Ch.286286. People Can Make Mistakes Too

After exactly one hour of driving, we arrived at our destination. The place where Nabi and I are now is on the outskirts of Gangneung in Gangwon Province, a quiet area on the edge of the city near the beach.

“We’re here.”

“Already…?”

“Yeah, get ready to get out.”

Looking outside, it’s already getting dark. It’s not that late, but since it’s winter, the sun sets early, making it dark.

I gently tap Hwa Nabi, who is sound asleep, to wake her up, and park the car in a secluded spot in the outdoor parking lot. Then I unbuckle my seatbelt and hers too. Her eyes are still unfocused. She seems to be half-asleep, and while I’d like to let her sleep more, we still have things to do.

I get out of the driver’s seat, go around to the passenger side, and open the door for her. Hwa Nabi steps out, stumbling slightly. But she must have misstepped because suddenly her body tilts. Being alert, I quickly grab her waist.

“Nabi, be careful.”

“……Hmm, thank you.”

Instead of trying to stand on her own, she buries her face in my arms. It’s an adorably childish gesture, but… we’re outside. Anyone could see us at any time, and it wouldn’t be strange.

I gently stroke her back to help her wake up, and she makes an “mmm” sound. Soon, she seems to come to her senses and suddenly pulls away from my embrace.

“Hmm… okay, charging complete.”

“What charging?”

“Your internal battery, husband.”

“You were charging me?”

“Yes, you were tired from driving, right? I just let you hug me for a moment to heal, didn’t you know?”

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

This shamelessness is also part of Hwa Nabi’s charm. After our playful exchange, we took our luggage out of the trunk. Though it’s just clothes for an overnight stay, it’s still enough to fill a large bag.

We could carry it around, but it’s much more convenient to keep it in the room. I headed straight for the building entrance, with Hwa Nabi walking beside me.

“Husband, is this the place?”

“Yes, this is what came up when I searched the address.”

The exterior of the building looks a bit old. It’s a 10-story large building that seems to be at least twenty years old, with the word “HOTEL” in alphabet letters on the top floor.

But what’s funny is that the letters “EL” aren’t lit up, perhaps due to lack of maintenance. So from a distance, it looks like the English word ‘HOT’.

“Nabi, look over there.”

“Huh? Where?”

“There, where the sign is, with the word hotel written in alphabet letters.”

“Isn’t it ‘hot’ rather than ‘hotel’?”

“No, there are two more letters behind. It’s not ‘hot’, it’s ‘hotel’.”

“Oh? You’re right. Heheh, what’s that? It looks like ‘hot’ from a distance?”

Hwa Nabi, who just noticed it, chuckles. I gently put my arm around her shoulder and said in a low voice.

“Don’t you think it’s a word that goes really well with hotel?”

“Hmm… why does it go well?”

“Hotel rooms are bound to be a bit, hot, aren’t they? Because we’re so close together doing this and that.”

I normally wouldn’t say such things, but since we’re away from home and there’s hardly anyone watching, I got a bit excited and made a suggestive comment.

Hwa Nabi pondered my words as she walked, then suddenly turned her head. Leaning subtly into my arms, she said:

“I guess so. Since it’s winter, it does get hot if you turn the heating up high, right?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?”

It wouldn’t look good for me to say such things directly. Instead of answering, I kissed her cheek.

Smooch. Her spotless white cheek immediately turned bright red. She seems to be feeling shy, and seeing this reaction makes her so cute that I want to do more.

This is… forget about the sunrise and everything else, should I just take her to the room and kiss her right away? We’ll be alone anyway. If I set the mood right and make it seem inevitable, I won’t need any excuses, and it would be nice.

As I was seriously considering this second agenda, Hwa Nabi suddenly quickened her pace. I hurried after her and asked:

“Nabi, why are you running away?”

“Just now, your eyes looked really strange…!”

“What’s wrong with my eyes?”

“They were eyes thinking extremely, extremely indecent thoughts!”

“What are you talking about? I wasn’t thinking anything like that.”

“I don’t know. Anyway, it was strange. Husband, you’re banned from coming within one meter of me for ten minutes!”

“Huh? No, why? I really wasn’t thinking anything like that. Nabi, where are you going? Nabi, Nabi!”

***

I actually knew it an hour ago. That the place we would be staying tonight would not be a pension in the mountains, but a quiet hotel on the outskirts of the city.

Yes, I knew it and was prepared for it… but now that I’m actually here, the atmosphere is so different from the hotel I had imagined that I’m having trouble adjusting.

Regardless of whether the facilities are good or not, how should I put it? Should I say that this hotel seems to have a different purpose from ordinary hotels?

—Clank.

The handcuffs, which are the culprit behind my thoughts and what has shocked me, make a cold metallic sound as they clash together.

“……”

Are these really handcuffs? Even though I know they can’t be, I fiddle with them anyway. The joints and chains are loose. The locking mechanism is strange too; you just put your wrist against the joint and press, and the handcuffs lock themselves.

If you put these on a criminal, they’d break free and escape in seconds. With no restraining power at all, these are definitely not handcuffs for their original purpose.

Well, you know. They’re probably some kind of tool for that kind of play. You know, the kind where whips appear and the person being hit whimpers in those videos… that kind of tool.

“……Ahem.”

I snapped out of my inappropriate thoughts. If I keep holding these, I might be misunderstood. Since I don’t want that, I should hide them, but I’m not sure where to put them.

The drawer at the head of the bed, where they were originally… would be too easily discovered, right?

For the same reason, obviously visible places won’t work, and somewhere high where people’s eyes don’t reach would be better. I looked around the room to find a place to hide the handcuffs. The interior is very simple. Apart from the soft waterbed in the center of the room and the drawer next to it, there’s hardly any furniture.

“This is troublesome….”

Since people don’t usually stay long in places like this, it’s understandable if expected. But this puts me in a very difficult position. There’s nowhere to hide them. What should I do?

As I was pressing the soft waterbed with my fingers and thinking, I suddenly heard movement outside the room. I quickly moved and pushed the handcuffs under the pillow.

—Creak.

“Nabi, I’m done washing up.”

He enters the bedroom, now in more comfortable clothes. I suppress my pounding heart with effort and greet him as if nothing is wrong.

“Ah, yes. You finished quickly?”

“Yeah, I just took a shower so I came out quickly. Was it cold in the room? Your cheeks look a bit red.”

“Ah, no. I’m fine. I was just thinking for a while.”

“Thinking? What were you thinking about?”

“Umm, well… it’s nothing special. Just exploring knowledge in a field I’m not familiar with….”

“Knowledge exploration…?”

He looks at me as if wondering what I’m talking about. Since it was just an excuse, I couldn’t explain, so I fumbled with my lips and then patted the spot next to me.

“……Don’t just stand there, come sit down. Your legs must be tired from driving for so long, right?”

“Well, I guess.”

He leisurely approaches and sits next to me. Thud, sink. Maybe because it’s a waterbed, the spot sinks deeply when he sits. As a result, I lose my balance and end up leaning into him.

……Is this what they call the law of universal gravitation or something? As I was thinking this useless thought and trying to straighten my posture, I couldn’t. Because he gently held my waist.

“Nabi.”

“Yes, yes?”

“We have plenty of time, shall we rest a bit before going out?”

Then he pulls me in very naturally and tries to lie down on the bed with me. For a moment, I was about to lie down with him without thinking, but I barely came to my senses.

I put the handcuffs under the pillow. If I lie down and rest my head now, I’ll definitely feel something strange.

“W-wait a moment. Husband? Let’s just sit for a moment.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Well… um, I have something important to tell you.”

If I act strange, he might search under the pillow and find the handcuffs, then ask me what they are.

I would obviously fumble for an answer, and then the next development would naturally be using the handcuffs to do that kind of thing….

“Really? What do you want to talk about?”

“……S-second generation plans?”

I stammered in panic and said something strange. Asking about family planning on the bed, am I really an idiot…? I’ve dug my own grave here.

“We just moved recently, didn’t we?”

“Yes, yes?”

“You were asking about our moving plans.”

“……Ah, ah. That’s right. Moving plans are important.”

“Nabi, are you sick or something? Your face has been red for a while, and you’re saying strange things… You’re not hiding a fever from me, are you?”

“Ah, no. It’s not that….”

Maybe because I kept evading, he stares at me with a worried face.

…..Even I think my behavior is strange. I said I had something important to say but only made incomprehensible remarks, and I’m not answering his questions but talking about other things.

This won’t do. I’d better just close my eyes and ask him to step out for a moment, and use that time to hide the handcuffs. With that thought, I asked him to wait outside the bedroom for just a moment, without asking any questions.

“……Alright, I understand. Just for a moment, right?”

“Yes, yes. Really just for a moment.”

I was worried he might refuse, but he seemed to understand my sincere request and got up to leave the bedroom. I waited for the door to close, and as soon as his back disappeared, I jumped up.

“Quickly, quickly….”

I took out the handcuffs hidden under the pillow. And just as I was about to leave the bed and go somewhere else.

Slip, in my hurry to get down, I misstepped. My body’s balance collapsed instantly, and my upper body flipped backward, my back hitting the bed sheet.

“……Ack!”

The waterbed cushioned my fall so my back didn’t hurt, but since I fell backward, I slid down with my back against the bed frame and landed on my bottom. A cry escaped my lips before I knew it.

—What’s that sound? Nabi, are you okay?

“Yes, yes! I’m fine…!”

Before I could answer, the bedroom door flung open. Our eyes met. He looked down at me with worried eyes, then noticed something and his expression immediately turned sour.

“What are you doing…?”