VDN Ch 164

“Hyung, let’s go.”

As he quickly walked ahead. Seo-oh, who was following closely behind, moved his hand secretly. A large palm slid under Nam-woon’s hand and naturally interlocked his fingers. Nam-woon shook off the fingers that were clinging to him and raised his eyebrows.

“Hey, stop that now.”

“What?”

“That ridiculous nonsense about pregnancy…”

As he raised his voice with a frown, a couple passing by right next to them looked at them with curious eyes. Nam-woon, who stopped at that gaze, turned his head and looked down the street. It was late at night, but there were quite a few pedestrians because it was a large street. 

This isn’t something to talk about loudly. He kept his lips shut and continued walking. Seo-oh, who followed him without getting tired, put a hand on his shoulder this time and asked.

“How do you know that detective?”

It was a similar question to how he met the prosecutor. Nam-woon gave the same answer as before.

“We met by chance.”

“That detective helped my dad, right?”

“…I’m not sure.”

Nam-woon felt uneasy for a moment when he saw Seo-oh asking him questions. He must have heard everything the detective said earlier, so he must have figured everything out from the perfume shop and the police station. He hurried his steps to put some distance between himself and Seo-oh, afraid that he might be seen as nervous. He took out his phone to check if there were any taxis or bus stops nearby, but a surprising question came flying out at him.

“Hyung, are you trying to catch Chairman Seok?”

Nam-woon turned his head in surprise. The person who surprised him was looking at him with a casual expression, as if nothing was going on.

“…Catch him? That’s something the detectives we saw earlier would do. Why would I catch my father?”

Nam-woon hid his agitation and pretended as if nothing had happened. However, for some reason, he didn’t hear any footsteps following him. When he turned his head in confusion and saw Seo-oh was standing still, behind him, sending him an unknown gaze. His well-shaped lips opened again.

“I already knew that Chairman Seok is making trait-altering drugs.”

“What?”

Seo-oh, who had been walking slowly beside him, turned towards Nam-woon.

“When I went to find Dad at the club, Dad told me everything. He said he’s looking for evidence related to Chairman Seok. At that time, I couldn’t understand why he was getting involved in such matters…”

“……”

“I figured it out after thinking about it carefully, Dad has always been like that. He was so timid that he couldn’t even order properly at a restaurant, but when it comes to me and Se-han, he’ll do anything.”

The black eyes reflected in the streetlight were as deep and dark as the night sea. Nam-woon suddenly remembered Seo-oh’s words that he was no longer a child. He couldn’t take his eyes off the pitch-black eyes that seemed to suck him in.

At that moment, another question surprised him.

“It’s because of me, right?”

“……!”

“Chairman Seok is targeting me, isn’t he?”

“…What are you talking about?”

Nam-woon barely managed to speak. The fact that Chairman Seok was targeting Seo-oh was not something he had directly heard from anyone. However, based on Chairman Seok’s words and Detective Jang’s actions, it seemed almost like a fact.

But there was no need to make Seo-oh anxious with unnecessary words. Nam-woon continued talking casually.

“Aren’t you overthinking it? You know my father is a busy person with a lot on his plate. You saw it earlier, right? Just running his existing businesses would keep him busy, let alone developing the trait drugs and selling them at the perfume shop. Where would he find the time to bother with you? How could someone like that find the time to pay attention to you?”

However, Seo-oh seemed to have already come to a conclusion.

“I thought it was strange that that calculating man kept reaching out and looking after me. I should have figured it out when he mentioned paying for my hospital bills… If I had put that bastard in prison, my dad would be…”

“I found evidence today and handed it over to the detective. There’s nothing left for you to do. The rest will be handled by the police.

Seo-oh raised his voice in frustration at Nam-woon’s calm voice.

“You almost got into trouble because of me!”

Unable to contain his anger, Seo-oh grabbed Nam-woon’s arm forcefully, pulling him close to his chest. Nam-woon’s nose was buried in Seo-oh’s firm embrace. When Nam-woon pulled away in panic, Seo-oh, who had been hugging him, rubbed his lips against Nam-woon’s hair and let out a sigh-like sound.

“What will I do if you disappear too?”

“……”

“If something happens to you because of me, I really feel like I won’t be able to live…”

Nam-woon’s body stiffened at the pitiful voice heard from above. What do you mean you can’t live without me? It’s better and easier to be without me. The words that came to his mind like a habit only lingered on the tip of his tongue and never came out of his mouth. Nam-woon swallowed his upset feelings along with his words and patted the wide back that was wrapped around him.

“Why would I disappear? Don’t worry about that.”

“Hyung, just stay by my side. Don’t go anywhere.”

Perhaps it was because his voice was so desperate. Nam-woon forgot that they were embracing in the middle of the street and hugged Seo-oh’s back in return. He felt a pang in his heart, sensing the loss of his father and Seo-oh’s fear of experiencing that terrible thing again.

He could imagine how surprised he must have been when he left the house without a word and how distressed it must have been for him. He had left home to deceive Chairman Seok by pretending to have sorted things out with Seo-oh, but now, looking back, it was all his selfishness. He regretted not saying something beforehand.

How long had they stood like that? At the sound of footsteps coming from across the street, Namwoon gently pushed Seoo away. When he raised his eyes, he saw shiny black pupils trembling slightly. His eyes were also red, as if he would burst into tears at any moment.

Nam-woon forced a bright smile and ruffled Seo-oh’s soft hair playfully. 

“When is this puppy going to grow up? He keeps clinging to his hyung and doesn’t want to let go.”

“…I’m not a puppy.” 

Nam-woon chuckled a little at the harsh voice denying it. Then he picked up his phone again and asked.

“By the way, are we going the right way? Is this the way home?”

Seo-oh tilted his head to look at Nam-woon’s phone screen. Their heads bumped together gently, without hurting each other. Nam-woon wrinkled his nose a little as the faint scent of fresh flowers seemed to spread.

Nam-woon’s finger pressed down on the spot marked ‘Home’ at the top of the screen. As he did, the familiar address appeared in the destination field. Seo-oh’s eyes softened noticeably as he watched his home address appear. The corners of his eyes also lowered into a gentle manner.

“Yeah, this is the direction to our house.”

Seo-oh slid his hand back under Nam-woon’s palm, intertwining their fingers once more. After glancing around briefly, Nam-woon weakly squeezed Seo-oh’s hand. The two walked in silence for a while down the now quiet night streets.

As Nam-woon headed home without thinking, he slowly remembered a problem.

“Oh right. I left my stuff behind.”

“Where’s your stuff? Let’s get it together.”

“But I’ve already paid for the accommodation until this week, so it would be wasteful to just leave…. Should we sleep there today? Se-han isn’t home anyway.”

According to what he heard from Jang-mi, Se-han was having a snack party at Min-chan’s house today and would be sleeping over with his friends. Min-chan’s mother had to rush to the countryside, so Min-chan and his father were left to take care of the house for the day, and they decided to throw a little gathering and game party while they were at it. By the way, Se-han, Min-chan’s best friend, was a must at the party.

Hearing Nam-woon’s words, Seo-oh asked in confusion, 

“Accommodation? Where were you staying?”

“A motel.”

“M-mo…tel?”

Seo-oh’s eyes, which had been relaxed, somehow became sharp again.

***

“Come in.”

Nam-woon said as he stepped into the motel room. However, Seo-oh just stood at the door with a sulky face. After turning his head and asking, “What are you doing?” Seo-oh hesitantly stepped inside.

As Seo-oh scanned the room with piercing eyes, he made a blunt comment, 

“The air is stuffy.”

“What are you talking about? Did you come from the mountains?”

However, nonchalantly, Nam-woon replied, bending down to tidy up the clothes he had left out before going out. Ah, if I had known Seo-oh would come today, I would have cleaned up in the morning. He began to hurriedly clean up the messy room as if he were unexpectedly bringing a guest home. He quickly gathered various trash scattered across the floor in a way he had never done before. Meanwhile, Seo-oh continued to bluntly throw questions at him.

“Why do you have three razors?”

Turning his head, Nam-woon saw Seo-oh emerging from the bathroom with a handful of razors. Nam-woon tilted his head in confusion.

“When you buy disposable razors, they usually come in packs of multiple, right?”

“Well, having all three out like this is strange.”

Hah… Is this guy playing detective just because he went to the police station? Nam-woon, who had been frowning, decided not to respond and instead stacked his clothes on the desk. He glanced at the razors with suspicion, but before he could think much about it, Seo-oh found new material to ask him about.

“Why is this one so big? Is this really Hyung’s underwear?”

“…Seo-oh, my body isn’t the same as it used to be.”

“Oh, right. Then what about this? You don’t usually wear gray socks, Hyung.”

“Is there a reason to wear specific socks? I just put on whichever I find.”

As Seo-oh trailed behind him, asking pointless questions, Nam-woon’s patience was about to reach its limit when suddenly, the room fell silent. Feeling an inexplicable sense of unease, he quickly turned around. There was Seo-oh, with his nose buried in the T-shirt he wore as pajamas every night. In shock, Nam-woon rushed over, snatched the T-shirt away, and shouted, 

“Are you out of your mind? Why are you smelling that?”

“I was just checking if it’s your scent.”

“Do you really think you’re a puppy? Stop it, already!”

At Nam-woon’s harsh scolding, Seo-oh dropped the remaining clothes in his hands and sat down on the edge of the bed. With the cleaning mostly done, Nam-woon finally straightened up and looked at Seo-oh.

“……”

“……”

Should I have told him to stop? The silence in the room felt heavy now that Seo-oh, who had been so engrossed in his role as the home investigator, had quieted down.

At that moment, a faint groaning sound leaked in from the next room. It was clear what the sound was.