Ch.9494. Siwoo Oppa, Do You Like It?

While holding my hand tightly, Hwa Nabi, who had been walking ahead toward the festival venue, glanced back at me.

Emerald eyes that sparkled brightly even in the darkness, full of curiosity.

A face wondering about something.

“Siwoo, I saw this in the pamphlet earlier, but the Starlight Festival is also called the Night Festival… I wonder why?”

“Ah… that? Why, suddenly curious?”

“Oh, do you know about it?”

“Yeah, I know.”

I couldn’t help but know since it would come up immediately with just a simple search, without needing to investigate further.

I remember it wasn’t for any particularly impressive reason, what was it again? Only at night…

“Really? What’s the reason?”

Just as I was trying to continue my thought, Hwa Nabi tugged at my hand and asked. Because of that, I stopped awkwardly, gathered my thoughts, and started walking slowly again.

“Umm, it’s probably.”

“Yes, probably?”

“…The Starlight Festival is only held at night, so that’s probably why it’s called the Night Festival.”

“……”

As soon as I finished speaking, Hwa Nabi stopped in her tracks with a serious expression.

Judging by how she was frowning delicately and glaring at me with a look that said “Really?”, she probably thought I was joking.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

This felt a bit unfair. I can’t deny that I often tease Hwa Nabi, but this isn’t a joke. That’s actually the reason.

The Starlight Festival uses LED lights for various displays, so it can only be held at night when there’s no natural light. That’s why it naturally got the additional name of Night Festival.

After I explained these details, Hwa Nabi finally nodded as if she understood.

“Oh, that was really the reason? I thought you were joking again.”

“Someone listening would think I tease you all day long.”

“Well… you do tease me often, don’t you? So consider this your karma.”

I couldn’t readily refute since it wasn’t wrong. So I just mumbled with my lips, and Hwa Nabi chuckled.

“I was just making a joke, why are you getting all sulky?”

“No, it’s not like that…”

It was actually exactly like that, but as I was trying to naturally pretend otherwise and make excuses.

“Ah, really…”

Hwa Nabi, trailing off strangely, took a step forward.

Then she reached out toward me, and with a knowing smile, gently stroked my cheek.

“Siwoo is big in size, but still a child inside, aren’t you?”

The feeling that the spot where Hwa Nabi’s fingers touched me was burning hot wasn’t just my imagination.

“It’s not like that… whatever.”

Perhaps as a defense mechanism for having my true feelings exposed, my tone unconsciously became gruff. But even that small tantrum, Hwa Nabi quietly smiled and let it slide.

“Is that so? If you say so, then I guess that’s how it is.”

…Whether it’s because her clothes are different from usual, or because her hairstyle has changed, I’m not sure.

“……”

My heart is pounding because Hwa Nabi’s atmosphere seems to have completely changed. If before she was closer to a lively and energetic girl, now she feels like a pure, embracing woman.

That gentle beauty, Hwa Nabi, pulled our joined hands and lightly said:

“Now, our cute Siwoo. Shall we go look around the festival with noona?”

“…Why are you noona?”

“Well, Siwoo, you were born two months after me, right? Strictly speaking, I’m older than you.”

“If we’re going by that, I’m…”

I was about to say I’m older than you, but I swallowed hard.

What good would it do to say that mentally I’m probably a decade older than you? If I honestly said that, I’d just be treated like a crazy person.

…Honestly, I wouldn’t believe it either.

“You’re what…?”

But Hwa Nabi, somehow noticing that I had stopped mid-sentence, took a step closer and probed.

Feeling a bit nervous inside, I slightly backed away, and as if chasing me, Hwa Nabi took another step forward.

“You’re what? What comes next?”

“Uh, well…”

How should I explain this? While hiding my secret that I couldn’t tell anyone, I tried to think of an excuse that Hwa Nabi would accept. But such an excuse wouldn’t come to mind in just a few seconds.

As I struggled to answer quickly, Hwa Nabi’s eyes narrowed gradually.

“Siwoo, perhaps…”

She paused mid-sentence, then watched my reaction while deliberately drawing it out, which seemed rather ominous.

Could she have noticed something? The thought suddenly occurred to me as Hwa Nabi cast a meaningful gaze.

After moving her lips slightly, the words that finally came out of her mouth were…

“…Perhaps your birth registration was delayed?”

“…What?”

“Well, think about it. I said I’m older than you, and your response was ‘I’m more than you…’ Doesn’t that mean you were trying to say you’re older than me?”

She completely missed the core issue, but she correctly guessed that I was about to say “I’m older than you” before stopping.

But if I readily admit this… that wouldn’t be good. So I pretended to be calm on the outside and waved my hand dismissively.

“We’re not in the 80s, who delays birth registrations these days… it’s not like that.”

“Hmm… really? Then why do you look so flustered?”

“……”

If I continue this conversation, I’ll only expose myself more.

Thinking that, I decided to change the subject completely by gently kissing her forehead.

-Smooch.

“…Ah.”

The surprise attack was successful; Hwa Nabi’s cheeks immediately turned red. It seems like I’ve kissed her forehead several times already, but each time she shows such a cute reaction, it’s incredibly endearing.

Hwa Nabi slowly caressed her forehead where my lips had touched, then abruptly said:

“Really, it’s not true?”

“I told you it’s not like that.”

“Is that so? That’s… a bit disappointing.”

“What’s disappointing?”

Having regained my composure, I arranged Hwa Nabi’s bangs and asked in a relaxed voice. She closed her eyes briefly to enjoy my touch, then slowly answered my question.

“Well, you know, as I’ve told you before, I only have older and younger sisters. So I’ve always been disappointed about not having older or younger brothers.”

“Yes, and?”

“Well, if you really had your birth registration delayed… you wouldn’t be the same age as me, but would be my oppa, right?”

Oppa… that dream-like term that every Korean man would want to hear at least once. My heart fluttered along with the thought.

“I… guess so?”

“Then naturally, I wouldn’t call you Siwoo, but Siwoo oppa, right? That’s why I asked.”

While “Siwoo” sounds quite nice as the way Hwa Nabi usually addresses me, this “Siwoo oppa” is, how should I put it, very. Very…

“…”

It sounds so good, no, beyond good—it makes my heart race.

My heart seemed to drop for a moment.

…Perhaps because of that, as if possessed by a ghost, I unconsciously took a step forward.

“C-could you say it one more time?”

“What…? Say what one more time?”

“That… the way you just called me? Could you call me that way just one more time…?”

“Oh, when you say just now… Ah, could it be.”

Hwa Nabi seemed to think for a moment, her eyebrows twitching slightly. Then, as if she had realized something, she looked up at me with a subtle smile.

And with upturned eyes, she gave me a meaningful look, then slowly opened her pink lips and…

“…Siwoo oppa?”

Called me like that.

“…Wow.”

At that moment, the corners of my mouth, which had been still, soared high without restraint.

“Oh? The corners of your mouth just went up.”

“…What are you talking about? I didn’t do that.”

I tried to keep a straight face and deny it, but it was no use.

The corners of my mouth, having heard the title “oppa,” continued to twitch shamelessly, and Hwa Nabi looked at me and laughed incredulously.

“What do you mean you’re not smiling? You look like you’re dying of happiness. Why? Did you like it that much when I called you oppa?”

It seems I’ve been completely exposed, so there’s no point in making excuses. I nodded somewhat reluctantly, admitting it outright.

“Hmm, well… yeah.”

Let me make one excuse about my behavior… This isn’t just because I’m overly sentimental.

According to research papers on male psychology and tendencies, men tend to feel extremely happy when they protect women and when women rely on them.

And when a woman calls a man “oppa,” it fits perfectly into those two cases. To explain further, the term “oppa” itself stimulates protective instincts…

“……”

…Ah, well. Yes, in fact, all of that is just an excuse. I do like it when Hwa Nabi calls me oppa. So what?

If there’s a man who doesn’t like being called oppa by a cute and lovable girl, they can throw stones at me. I’ll gladly take the hits.

While I was gathering these useless excuses, suddenly Hwa Nabi tugged at my sleeve.

She matched my eye level and brought her lips close to my ear.

“Then, Siwoo.”

As if whispering a secret.

“Later… when we’re alone.”

One sentence.

“…Should I call you oppa?”

She said.

“……”

And I froze, feeling like my heart would burst from pounding so hard at Hwa Nabi’s words.

“I…”

“…Yes?”

“Please…”

“……”

“…I would appreciate that.”

After hearing my squeezed-out mumbled response, she showed a smile that felt incredibly alluring.

“Mmm, okay.”

My heart.

“…Siwoo oppa.”

…She completely stirred it up.