IPSTDS Chapter 17

Chapter 17

He started to wonder if maybe Kangil had been messing with him childishly because he liked him.

But before Nahyuk could read too much into it, Lee Kangil shot him down without a second thought.

“Are you insane?”

He could’ve just said no if that wasn’t it. Did he really have to shut him down that hard?

Embarrassed, Nahyuk tugged the blanket up to his face.

It hadn’t even been that long since he got humiliated for mistaking someone else’s feelings for affection, and here he was, getting his hopes up with Lee Kangil again.

Humans were creatures doomed to repeat their mistakes, no doubt about it.

“I like women.”

“……”

“But I’ll admit it. There were a few times I got turned on looking at you.”

As he said that, Kangil slowly climbed onto the bed.

He settled over Nahyuk like he was pinning him down. Nahyuk, like a beast caught in a snare, couldn’t tear his eyes away from Kangil—couldn’t escape that gaze.

He was so stunned by how close they suddenly were, he couldn’t even speak. While Nahyuk was frozen in place, Kangil tilted his head slightly.

“It wasn’t because I like you. It was because you’re sexy. Got it?”

Nahyuk was sure their lips were about to touch. But instead, what brushed against him was Kangil’s high-bridged nose.

“Cats greet each other with their noses.”

He kept calling him a wildcat—maybe he actually thought Nahyuk was a cat. Still, a part of Nahyuk was disappointed their lips hadn’t met.

“But we’re people, right? So shouldn’t we greet each other a little differently?”

And this time, their lips really did touch. Just barely.

The kiss lasted only a moment—so brief it felt like an illusion. The soft sensation vanished before he could even register it.

“How was my greeting? You feel like crying again?”

“…N-No.”

It had been so long since he’d felt someone else’s warmth, and it felt nice. The cold loneliness of the hospital room seemed to melt away a little.

But… wasn’t that too short? The warmth disappeared before he could even savor it.

What kind of face would Kangil make if Nahyuk said he wanted to feel it a little longer?

“I’ve delivered the meds, checked that you’re still alive, so I’m out.”

But Kangil didn’t seem interested in enjoying anything beyond that. Without giving Nahyuk a chance to stop him, he climbed off the bed.

“I’ll be in touch again about the drug stuff. Wait for it.”

He threw in that warning not to try grabbing him—and then left the room like it was nothing.

He came and went as he pleased.

Left all alone, Nahyuk slowly brushed his fingers over his lips.

The lingering sense of disappointment just wouldn’t go away.

After rolling around in bed for a while, it wasn’t until the sun began to set that Nahyuk finally got up.

A delicious smell was drifting in through the door that Kangil had left slightly ajar. Maybe it was because he’d only been eating porridge during his entire hospital stay, but just the scent of seasoning made his mouth water.

He went downstairs from the second floor—where Yoon Noah’s room was—to the first floor where the dining room was. And there he saw the source of the smell.

“Young master, you’re awake?”

Manager Song and the house staff were bustling around, setting the table.

On the table were dishes so rare and luxurious that even when he was living as Lee Nahyuk, he’d barely seen anything like them. So this was the life of a chaebol’s young master.

“I thought you might be hungry, so we went ahead and prepared everything… Are you feeling alright?”

Manager Song’s question was cautious. Probably because the real Yoon Noah had been so picky and constantly complained about the food.

“Yes, thank you. I was just starting to feel hungry, actually.”

“That’s a relief. We made sure everything was lightly seasoned, so it should be fine for your body.”

“Okay.”

Nahyuk sat down and sampled every dish.

After eating, he made sure to express his thanks:

“It’s really delicious. Thank you.”

The staff, who’d barely ever spoken with him before, flinched at every word like they were seeing a ghost.

Just how much of a jerk was Yoon Noah, seriously?

A part of him even felt a bit sorry for Noah—who’d been irritable and snappish to everyone around him.

It takes an exhausting amount of energy to be that sensitive about everything in life. For someone like Nahyuk, who preferred avoiding conflict, it was unthinkable.

Still, he had no intention of acting rough or nasty like Yoon Noah, no matter how shocked the staff looked.

From the moment he woke up inside the novel, he never once thought to pretend to be Noah.

So he didn’t bother explaining why he’d suddenly changed. He didn’t make up elaborate lies or offer excuses.

In time, they’d get used to the new version of him.

For now, Nahyuk finished his meal—his first truly satisfying one in a long time.

Just as he was about to head back to his room, something came to mind. Ever since he’d read Chapter 72 of The Withered Flower in the Abyss, it had been nagging at him.

“Manager Song, could I ask you for a favor?”

“Yes, of course. What is it, young master?”

“Would it be possible to borrow your phone for a moment?”

“…Pardon? My phone?”

“I’m not going to do anything weird, I swear. There’s just something I really want to look up right now. My phone’s out of battery.”

“Ah, I see.”

Even as he made a sound of understanding, Manager Song still looked puzzled.

But Nahyuk wasn’t lying. He did want to search something—on someone else’s phone, not his own.

And he had no intention of explaining what that “something” was.

“Here you go, young master.”

“Thank you.”

Nahyuk powered on Manager Song’s phone.

---

After finishing what he needed to do, Nahyuk lay flat on the bed. He reached for his now fully charged phone on the bedside table.

The moment he opened the novel serialization site, the title of the novel sitting at the very top of his favorites list stared back at him.

‘Even Flowers Bloom in the Ruins.’

On impulse, he tapped into it. Episodes 1 through 72 were all uploaded.

Episode 73, however, still hadn’t been released. The update schedule had always been inconsistent, so there was no telling when the next chapter would drop.

But what really struck him as strange was that no one else could see the novel Flowers in the Ruins on their phones.

Nahyuk had confirmed it earlier using Manager Song’s phone.

‘A novel only I can see…’

It only showed up on his phone. He couldn’t leave comments or interact with it in any way.

It simply appeared—that was it.

Was this some kind of special perk for being trapped inside the novel? But then what would happen when the story ended?

Would he wake up in his real body again, like it had all been one long dream?

Or… would everything collapse like an illusion, fading into nothing?

Would he just disappear from this world completely?

Nahyuk didn’t want to vanish. Even more than that, he didn’t want to go back to his old life.

He wanted to live as Yoon Noah.

He had no idea why he liked it here so much, especially considering this body could literally die at any moment.

But he did.

He wanted to reach a happy ending in this world.

A happy ending…

He shook the thought off. No point in obsessing over the mystery of the novel.

Thinking too hard wouldn’t get him any answers, and besides, the story hadn’t even finished. With how unpredictable the update schedule was, the author could drop it entirely at any time.

“I don’t even know anymore.”

Instead of worrying about unanswerable questions, he figured it was better to focus on more immediate problems.

He opened up Yoon Noah’s phone, poking around for his bank account info. He felt fairly confident there’d be enough money in there to at least pay Kangil for the drug.

But before he could even check the balance, an unwelcome notification popped up.

[“Even Flowers Bloom in the Ruins” – Episode 73 is now live!]

---

Kim Daon was the youngest secretary in the Hansan Group’s executive office.

Since he was the most junior, he didn’t directly assist Executive Director Seo Dowoong—instead, he handled smaller tasks. Things like answering the phone or greeting guests who came to see Seo Dowoong.

There were two other secretaries in the office besides him. Maybe that’s why he didn’t actually have that much to do.

Once he wrapped up a task and found a small break in the day, the person who came to mind was Yoon Noah.

‘Did Noah Sunbae get discharged from the hospital by now?’

It was only the second time he’d seen someone collapse like they were moments from death.

The first time had stuck with him vividly—and seeing Noah gasping for breath at the Raedena event was probably going to stick with him just as long.

That moment had lingered in his thoughts, and uncharacteristically, Kim Daon found himself asking about Noah’s condition. According to Lee Kangil, the reply was:

‘Well, he’s alive for now?’

The way he’d said ‘for now’ made it sound like Noah might die any day.

Daon had heard from Seo Dowoong that Noah had a rare, incurable disease. On the day he collapsed and was taken away in an ambulance.

It had sounded like Seo Dowoong already knew about Noah’s illness.

When Daon asked if he’d looked into Noah’s background, Seo Dowoong had answered sheepishly:

‘…Yeah. He’d been acting weird for a while, so…’

In that moment, Daon felt a strange emotion.

It wasn’t quite jealousy—but rather, something a bit… different.

Seeing Seo Dowoong’s face go pale while watching Noah collapse—it made him feel like they’d all slipped back into the past for a second.

Like he was looking at the old Seo Dowoong who used to follow Noah around everywhere. Like he was seeing a flashback of their high school days, when there hadn’t been any room for someone like him to fit between them.

‘It’s just my imagination.’

It had been nearly ten years since they graduated high school. There’s a reason people say even mountains change in ten years.

The relationship between Seo Dowoong and Yoon Noah had shattered so badly, it didn’t seem like they could ever go back to being close.

The Seo Dowoong of today completely detested Noah. Especially since he’d started developing feelings for him.

But Kim Daon… didn’t hate Yoon Noah as much as Seo Dowoong did.