grandfather’s taste, but bringing an expensive champagne as a greeting should be fine.

“Nabi, since you’re pregnant, you shouldn’t drink champagne or wine, right?”

“Yes. But they say non-alcoholic is okay.”

“Really? Then we should ask the hotel staff when we get there.”

“Huh, why? Want to drink non-alcoholic mead together?”

“How did you know…”

I felt caught off guard. I was about to give a casual answer when I turned my neck to look at Hwa Nabi. She was looking at me with a grin, like a child who had successfully pulled a prank.

“Oh, was that correct? Did you really want to drink mead with me?”

I was going to, but I can’t now. Being honest would just be digging my own grave. I pretended not to hear Hwa Nabi’s words and walked ahead, adjusting my travel bag. She followed me, giggling.

“Hmm, I wonder why. Why would Siwoo want to drink mead with me?”

“…”

“Ah, could it be you’re already preparing for a second child? Huh, that won’t work. We haven’t even had Woo-ah yet.”

She seems to be having a great time beside me, playing both sides of the conversation, and I can’t deny it.

Why? I can’t say I didn’t have that intention. It might sound like an excuse, but men are sad creatures; when alone with their woman, they can’t help but have those kinds of thoughts.

“Woo-ah, look at daddy. Our daddy is quite lustful, isn’t he?”

“Nabi, you’re going to get in real trouble later if you keep that up.”

I couldn’t deny it, so I just gave a perfunctory warning. But Hwa Nabi paid no attention, came closer to me, even linked arms with me, and asked:

“Why, how will I get in trouble?”

“I can’t say that with my own mouth…”

She seems to know this too, as she looks up at me with a mischievous smile.

“Hmm? Try saying it. How are you going to punish me?”

“…I think it’s about time we go catch our flight.”

“It’s not time yet? Ah. Huh, I see. You’re saving that pleasure for later, right? Okay. I’ll let it slide for now.”

“…”

…Just you wait.

*

Puerto Rico is an island territory of the United States located at the edge of the Caribbean Sea, an inland sea of the Atlantic Ocean. The time difference with Korea is a whopping 13 hours, and since it’s more than halfway around the globe, there are rarely direct flights.

In other words, to get to Puerto Rico using commercial airlines, you first need to enter the United States, go through immigration, and then take a connecting flight.

But we didn’t need to do that. Why? We used the group’s private jet, thanks to my brother and father’s help. As a result, we arrived in Puerto Rico via a clean direct flight instead of a complicated transfer.

“Welcome To Puerto Rico. Sir, do you need another service?”

So our current location is Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport. After completing the immigration process that took about ten minutes, the security checkpoint staff smiled and extended a hand to me, asking if I needed anything.

I took that hand and shook it lightly, indicating that I was fine.

“Fine, Thank you for asking.”

“OK. Let me know if there is anything you need.”

After receiving our luggage from the overly friendly staff and leaving the checkpoint, we looked around the airport.

“It’s not as big as I thought.”

I’m not sure how it actually is, but it feels less than half the size of Gimpo Airport. Hwa Nabi, who was standing beside me looking outside the airport, moved slightly away and said while looking at the checkpoint:

“Right? Doesn’t it feel about half the size of Gimpo Airport?”

“Yeah, you felt that too?”

I guess everyone sees things similarly. As I nodded at this unexpected common ground, Hwa Nabi, who had briefly moved away, came back to my side.

“But you know, it’s nice being rich.”

“Huh? Why?”

“When I went to the US before, the immigration was super strict. Why are you coming, what will you do here, how long will you stay, have you booked a hotel… they asked all sorts of questions, but not today. This is the first time I’ve passed through a checkpoint in just ten minutes. Plus, the staff are extremely friendly.”

“Well, the US is known for its strict immigration. But are they that strict even if you enter on first class?”

“I’ve never flown first class. My dad said experiencing only the best things would spoil me, so he never got me tickets.”

“Ah… I see.”

If that was your parents’ educational policy, there’s nothing to be done.

As we were chatting, an airport staff member came running breathlessly and approached us. Wondering what was going on, I asked, and they replied that a VIP vehicle was waiting at the opposite entrance and wondered why we were heading this way.

“VIP vehicle? Siwoo, did you prepare that too?”

I was about to shake my head at this news, but then I realized. It must be my brother’s consideration. He said he would prepare everything so there would be no inconvenience during our honeymoon, and one of those preparations must have been a dedicated vehicle.

“Yeah, well. I prepared it for convenience. It’s better than taking a taxi, right? We should reach the hotel in about thirty minutes.”

Brother, I’m sorry. Since I’m in front of my wife, let me show off just this once. Apologizing inwardly, I nodded and acted naturally. Hwa Nabi gave me an admiring look, then suddenly said quietly, as if she just remembered something:

“Ah, then Siwoo. I’ll just go to the bathroom quickly. Can you wait here for a moment?”

“Sure, go ahead. The bathroom is over there.”

“I’ll be right back. Oh, and even if a stranger comes and asks you to go somewhere with them, don’t go. Got it?”

“I’m not a child, don’t worry and hurry back.”

I explained the situation to the staff to reassure them and sent Hwa Nabi to the bathroom. After sending the staff away as well, I plopped down on a nearby chair.

We have plenty of time, so I should wait about ten minutes. In the meantime, I should check if I’ve forgotten anything.

Just as I was about to open my travel bag with that thought, at that very moment.

“Hello, cutie. Traveling alone?”

A woman’s voice came from above my head. There’s no one who would talk to me, so who could it be? Maybe another airport staff?

While thinking various thoughts, I looked up. Two tall women were looking down at me. One was a white woman with pale skin, and the other appeared to be a Latina with tanned skin.

“Excuse me? Me?”

Why did these people approach me? Maybe because I was flustered, I unconsciously replied in Korean. The two women looked at me with puzzled expressions. They clearly didn’t understand what I said.

Well, let’s get it together. They’re obviously foreigners, so they can’t understand Korean. After assessing the situation, I cleared my throat and answered in English so they could understand.

“Um… excuse me. What did you just say?”

“Look at how surprised he is. Isn’t he cute?”

“Yeah. Chinese? Or Japanese? He looks Asian.”

“No, Chinese people don’t look like this. From my perspective, he kind of looks like a Korean idol. Look, doesn’t he look like the guys in Korean idol music videos?”

“Oh, really. Now that you mention it, he does. Then is he perhaps a Korean idol?”

“Cutie, are you really a Korean idol?”

Their accents were so strong that I couldn’t understand everything, but I could make out words like “Korean” and “idol.”

They’re probably asking if I’m a Korean idol, so I shook my head and answered that I wasn’t.

“I am Korean, but not an idol. I’m just an ordinary person. Thanks for the compliment.”

“Really? You look so cute I got confused. Sorry, but looking at him closely, he seems to have a really good body. Look at his shoulders and thighs, aren’t they kind of sexy?”

“Yeah, he looks innocent but I bet he’s really good in bed. Hey, Korean cutie. If you’re free, want to hang out with us?”

Words like “sexy” and “hot” popped up, and the two women looked at me with suggestive eyes.

My instinct rings an alarm bell. I don’t know what it is, but something feels off, so I was about to express my refusal when… my eyes met someone behind them.

“…Nabi?”

…It was Hwa Nabi.