The Price of a Meal
"Heh, you think I’d actually let my precious student get hurt? Come here."
"U-uh...?"
Na-yeon, who had been enjoying the swings to her heart's content, strode toward the pull-up bar standing in front of the swings and blurted out the command. I was exhausted from pushing her on the swings and desperately wanted to rest, but since Na-yeon had her arms wrapped tightly around my neck, I couldn't exactly refuse.
She dragged me along like a ragdoll until we stood before the bar. With a light hop, she grabbed hold of it with both hands. Then, with an effortless flick of her legs, she swung herself up and hung upside down. Her hair cascaded downward, revealing her face—including those eyes that were crinkling in a playful, mischievous grin. At the same time, gravity pulled her loose sweatshirt down, exposing the bare skin from her navel all the way up to her bra. I felt embarrassed just looking at her, so I hung my head, my face burning red.
Na-yeon, showing no signs of strain, watched me from her inverted position, arms crossed, giggling.
"...Hey, watch this."
Suddenly, Na-yeon tensed her clearly defined abdominal muscles, pulled her upper body up, performed a swift mid-air somersault, and landed perfectly on top of the bar. I stared at her, my eyes wide with shock at the display of gymnastics-like flair. Na-yeon, looking triumphant, sat casually on the bar and beckoned to me with a flick of her finger.
"You try it, too. I'll give you a prize if you can get up here."
"I-I'm fine... I couldn't get up there like you anyway..."
As I fidgeted with my fingers and stammered my reply, Na-yeon narrowed her eyes, looking dissatisfied. Then, she flashed a grin and whispered in a mocking tone.
"...What a total loser~ ♥ Such a weakling~ ♥ A pathetic idiot~ ♥ Even a girl can do it, but a grown man can't~"
Na-yeon covered her mouth with her hand, arched her eyebrows suggestively, and giggled with a cocky air. But even after hearing that, I just scratched my head with a bitter, awkward smile.
"Um... sorry, but I've heard that kind of provocation so many times in my life that it doesn't really work on me anymore... Hahaha..."
When I didn't take the bait at all, Na-yeon puffed out her cheeks as if sulking. Then, she changed tactics, putting on a terrifying expression and whispering a small, threatening murmur.
"...Ugh, just do it if I tell you to. You're really killing the mood..."
"U-ugh... B-but I really can't do it..."
"...Fine. Then just hang from it for now. I'll pull you up after."
"Ugh... D-do I really have to...?"
"Yes."
Na-yeon glared at me with a menacing look, as if to say she’d kill me if I didn't, and answered firmly. I let out a sigh of despair, raised my arms high, and with a clumsy jump, managed to hang from the bar. Less than three seconds later, my arms were already trembling violently from exhaustion, and I squeezed out a strained voice.
"I-is that enough...? It's really hard, can I stop now..."
"...Just stay there for a second."
Na-yeon, still sitting on the bar, stretched her white legs out, crossed her feet right in front of my solar plexus, and wrapped her knees tightly around my neck. I was startled and jerked my head up to look at her.
"Huh...? Na-yeon, what are you doing right now..."
Na-yeon pressed her thighs against my cheeks like soft rice cakes and giggled like a demon.
"...Hey, I'm going to count to thirty. If you let go before then, you're dead, got it? Starting now. One... Two..."
"Ugh...? I-it's impossible, I'm already at my limit..."
I widened my eyes, shook my head, and barely managed to choke out the words. But Na-yeon just watched me with a sunny smile, resting her chin on her hand as she leaned her elbow on her own thigh.
"Three... Four..."
"Ghhhuuuu..."
My arm muscles had reached their limit long ago. On top of that, just hanging for thirty seconds would have been hard enough, but with her counting so slowly, it seemed absolutely impossible to hold on until the end. Eventually, amidst the pain that felt like my wrists were about to snap, I began to lose my grip. At that very moment, Na-yeon, perched precariously on the edge of the bar, leaned over and tickled my armpits, whispering in a sweet, seductive voice.
"Teacher~ You know if you let go, I'll fall too, right? Heh, you think I’d actually let my precious student get hurt?"
'W-what...? If I let go, Na-yeon gets hurt too...?'
I looked up at Na-yeon, who was leaning down toward me, giggling happily, my eyes trembling.
'...Come to think of it, if I suddenly drop to the ground, Na-yeon, who has her legs wrapped around me, will fall off the bar too...! I'd be fine since my feet are less than 10cm from the ground, but Na-yeon up there could get seriously hurt...! Ugh, this is driving me crazy...!'
Once that thought hit me, I let out a deep, desperate sigh, gritted my teeth, and put every ounce of strength I had back into my hands.
"Ughhh... Gghhh...!"
I was literally using every bit of strength I had, struggling desperately not to fall. Na-yeon looked slightly surprised to see me gasping for air and fighting with everything I had to stay up. She must have been certain I would give up halfway through.
"...Twenty-five... Twenty-six... Twenty-seven..."
The playfulness was fading from Na-yeon's lips as she counted. By the time she reached nearly thirty, she stopped counting and stared down at me silently for a moment. In my desperation, I did something I would never have been able to do under normal circumstances. Even though my voice was timid, I shouted at her, almost scolding her.
"...Why, why did you stop! Keep counting, we're almost there...!"
"Oh, oh... Y-yeah..."
Na-yeon seemed to snap back to reality, her body flinching, and she finished the count.
"...Twenty-eight, twenty-nine... Thirty."
As soon as she hit thirty, Na-yeon's legs, which had been wrapped around my neck, went limp. I immediately slipped from the bar, collapsed face-first onto the ground, and gasped for air.
"Haa... Haa... Haa...!"
"......"
Na-yeon watched me lying there for a moment before jumping down and landing lightly on the ground. Judging by her graceful movement, it didn't seem like she would have been hurt even if she had fallen while wrapped around me, but it was too late to think about that now. Na-yeon looked down at me as I lay there miserably, catching my breath, and then crouched down beside me, knees pulled together, and asked softly.
"...Hey."
"Haa, haa... Y-yeah..."
"......Are you okay?"
"...Y-yeah, I-I'm okay..."
".....Did you hold on because you were afraid I'd fall?"
"....Well, I suppose so..."
As I answered and slowly lifted my head to meet her eyes, Na-yeon's eyes went wide, and her face flushed a deep crimson. She quickly turned her head away, hiding her reddened face behind her hair, and muttered under her breath.
"Y-you idiot... doing something so pointless..."
"...S-still, I'm glad you didn't get hurt."
As I mumbled that with an awkward smile, Na-yeon turned her head back to glare at me, her face even redder than before. She stood up, stretched as if to hide her embarrassment, and muttered coldly.
"...Ugh, I'm hungry. Hey, let's go to the convenience store and have lunch. Since you held on for 30 seconds, I'll buy you some ramen as a prize. How about it?"
"S-suddenly...? S-sure, but do you have any money?"
I asked as I pushed myself up from the ground with trembling arms. Na-yeon turned back to me, flashed a meaningful grin, put her hands on her hips, and scanned the playground until she spotted two elementary school kids walking innocently in the distance. Na-yeon strode toward them without a moment's hesitation. I watched them with wide eyes, wondering if she was really going to do it. Na-yeon blocked the path of the terrified kids, wrapped her arms around their shoulders in a friendly manner, and whispered with a devilish grin.
"...Hi kids, long time no see~ Oh my, your hair looks so pretty! Who did your hair so nicely? Did your mom do it?"
"Ugh... W-what do you want from us..."
One of the kids asked, trembling with a pale complexion. Na-yeon smiled nonchalantly and pointed at me, standing far away.
"Well, you see... I really want to buy someone something delicious, but I don't have any money on me. So, could you guys lend me ten thousand won? Don't worry, I'll definitely pay you back this time~ Okay?"
"Ugh... You said that last time and didn't pay us back..."
As the kids glared at me with resentful expressions and pulled out crumpled bills from their pockets, I gasped in horror. I scrambled to my feet and ran toward the scene of the crime, shouting.
"W-wait...! You don't have to give it to her, just go, kids...!"
Na-yeon immediately scowled and whipped her head around to look at me.
"...Fucking hell, don't get in the way..."
But when I rushed over and threw my arms around her waist, Na-yeon froze, her face flushing bright red. I gave the kids a forced, kind smile while holding Na-yeon and backing away. The kids looked at me with suspicious eyes a few times before turning and running for their lives. Once it was just the two of us again, the fear of the consequences finally hit me, and I turned to look at Na-yeon, terrified. Fortunately, instead of scowling and getting angry, Na-yeon pouted, her cheeks slightly flushed, and muttered as she glared at me.
"...I was going to buy you ramen with their money."
"I-I'm really grateful for the thought...! But I'll pay for the convenience store...!"
I waved my hands frantically and quickly led her to the convenience store before she could spot another victim. We sat side-by-side at the desk in front of the convenience store window, eating ramen and rice balls. Na-yeon, who had been hungry since her breakfast had already digested, opened the lid before the ramen was even fully cooked and started slurping it down. While we were eating, Na-yeon glanced at me, then suddenly held out the rice ball she was eating and asked quietly.
"...Hey, want to eat mine?"
"Huh...? Oh, no, I'm fine..."
I declined, flustered, wondering if this was some new form of bullying. But Na-yeon insisted, pushing the rice ball toward me.
"...Seriously, you eat it. I'm full now."
"I-I'm really fine, though..."
As we went back and forth, I finally noticed that Na-yeon had turned her gaze away, her ears glowing red with embarrassment. I realized that this was her own way of showing a significant amount of goodwill. Feeling a bit awkward but not wanting to make her feel bad, I silently accepted the half-eaten rice ball and smiled.
"...I-it's delicious, thank you..."
Na-yeon beamed at me, but immediately turned her head away, looking embarrassed, and snapped at me.
"...Let's go home now. I'm sweaty, I want to take a shower."