IPSTDS Chapter 16

Chapter 16

No matter how far away he was, Kim Daon’s strange aura and enchanting face couldn’t be hidden.

Just then, another boy came running from a distance and stopped in front of us. The one who called out to him first was Yoon Noah.

“Class rep?”

The boy called class rep spoke with a rather serious expression.

“Dowoong. The homeroom teacher is looking for you urgently.”

“Why? I’m busy right now.”

“You’re skipping P.E. and hanging out with Yoon Noah……”

“So why is he calling me? The reason.”

“It’s because of Park Sangchul. He wants to ask if you really bullied him……”

The moment the name Park Sangchul was mentioned, Seo Dowoong’s face turned cold.

The bright, refreshing atmosphere that had suited the summer disappeared in an instant.

“Noah. You go back to the gym. I’ll go see the teacher and come later.”

Seo Dowoong gently brushed Yoon Noah’s hair once before standing up from the bench. After taking a few steps, he turned back to look at him.

“Don’t follow me. If you do, I won’t hang out with you anymore.”

“Dowoong……”

“Little loner Yoon Noah, go back quietly to the gym and attend your P.E. class.”

Seo Dowoong said lazily before turning around again.

This time, he didn’t look back once as he walked across the schoolyard and disappeared into the building.

And not long after, the beautiful schoolyard began to collapse. Kim Daon, who had been playing dodgeball, shattered into pieces.

All that was left was pitch-black darkness. And the voice that suddenly pulled Nahyuk out from that darkness into the light was—

“Meow.”

He opened his eyes to that unnaturally human-like meow.

And there he saw Lee Kangil, who was mid-sentence, about to mimic another cat sound, saying,

“Meeeoow…oww.”

“What are you doing right now?”

“Don’t wildcats meow?”

“I’m not an actual wildcat, and I’m not even sure real ones meow like that.”

Lee Kangil, who had been quietly looking down at him lying in bed, looked a bit awkward. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he locked eyes with Nahyuk.

“Seeing how your mouth’s working, looks like you’re actually feeling alive.”

“Thanks to you.”

“Anything hurt?”

Nahyuk focused quietly on his body. Fingertips, toes, head, and heart. Not a single spot hurt.

His body felt perfectly fine. If anything, all that sleep had made him feel even better than before.

Having finished checking his condition, Nahyuk sat up and leaned against the headboard. Then he glanced briefly around.

The place he woke up in was now a familiar one—Yoon Noah’s room.

The beautiful schoolyard, the refreshing Seo Dowoong, and Kim Daon, the dodgeball ace, were all gone.

Nahyuk was honestly a little disappointed to be back in reality.

‘I wanted to see a little more of what happened back then.’

Would he be able to dream the rest next time?

“Didn’t I ask if anything hurts?”

Lee Kangil, tired of waiting for an answer, pushed again. Only then did Nahyuk finally confess his state.

“Nope. Nothing hurts.”

“Guess you’ve got a body that takes well to medicine.”

“Looks like I’ll live, then.”

“Yeah, no. That’s completely off the mark.”

“……”

“Haha. Not funny? I spent three days coming up with that pun.”

You spent three days on that…?

He must’ve been overwhelmed with work lately. Something seemed a little… off about Lee Kangil’s head.

Nahyuk looked at him with a pitiful gaze. Where had that dangerous, alluring charm gone from the first day they met?

Why was there now a mad scientist making weird jokes standing in front of him?

Even the dark circles under Kangil’s eyes seemed deeper than before. If anything, he looked more like the sick one than Nahyuk did.

“Wildcat. Laugh. I don’t want to be the only one laughing.”

“Ha. Ha. Ha.”

“Wow, you’re really the worst.”

‘You’re really the worst.’

It was exactly the same line Nahyuk had just heard from Seo Dowoong not long ago.

Word for word—he said it just like him. Maybe the two of them really were friends.

“Um… Dowoong said that to me too.”

Usually, Lee Kangil would get all twitchy like someone who hadn’t gotten their money back when Dowoong was mentioned, but this time he stayed quiet.

“Ah. I heard you went to the hospital. That hospital belongs to my family, you know.”

“Aren’t you curious why I was there?”

“Not at all. Because plenty of people saw Seo Dowoong’s angry face that day. He probably went off on you.”

“Correct.”

“All in the palm of my hand.”

“Well, it wasn’t just him going off. We decided to drop honorifics.”

“…Wait. You’re dropping the whole polite speech thing now?”

Nahyuk nodded.

Since he didn’t expect to get entangled with Seo Dowoong again, there was no need to pretend to be Yoon Noah. He’d been speaking formally as if addressing a stranger.

But even if he dropped the honorifics, it wouldn’t change anything. Nahyuk still had no intention of pretending to be Noah.

“Then drop them with me too.”

“Right, we’re the same age, huh?”

“Don’t act like you just remembered. And quit with the polite talk while I’m still being nice.”

“…Yes—I mean, yeah.”

Why did Kangil hate losing to Seo Dowoong so much?

If Dowoong kissed him, Nahyuk felt like Kangil would kiss him back just out of spite. Not that Dowoong was going to kiss him, obviously.

“Hey, Kangil. Or, I guess… Kangil-ah.”

“Ooh, that sounds way better.”

“You didn’t go to the same high school as me and Dowoong, right?”

“Right. I went somewhere way more prestigious. You’ve heard of it—Hanguk High School…”

Kangil started rambling excitedly about how amazing his school was—better than science academies, how many prodigies graduated from there, and so on.

Nahyuk half-listened, occasionally throwing in little reactions at the right moments.

The only important part was that Kangil had gone to a different school. He wouldn’t know all the details of what had happened between high schooler Yoon Noah, Seo Dowoong, and Kim Daon.

That fact felt disappointingly significant.

“You’re not really listening, are you? Guess the new drug changed you. Weren’t you the one bawling your eyes out and begging me before?”

“Want me to cry now?”

“Why are you so shameless? I feel totally duped. You were just pretending to be all meek for a while, huh?”

Kangil shook his head like he couldn’t believe it. Anyone watching would think Nahyuk had been hiding some huge secret.

But Nahyuk knew it was just Kangil messing around, so he didn’t mind. He simply got to the point.

“Anyway, about the drug… are you going to keep giving it to me now, no more games or anything?”

“Hmm.”

Kangil’s eyes—narrow and intense, like those of someone with a three-sclera—sharpened.

That wasn’t a good sign, Nahyuk thought. He had a bad feeling Kangil was about to ask for something again.

And, of course, a playful smile spread across Kangil’s face.

“Let’s play a bit more, wildcat. Wouldn’t it be such a waste to give it to you with no strings attached?”

“……”

“Of course, you’ll still pay the full price for the meds.”

Poor original Yoon Noah. Nahyuk figured he’d have to check Noah’s bank account soon to cover the cost.

It probably wouldn’t come to this, but worst case, he could sell one of the imported cars in the garage of this house. Just one of them would probably go for enough to buy a house.

Still, what was Kangil going to make him do this time? Hopefully, nothing involving Seo Dowoong.

If they were going to “play” anyway… Nahyuk wouldn’t mind if it was the spicy kind. Something they hadn’t gotten to do last time.

Who knew when he’d get another chance to kiss a mad scientist?

“So what now? You gonna make me do lewd stuff or something…?”

Nahyuk’s voice trailed off as he remembered how close they’d gotten that night—how he could feel Kangil’s breath right in front of his nose.

Even with the dark circles, Kangil’s lips had been so soft. Just thinking about that feeling again made his face heat up.

If they kissed again and shared each other’s breath like animals… what would that feel like?

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t curious. And then Kangil, oblivious to everything Nahyuk was thinking, answered flatly:

“I’ll think about it.”

“……”

“Hey. Don’t worry though.”

Kangil let out a soft chuckle and ruffled Nahyuk’s hair gently—just like Dowoong had done in that dream.

Smiling like a prince from a painting, Kangil said as if making a vow:

“I’ve decided not to kill you.”

He said he wouldn’t kill him.

“I don’t know about anything else, but I’ll save you. No matter what.”

He said he’d save him—no matter what.

For someone like Nahyuk, who couldn’t see even an inch ahead into the future, those words were more touching than anything else.

He nearly threw his arms around Kangil’s neck and hugged him on the spot.

But what had made Kangil change his mind? He had no interest in “Yoon Noah’s life” before. And Kangil wasn’t the type to do anything he didn’t want to.

Charity? Pity? He wasn’t someone who acted out of feelings like that. Nahyuk was sure of it.

“Why, though? You didn’t care about me before.”

“Dunno. You figure it out.”

So there was a reason. Just as he suspected.

The problem was… Nahyuk couldn’t think of any reason for him to change.

“What even happened between us?”

Their first meeting, when he crawled between Kangil’s legs and they kissed.
The second time, when they nearly slept together in a hotel.
The third, at Radena.
And now, today, when Kangil swore he wouldn’t let him die.

As those memories flashed through his mind, Nahyuk’s chest began to feel warm.

The heat that had bloomed on his face seemed to sink down to his heart.

With Seo Dowoong, it had felt like walking through a snowstorm.
But now—it felt like strolling down a spring street in full bloom.

There was no way it could be true, but just in case…

Nahyuk asked with a hesitant heart:

“You don’t… like me or anything, right?”