IPSTDS Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Seo Dowoong stared at Yoon Noah, whose face had gone completely pale—as if he had just seen a ghost.

Was this really such an unwelcome sight?

He wasn’t expecting a warm welcome, but the way Noah looked absolutely terrified was… unpleasant.

He had taken time out of his busy schedule to come all the way to the hospital, yet this was the reaction he got?

Frankly, Yoon Noah should have been rushing out to greet him—not looking like he had seen death itself.

‘I shouldn’t have come.’

Dowoong briefly regretted his decision.

But no matter how much he tried to push the thought away, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about last night—when Noah collapsed at La Dena.

For all his dramatics, Yoon Noah had never shown genuine weakness before.

Because, to him, showing vulnerability was equivalent to defeat.

But last night…

Noah had collapsed, wheezing for breath like a man on the verge of death.

Right after sitting on his lap, acting all coy.

It had been jarring.

He had always assumed that even if Yoon Noah dropped dead, he wouldn’t bat an eye.

Yet, when it actually happened, it left him… strangely shaken.

Was it because Noah had been acting so different lately?

Was that why it bothered him?

Was that why he had reacted so strongly last night, snapping at Lee Kangil like that?

‘Lee Kangil… Is he really dying?’

Dowoong hadn’t even figured out what the hell this suffocating feeling inside him was—

And now, Noah was just going to die on him like that?

That night, he had completely forgotten about the grand confession he had planned for Kim Daon.

Instead, he had ended up holding a lifeless Yoon Noah in his arms.

‘Fuck. If you’re going to die, do it somewhere I don’t have to see it. This is pissing me off.’

And in that moment of frustration, he had lightly slapped Noah’s soft cheek.

‘I’m warning you—wake the hell up while I’m still being nice about it.’

But Yoon Noah, already unconscious, had given no response.

‘D-Dowoong. We need to call an ambulance first!’

Thankfully, Kim Daon was still in his right mind and calmly called for an ambulance.

Even Lee Kangil, who had been merely watching from the sidelines, finally moved closer to check on Yoon Noah.

For a brief moment, Dowoong caught sight of Kangil’s expression—he looked… anxious.

Anxious?

Since when did Kangil care about anything outside of his research?

The guy had never given a damn about who lived or died, so why was he so tense now?

Had Kangil and Yoon Noah grown closer than he thought?

The very notion sent a cold chill through Dowoong’s gaze.

And then, like a switch being flipped, the pieces started clicking together.

Kangil and Noah… had entered a hotel room together.

The image resurfaced—the sight of Noah walking into that hotel with Kangil, right in front of his eyes.

And the fact that Yoon Noah had ignored his call that night.

He had fully expected Noah to come running to him—and yet, he hadn’t.

And now?

Now Noah had collapsed in front of Kangil, of all people.

The more he thought about it, the more it all felt like Kangil’s fault.

A reckless, irrational conclusion—yet one that felt all too natural in the moment.

‘Lee Kangil. This is your doing, isn’t it?’

Without another word, Seo Dowoong grabbed Kangil by the collar and shoved him back.

If he didn’t take it out on Kangil, he wouldn’t be able to stand it.

‘What the fuck did you do?’

Kangil’s eyes flickered with amusement, despite the grip tightening around his throat.

‘Do? To what exactly?’

‘Yoon Noah suddenly changing. You just happening to run into him at Redena. All of it.’

Kangil tilted his head, unconcerned.

‘I won’t say I had no hand in it… but in the end, Noah chose to change on his own. I didn’t force him.’

Dowoong said nothing.

‘But what I don’t get is… why the hell you’re so mad about it, Dowoong?’

Kangil smirked.

‘Does it even matter to you if Noah changes?’

Dowoong gritted his teeth.

‘It doesn’t.’

And yet—his grip never loosened.

Right.

This had nothing to do with him.

He and Yoon Noah weren’t even friends.

But Seo Dowoong still had something to say.

‘It doesn’t. But if that’s the case, then stop hovering in front of me. Why the hell do you act like you’re about to drop dead every time I see you?’

Why did Noah keep making him care?

He threw the question like an accusation, but the answer he got in return was so absurd, it left him speechless.

‘He has a terminal illness. Isn’t he allowed to drop dead anywhere, anytime?’

‘Lee Kangil….’

‘Dowoong. Let it go.’

If Kim Daon hadn’t stepped in, sensing the growing tension, Dowoong might have actually thrown a punch.

Instead, he had watched in a daze as Noah was loaded into the ambulance, before dragging himself back to his apartment, his mind a mess.

And now, sitting submerged in his bathtub, he found himself baffled.

The hell was that?

He had almost fought Kangil over Yoon Noah?

That was straight-up a lovers’ quarrel.

And right in front of Kim Daon, too.

…Shit. What if Daon misunderstood?

Seo Dowoong worried about Daon—yet at the same time, he couldn’t stop thinking about what happened to Noah.

So today, here he was, standing in Yoon Noah’s hospital room.

Visiting him.

Even keeping it a secret from Kim Daon.

What the actual fuck.

And yet, after all that effort, the first thing Noah says to him?

“How much condolence money will you give me if I die?”

Yoon Noah had completely lost his mind.

Dowoong clicked his tongue.

“How much do you want? Consider it an advance payment.”

If Noah was crazy enough to ask, then fine—he’d hear him out.

He had grown up with more money than he knew what to do with.

Giving money to people was no different from tossing scraps to a stray dog.

And Noah?

Noah had been his dog for years.

If he filled the empty bowl with enough food, maybe Noah would wag his tail again.

But Noah just stared at him, completely dumbfounded, before belatedly responding.

“How much… can you give?”

Dowoong’s brows twitched.

“First of all, cut the formal speech. I don’t know what bullshit you heard from Kangil, but I don’t want to hear you talking like that. It’s disgusting.”

Was Noah trying to act distant to catch his interest?

Or was this another ridiculous attempt at standing out?

Whatever the reason, hearing Noah speak so politely after knowing him for over a decade was nothing short of unnerving.

Thankfully, Noah dropped it quickly.

“Fine. Then, how much can you give?”

And then, he smiled.

A pretty smile.

Like he was actually enjoying this.

Like he had completely misunderstood something.

Like he thought—for even a second—that Dowoong was going to be kind to him.

Or worse—that he had finally won him over.

Dowoong chuckled.

“Yoon Noah… Ha. Of course.”

This was exactly what he expected.

So all that drama—all those ridiculous stunts—

Were just to get his attention, huh?

Dowoong exhaled a sharp laugh.

When he closed his eyes and reopened them, any trace of warmth had completely vanished.

His gaze turned frigid.

“You’re fucking pathetic.”

---

Nahyuk knew that Seo Dowoong spent money like water.

In the novel, Seo Dowoong never checked the price tag whenever he bought gifts for Kim Daon.

Kim Daon even scolded Seo Dowoong, telling him to stop recklessly buying things.

And Seo Dowoong would always answer like this.

‘What’s mine is yours, so what’s the problem?’

Seo Dowoong was cold or indifferent to others, but when it came to Kim Daon, he was nothing but gentle.

Even when Kim Daon snapped at him with a “Don’t be ridiculous”, his heart still raced.

Anyway, reading their romance in the novel, Nahyuk liked Daon’s cynicism and envied Dowoong’s wealth.

And now, that very same Seo Dowoong was offering to spend money on him.

Was there any reason to refuse?

“How much do you want? Think of it as an advance on your condolence money.”

Let’s see. Let’s see. What’s a good number?

If he were acting as his usual self, he wouldn’t have asked Seo Dowoong for anything.

But the anger he felt toward Dowoong’s treatment of Noah in the novel hadn’t cooled down yet.

So since the opportunity presented itself, why not go big?

After all, Seo Dowoong wouldn’t hesitate to give away large sums of money. He wasn’t called the Crown Prince of the hotel industry for nothing.

“How much… can you give?”

“First, drop the formal speech. I don’t want to hear you acting like that anymore. It’s annoying as hell.”

“How much can you give?”

If speaking informally would get him money, then fine. It wasn’t hard to do.

Maybe he had already adapted enough to being Yoon Noah that casual speech slipped out naturally.

But the response that came back wasn’t a number—it was criticism.

“You’re fucking pathetic.”

Was being money-hungry really that disgusting to him?

“But you’re the one who offered first, Woon-ah. Why am I pathetic?”

“…Woon-ah?”

Ah—he had slipped.

After reading the novel for so long, he had subconsciously used the same way he always referred to the characters—Woon-ah, Daon-ah, Noah, Kangil…

“If you don’t like it, I won’t call you that. Dowoong-ah.”

“Use my full name.”

“Fine. Seo Dowoong-ah.”

Was it really necessary to be this petty over a name?

The air in the hospital room suddenly felt heavier.

The one making the air so stifling, Seo Dowoong, finally spoke.

“Let’s go over this.”

What was he going to go over?

Nahyuk didn’t ask and instead focused on his lips.

“First, I acknowledge that you have a terminal illness. It doesn’t seem like you faked collapsing.”

“Yeah.”

“But everything else—I now know it was all an act.”

“Huh?”

“You did it to get my attention. And to interfere with me and Daon.”

“No, that’s a real misunderstanding. I don’t like you anymore—”

“…….”

No, I really don’t like you.

That’s what he wanted to say.

But it felt like a thorn had lodged itself in his throat, stopping the words from coming out.

He had every intention of saying it, but his body refused.

It was weird.

The same kind of weird as when he had felt furious after reading the novel.

Almost as if Yoon Noah’s body was angry on its own back then.

Like his heart itself was rejecting the idea of telling Seo Dowoong that he no longer loved him.

As if this body still claimed to love Seo Dowoong.

His mouth tasted bitter.

‘Yoon Noah, you’re being ridiculously pathetic right now.’

How much did Noah love Seo Dowoong for this to be his reality?

Even after being treated like this, even with his body possessed by someone else, he still couldn’t let go?

While Nahyuk was lost in thought, Seo Dowoong spoke again, as if he had already come to a conclusion.

“Let’s stop this.”