IPSTDS Chapter 44

Chapter 44

He had only taken a little longer to respond, yet a scolding voice came through the receiver.

—Aren’t you going to answer?

“I got it, for now.”

—Okay, I’ll send the details by message.

“Alright.”

The call ended just as quickly. Nahyuk stared at the phone and thought to himself.

‘I should really make things clear with Grandfather.’

That he had no interest in the company, and to please stop looking for him.

Then Yoon Taesik would probably lose what little interest he had. After all, he had plenty of other exceptional children to pour his energy into.

With that unpleasant call behind him, Nahyuk was about to return to Kangil. But right then, his phone vibrated again.

As soon as he checked the notification on the screen, his body stiffened.

「‘Even in Ruins, Flowers Bloom’ Chapter 76 is now live!」

A new episode of the original novel had been uploaded.

Chapter 75 focused on Seo Dowoong feeling perfect love for Kim Daon and resolving to confess to him on his birthday.

Would Chapter 76 show that confession?

Nahyuk tapped the alert, and just like always, Chapter 76 opened.

「…After taking time off due to an accident, Kim Daon had been preparing for Seo Dowoong’s birthday. It was right around the corner, close to his own.

But after days of struggling with what to give him, he still hadn’t decided even on the eve of the day.

The frustration nearly made him joke, “Your birthday gift is me,” but he shook his head—he knew Seo Dowoong wouldn’t like that.

Seo Dowoong had everything. Giving him something material felt meaningless.

‘Do I really have to give myself to him…?’

Kim Daon wondered if maybe this was the right time to confess.

He didn’t want their relationship to remain at the level of mutual teasing.

Having made up his mind, Kim Daon booked a private bar Seo Dowoong liked.」

Nahyuk was so engrossed in the story that he completely forgot Kangil was waiting.

In the novel, Kim Daon waited at the private bar for Seo Dowoong to show up after work. Though Seo Dowoong had promised to come right away, he never did.

Feeling uneasy, Kim Daon called him.

「…Seo Dowoong didn’t answer at first. On the third call, thinking it might be the last, he finally picked up.

“Doung? Where are you? Why haven’t you answered?”

—Sorry, Daon. Yoon Noah came to the company and collapsed, so I had to admit him to the hospital.

“…What?”

—I’ll explain everything when I get there.

Just then, the door to the bar opened, and in walked a man who looked like he stepped out of a painting.

It was Seo Dowoong.」

In the novel, Yoon Noah visited Seo Dowoong at work to wish him a happy birthday despite everything that had happened.

But he collapsed right in front of him.

Seo Dowoong initially thought he was faking it and was going to leave him there, but with people watching, he pretended to care and helped him.

That was why he showed up late to his meeting with Kim Daon.

「Even if Noah’s illness was real, Seo Dowoong still resented that he showed up on his birthday and ruined his time with Kim Daon.

He was in love—so deeply he had already chosen the day to confess.

Because of that, he wasn’t too worried about Noah’s condition. Maybe it was the strange certainty that the brat wouldn’t die so easily.

He didn’t tell Kim Daon the full truth, only that Noah had collapsed from poor health.

“Shouldn’t we still visit him in the hospital?”

“Daon, it’s my birthday. I don’t want it ruined because of Yoon Noah.”

“…”

Kim Daon looked uneasy. Kind-hearted as he was, he clearly worried about Noah.

Seo Dowoong tousled Daon’s hair.

“Don’t worry. He won’t die that easily.”

“…”

“So for now, could you just celebrate my birthday?”」

That’s where Chapter 76 ended.

Nahyuk let out a deep sigh.

‘Poor Yoon Noah…’

Somehow, with each chapter, he seemed more and more pitiful. Nahyuk found himself wanting to reach into the story and comfort him.

‘And it really feels like he’s going to die.’

At this rate, Yoon Noah’s fate in the story seemed bound to end in tragedy. It hadn’t even been clarified whether he received the new drug from Kangil…

Sighing again, Nahyuk slowly started walking.

It was time to return to Lee Kangil—the one who, unlike the story, was actively helping him survive.

As he neared the riverside where they had been sitting, he spotted Kangil waving. His expression was one of mild annoyance.

“What kind of phone call takes that long?”

“Sorry, kept you waiting, didn’t I?”

“…Now I don’t know what to say since you apologized right away.”

Nahyuk smiled faintly and sat beside him. Then he looked directly at Kangil’s face, so close by.

‘Can I change Yoon Noah’s fate with Kangil’s help?’

Nahyuk sincerely didn’t want to die.

“Why are you staring like that?”

“You really have to save me.”

“Geez, I always keep my word, you know.”

Nahyuk simply nodded in reply.

“Do you remember what we were talking about earlier?”

“You mean the part about you and Seo Dowoong being messily entangled?”

“Yeah. I didn’t finish telling you… If you hang out with me all day today, I’ll put even more effort into saving you.”

“What’s so special about today?”

Now that he thought about it, Kangil had mentioned it before the call.

‘It’s… one of those days where Seo Dowoong and I get heavily tangled again.’

Apparently, it was another day related to Seo Dowoong.

Kangil turned away from the sea view and looked back at him. His eyes had a somber depth as he spoke the words he’d been holding back.

“Today’s my birthday.”

“…Huh?”

“And it’s Seo Dowoong’s birthday too.”

Surprisingly, they shared the same birthday.

And Seo Dowoong’s birthday had just come up in the novel, too.

“When I asked if you had plans today, I meant… weren’t you going to go celebrate Seo Dowoong’s birthday?”

“…Ah.”

Kangil looked at him expectantly, clearly waiting for a definite answer.

The way he looked… Nahyuk thought he resembled a jet-black Doberman waiting for its master’s attention.

“Give me your answer.”

Without hesitation, Nahyuk replied,

“I want to celebrate your birthday, not Seo Dowoong’s.”

Kangil’s face lit up with a radiant smile—the kind more dazzling than the summer sea glittering in the sunlight.

* * *

Nahyuk naturally had no desire to celebrate Seo Dowoong’s birthday.

Whether Seo Dowoong received birthday wishes from Kim Daon or not during their cold war was none of his concern.

It was unfortunate that the two had grown distant because of him, but he had no intention of getting in the middle of it.

They were grown men—surely they’d work things out on their own.

‘…Though I am a little worried about Daon.’

Still, Kim Daon was more capable than anyone. At the very least, he wasn’t the type to bury his emotions behind pride like Seo Dowoong.

Nahyuk trusted that Daon would take care of himself.

“Hey, focus.”

How did he notice Nahyuk had zoned out?

Lee Kangil, sitting beside him, whispered and poked Nahyuk’s cheek.

They had ended up stepping into an old movie theater near the beach after wandering around together. Kangil said he sometimes came here alone, just like he did with the ocean.

‘They show old movies here. The kind that’s really damn dirty.’

Kangil had giggled like a lewd satyr when he said that.

Strangely, though, his seductive looks made the whole thing not seem ridiculous. On the contrary, Nahyuk’s heart had fluttered just a little.

‘Let’s just watch a movie together.’

And so the two found themselves watching an erotic film in the middle of the day. It was a weekday, so the theater was completely empty.

Soon, an old black-and-white romance movie flickered onto the screen.

Only then did Nahyuk understand why Kangil had recently mentioned watching ‘Titanic’.

‘Even when he watches movies, they’re always these older films in places like this.’

Come to think of it, ‘Titanic’ also had a scene that stirred up some indecent imagination—what had happened inside that fogged-up carriage.

Nahyuk shook off the thought and focused on the screen.

Not long after, just as Kangil had said, a risqué scene came on.

A man and a woman, having confirmed their love, became intimate.

But instead of the naked woman, Nahyuk’s eyes were drawn to the man’s sculpture-like physique.

The man had the features of a classical statue, with muscles carved like marble. There was not a single unlovely part of him.

Nahyuk unconsciously swallowed hard. It felt like something stiffened beneath his pants.

To react this way to such a small stimulus… Maybe it was because he hadn’t done anything at all since possessing this body?

Nahyuk held his breath, hoping Kangil wouldn’t notice. It was dark, after all—there was no way he would.

But just then, he felt Kangil’s warm breath brush against his ear.

“Stop squirming.”

“…”

“If you want, I’ll touch you.”