Ch.253253. Slightly Out of Mind

“I should be looking at the fireworks, not you…”

“Why? I’d rather look at something else.”

I wonder where she’s looking while saying that. Her gaze is so obvious that it’s hard to pretend I don’t notice, but it’s also awkward to acknowledge it. If I did, we’d end up in a strange mood in broad daylight.

Instead of answering, I stabbed a piece of Mallorca with my fork and held it out to Hwa Nabi. When I brought it to her, she opened her mouth wide and ate it well. This makes me feel like a mother bird feeding her baby chick.

How does all that fit into those small lips? Sometimes it amazes me. When she’s eating food, and when she’s doing other things with her mouth.

“…”

What kind of nonsensical thought did I just have? Maybe because I’ve been hearing strange things since daylight, my thought process keeps drifting in that direction. We still have plenty of time and things to do, so I shouldn’t be like this already.

I was blankly staring at Hwa Nabi’s moving lips when I suddenly came to my senses. Fortunately, she seemed too focused on eating to notice my gaze.

“Mmm, delicious.”

After letting out a small exclamation, Hwa Nabi put the straw in her drink to her lips. Then she pursed her lips and sucked on it. That shape looks just like when someone slightly puckers their lips right before a kiss. Am I crazy? Or has my brain gone bad from imagining things in that direction too much?

I seriously pondered this, but there was no answer to be found. While I was lost in useless thoughts, Hwa Nabi removed her lips from the straw and licked the corner of her mouth to clean up the remaining drink.

And once again, I found myself staring blankly at the scene. It was nothing special, but strangely, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. How should I describe this feeling? It’s like seeing something I shouldn’t be seeing.

Lately, I’ve been thinking that Hwa Nabi seems to be getting more and more seductive. It’s not that her behavior or speech has changed, but rather the atmosphere she creates.

She definitely wasn’t like this before, but strangely, these days every gesture seems suggestive. Hwa Nabi probably isn’t doing this consciously, and she likely has no such intention.

Is there something wrong with me? Like I just said, has my brain hardened in that direction, making me see things this way?

“Husband, would you like some?”

“…Huh? Some what?”

I was caught off guard. What is she asking me to eat? Could it be what I’m thinking? I suppressed my pounding heart and looked at Hwa Nabi. She had taken the fork from my hand and was holding out a piece of beef steak to me.

“What else? Food, of course. Are you going to eat it or not?”

“Ah, yes. I should eat. Thanks.”

“Okay then, husband, say aah.”

Due to my strange misunderstanding, my heart was pounding so hard that I had long forgotten the embarrassment of saying “aah.” I obediently ate the food Hwa Nabi offered, chewed it a few times, swallowed, and calmed my heart.

Right, don’t get excited. Why am I acting like this? It’s not like I’m some inexperienced kid. I should have graduated from getting worked up over ridiculous fantasies long ago. Remember, a man should always maintain his composure anywhere, anytime.

After this self-hypnotic suggestion, I was finally able to calm down. With my composure regained, I continued eating. We were still feeding each other, but now that I’d found my equilibrium, this level of embarrassment was nothing.

Well, lovers can feed each other. And other people might see it, but so what? As long as they don’t secretly take pictures, it’s fine. That would be crossing a line—there’s such a thing as portrait rights. Of course, many foreign countries don’t recognize the concept of portrait rights, but anyway.

“Oh, right. I should have taken a picture of this before cutting it and posted it.”

Hwa Nabi said while chewing the Mallorca I had fed her. As she said, if we were going to take a picture, we should have done it before cutting into it. After it’s all divided up, the sauce splatters everywhere and the filling spills out, making it look unappetizing.

“We can take one next time, since we’ll eat this again.”

“If I had taken one of this and one of the next one, I could have posted two items on Instagram.”

“What’s the difference between one post and two?”

“If I post frequently, more ads come in.”

“…What ads? Do you get restaurant ads and promote them?”

“Well, not exactly restaurant ads, but ads for clothes or accessories I’m wearing…”

The explanation was long, but the gist is this: Hwa Nabi receives sponsored accessories or clothes from certain brands, wears them, and subtly promotes them by including them in her everyday photos. Then when people become interested in the accessories or clothes and ask which brand they are, she casually drops the brand name.

Now that I hear it, it makes sense. When mutual interests align, transactions can happen anywhere, anytime, which is why this marketing strategy can thrive. So that’s why she takes pictures and posts them every time we go to a restaurant.

“Do you get paid for it too?”

“Many people offer money, but I don’t accept it.”

“Really? Why not?”

“If I take money, I have to advertise even if I don’t like the product. I only post things I actually like.”

“So you have standards for what you choose.”

“Of course. And if I did anything for money, I might get involved with something weird. Wouldn’t that be troublesome?”

The way she speaks makes it sound like she’s had such experiences. Curious, I probed a bit more.

“What do you mean by weird?”

“Well, there are so many examples. What kind of story do you want to hear?”

“Hmm, something interesting?”

“Something interesting… Ah, I have one.”

Hwa Nabi muttered in a small voice, then glanced down at my waistband. And then she said:

“About a year ago? I don’t remember exactly since it was a while back, but I received offers to advertise condoms. Not just once, but several times.”

“…What? Condoms?”

“Yes. To be precise, it was a DM from a company that mainly produces condoms. They said they were a company dedicated to promoting healthy sex lives and that they make various products besides condoms. They asked if I could try their products with my boyfriend and advertise them if I liked them…”

“Wait, I get the idea. That’s enough!”

I asked out of simple curiosity, but terrifying words came out. I interrupted her mid-sentence and covered her mouth. She smiled with her eyes and then moved her tongue up and down inside her mouth.

In other words, she licked my finger. Startled by the slippery sensation, I quickly withdrew my hand and rubbed the part where her tongue had touched with my palm.

“Hey, why are you suddenly licking my hand?”

“You covered my mouth first, husband.”

“That’s because you were saying weird things. Did I do it for no reason?”

“What’s wrong with condoms? Even minors can buy them, you know?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

There’s such a thing as social perception. Most people living in Korea have conservative values, and I’m no exception. When it comes to condoms, there’s this preconception that only adults should use them.

“And condoms are so important. They’re tools that even minors can buy and use to prevent unwanted pregnancies. There’s even that thing, sexual self-determination rights!”

I’m not sure what relationship condoms have with sexual self-determination rights, but I didn’t point that out. When people get excited, they tend to say whatever comes to mind.

“Even minors have sexual self-determination rights. If you go abroad, students start doing it early! In our country too, those who want to do it, do it! Right? You’ve heard such things too, haven’t you, husband?”

“Well, I’ve heard that some start early.”

“Right. So why didn’t you do it!”

“…Do what?”

“Why did you ignore all the signals I sent you!”

“…”

Is she drunk without alcohol? Just to be sure, I checked the drink Hwa Nabi was having, but of course, it wasn’t alcohol. In other words, she was confronting me about this in her right mind.

“Nabi, I told you, right? I was being cautious just in case. Didn’t you understand and move past it?”

“The more I think about it, it doesn’t make sense. How could you really hold back for three years? I even suspected that maybe you couldn’t get it up. Didn’t I mention that once?”

Even though we’re in a foreign restaurant and no one understands our conversation, as our voices get louder, I notice people looking our way.

I pretended not to hear Hwa Nabi’s words and subtly got up from my seat. She, who had been sitting with her arms crossed, naturally followed me.

“Are you running away now?”

“I’m not running away. Let’s just go outside and talk.”

When I spoke calmly, Hwa Nabi seemed to agree and quietly followed me. However, she was only quiet until we left the store and walked on the street. As soon as she saw that there were fewer people around, she resumed the conversation.

“So, since we’re on the topic, tell me honestly. Why did you act that way back then?”