SDM 40
by Soraiip“What are you pondering so deeply?”
Seong-woon, who had been lost in thought, responded a beat late to the shadow and voice falling over him. As he startled and sat up, another mug was placed on the table, and the empty seat across from him was filled.
“How did you know I was here…”
“Just passing by.”
Unbeknownst to Seong-woon, Baek Sang-hyun was actually making good use of the ‘Today’s Ryu Chae-yoon’ page. It revealed Seong-woon’s movements, so he could know where he was.
“But this… isn’t even near the Business School.”
Seong-woon slightly furrowed his brow before relaxing it. He had deliberately avoided cafes near the Business School and had come all the way to the Natural Sciences building because he didn’t want to meet Baek Sang-hyun. The campus was so large that it took nearly 15 minutes to walk from the Business School to the Natural Sciences building.
“I told you, I was just passing by.”
“I wasn’t even sitting on the terrace.”
Never mind. Judging by the faint smile on his face, it seemed he had no intention of giving a proper answer. Seong-woon closed his textbook with an irritated gesture.
“Why, having trouble studying?”
“…”
“Shall we study together?”
“…I’ll manage on my own.”
Seong-woon, thinking of him as that sexual harasser, could only sigh. He had no room to talk since he was the one who had initially caused the situation.
No, even so, why the sudden kiss? Thinking about it now, it was strange, but it would be ridiculous to bring it up and ask about it now.
“You made such a proposal, yet you overreacted to one kiss?”
“…!”
All his efforts not to bring it up were in vain. Seong-woon could only open and close his mouth like a goldfish, not expecting Baek Sang-hyun to broach the topic again.
“Well, that was…”
Wouldn’t it be better for ‘Ryu Chae-yoon’s’ reputation to explain it was a misunderstanding? It seems Baek Sang-hyun’s initially poor attitude probably stemmed from this misunderstanding…
“It was a misunderstanding.”
“That’s different from what I know.”
“I just…”
Seong-woon was about to say he wanted to meet him because he was a fan, but he realized a contradiction. He had never revealed to Baek Sang-hyun that he was a ‘fan’, nor had he ever shown any excitement in front of him. Hadn’t he been treating him quite indifferently?
If he were Baek Sang-hyun, he wouldn’t believe at all that it was because he was a fan and wanted to meet him, and that the conveyed message was all a misunderstanding. It would make more sense to say he was pretending not to know because he was embarrassed about making a sponsorship offer…
“Just?”
“…Anyway, isn’t that why you were avoiding me? But I don’t understand why you’re doing… that… now.”
Seong-woon couldn’t bring himself to say ‘kiss’ like Baek Sang-hyun had, so he just lumped it together as ‘that’. Even so, he felt heat rising to his face.
“Because I think I can do it now.”
“…I don’t need it anymore, you know?”
“Hmm… Really?”
“Yes.”
It would be better if he acted like before, treating me like he’d seen a pile of trash. As Seong-woon kept averting his eyes from Sang-hyun, his gaze caught on the straight fingertips. The fingers that had been tapping on the table stopped abruptly.
“Alright.”
“So… What?”
“I said alright.”
“Huh…”
“Then let’s pretend it never happened. But from what I can see, it doesn’t seem like you’re sighing because of me anyway.”
“It’s not something you need to concern yourself with, sunbae.”
“Why, do you need to get a good test score again? 80 points?”
“…B0.”
“Huh?”
“The grade. I need to get a B0.”
“…You have a clear goal this time too? Who’s making you do this?”
Well, some weird guys are making me do it. Though he affirmed this internally, Seong-woon just shook his head vaguely.
“Then I’ll teach you.”
“…In the study group?”
“That’s all fallen apart, hasn’t it?”
“Then… you’re saying you’ll teach me directly, sunbae?”
“I was the one teaching you everything in the study group anyway, wasn’t I?”
That’s true, but… Seong-woon narrowed his eyes, trying to gauge Baek Sang-hyun’s intentions. The emotion on his face looked very pure, but Seong-woon couldn’t trust the expressions that appeared on an actor’s exterior.
“Is there a particular reason you’re going this far…?”
“They say love for juniors is love for the country, don’t they?”
“You’re joking, right?”
Please say you are. Oblivious to Seong-woon’s silent plea, Baek Sang-hyun flashed a smile that could make anyone fall for him and brushed back his fallen hair. Wait, why is he suddenly trying to enchant someone?
“The location will be my house.”
“…Pardon?”
“There are too many eyes in the seminar room.”
“It was fine until recently.”
“That’s because other people were there then.”
We couldn’t go to Baek Sang-hyun’s house last time, will they let me go this time? Didn’t the manager and brothers all make a fuss?
“My manager might come along.”
“I don’t let strangers into my house.”
“What about me?”
“You’re not a stranger.”
“Then you should become acquainted with my manager too.”
“Is that necessary?”
“Yes, it is.”
Baek Sang-hyun, who had been quietly observing Seong-woon, tapped his watch and stood up. The class start time was right around the corner, and from here, one needed to walk quickly to arrive on time.
“For now, pay attention in class.”
“…”
If I had just focused on school instead of earning money during middle and high school, I wouldn’t be suffering this humiliation. Seong-woon stood up, cursing himself for being so obsessed with acting. The thought of having to persuade the manager and brothers again gave him a headache.
* * *
Fortunately, Ryu Chang-yoon was away on a business trip today, so he didn’t block Seong-woon’s way. Instead, he sent Ryu Ho-yoon, who was much easier to persuade than Chang-yoon, so Seong-woon sardonically thought the situation was somewhat better.
“It’s not allowed. A bodyguard must go in too. If not, at least me.”
“If not, I should go along too!”
“We’re constantly receiving your heart rate through the watch. If there’s a problem, we’ll rush up.”
“We can’t check everything just with heart rate. We might also be late. If there’s any signal interference causing a delay…”
“If we think like that, how can we go outside at all? A truck might crash into us on the street.”
“Chae-yoon! You can’t say things like that!”
Seong-woon glanced at Ryu Ho-yoon, who was scolding him like an elementary school student, and packed his books and notes into his bag. As he let out a long sigh, the two who had been arguing flinched. If they’re going to react like this to a single sigh, why are they firing off like that?
“Do you just want me to stay at home all the time?”
“Young master…”
“Is that what you think too, hyung? You’d like it if I just stayed cooped up at home? Not doing anything? Not acting, not studying, not working, what am I supposed to do with my life?”
“…”
“The doctor said it’s fine. The perforation has mostly healed, and more than half of the heart muscle has recovered. If I haven’t died until now, I’m even less likely to die in the future.”
“You can’t talk about dying either!”
“Then, I’ll keep living.”
“…”
“Right?”
“Chae-yoon, I’m just so worried about you…”
Ryu Ho-yoon mumbled dejectedly. How could Seong-woon not understand that feeling? After the scope of information disclosure was adjusted, Seong-woon was able to accept this family’s overprotectiveness more sincerely. It seemed to be because he had come to regard Ryu Chae-yoon as someone closer than a stranger.
“I know. I know, but… I can’t keep living like this. And I…”
It might be deceptive to say this while not being Ryu Chae-yoon, but Seong-woon was somehow certain that Ryu Chae-yoon would think the same way.
“Even if I die right now, I want to do what I want to do.”
“…Alright. But you have to send a message every hour.”
“Okay.”
“And make sure to answer phone calls!”
“Yes.”
Lee Hyung-seok looked at Ryu Ho-yoon in disbelief as he gave permission so freely, although he had been very persistent until now, the end was quite refreshing. He was so flustered that he couldn’t string his words together properly.
“No, I…”
“Hyung gave permission, so it’s fine, right?”
“What do you mean it’s fine!”
“I’ll send a message every hour and answer phone calls.”
“…Young master.”
“If it’s because of Chang-yoon hyung, tell him I insisted and there was nothing you could do. That’s true anyway.”
“…That’s not why I’m doing this.”
In any case, Seong-woon was finally able to ignore Lee Hyung-seok and Ryu Ho-yoon’s attempts to dissuade him and head to Baek Sang-hyun’s house. The address he had given was a very luxurious villa with only one house per floor and a separate private elevator.
“I think it’s nicer than our house.”
“It is more modern.”
Having firmly accepted that he could no longer stop Seong-woon, Lee Hyung-seok drove personally. He would probably park the car and wait in the parking lot.
“When I become independent, I’d like to live in a place like this.”
“Inde…pendant?”
Lee Hyung-seok turned to look at Seong-woon with an even more shocked expression than before. Of course, I should be independent. How long is an adult who earns their own living supposed to rely on their parents? Seong-woon had already lived apart from his parents since high school, so no matter how spacious the house was, he felt slightly uncomfortable having people in the same space.
“The chairmen will be disappointed.”
“That’s how it is when children become independent. Four have already become independent.”
“But the young master is a bit special.”
‘Special’, huh… Being the youngest with a big age gap and having been a sickly child, he would naturally be the one the parents worry about most. Since that part wasn’t incomprehensible, Seong-woon didn’t bother arguing.
“I’ll wait in the underground parking.”
“Okay. I’ll only be here for about 3-4 hours.”
“Are you planning to study for that long?”
“I missed a few lectures while I was hospitalized, so I’m having trouble keeping up.”
“I told you I’d get you a private tutor.”
“Then everyone will make a fuss again about why I’m studying so hard. Just think of this study group as part of my social life.”
Seong-woon got out of the car, waved his hand a couple of times, and crossed the parking lot. Passing by a row of very luxurious cars, he pressed the call button in front of the elevator going up to Baek Sang-hyun’s house. After a brief moment of music, the elevator doors opened.
“This is fascinating…”
Although Ryu Chae-yoon’s house had a very luxurious interior and was remodelled with quite the advanced technology, it was still an old house, so he had never seen anything like this before.
The elevator only had two buttons. First floor and fourth floor. As soon as the elevator doors opened on the fourth floor, Seong-woon stepped back in surprise. Baek Sang-hyun was standing right in front of him.
“Why are you so surprised?”
Sang-hyun grabbed Seong-woon’s arm and dragged him out.
“…I didn’t know you’d be waiting.”
Seong-woon twisted around, trying to get his arm free, but Baek Sang-hyun only let go after pulling him into the house. He heard the door slam shut and lock behind him.
“Take off your shoes and wash your hands.”
What’s with everyone today? Did they all make a pact to treat me like an elementary school student? Seong-woon stared at Baek Sang-hyun with a bewildered expression, then put down his bag and washed his hands in the bathroom right by the entrance.
“So the overprotective brothers sent you today?”
“…How do you know that?”
“How could I not know? I got a call from Ryu Shin’s secretarial office.”
“What? Why?”
Why did the conversation jump from overprotective brothers to Ryu Shin’s secretarial office? As Seong-woon frowned in confusion, Baek Sang-hyun showed him a message he received from ‘Restricted Number’.