IPSTDS Chapter 27

Chapter 27

“And you—because of your parents, you’d never cause a major incident. You think I don’t know that?”

Under Lee Kangil’s pressing, Nahyuk nodded. What he said was exactly why Yoon Noah never caused a serious scandal.

Yoon Noah lived his life toeing the line just enough to avoid dragging his family name through public disgrace. If he caused a major uproar, they would’ve erased him from the family registry for good.

“You, of all people, masterminding a murder? That’s absurd.”

His character analysis is more accurate than mine, and I read the whole novel.

Nahyuk looked at Kangil with renewed appreciation.

“But why was Kim Daon there? Weren’t you supposed to be meeting Seo Dowoong?”

To Nahyuk, it was a confusing question.

“Huh? You’re the one who told me to go kiss my favorite character at the designated spot… So I arranged to meet Daon there.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

A few confused exchanges passed between them.

As expected from someone perceptive, Kangil quickly put the pieces together.

“Don’t tell me… Your favorite character isn’t Seo Dowoong but Kim Daon?”

“Yeah… I’m rooting for Daon.”

That’s when Nahyuk realized there’d been a small misunderstanding between them.

Apparently, Kangil had assumed Nahyuk wanted to kiss Seo Dowoong. Which was absurd.

“Haa…”

Kangil let out a deep sigh, as though he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Running a rough hand through his hair, he wore the expression of someone trying to process something baffling.

“I really don’t get what goes on in your head.”

Nahyuk figured he might as well put Kangil’s doubts to rest.

“It’s simple. I don’t like Seo Dowoong anymore. So there’s no way he could still be my favorite.”

Saying it still wasn’t easy. It felt rough in his throat, like a thorn stuck deep.

Even so, Nahyuk said it to the end.

It wasn’t just something he wanted Kangil to hear—it was something he wanted to say to Yoon Noah’s body too. He wanted this body to know that, now that he was in it, there was no way he’d love Seo Dowoong.

“I can’t believe it. Don’t tell me you’re planning to like Kim Daon instead of Seo Dowoong?”

Kangil’s thoughts seemed to veer in a weird direction. Nahyuk quickly corrected him.

“No. What I feel for Daon is admiration. I don’t want to be his lover or anything. You could think of it like the affection an older brother feels for a younger one.”

“What kind of nonsense is that? Either you like someone, or you don’t.”

“Don’t you have a sibling or someone you care about like that?”

“Sorry to disappoint, but I’m an only child.”

“Well, either way, it’s not what you’re thinking.”

Kangil still looked puzzled, like someone who couldn’t understand relationships beyond romantic or sexual attraction.

So Nahyuk changed the subject.

“By the way, how did you find out what happened to me so quickly?”

Kangil, now frowning from confusion, countered with a question of his own.

“Why wouldn’t I know?”

“Huh?”

“I told you—I was going to save you.”

“But that was about the experimental drug, wasn’t it?”

“You really don’t know me at all.”

“…”

“I think I need to know everything about you. Otherwise, how could I save you?”

“…”

“You need to understand what I meant when I said I’d save someone.”

There was no trace of hesitation in his voice. The conviction was clear—if he decided to save someone, he’d do it, no matter what.

His fingers, which had been playing with Nahyuk’s hospital gown, slowly reached out and tangled their pinkies together.

The warmth that spread from that single point of contact heated his whole body. It was only a pinky touch, yet his heart pounded wildly.

“If you still don’t get it, I’ll say it one last time.”

“…”

“No matter who you love, I won’t let you die. I’ve made up my mind.”

The words, spoken like a promise, left Nahyuk’s mouth dry. His ears echoed with the booming thump of his heart.

That vow not to let him die sounded like the most romantic confession. It was the same feeling he had the day before when Kangil had first said he’d save him.

Maybe he was more sensitive to those words because of how badly he wanted to live.

“You’re kinda cool right now.”

It was an honest feeling.

He looked far more attractive when he was determined and passionate than when he acted like a madman spewing nonsense.

If he really set his mind to it, he could probably seduce just about anyone—especially the sick or vulnerable.

At that moment, Nahyuk suddenly wondered:

‘I really don’t get it. Why does a man who seems to lack nothing want to beat Seo Dowoong?’

Kangil was handsome in a completely different way than Seo Dowoong, taller, a recognized genius in his field, and his family was in no way inferior—with his father being the hospital director.

And his scent—how could he always smell so good?

He looked like the type to be holed up in a lab, reeking of testosterone and exhaustion, but he always gave off a clean, subtle scent.

Not artificial like perfume, but more like the natural smell of skin.

Now that he thought about it, Kangil really lacked nothing.

“You’re cooler than Seo Dowoong.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. And yet you still want to beat him, don’t you?”

He phrased it gently, avoiding words like “inferiority complex” that might provoke Kangil, like what happened in Radena.

“It’d be nice to win. I like competition.”

The softened approach worked. Kangil didn’t get angry and answered plainly.

“To be honest, while I was lying there sick, getting accused of orchestrating a murder by Seo Dowoong made me seriously start to hate the guy.”

“So?”

“So, we agreed that if I prove I didn’t plan the accident, Dowoong will apologize to me.”

“That’s a good move.”

Nahyuk didn’t know why Kangil had this complex or desire to compete with Seo Dowoong. Maybe it stemmed from something incredibly minor.

Unless Kangil told him directly, he’d never know.

So he decided to set aside what he couldn’t figure out, and focus on what he could use.

Nahyuk’s eyes sparkled like stars in the night sky as he looked at Kangil.

“I’ll make it happen. I’ll make Dowoong kneel before you.”

“You…? How?”

“Have you forgotten? I’m the one and only Yoon Noah. I’ve got this.”

Kangil’s face twisted in a strange way—not out of irritation, but as if he were holding back laughter.

Not a sneer, but genuine amusement at the situation.

“In exchange, give me the drug—no bets or games. Let’s just say we’re making a deal.”

There’s a saying: a common enemy makes for strong allies.

Nahyuk had no doubt this proposal would tempt Kangil. He was confident—more than ever since becoming Yoon Noah.

Before long, a picturesque smile bloomed on Kangil’s face.

Seeing that smile, Nahyuk felt triumphant. He was certain he had won Kangil over.

Sure enough, that smiling mouth curved into a graceful arc.

“That proposal…”

“…”

“I like it.”

The low whisper sent chills down his spine.

The deep voice, perfectly matching his sharp, fierce gaze, resonated darkly through the room.

---

Back in his lab, Lee Kangil couldn’t focus on his research. He twirled the pen in his hand absentmindedly before finally setting it down on the desk.

“That’s enough for today.”

Ever since he returned from seeing Yoon Noah, his mind had been too cluttered to work. Kangil stretched out on the long sofa in the lab.

As he blinked slowly, the image of Yoon Noah in the hospital room floated vividly in his mind.

‘He looked different today.’

Every time he saw Yoon Noah, it felt like he had changed a little more.

The arrogant demeanor from that banquet long ago had completely vanished, replaced by a sort of quiet desolation that made it hard to leave him alone.

No, it wasn’t just that he seemed pitiful. Even while trembling, Yoon Noah still spoke his mind clearly.

He had resolve. That part was still very much like the old Yoon Noah…

‘But there’s something oddly different about him—and I find it interesting.’

Kangil couldn’t deny it.

The moment he heard that Yoon Noah had been hospitalized at his father’s hospital, he’d been genuinely shocked.

Had a fellow researcher who visited the hospital not mentioned it, it would’ve taken him days to find out.

‘That man who came looking for you the other day—I happened to see him admitted to the hospital.’

After hearing that, he rushed over to Yoon Noah’s room.

Just before going in, he gathered what information he could about Noah’s condition and what had happened to him.

‘No wonder… He didn’t show up to the café I told him about, even after the appointed time had passed.’

Instead of going himself, Kangil had sent someone to wait and see if they’d show up at the café.

When he finally entered the hospital room and confirmed with his own eyes that Noah was safe, the relief he felt was overwhelming—uncharacteristically so, for someone who’d never really been interested in people.

While talking to Yoon Noah, he also learned that Noah’s feelings had changed.

“He says he likes Kim Daon more now, and that he’s come to dislike Seo Dowoong…”

Kangil didn’t quite understand why his heart had changed, but part of him was curious about what kind of end this rapid shift would lead to.

What would happen now that Seo Dowoong seemed to care about Noah?

What would Kim Daon do, having been saved by him?

And what about himself, who had somehow gotten caught between the two?

“Then why am I not one of the options?”

If Noah was going to like someone other than Seo Dowoong, shouldn’t it be him instead of Kim Daon?

Kangil didn’t like that thought, yet there was something he did like.

‘You’re cooler than Seo Dowoong.’

That plain, unadorned compliment had really struck a chord with him.

“I want to visit the hospital again.”

A faint smile unknowingly formed on Lee Kangil’s lips.