Just before dawn, I finally fell asleep, only to be jolted awake by a small sound of something shuffling around.
Right beside me, I saw Seo-ha, who was resting her chin on her hand and smiling down at me.
“Are you awake?”
“Ah… what time is it, noona?”
“It’s one o’clock.”
One o’clock, huh? I certainly overslept. Of course, in absolute terms, it’s not that long, but for me, who usually tries to wake up early after finishing broadcasts late, it’s pretty late.
Not that I’d even mention it to my hardworking noona.
“I’m sorry. I must have conked out completely.”
“Eh, what’s there to be sorry about? I just woke up too.”
Shaking her head, noona placed her hand on my chest, lightly brushed her lips against mine, and smiled warmly.
A morning kiss? What a peaceful scene that feels like it’s straight out of a Hollywood movie.
“By the way, what were you doing?”
“I was watching you, Uju, while you were sleeping.”
“What’s there to see?”
“Why? It was quite entertaining. You were sleeping like an angel!”
“Angel…”
If it were someone else saying this, it wouldn’t be so embarrassing, but hearing that from my noona makes me feel extremely shy. That kind of comment doesn’t really suit a guy, at least.
“By the way, you’re not calling me Seo-ha like yesterday, are you?”
“…Please give me a break. Since I’ve been calling you noona all this time, switching it suddenly is hard.”
I was wondering why she was messing around. Now that I finally got the expected response, I awkwardly scratched my cheeks and asked for understanding. Honestly, with the distance I feel with her, I’d prefer to call her by name and use informal speech, but I still feel that psychological barrier.
It seems changing habits built over time in just one day is a tough task.
“So you’re saying you’ll change it later?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“At least you have to change it after we get married, right?”
“…Fortunately, that seems doable.”
Honestly, I can’t guarantees, but once we’re married, I think the title will change from noona to honey, which should lessen the psychological barrier a bit.
By the way, it seems my noona considers marriage to be a foregone conclusion. Not that it surprises me.
“Ugh…!”
To wake myself from my drowsiness, I stretched and wiped my face, when my noona looked at me with a slightly worried expression.
“Are you really tired? Should we just rest in the room today?”
“Tired? Not at all. Plus, we planned to roam the city today, right?”
Since we planned to stay at the villa for two nights and three days, I had prepared a simple itinerary.
Among those plans, the first stop for the next day was to explore the city of Busan and indulge in some delicious food, so I can’t just lie here. I need to wash up quickly, go out, and grab something to eat.
“I’m fine.”
“Because I’m not fine. You were really looking forward to today, right?”
I know how much she searched for food spots on her phone while she was on her way here. So, even if I’m a bit tired, I can’t change the schedule. Honestly, I’ve secretly been looking forward to having an ordinary date with my noona.
Since we started dating, we haven’t had a proper date as our schedules rarely aligned.
“Alright then! Let’s wash up and head out quickly. Is there anything you want for lunch?”
“Hmm, something refreshing sounds good. Like cold soba?”
“Hehe, we’re on the same page. I wanted that too!”
I’m not sure if my noona genuinely wanted cold soba or was just accommodating my tastes, but I felt relieved that I didn’t have to worry about the menu.
“Since I picked lunch, let’s have what you want for dinner. What do you feel like?”
“Already picking dinner menu?”
“What’s wrong with picking it in advance?”
“True. Then… how about Italian?”
Noona tilted her head slightly, as if she were pondering the idea. Now that I think about it, the first restaurant we went to together was also an Italian restaurant.
“Sounds great! It reminds me of our first date.”
“Are we calling that a date?”
“Is that not allowed?”
As I jokingly asked her back with a playful smile, she hugged my arm and shook her head.
And then,
“Eh, I loved it. To be honest, that day, I felt like I was on a date with Uju too.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
I responded with a brighter smile than usual and winked at her.
Just like that, we finished showering together and quickly stepped outside the villa.
We set a limit early on, pushing just enough to each other to ensure nothing like what happened at dawn repeated itself.
*
Busan city was more crowded than I expected. Of course, it wasn’t as busy as Seoul, but at least it was much busier than I had anticipated. It felt like we could be somewhere like Hongdae or Garosu-gil in Seoul.
We parked the car in a public parking lot and began to stroll through the city.
I was worried that my noona might be moving awkwardly after our energetic activities last night, but surprisingly, she seemed as lively as ever. According to her, she had been exercising for this very moment.
That was a strangely odd statement to react to.
“Uju, look at that ice cream! Isn’t it huge? It looks like a mountain!”
“Yeah, that looks almost Everest-level!”
As we walked by, noona pointed to a couple carrying ice cream that was almost as tall as their torsos.
It looked delicious, not to mention a ridiculous amount, it was almost alarming how high it was!
It was already summer, and I wondered if they could even finish it before it melted.
“Uju, should we try that?”
Noona, with a worried expression while looking at the Everest… no, the ice cream, suddenly suggested.
“That? But we haven’t even eaten yet!”
“I just felt like it looked tempting!”
“Well, I’m okay with it.”
I didn’t have any childhood lessons from my mom about not eating something sweet before meals, so I could eat if I wanted to.
At the same time, I wanted to indulge her excitement seeing her eyes shine so brightly.
“Then let’s just buy one and share it. That way, we won’t feel too full for lunch.”
“Sounds good.”
Nodding, we approached the ice cream shop that sold that towering treat. It was easy to spot, thanks to an oversized ice cream model outside.
“Uju, what flavor do you want?”
“Get whatever you want. I’m fine with anything.”
“Hmm… how about half yogurt, half chocolate?”
A safe choice. Noona doesn’t particularly love sweets, so she probably picked yogurt, while I enjoy sweets enough that she likely chose chocolate for my sake.
Truly, halving is a miracle from the heavens, eliminating all menu worries.
“Welcome! Would you like to order?”
“We’ll have the yogurt and chocolate half and half please.”
“Yes, yogurt and chocolate half and half, what size would you like?”
“The biggest one, please.”
Meanwhile, while noona placed our order, I wandered a bit to look at other items on the menu.
“Um… Excuse me…”
“…Yes?”
A woman passing by approached me and carefully spoke up. It was obvious she didn’t have any acquaintances in Busan, as it was a first encounter.
“Are you… Mr. Cosmo?”
“Ah, yes. That’s me.”
I had a feeling and it turned out to be true. She must be one of my fans.
“Wow…! Is that really you, Mr. Cosmo? I’m a huge fan!”
“Thank you so much! I didn’t expect to meet a fan in Busan.”
Meeting fans is always a pleasant experience, so I smiled and greeted her.
It’s always fascinating how some people recognize me on the street. I have a pretty ordinary face, but somehow they still pick me out of the crowd.
“I was passing by with friends and thought I recognized you from a distance. Um, could I take a photo with you and maybe get an autograph?”
“Oh, of course! Where would you like the autograph?”
Originally, I didn’t have any particular items for signing, but as I met more fans, I eventually submitted to the pressure and decided to sign things.
Honestly, it still feels a bit awkward to me. I’m not a celebrity or anything.
“Could you sign here, please!”
“Huh? On the guitar?”
As I searched for a place to sign, I was quite surprised when the fan suddenly pulled out a large guitar from a backpack she had on her back.
I figured it might be a guitar, but I never thought she’d actually ask me to sign it.
“Yes! I became a fan after watching you play! Your voice is great, and you play guitar so well…”
“Haha, thank you. So I’ll sign here…”
Now that I’ve done this a few times, I’ve gotten used to it, smoothly writing my name across the shiny body of the guitar before leaning down to take a photo with the fan.
I made sure to keep my hands clear, just in case I made a mistake.
“Hehe, thank you! I’m always cheering for you!”
“Thank you. Be safe going back.”
Seeing the fan so happy made me genuinely glad, and I returned her greeting with a smile before turning away.
So, has the ice cream party started without me yet? Huh?
“…Noona?”
Right, the ice cream was ready.
But the issue was that the expression on Seo-ha’s face while holding it was not quite right. She looked very irritated as she glared at me and then said,
“I’m not giving any to Uju.”
With a pout, she turned on her heel and ran off with that colossal ice cream.
Watching her retreating figure, I realized my mistake and could only follow her with a wry smile.
Oh boy, if she finishes that, she’ll surely get a stomachache.
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