VDN Ch 118

Seo-oh hesitated for a moment, glancing at Se-han, who was tilting his head in curiosity. Then, as if making a sudden decision, he jumped onto Nam-woon’s waist. Nam-woon couldn’t hold out for even a second and collapsed to the floor.

“Ugh.”

“Hyung!”

“Hyung, are you okay?”

Surprised, Se-han took off his shoes and ran towards Nam-woon, and Seo-oh bent down to check his condition.

“Are you okay? I told you I’m heavy.”

“Ugh… What were you thinking jumping like that?”

“Hyung, are you hurt?”

The corners of Se-han’s eyes drooped down. A small fist landed on Nam-woon’s waist with a thud. It was Se-han’s earnest attempt at a massage.

“Are you okay?”

“…Yeah. I’m fine, Se-han-ah. Go wash your hands in the bathroom and come back. Let’s have some snacks.”

After hovering around Nam-woon for a while, Se-han turned and disappeared into the bathroom. When Nam-woon realized that Se-han had gone into the restroom, he quickly grabbed Seo-oh by the ears and shook it back and forth.

“Hey, you almost got us in big trouble.”

“Ah, it’s just that your back looked so… I couldn’t help it.”

His voice was so small that it was hard to catch what he said in between, but it was probably for the best. He didn’t want to hear it anyway.

“Sorry, Hyung.”

Seo-oh apologized and gave Nam-woon a light peck on the cheek. Just then, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped abruptly. As they quickly composed themselves, Se-han came out.

“Hyungs, let’s eat snacks together now.”

The way the child spoke was a bit unusually downcast.

Normally, Seo-oh would have nagged him to not eat snacks before having a meal, but he glanced at Se-han’s face and immediately got up from his seat to grab a plastic bag he had set beside him. He pulled out three bear-shaped pork cutlet skewers from the bag and handed one to Nam-woon and Se-han.

“I originally bought only two, but the owner gave us an extra one as a service so we could each have one.”

“Oh, really? But let’s just let Se-han eat this one. Should we keep the other two in the fridge?”

“No. You guys should eat one too.”

Se-han said in a subdued voice.

Is he not feeling well?

This time, Nam-woon observed Se-han’s expression carefully. Se-han, with his lips tightly pressed and eyes downcast, took the skewer and walked over to squeeze himself between the wardrobe and the three-tiered plastic drawers. That was where Se-han’s hobby and daily life existed.

Mmm. Biting down on one ear of the bear-shaped pork cutlet, Se-han began to devour the skewer at a rapid pace. It seemed he had been very hungry after being outside all day. It was clear that the tanghulu he had been making with Grandpa Namnam had ended in failure.

A white t-shirt stained with red and yellow fruit juice. Red ketchup smeared on small lips and white cheeks. Disheveled hair. Nam-woon, who was observing Se-han’s appearance, spoke in a serious tone, pretending to be thoughtful.

“Se-han, you’re like Kang-i.”

“Kang-i?”

“You know, Kang-i from the drama we saw at Aunt Soon-i’s place the other day.”

“Oh, that one!”

The drama followed the protagonist, Kang-i, as he struggled from the bottom to achieve his dreams. It was one of Se-han’s favorite shows lately. It’s predictable but touching, and the director did a great job directing. The main character’s acting was also top-notch.

Anyway, Se-han’s face brightened for a moment at the comparison to such a wonderful protagonist, but then he asked with confusion.

“But Hyung, Kang-i… is a dog, not a person!”

That was true. Kang-i was a young puppy.

Nam-woon laughed cheerfully, “Haha!” after seeing Se-han’s bewildered face. As he enjoyed delicious food and talking to his Hyungs, his depressed mood improved a little, as he challenged Nam-woon to a duel with a skewer that was just a stick, which Nam-woon gladly accepted.

They battled by clashing the thin skewers together, making a “chack, chack” sound with their mouths. Seo-oh, who had been rinsing the dishes they had just eaten, frowned when he saw them.

“Don’t do that. It’s dangerous.”

However, the two didn’t listen to Seo-oh’s words. Se-han lunged at Nam-woon and shouted loudly.

“Hyung, my enemy! Take this sword!”

A fierce attack poured down. Nam-woon, who had been fighting facing off against Se-han, was overwhelmed by the fierce momentum and collapsed to the floor. Ugh…. Se-han, who had climbed onto Nam-Woon’s stomach, thought for a moment and shouted again.

“My evil enemy!”

“Ugh. Why am I your enemy? At least let me know the reason before I die!”

“That, that…”

“What exactly did I do wrong to you?”

As Nam-woon spoke in a painful voice, Se-han made a troubled expression and suddenly glanced at Seo-oh. Judging that he was having trouble thinking of a good line, Seo-oh offered advice.

“Just say anything. It’s dangerous, so finish quickly.”

Se-han looked up at his brother with an uneasy look in his eyes, then he opened his mouth small as if he had made up his mind.

“####...my brother!”

Se-han’s voice suddenly trailed off at that point. Nam-woon asked, continuing his acting.

“What? I didn’t hear you well.”

“……”

“Why are you suddenly silent? Answer quickly.”

Se-han hesitated for a moment at Nam-woon’s words and then shouted out.

“You kissed my brother!”

Crash! The house fell silent after the sound of Seo-oh dropping the bowl. Nam-woon’s face turned pale, perhaps thinking I hadn’t responded because I didn’t hear him well. Se-han drove the wedge in with a clear voice.

“You kissed my brother. Unforgivable! Haaa!”

Se-han swung the skewer carelessly from side to side. Nam-woon died without even letting out a scream. 

Yes, let’s just pretend to be dead like this. 

With his eyes closed and not moving at all, Se-han gently shook Nam-woon. 

“Wooni Hyung?” 

“……”

“Wooni Hyung, you have to wake up.” 

He didn’t want to wake up. When did he see? Did he see it when he washed his hands earlier? 

“Wooni Hyung!” 

Se-han pressed his lips to Nam-woon’s ear and shouted. It felt like he was hearing a ringing in his ears. Nam-woon reluctantly opened his eyes. Seo-oh, who had been silently looking down at them, finally moved his lips. 

“…Kwon Se-han. Don’t play like that anymore. Swinging a skewer at people is dangerous. Hurry up and throw it away.” 

Tsk. Se-han pouted and went to the trash can, quickly throwing the skewer away. Nam-woon awkwardly raised his upper body and rolled his eyes. He couldn’t look at Se-han’s face straight. Se-han, who noticed Nam-woon’s strange behavior, approached him and asked.

“Hyung, what’s wrong?” 

“Uh, it’s just….” 

“Is it because I told you about the kiss earlier?”

When Nam-woon couldn’t say anything, Seo-oh answered for him. 

“Se-han, there’s a reason why Hyungs had to kiss each other.” 

A small sigh escaped Se-han’s mouth that he couldn’t hide. Then he soon replied in a grown-up-like manner.

“It’s okay. Min-chan told me that Hyungs can kiss each other.” 

“What? When?” 

Nam-woon’s eyes widened. No. Why is Min-chan talking about that? How did that topic even come up in the first place?

“I was surprised when I saw it earlier. But it’s okay, Hyungs can secretly kiss each other.

But Se-han’s expression gradually darkened. 

“I’m grown up now, so… it’s okay. It’s okay if you hug each other without me. Heuk.” 

The more he spoke, the sadder he seemed to become, and tears quickly filled up in his large eyes. He tried not to blink and cry, but eventually, tears dripped down Se-han’s white face.

“Ugh… But you’re hiding it from me and doing it secretly. Ugh… Why make it a secret from me? You two are close without me, sob!” 

Eventually, Se-han sat down on the floor and burst into tears. Seeing him looking so sad, Nam-woon didn’t know what to do and just kept repeating Se-han’s name like a parrot. Seo-oh hurriedly took off his rubber gloves and ran over to wipe the tears flowing down Se-han’s cheeks with his thumb.

“Se-han, don’t cry. It’s not like that.” 

“Ugh…! Just the two of you, keeping it a secret from me….” 

“But when did you see it?”

Se-han answered his question in a calm voice.

“I saw Wooni Hyung kissing you over there earlier.”

A small finger pointed toward the bathroom. Nam-woon shouted.

“That was…! Seo-oh did it first.”

“Anyway! I’ve seen more hugs and kisses. In the bathroom, and, uh, at the yard and on the table. Last time in front of the bike, and also this morning under the blanket, and back when it rained, under the umbrella, and also… in front of the supermarket, even on a normal day…”

Nam-woon and Seo-oh’s faces turned dark at the endless places of skinship coming from his little mouth. Did they really do that much? It was something they hadn’t even realized themselves. 

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Nam-woon stuttered and apologized.

“S-Se-han, I’m sorry. We only did it among ourselves.”

He looked into Se-han’s eyes and kissed him loudly on the forehead. Then Se-han screamed “Ah” and wiped his palm across the spot where Nam-woon’s lips had touched.

Isn’t this it?

While Nam-woon was flustered, Se-han wiped away the tears that had flowed down his cheeks and spoke clearly.

“I’m grown up now, so I don’t need this kind of stuff. But please don’t keep it a secret. Also, I have something to ask Hyung.”

Se-han looked at his brother with a serious expression he had never shown before.

“Hyung, can you step out for a moment?”

It was Nam-woon who felt tense at that. Swallowing hard, he looked at Se-han’s with his eyebrows raised. After briefly glancing at his younger brother, Seo-oh nodded quietly and closed the door behind him.

As the door clicked shut, Se-han picked up a skewer that had fallen on the floor and pointed it at Nam-woon. Nam-woon, startled, took a small step back. Se-han then stepped closer and asked.

“Seok Nam-woon Hyung.”

He even called him by his last name, which he had never done before. Se-han kept his eyes on Nam-woon and opened his small lips to ask in a serious tone.

“Do you like Hyung?”

“What?” 

He asked in surprise, but the tip of the skewer Se-han aimed at did not waver. His expression was the same. Nam-woon moistened his dry lips with his tongue and answered.

“Ah…no.”

“What did you say?”

Se-han exclaimed in surprise with a high-pitched voice.

“Then, you kissed my Hyung even though you don’t like him? How could you do that?”

Se-han’s face was completely in shock.

“How can you kiss someone you don’t even like?”

It was the first time he had seen him so worked up. Nam-woon asked Se-han in a slightly resentful tone.

“Why only me? Your brother also….”

“I heard everything from Baek Jang-mi. How many lovers Hyung has had.”

“……”

Baek Jang-mi, that bastard. Why would he tell such things to a kid?