SDM 58

One person was out here making a fuss, wanting to see more of his acting, and two others who were worried about his health. This outpouring of attention is too much for Jin Seong-woon, who’s never experienced it before.

“Our agency will officially…”

“Hyung.”

“…Young master.”

“It’s okay. These things happen a lot when acting, right?”

Seong-woon, who had been speaking calmly, suddenly stopped as his throat began to tickle. 

‘No way, not now…?’

“Young master?”

“Ah, it’s oka-…”

Before he could finish saying “okay,” Seong-woon started coughing. Seeing this, Hyeong-seok’s face turned pale, the director finally realized the seriousness of the situation, and Sang-hyun immediately picked up Seong-woon, blanket and all, and took him into the changing room.

“Ah, cough, why am I coughing…”

“Take off your clothes.”

“What? Clothes…”

“I said take off your wet clothes.”

But Seong-woon was too preoccupied to listen to Sang-hyun. Once started, the coughing simply wouldn’t stop. He didn’t even notice that his buttons had already been undone, nor that the manager had brought in clothes from outside, nor that Sang-hyun had bitten his lip hard upon seeing the surgical scars on his chest.

“Just from this much, cough, cough, ah, this is crazy…”

Sang-hyun’s fingertips traced over the countless surgical scars. He quietly watched the thin chest rise and fall. Then he quickly pulled a thick knit sweater over Seong-woon’s head.

“Let me change my pants…”

As the coughing finally subsided, Seong-woon wiped away the involuntary tears and looked up at Sang-hyun, who had a somber expression. Their eyes met, and as their faces drew closer, their lips touched.

It was almost funny how unsurprised Seong-woon was, as he had been expecting Sang-hyun’s kiss. He tended to kiss when he found it difficult to say anything more.

It was the same now. With his mind in turmoil and his chest tight, he had too much he wanted to say, so he ended up saying nothing and just pressing his lips against Seong-woon’s. Finding that he didn’t refuse it in any way, Seong-woon closed his eyes, feeling Sang-hyun’s tongue gently exploring his mouth.

Sang-hyun rubbed the back of his hand against Seong-woon’s cheek, which had been cold but was now completely flushed. After repeatedly opening and closing his mouth for a while, he handed Seong-woon the pants he had been holding.

“Change your pants and come out.”

“…Okay.”

Watching Sang-hyun’s back as he swiftly pulled back the changing room curtain and left, Seong-woon covered his own mouth.

‘Now it’s not unpleasant, not just neutral, it even feels… good, but what is this…’

Feeling as if steam was rising from his head, Seong-woon slumped down, clutching his pants. He couldn’t tell if he had a fever because of the water truck incident or for some other reason.

* * *

‘Should I go home?’ 

As he finished changing and came out, Seong-woon swayed back and forth under the manager’s rough hands as they dried his wet hair. He couldn’t understand how he had been able to stay so comfortably at Baek Sang-hyun’s house until now.

Ryu Chae-yoon’s heart, which hadn’t fully recovered yet, surely couldn’t endure much more. 

‘Yes, I should go home….But I don’t think I can face my parents again.’ 

Seong-woon bit his lip for a moment, remembering those words about how his life was all a product of mistakes and sins. If he goes back to that house, won’t he keep thinking about Ryu Chae-yoon?

Or should he go to the house Ryu Chang-yoon had prepared? …That won’t work either. Chang-yoon would have already installed surveillance cameras and whatnot there, and he’d surely come and go as he pleased.

Then a hotel? …This worried him a bit. Having already experienced two heart attacks, Seong-woon was still concerned about this body’s health, and for some reason, he felt reluctant to stay in such a public space.

Nothing had been decided, but Seong-woon had made up his mind to leave Baek Sang-hyun’s house anyway. As soon as he opened the waiting room door and stepped out, he ran into Baek Sang-hyun.

“Leaving now?”

“…Yes.”

“Turn up the boiler temperature a bit more when you sleep.”

“Um, sunbae.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m thinking of going back home today, until now…”

“Why?”

“Well…”

Just as he was trying to formulate his words carefully, a hologram popped up at the edge of his vision.

Congratulations!

You have completed the quest.

Reward: Revealing Ryu Chae-yoon’s wish – See below

ㅁㅁㅁㅁ ㅁㅁㅁㅁ ㅁㅁ ㅁㅁ ㅁㅁ

→ I want to be genuinely entangled with Baek Sang-hyun

‘Are you kidding me now?’ 

Seong-woon frowned, looking at the right corner. Then he realized that Sang-hyun was also looking at that empty space and raised his gaze in surprise. Sang-hyun grabbed Seong-woon’s arm and led him back into the empty waiting room.

“Why are you trying to leave?”

“It’s not leaving… I’m going back home.”

The quest completion notification disappeared, and a new quest appeared. Seeing it, Seong-woon unconsciously half-opened his mouth.

Quest 8

Participate in the final filming of ‘Orbital Collision’.

Reward: Adjustment of information disclosure range (3)

Deadline: D-10

If failed, return to the branching point.

Final Wish: I want to genuinely intertwine with Baek Sang-hyun

Reward: Complete fusion of spirit and body

Deadline: ?

If failed, the soul will be extinguished.

Soul Adjustment Project in progress….

‘There’s two quests now?!’

Seong-woon looked at the eighth quest and chuckled. 

‘What more information is there to disclose that they’re forcibly attaching a quest to a filming that should be done anyway?’ 

Still, remembering the shocks he received each time information was disclosed, goosebumps rose on his arms.

‘And the long-awaited final wish… Soul extinction? Why is there no deadline?’ 

Seong-woon was about to call that bastard C1012 out of disbelief, but realized that Sang-hyun was still standing in front of him. He barely managed to close his mouth. He must have looked like a real madman just now.

‘…Then if he just says he’s going back, wouldn’t he just let him go? Being a top-tier celebrity, he probably wouldn’t want to keep a madman around.’ 

Barely suppressing his irritation, Seong-woon opened his mouth again.

“Is it okay for you to go home now?”

Seong-woon was momentarily speechless at Sang-hyun’s question. He didn’t expect his concern to come up here. So he couldn’t answer quickly. He should have said he was fine, even if it was a lie.

“If you’re not okay, stay longer.”

“…It’s uncomfortable.”

“Did I make you uncomfortable?”

“No, it’s not that, I’ve been imposing for too long…”

“I don’t mind it. The house is empty anyway.”

“That’s what worries me more. In a house without its owner…”

“I just like having someone in the house… Did I make you very uncomfortable? You should have said something…”

“No, I’m not uncomfortable, I’m telling you!”

When Sang-hyun spoke in a pitiful voice, Seong-woon snapped. Honestly, Sang-hyun wasn’t uncomfortable. Even though he kissed without warning and made the atmosphere tense like a rubber band sometimes, it wasn’t uncomfortably strange.

“Stay longer, then.”

Sang-hyun smiled and wrapped up the conversation.

“Haah…”

If it weren’t for that quest notification, he could have said what he needed to say and disappeared. The moment he saw the word ‘genuinely’, he was at a loss for words.

‘Genuinely, huh… Of all things to say…’

“Go home and rest.”

Sang-hyun stroked Seong-woon’s head a few times and then caressed his cheek. Where his hot fingers and palm touched, it stung as if burned. The soft scent of perfume mixed with his body odor tickled his nose. Afraid he might start coughing again like before, Seong-woon took a deep breath.

Seong-woon barely managed to drag his tired feet into the car. As he drove up along the Han River close to dawn, he thought about the word ‘genuinely’.

‘What does it mean to intertwine genuinely with someone? Genuinely…’

Seong-woon took out his phone and searched for ‘sincerity’. Then he read and reread the explanation until it was etched into his eyes.

But even though he understood it superficially, deep in his heart he felt and understood nothing. It had been too long since he had genuinely dealt with a person.

“…Hyung.”

“Yes, young master.”

“If you… if someone says they want to genuinely intertwine with someone… what do you think that means?”

“Pardon?”

“…Never mind, it’s nothing.”

“You mean wanting to genuinely intertwine with someone… right? With whom?”

“That’s… I don’t know. What do you think it means?”

“There could be several meanings, I think? It could mean giving your all, or it could mean being without deceit.”

‘Deceit…’. 

Seong-woon decided to put that aside for last. Because there was already an enormous lie between Ryu Chae-yoon and Baek Sang-hyun, removing that seemed… really too difficult.

Even though Baek Sang-hyun acted as if he had figured out his true identity, there’s a big difference between guessing and actually acknowledging it. 

‘Why hasn’t Baek Sang-hyun ever questioned him about it until now? He must know it sounds crazy too.’

‘Jin Seong-woon’s soul being inside Ryu Chae-yoon’s body… it sounds crazy to anyone, and even Ryu Chae-yoon’s family, who love him dearly, would immediately look for a mental hospital, wouldn’t they?’

“What does it mean to give your all?”

“Hmm… that actually seems to be the same as the latter part. First, if you reveal everything without lies or hiding anything, that would be giving your all.”

Seong-woon was frustrated. Talking with Lee Hyeong-seok and thinking about it himself, there was no other answer but that. Does he really have to say this? At best, one person is crazy, and at worst, they both are.

“Young master. I’ll take you to the hospital first.”

“…What? Why?”

“You were coughing severely earlier.”

“I’m fine now.”

“No, we can’t. Let’s check your temperature and make sure there’s no problem with your bronchi before going home.”

“Hyung.”

“And I’ll send a letter of complaint to Director Lee Jun-ho in the name of RBS and the Ryu family’s secretariat.”

“Hyung, you know. On set…”

“Yes, of course, directors who make such demands without prior agreement are commonplace. But you don’t need to comply with that, young master.”

“…”

“I’ll handle it so that nothing reaches your ears, young master.”

Lee Hyeong-seok was as unyielding as a rock. Seong-woon had no choice but to nod. He had to understand Lee Hyeong-seok, who blamed himself for the ventricular fibrillation during the first filming and became obsessively concerned about the health of the young master he served.

“Chae-yoon.”

As soon as he entered the hospital, Seong-woon had to face Ryu Chang-yoon.

“…Hyung?”

“Yeah. It’s been a while.”

“Why are you here…”

“Come here.”

Ryu Chang-yoon gently pulled Seong-woon’s arm. Seeing his face as empty as if he had lost everything, Seong-woon couldn’t refuse and was dragged along.

Hugging Seong-woon tightly, Ryu Chang-yoon breathed slowly. His slightly hot breath brushed against Seong-woon’s ear. Seong-woon rested his cheek on Ryu Chang-yoon’s shoulder.

“I missed you, Chae-yoon.”

“…Yeah.”

“…Would you be angry if I beat up that director?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you know how much I endure because of you?”

“…You’ll keep enduring for my sake, right?”

Ryu Chang-yoon pulled Seong-woon slightly away from his embrace and looked down at him with a dark expression for a while before pressing his forehead against Seong-woon’s.

“How could I refuse your words?”

Such tenderness. Seong-woon couldn’t help but feel both gratitude and guilt towards Ryu Chang-yoon.

His brother, that is, Ryu Chae-yoon, was part of his soul, and now he could clearly feel it, and as his emotions seemed to gradually merge with his, the feelings became even more vivid. The word ‘fusion’ felt almost tangible.

“Our baby is being honest with her expressions today. Did your memories perhaps return?”

“Memories… What if they never come back?”

“I don’t care.”

“…”

“The rest of the family will feel the same. Chae-yoon, you… just being alive is all we could ask for.”

“Hyung…”

“Whether your memories don’t return, or you if act as if your soul has been switched, or treat us like complete strangers…”

“…”

“It doesn’t matter. We will still love you. Understand?”

‘Not just Baek Sang-hyun, but even Ryu Chang-yoon and the other family members had they all noticed that something was off about him?’ 

Seong-woon nodded, reflecting on his poor acting skills.

“Are you grateful?”

“…Yeah.”

“And a little sorry.”

“Then will you come back home…”

“That’s… not happening. I’m going to live independently.”

“…Chae-yoon.”

Seong-woon tried to smile brightly. He had long felt that the family’s love wasn’t just pouring out to ‘Ryu Chae-yoon’. But that’s precisely why Seong-woon couldn’t stay by their side anymore.

“I’m going to get healthier. Then you won’t have to be tied to me anymore, hyung.”

“I’m doing this because I want to.”

“Yeah, I knew you’d say that.”

Ryu Chang-yoon, who had been looking down at Seong-woon for a while, took his hand and fiddled with it. Until the cold hand felt a little warm. It strangely felt like saying goodbye.

Seong-woon quietly observed Ryu Chang-yoon’s ever-changing face. His emotions were clearly visible. His face flushed red and calmed down several times, like a volcano erupting. Finally, Ryu Chang-yoon managed something close to a smile.

“Let’s get you examined first.”

“Okay.”

Although there was still some lingering attachment, Ryu Chang-yoon brushed Seong-woon’s hair gently.

It felt like he had pushed away Ryu Chang-yoon but gotten closer to Ryu Chae-yoon. Seong-woon felt like he understood what that fusion of spirit and body meant. The feeling of becoming complete, as the 7% soul fragment, so small it could barely be called a piece, seeped in and finally made him feel whole.

‘Genuinely…’ 

Seong-woon rolled the word around in his mouth. He felt like he knew a little bit about what it meant, but he couldn’t muster the courage to actually do it.