Ch.334334. Forgiven Because You’re Cute

After finally calming down the wailing Ucheon, we sat side by side on the sofa, having reached a temporary truce.

There was an awkwardness between us, partly because we’d just been arguing, and partly because of the sudden quiet after all the noise. I glanced at Hwa Nabi while pretending to look elsewhere. She seemed just as uncomfortable as I was, fidgeting with her fingers in an unnatural way.

Ah… should I apologize first? Or wait and see how things develop? I pondered while tapping my knee with my finger. I wasn’t trying to determine who was right or wrong, but if we were to assign blame, it wasn’t entirely my fault.

It’s true that I didn’t want to give in because I thought it would be awkward if I was left behind. But the same goes for Hwa Nabi. Looking at it objectively, we both made mistakes. It’s not like I was more right than her, or she was more right than me.

…Why am I calculating this so pettily? What am I doing? Am I really going to wait until my woman gives in first?

They say you should only stand on pride outside the home, not with family you see every day. Disgusted with my own mental calculations, I made a decision. I’ll apologize first.

With that resolve, I looked directly at Hwa Nabi, and coincidentally, she turned her head at that exact moment, our eyes meeting.

“……”

“……”

I froze as I was about to apologize, and Hwa Nabi froze too.

After an awkward moment of just staring at each other, we both spoke simultaneously.

“Sorry.”

“I’m sorry.”

“…Huh?”

“Uh…”

Hwa Nabi made a confused sound, clearly taken aback. I responded with an equally stupid question. This was outside my expectations. Although I had decided to apologize first, I hadn’t anticipated that Hwa Nabi would apologize at the same time.

Quite—no, very—flustered, I wondered what to say next. Should I say it’s over since we both apologized? The timing makes it difficult to respond properly.

What was serious contemplation for me apparently looked different to Hwa Nabi. She stared at me for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter—not just a small chuckle, but a full smile that made even her eyes curve beautifully.

“Nabi, why are you laughing…?”

“Hehe, umm, ah. Husband, why did you suddenly get so serious? Your reaction was so different from what I expected that I couldn’t help laughing… heh.”

“Wait, you find this funny? I was genuinely worried about this…”

I grabbed her shoulder to express my grievance, but instead of taking me seriously, she laughed even harder.

“…Ah, whatever.”

I considered saying more but decided against it. Being serious about this would only make me look foolish. It’s not like we had a major fight, right? It was just a minor disagreement that could easily be forgotten as a small incident. Laughing it off isn’t a bad approach.

Yes, it’s something we can laugh about and move on from. But why do I feel this strange sense of injustice rising from a corner of my heart? Unable to shake the unsettled feeling, I leaned back against the sofa. As I sat there sulking and looking away from Hwa Nabi, she subtly moved closer until she was pressed against me.

“Hey, husband. You’re not upset, are you?”

“I’m not a child. As if I’d get upset over something like that.”

“If you’re not upset, why won’t you look at me?”

“I have a condition where I die if I look into people’s eyes.”

“…Heh, you’re cute.”

Hwa Nabi laughed softly and hugged me tightly. Her fingers were twitching as if she planned to hold me firmly. But I wasn’t going to submit so easily. I twisted my body, trying to escape from her embrace.

The more I struggled, the more persistently she clung to me. She started by holding my right arm, then gradually worked her way in until she was hugging my entire torso, sticking to me like a cicada on a tree trunk and refusing to let go.

“What’s with you this morning? Hwa Nabi, aren’t you going to let go?”

“Heh, no. You think I don’t know you’ll run away if I let go?”

She clearly had no intention of releasing me. When I tickled her gently, she laughed but stubbornly maintained her position at my side. The way she pressed her chest against me while hugging me tight made it clear that no amount of force would make her let go.

Looking down at Hwa Nabi tucked under my arm, I sighed deeply. Ah, I can’t win against her. I could barely handle her during our school days when she at least pretended to listen, so how could I possibly win against her now that she’s even more mature? It’s better to just let her have her way.

I stopped trying to push her away and instead stroked her back. It was my way of signaling surrender, and Hwa Nabi, understanding this, peeked up at me.

“Husband.”

“…What?”

“Shall we continue what we were about to do earlier?”

My hand, which had been stroking her back, stopped abruptly. I just noticed that Hwa Nabi’s clothes had become quite disheveled during our little struggle.

Especially that skirt—it was short to begin with, but now it had ridden up well above her thighs. If I touched her even slightly, I’d probably see everything underneath.

“……”

Just seeing her fair thighs made all my previous concerns fly out of my head, replaced by… those kinds of thoughts. Am I an idiot? They say men are simple creatures, but surely not to this extent. Am I really this foolish?

On second thought, I probably am a fool. There’s no other explanation. I secretly licked my dry lips.

“Should we just do it for thirty minutes…?”

“…Only thirty minutes?”

“Yeah, just thirty minutes…”

Thirty minutes should be fine. Sincerely believing this, I carefully embraced Hwa Nabi. I slowly brought my face closer to hers. Even though she knew I was approaching, she didn’t avoid me. Taking this as permission, I tentatively reached out my hand. My destination was naturally beneath her skirt, toward her intimate, soft skin…

—Ding dong!

We both jumped in surprise just as we were about to touch each other. Who could it be at this hour? We simultaneously looked toward the entrance, and Hwa Nabi reacted first.

“Oh right. Mom was supposed to watch Ucheon while I attend the observation class today…”

“Ah, that’s right…”

“What should we do? …Should I let her in?”

“We can’t leave her standing outside, so we should open the door, right?”

I thought it was a shame she couldn’t have come a little later, but at the same time, I was relieved she arrived now. It would have been much more awkward if she had come while we were in the middle of things.

Both Hwa Nabi and I reluctantly got up. As we walked toward the entrance together, Hwa Nabi, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped and turned around.

“Husband, shall we continue when we get back?”

“…Let’s do it when we return, when we return.”

*

After leaving Ucheon with my mother-in-law, we finished preparing to go out and headed to the parking lot. I was wearing a semi-formal suit that I hadn’t worn in a while, and Hwa Nabi was in a casual long coat with a medium-length cotton skirt. Both outfits were somewhat casual but still appropriate for the occasion.

“Nabi, is there some kind of consultation before the observation class begins?”

“Yes, they said there would be a brief consultation for about ten to fifteen minutes. But according to Uhee, not everyone has one.”

“Hmm, really? Are you sure about that?”

“Uhee just happened to overhear the teachers talking, so we’ll know more details when we get there.”

As I opened the passenger door for her, I thought about it. Individual consultations rather than group ones usually happen for one of two reasons. First, when a child is falling behind their peers, and second, when a child is excelling beyond their peers.

I can say this with confidence because I used to be a teacher myself. Having dealt with everyone from young children to high school students, I know that kindergarteners aren’t much different. Teachers don’t usually schedule individual consultations for children who are doing fine and getting along well. If there’s nothing special to discuss, they typically just let things be.

“Husband, how long will it take to get there?”

“The morning rush hour is over, and it’s a weekday, so the roads should be clear. We’ll arrive in twenty minutes at the latest.”

Anyway, I wonder which category Uhee falls into. My personal hope is obviously the latter, but you never know, so I tempered my expectations as I gripped the steering wheel.

After driving for about fifteen minutes, we arrived at our destination, Dolsaem Kindergarten. We carefully drove through the road marked as a children’s protection zone and parked in the lot behind the kindergarten.

“Nabi, is this the right place?”

“Yes, it is. Looks like we found it without any trouble.”

“Great, let’s go then.”

After adjusting our clothes, we went to the front entrance of the kindergarten and rang the doorbell.

—Yes, how may I help you?

“We’re Han Uhee’s parents, here for the parent observation class.”

—Ah, I see. Please wait a moment!

While waiting for the teacher, I peeked through the glass entrance door. The soundproofing was good so I couldn’t hear any voices, but it seemed busy inside, probably because of the observation class.

After waiting patiently, Uhee’s homeroom teacher, whom we had met at the kindergarten entrance ceremony, opened the door for us. Perhaps it’s because she works with children, but her perpetual smile was quite impressive.

Lost in these idle thoughts, our eyes met, and I greeted her with a slight bow.

“Hello, teacher. This is the first time we’ve met since the entrance ceremony, right?”

“Ah, yes. It’s been a while. Um, you’re Uhee’s father, not her older brother…?”

“I get that misunderstanding often, but I’m really her dad. You know that, right?”

“Ah, yes, of course I know… oh my, umm…”

I joked with a smile, but the teacher’s cheeks turned red. She didn’t seem angry, so why was she acting like this? Perhaps she’s shy? Uhee had said her teacher was friendly and kind.

Wondering if I’d made a mistake, I was about to move closer when Hwa Nabi suddenly jumped in front of me.

“Hello, teacher. It’s been a week since we last met, right?”

“Ah, Uhee’s mother. Yes, I saw you last week when you dropped her off, so it’s been exactly a week.”

The teacher cleared her throat and glanced at me. Is there something on my face?

“I’m glad you both could make it. I actually have something to discuss about Uhee, so shall we go inside…?”