VDN Ch 62

After buying a few necessary items, the cart quickly filled up. They loaded the trunk and back seats with the groceries and headed home.

So… Room 701, huh…Nam-woon squinted and checked the dazzling numbers again.

[Password: 0000]

Is Seok Nam-woon crazy? This is practically an invitation for thieves. Nam-woon entered the number password, shielding the keypad with his back to prevent Seo-oh from seeing it. Soon, he heard the door lock open, and he opened the door with a pounding heart.

The interior was ordinary. Just one living room and two bedrooms. It seemed a bit small, but to Nam-woon, it was an astonishingly nice house. He swallowed those words and went inside, exploring here and there. There weren’t many belongings, and the living room was dominated by a sofa and a table, giving it a simple appearance.

Seo-oh, who had entered the house, turned his head quickly at the empty room. After confirming it was empty, Seo-oh headed to the kitchen. He paused as he was about to put down the grocery store bag on the table. Nam-woon asked,

“What’s the matter?”

Seo-oh stretched out his index and middle fingers and swept the table. A thick white line appeared on the table due to the accumulated dust.

“…….”

“…….”

“When was this place cleaned?”

“Well, um…”

“This is disgustingly dirty, Hyung.”

Even to Nam-woon’s eyes, the dust seemed a bit severe.

“I didn’t expect to see such a mess.”

As Seo-oh stood there, he said.

“What are you doing? Go get a rag.”

There were no rags in the house. In the end, Seo-oh demanded Nam-woon’s clothes, and Nam-woon’s white t-shirt became the mop. Seo-oh energetically cleaned, even wiping the sofa covers. Following behind Seo-oh with the torn shirt in hand, Nam-woon also worked hard, but honestly, it seemed like Seo-oh did 90% of the cleaning.

“You stay still.”

Nam-woon held his breath as Seo-oh spoke in a chilling informal tone that made him feel like he could bury a person in concrete, so he silently followed Seo-oh’s orders.

Seo-oh, who had finally finished cleaning, went into the bathroom to take a shower. Meanwhile, Nam-woon took out the ingredients for the soybean paste soup and searched for the cutting board and pot.

Then, unexpectedly, the system gave praise.

[Well done!]

[Role Fulfillment Clause 3: Make Kwon Seo-oh do “dirty work” has been successfully completed!]

There was such a clause? And “dirty work” doesn’t seem to mean literal dirty work.

[As a reward, we offer you the “Pheromone- ??? Gauge Automatic Synchronization ticket.”]

[Automatic Synchronization ticket will activate when exposed to pheromones above the threshold.]

[We are very pleased to be able to further assist you in your adaptation to the Omegaverse!]

“…….”

He just felt bad. No matter how you looked at it something seemed off.

While he was reading the suspicious message, he heard a voice calling him from the direction of the bathroom.

“Hyung.”

He approached the door and he asked,

“Yes?”

“My clothes got wet. Do you have any pants?”

“Just a moment.”

He quickly went into the inner room and opened the wardrobe drawers. Fortunately, there were a few sets of what looked like sweatpants. He compared them and picked up the largest gray sweatpants.

The sound of the shower echoed through the house where only Seo-oh and he were present. Why did the sound make him feel so uneasy? It hadn’t bothered him when he was at Seo-oh’s place. Nam-woon pursed his lips and said,

“Should I leave the clothes at the door?”

Before he could react, the door suddenly opened, releasing a rush of warm air. A large hand reached out, causing Nam-woon’s body to stiffen. Then, Seo-oh’s head appeared through the crack in the door.

“Hyung, give me some pants.”

His damp black hair appeared darker than usual, and his moist, gleaming skin looked paler and smoother. Even his black pupils, visible through his wet bangs, seemed more beautiful, glistening with water. Nam-woon swallowed unconsciously.

“Here.”

As Seo-oh took the pants, Nam-woon headed straight to the kitchen. Shit, shit. Then he grabbed a few green peppers and started chopping them on the cutting board. It was to rinse his eyeballs. Clearly, the joy of reconciliation made him lose his mind. Seo-oh looked so beautiful today.

Clang.

“Can’t we just order something to eat today and have the soybean paste soup tomorrow?”

Hearing Seo-oh’s words from behind, as if he had finished washing up, Nam-woon put down the chili he was slicing and picked up his cell phone.

“Okay, sure. What do you want to eat?”

Nam-woon asked, sniffing. His eyes and nose were burning from chopping the peppers. Seo-oh approached him and asked,

“Did you touch the peppers?”

“Yes, I did” Nam-woon replied.

Suddenly, Seo-oh’s thick thumb touched Nam-woon’s cheek. His finger, which had been tapping on his phone, stopped at the touch.

“I can do it.”

Seo-oh said, wiping away the moisture from his cheek. Nam-woon’s heart felt like it was pounding. Then, Seo-oh leaned in next to him and looked at his phone, his damp hair brushed against Nam-woon’s face.

“Which place has the best food?”

Seo-oh asked, looking at Nam-woon. Nam-woon felt Seo-oh’s gaze on him, a gaze filled with curiosity. Nam-woon hurriedly turned away and headed for the bathroom.

“There’s a card on the table, you can use that to order. I’m going to take a shower.”

Nam-woon said, closing the bathroom door firmly behind him and slumping down onto the toilet seat.

“Why the hell is this happening?”

Why am I so nervous like this? Nam-woon thought, clutching his head.

When Nam-woon got out of the shower, Seo-oh was sitting on the couch. His pants were unusually short, rolled up to his knees. Nam-woon asked,

“Did you order chicken?”

“Yeah.”

“From where?”

“The place we ordered from last time when we had dinner.”

“Oh, that place was good.”

“Yeah.”

Nam-woon stole a glance at Seo-oh, who had been answering calmly and politely since earlier. Damn, he’s so fucking cute. Who knew I’d start thinking like this just because I haven’t seen Kwon Seo-oh’s face for a while? Nam-woon realized how strange it was.

“…….”

“…….”

“Did you ask me something?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you keep looking at me?”

Seo-oh looked at Nam-woon with a sullen expression. He had tried to sneak glances without being noticed, but it seemed like that guy really did have eyes in the back of his head.

“I was just… surprised to see you at my house.”

“…Your house is nice.”

“Isn’t it?”

Nam-woon grinned, oblivious to his situation. His previous house hadn’t just had mold in the refrigerator; the entire wallpaper and ceiling were stained beyond repair. When it rained, water leaked in, and in winter, the wind blew through. It was no different from a house made of planks.

There might have been a small Taiyaki shop nearby, but the house was always shabby. Nam-woon looked around his own house now with new eyes, pausing at Seo-oh’s sudden remark.

“It must have been uncomfortable, right? At my house.”

Seo-oh said, still not looking at Nam-woon, just staring at the table. Nam-woon replied immediately.

“No.”

“Why were you staying with us when you have a place like this?”

“I like your place better.”

“…….”

Seo-oh said nothing, his expression seemed to not believe it at all.

“You and Se-han aren’t here.”

Nam-woon intended to add humor into his last words. But it wasn’t a joke, it was sincere. While having his own place was nice in itself, he hated entering an empty house with no one in it. What if Seo-oh tells him to stop coming to his house now that he has his own? Nam-woon worriedly looked at Seo-oh’s reaction.

But Seo-oh was also looking at Nam-woon, and their eyes met. Nam-woon had spoken playfully, hoping to break the ice, but it didn’t work. The corners of Nam-woon’s mouth twitched awkwardly.

“…….”

“…….”

There was no TV in the house. Should he suggest watching that ridiculous belly-button video they saw earlier? But as he fiddled with his phone, Seo-oh lightly tapped his shoulder.

“Come here. Why are you sitting on the floor?”

Nam-woon was sitting on the living room floor, a few feet away from the couch. Today, he felt strangely unable to get near Kwon Seo-oh.

“I like it here.”

“Hurry up.”

Reluctantly, Nam-woon stood up. When is the chicken coming? If he could just gnaw on a drumstick, this awkwardness might disappear. Please hurry up….

Nam-woon plopped next to Seo-oh. Silence fell again. It was even more suffocating because they were so close. Nam-woon wanted to cry a little. If you’re going to do this, why did you ask me to come over here?

As he pondered, he decided to break the tension with a silly joke.

“Kwon Seo-oh.”

“Hyung.”

But Seo-oh also happened to call Nam-woon.

“You go first.”

“No, you go first.”

Nam-woon didn’t really have anything to say anyway. After a few moments of arguing, Seo-oh finally spoke up.

“…Can I check something?”

“Check what?”

In response to his questioning gaze, Seo-oh cast his gaze to the area around Nam-woon’s face and neck. After a moment, his pretty lips opened.

“Pheromones.”