VDN Ch 152

Se-han and Sundol faithfully carried out their duties, eating snacks here and there and chatting with people and other dog friends. While walking busily, Se-han glanced at the phone screen that Grandpa Nam-nam lent him.

Time had passed quite a bit. They had only planned to look around the neighborhood, but they had ended up quite far away. He hadn’t realized how far they had come while he had talked with Sundol. After scanning the surroundings for a moment, a small sigh escaped Se-han’s lips.

“Phew… Sundol, let’s take a little break and then go home.”

Pant, pant.

Sundol also seemed tired from the hot weather, panting with his long tongue hanging out. Se-han opened his backpack and took out a small water bottle and Sundol’s water bowl, which he had prepared in advance. He opened the cap to pour some water, but nothing came out. He realized he had already drunk all the water on the way.

Se-han quickly looked around. A convenience store at the far end of the alley caught the child’s eye.

“Sundol, let’s go buy some water!”

Woof!

Se-han eagerly ran over, slightly opening the convenience store door, and poked his sunburned face through the gap.

“Excuse me…”

At that, the employee at the counter turned their head and looked at Se-han with a confused “Huh?” Se-han blushed, embarrassed by the sudden attention, and asked

“Is it okay for a dog to come in here?”

The employee replied with a bright smile.

“Of course.”

Se-han turned to look at Sundol, who was waiting outside, and excitedly shouted,

“Sundol, you can go in!”

Se-han pushed open the door forcefully and entered the convenience store with Sundol. The employee quickly opened the door for the child and welcomed him with a smile.

“Welcome! Are you out for a walk? So cute!”

“It’s not a walk. We’re working right now.”

Se-han shyly answered and led Sundol toward the beverage cooler.

“Let’s go, Sundol.”

But Sundol didn’t move an inch.

“Let’s go!”

But then suddenly, Sundol started barking, “Woof woof!” The loud sound startled the employee, who looked at them. Se-han was just as surprised.

“Sundol, what’s wrong?”

Woof woof woof!

Se-han was extremely flustered. He had known Sundol for many years, but he had rarely heard him bark this loudly. Sundol was usually very gentle and would only bark if he encountered bad people or thieves…

At that moment, Se-han recalled what he and Sundol were doing.

“Oh!”

Se-han slowly followed his gaze to Sundol’s gaze. The employee opened his eyes wide, not knowing what to do, as Sundol and the child stared at him. The name tag on the employee’s chest sparkled in the fluorescent light.

「Lee Bong-nam」

Se-han, who had been looking up at the man with his mouth wide open, came to his senses and asked,.

“Do you know Seok Nam-woon?”

The employee looked surprised at the name that suddenly came out.

“Se, Seok Nam-woon? Why, that person?”

“I’m looking for Seok Nam-woon!” 

“Why… are you looking for him?” 

The man hesitated and then asked why. Se-han chewed on his lips and answered clearly. 

“He’s a precious person to our family.” 

“A precious person to your family?” 

“Yes. Seok Nam-woon ran away from home, and our family is desperately looking for him. It’s very serious.”

After finishing his words, Se-han placed his hand on Sundol’s head. He wanted to tightly hold onto Sundol’s paw because he was so nervous, but since he couldn’t do that, he decided to pat his head instead. 

But then suddenly, the man raised his voice. 

“If he’s run away… does that mean Mr. Seok, no, Seok Nam-woon lived with your family?” 

“Yes.”  

The child quickly replied. The convenience store employee, Bong-nam, looked at the little boy standing in front of him with wavering eyes. 

He was working at a different branch today than where he usually worked. He had decided to work at this store only this week at the request of the store manager, who runs two stores. But to meet the child who lived with Mr. Seok here was such a remarkable coincidence.

But his family is looking for Seok Nam-woon?

Bong-nam was lost in thought. Could it be that the child’s family was the one who made Mr. Seok pregnant? But what kind of relationship does this child have with that person….

Could it be, he’s not his son, is he?

He swallowed hard and opened his mouth. 

“Who are you talking about when you say family? Your, your father?” 

“No, it’s not my dad. It’s my brother.” 

“Brother? Is your brother as young as you?” 

“No. My brother is an adult. And I’m not young. I’m in the second grade of elementary school!” 

At the words stating he is in second grade, Se-han stood on his tiptoes. However, he couldn’t maintain his balance and soon stumbled. Bong-nam quickly caught him. Fortunately, he wasn’t the child’s father. Bong-nam sighed in relief at the child’s words and slowly chose his words.

“So, what kind of person is your brother?” 

“My brother? He’s really cool! Right, Sundol?”  

Woof!  

The child and the dog responses were very subjective. Was he really that great? Perhaps he treated his blood relative well. After all, if he couldn’t even be good to such a small and cute child, then he wouldn’t be much of a human being. 

“Do your brother and Nam-woon get along well?” 

“Um… there were times they got along, but they also fought a little bit.” 

The child answered while glancing around cautiously. After asking a few more questions about the child’s brother, Bong-nam soon became convinced. He was the one who impregnated Nam-woon! And it was clear that Nam-woon had left after having an argument with him. 

“Does Nam-woon treat you well?” 

“Yes! Wooni Hyung, Sundol and I had a lot of fun playing. But now… sigh.”  

Se-han pouted and then tightly closed his eyes. Then he cautiously made a request. 

“Um… If you know where Wooni Hyung is, could you tell me?”

Bong-nam’s expression was conflicted as he gazed at the child’s innocent face, on the verge of tears. A young child wandering with a dog in the scorching heat—just the sight of them searching for Nam-woon was enough to stir sympathy.

Still, from Bong-nam’s perspective, he couldn’t simply hand over Seok Nam-woon without first understanding what kind of person his brother truly was

He recalled the image of Seok Nam-woon, who had been staying at his house for the past few days. Despite his blunt face, he spoke playfully and acted surprisingly kind. He had taken a screwdriver to fix things around the house. Seok Nam-woon, who was no different from a human version of a snake, had surprisingly transformed into a completely different person. 

Maybe he was trying to clean up his past and live a new life for the precious life that was growing inside him. 

Bong-nam bent down to meet the child’s eye level and spoke in a gentle tone. 

“Can you give me your brother’s phone number? I’ll contact him directly.” 

Bong-nam handed his phone to the child. After a moment of hesitation, Se-han accepted it and entered his brother’s eleven-digit phone number. Then he took a large cell phone from his pocket and handed it to Bong-nam. 

“Can you also give me your number here?” 

Thus, the two exchanged their contact information. After receiving his phone back and putting it in his pocket, Se-han fidgeted with his hands. 

“You will definitely call, right? If you don’t, I might come back here again…”  

It was a cute threat. Bong-nam smiled slightly and nodded. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely contact you. But could you not tell your brother that you met me today?” 

“Why?”  

“Well, I need a little time to find out where Nam-woon is. If you tell him in advance, he might wait a long time.” 

“Oh, okay.”  

The child nodded innocently, despite the hastily made-up lie. His conscience prickled a little, but there was nothing that could be done. Bong-nam tried to smile and asked, 

“What did you come to buy?” 

“I came to get water for Sundol!”

After taking a bottle of water from the refrigerator, Bong-nam scanned the barcode and opened the cap. 

“Thank you.”

The boy received the water, opened his backpack and dropped it on the floor. As the child pulled out a green coin purse from inside, Bong-nam stopped him. 

“I’ll buy it for you.” 

“Oh, oh. But still….”

“Here, have some chocolate too. You can feed Sundol water over there.” 

“Thank you so much.”

Se-han, who had been hesitating, bowed his head in gratitude and headed towards the corner of the convenience store. The child, who shared the water with Sundol, bowed his head once more towards the counter.

“Then, goodbye.”

With small feet trudging towards the door, he suddenly stopped. His soft, pale face stared intently at Bong-nam, with a look of anxiety in his eyes.

Bong-nam reassured him not to worry and sent the child off. As he heard the jingle of the bell, he muttered softly to himself.

“How do I tell Mr. Seok…” 

A deep sigh escaped his lips. 

***

Meanwhile, Nam-woon was using his one remaining video meeting opportunity with Lee Ju-ham. They were more enthusiastic about the meeting than ever, as this could be their last meeting.

– So what about the summer business? Should we do mini bingsu^[1] and popcorn chicken^[2] like we talked about before?

“I think popcorn chicken is fine, but I’m a bit concerned about mini bingsu since there’s a shop nearby.” 

Nam-woon was deep in thought with a serious expression. It was currently the middle of winter in their world. However, the season would soon change again, so he had to prepare for spring and summer business in advance. Nam-woon picked up a post-it note around on his desk and scribbled on it.

[Mini bingsu – on hold.]

Ju-ham also noted the meeting contents in his notebook and quickly moved on to the next agenda. 

– And next week, the TV show ‘Masters of Business’ will be featuring ‘Seok’s Taiyaki’ for their winter special.

“What? ‘Masters of Business’?” 

Nam-woon asked in surprise. They didn’t contact me when I was there!