VDN Ch 87

“Ah, seriously!”

Unable to bear it any longer, he jumped up and grabbed Seo-oh’s arm, then pushed him out of the bathroom.

“You’re done, right? Thanks. Now get out, quickly.” 

At Nam-woon’s intense reaction, Seo-oh quietly left this time, without saying a word.

Sigh… Nam-woon sighed and looked at the bathroom mirror. His cheeks were slightly flushed, but his face wasn’t much different from usual. It was a good thing that the arousal he was feeling right now didn’t show on his face.

Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, a familiar notification sound rang in his ears.

Ding! 

[You have successfully recognized the two main characters.] 

[A main quest has been activated.] 

[Main quest: Establish a meeting between Kwon Seo-oh and Jin Hae-geon!]

The main quest that he had been ignoring for a few days had popped up again. The blue bar under the quest seemed to indicate that the time had reduced much more than before. 

“……”

Nam-woon, forgetting his dripping wet hair, just stared blankly at the system window.

***

Umpyeong, the boss of Umpyeong Errand Center, had been having a terrible few days recently. Running the office was always tough, but he had barely managed to hold on thanks to the enjoyable prospect of swindling Seok Nam-woon. However, a while ago, a headache-inducing situation occurred where he had to move the office into a one-room apartment.

On top of that, a pair of cockroaches had made a nest in his office/studio apartment. Thanks to them, Umpyeong even felt like giving up his perfectly fine business.

“Finished eating?”

Seok Nam-woon nodded as Kwon Seo-oh swiftly scooped another spoonful of rice and brought it to his mouth. Seok Nam-woon naturally opened his mouth to accept the food. This scene hinted at the kind of dynamic they likely had at home.

Their affectionate behavior wasn’t the only thing the Umpyeong staff saw. Unlike Seok Nam-woon, who was glued to his phone playing a game, Kwon Seo-oh couldn’t take his eyes off Seok Nam-woon’s face and mouth for even a second. 

At one point, Seok Nam-woon made an “ah” sound, and Kwon Seo-oh, who was next to him, immediately reacted.

“What’s wrong?” 

“I think I bit something hard.”

Kwon Seo-oh looked at the fried egg on top of the kimchi fried rice with a serious expression. 

“Did an eggshell get in?”

“Maybe?”

Seok Nam-woon answered nonchalantly and resumed chewing, but Kwon Seo-oh suddenly placed his large palm under his chin. Seok Nam-woon looked at Kwon Seo-oh with a puzzled expression.

“Spit it out.” 

“What?” 

With food in his mouth puffing up one cheek, Seok Nam-woon looked surprised. The boss and employees of Umpyeong, who were listening to their conversation, frowned deeply. Those horrible bastards… 

Completely ignoring the reactions around them, Kwon Seo-oh urged Nam-woon again.

“Spit it out, now.” 

“Don’t you have a tissue?”

Nam-woon pretended not to hear and looked around for a tissue, but Kwon Seo-oh stubbornly grabbed his cheeks and squeezed, urging him to spit into his hand. Nam-woon finally swallowed the rice he had been holding in his mouth.

“Why did you swallow that!”

“Ah, it’s alright. I won’t die, I won’t die.” 

“Haa… I’m sorry, Hyung. I didn’t know there was eggshell in it. I’ll be careful next time.”

Kwon Seo-oh sighed deeply and apologized sincerely, to which Seok Nam-woon scratched his head and replied. 

 “It’s nothing. It’s fine, let’s just finish eating.”

 “…Hyung, still, don’t eat eggshells.

“It’s because you kept telling me to spit it out into your hand.”

Only after seeing Seok Nam-woon’s calm demeanor did. Kwon Seo-oh’s face relaxed. Still, he didn’t forget to nag one last time.

“Next time, spit it right into my hand. Got it?”

Seok Nam-woon made a sour face and reluctantly nodded. After that, the two resumed their sweet lunch sharing. In the eyes of the boss and employees of Umpyeong, it was quite the sight. 

While Seo-oh was feeding Nam-woon a few spoonfuls of rice, he suddenly asked,

“By the way, Hyung, I have a question.”

“What is it?” 

With an indifferent voice, Seo-oh hesitated a bit before speaking. 

“What’s your ideal type? You said before that you like pretty and big, right?”

“Hey, that’s… ahem! Well, there’s nothing wrong with liking someone pretty and big.” 

Seok Nam-woon made a slightly embarrassed face and cleared his throat, roughly agreeing. 

“So, your ideal type is pretty and big, right? Is that all?”

The Umpyeong staff were horrified by Kwon Seo-oh’s direct question. The quick-witted Mr. Umpyeong frantically searched his desk for the 3PM earplugs he had bought at a convenience store. Seeing that, the Umpyeong staff member started tearing open the delivery box of the expensive headphones he had bought.

“Well… if their personality is good too, that’d be even better.” 

As Seok Nam-woon gave a nonchalant, obvious answer, Kwon Seo-oh asked another question, narrowing their distance even more.

“Tell me specifically. What kind of personality do you like in a man?”

“What? A man?” 

As if only then realizing the word “man,” Seok Nam-woon was silent for a while. Kwon Seo-oh, seeing Nam-woon’s still puffed cheeks, hastily inserted a straw into the plastic bottle in front of him and brought it to his mouth. Seok Nam-woon, who casually sucked on the offered straw, made an awkward expression and scratched his neck. 

“As for a man… I’m not sure. I guess just someone who gets along well with me. Understanding, considerate….”

“……”

Kwon Seo-oh, having finally managed to get an answer from Seok Nam-woon, remained silent for a moment. His thoughtful expression clearly showed he was reflecting on his past actions. Mr. Umpyeong, who had been searching for his earplugs, stopped and let out a scoff of disbelief. ‘What a ridiculous display,’ he thought.

A moment later, Kwon Seo-oh opened his mouth again.

“What if their appearance is good, but their personality isn’t great?” 

“Then it won’t work. Personality is more important.”

But Seok Nam-woon, who seemed to be thinking about something, immediately changed his mind.

“No, face is more important.” 

Kwon Seo-oh’s eyes widen at that remark. Seok Nam-woon suddenly turned towards Seo-oh and said seriously, 

“Hey, Seo-oh, listen carefully. I’m telling you, when it comes to men… no matter what anyone says, face is the best. Their personality might be really bad. It can be, but when that happens, you just look at their face and let it go. Got it?”

Kwon Seo-oh nodded meekly. For some reason, he had a confident look on his face. 

” I guess he knows his own face is handsome?” The Umpyeong staff member, who was watching them from the side, commented to the boss.

Seok Nam-woon’s advice continued,

“And another thing as important as the face is money.” 

“Money…

A look of gloom settled on Seo-oh’s face. If he had dog ears, they would probably be drooping.

…Well, that makes sense. For Seok Nam-woon, who plays with money, financial power is an essential matter. 

But wait, Kwon Seo-oh is poor, isn’t he? Seok Nam-woon was really funny. Without even thinking, he brought up the topic of money to that poor guy.

“They have to have a lot of money. There aren’t many people like that in the world, you know? So if there’s someone who’s good-looking and has money, just… sigh… no, you should be a bit discerning, but anyway, if they have money and looks, think positively about them.”

Listening quietly to Seok Nam-woon, Kwon Seo-oh suddenly spoke with determination. 

“I’ll do my best.”

“Huh?” 

“I’ve been studying for certifications in between part-time jobs. There are many professors who say they will recommend me if there’s a good position. I’ll apply to every job opening that comes up. I’m confident I’ll get in quickly. I’ll still work even harder than now.” 

“Huh? Okay, do your best.”

Seok Nam-woon smiled like an adult and cheered for Kwon Seo-oh. Does he really not know what he’s doing? Mr. Umpyeong looked at Nam-woon suspiciously.

Kwon Seo-oh looked at Seok Nam-woon, smiling at him with pride and scooped up another big bite of rice.

“Here.” 

Nam-woon naturally opened his mouth, replaying the scene they had seen before. “Ah, it’s so unpleasant to look at,” Mr. Umpyeong muttered irritably.

“No, for fuck’s sake. Why ditch your own office to come here on a date?” 

“Hey, can’t you see? They’ve embarrassed themselves. From what I heard, they used to fight tooth and nail, threatening to kill each other. But now they’ve suddenly become a lovey-dovey couple like cockroaches, spoon-feeding each other from one lunchbox, and do you think that Seok Nam-woon bastard wants his subordinates to see that? That’s why they can’t go to their own office and are sitting here putting on this disgusting show.” 

“You heard them talking earlier, right? At this rate, they’ll even confess.”

“Just watch them confess! It’s not like they leased the whole office. And Kwon Seo-oh, that guy’s got a screw loose too. What’s an Alpha doing with a Beta, acting like that?”

Just as Mr. Umpyeong clicked his tongue in disapproval, Seo-oh’s questions started again.

“Hyung, just answer one more thing. Do you prefer someone younger or older?” 

Nam-woon showed signs of embarrassment at Seo-oh’s continued questions, but he answered.

“You’re being strange today. If someone matches me well, I don’t think it particularly matters if they’re younger or older, does it?”

With a nervous look, Kwon Seo-oh presses on. 

 “Isn’t younger better? They’re younger so they have more energy… and they’re cute.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yeah.”

Kwon Seo-oh covered his mouth as if embarrassed and answered softly. Damn it. Those terrible bastards. The Umpyeong boss muttered and put on earplugs. Next to him, the Umpyeong employee put on headphones and spoke sadly.

“I didn’t buy these expensive headphones for this shit.”