VDN Ch 11
by STAR“Don’t dodge, hit it!”
“Ah!”
Se-han, with his eyes tightly closed, swung the bat and fell backward. Nam-woon quickly approached Se-han, helped him up, and dusted off the dirt from his pants.
“That was better than before.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Just a little more practice and you’ll be good.”
Se-han’s face flushed with joy. Nam-woon added,
“Just a few more days and you’ll be really good.”
“A few days…”
Se-han’s face suddenly darkened. Nam-woon handed the bat back to Se-han’s small hand and checked his phone.
“It’s late. Let’s go home.”
Se-han followed Nam-woon like a little chick. As Nam-woon walked, dragging his bicycle, he turned his head to look at Se-han.
“The tire’s a bit flat, but do you want to ride?”
Nam-woon handed Se-han the helmet. Se-han’s face brightened again when he saw the cute sticker on the side of the helmet.
Today, they walked up the familiar hill together.
[Congratulations!]
[You have successfully completed the quest!]
[As a reward, you receive one lottery ticket.]
Ah, right. There was a quest.
He had completely forgotten about the quest, but it seems to have been fulfilled when he met Se-han by chance. Hopefully, it’s something useful. He had to be careful because there seemed to be a lot of unexpected things about the system.
As he thought about the lottery ticket, Se-han looked up at Nam-woon innocently and said,
“But Hyung told me not to talk to mister…”
“Why am I “mister” if Kwon Seo-oh is Hyung?”
“How old are you, mister?”
How old was Nam-woon in the novel? He remembered that Seok Nam-woon was two years older than Kwon Seo-oh. The age difference wasn’t that big. Was that why there was such rivalry?
“I’m probably two years older than your brother.”
“Oh!”
Se-han took a deep breath as he looked at Nam-woon. For a primary school student, even a two-year age difference makes someone look much older. Se-han hesitated, then asked cautiously,
“When, what should I call you?”
Nam-woon pondered for a moment.
“Just call me whatever you want.”
“Hmm.”
Se-han looked up at Nam-woon.
“What’s your name, mister?”
“Seok Nam-woon. And you?”
He already knew the name, but he asked out of courtesy as if to introduce themselves.
“I’m Kwon Se-han! Then, I’ll call you “Wooni hyung”!”
“Wooni hyung?”
“Yes!”
Feeling the distance suddenly close, Nam-woon scratched his temple and then shrugged, ‘What does it matter?’ Se-han suddenly lowered his voice as if someone might hear.
“Don’t tell hyung about us playing baseball today. Hyung will scold me.”
“I can’t get caught either. I’ll get scolded too.”
“Who will you get in trouble with?”
“By your hyung.”
Se-han tilted his head in confusion. Nam-woon looked at him and said,
“Your brother is scary.”
“My brother isn’t scary at all?”
Not scary? Nam-wooon rubbed the cheek Seo-oh had hit earlier. He could still feel a throbbing pain. His fist was really strong. Next time, he might actually collapse.
As they arrived in front of Kwon Seo-oh’s house, it was dark inside, as if no one was home. Nam-woon asked,
“Looks like your brother isn’t home yet?”
Creak. Se-han opened the gate and answered,
“No. He said he’d would be late today.”
“What time will he be back?”
“I don’t know.”
Nam-woon slightly frowned. Seeing Nam-woon’s expression, Se-han quickly added,
“It’s not every day, only on busy days. I can go to the neighbor’s house.
Kwon Seo-oh occasionally did odd jobs at one of the chairman’s businesses. It seemed he did everything from simple part-time work to paperwork, having been personally placed there by Chairman Seok, who recognized his work ethic. Chairman Seok put Kwon Seo-oh in charge of major businesses and left the failing detective agency to his own son, Seok Nam-woon. Kwon Seo-oh, as expected, did not disappoint Chairman Seok’s expectations and did his work well.
Nam-woon stopped in front of the house and said,
“Then, should we practice baseball for a while? Let’s keep it a secret from your brother.”
Se-han’s bright eyes widened and sparkled.
***
Nam-woon sighed heavily as he pedaled his bicycle. He could see a large school visible in the distance.
Ah, I don’t want to go.
Nam-woon moved his bicycle sluggishly, glaring at the role fulfillment clause in front of him.
“Huh?”
But Kwon Seo-oh was standing in front of the main gate. Kwon Seo-oh had one hand in his pocket and the other looking down at his phone. Even though he was still, people were aimlessly hanging around him because of his good looks. It seemed that I was later than usual. This was all because I had been lounging around the office, embarrassed to face Kwon Seo-oh.
He was surely not waiting for him, was he? If he had an appointment, that would be bad. Besides becoming the person who exercised by dragging an empty bicycle to the university on a hot day, he was afraid of the system.
Nam-woon quickly ran and parked his bicycle next to Kwon Seo-oh.
“I’m a bit late.”
Nam-woon spoke awkwardly. Then Kwon Seo-oh answered while lowering the phone he was holding.
“Class just ended.”
Nam-woon waited for him to continue, but Kwon Seo-oh immediately fell silent.
Just ended… what? Does that mean he wasn’t waiting?
Well. It would be strange for him to wait for Nam-woon. It was a good thing for Nam-woon. He glanced up at Kwon Seo-oh’s face, which seemed unfazed. It seemed like he was pretending not to remember the slight argument they had in the office.
Nam-woon silently offered the helmet he had brought in the basket. Then, surprisingly, Kwon Seo-oh took the helmet and spoke first.
“Get off.”
“Huh? Why?”
Nam-woon asked with wide eyes, and Kwon Seo-oh grabbed one side of the bicycle handle and said again,
“Get off.”
“…?”
Confused, Nam-woon slowly dismounted. Kwon Seo-oh then suddenly, thwack, put the helmet on Nam-woon’s head. It was practically a toss.
“W-what?”
Nam-woon held the tilting helmet with one hand and asked in confusion. Then Kwon Seo-oh said without looking at Nam-woon,
“Get on the back.”
Then he sat on the bicycle driver’s seat and grabbed the handle. The back seat of the bicycle was empty. Startled by Kwon Seo-oh’s sudden behavior, Nam-woon tried to take back the handle.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll do it.”
“If you drive, it’ll take two hours to get home.”
Two hours was an exaggeration. Besides, Kwon Seo-oh was not cooperative at that time. Nam-woon flared up.
“That’s because you gave me the wrong directions last time!”
“That’s your fault for forgetting the way, Hyung.”
Kwon Seo-oh lifted one foot onto the pedal as if he were about to start immediately.
“I have a lot of assignments, so I need to go fast. If you don’t ride, I’ll go alone.”
“I’ll ride.”
Nam-woon quickly climbed onto the back seat, anticipating that Kwon Seo-oh would start first. The solid-looking broad back was now close in front of him.
He couldn’t see anything in front. Soon, the bicycle began to move. The view suddenly became blurry in an instant.
Is this speed… normal?
Kwon Seo-oh rode quite fast, even with Nam-woon on the back. Whether he was truly in a hurry for assignments, or he disliked having Nam-woon on the back, or perhaps he had a sudden urge to use the restroom, the penalty of carrying an adult male seemed to have no effect on him. Nam-woon began to doubt his own stamina.
I didn’t realize my body was in such bad shape?
[Don’t blame yourself! ㅠㅠ]
Suddenly, the system consoled Nam-woon.
[You’re doing well fulfilling your role! Good job!]
[We’ll give you a little support as a reward!]
[10% support applied!]
The word “support” made him tense up for a moment, but after a few seconds, nothing changed. Nam-woon sighed with relief and purely admired Seo-oh’s stamina. He’d be really good at deliveries, he thought.
After getting used to Kwon Seo-oh’s speed, Nam-woon turned his head to look at the scenery. It was still a sunny afternoon, and the warm sunlight was shining down.
They passed through a bustling area crowded with students and entered a main road lined with many tall buildings. They passed low commercial buildings and a green forest. Nam-woon’s hair fluttered in the breeze. Although it was a hot wind, it felt somehow refreshing. Besides, since a while ago, a faint, mysterious fragrance had been wafting around his nose. Nam-woon took a deep breath as if following the scent.
It feels good…
It was his first time riding a bicycle driven by someone else, and it felt like a breath of fresh air. He didn’t know when the last time he felt so relaxed. It was ironic to feel this way behind Kwon Seo-oh’s back.
Then the bicycle came to a sudden stop.
Screech!
“Ugh!”
Nam-woon’s nose hit the back of Kwon Seo-oh’s shoulder.
“There was a cat.”
Kwon Seo-oh’s low voice caused a humming vibration in Nam-woon’s nose and mouth, which were pressed against his back.
What’s this smell?
It was a pleasant scent. A fragrance was emanating from Kwon Seo-oh’s clothes. It was similar to the scent of the forest, almost like a clear floral fragrance. Since it was coming from the clothes, it might have been the smell of fabric softener. As Nam-woon sniffed around the area of Kwon Seo-oh’s shoulder blades without moving his face away, a grim voice came from the front.
“What are you doing right now…?”