Ch.223223. What Happened at the Beach

Hwa Nabi placed her hand on my lower body as I was lying face down, and seemed to be rubbing it before saying briefly.

“Turn around. I’ll apply some on the front too.”

“I can do the front by myself.”

I responded casually as I turned to lie on my back. Then suddenly, Hwa Nabi crawled over on her knees and sat down, pressing my calves with her buttocks. In this position, I couldn’t move freely.

If I did, Hwa Nabi would fall on her behind. Well, of course, falling backward onto the sandy beach wouldn’t hurt her. Still, I didn’t particularly want to put her in any danger.

“Hold still. It’s not like you can reach your armpits anyway, right?”

“I do have some muscles, that’s true, but I’m not that stiff.”

“Tsk, there you go talking nonsense again. Just accept my help quietly, okay?”

Hwa Nabi spoke as if she were in the dominant position and pressed her index finger firmly against my lips. The scent of sunscreen mixed with Hwa Nabi’s unique skin smell created a truly peculiar fragrance.

How should I describe it? It’s a scent I want to keep smelling but feel like I shouldn’t. It’s similar to the scent and taste I experience when licking Hwa Nabi’s skin…

“…Fine, do whatever you want.”

I gathered my thoughts after having such wild fantasies. Hmm, I shouldn’t be imagining strange things. Having these kinds of thoughts while on vacation isn’t right, is it?

I naturally grabbed Hwa Nabi’s arm and moved it back, then lay down with my head on the ground. I should just look at the sky instead of at her, as looking at her might trigger strange thoughts. Don’t be conscious of it.

“Alright. Shall I begin?”

While I was making such resolutions, Hwa Nabi, sitting on my calves, squeezed out some sunscreen. I just nodded in response, and immediately after, Hwa Nabi’s hand touched my thigh.

As her touch landed, I felt a slippery and unfamiliar sensation on my leg. It was just sunscreen being applied, but it felt completely different from when I applied it myself.

It felt like cotton candy being rubbed on my thigh rather than sunscreen. Maybe it’s because Hwa Nabi’s palms are naturally soft, but every time her fingertips touched me, I found myself involuntarily flinching a little.

“How is it? Does it feel good?”

“Well, it’s not bad.”

“Is that all you have to say?”

“It’s just sunscreen. What else should I say?”

“…Hmm, is that so?”

The touch on my thigh suddenly stopped. Is she going to quit just because I didn’t express enough appreciation? Just as I thought that, Hwa Nabi, who had been looking at me, squeezed more sunscreen onto her palm.

Then she changed direction and placed her hand on my abdomen, rubbing it.

“Then, how about here?”

“It tickles…?”

“It’s not just ticklish, don’t you feel a cooling sensation too? This is cooling sunscreen.”

“Hmm… really?”

I closed my eyes and focused on the sensation. Then, from my abdomen where Hwa Nabi’s fingers touched, a cooling sensation began to rise, just as she had said.

Usually when applying sunscreen, it feels pasty and like something has been layered on. But this one was different—it was refreshingly cool, which was quite interesting.

“See, it feels cool now, right?”

“Yeah… I guess.”

I answered with my eyes half-open. If sunscreen feels like this, I might consider applying it every day. It’s like rediscovering an outdoor cosmetic product that I had only found bothersome before.

The strange refreshing feeling made me smile unconsciously, and Hwa Nabi, who was staring at me intently, smiled along. It was her characteristic mischievous smile that appears when she’s thinking of something suspicious.

“Now then.”

Tap, Hwa Nabi raised her index finger and touched my abs. This much I could tolerate. So I stayed still, and she smiled slightly and changed direction, running her finger along the grooves between my abs.

Ah, I can’t handle this. I flinched and curled up my upper body. And as I tried to grab Hwa Nabi’s arm to stop her, she quickly pulled it away first.

“Sir, you need to stay still during a massage. If you move around like that, it makes things difficult for the masseuse.”

“I thought you were just applying sunscreen. When did this become a massage?”

“Hmm, just now?”

Hwa Nabi tilted her head as if pondering. It was clearly an exaggerated gesture, but even that looked adorable to me.

Hmm, I must really have it bad. In situations like this, I should firmly tell her not to do that and make it clear that she shouldn’t do strange things next time. But seeing her playful smile makes it hard to be stern.

“…Just, don’t touch any weird places. Got it?”

“Yes, I understand.”

All I could manage was a conventional warning. Hwa Nabi seemed to let my words go in one ear and out the other, and reached out again to gently caress my abs.

As if stroking something cute, she ran her fingers from top to bottom. Applying sunscreen seemed secondary; she was touching me so blatantly, then noticed my gaze and quickly looked up.

“With this much applied, the front should be good enough, right?”

“I think you might have applied too much…”

There was enough to cover other areas too, but she used it all on my abs. She applied so much that my stomach was turning white.

Hwa Nabi seemed to realize this wasn’t right either, as she stared at my abs intently before placing her hands on them and spreading the excess sunscreen.

From my abdomen to my sides, from my abdomen to my chest. After transferring the remaining sunscreen to various places, she gripped my shoulders with both hands.

“There, all done.”

“If it’s done, you should get off me.”

“Ah, come to think of it, I think I missed a spot.”

Before I could ask where she had missed, Hwa Nabi suddenly leaned her upper body forward.

Then she pressed her lips against mine for a light kiss, and reached her hands behind my back, crossing them to gently massage around my armpits.

“…Mmm, whoa.”

Perhaps due to the sudden kiss leaving her unprepared, Hwa Nabi was the first to pull away, short of breath.

-Phew, she exhaled and embraced my torso. I raised my upper body and hugged her so she could lean on me comfortably. This would be more comfortable for her.

“Phew, haaa…”

“Don’t tell me the spot you missed was my lips?”

“Huh, what?”

“You just said you missed a spot. Was that spot possibly my lips?”

When I asked again, Hwa Nabi thought for a moment, then burst into laughter. She seemed to find the situation amusing herself.

“Who applies sunscreen to their lips? It was obviously your armpits.”

“Then why did you kiss me?”

“Hmm, the kiss? That was just…”

“Just?”

Hwa Nabi, who had paused mid-sentence, rested her chin on my shoulder. Then she brought her lips close and planted a kiss on my neck before whispering softly.

“I just wanted to do it.”

“…You suddenly wanted to kiss me while applying sunscreen?”

“Yes, touching your abs made me want to.”

Hwa Nabi, who admitted it straightforwardly, reached out her hand. Her slender fingers touched my back.

She gently stroked my back with just her index finger, then whispered in my ear.

“It’s your fault for being too sexy. You’re so sexy I couldn’t help myself.”

Since that’s not something I can control voluntarily, I didn’t respond and just hugged her tightly.

Hwa Nabi continued touching my back for quite some time, then changed her hand position and patted my back with her palm. It seemed like she had something more she wanted to say.

“Come to think of it, that’s really true. You should have been just moderately sexy, then you wouldn’t have all these random girls coming after you.”

“…”

Why is that topic suddenly coming up here?

This time I remained silent because it was a difficult subject to respond to for different reasons. Hwa Nabi, who had been hugging me, grabbed my shoulders and stretched her arms out. Thanks to that, I ended up looking at her directly.

“Darling, tell me.”

“…What?”

“Those girls approached you because they thought you were sexy. How did that make you feel? Answer honestly.”

“Well… it wasn’t bad?”

Regardless of the reason, when someone shows favorable feelings, it might be awkward but there’s no reason to dislike it. Whether to accept it or not is a different matter.

So I answered honestly, just as it was, but Hwa Nabi narrowed her eyes. She didn’t seem to like my answer.

“No, no. It was bad. Come to think of it, it was a complete stranger saying such things to me, right? That would be sexual harassment in Korea.”

“But we’re in Puerto Rico.”

“…”

Technically, that’s not wrong… but isn’t that missing the point?

I was about to say that but quickly shut my mouth. Adding anything more seemed like it would only make things worse.

“So, the conclusion is that you felt good about it?”

“It’s not that I felt good, just that it wasn’t bad.”

“No need to beat around the bush, just answer yes or no. Did you like it or not?”

“…I believe that such black-and-white thinking is not correct.”

After I expressed my opinion, her palm firmly grabbed my side. It seems that for Hwa Nabi, the world is only black or white.

With a sensitive area held hostage, I gulped. Being completely honest would be difficult to deal with afterward, but mixing in lies would be obvious. After all, we’ve spent enough time together that we can easily detect each other’s lies.

So the only option is to honestly admit it… but the consequences are predictable, right?

“Not going to answer?”

Hwa Nabi’s eyes narrowed more and more. If I stalled any longer, the good atmosphere could turn cold.

“…”

…Ah, whatever. After contemplating, I just pulled Hwa Nabi close and kissed her, with a mindset of letting whatever happens happen.

Surprised by this, she opened her eyes wide and abruptly stopped moving. I gently stroked the back of her head to reassure her, continuing the softest kiss imaginable.

Then she gradually calmed down, closed her eyes, and enjoyed our kiss.

“…Mmm, …mmm.”

After some time had passed, thinking it was enough, I separated our lips. Then, looking into her eyes, I briefly added.

“It’s you I love. Not anyone else.”

I waited for her response after expressing my honest feelings. Hwa Nabi seemed to ponder my words for a moment, then smiled beautifully and said:

“Oh, my darling…”