Ch.275275. A Crisis Really Comes Suddenly

“But, husband. Where did you go by yourself earlier? Did you stop by a coffee shop?”

Hwa Nabi asked as if suddenly remembering something while fixing her disheveled underwear on the soft bed. I caressed her shoulder, turned her around, and connected her bra strap for her while responding.

“I did go to a coffee shop, but I wasn’t alone. I was with Im Hansol.”

“Im Hansol? Ah… the class president from first year?”

It’s been almost a year since graduation, yet she still remembers him as the class president. Well, he was such a social butterfly that he had the strongest presence in our grade. It makes sense that she’d remember him that way.

-Click. After fixing her bra strap with the clip, I patted her shoulder to signal I was done. She turned her head at the signal and thanked me with her eyes.

“Yeah, that’s him. The one who came to our wedding in his military uniform.”

“Ah, right. When you put it that way, I remember clearly. Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

Receiving thanks for something so trivial feels, how should I put it… a bit strange. It’s not that I dislike it or find it burdensome—it actually feels nice. But I wonder if I should be thanked for something so small.

With these mixed feelings, I stroked Hwa Nabi’s hair. She closed her eyes, enjoying my touch, and naturally moved closer into my arms.

“How long were you with Im Hansol?”

“Hmm, probably a little less than an hour?”

“An hour? You haven’t seen him in a while. Isn’t an hour too short to catch up on everything?”

“Well… I guess so? But your safety was more important than that.”

In the end, nothing happened, so Im Hansol and I just ended up making a fuss over nothing, but that’s much better.

If during my brief absence, some intruder had actually broken in and Hwa Nabi had gotten hurt or something terrible had happened… I probably wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself. I would likely have lived the rest of my life blaming myself.

“Huh, what’s this? Are you trying to score points with me now?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“You don’t need to say such empty words anymore since there are no more points to earn.”

Thinking my words were a joke, Hwa Nabi chuckled and playfully rubbed her forehead against mine. But it wasn’t a joke at all.

I considered explaining seriously, but decided against it, worried it might seem like I was being too serious. Instead, I gently stroked her back and lay down as if falling backward. This naturally made my chest Hwa Nabi’s territory.

In other words, Hwa Nabi buried her face in my chest.

She grabbed the hem of my shirt and deliberately sniffed. I’m not sure if she’s pretending to smell me or actually smelling me, but her relaxed cheeks suggest she’s quite enjoying herself.

“Sniff… Ahh, husband. Did you know you have a really nice scent?”

I always wash thoroughly when I bathe, so there shouldn’t be any smell except the fabric softener from my clothes. Is she mistaking that?

It seems a bit strange to call it just a mistake. We use the same fabric softener, so Hwa Nabi’s clothes should have the same scent, and she must know that.

So, do I have some kind of unique body scent that I’m not aware of? I opened my mouth, curious.

“What kind of smell is it?”

“Hmm… it’s hard to explain in words, but it’s like a deep fragrance? When I put my nose close like this, there’s a very distinct manly scent.”

“…You don’t mean I smell like a bachelor, do you?”

I doubt that’s what she means, but I’m secretly anxious. When I cautiously asked, Hwa Nabi chuckled and patted my shoulder.

“Heh, why would you worry about that? Are you not washing properly?”

“I do wash properly, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have a smell…”

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing like that. It’s not a bad smell like a bachelor’s, but more like a smell from your muscles? Something like that.”

“Muscles have a smell too?”

“Yes, don’t they smell strongly of protein?”

“What? Really?”

I know from experience that eating too much protein can cause bad breath. But the idea that protein itself, or rather muscles, have a smell is news to me.

I asked in surprise, and Hwa Nabi gave me an eye-smile. It’s her usual pretty eye-smile, but the look in her eyes…

“Of course I’m joking. Oh my, husband. Aren’t you too innocent?”

“…I thought it might be a joke.”

“Would someone who thought it was a joke ask with such wide eyes?”

“When did I have wide eyes?”

I’m being sincere here. I knew it wasn’t true. I just asked to be sure, I’m not stupid. Would I seriously believe muscles have a smell?

Despite my defense, Hwa Nabi didn’t seem convinced. Despite my objection, she reached out to pat my head and added:

“Our husband, when I look at you closely, you have this surprisingly innocent side? Like what happened during our trip, and now this.”

As I was listening attentively, something caught my attention that I couldn’t just let slide. Furrowing my brow, I asked Hwa Nabi:

“This time… well, fine. Let’s say I really believed it. But what do you mean about something happening during our trip?”

“I mean exactly what I said. When we were on our honeymoon, remember that foreign woman who was flirting with you at the restaurant?”

“She wasn’t flirting, she was just recommending menu items…”

“Cream pie, don’t you remember?”

“…Oh.”

I remembered. Cream pie.

Yes, since I’m not familiar with foreign sexual jokes, I didn’t realize it at the time.

“Well, that…”

“That what?”

“…Hmm.”

If I bring that up, there’s no room for excuses. If I had to find an excuse, it would be that I’ve had very few opportunities to interact with foreigners, but saying that would only expose my inexperience.

That was probably some kind of sexual slang used by foreigners? I’ll skip the detailed explanation since it would be too explicit, but suffice it to say it’s not a term commonly used in everyday conversation. If you’re really curious, you can Google it or whatever.

…What nonsense am I talking about? Coming back to my senses, I cleared my throat unnecessarily. Hwa Nabi was still staring at me with the same look in her eyes.

“Our husband probably liked it and said thank you without even knowing it was a sexual joke, right?”

“…”

Did she learn mind-reading somewhere? If I deny it, I’d be lying, but if I admit it, my pride would be hurt, so I can’t readily answer.

But in this situation, keeping quiet is as good as confirming it. Hwa Nabi seemed to notice this and smiled with a meaningful look.

“Our husband… is too innocent. Way too innocent. I thought you were a wolf, but you’re a complete lamb. A pure lamb.”

“I can’t be expected to know everything…”

“Husband, don’t go to drinking parties later. You might pass out from drinking and have strange things done to you.”

“…What do you take me for?”

No matter what, I’m not innocent enough to have such things done to me. Besides, aren’t you the one who did strange things to me while I was asleep after drinking?

When Hwa Nabi and I went to Japan, she made me drink a lot of wine and did various things while I was drunk. After drinking heavily, I blacked out, and when I woke up, I was completely naked with kiss marks all over my body, which was very shocking.

When I mentioned this, Hwa Nabi seemed to feel guilty and avoided my gaze, pretending not to know. I grabbed her shoulders and made her look at me.

“Speaking of which, when I think about it, you seem to know quite a bit about naughty things, don’t you?”

“Wait, naughty? What part of me is naughty?”

Well, just looking at you, your figure is too sexy.

…I shouldn’t say that, right? Swallowing my true thoughts, I faced her. It’s true that Hwa Nabi’s figure, with curves in all the right places, is very sexy, but saying that outright would be embarrassing for both of us.

“We don’t need to look far, just look at earlier. What did you say when you called me? What? ‘Husband, I want to drink your milk…'”

“…M-me? What are you talking about? When did I ever say such a thing?”

“I have a recording of the phone call we just had. Want to listen to it together?”

This is a bluff. I do have an external call recorder that can be attached, but I didn’t turn it on. The reason is simple: I was in such a hurry that I forgot it was even attached.

“Your phone is an iPhone, right? I know it can’t record calls.”

“That’s why I bought a Magmo that can record calls recently. I even got matching ones for us as a gift, don’t you remember?”

“…Huh?”

Hwa Nabi’s face went blank for a moment. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, her eyes widened and she sat up abruptly.

“What is it?”

“…Where’s your Magmo, husband?”

“It’s attached to my phone. Why?”

“Give it to me. …I’m going to break it.”

I thought she was joking, but her expression is very serious. She looks like she would really break the Magmo if I gave it to her.

“That thing costs 200,000 won. And it hasn’t been officially released in Korea for long. If you want to buy another one, you’ll have to wait a while.”

“D-don’t buy such things. Don’t record anything either. We’ve lived fine without recording functions until now, right? Why do you suddenly need to record things?”

“I wasn’t the one who wanted to buy it. Don’t you remember begging me to buy it quickly because you wanted to hear my voice even when you were at the hospital?”

Due to the nature of the obstetrics department, a guardian can’t stay 24 hours, so she begged me to buy a Magmo because she wanted to hear my voice during the times I couldn’t be there. She even rejected my suggestion that we wouldn’t use it much and could just call when needed.

“…Me? When? I don’t remember.”

“Really? Huh, that’s strange. I clearly remember hearing you say that. Did I mishear?”

Following Hwa Nabi’s lead, I got up and reached out my hand. It was to embrace her from behind.

“…Wait a moment.”

But for some reason, Hwa Nabi suddenly shook her head with a serious expression. Wondering what was wrong, I carefully asked.

“What’s wrong? Are you in pain somewhere?”

Hwa Nabi’s gaze turned to her lower abdomen. The way she was biting her lip tightly suggested that something concerning was happening.

Though hesitant, I quickly stood up. Somehow it felt like I should.

Hwa Nabi gently rubbed her lower belly, then suddenly looked up. Her eyes were wide with shock, as if she had sensed something.

“Husband. I think something just… flowed out.”

“From where? From down there?”

“Yes. But it feels different from usual, like something really sticky.”

“…Different from usual?”

That was all I needed to hear. Upon hearing “different,” I hurriedly opened the second drawer of the dresser. That’s where I keep my digital car key, ready to go at any time.

I held the car key in one hand and Hwa Nabi’s hand in the other. Then, squeezing her hand, I carefully helped her up.

“Nabi. Get dressed. We’re going to the hospital right now.”