Ch.250250. Jealousy or Obsession

“All day?”

“Yes, all day.”

“…You’re joking, right?”

“Does it sound like a joke?”

I didn’t bother voicing my inner thought that I asked because it didn’t seem like one. Saying it would only make things worse.

Hwa Nabi tightened her grip on my arm that she was holding. My arm got squeezed, but due to the geographical position, it didn’t hurt—rather, I only felt a soft sensation.

“…Talking about jokes makes me even angrier. I mean, even if she’s a foreigner, still. How dare she make such a vulgar joke to my man?”

It’s quite rare for Hwa Nabi to get genuinely angry like this. Curious about what was causing this, I casually asked.

“What did she say that’s got you so worked up?”

“What do you mean what? She asked my husband to do that with her!”

“That?”

I found myself asking before I could stop. That? What does she mean?

But I realized too late that it was a question I shouldn’t have asked.

“Se, ex… mmph, mmph!”

Afraid something outrageous was about to come out, I quickly covered Hwa Nabi’s mouth with my hand. Thankfully, I managed to stop her before she could complete the word starting with “sex.”

‘Why are you suddenly covering my mouth?’

Seemingly unhappy that I was preventing her from speaking, Hwa Nabi narrowed her eyes at me. On top of that, she was exhaling roughly through her nose—the hot air hitting my finger made it clear she was still agitated. If I let go, she’d say something inappropriate and draw attention.

It wouldn’t matter if she said something strange in Korean since no one would understand. But what she was about to say was a universal word. If she blurted it out, we wouldn’t even be able to eat our meal in peace.

With that in mind, I couldn’t let go. Still covering her mouth, I tried to communicate with my eyes.

‘Just calm down first. You’re too excited.’

‘Who, me? No way. I’m extremely calm right now.’

How could someone claiming to be calm have such wide, frantic eyes? Her unusual speech pattern and rapid-fire words were evidence of her agitation.

The reason for her behavior was probably because of that group of local women in the distance. I wonder what joke they made to provoke such a reaction from Hwa Nabi. All I could gather was that they used some mysterious word called “cream pie,” but not knowing the actual reason was frustrating.

‘Count to ten in your head. Then I’ll let go.’

I didn’t want to ask her directly, as she’d likely get angry again while explaining. While thinking a thousand thoughts, I tried to calm her down. She seemed to realize she wasn’t being calm, as she started mumbling with her mouth, apparently counting as I suggested.

‘Eight, nine, ten. Done?’

She’d only counted for about three seconds but claimed to be finished. I wanted to hold on longer, but it was getting awkward. I could feel the foreigners around us glancing at us. We were already rare Asians in Puerto Rico, and with me covering her mouth, we were unintentionally drawing attention.

To be fair, if I saw people doing this nearby, I’d be curious too. I released my hand from Hwa Nabi’s mouth and placed it on the table as if nothing had happened. The locals who had been watching us returned to their own business.

“My mouth tastes salty.”

“I washed my hands at the hotel before we left.”

“I don’t think it’s because of you. I think it’s because I rinsed my mouth with water earlier.”

Hwa Nabi, who had been so agitated moments ago, was now having a casual conversation with me as if nothing had happened. I was relieved she didn’t say anything strange the moment I let go. Feeling reassured, I responded casually.

“Maybe the water has seawater mixed in because we’re on an island. But why did you rinse your mouth? You brushed your teeth before we left.”

“A woman needs to be prepared anywhere, anytime.”

“Prepared? For what?”

“For this.”

Smooch. While I was off guard, something touched my lips and quickly pulled away. Hwa Nabi had kissed me without any warning and quickly pulled back. Realizing what had happened, I looked around.

Fortunately, most customers were focused on enjoying their food, so it seemed no one had witnessed our display of affection… But still, suddenly kissing in public like that. The sensation was nice, but I couldn’t fully enjoy it.

Even in foreign countries where physical affection is more accepted, couples kissing on the street, especially inside a restaurant where everyone can see, are quite rare.

“Nabi, you…”

Just as I was about to say something, Hwa Nabi smiled softly and looked somewhere else. Wondering what she was looking at, I turned my gaze in the same direction and saw the group of foreign women we had spoken with earlier.

Among them, the woman who had joked with me—the one who said something about “cream pie”—was smiling bitterly. How should I put it? Her expression seemed to say, “Did you have to go that far?”

The woman shook her head and mouthed something. Since I couldn’t understand it, it probably wasn’t English but some other language.

“She says I won.”

Just as I was trying to guess what it meant, Hwa Nabi pulled on my arm and whispered. Won? What does that mean? Not understanding immediately, I looked at her. Hwa Nabi was smiling crookedly, looking straight ahead.

“She just mouthed it, right? She said she felt the gap between us as women. That she lost.”

“She said that to you?”

“Yes. Why? Don’t you think so?”

While Spanish is a language with flexible word order and allows omissions, I doubted that much information could be conveyed in such a short exchange.

I wanted to ask if she was sure that’s what the woman said, but my instinct warned me not to. This was a question I shouldn’t ask, something I should just let slide.

“No, I’m not doubting you. I don’t know Spanish, right? That’s why I asked you.”

Even though her expression didn’t look like someone gracefully accepting defeat at all. But bringing it up would only make things worse. I quickly changed the subject and nodded, which made Hwa Nabi smile with satisfaction.

“That’s right. Since you don’t know Spanish well, if you need to talk to anyone from now on, just leave the interpreting to me.”

I wonder why she emphasized the word “from now on.” I wasn’t sure, or rather, I had an idea but chose not to ask.

“Sure, I’ll count on you for interpreting from now on.”

“Alright. I’ll do a gooood job for you from now on.”

Why is she stretching the word so long when saying how well she’ll do? I couldn’t help but chuckle, and Hwa Nabi laughed along with me.

While laughing, she suddenly raised her hand and waved it side to side. She had noticed a waiter carrying our food was having trouble finding us. The waiter approached us and, while setting down the food, casually asked why we had changed tables.

He didn’t ask at all about the two of us sitting so close together—truly a professional response. But even so, I couldn’t tell him the real reason, so I made up an excuse about the sunlight being too bright in our eyes and handed him 6 dollars. The food for both of us totaled 30 dollars, so this was about a 20% tip.

“Thank you. Enjoy your time.”

The waiter left after the pleasantry. Hwa Nabi stared at her Mallorca for a moment, then turned to me. She gestured toward my beefsteak and said:

“Honey, do you know how much it costs to hire a tour guide interpreter?”

That question was outside my range of expectations. How would I know unless I’d hired an interpreter before? As I hesitated, not knowing much about the field, Hwa Nabi answered her own question with a business-like smile.

“Excluding break time, it’s about 500,000 won for eight hours. And there are additional charges if the distance increases.”

“Oh, really? That’s more expensive than I thought…”

Well, thinking about it, that makes sense. Since interpretation is a professional job requiring fluency in two languages, it’s normal for the daily hiring cost to be that high.

As I was trying to make sense of it, Hwa Nabi added in a whisper:

“Yes, it’s expensive, right? And you have this expensive interpreter by your side all day long.”

“…”

So is she saying I should pay her…?

That thought suddenly crossed my mind, and I glanced at her, but from the way things were going, that didn’t seem to be the case. Neither Hwa Nabi nor I are the type to be concerned about money, and we’ve never demanded payment from each other. I can’t imagine Hwa Nabi billing me for anything.

But then, what was her purpose in bringing this up? If she was asking for money, it would be easy and quick to resolve, but since that’s not it, I’m even more confused.

Just as I was about to carefully ask, Hwa Nabi pulled on my arm that she was holding, bringing us closer.

“But you know, we’re not the kind of people who exchange money for a little interpreting, right? We’ve been together for so long, don’t you think?”

“Y-yeah, that’s right.”

“Yes. This is just like a service included in the basic package. And it’s a service that requires very little effort. Yes, that’s right.”

Hwa Nabi, who had been talking to herself, glanced at me. There was a strange smile on her lips—her distinctive expression when she’s hiding some kind of scheme.

“That’s true, but it’s not fair if only one side receives service. There should be give and take, right? Isn’t that how it works?”

“Yeah, I guess so?”

That is indeed a universal truth. In English, they call it “give and take.”

While having these useless thoughts, I grabbed a fork with my free hand. It happened as I was nervously clenching and unclenching my hand.

Hwa Nabi stared at my left hand, very intently.

“So I’d like to receive some service from you too.”

“What service all of a sudden?”

Even if she wants service, there’s very little I can do in this restricted situation. If I had to find something, it would only be using my free hand.

…Oh, could it be?