IPSTDS Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Seo Dowoong tapped on the wretched chat window, bringing up the past messages.

• Dowoong♥ When are you free?
• You know I really love you, right? You’re fucking mine.
• Why do you only care about that piece of shit, Kim Daon? Huh? Answer me.

Regret instantly flooded him.

Why had he even looked?

Unlike Kim Daon, who was effortlessly charming, Yoon Noah was just pathetic.

Clingy, obsessive, and utterly insufferable.

When had he become like this?

Yoon Noah had only ever dated women, yet sometime during their senior year of high school, he had suddenly confessed his feelings to him.

That meant this ridiculous unrequited love had been going on for nine years.

Of course, it hadn’t been this obsessive from the start.

Back when they had just graduated high school and were stepping into adulthood, Yoon Noah had only shown his interest subtly.

But a few months ago, everything changed.

When Kim Daon—a junior from their high school—started working at the same company as him, Seo Dowoong felt a strange thrill upon seeing him again after nine years.

The moment Yoon Noah noticed his shifting emotions, his obsession spiraled out of control.

Every time the slightest bit of Seo Dowoong’s attention landed on Kim Daon, Yoon Noah couldn’t stand it.

He acted as if Seo Dowoong had betrayed him—as if they had ever been something in the first place.

There were even nights when Yoon Noah called him endlessly, refusing to stop until he picked up.

And when he finally did, all he heard was a drunken, shaking voice—

‘I loved you first! So why… why can’t I have you…?’

Did he ever pity Yoon Noah?

Not really.

Noah had always been too brazen, too shameless to be pitiful.

Not only that—he hadn’t just been bold. He had gone out of his way to torment Kim Daon at every opportunity.

There was no room for sympathy when antagonism had already settled in.

…Still, for someone who had obsessed over him for years, it was beyond bizarre that he was now pretending not to know him.

Even more absurd—he had smiled at Lee Kangil.

Right in front of him.

How the hell does that make sense?

“…Has he lost his damn mind?”

Seo Dowoong let out a dry laugh, reaching a conclusion.

It didn’t matter anymore.

Whether Yoon Noah had gone insane or become someone else entirely—it wasn’t his concern.

If anything, this was better.

And with that, he decided to let it go.

Days passed.

---

At the very top floor of Hansan Group’s headquarters, a man who looked like a figure from a painting sat behind an immaculate desk.

It was none other than Seo Dowoong, the executive vice president, who had risen to his position at a remarkably young age due to his undeniable talent.

Before long, his secretary entered the office.

“Vice President, here’s the information you requested.”

Without sparing a glance at him, Seo Dowoong replied,

“Leave it and go.”

“Yes, sir.”

Only after the secretary had exited did Seo Dowoong finally reach for the documents.

His sharp gaze flickered rapidly as he skimmed through the pages.

It was a report on Yoon Noah’s recent activities.

“He’s been visiting the hospital frequently.”

There were also several records of him visiting Lee Kangil’s research facility.

“…Is he sick?”

Did he give up on his ridiculous infatuation because of his health?

Or was he getting close to Kangil because of the experimental drug?

The answer came soon enough.

As he flipped further, Noah’s diagnosis was written in black and white.

“…A terminal illness?”

That reckless wildcat—dying?

And soon, at that?

It didn’t suit him. Not at all.

Had anyone other than his trusted secretary delivered this report, he would have scoffed and dismissed it.

He would’ve assumed Noah had fabricated some sob story to gain his sympathy.

But this wasn’t a lie.

This was a genuine report, compiled by reliable sources.

Yoon Noah was actually dying.

And for some reason, that knowledge irritated him.

His heart stung, and his mouth tasted bitter. Even his stomach churned.

It wasn’t exactly discomfort… rather, it was a strange emotion he couldn’t quite define.

Seo Dowoong’s gaze shifted to the floor-to-ceiling windows behind him.

Even as he looked at the vast, open view of the capital stretching before him, the tightness in his chest didn’t ease.

In the end, he let out a small sigh.

‘I feel awful.’

Just then, his phone vibrated on the desk.

‘Finally… you’re calling me.’

It was the same thought that had naturally crossed his mind every time his phone rang in the past few days.

Today, of all days, he was bound to call.

Even if he had a terminal illness.

If he was dying soon, shouldn’t he want to see the face of the person he loved even more?

Caught in his thoughts, Seo Dowoong pressed the answer button without even checking the caller ID.

Instinctively, the words slipped out between his lips.

“I knew you couldn’t resist.”

However, the voice on the other end wasn’t Yoon Noah’s.

—…Dowoong? What are you talking about?

The caller was Kim Daon.

For some reason, it felt oddly deflating.

Unwilling to admit that he had been waiting for Yoon Noah’s call, his response came out tinged with irritation.

“It’s nothing. Anyway, why are you calling?”

—Are you sure nothing’s wrong?

“Yeah. I guess I’m just tired from not sleeping well last night.”

—Then do you want to rest tomorrow? I was calling about our plans.

“Tomorrow?”

Now that he thought about it, Kim Daon had sent him a message asking to meet on Saturday.

He had completely forgotten about it while being preoccupied with Yoon Noah.

“Ah… is it already Saturday tomorrow?”

—What the—seriously, what’s wrong with you? Don’t tell me Yoon Noah is bothering you again?

At that, he let out a small chuckle.

For someone who had suffered the most at Yoon Noah’s hands, it was amusing to see Kim Daon worried about him instead.

Seo Dowoong liked that about him—the way he had a strong heart despite his delicate appearance.

For someone so much smaller than him, he never backed down from a fight, and yet here he was, worried about him.

…A pissed-off hamster?

That was the image that came to mind when he thought of Kim Daon.

As he focused on Daon’s cuteness, the unpleasant feelings caused by Yoon Noah gradually faded.

Seo Dowoong slowly regained his composure.

“I’m fine. More importantly, what about you? Yoon Noah isn’t bothering you, is he?”

—Oh, right. It’s been weirdly quiet lately. Did something happen to Yoon Noah?

“…No. Maybe he’s finally growing up.”

—Really? Still, I should ask next time. Who knows? He might just be plotting something even worse while staying quiet.

“Do whatever you want.”

There was no need to tell Kim Daon that Yoon Noah was terminally ill.

Saying so would mean admitting that he had gone as far as to investigate him.

And he couldn’t possibly confess to digging into another person’s life just because they had been on his mind.

—Anyway, let’s decide where to meet on Saturday.

“Yeah.”

Kim Daon eagerly rambled about all the places he wanted to go.

Seo Dowoong listened idly, responding here and there—his voice relaxed, almost as if he were listening to music rather than a conversation.

At the same time, he calculated when he should finally confess.

They both had somewhat acknowledged their feelings for each other, but they weren’t officially dating.

Every time Seo Dowoong had tried to confess, Yoon Noah had gotten in the way.

He wasn’t sure how Noah always knew, but every time he and Kim Daon met in private, Noah would show up uninvited and ruin the moment.

It even led to ridiculous situations where the three of them ended up spending time together—a completely absurd dynamic.

But this time, things might be different.

Would Yoon Noah still show up out of nowhere this Saturday and stop him from confessing?

If it were the Noah of a few days ago, then probably.

But the Noah who had ignored him completely for days?

Probably not.

‘Then this Saturday will be the perfect time to confess.’

—Dowoong! Let’s meet at ‘Radena’ on Saturday evening, then.

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

After setting the time and place for Saturday, Seo Dowoong ended the call.

He lowered his phone onto the table.

Then, without thinking, he checked his chat with Yoon Noah.

It was still empty.

There were no new messages.

Staring at the silent chat window, his mood sank again.

His previously firm determination to confess to Kim Daon cracked slightly.

And yet, he couldn’t explain why.

There was no logical reason for this strange unease.

---

Saturday evening arrived—the night of his meeting with Lee Kangil.

Nahyuk took one last look at his reflection in the mirror.

Instead of the usual flashy, attention-grabbing style that Yoon Noah preferred, he saw a more subdued, well-dressed man.

A simple white shirt tucked into gray slacks—one of the modest outfits he had personally picked out from the department store a few days ago.

Fidgeting with his hair, Nahyuk felt slightly awkward.

The light brown color of his dyed hair didn’t quite match the neat clothes he was wearing.

For a brief moment, he considered dyeing it back to black, just like his original self.

But in the end, he left it as it was.

Back in his real life, he had never had the courage to dye his hair.

Having grown up under strict parents, he had never even considered it.

Now that he was in Yoon Noah’s body, he figured he might as well enjoy the small freedoms it allowed him.

“Alright, time to go.”

Taking a deep breath, Nahyuk stepped out of his home and hailed a taxi.

Although several luxury cars were parked in the basement garage, he had never once driven since waking up in Yoon Noah’s body.

Even with brand-new foreign cars at his disposal, he hadn’t even bothered to inspect them.

His driving skills were nonexistent, and he had no intention of risking his life behind the wheel.

This was his second chance at life, and he wanted to live it well.

To do that, he needed to hear from Kangil about how the clinical trials had ended.

Worst-case scenario, even if the results were bad, he was still determined to take the experimental drug.

“It’s better to try something than to just die.”

As the taxi sped through the never-sleeping city, Nahyuk glanced out the window at the dazzling neon lights.

A few days ago, Kangil had messaged him the meeting location.

‘Radena.’

A members-only club.

That was where he was headed.