My Japanese Childhood Friend Is Too Flirty - Chapter 138



137. On Becoming a Married Man (To Be) at the Age of Twenty (2)

“Alright, here are the wedding invitations.”

I placed the envelopes containing the invitations on the round table. Then I handed one to each of my friends, who were seated around me in a circle.

I had brought just enough for everyone, so there were no shortages, and the kids immediately tore open the envelopes with thanks.

“Oh, this is the first time I’ve gotten a wedding invitation.”

“Me too. I’ve seen my sister get them, but this is the first one I’ve received directly.”

“How many people even get wedding invitations from friends at twenty years old in the first place?”

“I guess that’s true. But, wow….”

One of my friends, after checking the invitation, exclaimed in admiration.

“Why is the writing so pretty? You sure this was printed?”

“Yeah. Could it be handwritten?”

“Yeah, it’s handwritten. Aki insisted on writing them herself, since they were for you guys.”

For reference, I wrote the wedding invitations for Aki to give to *her* friends.

“Whoa… really? That’s kinda touching, actually.”

“That’s dedication. Pure dedication… Well received. Tell your girlfriend – I mean, *fiancée* – thanks for the effort.”

“Isn’t she not your girlfriend anymore, but your sister-in-law now?”

“Oh, right. Getting married, so she’ll be our sister-in-law soon, huh?”

My friends examined the invitations with touched eyes, chuckling softly, some even muttering “sister-in-law” with awkward expressions.

Something about calling Aki, *my* girlfriend, “sister-in-law” didn’t quite sit right with them, it seemed. And honestly, understandable. They were used to asking, ‘How are things going with your girlfriend?’ as a matter of course. Overnight, switching to “sister-in-law” was bound to feel strange.

“Hey, did your *fiancée* handwrite *all* the invitations, even the ones for other people?”

“We wrote the ones for our parents together, and I did the ones for Aki’s friends.”

“Wedding invitations… you need dozens, at least. Damn, you guys must’ve gone through some real trouble, writing all those…?”

“Yeah. We worked our butts off. But it was worth it. When we brought the handwritten invitations to *my* parents, they were so moved, they cried.”

No joke, they really cried. Not like, full-blown sobbing, of course, more like wiping away a few stray tears welling up in the corners of their eyes, but still.

“Yeah, even I’d be touched if my kid wrote my wedding invitation by hand.”

“Should I write my invitations when I get married later, too?”

“Why, you planning on marrying your current girlfriend?”

“Nah. Not necessarily saying I am. But you never know what could happen, right?”

“Like hell you don’t know. The guy who gets drunk and says he’s *really* breaking up *this* time is suddenly saying ‘you never know’?”

“That’s why I said I don’t know, you idiot.”

“The wedding date is October 25th. What day is that? Saturday?”

“Yep. Saturday. Guests can start arriving at 10 AM, so feel free to come leisurely.”

“Okay. Saturday, 10 AM. Hey, should we all head to Woo-joo’s wedding together?”

“We can all go in my car. It’s on the way anyway. Just let me know what time to pick you up.”

“We can go together, leave together, and head to the after-party afterward. You coming too, Woo-joo?”

“Woo-joo can’t. He’s the groom; how can he go to the after-party with us?”

“Unless you’re going straight to your honeymoon, wouldn’t you have time? Can’t you make it?”

“Nah. After the wedding, I have to greet the elders of the family, rest a bit, then we’re leaving for the honeymoon that evening, so I can’t.”

According to the schedule I received from the wedding hall manager, assuming everything goes smoothly, the ceremony should end around 12 PM, followed by an hour for lunch. After that, changing clothes and family photo time.

Taking photos takes at least an hour or two. Greeting everyone after the photo session will take another hour, and considering the time needed for rests in between and our evening flight, there probably won’t be any time to attend the after-party.

My friends seemed to know it too. They only expressed their disappointment but didn’t actively try to keep me.

“Really? That’s a shame. So, where are you going for your honeymoon?”

“France. A good four nights, five days or so.”

“Oh. France. You’ll see the Eiffel Tower, right?”

“France? What Eiffel Tower? France is all about the Leaning Tower of Pisa.”

“That’s Italy, you moron.”

“Seriously, you’re something else, Jang Dong-ho. At this point, your IQ has to be in the double digits?”

“Hey, anyone can make a mistake, right? What’s with saying my IQ’s in the double digits over something like that?”

“There are things you can be wrong about, and then there’s this, shithead.”

“I still can’t wrap my head around how this guy got into a good university. How the hell did someone with a brain like that make it into a Seoul university?”

“……”

There’s a strange nostalgia to this conversation. Thinking back, things like this were an everyday occurrence back in the first year of high school.

‘If I could tell my younger self back then, that I’d be getting married at twenty…’

He probably wouldn’t believe it, right? He’d probably say there’s no way I’d be getting married in three years, and tell me not to say ridiculous things.

“Hey. Anyway, congratulations. Tell your sister-in-law I said congratulations, too.”

“Congratulations, Joo Woo-joo.”

“Congratulations. Do your best to serve the country.”

“……Pfft. Yeah. Thanks.”

I smiled and gave my friends high fives. Receiving congratulations on my wedding with high fives was a little strange, but even that strange act was enjoyable right now. It felt like it had been a while since we’d all seen each other after the housewarming.

“Now that we’re together, we’re going to have dinner together, right? And drinks too.”

“Yeah. Of course. I already told Aki I’d be eating dinner out.”

“That’s right. We have to drink together on occasions like this. When else would we? Once Joo Woo-joo is actually married, he won’t be able to come out often because he’ll have to watch his wife’s mood. He didn’t even come out much before the wedding.”

“Call me if you need me, as long as I’m not busy. Jerk.”

“Shut your mouths and let’s go eat. I’m hungry.”

Dong-ho, who had been sitting across from me, stood up abruptly. My friends and I followed Dong-ho as he stood.

“Alright. Let’s go. I’ll pay for dinner.”

“Oh. Dinner paid for by a married man. That’s a bit rare, isn’t it?”

“Let’s enjoy it while we can. After you’re married, we won’t be able to see Joo Woo-joo’s face at all.”

“……Are you going to keep saying weird things?”

* * *

That evening.

From noble mtl dot com

I went with my friends, and Aki with hers, to deliver the paper invitations.

It had been a while since we each saw our respective friends, and with so much catching up to do, we ended up having a leisurely dinner. By the time I arrived home, it was almost 10 PM.

“Ah, you’re back! Welcome home, dear~”

As soon as I opened the door, Aki greeted me cheerfully. Unlike me, who was slightly tipsy, she seemed perfectly sober. It looked like she hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol.

“Give me your coat. I’ll put it in the laundry basket, okay?”

“Thanks. But did you just eat and come back?”

“Yup. I just ate and chatted. I can’t drink, being pregnant and all, can I?”

Aki, having taken my coat, beamed at me.

She didn’t say it, but her eyes seemed to be pleading, ‘I was good, right? Praise me!’ So, to acknowledge her virtue, I gave Aki a little hug.

“You were good. You’re beautiful, my Aki.”

“Hehe… Thank you. Dear, you’re handsome too…!”

Pat, pat.

I held Aki and patted her gently for a moment. A lovely scent wafted up. I knew she’d gotten home before me, but she must have already showered.

“I drew a bath for you beforehand, so go wash up, dear.”

“A bath? Hmm, I was just thinking of taking a shower today…”

“Oh, no, you don’t. Dear. You went out for meat, so you’ll be smelling of it. You need to wash thoroughly, alright?”

Aki narrowed her eyes at me, as if to say, “What are you even talking about?”

Aki could seem so easygoing, but she also had this decisively sharp side to her, so if she told me to wash up, it was always best to just obediently wash up. Besides, she wasn’t wrong.

“Hurry and wash up. If you’re a good boy, I’ll give you something nice…”

“……I’ll be going then.”

I immediately let go of Aki and headed to the bathroom, stripping off my clothes.

I soaked in the single-person bathtub, scrubbing every inch of my body clean, and after drying my hair thoroughly, I entered the bedroom we shared.

Aki must have finished preparing for bed while I was gone, because she was already lying on the bed with only a soft mood light turned on.

I slowly crept towards the bed and laid down beside Aki.

Then… *shhh*.

Aki turned to her side and pulled me into an embrace.

“Did you wash really well?”

“Uh-huh. I washed….”

“……Then.”

툭.

Aki reached out, her fingers beginning to fumble with the waistband of my trousers.

Feeling the touch of Aki’s palm… I slowly opened my mouth.

“…About those wedding invitations. My friends really liked them when I handed them out. A few were even moved.”

“Yeah. Really…? My friends said the same…”

“What did they say?”

“That your boyfriend must really love you, Aki; that they could really feel the care you put into them, that I was lucky to be getting married… something like that…?”

A shiver runs up my spine.

Is it because of the praise about me, coming from Aki’s lips, or for some other reason…? I’m not quite sure.

I placed my palm on Aki’s belly. Aki, now in her twelfth week of pregnancy, her abdomen is distinctly, visibly swollen.

“What do you think, dear…?”

“…About what?”

“Am I… making a good marriage…?”

“……”

To ask me that directly.

To say it *is* a good marriage feels like praising myself, which is awkward, and to say it *isn’t* feels like belittling myself, which isn’t much better.

I hesitated for a moment, then gently stroked Aki’s lower abdomen, its curve now much more pronounced.

“I think… it might be better to ask our child that later?”

“Hmm… The child?”

“Kids are honest, aren’t they? I bet they’d give you a definite answer if you asked.”

“Hmph… So you’re trying to wriggle out of it like that…?”

Aki chuckled quietly.

It feels strange, her laughing while my hand is placed in such a sensitive spot.

“Alright. I’ll put a hold on that one. …Next?”

“There’s more…?”

“Let’s decide on a nickname for the baby.”

“Ah, a nickname…”

Now that she mentions it, we hadn’t decided on a nickname for our baby. Because we’re trying to rush the wedding, there’s just been so much to prepare and worry about that I completely forgot.

“Usually, they’re related to conception dreams, right? Have you had any special dreams like that, before you knew you were pregnant?”

“Let’s see… Oh, there’s one that comes to mind.”

“What is it?”

“I was lying prone, and you were on top of me, 서방님, spewing sticky curses in a dream.”

“……”

“Heh. Just kidding. A joke. I had a dream like that, maybe three months ago. Just like this, with me lying on the bed with you, 서방님… then suddenly, it was like… a flash of light! A dream.”

“A flash of light… Now that you mention it, it does sound like a conception dream. But you didn’t say anything about it back then, did you?”

“Nope, nope. I just thought it was one of those ordinary, insignificant dreams, so I didn’t say anything, right? But now that I think about it, maybe that’s what it was. Ever since that dream, I’ve been feeling nauseous and dizzy.”

“Really? How curious…”

So conception dreams really exist. I’d only heard about them, but this is the first time someone close to me has experienced one. I found it fascinating.

I turned slightly onto my side.

“Then, how about a name like this? You said there was a flash of light, right?”

“Yeah. I said there was?”

“Taking from ‘flash,’ how about… Flashey…?!”

“……Think again.”

“…………Yes.”