VDN Ch 61

Nam-woon barely suppressed the urge to curse out loud. Why give him a mission now when he actually had a home? If the system were a physical entity, Nam-woon would have likely destroyed it on the spot.

Nam-woon awkwardly smiled at Seo-oh, who was looking at him with concerned eyes from the side.

“Um, just kidding, it was a joke. Actually, I do have a house.”

“…….”

Seo-oh remained silent. Normally, he would have received remarks like, “Are you kidding me with that joke right now? Did you take some drugs?” But Nam-woon could see that he was holding back, probably because it hadn’t been long since they reconciled. Nam-woon was relieved.

“Are we close to your place?”

Seo-oh began walking towards the door. Nam-woon grabbed his forearm and pulled him towards the sofa.

“Let’s watch this before we go.”

[Top 10 Funniest Variety Show Videos That Will Make You Lose Track of Time]

“…….”

Seo-oh completely lost his smile. He couldn’t understand why they weren’t leaving and why Nam-woon was showing him some strange video. Not only was it not funny, but Nam-woon also made odd noises, trying to suppress his own laughter. He kept glancing at Seo-oh and carefully checking his expression.

“You’re not finding this funny?”

“No.”

When Seo-oh answered, Nam-woon, looking troubled, continued watching the video, trying to suppress his laughter several times. It wasn’t until a man on the show unexpectedly spewed water from his mouth that Nam-woon burst into laughter.

Seo-oh stared silently at Nam-woon’s face. It was the same expression he had seen during Se-han’s baseball game, with slightly narrowed eyes and smooth lips revealing his white teeth. Nam-woon nudged Seo-oh’s body slightly. His firm, warm forearm brushed against Seo-oh’s arm.

Nam-woon wasn’t someone who laughed easily. He always seemed hesitant to laugh, and Seo-oh hadn’t seen him laugh heartily before. 

It might have been because of his personality—not funny, not inclined to laugh, not particularly affectionate, just blunt.

Yet, as Nam-woon’s face appeared in front of him after so long, Seo-oh felt something welling up inside him.

When Nam-woon laughed, he looked like a high school student. He seemed younger than Seo-oh. But if he stared so intently, wouldn’t Nam-woon notice?

What’s so funny? I don’t find it funny at all.

However, there was a small smile on Seo-oh’s face as he looked at Nam-woon.

Then it happened. Nam-woon suddenly stopped laughing and turned his head to look at Seo-oh. Seo-oh, whose expression had quickly returned to blank, averted his gaze from Nam-woon’s face.

“Why?”

With a pounding heart, he managed to utter a word, and Nam-woon asked Seo-oh with a puzzled look.

“Did you just laugh?”

“No.”

“Huh? But then why?”

Nam-woon stared into space once and then looked at Seo-oh’s face again. Then he thrust his cell phone in front of his eyes and asked.

“Did this make you laugh? You pretended like it wasn’t funny at all.”

With a subtle brightness in his expression compared to earlier, Seo-oh suddenly stood up from his seat and said,

“Let’s go home now!”

Nam-woon stared at Seo-oh with a satisfied expression.

As they left the office, they headed towards the parking lot. He approached the driver’s seat with the car keys shaking in his hand, but Seo-oh was slightly faster.

“Go to the passenger seat.”

“Huh? Why?”

Pushing Nam-woon aside, Seo-oh took the driver’s seat. As Nam-woon hesitantly held the car door, the engine suddenly started. Huh? What’s going on? As he hurriedly opened the door and moved to the passenger seat, Seo-oh said, 

“Fasten your seatbelt.”

Seo-oh was sitting in the driver’s seat and holding the steering wheel, it looked quite convincing. Nam-woon, with surprised eyes, fastened his seatbelt.

“Did you get your driver’s license?”

Seo-oh turned the steering wheel without saying a word. Easily leaving the parking lot and smoothly turning onto the road, Seo-oh looked like he knew what he was doing. Nam-woon looked at him with admiration.

“You’re a good driver.”

“Better than you.”

Nam-woon chuckled at the blunt retort.

“…….”

“…….”

Within five minutes, the inside of the car fell into silence. Turning his head amidst the awkward silence, Nam-woon looked out the window and watched Seo-oh driving. Damn, he’s so fucking handsome. He always thought so, but seeing him like this again, he can’t help but admire him. Nam-woon softly brushed his left cheek with his hand. Maybe I’m not that bad myself…

“Hyung.”

Nam-woon, who was lost in his subjective comments, turned his head when he heard a voice suddenly call out to him. Seo-oh said, keeping his eyes on the rearview mirror.

“Mark the address of your home.”

“Oh, just a moment.”

Nam-woon tapped the navigation system and then hesitated. What was the rest?

Status window, remind me of the address again.

After briefly glancing at the air, Nam-woon finished typing the address. Seo-oh looked at Nam-Woon, who didn’t seem to remember his home address, and suggested.

“Should we stop by a supermarket on the way?”

Nam-woon briefly wondered if there were any groceries at his home when Seo‑oh added,

“Let’s make some soybean stew today.”

“Shall we do that?”

At the mention of soybean paste stew, Nam-woon’s face turned pale. He hadn’t thought about cooking or buying anything to eat, and his appetite had completely disappeared, so he had been eating instant noodles three times a day. This was really strange.

After searching, he was relieved to see a huge supermarket along the way. While fiddling with his phone, Nam-woon asked Seo‑oh,

“But when did you get your driver’s license?”

“Not long ago.”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“…….”

Seo-oh, who hadn’t answered for a while, opened his mouth.

“Because I might need it later when I get a job. It’s good to have it in advance.”

“Really? You know that’s expensive.”

The cost of a driver’s license isn’t a penny or two. Nam-woon furrowed his brows slightly.

“A friend of Auntie Soon-i got it for me cheap.”

“Oh, I see.”

Nam-woon’s words trailed off. Suddenly, he remembered a person who had come out of the main gate with Seo-oh earlier. Seeing Seo-oh unexpectedly get a driver’s license, he had a random thought. He had said it wasn’t his girlfriend, but when that part-timer at his taiyaki shop suddenly got his license when he got a girlfriend and insisted on renting a car.

Nam-woon coughed awkwardly and turned his head back to the window. He kept feeling strange, perhaps because he had seen Kwon Seo-oh’s face and talked to him for the first time in a long while.

The car entered the supermarket parking lot. Although Seo-oh was obviously a novice driver, he turned the steering wheel a few times and parked perfectly.

Pulling a shopping cart, he and Seo‑oh entered the supermarket together. Even though Nam-woon considered it his place, since he was visiting here for the first time, he figured it was best to buy roughly any essential daily necessities.

As Seo-oh looked at the vegetables, he picked up some green peppers and said, 

 “Should we add some pepper?”

“Yeah. You like it.”

“Hyung likes it even more.”

While wandering around, Nam-woon suddenly noticed something.

“Beer on sale. It’s cheap! Hurry, hurry and get some!”

He pulled the cart as if he were possessed and headed for the beer. Then, a staff member shook a bundle of beer bottles in front of Nam-woon.

“Would you like one?”

“What are you doing.”

At that moment, Seo-oh, holding a pumpkin and tofu in each hand, had somehow come up behind him and called out to him. Nam-woon, startled, turned around, and Seo-oh frowned and looked at the beer stand. Then he tilted his head strangely. It can’t be, so… it can’t be. Then the employee, who had been looking back and forth at them, put down the beer and flicked his finger and said,

“Newlyweds?”

“Excuse me?”

Nam-woon was surprised by the sudden use of a word he shouldn’t have heard. Seo-oh also hesitated and looked at the employee. The employee, smiling all over his face, changed the promotional message to newlywed mode.

“Oh my, if you’re newlyweds, you should have a drink together at night! Order some chicken with it, okay? Wow, now that I see you both, you’re so handsome! My eyesight has been poor lately, but I think I can throw away my glasses now!”

Nam-woon couldn’t react in time. Newlyweds? We’re both men? Then suddenly, he realized, Ah, this is normal here. And then he glanced at Seo-oh. He must be frowning and feeling bad… huh?

“But you two really look so good together. What should I do? Seriously. How long have you been married? Do you have any kids?”

Seo-oh suddenly grabbed one of the beer bundles. Surprisingly, he didn’t seem to be in a bad mood. His face was expressionless, but his ears were strangely red. Startled, Nam-woon pointed at the beer and asked.

“Are you buying?”

“…….”

“You don’t usually drink beer.”

“I’m going to drink this.”

Seo-oh put a bundle of beer in the cart. Then he reluctantly turned around and left. Nam-woon, too, reluctantly nodded to the employee and followed him, dragging the cart. Maybe he’s allowing it today because they reconciled? Either way, it was a good thing for him.