Ch.343343. Apologies Aren’t Just Words

“Yes, I got it. Mmm, I’ll send it later. Yeah, you take care of yourself too.”

With a familiar sound effect, the call ended. Hwa Nabi, who had been talking to Jinhee on my phone, put down her hand and cautiously approached me, sneaking glances.

She couldn’t confidently cling to me and instead approached awkwardly, hesitantly coming closer—which suggested she knew she’d done something wrong. When she remained silent, I just stared at her.

‘Don’t you have anything to say to me?’

“…Ahem.”

Though she must clearly see what I’m thinking in my eyes, she pretends not to know. Approaching me with an innocent smile as if she truly knows nothing, she gently reaches out and starts massaging my shoulders.

She seems to think that actions work better than words, and aegyo works better than actions. But if she thinks this much will make me forget what happened, she’s wrong. I silently watched her actions, then lightly grabbed her wrist, put it down, and flopped onto my back.

“Husband, you’re not angry, are you?”

“No, I’m not angry.”

“Really…?”

“Yes, really.”

“…You are angry, aren’t you.”

Hwa Nabi muttered with pouting lips, but I’m not particularly angry. If I were truly angry, I would have tried to resolve it through conversation first. The reason I’m acting this way is because I think I should correct her habit of interrupting phone calls.

She has such an affectionate personality that I often let things slide when she does something wrong, but this seems like something I should address clearly. If I don’t draw a clear line now, won’t she do it again next time?

I don’t mind when she plays around during calls with friends or close acquaintances like just now, but it’s troublesome when she occasionally does this while I’m taking work calls at home. So I need to firmly put a stop to it when I catch her in the act.

I picked up my phone. My plan now is shock therapy—I’ll pretend not to notice her no matter how much aegyo she uses or how she clings to me.

Lying on my back, I put my left hand behind my head and pressed the screen of my phone with my right hand. Let’s see what today’s hot topics are.

“…”

Just as I clicked on internet news buzzing about a drunk driving case, sure enough, Hwa Nabi slightly moved and began to take action. I pretended to look at my phone while watching her behavior.

Until now, I would reluctantly give in when she used her aegyo appropriately, but not this time. With that determination, I watched to see what she would do, and Hwa Nabi gently grabbed my waistband. Then, with remarkably skillful hands, she unbuckled my belt and slowly started pulling down my pants….

“…Nabi, what are you doing?”

Startled, I sat up and grabbed her wrist. I had decided to ignore whatever she did, but I couldn’t when she suddenly started undressing me—that wasn’t part of my plan.

Whether she was doing this deliberately to get my attention or genuinely didn’t understand, Hwa Nabi tilted her head with the knot of her shower robe loosened, slightly revealing her chest.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?”

“What do you mean by ‘this’?”

“You know, doing this, like this?”

Hwa Nabi put her thumb and index finger together in an OK sign, then used a fluid wrist snap to move it up and down. While it looked like a meaningless gesture on the surface… as someone who understood its deeper meaning, it was a sight I absolutely couldn’t bear to watch.

What did she eat for lunch? Why is she like this in broad daylight? Unable to stand it anymore, I interlocked our fingers to stop her. It’s better to just hold hands than to continue watching this embarrassing display.

“How could that possibly lead to what you were thinking…?”

“It’s a common scene in videos. The man is casually looking at his phone, and the woman is down there, enthusiastically…”

“That’s not what this is about. Don’t watch strange videos and try to imitate them in the future.”

This is why adult videos are dangerous. They’re very stimulating and detached from reality, making it easy to instill wrong sexual knowledge and stereotypes.

I’m the kind of person who believes that intimate acts should involve mutual respect, love, and consideration, so I rarely demand one-sided service. Simply put, the premise of Hwa Nabi’s action was wrong. And originally, what I prefer isn’t the wrist but the chest area.

“…Understand?”

What am I saying? Coming to my senses belatedly, I shook my head. Hwa Nabi looked at me strangely, then reluctantly nodded.

“I understand. Since you said so, I won’t imitate it anymore.”

“Good, as long as you understand.”

I gently released our clasped hands. Hwa Nabi seemed to regret this, fidgeting with her palms and glancing at me.

“You should have told me beforehand.”

“Huh? What?”

“That you were on the phone with Jinhee. If you had told me, I would have stayed quiet.”

“You started undressing me before I could even say anything.”

“That’s because you didn’t answer me quickly… I thought you were secretly talking to another woman behind my back.”

“Nabi, have I ever done something like that?”

“No.”

“Right? So why would you think something so absurd? Do I not give you enough reason to trust me?”

“No, that’s not it…”

If that’s not it, there must be another reason. When I questioned her with my eyes, Hwa Nabi swallowed and pondered.

It’s probably not something too embarrassing to tell others. What could the reason be? I feel like I need to know to resolve this situation.

“If it’s not that, then what is it?”

“…Because you’re handsome.”

“Huh?”

“Husband, you’re extremely handsome. That’s why.”

“…”

This was an unexpected reason. Since her answer was so different from what I anticipated, I just stared blankly, causing Hwa Nabi’s face to gradually turn red. She looks just like a ripe tomato.

No, that’s not the point. Being suspicious because I’m handsome—what does that mean? Just as I was about to ask for clarification, Hwa Nabi suddenly stood up and moved away from me. The front of her robe opened, revealing her chest area, but with her cheeks burning red, she seemed too preoccupied to notice such a minor detail.

“…I’ll be right back from the bathroom!”

Hwa Nabi announced unilaterally and rushed out of the bedroom. Left alone, I smacked my lips, recalling the cute underwear I had just glimpsed.

Wucheoni is with her mother-in-law, and Wuhee is still in class, so there’s no one else at home. But is it okay for her to walk around the living room dressed like that? What if guests come?

I should have told her to change clothes before going out, but it happened so quickly that I couldn’t stop her. I briefly considered following her but decided against it and flopped back down.

Using the bathroom is just an excuse; she’s probably embarrassed. Let’s give her some alone time until she calms down. I picked up my phone and pressed the power button.

1:20 PM.

There’s still plenty of time. Too much, even.

“…”

After staring blankly at my phone screen, I put it down and slowly closed my eyes as distracting thoughts wouldn’t go away.

What Hwa Nabi just said must mean that she can’t help but be suspicious because I’m handsome… right? No matter how I think about it, there’s no other meaning. I mean, what else could it mean? She’s probably not twisting words to insult me, so the only interpretation left is the literal meaning.

…Thinking about it that way makes the corners of my mouth twitch. I felt foolish smiling to myself over a casual compliment, but I couldn’t stop. Men are generally one-dimensional, and I’m no exception—we’re weak to direct compliments from women.

Call me simple if you want, but I have nothing to say in my defense. Why? Because it’s true. Go ahead and criticize. What man wouldn’t smile at a compliment from the most beautiful woman in his world? If such a man exists, then he’s the one with the problem. I’m perfectly normal.

“…Was I too harsh?”

I muttered, turning to my side. Now that I think about it, I was probably a bit cold to Hwa Nabi. It’s not like she maliciously interrupted me. Yet I ignored her and just looked at my phone, claiming I needed to correct her behavior?

How much must she have been watching my mood to try something unusual to appease me? I could have handled it with words, but I was too cold. I shouldn’t have done that.

No, this won’t do. When she comes back, I should apologize first. With that decision, I abruptly sat up. At that very moment, coincidentally, the bedroom door swung open.

“…Husband?”

Hwa Nabi peeked her head through the open door. She was holding something in her hand—looking closely, it was champagne that had been refrigerated and two glasses. Apparently, she wants to share a drink.

“Do you want to drink champagne?”

“Yes, do you mind? If you do, I can put it back…”

“I don’t mind, but shouldn’t we drink a little later? We need to pick up Wuhee at five.”

Although champagne has a low alcohol content, driving under the influence is strictly prohibited. That’s a direct route to the afterlife. To prevent this, the driver just needs to abstain, but in that case, it would be better to bring her back and drink in the afternoon.

That was my meaning, but for some reason, Hwa Nabi shook her head.

“Um… no, that’s fine.”

“Why is it fine?”

“I just contacted my parents.”

“What did you tell them?”

“I asked if they could take care of Wuhee and Wucheoni for just today.”

“Not just for a while, but for the whole day?”

As I wondered why she asked them to take care of the children for a day, Hwa Nabi gracefully walked over, put down the champagne, and sat beside me.

Her thighs extending from beneath the shower robe, her rounded chest. Her slightly wet hair captures my gaze.

“Yes, for today. Until tomorrow morning.”

“…”

I reached out without realizing it.

“…Shall we drink?”