Ch.262262. When a Woman Keeps a Grudge

She says she’ll overturn everything and follow me. Is she serious? I thought it might be a joke, so I glanced at her, but her expression is very serious. It seems she really means it.

So… if I were to die or disappear, Hwa Nabi truly intends to overturn everything.

I’m not sure about her methods, means, or feasibility, but I shouldn’t underestimate her determination. Don’t they say when a woman harbors resentment, frost falls even in May and June? One way or another, something major would happen.

To prevent such a situation, it seems I need to stay alive for a very long time. I gently stroked Hwa Nabi’s hair to reassure her.

“Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”

“Really?”

Even after being comforted, she still seemed uneasy, letting out a dissatisfied breath as she rested her head against my chest. I brushed the hair near her ear and added:

“You and Ua. I need to protect both of you until the end, so how could I leave you behind?”

“Wait. Me aside, but Ua until the end?”

“…Huh?”

What does she mean by that? Confused by the incomprehensible question, I was momentarily taken aback. Hwa Nabi pushed against my chest to sit up, then looked down at me and said:

“My mom told me that children eventually become strangers. She said once they grow up, they forget all the care they received, so there’s no need to be too devoted to them.”

“Uh…”

“I completely agree with that. When Ua grows up and becomes independent, the only one left by my side will be my husband.”

That’s not wrong, but… isn’t she thinking too far into the future? I was about to say that when I abruptly closed my mouth. Hwa Nabi was staring at me with wide eyes.

“So the most important person to me is my husband. Of course, while Ua is young, she might be more important. But that’s temporary, and once Ua grows up and can take care of herself, you’ll be my priority again. Got it?”

Hwa Nabi looks at me with eyes that seem to ask why I’m not answering quickly. I nodded reflexively.

“Husband. Did you properly understand what I said? You’re not just nodding without thinking, are you?”

“Y-yeah. Of course not.”

“Then why is your answer so weak? A man should answer with strength and vigor. Being vigorous only below the waist isn’t enough!”

What is she saying? I was momentarily stunned by the sudden adult comment. Hwa Nabi seemed to misinterpret my silence and narrowed her eyes before reaching toward the headboard.

Wondering what she was doing, I watched quietly as she grabbed her phone with her right hand.

“I need to take out some insurance, this won’t do.”

She muttered to herself while quickly manipulating her phone, and soon a familiar app appeared on the screen. It was the camera app she often used.

“Husband, take it off.”

“Huh, why? Take what off?”

“Take off your shirt. I’m going to take pictures of us together and keep them.”

“No, but why suddenly take such pictures…”

“Are you really asking? I said I’m taking out insurance. If you die or disappear and leave me behind, I’ll post these pictures all over Instagram.”

“…”

Not only did the subject suddenly change, but I also don’t understand what connection there is between our previous conversation and taking photos. But that’s not important. What’s important now is what Hwa Nabi intends to do.

Hwa Nabi’s Instagram posts average around 100,000 views, and I’ve seen provocative videos or photos reach up to a million.

So if something happens to me and the photos she wants to take now end up on SNS as she threatens, at least tens of thousands of people would see my compromising pictures. Given our country’s SNS-dominated culture, everyone who should know would find out.

That’s quite an effective threat. I can’t even die carelessly at this rate? While I was speechless and thinking such thoughts, Hwa Nabi reached out her other hand and placed it on my shirt buttons. Then, with very skillful hands, she began undoing my shirt buttons one by one from the top.

“W-wait. What are you doing?”

“What do you think? Preparing to take photos.”

“Why are you unbuttoning my shirt to take photos…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure it doesn’t hurt…!”

*

There’s a saying that distance in body leads to distance in heart. It’s natural to pay less attention to what’s out of sight, and neglect follows. It’s obviously true without needing to analyze it.

But then, does the opposite hold? If bodies get closer, do hearts grow closer too? If so, how many centimeters apart are our hearts in this situation where our bodies are pressed together?

With even our chests pressed together without any gap, would it be about ten centimeters? Or even closer than that?

I know it’s foolish to think about this so specifically. But even knowing that, I couldn’t stop. That’s because Hwa Nabi in front of me keeps clinging to me in provocative poses. If I don’t distract myself with such thoughts, I don’t think I can stay still.

“Husband, move back a little.”

“…Like this?”

“Yes, that’s good. Stay still just like that.”

Click, I hear the sound effect of a camera shutter. Hwa Nabi, with her left arm wrapped around my neck, has taken a photo.

This is already the fourth, no, fifth photo. But Hwa Nabi doesn’t seem satisfied with the results, as she stares at her phone screen before showing it to me. It looks extremely dangerous.

The location on the bed and Hwa Nabi’s pose with her arm around my neck already look risky. But what’s more dangerous is our attire. I have my school uniform-like shirt completely unbuttoned, and Hwa Nabi is embracing me. But she’s not just embracing me—her outfit is extremely precarious.

Specifically, she has unbuttoned several buttons of her school uniform shirt, exposing her neck and upper chest… and her skirt has rolled up above her thighs, making it breathtaking.

Maintaining composure in this situation is nearly impossible. Yet I’m managing to do this impossible task. I’d like to applaud myself, but that would mean letting go of my tension as well.

“Husband, why is your expression so stiff? The photos aren’t coming out well.”

“…”

A criticism comes at me as I’m trying hard to endure. ‘Relax your face.’

But even if she says that, this is the best I can do. My unnatural expression is entirely due to the scantily clad Hwa Nabi clinging to me.

And it’s not just any outfit, but Hwa Nabi in what resembles a school uniform. How could I be in my right mind? My head feels a bit dizzy from the anxiety that something inappropriate is happening and the thrilling sense of taboo coming from the school uniform. It’s like I’m not myself.

With all kinds of distracting thoughts, I couldn’t respond quickly, and Hwa Nabi grabbed my right wrist and placed it on her waist. Even if I didn’t want to, I could feel the softness of her skin.

“Let’s take one more photo in this pose.”

If I suggest we stop now, she probably won’t listen, right? Thinking it would be better to just finish quickly, I nodded obediently. Hwa Nabi, still with her arm around my neck, moved closer to adjust her position and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

And simultaneously, click. She took a photo, creating a record. An embarrassing photo that will remain forever in the memory card unless someone deliberately deletes it.

“Ah, this one came out better. Husband, should we use this as our couple profile picture?”

“What are you talking about? Absolutely not. Do you want to shock our relatives?”

They’d make a fuss even over a normal kiss photo in normal clothes in a normal place. Just imagine posting a photo of a kiss on a bed in school uniforms as a profile picture. It would cause an uproar immediately.

I strongly objected, and Hwa Nabi, perhaps not serious about it either, nodded in agreement. Just as I thought the matter was settled and felt relieved…

“Husband, shall we take more photos with less clothing?”

“…What exactly do you want to remove?”

“You know how underwear models post photos on Instagram? Something with that kind of feel, what do you think?”

Taking photos like underwear models is essentially the same as saying we should take photos with all outer clothing removed. No, it’s exactly saying we should take nude photos.

It would be uncomfortable enough to keep such photos for personal collection, but posting underwear photos on Instagram? Wondering if she was serious, I stared at her, and Hwa Nabi seemed to hesitate a bit too. I took the opportunity to add another comment.

“I think this is enough.”

“…Can’t we take just one more photo? I won’t post it on Instagram.”

So she wants to take it for private use? That might be okay, but it was still a puzzling suggestion. Aren’t these kinds of photos usually something women, not men, are reluctant to take?

Unless you’re a celebrity or planning to become an underwear model, having such photos made public would only damage your image. Unfortunately, Korean sentiment isn’t tolerant of such things.

“That’s fine, but is there a reason?”

“A reason?”

“Yeah, I mean… a reason why you need to take such intimate photos with me.”

“I just told you, didn’t I? For insurance. So you can’t die and leave me behind…”

“No, not that excuse. The real reason you’re doing this.”