IPSTDS Chapter 103

Chapter 103

Kangil couldn’t gauge just how much more he might come to like Yoon Noah. Just thinking of him now was enough to make his heart pound anew.

“Kim Daon, listen. I’m letting it slide now because of Noah. But once I start truly dating him, you won’t be hanging around him anymore. Got it?”

“You’d better be careful yourself, Mr. Lee.”

Daon answered boldly, a mocking smile on his lips.

He couldn’t exactly hit the brat, so Kangil forced a crooked smile onto his twisted face.

“Did you forget I’m older than you? You act so differently with me compared to how you treat Noah.”

“I’m holding back. I’d treat you a lot worse if I didn’t.”

This was no good. If they kept talking, he’d end up spitting curses.

Kangil rose to his feet, his eyes fixed on the door where Noah was sleeping.

It wasn’t the first time, but he was already looking forward to falling asleep next to him tonight. If only Daon weren’t around to ruin it.

Or maybe… maybe he should pull Noah into his arms right in front of Daon, just to prove a point.

Daon would be furious. And if he laughed in that angry face, how satisfying would that be?

“Anyway, I’ve said all I wanted. I’m off to bed. Come or don’t, up to you.”

He spoke lightly, with a hint of laughter, and took a step forward. But at that moment, Daon grabbed his arm.

“Wait.”

“What now? If it’s a dumb question, I’m not answering.”

But when Kangil looked down, Daon’s face was serious. He wasn’t about to bring up something trivial.

“You never answered my first question.”

“And what was that?”

“I asked what happened to Noah hyung. Tell me what conversation he had with Seo Dowoong. I’ll pretend I don’t know, I promise.”

“I don’t know the details. Noah wasn’t in good shape.”

“Why wasn’t he in good shape?”

Even asking that, Daon looked as if he had already guessed something. As though he had sensed that Seo Dowoong had done something terrible to Noah.

“Seo Dowoong must’ve forced a kiss on him.”

What would Daon feel, Kangil wondered, once he knew just how low Seo Dowoong could stoop?

Once he saw the ugly side of the man he had once considered dating seriously?

“…What?”

Daon looked as if he couldn’t believe it.

“A… kiss? Did I hear you right? Why would Seo Dowoong do that to him…?”

His face was the most shaken it had been all night, nearly panic-stricken, and it didn’t fade quickly.

He just moved his lips soundlessly, unable to say a word. For once, he didn’t seem to know how to respond.

It was unlike Daon, who always recovered his composure quickly no matter what.

Even though this was the reaction Kangil had wanted, seeing Daon so unsettled left him with a sour taste.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have said it.’

But it was already out, and besides, he figured it was only a matter of time before Daon learned the truth.

“As for why, I can’t tell you. Noah asked me not to.”

“…”

“I’ve given you your answer. That’s all I know. I’m really going now.”

With that, Kangil moved away, not asking, just declaring.

Daon didn’t stop him, didn’t follow, just sat frozen on the spot.

Alone now, Daon looked grave. Deep in thought, he had no mind to chase Kangil or demand more.

‘Why would Seo Dowoong kiss Noah hyung?’

Did he do it just to humiliate him further?

“…No.”

Daon shook his head faintly. That didn’t fit.

If Seo Dowoong wanted to make Noah miserable, he wouldn’t have kissed him. He would’ve stabbed at him with words like knives.

He was never the type who enjoyed physical affection anyway.

The reason had to come from Seo Dowoong or Noah himself. It wasn’t something Daon could just leave alone.

He pulled out his phone, intending to call Seo Dowoong.

And in that moment, a startling realization struck him.

‘…It’s only Noah I’m worried about.’

Whatever lingering fondness he’d had for Seo Dowoong was gone.

If Kangil was right, if Seo Dowoong really had forced that kiss and that was why Noah had looked so worn out today…

Then no matter the reason, Daon could never forgive him. Not only was his fondness gone, he might even come to despise him.

But Seo Dowoong refused to answer his calls.

By the third try, Daon gave up. It didn’t feel like he couldn’t pick up—it felt like he was choosing not to.

That evasiveness was proof enough that Kangil had told the truth.

Daon let out a long, heavy sigh.

It felt like everything had come crashing down on him at once.

Of course, it wasn’t Park Sangcheol that frightened him. Being outed? People gossiping about some ambiguous relationship with Seo Dowoong?

Conservative colleagues looking at him strangely? Getting fired?

If he’d been afraid of that, he never would have exchanged feelings with his own superior in the first place.

Even if he did lose his job, it didn’t matter. He believed he could always move to someplace better. He had worked hard for years with exactly that in mind.

And whatever he did, he believed he would succeed.

Daon had always had strong faith in himself, unshakable no matter the storm.

If anyone had something to fear, it was Seo Dowoong, with far more to lose.

What really tangled Daon’s mind was his feelings for Noah.

Ever since realizing he liked him, he had been unsure what to do. To Noah, he was probably nothing more than a younger brother.

Should he leave it at that, or should he try to make Noah his?

But after spending more time with him, after learning Kangil’s heart too, Daon felt he could finally decide.

I’ll make him mine.

It wasn’t hopeless. Noah flushed shyly at his every move.

The problem was that he ranked lower than Kangil in Noah’s heart.

That stung, and he couldn’t stand it. He needed to find a way to claim a larger share of Noah’s feelings.

And worse, Noah had admitted he liked Kangil.

Even if it wasn’t love, the way things were going between them was worrying.

‘I don’t have time.’

If he hesitated too long, the chance to confess would slip away.

Kangil was skilled at twisting people’s thoughts, at leading them wherever he pleased. Their innocent Noah could be swept away by such a snake.

Daon left a message for Seo Dowoong.

– I called about Park Sangcheol. Get back to me when you see this.

Three unanswered calls were enough.

Before Kangil could do anything strange to the sleeping Noah, Daon knew he had to go back to the room.

* * *

Waking from a long sleep, Nahyuk desperately wished that everything he had gone through the day before had been nothing but a dream. Park Sangcheol’s threats, Seo Dowoong’s strange behavior… he wanted all of it not to be real.

But the moment he saw the two men sleeping soundly on either side of him, he realized it hadn’t been a dream. If it were, he wouldn’t be sharing the same bed with Kim Daon and Lee Kangil.

Raising only his upper body, Nahyuk gazed at Kim Daon’s face for a long while.

He remembered Daon once saying that he often had nightmares.

Yet the face he looked at now was nothing but peaceful. Daon slept in a straight posture, his expression untroubled.

It was a relief to see he wasn’t having a bad dream.

Just then, Daon’s eyelids fluttered open. Had he sensed Nahyuk’s gaze and woken because of it?

When their eyes soon met, Nahyuk apologized.

“Sorry, did I wake you?”

Daon answered with a faint smile.

“No. I always wake up early anyway. I’m not much of a sleeper.”

Checking the clock belatedly, Nahyuk saw it was still a little early to be up.

Daon quietly sat up and whispered by Nahyuk’s ear.

“Let the sleepyhead rest more. Want to come out with me?”

Instead of answering, Nahyuk gave a small nod.

Kangil was a heavy sleeper. Once he fell asleep, he rarely stirred. And since he had worked late into the night all week, it was better to let him rest as much as he wanted.

So the two quietly left the room and settled onto the sofa in the second-floor living room.