Ch.269269. Looking Back on Memories

Still on the second night, the location is the dining table in the hotel room’s living area.

“Husband, this is really delicious. Would you like to try a bite?”

“Really? Then just one bite.”

“Here, ahhh.”

“…Mmm, it’s pretty good?”

After a quick bath, we ordered dinner through room service and were focused on filling our stomachs. We had no choice since we’d used up so much energy. We were too hungry to make do with just a light snack.

“Would you like another bite?”

“It seems like you’ll have less to eat. Are you sure?”

“It’s fine. I’ll just steal a bit of yours too.”

So she wants to feed each other like we did before? There’s no one watching anyway. Thinking it seemed fine, I nodded.

Hwa Nabi spears some food with her fork and offers it to me. I quickly open my mouth to eat it, then carefully separate a portion of my food and hand it to her. She obediently opens her mouth and cutely makes an “ahng” sound as she accepts it.

“How is it? Good?”

“It’s a bit salty? It tastes good, but if I eat too much, I’ll need to drink a lot of water before bed.”

“Do you want to stop eating it then?”

“Hmm… no. Please give me one more bite.”

I feed her another bite with my fork, then turn my gaze toward the window outside. Beyond the dimness, pitch-black darkness has settled.

As I stare blankly at the night sky where the stars seem unusually visible, a thought suddenly occurs to me.

“Oh, right. They said there would be fireworks.”

“Nom. *gulp* Fireworks?”

“Yeah, didn’t I mention it earlier today? They said there would be fireworks from the hotel this evening.”

“Ah… right. I think I heard about that too. But it’s late now. Hasn’t it already passed?”

“We were pretty focused on… other things… but I don’t think it would be that late?”

I should have asked when ordering room service. Feeling regretful, I check the time—it’s currently around 10:30 PM. It does seem a bit—no, quite late for loud fireworks.

“Should we ask about it then? Just in case.”

“Yeah, let’s do that. Just in case.”

Just as I was about to suggest asking—

-Ring.

As soon as I tried to speak, coincidentally, an alert sound came from our room’s telephone. The phone was right next to Hwa Nabi, so answering it fell to her.

“I’ll get it. Hello? Ah, yes. Yes. Right now? I understand.”

Click. Hwa Nabi hung up the phone and glanced at me. There’s a smile on her lips, which suggests that whatever it was, it went well.

“Nabi, what did the staff say?”

“Nothing much. They said they tried calling earlier but we didn’t answer, so they called again. They’ve finished preparing for the fireworks and asked if we’re ready to watch them now.”

“…That’s not ‘nothing much’ at all?”

Well, so they haven’t started yet. As I feel relieved inside, the phone rings again. Once more, Hwa Nabi answers.

And in less than ten seconds, the call ends. Hwa Nabi stops eating, jumps up from her seat, and walks to the living room balcony overlooking the sea. I follow behind her.

“Nabi?”

Barely acknowledging my words, Hwa Nabi flings open the balcony door. Perhaps because it’s summer, a warm night breeze immediately envelops our bodies.

From about five steps away, I watch her hair flutter in the sea breeze. Against the backdrop of the cozy night sky, her pink hair intermingling with the brightly shining stars is incredibly beautiful.

If only I could have taken a photo with my phone. The moment I posted it on Instagram, it would become the talk of the town. I’m certain of it—so noble and dazzling.

It was like a scene from a painting.

“Husband. Look, can you see those people down there?”

Hwa Nabi points down below the balcony. Finally coming to my senses, I move closer to see what she’s talking about. Just as she said, several people who appear to be hotel staff are moving busily.

“They say it starts in five minutes.”

“Ah…”

I see. In that case, I should get ready too. I tell Hwa Nabi to wait here for a moment, then head to the bedroom where our luggage is.

First closing the door just in case, I open my suitcase and take out what I had hidden in the deepest part. The identity of this object is none other than a pair of rings.

These beautiful rings, kept in a plain ring case, are what I prepared to give to Hwa Nabi exactly on her birthday. I was worried about them being discovered before the date, but fortunately, they weren’t.

“Phew…”

Time to get ready. I put the ring case in the front pocket of my bathrobe. Then I left the bedroom and headed straight to the balcony where Hwa Nabi was waiting.

“They haven’t started yet, right?”

“No, not yet. But what were you doing?”

“Just remembered something I needed to do.”

“Hmm, what kind of something?”

“Well… you know. Just something.”

“Something? What kind of something?”

“…”

Why is she being so persistent today? Finding it difficult to answer, I pretended not to hear and turned my gaze outside. Hwa Nabi seemed to guess something from my attitude and looked at me with a meaningful smile.

“My husband seems to be hiding something. Be honest. Did you do something wrong?”

“What do you mean wrong… Ah, it’s starting.”

—Bang!

Just when I was running out of ways to evade the question, the fireworks conveniently began. Colorful fireworks shot up from the beach, becoming brilliant lights that decorated the summer night sky.

For a moment, we lost our words and looked outside. I thought it would be small-scale since the hotel was doing it, but it’s huge, beautiful, and bright. It’s so bright that for a moment I thought it was daytime.

As we watched the spectacular fireworks in a daze, I suddenly felt something on my left hand. This soft sensation is clearly Hwa Nabi’s fingers, without even needing to look.

Keeping my gaze fixed forward, I moved only my hand to interlock fingers with Hwa Nabi. She pulled our joined hands closer, moved next to me, and rested her head on my shoulder.

“Nabi. Doesn’t this remind you of the old days?”

“Old days…? Ah, when we were students?”

“Yeah. When we went on that school trip, we watched fireworks from a hotel like this too.”

“Yes. But back then, we watched from outside, not from inside a hotel room.”

“Right, we had no choice.”

It wasn’t like we were traveling alone—we were with everyone else, so if just the two of us had disappeared into a hotel room, it would have caused a commotion.

“It’s a shame.”

“What is?”

“That we couldn’t hold hands like this and watch comfortably from inside a room back then.”

“Hmm, but we weren’t dating yet at that time?”

“We had already gone on dates and even kissed, right? That’s basically dating.”

“Just because you kiss doesn’t mean you’re dating.”

“What? So you’re saying you kissed me back then without even intending to date me?”

Of course not. I just hadn’t expressed it, but I was already completely smitten. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have attached meaning to every little gesture, or had my heart race every time I saw her.

But it’s a bit embarrassing to say that honestly. So I gently lifted Hwa Nabi’s chin and lightly pressed my lips against hers.

“No, I wanted to date you desperately.”

A bird kiss, just briefly touching lips before pulling away. Hwa Nabi’s cheeks flushed slightly.

“…Then why didn’t you confess right away?”

“Hmm… I wanted to be more certain before doing it?”

“We held hands, hugged, and even kissed. What more certainty did you need?”

I needed to sort out my own feelings… but would she understand if I said that? Giving up on excuses, I moved behind Hwa Nabi and gently embraced her.

“Sorry. I was a bit awkward back then. Didn’t I tell you before? It was my first time confessing first, and my first time having a girlfriend.”

It would be stranger to be skilled at something you’re doing for the first time. My explanation seemed to work, as Hwa Nabi’s intensity subsided a bit.

“I was your first…?”

“Yes, you were my first.”

“…Are you sure I was really your first? With that face?”

“What’s wrong with my face?”

“No, it’s just… I find it hard to believe that you’ve never dated a woman before.”

“Have I ever lied to you?”

“Hmm… probably not?”

“Right, so you can believe me.”

—Bang!

Just then, a huge firework exploded. Hwa Nabi’s cheeks, illuminated by the colorful lights, had become much redder than before.

“Um, you know that you were my first boyfriend too… right?”

“Yeah, but is that really true?”

“What do you mean?”

“That you’ve never dated a man before. Someone like you must have had men lining up with number tickets.”

“…Husband. I’m going to throw those exact words right back at you.”

When she puts it that way, I have nothing to say. I chuckled, and Hwa Nabi glared at me before sighing.

“Anyway… what I want to say is this. Since we’re both each other’s firsts, we might make some mistakes going forward, right? We’ve dated for 3 years and even got married without any major fights, but we might have a big argument someday.”

“Hmm… that’s true.”

It’s something I don’t even want to imagine, but you never know what might happen. A small misunderstanding could lead to a fight.

“So, if it seems like something like that might happen, let’s hold hands tightly like this and talk first. …Okay?”

“Haven’t we said something similar before?”

“…So, your answer is?”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

My quick response didn’t seem to satisfy her, as Hwa Nabi’s brow furrowed momentarily.

“Wait, isn’t your answer too quick? Did you really think about it before answering?”

“Yes. I thought about it well? Let’s hold hands and talk again before fighting—it’s a good idea, isn’t it?”

“It doesn’t seem like you’re being sincere…”

“Really? I’m always sincere.”

As I said this with a smile, she looked at me with an even sharper gaze, as if she couldn’t believe me. I gently stroked her hair as if to soothe her, then took out the ring case from my pocket.

“…What is that?”