IPSTDS Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Kim Daon immediately realized he’d made a mistake—but even so, he didn’t want to take back what he’d said.

After all, ‘he’ had been there too when Yoon Noah collapsed. ‘He’ had every right to wonder how Noah was doing.

At the same time, he felt that Seo Dowoong’s reaction—his sharp, sudden shift in mood—was a bit much.

‘Yeah, I know he hates Yoon Noah, but still… Isn’t that a little harsh for someone who’s sick?’

“He might die soon, you know. Don’t you even feel sorry for him?”

“Sorry for him?”

Raising his voice, Seo Dowoong stood from his seat. A long shadow stretched across Kim Daon’s face.

Instinctively, Daon took a step back. The pressure coming from Dowoong, who now loomed over him, was intense.

There was something almost dangerous in those glaring eyes—like a glint of hostility.

“Dowoong… you’re overreacting.”

“Overreacting? You’re the one getting all worked up. Have you forgotten what Yoon Noah’s done to you?”

“It’s true… sometimes he made me uncomfortable.”

The most unpleasant memory was when he had tried to subtly sabotage Daon on the day of his interview.

But as always, Noah hadn’t actually crossed any hard lines, and Daon had been able to complete the interview without issue.

That’s how he ended up landing a spot at Hansan Group fair and square—without any help from Seo Dowoong.

“But I don’t want to hate someone who might be dying.”

Yoon Noah was only twenty-eight. To die before doing anything meaningful with his life… that just seemed unbearably sad.

On top of that, Noah had never even experienced real love. He’d just spent his days chasing after Seo Dowoong—who never once looked back. Who always rejected him.

To Daon, someone like that only seemed pitiful.
Maybe death softened people’s hearts.

But Seo Dowoong clearly didn’t feel the same. He let out a heavy sigh—more of a warning than anything—and said coldly:

“Get out.”

As if thinking Daon wouldn’t dare.

But without saying a word, Kim Daon turned and walked out of the executive office.

Just moments ago, the two had been joking and making weekend plans—now they’d parted with a chilling silence.

“Dowoong… you didn’t have to be like that, not to someone who’s sick…”

Before heading back to the secretary’s office, Daon turned on his phone and searched for a number he hadn’t contacted in a long time.

Then, without hesitation, he sent a message:

–Noah-sunbae, are you feeling any better?

---

At that moment, Nahyuk was lost in thought.

He had to choose: should he check Yoon Noah’s bank account, or read the newly uploaded chapter of Flowers Bloom Even in the Ruins?

In the end, he tapped the notification floating at the top of his phone screen.

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

As soon as he pressed the alert, the app opened to the latest chapter. Nahyuk began reading seriously.

But surprisingly, there wasn’t a single mention of Yoon Noah in Chapter 73—not even a footnote for someone who’d once felt like a protagonist.

The chapter was all about Kim Daon and Seo Dowoong.

A man named “Park Sangcheol” called Kim Daon, who works as a secretary under Seo Dowoong, and threatened to expose them.

Kim Daon immediately informed Seo Dowoong, who looked at him fondly—finding even his overly detailed reports adorable.

“So, Daon… did you come running all the way up here because you were worried?”

Leaning his chin on the desk, Seo Dowoong looked amused.

Kim Daon pushed away any thought of Park Sangcheol, someone he didn’t even want to speak of, and focused on Seo Dowoong.

“You were staring at my face. Were you worried about me?”

As always, Seo Dowoong had an odd knack for noticing things.

Daon felt embarrassed being caught admiring his face.

“…Of course I was.”

Seo Dowoong continued to gaze at Daon’s flushed cheeks.

“Whoa… Kim Daon blushed. That’s seriously cute.”

Even with his usual sharp tongue, Daon couldn’t hide his flustered face. It was so adorable, it almost drove Nahyuk crazy.

If he could see that scene with his own eyes just once, he’d probably die with no regrets.

Of course, just because he found Daon cute didn’t mean he was in love with him.

It wasn’t romantic—it was more like the way someone admires a celebrity. A kind of affection mixed with admiration and longing.

Nahyuk quietly imagined Daon’s blushing face.

When he closed his eyes, he could picture it perfectly—just like the face he’d seen at Raedena. Down to the small mole beneath his eye.

‘…I want to see him in person.’

But realistically, the chance of meeting Kim Daon again was close to zero.

There was no real connection between them.

Sure, there was Seo Dowoong, but Nahyuk had already decided to avoid Dowoong as much as possible.

And since Kim Daon didn’t like Yoon Noah, there was no way for Nahyuk to reach out first.

“Well… nothing I can do. I’ll have to settle for reading about him in the novel.”

Still, even seeing him once had been something. That, at least, was worth being grateful for.

But that name—Park Sangcheol—it stuck out to him.

It felt strangely familiar. As he wracked his memory again and again, a recent dream resurfaced.

A dream that showed the characters in their high school years—and in it, the name Park Sangcheol had appeared.

‘It was because of Park Sangcheol. They wanted to ask if you really bullied him…’

‘That wasn’t just a random dream, was it?’ Nahyuk thought. It must have been one of Yoon Noah’s memories, bleeding through.

And if Park Sangcheol was back in the picture, Nahyuk couldn’t help but worry that something might end up souring the relationship between Kim Daon and Seo Dowoong in the novel.

It was at that exact moment that another notification popped up on the phone he’d been holding.

–Noah-sunbae. Are you feeling any better?

“…Kim Daon?”

It was a message from Kim Daon—the very person ‘he’ thought he’d never hear from again.

Nahyuk couldn’t believe his eyes. He read the same sentence over and over again, trying to convince himself it wasn’t a hallucination born from wishful thinking.

‘Did I think about him so much I started seeing things?’

But no matter how many times he blinked, the message didn’t disappear.

It wasn’t a fantasy. It was real.

“Holy… Kim Daon actually asked how I’m doing?”

Kim Daon… ‘I already knew he was cute and lovely, but now he’s got a warm heart too?’
‘If I were him, I wouldn’t have spared a second thought for someone like Yoon Noah who kept getting in my way.’

Honestly, he could’ve even welcomed Noah’s death—one less nuisance in the way.

But no. That’s why he was the main character.

‘Maybe that kind of big heart is exactly what you need to put up with someone like Seo Dowoong.’

Nahyuk agonized over what to reply.

‘Should I thank him for worrying? Tell him not to worry? Ask if he knows anything about Park Sangcheol?’

He was curious about Park Sangcheol, but he knew better than to bring it up.

If the novel continued like Chapter 73, Daon would be getting a call from Park Sangcheol soon. If Nahyuk mentioned it first, they might suspect he was in on it. Just like Park.

Seo Dowoong and Kim Daon had no idea he’d read ahead in their story.

‘Better to just say I’m okay.’

With trembling fingers, Nahyuk began typing.

‘Handsome Daon, I’m okay. Thanks for worrying about me…’
He paused, feeling it wasn’t enough—so he kept typing.

His fingers moved rapidly, adding an unnecessary flourish of heartfelt words. Probably the fastest his hands had moved since possessing Yoon Noah’s body.

The outpouring was proof of his exploding affection for his favorite character.

Just as he was about to hit send, his jittery finger accidentally tapped a heart emoji next to the send button.

“Oh no, wait—!”

He scrambled to hit the back button, but it was already too late.

–Handsome Daon, I’m okay. Thanks for worrying about me. Even though I gave you a hard time, you’re still so kind and beautiful and handsome… And when I said I support your love, I meant it from the bottom of my heart. Anyway, whatever happened in the past, from now on I’m on your side. Got it? ♥

Just like that, the message was gone.

A painfully familiar mistake. He’d done something similar before—accidentally sending a heart emoji to Lee Kangil.

‘Damn this cursed keyboard.’

Nahyuk buried his burning red face in both hands. Then, vowing never to make the same mistake again, he opened his settings and finally fixed the emoji layout.

“Should’ve done this sooner… I’m doomed. Daon’s definitely going to think I’m weird now.”

He was scared to even get a reply. Actually, now he sort of hoped there wouldn’t be one.

Trying to distract himself, Nahyuk returned to what he’d been meaning to do before the message arrived—checking Yoon Noah’s bank account.

Luckily, the app allowed fingerprint login.

The moment he saw the balance, his eyes widened like a startled rabbit.

“…!”

Yoon Noah…

“Why does he have no money?!”

The balance was shockingly low.

Not that it was zero, but for someone from a rich family, it was a disappointing number.

To make things worse, the monthly credit card bills were ridiculous. There were tons of purchases paid in installments.

If this much was being spent every month…

“At this rate, I’m gonna go broke.”

Nahyuk instinctively furrowed his brow.

His dream of comfortably living off wealth without lifting a finger was already cracking.

Step one: sell the luxury car in the garage. Step two: pay off the credit card. Step three: figure out some way to earn money.

“…Ugh, I should’ve taken condolence money from Dowoong after all. Why did I get mad?”

‘I should’ve taken the money, then gotten mad.’

Now, the thought of all that lost cash made him ache.

“Well, I’m not planning to see Seo Dowoong again anyway. Just let it go.”

With that decision, his thoughts finally cleared—and a yawn slipped from his mouth.

Even though he’d slept all morning, the drowsiness hit him hard.

He’d eaten dinner, done what he needed to, and night had fallen. It felt like a good time to drift off.

Nahyuk closed his heavy eyelids, and as if being gently anesthetized, fell into a deep sleep almost instantly.

The moment he was out, his phone buzzed twice.

One was a reply from Kim Daon.

The other—a call from an unsaved number.