Business Trip - 25
What on earth did she mean by ‘tormenting’?
Whenever Ji-wook recalled Seung-hyun’s warning, he couldn’t help but tilt his head in puzzlement.
They were the ones having an affair, yet it was her—not him—who’d been given a warning?
That part alone was something Ji-wook simply couldn’t wrap his head around.
Could there be something going on?
Something only the two of them knew about?
As no plausible explanation came to mind, his doubts only deepened.
Time passed, and the moment he had both looked forward to and worried about finally arrived.
“Hmm…”
No matter how hard he thought, nothing came to mind.
It must just be a needless worry.
Her request not to worry might simply be down to her dating style—she was the sort who liked to drag people all over the place.
If that were the case, Seung-hyun’s worries would indeed be unfounded.
Ji-wook, however, was used to being dragged around.
He was just gathering his thoughts, confident he wouldn’t tire even after wandering about for hours, when Ji-ah’s footsteps drew nearer.
“You’ve been waiting a while, haven’t you~?”
She apologised, saying it had taken her a while to get ready, but he waved her off with a small gesture, saying it was fine.
“What do you think? Does it look odd?”
Her top was a white, oversized T-shirt.
Her bottoms were denim hot pants that left her thighs fully exposed.
She could have left the top hanging loose for a ‘missing bottom’ look, but she tucked it into the waistband of her trousers.
She finished the look by throwing on a beige cardigan-style windbreaker.
The outfit she’d chosen was unassumingly ordinary.
However, it was far too plain to do justice to her outstanding figure.
Contrary to the saying ‘clothes make the man’, she had turned the clothes into her wings.
“You look lovely.”
“Oh, really? Your expression seems a bit ambiguous, though.”
“It’s just that the lack of skin is refreshing. To be honest, it feels a bit unfamiliar.”
“Ahaha~! I see~! It feels unfamiliar, does it~!”
Whether it was a micro-bikini or a naked apron.
Having only ever seen such things, the contrast was immense when he saw her dressed so plainly.
On top of that, he marvelled once again at her beauty, noting that even dressed so plainly, her beauty remained undiminished.
My brother really is a lucky man.
For such a beauty to love him and even grant such an absurd request.
Envy and jealousy welled up inside him, but he forced himself to shake off those feelings.
After all, she was practically his girlfriend now, not Seung-hyun’s.
Thinking that, he felt his gloomy mood lift completely and a sense of anticipation begin to soar.
“Right then, I’ll take you wherever you like.”
“I’m counting on you~!”
Leaving the house was all well and good, but he had absolutely no idea where they were going.
She hadn’t told him where they were going or what they were going to do; she’d simply ordered him to follow her.
Even when he offered to drive her, she just said,
“It’s close by, so it’s fine~.”
and walked ahead.
She must have something in mind.
For now, let’s just quietly follow her.
He quietly grumbled to himself that it was a bit of a shame he couldn’t hold her hand because of her orders.
As they walked in silence, she spoke to him first.
“Summer’s just around the corner~. It feels like New Year was only yesterday; time flies so fast~.”
“And before you know it, we’ll be into autumn.”
“And then winter, and it’ll be New Year again~. Ah, I don’t want to get any older~!”
“I don’t think you’ll show your age, even as time goes by.”
“Ji-wook, what do you mean by that…?”
“Heh, I mean that’s how you’ll look in my eyes! To me, you’ll always be the same, no matter when or where! Hahaha!”
“…Hehe, all right. I’ll give it a look~.”
“Thank you…”
“Speaking of which, it’s summer, isn’t it~? It’s going to be incredibly hot again this year, isn’t it~?”
“It’s definitely going to be hotter than last year. We break the record every year.”
“I hate it~! If I turn on the air con, the electricity bill goes through the roof, mould runs rampant in the bathroom, and food waste stinks to high heaven if you leave it for just a day~! Ugh…”
“It’s hard to put up with the humidity and heat. I absolutely loathe how even a little sweat makes me feel clammy.”
“Ah, surprisingly, I’m actually fine with the stickiness and heat?”
“Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Maybe it’s because I spend every day with Seung-hyun in this sticky, clammy mess~?”
“…Are you showing off?”
“Why are you jealous~?”
“I’m bloody jealous. I want to spend every day all sticky and clammy with you too.”
“Ahaha~! Well then, Ji-wook, you’ll have to work hard~. That way, you can have a night as sticky and clammy as last night~.”
“Ugh!”
“Pfft! Just kidding! Are you getting aroused just from imagining it~? Seriously!”
Watching Ji-wook slump awkwardly, she burst out laughing.
Getting hard just from talking? Isn’t that a bit too quick!
At her teasing, Ji-wook put on a look of indignation.
“It’s all your fault, sis! You’re so sexy that I got hard just from imagining it!”
“Aha~! So it’s my fault~! Well, I suppose there’s nothing I can do about it then~.”
“There’s nothing I can do about it!”
“Sorry for being so sexy~, hehe, if Ji-wook likes it, I could show you some more…,”
She spoke in a seductive voice, deliberately whispering into his ear.
In the end, Ji-wook crouched down on the floor to suppress his raging beast, which looked as though it might burst through his trousers at any moment.
“Ahahaha~! You’ve recovered enough to come at least three times~! You keep your promises well, Ji-wook, you’re a good lad~!”
“Grr…”
Though he felt a surge of indignation, Ji-wook found the gentle patting comforting. With an ambiguous expression—neither angry nor smiling—he let out a muffled groan of frustration.
Just how long was she going to treat him like a little brother?!
“Come on, get up quickly~! If you don’t, I’m leaving you behind~!”
At her innocent smile, he finally let out a weak chuckle.
Telling himself that getting angry would only change his own state of mind, he stood up as if to shake it off.
“I’m so jealous of you, hyung. You’re always on the receiving end of these heart-fluttering pranks, and on the days you go on dates with your sister, you can’t even walk around, can you?”
“I can’t walk around, can I~. Well, neither of us can take a single step off the bed.”
“…Ugh, I shouldn’t have asked!”
“Ahahaha~! You look so cute when you’re jealous~!”
Trivial chatter.
Conversation on the level of ‘The weather’s lovely, isn’t it?’.
Asking if there was anything he liked.
The two of them chatted away, exchanging conversations that were devoid of substance but kept their mouths busy, until they arrived at a footpath where dusk was falling as the sun began to set.
A long path stretching along the river.
It felt old, but it didn’t look shabby, suggesting it had been maintained recently.
There were even lights, like streetlamps, installed along the ground.
The benches and exercise equipment were spotless.
The toilets were modern too.
The grass and weeds along the path were neatly trimmed.
It was the sort of hidden gem that makes you wonder, ‘Was there really a place like this nearby?’
Ji-wook was also impressed by how well-maintained the footpath was, more so than he’d expected.
“Huh? Was it always this tidy here?”
Ji-ah, too.
Her eyes were wide with surprise as she looked around, seemingly genuinely taken aback.
“Didn’t you know?”
“Er… the last time I came, it was such a mess I wondered when they’d tear it down… Wow! They’ve even put in new toilets?!”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Is it… a good thing…?”
She looked somewhat uneasy.
As if taken completely by surprise, she placed her hand over her mouth and let out a small gasp.
“There aren’t many people around, so it’s probably fine… but still, um, just in case, the toilet…”
“Sis?”
“…Alright! It’ll be fine!”
“What exactly is ‘fine’ and ‘alright’?”
I’ve no idea, so could you explain it to me?
To Ji-wook, who was asking her not to jump to conclusions and be satisfied on her own, she flashed a mischievous smile.
“It’s fun~!”
“I’m even more confused.”
“Hehe, let’s just walk for now. There’s a great restaurant I often go to about a 30-minute walk away, so let’s have dinner there.”
“Is it a good restaurant? What’s on the menu?”
“Kalguksu~. Oh, is kalguksu alright for you, Ji-wook?”
“Personally, I’m really craving a refreshing clam noodle soup today.”
“Haha~! Then let’s go for clam kalguksu~!”
Ji-wook followed in her footsteps as she walked ahead.
Streetlights and lamps came on as soon as the sun set.
The footpath, bathed in yellow light, had a surprisingly charming atmosphere.
The sound of the flowing river drifting in was part of it.
And the fresh scent carried on the late spring breeze.
If this had been his usual self, he would have thought that not a single one of these things was worth passing by, but right now, the only thing on Ji-wook’s mind was the girl standing before him.
Bathed in the yellow light, she seemed to glow brightly even in the darkness of the night, and to his eyes, she looked utterly beautiful.
The innocent smile she often flashed as she looked around.
“You’ve really decorated it beautifully~. Wow~!”
Just seeing that smile was enough to fill his heart to the brim.
It wasn’t as if they’d gone out of their way to visit a famous spot or eat something expensive;
the mere ordinariness of walking along a footpath and stopping for a simple bite to eat felt so wonderfully pleasant.
Joo-wook was overcome with emotion, feeling as though he’d recalled something he’d long forgotten.
Yes, that’s what a date is supposed to be—simply being together is enough to make it enjoyable.
“…Do you like going for walks, Geom-kka?”
“I do. When I walk like this without a care in the world, my worries and anxieties start to feel trivial. You can see that even if I’m fretting away on my own, the world just carries on as if nothing’s wrong.”
“How profound.”
“Ahaha~! I was just saying whatever came to mind~. Besides, to put it bluntly, it’s just turning a blind eye to the problem right in front of you. In reality, it’s running away. It’s far more sensible to spend that time looking for a way to solve the problem.”
“Well…”
That was true, but it was the sort of remark that made him want to argue.
What should he say? Just as Ji-wook was about to sink into thought, her next words left him with no choice but to fall silent.
“Do you know what Seung-hyun said when I put it like that? Hehe, he didn’t say a word and just dragged me out. ‘Let’s go for a walk!’ he said,”
“……”
“I was led around aimlessly by Seung-hyun for hours on end~. I was so anxious I thought I’d lose my mind, but before I knew it, I wasn’t worrying about any of that at all~.”
“…Is that thanks to you, big brother?”
“Yep! The two of them had a massive row outside that day~!”
“Eh, really? Did they have a row?”
“Ahahaha~! You know what? We’d both left our phones and wallets at home, and then we got completely lost too~! We were panicking about what to do, and in a fit of rage, I just lunged at Seung-hyun~! Even for me, I was seriously in the mood to rip his hair right out~! Ah! Come to think of it, I was just blowing my top all by myself, wasn’t I~?! Hahaha~! I’ll have to apologise to Seung-hyun later~!”
Hmph hmph~! Feeling much better, she hummed to herself and walked on with a lighter step.
“……If it had been me back then, what would I have said?”
The more he thought about it, the more he realised he would have said whatever suited him best, and he felt a wave of self-loathing wash over him.
To be thinking only about how he could have scored points with her… he wasn’t some adolescent boy, after all…
‘Calm down a bit,’ he told himself, pressing his thumbs and index fingers firmly against his eyes and rubbing them.
He could feel the fatigue in his eyes easing, and the heat gathered around his eyes cooling down.
“Don’t worry needlessly; just act as you normally would, just as you normally would.”
Perhaps his head had cooled a little as a result; with a low sigh, Ji-wook gathered his thoughts and urged himself on, saying he’d been standing still for too long and needed to hurry after her.
“What are you doing~?”
“Sis?!”
When he opened his eyes, what he saw was Ji-a’s face, which had somehow come right up close to his own.
To her, looking up at him from a distance where their faces were almost touching, he blurted out an apology, saying he was sorry.
“I was worried because you weren’t following me and were just standing there~.”
“My eyes were a bit blurry for a moment,”
“Oh? Are you alright~?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I’m sorry for causing you worry.”
He felt he’d have no face left if he caused her any more unnecessary worry.
He tried to move on, intending to continue on his way, but her hand stopped him in his tracks.
Her fist was held out towards him.
‘What on earth is this?’ he thought, his mind racing with countless questions.
“Sis?”
“Here, take this.”
“……?”
At her insistence that he take it, she placed the object she was holding into his outstretched hand.
Something rolled up into a ball.
What on earth is this?
Just as he was wondering, the rolled-up item unravelled, answering his question.
“You’ve got to keep this safe~.”
“…Huh?!”
Hot pants!
And they were the denim hot pants she’d been wearing just a moment ago!
When he looked at her again, startled, he couldn’t help but be even more horrified.
As she spun round, her oversized T-shirt fluttered like a dress!
Because of this, her bare skin and knickers—which shouldn’t have been visible—were clearly on display, making their presence known.
“Ahahaha~! The feeling of freedom is incredible~!”
“Nooo!!”