Ch.5353. Beach Date

Happy times always pass by quickly.

We took selfies that screamed “Look at us being lovey-dovey~”, left the park, had a meal, teased each other playfully, and then held hands while walking down the street.

Before we knew it, while enjoying our date and losing track of time, evening had fallen. It was time to head back to our lodging.

But.

“…”

Something felt lacking.

We had been together from morning until evening, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say we’d spent almost the entire day together.

Nevertheless, when I thought about having to part ways, it felt incredibly disappointing.

I wished we had a little more time.

“Ah. What a shame.”

Was that my subconscious speaking? While walking alongside Hwa Nabi, I suddenly muttered those words. They came out unexpectedly.

At those words, Hwa Nabi suddenly stopped walking. She turned toward me and asked:

“You feel that way too? What a coincidence, I feel the same.”

Since it wasn’t something I had prepared to say, I couldn’t answer right away. So I just quietly nodded, and Hwa Nabi’s gaze left my face and moved to somewhere far away. I naturally followed her gaze.

Where Hwa Nabi was looking was the beach at sunset.

“Want to stop by for a bit?”

It was now late afternoon with the setting sun, and if we stopped by the beach before returning, we’d definitely be late. Even though I knew this well, the words instinctively came out.

Was it just because of the disappointment? Or perhaps…

“…”

Well, regardless of which it was, it was undeniably a question that put Hwa Nabi in a difficult position. As evidence, the time it took her to answer was getting strangely long.

Hesitantly, she fidgeted with her fingertips while watching my reaction. She probably found it difficult to refuse. As I was about to take back my words:

“Shall we?”

An unexpected answer flowed from Hwa Nabi’s lips. Surprised, I asked again.

“Are you sure? The homeroom teacher will scold us if we’re late.”

“Ah, don’t worry about that. The teacher said it’s okay to be a little late if we contact in advance.”

“Really? That’s good then, but why don’t I remember hearing that?”

“Well, you know. The teacher probably only said that to the girls, don’t you think?”

“…”

Have you ever seen such a biased teacher? I was momentarily speechless, my lips just twitching. Hwa Nabi took a step toward me. She grabbed my sleeve.

“It’s not that important, so don’t worry about it. We don’t have much time, so shall we hurry and go?”

“Yeah… let’s do that.”

As Hwa Nabi said, it wasn’t really that important. I nodded and followed her lead.

Matching my pace with Hwa Nabi, we went down a few metal stairs and walked for a very short while.

And so, we arrived at the beach not long after.

“Wow.”

“Wow…”

We both exclaimed in admiration at the same time. The calm water surface, the golden sand. The red sunset mixing with the blue sea, like a painting. We couldn’t tell from a distance, but up close, it was truly a magnificent sight.

“Let’s walk for a bit.”

It seemed impolite to just turn back after seeing this scenery. I wasn’t the only one who thought so; as soon as I spoke, Hwa Nabi quickly took my hand. It meant she wanted to walk together.

“Let’s walk slowly, sand might get into your shoes.”

A needless caution before walking. Hwa Nabi answered with a slight smile.

And then, without anyone taking the lead, we started walking simultaneously.

“The scenery here is really pretty. Why didn’t we know about this?”

“I know, right? Is this a place people don’t know about?”

A place this beautiful would normally be known through word of mouth, but whether by coincidence or not, there wasn’t a single person on this beach besides us.

“But how are we going to get back?”

“I parked the motorcycle in the parking lot. We can go back on that.”

“Ah, right. That’s true.”

We left our footprints on the golden sand while making idle conversation.

As we walked, I looked back slightly and saw our footprints on the path we had taken. Mine in sneakers, Hwa Nabi’s in sandals.

“Wait, Nabi. Look at this.”

“Hm? At what?”

“This, your footprints and mine. The difference is huge when you look at it like this, right?”

“Oh? You’re right.”

Hwa Nabi’s footprints already looked small because of her heeled sandals, and since my feet are quite large, with a bit of exaggeration, the difference was almost double. At this point, it wouldn’t be wrong to call us Beauty and the Beast.

For a more detailed comparison, I deliberately left my footprint next to her tiny one. The size difference was starkly revealed.

“This makes mine look like some monster footprint.”

“They say tall men have big feet, I guess that’s true?”

“Yeah, I guess it is.”

It was just a silly joke, but as I looked at it, laughter escaped me without realizing. Watching me from the side, Hwa Nabi also laughed, covering her mouth.

“Heh, why are you laughing?”

“Hehe, what about you?”

The reason I’m laughing… I’m not sure myself.

Whether it’s because the conversation with Hwa Nabi is enjoyable, or because the situation itself is funny, I don’t know.

But honestly, does it matter?

“Ah, this is really funny.”

It was then, as we were laughing while looking at each other without any particular reason.

“Um, Siwoo.”

Hwa Nabi suddenly stopped laughing and called my name. There was a strange light in her eyes as she looked at me.

The atmosphere felt somehow ominous. I had a feeling she was about to say something serious.

“Yes?”

Still holding hands, Hwa Nabi stared at my face and took her time. I waited without rushing her.

After maintaining eye contact with me for a while, Hwa Nabi spoke in a small voice.

“Thank you.”

“Huh? For what?”

I didn’t think I’d done anything deserving of thanks. It was an unexpected statement, so I was about to ask, but I hesitated.

Hwa Nabi was carefully touching my hand, as if handling a treasure.

“Just, without specifying… for everything.”

“Uh…”

“…Honestly, I’ve only been a burden to you, haven’t I? When we first met, and the second time too. I acted carelessly and only caused trouble.”

“…”

“But you never got angry, always worried about me first…”

Hwa Nabi trailed off, and I remained silent, not knowing how to respond. Then suddenly, she lifted her head and said to me:

“You know what? Thinking about it, aren’t you a fool? No matter how nice a person is, a man should get angry sometimes, right?”

“…Is this the part where I’m supposed to be insulted?”

I thought she was going to compliment me, but criticism came instead. When I responded glumly, Hwa Nabi chuckled.

“No. I was just saying it, so hear it and forget it.”

“That’s not as easy as you make it sound.”

“…Anyway, I’ve received so much from you, but I feel like I haven’t given much in return, so I’m sorry.”

“That’s enough.”

“Siwoo… I’m not joking, you know? I’m being serious in my own way.”

I can tell just by looking at your expression. Your face was so serious that I was trying to ease the tension with a joke.

But it seemed to have the opposite effect, as Hwa Nabi’s lips stiffened. I should probably stop joking around.

“So, I’ll say this just once.”

“Okay.”

-Sigh.

Hwa Nabi took a deep breath and revealed her true feelings.

“Thank you for everything so far, Siwoo.”

“…”

“So far,” is it?

Just by the way she was speaking, it sounded exactly like a conversation between people meeting for the last time.

I wanted to interject with something, but Hwa Nabi continued speaking before I could open my mouth.

“Yes. It might sound shameless… but because I’ve been grateful so far, I want to continue being grateful in the future. And also, I’d like it if you had many reasons to be grateful to me too.”

“…”

I fumbled for words, not knowing how to respond.

What answer should I give? Should I say I want that too? I was trying to seriously think about it when I noticed Hwa Nabi gradually avoiding my gaze.

“…You understand what I mean, right?”

After saying that, Hwa Nabi gently let go of my hand and took a step back. She had said everything she wanted to say, and now she seemed embarrassed about it.

With flushed cheeks, unable to meet my gaze directly… she looked incredibly cute and lovable.

…Is this what they call being love-struck?

Well, even if it is… what does it matter?

Following my heart, I took a step forward.

Hwa Nabi was startled and hesitated, and I took that opportunity to pull her into a hug.

“S-Siwoo?”

She was so surprised that she stuttered. I ignored it and said what I wanted to say.

“You don’t need to be grateful.”

I gently told the trembling Hwa Nabi. As if handling a baby, I softly patted her back, and I could feel her trembling gradually subsiding.

“After all, we’re engaged, right? We even have a child we’re raising together, so we’re practically a married couple.”

“…Even though it was our parents who arranged it.”

“You want to say your will wasn’t involved? Something like that?”

“Actually… that’s not wrong, is it? We didn’t even know each other’s faces until we met in person. It’s not like we’re in the Joseon Dynasty.”

Hwa Nabi was right. In fact, there was even a comical incident because we didn’t recognize each other’s faces.

It’s a funny memory now, but at the time, I was so surprised… After briefly reminiscing, I came back to my senses and said:

“Well, that was true at first. But it’s not like that now, right? Now we know each other well.”

“…Really? I still don’t feel like I know you well.”

“Why do you think that?”

She just kept sighing without answering, but I really wanted to hear her response.

So I placed my hand on the back of Hwa Nabi’s neck, whom I was embracing, making her look at me.

“Are you not going to answer?”

“Well, why do I think that? Would you like to guess, our oblivious Siwoo?”

“Wait a minute… since you brought it up, why do you keep saying I’m oblivious?”

“Because you are oblivious.”

Is she trying to have some kind of Zen dialogue with me? I unconsciously frowned slightly as I looked at her. In response, Hwa Nabi didn’t back down and stared back at me with wide eyes.

“…”

As if having a staring contest, the emotion in Hwa Nabi’s eyes as she glared at me was…

“Siwoo.”

“Yes?”

A moment of silence.

Then Hwa Nabi’s lips slowly opened.

“…How do you feel about me?”