Ch.3232. A Kiss Isn’t Something You Can Master Through Practice

Looking into her eyes from this close, they were truly beautiful.

“Can you tell now? Do you understand?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Really? I think I can tell.”

“Yeah? What do you know?”

“Hmm, what you’re thinking right now?”

“…And what am I thinking?”

“That my eyes are pretty.”

…I was momentarily speechless.

I wanted to deny it, but something caught in my throat.

“Well? I got it right, didn’t I?”

Seeing her smiling so confidently, I couldn’t deny it. She had guessed exactly right.

No point in making excuses. I nodded in admission.

“Yeah, you’re right. How did you know?”

“I told you already. You can tell everything by looking at someone’s eyes.”

“…Be honest, did you learn mind-reading in some back alley?”

At this point, I was genuinely suspicious. I narrowed my eyes at her, which made her burst into laughter.

“Want to know how I knew?”

Having my thoughts read not once but twice made me feel almost naked, to exaggerate a bit.

How on earth did she figure out what I was thinking? The movie continued playing on the screen, but I was just staring at Hwa Nabi’s face, consumed by unbearable curiosity.

I silently demanded an answer with my eyes, and after watching me for a moment, she smiled slyly. Then she slowly began to explain.

“Since I was little, adults always told me the same thing. That I have pretty eyes, like jewels.”

“Yeah? But what does that have to do with—”

My words stopped abruptly as a possibility crossed my mind.

No way, she couldn’t have just been guessing.

“You, don’t tell me…”

Before I could finish, Hwa Nabi cut me off.

“Heh, that’s exactly what you’re thinking, isn’t it?”

“Ah…”

So that was it. Of course, she couldn’t actually read minds. Now that I knew the truth, I felt deflated.

Hwa Nabi had simply thrown out a likely guess, and I had taken the bait completely.

“Siwoo, you’re more simple-minded than I thought.”

“…What did you say?”

…Did I just hear something I couldn’t let slide? For a moment, I thought I’d misheard. But seeing Hwa Nabi snickering at me, I realized I’d heard correctly.

“I’m… I’m simple-minded?”

“Huh? Siwoo, what are you talking about? Who said such a thing?”

Hwa Nabi shrugged with a pretend-surprised expression. She was deliberately playing dumb, feigning innocence.

After saying something clearly meant for me to hear, then acting like she knew nothing about it—I was momentarily dumbfounded.

This kid who’s barely out of her teens, trying to mess with me? Finding Hwa Nabi quite vexing, I took a deep breath.

When I paused mid-sentence to breathe deeply, Hwa Nabi seemed to sense something was off.

She subtly shifted her body backward, watching me cautiously, then began slowly retreating on her knees.

“Um, Siwoo? You’re not angry, are you?”

“……”

“Uh… Siwoo? If you’re angry, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to insult you. How should I explain this…”

She seemed to be trying to salvage the situation, but it was too late. I’m a simple man, after all—I don’t easily forget grudges.

When I remained silent, Hwa Nabi gulped. She had detected the unusual atmosphere.

She stopped her backward retreat and just tilted her head slightly to examine my expression.

“Siwoo? Why are you suddenly—wait, ah!”

…Now’s my chance! Having secretly waited for this opportunity, I quickly grabbed Hwa Nabi’s shoulders as soon as the distance closed.

And before saying anything, I forced her down onto the bed.

With a soft thud,

Hwa Nabi, suddenly finding herself alone on the bed, looked up at me with startled eyes.

“S-Siwoo?”

Yes, everything had gone according to my plan so far. Grabbing her suddenly to surprise her.

But what next? I had acted on impulse in the heat of the moment, but this plan didn’t include an exit strategy. To be honest, there was no plan at all.

Though it might be a bit awkward, backing off would be the right move. Just as I was about to act on that thought—

“Hey, Siwoo. You said you’ve never kissed anyone, right?”

“Yeah.”

“…Then, shall we practice once?”