Ch.3333. Just a Kiss Should Be Fine

…I was suddenly at a loss for words.

“…What kind of practice are you suggesting?”

I said this, but I actually knew. No, only a fool wouldn’t understand. Hwa Nabi was now demanding a kiss from me.

But I suddenly wondered if she was being sincere about this.

Since Hwa Nabi had such a playful personality, I couldn’t rule out the possibility that this was just another one of her jokes.

Perhaps due to my unintended questioning, Hwa Nabi’s cheeks flushed red again.

“A k-kiss.”

…She manages to say it while her eyes flutter nervously. There are plenty of other things to practice, but kissing? And while pinned under a man?

She seems unaware of what she just said, but she was making an extremely dangerous request of me right now.

It seems her claim about never having held a man’s hand was true after all. Any woman with even the slightest understanding of men would never say something like this.

I silently stared into Hwa Nabi’s eyes. To borrow her expression, eyes are the windows to the soul.

Hwa Nabi claimed she could discern someone’s true feelings just by looking at them, so I decided to trust her words and try to read her heart.

Was this just a simple joke, or was she serious?

I spent quite a long time carefully observing her, and Hwa Nabi matched my gaze with equal intensity.

Our staring contest continued with barely any distance between us.

I won this untimely battle. Hwa Nabi, unable to wait any longer, spoke first.

“…Are you not going to do it?”

There was no need to ask what she meant. Obviously, she was talking about the kiss.

I knew. I knew, but… because I understood too well, I couldn’t bring myself to speak.

Half of me wondered if this was really okay, while the other half thought about just going for it.

While I was struggling with these thoughts, Hwa Nabi bluntly asked:

“…Do you not want to practice with me?”

“……”

She’s throwing a lot of fastballs today. I couldn’t answer Hwa Nabi’s question.

To be completely honest, I couldn’t say no even if my lips split open.

It might sound like a lame excuse, but I’m a man too. So if I said I had no desire to do various things with a pretty girl, especially one who wasn’t just anyone but my fiancée, that would be a 100% lie.

But at the same time, I felt something like a pang of conscience deep in my heart.

In fact, just a few days ago, I had made bold declarations to Hwa Nabi’s friend, Nam Daeun.

Things like, ‘I won’t touch her until I’ve made up my mind. So don’t worry about such nonsense.’

Yet how long has it been since I made that promise? Was I going to give in to momentary desire? That’s why I was hesitating.

As I continued to remain silent, Hwa Nabi’s lips twitched as if they were about to pout.

She seemed displeased about something. Thinking she might misunderstand if I left it alone, I hastily opened my mouth.

“No, that’s not it.”

“If that’s not it, then why are you hesitating?”

Because it’s not like that, I have to think carefully. If I just do whatever I want, I won’t be able to handle the consequences.

I was trying to figure out how to convey my feelings properly. Perhaps heated by my continued hesitation, Hwa Nabi’s eyebrows curved noticeably.

And not stopping there, her voice dropped so low it almost felt chilling.

“…Siwoo, you don’t really have another woman, do you?”

“Didn’t we already finish that conversation earlier?”

“Seeing how you’re acting now, I can’t believe you. If that’s not it, there’s no reason for you to hesitate, is there?”

If having a lover meant you never looked at anyone else, the word “affair” wouldn’t exist in this world.

But saying that out loud would only backfire. So I chose a flimsy excuse instead.

“I told you it’s not like that…”

But Hwa Nabi didn’t seem to believe me. As I trailed off, unable to find the right words, she grew even more assertive, staring at me intently before coldly declaring:

“Then prove it to me now.”

“…How?”

Was she asking to see my phone messages? As I was making that guess, Hwa Nabi delivered a bombshell:

“Kiss me.”

…Is she serious? Hwa Nabi’s eyes were filled with determination as she said this. Though she didn’t say anything more, her demeanor made it clear she wouldn’t accept any excuses.

It seems the only way to prove my innocence really is through a kiss.

After organizing my thoughts, I found my gaze unconsciously drifting toward her lips.

Those delicate, pale pink lips with just a hint of makeup.

“…Are you sure you won’t regret this?”

Hwa Nabi didn’t answer my question. As if leaving the consequences to me, she simply closed her eyes quietly.

And watching her, I gradually steeled my resolve.

Well, they say it’s a man’s shame not to eat food that’s been served, right? Hwa Nabi had set the stage, so it was my turn to respond accordingly.

“…”

Setting aside whether this could really be called a proper response… anyway, I took a deep breath and moved my face closer.

Her neatly arranged bangs, closed eyes, long eyelashes, moist lips…

I found myself holding my breath as I admired Hwa Nabi’s face, when suddenly all sorts of thoughts rushed into my mind.

What if my breath smells bad? If I had known this would happen, I should have brushed my teeth one more time…

Just as these random thoughts were crossing my mind:

-Buzzz.

Suddenly, a vibration sounded from the headrest. We both jumped in surprise and looked up, quickly realizing what was causing the vibration.

“…Looks like you got a call.”

The vibration was coming from Hwa Nabi’s phone, which she had taken out of her pocket. Since it continued to vibrate rather than stopping after one buzz, it was a call, not a message.

“Um, shouldn’t you answer it? It might be important.”

As I carefully suggested while moving back, Hwa Nabi bit her lower lip hard. She didn’t say anything, but I could sense the complex emotions she was feeling—disappointment, resentment, something like that.

“…Who on earth is it? If it’s not an important call, I swear I’ll…”

Seeing such threatening words coming from those pretty lips, she must be quite upset. My shoulders hunched involuntarily, even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Muttering like that, Hwa Nabi abruptly stood up, snatched her phone, and headed outside the VVIP section.

Eventually, with a clunk, the door closed completely, and only then did I let out a sigh of relief. I had been trying not to show it, but my heart was pounding so hard I thought I might go crazy.

If that call had come just a little later, our lips would probably have met.

Thinking about it made the back of my neck suddenly feel hot.

“…I guess it’s fortunate in a way?”

As I was rubbing the back of my heated neck and muttering to myself, the VVIP section door suddenly opened roughly.

Wondering who would do something so aggressive, I looked up to see… Hwa Nabi, who had just gone out to take the call.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Hwa Nabi must have finished her call already, as she was tightly gripping her phone in one hand.

She might break that phone in half at this rate. Thinking something serious might have happened, I asked, but Hwa Nabi just shook her head once.

“…No. Nothing happened.”

“Then why do you look so serious? Are you sure nothing happened? Who called you?”

“It’s nothing, really. Just a telemarketing call. They asked if I wanted to make a lot of money, so I told them I already have more money than they do and hung up.”

“Ah… really?”

I didn’t quite understand the context, but it was good that nothing serious had happened. I nodded awkwardly and gestured toward the screen with my chin.

“Should we continue watching the movie?”

It was awkward to resume after the interruption, and I mainly wanted to change the subject because things felt a bit uncomfortable.

But the ending credits were already rolling on the screen. The movie had ended while we were distracted.

We spent nearly a hundred thousand won to watch a movie and got nothing out of it. I grimaced and quietly stood up from my seat.

“Shall we go?”

Hwa Nabi nodded obediently.

***

The movie ended.

We left the theater and found seats in the lounge area. I pulled my chair close and casually asked:

“How was the movie?”

“It wasn’t bad overall. Except that I don’t know how it ended.”

Judging by her tone, Hwa Nabi seemed somewhat satisfied with the movie’s content. I, on the other hand, was wondering what it was all about.

To be honest, I’d already forgotten the entire plot, and I still didn’t feel a sense of reality. Usually, this happens after being immersed in a movie, but this time it wasn’t like that.

“What about you, Siwoo? How was it for you?”

The reason I’m like this is probably… because of what we were about to do earlier.

After cooling my head and thinking about it, I realized we were about to do something quite serious.

…Both of us must have been temporarily insane. Those weren’t words that sane people would exchange.

“…Siwoo?”

Lost in thought, I snapped back to reality when I heard my name being called. Hwa Nabi had already leaned her upper body forward, halfway across the table.

“Why are you suddenly staring into space? Are you feeling sick?”

It’s not like me to think about other things when someone is right in front of me, but this is an exception. After all, it was quite a stimulating memory…

Of course, I kept those inner thoughts deeply buried in my heart.

“No, I just had something on my mind.”

After I waved it off, Hwa Nabi finally straightened her posture.

“Is that so? Well then, Siwoo, what should we do now?”

Her speech was almost like a stream of consciousness, but I decided not to point it out. I responded lightly:

“Well, is there anything you want to do? Let’s do whatever you want.”

Our original purpose of watching the movie had ended inconclusively. But since we’ve come this far, I thought I should accommodate her wishes if she had any.

At my question, Hwa Nabi seemed to consider for a moment, then clapped her hands lightly and said:

“Then, shall we go on a date?”