IPSTDS Chapter 92

Chapter 92

All through the shower, Kangil kneaded and nipped at Nahyuk’s body without rest. He’d done it before, and today was no different.

Of course, Nahyuk also felt good, but that was beside the point—his frail body was far too weak to handle him.

He slipped out of the bathroom first, almost like running away, and checked his condition.

His pale body was marked here and there with red blotches, clear enough to show through. At least none were left in visible places—that was a relief.

Just as he finished hurriedly getting dressed and sat on the bed, the phone on the nightstand buzzed.

Maybe it was a message from Park Sangcheol, the one he was supposed to meet today…

「‘Even in Ruins, Flowers Bloom’ Chapter 79 Uploaded!」

It was an alert that the original story had updated.

Without hesitation, Nahyuk tapped the notification and opened Chapter 79.

The last chapter, 78, had ended with Park Sangcheol reaching out to Yoon Noah—just as Noah was finally beginning to find happiness after giving up on Seo Dowoong.

Why had Park Sangcheol contacted Yoon Noah in the original story?

「Yoon Noah answered Park Sangcheol in a sharp voice.

‘Why are you calling me?’

—I’m a friend, aren’t I? Can’t I call? I called because I wanted to see you.

‘We’re not exactly the kind of friends who want to see each other.’

—Still, let’s meet once.

‘I’m busy.’

—Even if it’s about Seo Dowoong?

At the mention of Seo Dowoong’s name, Yoon Noah froze.

He had resolved to let go of his feelings for Seo Dowoong, but hearing his name was still something he couldn’t completely turn away from. Not yet.

So in the end, he gave the answer Park Sangcheol wanted.

‘…Send me a message with the date.’

—Okay, okay.

The moment the call ended, a message from Park Sangcheol arrived. It was as if he had planned everything in advance, just waiting for the chance to reach out.

‘What are you plotting…?’

Noah had a bad feeling. But even so, he couldn’t back out of meeting Park Sangcheol.

Even if something terrible was waiting, Yoon Noah still wanted to see him. He was never one to hold back his curiosity.」

Up to that point, Nahyuk felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Yoon Noah’s words in the novel were oddly familiar.

Before long, he realized why.

‘…This is just like what I said to Park Sangcheol before.’

That day in the garden with Kangil, when Sangcheol’s sudden call had come in—Nahyuk remembered clearly how he had answered.

Uneasy, he continued reading.

「The day of the meeting with Park Sangcheol finally arrived. Yoon Noah went to the appointed place with Lee Kangil.

The truth was, Noah hadn’t wanted to tell Kangil anything about Sangcheol.

That would mean dragging out his old, shameful past and admitting to the rash mistakes of his thoughtless youth.

Noah didn’t want to bare such ugliness before Kangil.

His reputation was already bad enough. If Kangil were to learn about those mistakes too, what if even he came to hate him…?

Noah couldn’t bear the thought of losing the warmth he had just barely managed to find in another person.

The problem was, Kangil was far too perceptive. Sensing Noah’s unease, he pressed him for the truth.

When Kangil’s voice came, gentle and insistent—asking if something was wrong—Noah had no choice but to confess Sangcheol’s name.

And when he finally laid out the story of his past, Kangil didn’t show disappointment. Instead, he laughed loudly.

‘You really are hilarious.’

‘…You’re not disappointed?’

‘Why would I be? You gave Seo Dowoong a good hit, didn’t you?’

The fact that Kangil couldn’t resist dopamine, and that—even as a friend—he didn’t particularly like Seo Dowoong, was all to Yoon Noah’s advantage.

Noah felt a rush of relief when Kangil showed no disappointment in him. Then, all of a sudden, a thought struck him.

‘Why do I like him this much?’

Didn’t he sound just like someone truly in love with Kangil?

After carrying feelings for Seo Dowoong for so long, was it really possible for his heart to turn to someone else so quickly? The human heart was a strange thing indeed.

Yet Noah didn’t want to deny what he felt toward Kangil.

And so, the two of them went together to meet Park Sangcheol.

The place Sangcheol had chosen was a tucked-away café, quiet even on a Saturday afternoon.

“Noah, how’s your face still the same as before?”

Across from him, Park Sangcheol grinned with yellowed teeth.

“Don’t act happy to see me. It’s disgusting. And you—you’ve gone to seed so badly I don’t even feel like talking to you.”

Even at Noah’s cold brush-off, Sangcheol just laughed. Then his eyes shifted to Kangil, who had sat down naturally at Noah’s side, staring with an odd curiosity.

“And this is…?”

“He’s, uh… my…”

It hit Noah then that he hadn’t thought about how to introduce Kangil.

They weren’t exactly friends, and they weren’t lovers either. They were simply two people sharing warmth, exchanging feelings of attraction—nothing more defined than that.

Noah had no intention of sharing something so private with Park Sangcheol, someone he’d never see again if he could help it.

But before he could decide, Kangil answered first.

“I’m Yoon Noah’s lover.”

“…!”

Startled, Noah turned to look at him. Kangil had lied without hesitation and simply winked back at him.

“My lover was going to meet another man—how could I just sit back? Of course I had to come.”

“…Kangil.”

“But it looks like you’re not my rival, Mr. Park. Our Noah only cares about good faces.”

With that lazy, languid gaze of his, Kangil looked down at Sangcheol.

Even at such provoking words, Sangcheol only chuckled.

“Haha, so in the end you didn’t go with Seo Dowoong, but with this guy?”

“Park Sangcheol, don’t compare them. And don’t say ‘this guy.’ His name is Lee Kangil.”

“Right, nice to meet you. You probably already know, but I’m Park Sangcheol, Noah’s old classmate.”

He handed Kangil his business card. Both Noah’s and Kangil’s eyes fell on it at the same time.

‘Reporter, Myungjeong Daily—Park Sangcheol.’

It suited him, in a way. Not because Noah thought he would be a good reporter, but because Sangcheol’s pettiness and spite seemed perfect for digging into people and incidents with dogged malice.

“Enough about me. Let’s get to the point. What did you want to say about Seo Dowoong?”

“I hear you still don’t get along with him, right?”

“…”

“Comes with the job, you know. I hear all kinds of things.”

“And?”

“Here, let me show you something first.”

Sangcheol pulled something from his bag, something he had clearly prepared ahead of time, and laid it on the table. A small, transparent plastic bag. Inside was a stack of photographs.

He jerked his chin, as if to say, take a look.

Noah reached out cautiously, took it, and slid out the photos.

The moment he saw them, his breath caught.

“These are…”」

Nahyuk forgot to breathe as he read. For some reason, it felt like this part of the story was tied to his reality too. He couldn’t afford to skim a single word.

“What’s got you staring so hard?”

Only when Kangil’s voice reached him—when had he come so close?—did Nahyuk manage to tear his eyes from the screen.

He wordlessly showed Kangil the phone.

“See?”

“Just a white screen. Nothing else.”

So Kangil, like Daon, couldn’t see the original story. Nahyuk shook his head slowly, as if it was nothing serious.

“Is it broken? Want me to get you a new one?”

“No, that’s not it. More importantly—you know today’s the day we’re meeting Park Sangcheol, right?”

Kangil perched on the bed and answered, “Yeah. I’m going with you, no matter what.”

“Mm.”

Daon had also said he’d come along—when would he show up?

But Nahyuk’s thoughts of him were cut short by Kangil’s next words.

“My lover’s going to meet another man—how could I just sit back? I have to go too.”

“…Huh?”

Nahyuk couldn’t help but repeat it.

The words were exactly the same as the line Kangil had spoken in the novel just moments ago.

A chilling, unbelievable coincidence made his stomach churn.

“So, what does this Park Sangcheol look like? From the way you describe him, he doesn’t sound like much.”

Even in his daze, Nahyuk answered honestly. He still clearly remembered Sangcheol’s face from his dreams.

“…Not much, no. Actually, worse than not much—completely awful.”

“Then he’s no rival of mine. Our Noah only cares about good faces.”

“…”

That line too. Exactly the same as the original.

Cold shivers ran across his whole body, like a bucket of ice water had been poured over him.

Even though reality had shifted so much from the novel, why was it still unfolding in such similar patterns? And what would the outcome be?

What if—just what if—in the original story, despite all of Kangil’s efforts, Yoon Noah still ended up dying… would the same fate be waiting for him too?

Would his own seemingly improved condition suddenly collapse, just like that?

Though he had worried about it many times before, Nahyuk now felt an ominous fear with no clear source—something bone-deep and chilling.