Ch.363363. If You Ask What Happiness Is

Evening.

The soft sensation touching my cheek feels strangely familiar.

Just as I begin to think that this is a feeling I’ve experienced many times before, a fragrant scent stimulates my nostrils.

It’s someone’s body scent that’s so familiar that my body reacts to it before my mind does.

“……”

The moment I realized this, I became aware that my eyelids were closed. I can’t remember when I closed my eyes.

The only thing I can vaguely recall is collapsing onto the bed, exhausted after sharing intense love too many times to count.

An indescribable pressure weighs down on my head. At first, I thought it was a migraine from overexertion, but that wasn’t it. Someone was pressing down on me from above.

Who could it be? I forced my heavy eyelids open. Then I saw something pale white filling my vision.

Without knowing what it was, I slightly parted my lips. Using my tongue and lips, sucking and licking like a baby with a bottle, I heard a stifled laugh from above my head.

“…Heh, my baby. Did you want to eat?”

Something like a soft palm gently strokes my head, as if accepting and embracing everything about me. The feeling is so pleasant that I only want to stay like this.

If someone were to ask me what happiness is, I could answer that it’s exactly this—experiencing such intense happiness… until I gradually returned to my senses.

As my blurry vision became clearer, I realized what I was doing.

I had my lips pressed against Hwa Nabi’s upper chest, leaving a mark.

“Sip…”

What is this? Though surprised inside, I quickly removed my lips and wiped my mouth. I must have been doing this quite mindlessly, as a drop of saliva had moistened the corner of my mouth.

Thinking she might let it slide since I did it while half-asleep, I looked at Hwa Nabi. But she showed no intention of letting it go, squirming closer to me and reaching out to embrace me again.

“What are you doing…?”

“Why are you running away, husband? You were nestled so obediently just now.”

“That was while I was half-asleep, but now I’m fully conscious…”

“Half-asleep…? Husband, weren’t you already awake?”

“No, I just woke up.”

“That can’t be right. Just ten minutes ago, you were doing that to my chest…”

As if something occurred to her, Hwa Nabi, who had been muttering quietly, suddenly brightened.

“Ah… heh, so you’re making excuses, trying to pretend it never happened.”

“That’s not it, I really just woke up…?”

“Mmm, okay. My just-woken-up husband, I’m a tolerant woman. I’ll pretend whatever happened while you were ‘half-asleep’ never happened.”

She emphasizes the word “half-asleep” as if to make me feel guilty, but I find it unfair. After all, I really did it while half-asleep.

Well, all I did was leave a mark with my lips on her chest. It’s something I occasionally do anyway, so there’s nothing to be embarrassed about, but it still feels awkward to face her confidently.

If it had been somewhere else, maybe it wouldn’t matter, but the fact that my lips were on her chest makes it uncomfortable. With an uneasy feeling, I raised my upper body.

“Nabi, what time is it?”

“Almost 6 o’clock. Do you want to sleep more?”

“No, if I sleep now, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep later tonight.”

“…Then, shall we shower together? We went to bed without washing up.”

Hwa Nabi, who got up with me, embraced me from behind as if accustomed to it, and whispered in a subtle voice.

It was such an attractive proposal that I almost wavered for a moment, but it was about time for my appointment, so I had to go out. I gently persuaded her with kind words.

“Oh, right. Husband had an appointment.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.”

“I don’t want to wait alone… Oh, can I just come with you?”

“Oh, would you like to?”

Since it’s better for both of us to go out than for me to go alone, and my appointment is with high school classmates anyway, it seemed like a good suggestion. After getting Hwa Nabi’s consent, I sent a message to Jinhee.

Me [Nabi is asking if she can come along, is it okay if I bring her?]

Within less than ten seconds, a reply came.

Jinhee [I was going to invite Nabi too, so that works out well. Make sure to bring her safely without any incidents.]

Me [*nodding puppy emoticon*]

“Husband, why are you sending such friendly KakaoTalk messages?”

“Where exactly is the friendly part in this conversation…?”

“Here, you sent this cute emoticon.”

“……”

I mean, I couldn’t just reply with a curt “yeah,” could I? That would seem too indifferent.

“From now on, never send emoticons to other women, only use them when chatting with me. Understood?”

“Mmm, I will. But what about the ones I’ve already sent?”

“What’s done is done, so you’ll have to make up for it with your body later.”

“Nabi, you’re asking me to send the same emoticon to you too, right…?”

“We’ll be late for the appointment at this rate. Shall we start getting ready to leave?”

“…Nabi? Nabi?”

*

After a good sleep, most of my intoxication had disappeared. But just to be safe, I took a taxi to the meeting place with Jinhee.

The travel time was about ten minutes. I thought it would take longer due to rush hour, but we arrived surprisingly quickly.

Passing a sign that said business hours start at PM 18:00, we went down to the basement floor of the building where the entrance to the cocktail bar Jinhee had mentioned in her message was visible.

-Ding.

“Oh, Nabi’s here. Nabi, over here!”

Jinhee, sitting at a large table in the innermost part of the bar—a good place for conversation—waved her hand toward us.

Waving back as we approached, I saw a total of four people including Jinhee. Next to Jinhee was Lim Hansol, across from her was my friend Park Sehyun, and beside him was a man with somewhat familiar features. I didn’t recognize him at first, but looking closely, he was the vice class president from our first year.

“Oh, Siwoo’s here?”

“Wow… Siwoo, you haven’t changed at all! It’s been a while, how have you been?”

“Hey, why are you so late?”

“You’re the one who came early. We arrived right on time.”

Though we arrived at the appointed time, I was immediately bombarded. I nodded with a smile to Lim Hansol and the former vice class president who greeted me warmly, and gave a light high-five to Park Sehyun who was making unnecessary comments.

“Hey, switch seats with me.”

“Why the sudden seat change?”

“Why, you ask? Don’t you know? I can’t have you and Nabi sitting next to each other. I’ll buy you a cocktail, so move next to Hansol.”

“Hey, do I look like a beggar to you? Do you think I’d move my butt for just one cocktail?”

Park Sehyun, who sounded like he absolutely wouldn’t switch, abruptly stood up and moved to the seat next to Lim Hansol.

Watching this, Jinhee remarked incredulously.

“You’re actually moving?”

“Of course I’ll move if you’re buying me a cocktail. Did you see the menu? A lime mojito here costs 20,000 won, ridiculously expensive…”

“The owner might hear you.”

After silencing Park Sehyun who was making unnecessary comments, I pulled out a chair and seated Hwa Nabi as if escorting her. Then, as I sat down next to her, Jinhee nudged Lim Hansol’s shoulder.

“Hansol, you should learn from that. Isn’t it nice to see a man who knows to pull out a chair for a woman?”

“Ah, is that so…?”

“Hey, don’t listen to her. That guy is just weird. What kind of man pulls out a chair for a woman?”

“Goodness, look at Park Sehyun talking. That’s why your relationships never last more than six months. It’s all because you lack consideration, consideration.”

“Wait, why is that coming up now? And if you force consideration, is it still consideration? That’s coercion.”

“Why do you two start fighting as soon as you see each other…?”

Both Park Sehyun and Jinhee have personalities that hate losing, so when they’re put together, arguments frequently break out, making it noisy.

I lightly mediated their quarrel and ordered three cocktails from the bartender.

It was some cocktail from the signature menu called Green Garden or something. According to Jinhee, it was supposed to have a refreshing taste.

“Wow, this tastes awful.”

“Hmm, it’s good.”

“Yes, this is really tangy. Right?”

Those were the evaluations from Park Sehyun, me, and Hwa Nabi in order. We all tasted the same cocktail from our respective glasses, but while Hwa Nabi and I had similar opinions, Park Sehyun frowned deeply. He clearly didn’t like the taste.

Park Sehyun, who had taken a sip of the cocktail and stopped, put down his glass as if he didn’t even want to touch it. Jinhee looked at him and shook her head.

“Tsk, that taste-ignorant fool.”

“You’re the taste-ignorant one. How is this good? There are melon scraps floating around.”

“They’re not melon scraps, they’re pineapple pieces used as decoration. Are you really that stupid?”

“…Hey, Lim Hansol. Do something about your wife. She’s calling your husband’s heavenly friend stupid. Is this acceptable?”

Unable to continue the argument, he sought help from the innocent Lim Hansol, but Hansol, realizing it would be troublesome to get involved, pretended not to hear and looked at me.

“By the way, Siwoo. How are you doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean raising kids. Your first child is four now, right? Since they entered kindergarten this year, I was wondering how it feels to be a parent.”

Since it was quite a serious question for casual conversation, I felt I should answer properly and thought about it for a moment.

“Well… I’m proud of how well they’re growing, and I feel I should be a parent who isn’t ashamed in front of my children… something like that?”

“Maybe it’s because you already have two children…? Your perspective is quite different from mine.”

“Why, what’s your mindset?”

“I just vaguely thought I should do well. But after hearing what you said, I think I’ve realized how I should behave in front of our Sunghyun.”

“Realized? You make it sound like I said something profound…?”

“You said you should be a parent who isn’t ashamed in front of your children, right? That’s definitely a profound statement.”

When Lim Hansol says such things with his characteristically serious face, it makes me feel somewhat embarrassed. So I turned my gaze aside, only to find Park Sehyun, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, asking in surprise.

“Wait. Two children? Siwoo, you have two children?”

“Yeah, a girl and a boy… Didn’t I tell you?”

“Well, I can’t remember either. …But that’s not the important thing. What about military service with two kids?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“One child might be manageable, but with two, isn’t it hard to leave them behind while you serve?”

“……”

“…Hmm.”

“Uh….”

At Park Sehyun’s question, all the men’s attention focused on me. Lim Hansol, who had already completed his military service, tilted his head with a puzzled expression; Park Sehyun, who had yet to serve, looked at me with concerned eyes; and the former vice class president, who probably hadn’t served yet, gazed at me with a mixture of curiosity and worry…

I looked at all the men gathered here with a relaxed and leisurely demeanor, then took a sip of my cocktail.

“Actually, I’m exempt, so it doesn’t matter.”