VDN Ch 12
by STAR“Don’t get me wrong, it’s because of my rhinitis.”
Nam-woon hurriedly made an excuse and sniffled for no reason. Kwon Seo-oh didn’t say anything, probably because he couldn’t feel Nam-woon’s nose and mouth touching him because of the helmet. It was a huge relief.
Kwon Seo-oh opened his mouth again.
“…Let go.”
“Huh?”
“Let go of your hand!”
Oops. It seems that Nam-woon had accidentally grabbed Kwon Seo-oh’s waist when he suddenly made a stop. Nam-woon made an awkward face and took his hands off his thick waist. The refreshing scent was still floating around his nose.
After riding for a while, they reached the familiar alleyway. The bicycle stopped, and Nam-woon quickly got off and tried to take the bicycle from Kwon Seo-oh’s hand. However, Kwon Seo-oh looked at Nam-woon for a moment and then took the bicycle up the road himself.
It was unusual behavior. Nam-woon quickly followed Kwon Seo-oh and said,
“I’ll do it.”
“Just go up.”
Kwon Seo-oh replied without looking at Nam-woon. Nam-woon lingered by his side for a moment before taking the lead. After a short walk, they reached Namnam Supermarket. The old man drying peppers on a table in front of the supermarket greeted Nam-woon with a mix of joy and urgency.
“Oh, young man, you’re here? We’re in big trouble! You know, you told me not to tell the young man up the hill…”
Nam-woon widened his eyes and opened his mouth, rolling his eyeballs frantically. It was a silent sign that he shouldn’t talk any further since the person involved was right behind him, but as expected, the old man didn’t understand.
“Why are you making that face? It’s hilarious. No, that’s not it, anyway, Seo-oh came and…
“Hello.”
Kwon Seo-oh, who had followed Nam-woon up, greeted him calmly. The old man at Namnam Supermarket widened his eyes and pointed back and forth between Nam-woon and Seo-oh.
“Huh? You two came together? What, are you on good terms? Oh, I thought!”
He said this to Nam-woon as he grabbed a large pepper in his hand.
“Oh, we’ve been caught anyway! Hahaha, two handsome men sticking together, it’s just nice to see, isn’t it? Hahaha!”
Nam-woon judged that there must be cold sweat running down behind the cheerfully laughing grandfather’s back.
He gave Kwon Seo-oh three kiwis to eat later and then hurriedly disappeared into the supermarket. The alley was filled with the sound of cicadas. Afterward, the two climbed the uphill road in silence.
As they climbed the hill, looking at Kwon Seo-oh’s broad back, they soon arrived in front of his house. Nam-woon absentmindedly looked at the front door of the house. As expected The rice he had left behind was of course, gone.
It couldn’t have remained until now. If it was Kwon Seo-oh, he might have really thrown it away. Nam-woon, feeling bitter, quietly spoke up.
“Then I’ll go.”
“……”
Even though Nam-woon said he was leaving, Kwon Seo-oh didn’t respond and stood there without giving him the bicycle. Eventually, Nam-woon reached out his hand first.
“Give me the bicycle.”
“Are you hot?”
Kwon Seo-oh asked out of the blue.
“Yeah. Give me the bicycle.”
“Are you thirsty?”
“What?”
Perhaps because of the heat, Kwon Seo-oh had been doing things out of context since earlier.
“I’m thirsty. So hurry up and give me the bicycle.”
“…Water.”
“What did you say?”
It must be quite a task to ride a bicycle with two adult men on it. Nam-woon had a serious expression on his face, thinking that Kwon Seo-oh wasn’t feeling well.
“Kwon Seo-oh, are you sick?”
“Do you want to drink some water before you go?”
Nam-woon was taken aback by Kwon Seo-oh’s words.
If he said he wanted to drink water, that obviously didn’t mean going into Kwon Seo-oh’s house. Nam-woon, who had been silent, nodded and Kwon Seo-oh told him to wait a moment and went inside the house. Waiting with a bewildered expression, Kwon Seo-oh soon came out with a yellow plastic cup. The name “Kwon Se-han” was written in large letters in the center of the cup.
It was familiar handwriting. As Nam-woon stared at the cup, Kwon Seo-oh added,
“We ran out of bottled water. It’s barley tea.”
“…Thanks.”
Nam-woon took the cup and gulped down the barley tea. An exclamation of satisfaction escaped his lips. Watching him, Kwon Seo-oh then offered him a kiwi. It was one of the kiwis given by the old man from Namnam Supermarket. As Nam-woon just looked down at it, Kwon Seo-oh unexpectedly said,
“One of them is yours, right?”
Nam-woon was inwardly surprised. Such words came from his mouth. It sounded like something Se-han would say.
The kiwi looked smaller than usual in Kwon Seo-oh’s large hand. Should I really take this? While Nam-woon was pondering, shimmering letters suddenly appeared and covered the kiwi without a trace.
[Role Fulfillment Clause 2.]
[Have dinner with Kwon Seo-oh once a week.]
[Please do your best!]
The damned system pushed the role fulfillment stuff again. Nam-woon’s pupils shook uncontrollably as he read the letters.
How am I supposed to say this? I’m in trouble.
As Nam-woon continued not to take the kiwi, Kwon Seo-oh, seemingly annoyed, extended his other hand. It was towards the plastic cup Nam-woon was holding. But Nam-woon, distracted by the system, just gripped the cup tightly. Kwon Seo-oh’s expression became increasingly distorted. Nam-woon knew what that expression meant. It was a transitional expression from puzzlement to anger. Finally, Kwon Seo-oh, having lost his patience, spoke up.
“Give me the cup.”
“Seo-oh-ya.”
Nam-woon called him by his name without his family surname and the kiwi in Kwon Seo-oh’s hand suddenly crushed into pieces. Nam-woon stuttered as he saw it.
“Shall we, shall we have dinner together?”
We’re like brothers, so we should at least have a meal together, right?
Seo-oh had previously dined with Nam-woon a few times on the orders of Chairman Seok. Of course, both meals were disastrous.
The first meal was when Chairman Seok called them out, having reserved a hotel course. Seok Nam-woon, sitting across from Seo-oh, sneered at him throughout. Clothes that didn’t fit the place, complicated dining etiquette. Everything was out of place for him. But this was nothing. He was used to ridicule and contempt.
The problem occurred during the second meal. After finishing the meal, he took a drink, and from that moment on, he wasn’t in his right mind. When he came to, he found himself lying on a hotel bed, with an unknown man panting over him, emitting the scent of an omega.
“Fuck.”
Seo-oh pushed the man away and immediately called Seok Nam-woon. Seok Nam-woon made a scene in a drunken voice ranting about how he is a worthless alpha, telling him to impregnate an omega and get lost from Chairman Seok’s sight.
It turned out that the omega was a subordinate trusted by Chairman Seok, and after that incident, the employee could never face Chairman Seok again. Naturally, there were no more meals with Seok Nam-woon after that. But Seo-oh thought that Seok Nam-woon might pull such a stunt again someday.
But to bring it up after such an incident happened? At first, Seok Nam-woon stuttered, pretending to suggest they have dinner together, but when Seo-oh refused several times, Seok Nam-woon suddenly hardened his expression and brought up Chairman Seok and Seo-oh’s father. It was absurd.
If he was going to be forceful, he should have been from the start, not pretending to be kind.
Beep, beep~!
In the distance, a familiar black car appeared. The car approached Seo-oh, who was standing near the traffic light.
Although it was the filthy Seok family, he couldn’t leave this place yet. His father’s disappearance was surely connected to Chairman Seok. He couldn’t take a single step back until he deceived the snake-like old man and found a clue about his father’s disappearance.
“If you work by my side, Seo-oh, I’ll do my best to look for your father.”
Chairman Seok was like a devil in human skin. Seok Nam-woon, who seemed to have changed a bit recently, would ultimately be just like his father. Seo-oh gritted his teeth, thinking of the father and son.
The window rolled down, and a neatly dressed man in the driver’s seat appeared. He said immediately,
“Kwon Seo-oh, get in!”
For some reason, the man who had only ridden a bicycle came out with a car today. He seemed to have planned something. It couldn’t be anything but a sinister plan.
A cynical smile lingered on Seo-oh’s lips for a moment before disappearing.
***
“Ah, the traffic is bad.”
Nam-woon frowned deeply. Perhaps because it was evening, horns were blaring everywhere. His heart was pounding.
This is why he tried not to drive if he could help it. After carrying a tall guy with broad shoulders on its back for the past few days, the bicycle was barely holding up, forcing him to get it repaired. He thought he might be able to ride it today, but even that turned out not to work.
“Uh? Oh, right! Sorry. I forgot.”
Due to the bicycle shop owner’s forgetfulness, Nam-woon’s precious bicycle had been neglected for days.
Sweat kept forming on the hands holding the car’s steering wheel. He was almost there, just hold on a little longer. Nam-woon took advantage of a stop to wipe his sweaty hands on his thighs. Then, the usually quiet Seo-oh suddenly spoke up.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been in this car.”
“Is that so?”
Nam-woon gave a nonchalant reply. He had just taken any car from the parking lot in front of the office. Then Seo-oh asked with a calm voice.
“Are you going to send me to a room with an omega again today?”
“Huh?”
“Are you going to send me to an omega after I finish eating?”
What was he talking about? Nam-woon replied with a puzzled look.
“No? I’m going to send you home.”
Nam-woon asked without taking his eyes off the windshield.
Do you have someone to meet today?”
“……”
“Should I take you there after dinner?”
Seo-oh didn’t say anything. Nam-woon also fell silent. It dawned on him a moment too late. The incident where he locked Kwon Seo-oh and a male omega in a hotel room.
