VDN Ch 115

“You want to repay the debt, right? Then do you want to work at a host club?”

The bad jokes they made to a student were all despicable. Since there was no one to take care of him, Nam-woon no longer felt the need to stay in the office. He even began to doubt if repaying the debt was really his responsibility.

So, Nam-woon pretended to go to school and worked to save up money to escape. Since all he needed was money to escape, it didn’t take long to gather the funds. With the money saved up over a month, he attempted his first escape. He felt just like his father in the past, packing his things and having foolish thoughts.

However, his clumsy escape was quickly discovered, and he was severely beaten.

One day, while repeating the same routine of dodging his gangster “Hyungs,” he walked down a quiet street with his hands in his school uniform pants pocket. It was the middle of winter, and he only wore his school uniform without a coat.

“I’m cold and hungry.”

Nam-woon was always hungry. He didn’t attend school properly, and because he didn’t want to waste money, he didn’t eat well, so he had almost forgotten what a proper meal tasted like. Red kimchi on white rice. He felt like just eating that would make him truly happy.

At that moment, a savory smell wafted into Nam-woon’s nose. It was the smell of taiyaki.

Following the scent, he walked and saw a small shop. The shop owner was not in sight. Drawn by the cozy aroma of freshly baked taiyaki, Nam-woon stood in front of the shop counter. He had only intended to take a look around and leave.

Just as he was salivating at the sight of the golden taiyaki, something suddenly popped up from below.

“What can I get you?”

A boy who looked like a middle school student asked bluntly. Nam-woon hesitated and rummaged through his pockets. He hoped for something, but they were completely empty.

“Um, no thanks.”

He quickly replied in embarrassment and turned around. However, the boy, who had been staring at his worn-out sneakers, suddenly shouted behind Nam-woon.

“Mom! Should I throw away the leftover taiyaki?”

He involuntarily turned his head at his words. Then the boy said it with the same blunt expression as before.

“We’re done for the day. If you want to eat, eat it. If not, don’t.”

It seemed like the boy was being considerate. Nam-woon stood hesitantly, and the boy took his hand and led him to a red plastic chair inside the shop. Then he picked up the taiyaki from the warming display and handed it to Nam-woon. After a moment of hesitation, Nam-woon quickly devoured the taiyaki.

“Slow down. Eat slowly.”

“……”

Tears suddenly fell from Nam-woon’s eyes as he puffed up his cheeks and munched on the taiyaki. Once the tears started, they didn’t stop, and the taiyaki in his mouth became wet.

The boy silently continued to hand taiyaki to Nam-woon, whose face was completely covered in tears.

“It’s too hot….”

“Drink some water.”

“I’ve never eaten something this hot before, sniff.“

“Don’t tell ridiculous lies.”

The boy watched silently as Nam-woon poured out tears. The taiyaki he handed him was not hot at all, as it had been placed on a turned-off warming display. It was just pleasantly warm. Yet the boy cried as if he had never eaten anything hot before. To a young kid’s eyes, that sight looked truly pitiful.

So he spoke up abruptly.

“Come by sometimes.”

“Mmm….”

Since that day, Nam-woon has often visited the taiyaki shop. The boy who handed him the taiyaki was named Lee Ju-ham. He said he would be a high school student next year and that he was working part-time at his mother’s shop.

One day, Lee Ju-ham taught Nam-woon how to bake taiyaki, but after that, he would occasionally pass off his work to Nam-woon. Nam-woon, who enjoyed making taiyaki, helped him without complaint. That day, as usual, Ju-ham was baking taiyaki instead of him.

However, Ju-ham, glancing at him from the side, suddenly asked a random question.

“…What’s your wish?”

“Wish?” Nam-woon asked back. Ju-ham nodded and added, “It’s okay to think about what you want to do when you grow up.” Nam-woon, pondering for a moment, soon laughed mischievously.

“I want to have a wife like a fox and children like rabbits, living happily together.”

“Why are you talking like an old man?”

Lee Ju-ham turned his head away as if he wasn’t amused. Nam-woon had never thought about wishes like that before, I’ve never thought about wishes before, so he said it half-jokingly, but when he actually said it out loud, it seemed pretty plausible. It would be really nice to have a family. But maybe it’s an impossible wish in this life? Nam-woon thought about his own hopeless situation.

They were silent for a moment. Nam-woon spoke again.

“I might not be able to come here much from tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“I’m going to work somewhere else.”

He was thinking of dropping out of school. Graduating properly seemed impossible as he was already lacking attendance, and above all, he felt that his time at school was wasted. It would be much better to work somewhere and earn money during that time.

Nam-woon wanted to be free as soon as possible. When he ate home-cooked meals made by Ju-ham’s mother at their house or made taiyaki without thinking, his desire for freedom grew stronger.

Ju-ham filled the taiyaki batter into the mold and scribbled something on a piece of paper lying around.

“Call me if anything happens.”

An eleven-digit number. It was a phone number. Nam-woon smiled. There was still a helping hand in his life. It was a shitty life, but it was at least a little bit worth living.

A few days later, Nam-woon heard from some gangsters that the man who had taken care of him had paid off half of his debt. The unfairly increased interest was also written off because of him. Nam-woon headed straight to the hospital, where the man was admitted.

He barged into the room and demanded to know why he did it. The man, with his usual indifferent expression, said,

“I was going to pay back what I received from your father and send you away right away… But Namwoon, since you were with me, I got attached to you, so I guess that’s not possible anymore.”

The man finished speaking and smiled, which was rare. Seeing the man’s awkward smile, as if for the first time, tears welled up in Nam-woon’s eyes.

“Who asked you to pay off the debt? I’ll handle that myself….”

Please get better soon, please… He repeated those words, crying his heart out in front of the man.

After that, Nam-woon worked like crazy. It was tough and exhausting, but thinking of the man gave him the strength to endure. Watching him, the gangsters shook their heads, calling him a tough guy.

Over the course of a few years, Nam-woon managed to pay off the remaining debt, feeling relief and exhaustion at the same time. The man, who had slightly recovered in the hospital bed, gave Nam-woon, who had lost his direction in life, some advice.

“Take your time to think about what you can do well.”

What can I be good at? There was only one thing that immediately popped into Nam-woon’s head.

Nam-woon saved up money for two years and opened a small taiyaki shop near an elementary school. It soon became a hangout spot for the kids during the winter. Unable to handle the influx of orders, Nam-woon asked Ju-ham for help just five days after opening the shop.

“Where did your fox-like wife go? You only have rabbit-like kids in here!”

Ju-ham complained, looking at the chaotic scene in front of the taiyaki shop. Nam-woon burst out laughing.

“I have a fox-like wife right here.”

“Where?”

“Right next to me.”

“What is she doing?”

“I don’t know. Probably sleeping.”

“Ah, but the wife you mentioned….was it a man?”

“…What?”

***

A dim light was coming into the room.

….What a surprise, you’ve startled me awake.

Somehow, it didn’t feel real. Nam-woon blinked and stared at the ceiling. Perhaps because of an old dream, his mind was restless, and his body felt stiff. Did I cry in my sleep? He reached up and felt his face. Luckily, there was no moisture.

As Nam-woon turned to his side, he stiffened. He saw the face in front of him. Kwon Seo-oh was facing him, breathing evenly and sleeping. Nam-woon stared at his face while holding his breath. When he first came to this world, he never thought he would live with someone.

And that someone would be Kwon Seo-oh.

Nam-woon unconsciously closed the gap between him and Seo-oh. He felt the desire to touch his long eyelashes. He cautiously raised his hand to Seo-oh’s face.

Rustle. Rustle.

Huh?

There was a rustling coming from somewhere. Nam-woon moved away from Seo-oh and raised his head towards the source of the noise. He saw a small back wearing a yellow chick t-shirt used as pajamas.

The child was fidgeting with their hands and putting someone in their mouth. Nam-woon squinted his eyes and observed Se-han’s actions, and the child slowly turned his head as he felt the gaze fixed on his back. Their eyes met.

“……”

“Hap….”

In the small hand was a bag of jelly. Se-han stared at Nam-woon with wide eyes, motionless, while his mouth continued to salivate. Then he smiled shyly and put his short index finger firmly on his lips. Shhh. It was a gesture to keep it a secret from Seo-oh.

Nam-woon jumped up from his spot and approached Se-han, holding out his hand. He was requesting a hush-money payment. As if waiting for this moment, a jelly was placed on Nam-woon’s palm. When he looked into the bag, he saw only two jellies left. Nam-woon pulled the child into a hug and rolled around with him.

“Who told you to eat so much, Kwon Se-han?”

“Ahhhhh!”

Se-han let out a small scream. As he was tormented, his small body was rolled around tightly, and he flailed his short limbs with his eyes tightly shut. Nam-woon enjoyed it and tormented the child even more.

Their noisy antics made Seo-oh, who had been sound asleep, toss and turn. Se-han quickly escaped from Nam-woon’s embrace and dashed to the trash can, quickly putting the last two jellies into his mouth and tossing the bag away. It was a perfect destruction of evidence.

Meanwhile, Seo-oh, who had completely woken up and sat up, looked back and forth between Nam-woon and Se-han, who had woken up first.

“…When did you wake up?”

“Just now. We should have dinner now.”

At Nam-woon’s words, Seo-oh checked the phone next to him and replied in a low voice,

“It’s early morning now.”

“What?” 

Seo-oh, hearing the surprised question, hugged Nam-woon and lay down on the blanket again. Naturally, Nam-woon had to lie down next to him. In their usual facing position, Seo-oh checked the wound on Nam-woon’s face and gently hugged him.

“Sleep a little longer, Hyung.”

“I’ve already slept over twelve hours.”

“I’m tired.”

As Nam-woon tried to sit up, Seo-oh hugged him tightly again.

“I can’t sleep without Hyung next to me. Let’s sleep together.”