Ch.4848. It’s Not Jealousy

Normally, when people get drunk, they quickly pass out. Since ancient times, alcohol has been used as a substitute for sleeping pills when suffering from insomnia.

But for some reason, Hwa Nabi kept mumbling and talking to me for quite a while despite being drunk. I was completely exhausted from dealing with her.

“Sigh.”

This is why dealing with drunk people is so difficult. Just when you think you’re having a coherent conversation, they suddenly go off on tangents, asking strange questions…

“…Why did she suddenly ask about my underwear size?”

What on earth would she use that information for? She kept persistently asking, so I answered, but thinking about it now makes me feel embarrassed, causing me to mutter to myself.

But there was no echo in response.

“Mmm…”

Hwa Nabi, who should have answered, had just fallen asleep.

Fortunately, she fell asleep before roll call. Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief and examine her appearance.

Cheeks flushed from alcohol, slightly parted lips, soft breathing sounds.

…I don’t know who gave her permission to sleep looking this cute.

“But what kind of sleeping habit is this?”

About a month ago, when I went to wake up Hwa Nabi in the morning, I noticed she sleeps quite roughly.

It would be nice if she could stay still. How long has she been asleep, and already she’s kicked off half the blanket.

“At least no one can carry her away.”

They say it’s best to think positively… let’s look on the bright side.

I neatly fixed her slightly disheveled bangs and quietly stood up. As much as I’d like to stay and admire her sleeping face…

“That won’t work.”

Unfortunately, it’s impossible. Actually, it’s almost time for roll call.

I carefully moved my feet so as not to wake Hwa Nabi.

And before leaving, I checked the surroundings one last time.

“I’ve covered her with the blanket…”

I even turned on the heater at a low setting just in case, so there shouldn’t be any problems. I initially thought about leaving a note on the table, but that seemed a bit excessive, so I didn’t.

-Click.

The door closed behind me. I leaned against the corridor wall.

“If I had known she would stay awake this long, I should have just taken her back to her original room.”

I unconsciously muttered something I didn’t really mean, but in reality, it was an impossible scenario from the start.

The distance between the annex with the outdoor pool and the main hotel building is quite far… and imagine a man and woman wandering the hotel corridors in the middle of the night in swimwear.

I’m sure the other guests would have been horrified. The staff who saw us and said nothing were truly remarkable.

“Huff.”

Anyway, if I had known this would happen, I should have grabbed some clothes from the changing room.

Then I wouldn’t have needed to take this roundabout way, and things would have gone more smoothly.

“…I couldn’t leave a drunk person alone to go get clothes.”

Otherwise, should I have changed clothes in the changing room and come back? Thinking about it, that’s where things started to go wrong.

If Hwa Nabi hadn’t been in her swimsuit, I would have taken her straight to the main hotel building.

“…”

Yes… I won’t say this in front of her no matter what, but the reason I didn’t carry Hwa Nabi to the main building wasn’t anything else.

Why? If I entered the hotel with Hwa Nabi in her swimsuit, people would stare, whether we liked it or not. I didn’t like that.

I’m a man, so I don’t care if people look at my body. But I don’t want Hwa Nabi to become a spectacle for others.

And I disliked even more the idea of someone seeing her in her swimsuit.

“Ah, well.”

Of course, at the beach, it’s unavoidable due to the nature of the place, but I absolutely cannot tolerate it elsewhere. Even if you think I’m being old-fashioned, I can’t help it. That’s honestly how I felt.

“…”

Maybe it’s because I’m in an unfamiliar place, but useless thoughts keep popping up. I shook my head to clear my mind and started planning what to do next.

Actually, the biggest problem at hand is the roll call issue for Hwa Nabi who’s asleep in the suite room. Since they check attendance by face, I need to come up with an excuse.

However, for this particular issue, there’s someone I can ask for help.

“…”

Of course, I can’t be certain. We’re not particularly close, and we haven’t had much interaction, so I wasn’t sure if they would readily help.

“Still, I should at least ask.”

With that thought, I immediately took action.

I went down to the first floor where the front desk was located, asked a staff member for permission, and borrowed a phone.

“Huff.”

The recipient was Jinhee, who was in charge of the girls. I dialed the number I had memorized yesterday, and soon a familiar voice came through the receiver.

[Ah, hello?]

“Oh, it’s Han Siwoo.”

[Excuse me? Who did you say you were?]

“Han Siwoo.”

[Huh? Han Siwoo? Not our class’s Han Siwoo?]

“Yeah, that Han Siwoo. Do you have a moment? I have something to talk about.”

[…Just a moment, wait.]

Perhaps detecting something unusual in my voice, the previously noisy background on the other end of the phone suddenly became quiet. It seemed Jinhee had moved to a different location.

[What is it? What’s going on?]

“It’s nothing serious, I’m calling about Hwa Nabi.”

[Huh?! What about Nabi? Did something happen to her?]

Jinhee fired off questions before I could even explain. We had barely spoken before, so I had forgotten how impatient she could be.

“It’s not like that. We’re currently in the VIP lounge, and…”

I explained the situation. To summarize briefly, ‘We came to the VIP lounge to eat, but Hwa Nabi was sleepy, so I let her sleep in the guest room.’ I naturally omitted the fact that she had been drinking.

After a moment, when I finished my explanation, Jinhee let out a troubled sigh.

[…Okay, I understand the situation. But the VIP lounge? Isn’t that place restricted to… Ah, right. You two aren’t just anyone.]

To be honest, I’m no different. Hwa Nabi is the VVIP, and I’m just an add-on. But there was no need to correct that, so I just waited.

[Anyway, so how exactly do you want me to help? Do you want me to make up an excuse for the teacher during roll call?]

“That would be enough… Are you really going to help?”

I was surprised by her willingness to cooperate. When I asked again in disbelief, Jinhee’s characteristic sharp response came back.

[What, you don’t believe me? If you don’t like it, forget it.]

“No, no! I believe you. I’ll trust you, so please help me.”

[That’s better. You should have said so from the start.]

Jinhee’s personality is a bit… like this. She’s not being sharp with me out of malice.

I knew this well, so I wasn’t particularly upset by her attitude.

[Oh, right. So does this mean we’re even for the dinner?]

“Huh? Dinner?”

[What, did you already forget? Last night. You know, thanks to you, we got to eat dinner for free at the cruise restaurant.]

“Ah… that?”

It wasn’t even my money, so what’s the big deal? But Jinhee seemed to see it differently.

[Yeah, if you think about it, everyone in our class owes you. So, let’s call it even with me helping you this time. Okay? You’re rich anyway.]

“Well, if you say so.”

If I could get this kind of help for just treating someone to a meal, I was more than okay with it. When I responded halfheartedly, Jinhee chuckled.

[Oh, and this is something the others were too scared to tell you directly, so I’m relaying it: they said they enjoyed dinner last night.]

“…Why would they be scared of me?”

[What are you talking about? Don’t you know? You’re always frowning like you’re angry. The kids don’t talk to you, but anyone would be scared if you go around looking like that.]

I had nothing to say. Squinting my eyes is a kind of habit, so I hadn’t given it much thought.

As I remained silent after being criticized for something I hadn’t considered, Jinhee cleared her throat.

[Well, try to relax your expression more. You smile well when you look at Nabi, right? If you could do even half of that with others, you’d quickly make a friend or two.]

“…Wait, do the others think that too? That I don’t have any friends?”

[…]

-Beep, beep.

The call disconnected as soon as I asked. Even when I hurriedly called back, all I heard was [The customer cannot take your call right now-].

“Excuse me, sir? Are you finished with your call?”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

I’ll ask about that later. At least one issue is resolved.

I nodded to the staff member in gratitude and started walking toward the main hotel building…

“…Excuse me. I was wondering if you might have any spare women’s clothes? Something that could completely cover the body, like a uniform or something similar.”

“…Pardon?”