Ch.4040. In the Sweet Room, Just the Two of Us

A moment of silence.

“….”

I stared blankly at the person before me, at a loss for words.

“…Siwoo?”

Hwa Nabi was fidgeting awkwardly, seemingly embarrassed as she gradually avoided my gaze.

Judging by her appearance, the identity of the intruder who had been roughly knocking on my door was apparently Hwa Nabi.

I froze momentarily in surprise, then quickly regained my composure and responded.

“What are you doing here? Isn’t it time to sleep?”

“Um, can I come in first? There are men passing by outside.”

“Ah, right. Come in.”

Since it seemed inappropriate to keep her standing outside, I stepped back to make way for her as she suggested.

Hwa Nabi glanced around cautiously, then quickly moved inside the room.

“Ex-excuse me for intruding.”

Hwa Nabi stumbled slightly over her words, seemingly nervous.

Then, pretending not to be, she moved her gaze around to examine different parts of the room… when suddenly her shoulders jerked and her body stiffened.

“…Huh?”

Seeing her standing there with her mouth agape, it seemed she was shocked by the room’s blatant atmosphere.

Well, I had the exact same reaction when I first entered this room, so I couldn’t blame her.

Hwa Nabi looked around the entire room with bewildered eyes, then turned her gaze to me.

“S-Siwoo, why is the room decorated like this?”

“That’s what I’d like to know….”

If possible, I’d like to confront the captain about it. Why give me this kind of private room and put me in such an awkward position?

“…Well, it’s romantic overall, so not bad.”

After making this casual assessment, Hwa Nabi cleared her throat unnecessarily. From the looks of it, she seemed to have something to tell me.

“Do you have something you want to say?”

“…No. Nothing.”

Then why did you come all the way here at this hour?

I desperately wanted to ask, but barely managed to hold back.

Instead, I carefully observed Hwa Nabi’s eyes.

…Her pupils were trembling slightly. She’s lying.

Having made that judgment, I stroked my chin.

“Hmm.”

Considering she came to my room close to bedtime, it must be something important, but why is she hiding it? I don’t understand the reason, but it seemed pointless to press her about something she was trying to conceal.

So I just changed the subject.

“Is that so? Alright. But why were you banging on my door just now? You could have just called my name.”

Though I wasn’t showing it—well, I think it was already obvious—I thought my heart was going to drop when I mistook her for an intruder. To my question, Hwa Nabi answered as if I should already know.

“Siwoo… this is the men’s floor, right?”

“That’s right.”

“And since it’s not that late, everyone else is probably still awake, right?”

“Um… I guess so?”

“…Then if a woman’s voice suddenly sounds on the men’s floor, would people misunderstand or not?”

I see. I roughly understood what she was trying to say.

As Hwa Nabi pointed out, if a woman’s voice is heard on a floor used only by men, anyone would likely misunderstand.

“You have a point. But you had your phone, right? You could have texted or messaged me to open the door.”

“Ah… that? I, I accidentally left it in my room.”

“Then couldn’t you just go back and get it?”

At my suggestion, Hwa Nabi shook her head. A gesture indicating that was impossible.

It seems there’s some kind of situation here that I’m not aware of… but what could it be?

Curious, I asked with just my eyes, and Hwa Nabi gave a strange response.

“Well, you see… to be honest, I can’t go back to my room tonight.”

“…What are you talking about? Did you get into some kind of trouble?”

“N-no. I didn’t cause any trouble. Rather, I should say I was pushed to go cause trouble…”

Is this even Korean? I doubted my ears. I had no idea what she meant by being pushed to cause trouble.

As I unconsciously furrowed my brow trying to interpret what I’d just heard, Hwa Nabi suddenly pointed at me and exclaimed.

“Ah, forget it. Actually, if you think about it, this is all your fault!”

“Wait, my fault? What did I do?”

“Yes, it’s your fault because you ‘didn’t do’ something. It’s your fault!”

“…What didn’t I do?”

“Put your hand on your heart and think about it. ‘What didn’t I do?'”

Even with that prompt, nothing came to mind.

I couldn’t understand what connection there could possibly be between something I didn’t do and Hwa Nabi being kicked out of her room. If there was an answer key, I’d pay money to see it right now.

“I don’t know….”

“…Ugh, you clueless idiot. Just keep not knowing. I won’t tell you either.”

She muttered so quickly that I couldn’t hear exactly what she said. But did she just insult me?

Standing there dumbfounded by her rapid-fire words, Hwa Nabi, who had been glaring at me, suddenly crossed her arms.

Then, after twitching her eyebrows for a moment, she declared in a rather cold voice.

“I’m going to sleep here tonight.”

Hwa Nabi’s cheeks were flushed red.

She seemed excited about something, and it’s well known that logical persuasion doesn’t work on excited people.

So trying to explain things now would probably be useless. Having given up on persuasion, I tried an emotional approach instead.

“…Why would you want to sleep in my room when you have your own?”

“I don’t know, I just decided. Do you have a problem with that?”

“It’s not that I have a problem, but, you know, it’s a bit… People might misunderstand…”

“What. Kind. Of. Misunderstanding. Would. People. Have?”

Seeing how she’s breaking each word apart, she must be really upset… But when you throw such a direct fastball, isn’t it awkward for me to explain?

I can’t just spell it out bluntly. As I was trying to think of an appropriate way to express it, nothing came to mind.

So I averted my gaze, and Hwa Nabi turned and walked in the opposite direction.

“Where are you going?”

“To the bathroom. I’m going to shower.”

Clunk.

After snapping at me, Hwa Nabi went into the bathroom/shower room before I could say anything. From the looks of it, it seems her sleeping in my room is already a decided matter.

“…What is she going to do about clothes?”

I knew there was no point in me worrying about such things, but I couldn’t stop myself from muttering.

…My heart is beating very fast.

-Shhhh.

“…What’s wrong with me.”

Is it because we’re in a different place…? As I clutched my rapidly pounding chest, I soon heard the shower turn off, followed by rustling sounds.

Hwa Nabi, who quickly finished her shower, came out wearing a bathrobe.

For a moment I was about to ask where she got it from, but then I realized and let it go.

Come to think of it, this was a two-person suite room, so if there’s a men’s robe, there’s likely a matching women’s robe as well.

With her waist belt tightly fastened, Hwa Nabi began drying her hair with the provided hair dryer. I quietly watched her from behind.

Click.

After drying her hair, Hwa Nabi put down the hair dryer and turned to look at me.

…She must have dried her hair, but it still looked slightly damp overall.

Was that intentional? It made her look quite different from usual.

If the Hwa Nabi from before seemed like a lively girl, now she looked like a pure and calm beauty.

“Is there something on my face?”

“Huh? No, that’s not it.”

“Then why are you staring at me like that?”

“Um… well.”

Being honest would only make things more awkward.

With that thought, I remained silent, and Hwa Nabi looked at me strangely before saying primly:

“Turn off the lights now, I’m sleepy.”

“Alright.”

Hwa Nabi lay down on the bed first, and as she requested, I turned off the lights and switched to the night light.

Now I should lie down too… but where?

“……”

Two people, one bed.

Unless one person sleeps on the floor, we inevitably have to share the same bed. But sleeping on the floor isn’t easy either.

To begin with, since a suite room isn’t designed with that scenario in mind, there’s only one blanket available.

Why?

…Because couples or newlyweds wouldn’t need two separate blankets.

“…What are you doing?”

Just as I was lost in these random thoughts, Hwa Nabi, watching me with drowsy eyes, muttered.

Feeling caught, I tried to act natural as I responded.

“I was thinking of sleeping standing up tonight.”

“…What nonsense. Stop saying weird things and come up here quickly.”

Saying that, Hwa Nabi patted the space next to her on the bed.

She meant for us to share the bed.

In truth, there weren’t any other options, so this made sense… but I couldn’t help my racing heart.

To avoid showing my nervousness, I carefully suppressed my chest and lay down next to Hwa Nabi.

As if she had been waiting for this, Hwa Nabi turned away from me.

…She’s definitely upset.

Though she didn’t say anything, you’d have to be a complete fool not to notice.

“Sigh….”

I looked at Hwa Nabi’s pink hair and organized my thoughts.

There’s nothing more foolish than asking someone who’s upset why they’re upset. That only provokes them more.

When someone seems upset, you should catch that point well and apologize. That’s the right approach, but….

“…”

Why is she upset? No matter how much I think about it, I can’t figure out the point.

If I had at least made some verbal mistake, it would be easier to understand. But this time, that wasn’t the case.

Because of that, a word unconsciously slipped out.

“Sorry.”

It was loud enough to be clearly heard. But there was no response from Hwa Nabi.

…Did she fall asleep already? Just as I was about to check by quietly moving closer, it happened.

“…!”

Suddenly, without any warning, Hwa Nabi turned toward me. I froze mid-movement.

The distance was close.

I was very flustered, but Hwa Nabi, without changing her expression, asked me:

“What are you sorry for?”

“……”

There was no way I could answer that. Honestly, I really didn’t know why she was upset.

As I fumbled for words, Hwa Nabi threw out another line.

“Siwoo, be honest. You don’t know what you did wrong, do you?”

“Yeah.”

Since there was no point in denying it, I answered honestly, and at that moment the night light turned off. Five minutes had already passed.

Not yet adjusted to the darkness, I couldn’t sense the distance between us.

How close are we right now?

In the darkness, I heard Hwa Nabi suppressing a laugh.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Just because this situation is funny.”

…Is this a funny situation? I’m being more serious than ever.

Tap.

Just as I was about to open my mouth to say something, something thin and long touched my cheek.

It was Hwa Nabi’s finger.

“Siwoo, I’m sorry.”

“What do you have to be sorry for?”

“Actually, you didn’t do anything wrong. But I made you apologize by getting upset for no reason, so it’s my fault.”

I didn’t expect her to admit it so readily… I had nothing to say, so I just blinked.

Gradually my eyes adjusted to the darkness, and now I could see Hwa Nabi’s silhouette.

“…Thinking about it now, I think I was just a bit frustrated.”

“What were you frustrated about? Tell me and I’ll try my best to fix it.”

“No. It’s not that you’re frustrating…”

Hwa Nabi’s voice suddenly stopped there.

And then suddenly, something approached.

…It was Hwa Nabi’s face.

“…I was frustrated with myself for not being able to speak honestly.”

Her thick double eyelids and emerald eyes filled my vision.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“What couldn’t you speak honestly about?”

“…Siwoo, are you asking that on purpose?”

“Yes.”

I need to know to prevent it from happening again. That was my mindset when I asked.

Thump, I felt a light hit on my chest.

But there was no force behind it, so I didn’t feel anything.

“…Do you really want to know? Really?”

“If you don’t want to say it, you don’t have to. But…”

“…Siwoo.”

“Yes, I’m listening.”

As I answered, the silhouette came closer, and then—

Smooch.

I felt a soft sensation on my cheek that disappeared in an instant.

I unconsciously opened my eyes wide, and Hwa Nabi, with a blush on her cheeks, muttered softly.

“Earlier, you did it on my forehead, right?”

“…Did I?”

“Yes, you did. So this is…”

“…This is?”

“…Think of it as returning the favor with interest.”

“For one hour’s worth of interest, that seems a bit excessive…”

“…It’s this much because it’s for one hour.”

“Really? What would it have been for two hours?”

“Well, that would be…”

Another soft sensation.

This time not on the cheek, but on the forehead.

After kissing my forehead, Hwa Nabi smiled brightly.

“Now you’ll have to think about that, won’t you?”

“…I guess so.”

“Yes, so…”

“……”

“…Can I keep my hopes up?”

I couldn’t answer hastily.

…Because I felt like I really wouldn’t be able to hold back if I did,

So I just closed my eyes.

“Siwoo.”

“…Yes.”

“Sweet dreams.”

“…You too, sweet dreams.”

…In the end, I tossed and turned all night.