IPSTDS Chapter 13

Chapter 13

「Seo Dowoong leaned against the doorway, looking down at Yoon Noah with an icy gaze.

There wasn’t a trace of warmth in his eyes, and that made Yoon Noah feel even more miserable.

“What kind of bullshit are you here to pull this time?”

Dowoong didn’t even bother letting him inside. He outright rejected him at the door.

But Noah wasn’t deterred by the fact that he wasn’t allowed in. He had come to confess his situation.

If Dowoong knew the truth, maybe he’d let him in. Maybe—just maybe—he’d look at him with a bit of warmth.

“Woon-ah. They say I have a terminal illness. What am I supposed to do if I really die? I won’t ask you to love me, just… can’t you treat me a little bit kindly? We used to be good friends.”

Yoon Noah hated speaking gently.

He hated it because people looked down on him when he did.

And yet, he let himself be weak in front of Seo Dowoong.

A desperate part of him wanted Dowoong to see his vulnerability.

But all he got in response was a sigh.

“Haa.”

“Woon-ah…?”

“Is ‘terminally ill’ your concept this time? Do you think I’d love you if you told me you were dying?”

“……”

“First, you pretended to have amnesia and started speaking formally. Then you acted like you were injured. You latch onto whatever weird concept you think will work… How about you stop watching so many dramas?”

Yoon Noah stayed silent.

He wanted to argue, but he couldn’t deny it. He really had tried different “concepts” to earn Seo Dowoong’s sympathy.

Once, he faked a car accident. Another time, he mixed casual and formal speech to seem like a completely different person.

At first, Dowoong would get annoyed but still believed him. Sometimes, he even played along.

But at some point, Dowoong stopped responding.

Even when Noah claimed to have been in an accident, he didn’t show up.

And when Noah said something ridiculous, Dowoong acted like he hadn’t heard a thing.

He had become the boy who cried wolf.

Yoon Noah thought bitterly that he was now facing the same fate as that foolish shepherd boy.

If he hadn’t lied so many times in the past, would Seo Dowoong have believed him now?

“Noah. Since we were friends once, I’ll be honest with you. This is pathetic.”

“Woon-ah, this time it’s real. Please, believe me.”

“Shut up.”

“……”

“Even if it is true, nothing changes. If you drop dead, I’ll send a generous condolence payment.”

“……”

“But I won’t be attending. I’m busy.”

With that, Seo Dowoong stepped inside his house.

Bang!

The front door slammed shut, the sound echoing in Yoon Noah’s ears like an unrelenting ringing.

His legs gave out, and he sank to the ground.

Transparent tears trickled down his face.

Tears he had always swallowed back for fear of looking weak in front of others now poured out uncontrollably.

Would there ever be a day when Seo Dowoong believed his words again?

If only he could believe him even half as much as he believed Kim Daon.

A memory from the past surfaced.

The day Seo Dowoong came to trust Kim Daon.

“Woon-ah. That time… The person who helped you wasn’t Kim Daon. It was me.”

Back in high school, Yoon Noah had once helped Seo Dowoong. But Dowoong had firmly believed it was Kim Daon.

“I know I forced my love onto you, but my feelings were always real.”

His confession, unheard by anyone, faded into the empty air.

Yoon Noah sat there for a long time, weeping.

A small part of him wished that Seo Dowoong would return and wipe his tears away.

But, of course, that never happened.」

“Fuck…”

Nahyuk cursed under his breath before he even realized it.

“That bastard Seo Dowoong is such a piece of shit.”

Maybe it was the aftereffects of being possessed by Yoon Noah’s body, but he found himself completely sympathizing with the character.

At some point, tears had welled up in his eyes and were now rolling down his cheeks.

Feeling pathetic for crying over a novel, Nahyuk instinctively opened the comment section.

He was curious—did other readers also feel bad for Yoon Noah? Did they also see Seo Dowoong as the asshole he was?

His gaze swept over the already posted comments.

⌞Yoon Noah… Did he repent because he’s afraid of divine punishment? LOL⌝

⌞Tbh, the wildcat kidnapped Kim Daon and did way too much fucked-up shit, so it kinda feels like karma, but… today’s chapter was kinda sad.⌝

⌞I still think Yoon Noah deserves to die… haha… ㅠㅠ Anyway, great chapter as always, author!!⌝

⌞So, no Daon today? (ㅇㅅㅇ)⌝

⌞Wait, what’s this high school thing?? Did I miss something?? Someone explain in the replies pls.⌝

Nahyuk sighed as he scrolled through the comments.

Even now, most people weren’t siding with Yoon Noah.

Even now, Seo Dowoong remained the untouchable, golden protagonist.

And even now, Kim Daon was the one everyone was waiting for.

“…Fucking hell.”

This was seriously pissing him off.

The readers’ reactions were colder than ice.

There were a few comments expressing pity for Yoon Noah, but no one seemed as devastated as Nahyuk felt.

As he read through the comments, he found it strange that he could even see them. It made everything feel less like a novel and more like he had somehow stepped into a parallel world.

And there was something else that kept bothering him.

“I don’t remember anything about their high school days either… I don’t think the novel ever mentioned it.”

It was the past of the novel’s main characters.

The original story had only hinted at events from their past, but never in detail.

“All I remember is that Seo Dowoong and Yoon Noah were classmates, and Kim Daon was a year below them… right?”

There were a few instances where the novel mentioned that Seo Dowoong had received “some kind of help” from Kim Daon.

But it had never explained what that help actually was.

And now, it seemed like that help was actually connected to Yoon Noah. That would explain why novel-Noah was so frustrated.

“…But why the hell do I feel frustrated too?”

No, frustration wasn’t the only emotion.

His chest felt tight, and his throat ached as if something large and sharp was stuck there.

He knew exactly what this feeling was.

It was anger. Raw, boiling rage.

Seo Dowoong’s cruel words to Yoon Noah had set him off.

‘Yoon Noah… are you seriously the one making me angry right now?’

Nahyuk thought the question in his head, but of course, there was no answer.

Yoon Noah’s soul was long gone.

With a heavy sigh, Nahyuk tossed his blinking phone onto the pillow beside him and rubbed the dried tears from his eyes.

This had nothing to do with him.

And yet, the events of Chapter 72 refused to leave his mind.

‘Even if it’s true, nothing changes. If you drop dead, I’ll send a generous condolence payment.’

‘…….’

‘But I won’t be attending. I’m busy.’

Those words burned themselves into his thoughts, echoing like a relentless curse.

Nahyuk clenched his jaw.

Seo Dowoong was a fucking bastard.

How much condolence money do the richest people even give? If he demanded enough to ruin them, would they actually pay?

Nahyuk’s favorite character was definitely Kim Daon, but right now, he couldn’t help but feel miserable for Yoon Noah.

That didn’t mean he wanted Yoon Noah to end up with Seo Dowoong. Not at all.

He just wanted Yoon Noah’s illness to be cured so he could meet someone—anyone else.

Someone who wouldn’t spit cruel words at a person standing at death’s door.

Someone who would truly love Yoon Noah. Who would stand by him even when the entire world pointed fingers at him.

There had to be at least one person like that in this world.

Even for someone as wild and reckless as Yoon Noah.

Just then, the phone beside him vibrated.

When Nahyuk checked the caller ID, his face twisted in disbelief.

“Dowoong♥”

Fucking Heart-Woong.

They say tigers appear when you speak of them—apparently, Seo Dowoong wasn’t any different.

Nahyuk had no idea why a man who normally didn’t give a damn about Yoon Noah was suddenly calling.

Come to think of it, Seo Dowoong had also called the day before, when Nahyuk had entered a hotel room with Lee Kangil.

Hadn’t he even texted him to come to the parking lot back then?

Nahyuk had dismissed it at the time, barely giving it a second thought.

‘Why’s he calling today? He’s definitely not checking in to see if I’m okay.’

Instead of avoiding the call, Nahyuk answered without hesitation.

“Yes.”

There was no greeting, just a blunt response.

Seo Dowoong said nothing.

“Dowoong. Answer.”

Maybe that was too curt.

A twinge of regret hit him, but the anger churning in his chest refused to let him soften his words.

Then, unexpectedly, Seo Dowoong responded.

• …How’s your condition?

“Oh, I nearly died. But thanks to a certain someone, I managed to survive.”

• You mean that ridiculous bet?

Damn Heart-Woong. So he knew about his bet with Lee Kangil.

If Kangil had confessed to it while Nahyuk was unconscious, that would explain it.

Maybe Seo Dowoong was pissed off, thinking he’d been made a fool of.

“Well, yeah. I don’t know how much more of the drug I can get, but for now, I think I’ll stay alive a bit longer.”

Nahyuk figured he’d have to talk to Kangil later about securing more of the experimental drug.

Until his illness showed signs of real improvement, he needed that medicine.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, Yoon Noah resurfaced in his head.

“Oh, right. Dowoong, you’d rather I die, wouldn’t you? How much were you planning to give for condolence money? You wouldn’t come to my funeral since you’d be too busy, right?”

The words slipped out like a whip, sharp and laced with venom.

Nahyuk startled himself. He had never been the type to lash out at people. He was blunt, yes, but not cruel.

But the words were already out there, impossible to take back.

So he waited for Seo Dowoong’s response.

What came was something unexpected.

• I’m here.

“…What?”

• At your hospital room.

“…Excuse me?”

Just as Nahyuk repeated his disbelief, the private hospital room door swung open.

A man stepped in, his expression unreadable.

Lowering the phone from his ear, Seo Dowoong whispered in a low, indifferent voice.

“Since you’re not dead yet, condolence money is out of the question.”

Fucking Heart-Woong.

Nahyuk was so shocked he dropped his phone.