VDN Ch 13

I had skimmed through the middle part of the novel, so I didn’t remember well, but upon hearing Kwon Seo-oh’s question about sending him to an omega, it suddenly came to me. After swallowing his saliva once, Nam-woon opened his mouth to overcome this crisis.

“No, it’s not that. I think it would be better to go home early. I wonder what time it will be after Se-han sees everything at Mrs. Soon-i’s aunt’s place and then at Eun-bi’s apartment.”

“How do you know that, Hyung?”

“……”

“… Ah, I’m screwed.

In his haste to get past the situation, he carelessly repeated what he had heard from Se-han. A low, growling sound came from beside him.

“How would you know that?”

“That, last time…”

“Were you watching me?”

“Yes.”

I thought it might be better to say I was watching him than to say I was playing alone with Se-han and heard it from him. I felt sweat trickling down my body.

“You are such a bastard.”

“I’m driving.”

There was no added comment to what he said, he feared that he might get beaten up like last time. After driving a bit further, Nam-woon arrived at the place he had scouted earlier. As he pulled the car into the parking lot, Seo-oh looked around and asked.

“Where is this?”

“The place. Get out first. I’ll park and come.”

After Seo-oh got out first, Nam-woon found a suitable spot and parked. And it was the moment he was unbuckling his seatbelt.

[Congratulations! It’s time to use your lottery ticket!]

Use the lottery ticket? Nam-woon’s heart throbbed with excitement. To think that he would use it now after receiving it for completing a quest last time.

[There are tremendous benefits hidden, so spin it well!]

Ta-da! A round spinning wheel appeared before his eyes, along with flashy lights.

Oh, it’s dazzling. Nam-woon forced one eye open to take a closer look at the spinning wheel. But as soon as the wheel appeared, it started spinning at an incredible speed on its own.

I can’t even see what’s written on it!

The system teased Nam-woon with its text.

[What will Seok Nam-woon’s luck be?]

Phew. Nam-woon took a deep breath and then commanded solemnly, like a general going into battle.

“Stop.”

The spinning wheel, which had been whirling rapidly, slowed down drastically at Nam-woon’s single word. Click. The arrow at the top seemed to stop on a yellow square. Nam-woon was horrified. The square had the words that were written in cute letters.

[Have a fun SM play with the main characters]

“No!”

Nam-woon screamed madly, holding the steering wheel inside the car. It wasn’t a simple draw or a game of chance, when you say lottery ticket, isn’t it mostly good things? This spinning wheel was literally a minefield.

“Next to it! Right next to it!”

Nam-woon cried out in despair. Perhaps his earnest wish was heard, as the spinning wheel miraculously moved slightly to the side. The arrow passed the yellow square and slowly began to move to the green square.

“Please, please, please…!”

Nam-woon clasped his hands tightly together. The arrow gradually came to a stop. It had landed on a green square.

[System Power Saving Mode (24 hours)]

“….!”

Ta-da!

[Congratulations! You’ve won the System Power Saving Mode (24 hours).]

[You’ve drawn the System Power Saving Mode (24 hours)! ㅜㅜ That’s too bad, you’ll have to aim for something better next time!]

Something better? That was nonsense. There was nothing better than the System Power Saving Mode.

The system seemed unable to accept that it had to go into power-saving mode, flashing lights crazily in protest. It stated that “it was a pity that there was an opportunity to show better things, that xx play (too scary to mention) was hard at first but easy the second time, it was very unfortunate to lose the opportunity to introduce Seok Nam-woon to a new world,” the system continued to gaslight Nam-woon.

However, Nam-woon’s face was filled with joy. Had there been such a happy moment in the past few years? It felt like he had matched all six numbers in the lottery in a row.

[System Power Saving Mode will be applied from now!]

[Then, see you in 24 hours! Goodbye!]

If only it were power-saving mode forever… Nam-woon was ready to enjoy his freedom. But then light entered his eyes again.

[Oh, right!]

It was the phrase Nam-woon hated the most.

[For your information, the automated system for role fulfillment clauses is always in operation! Please carry out your duties faithfully.]

Automation? What kind of power-saving mode was that? The system was more advanced than he thought.

Regardless, the unexpected fortune was indeed very welcome. Is this why people gamble? Nam-woon stepped out of the parking lot with a lighter step.

After concealing his excitement from the spinning wheel draw, he went to the front of the store, which was already bustling. He had seen a post saying that the restaurant had been featured on a food show, which seemed to be the reason. There weren’t many people there before.

As Nam-woon opened the door, a person who appeared to be the store owner asked.

“How many people?”

“Two. How long do we have to wait?”

“More than forty minutes.”

Nam-woon looked back at Seo-oh with a serious expression.

“It’s going to be over forty minutes. Should we go somewhere else?”

Until just a moment ago, Kwon Seo-oh, who had been cursing, suddenly became docile. Nam-woon found this change strange and asked again.

“Are you okay? We might have to wait a long time. Maybe it’s better to go somewhere else.”

“No,”

Kwon Seo-oh said it with a determined look in his eyes.

“Let’s eat here.”

***

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

As the soju glass was filled about a third of the way with the clear liquor, Nam-woon downed it in one go. Then he picked up the soju bottle again to refill his glass while grilling meat with his other hand. After the meat was fully cooked, he moved it to the edge of the grill and placed a few pieces on the empty plate in front of Seo-oh.

“Eat quickly, it’s going to burn.”

Seo-oh, who had been quiet, neatly picked up his chopsticks and popped a piece of meat into his mouth. As he chewed slowly with his mouth closed, Nam-woon asked,

“Tastes good, right?”

Seo-oh felt very pressured by Seok Nam-woon’s gaze. Although his eyes seemed somehow excited now, Seo-oh was worried that if he said the food tasted bad, Nam-woon might flip the table over in this crowded place. Reluctantly, Seo-oh nodded once, and Nam-woon smiled slyly.

“This place is really a hidden gem. Maybe it tastes better because we waited for forty minutes.”

Nam-woon wrapped two pieces of pork belly in lettuce and popped them into his mouth. It was unclear if he had chewed properly before he swallowed the meat and continued speaking.

“It wasn’t this crowded when I came here before. It must have become more famous after being on TV.”

“You’ve been here before?”

“Yeah.”

“When?”

“A few months ago?”

It was strange. The Nam-woon that Seo-oh knew would never come to such a place. He pretended to be high-class, stealing people’s hard-earned money, and only frequented upscale restaurants and private bars. Or maybe he did like such places but didn’t want to be caught by Seo-oh because of his pride.

But why was he revealing it now? As Seo-oh looked at Nam-woon with chopsticks in hand, Nam-woon pointed to the empty bottles.

“Why, should we order more beer?”

“You drink beer?”

“Of course.”

It was the same with beer. He used to say that cheap alcohol like beer or soju didn’t suit him and that he only drank expensive wines or spirits.

“Two bottles of beer here, please!”

Nam-woon, who had been grilling meat, cautiously started to speak.

“But you know…”

Suddenly, Nam-woon started to sneak glances at Seo-oh with a suspicious expression. He had poured the water and beer himself, and while eating, he watched Nam-woon closely but saw no sign of him putting anything into the glass. Seo-oh took the initiative.

“I don’t like it.”

“Huh? What don’t you like?”

“Just don’t like it.”

“Ah, did you see earlier?”

Nam-woon, scratching his head, rustled in his pocket and pulled something out. Seo-oh’s gaze landed on it. It was a business card.

[Tsseubong Entertainment]

“I got it in the parking lot earlier. They said to give it to you.”

“Why would you take that?”

“They just gave it to me. I couldn’t just throw it away.”

“Throw it away.”

“Aren’t you interested in this kind of thing?”

Seo-oh, who had been slightly tense, not knowing what the man in front of him would say, felt deflated. He was just fiddling with the meat with his chopsticks when Nam-woon’s words suddenly made him stop.

“You’d be good as an actor.”

Looking at him incredulously, Nam-woon said with a matter-of-fact expression,

“You’d definitely succeed if you debuted.”

“On what basis?”

It was the first time he had heard such a thing, especially coming from Seok Nam-woon.

Is this guy really crazy?

Nam-woon, who was crunching on a cucumber, said nonchalantly,

“I think you’d do well… at that sort of thing.”

***

Nam-woon, who was about to say that Seo-oh looked handsome, barely managed to change his words mid-sentence. Why was it so embarrassing to say someone was handsome right in front of them?

Thump. Seo-oh suddenly put down his chopsticks forcefully on the table. The rough movement caused a beer bottle next to him to topple over onto the table. Nam-woon hastily grabbed some tissues. As he was wiping the table with the tissue, Seo-oh’s sharp words flew at him.

“Why are you suddenly talking about that? Are you going to push me into that field now? Sponsorship, or something like that?”

“…Ah, really. Hey, why do you talk like that?”

“Why not. It would be perfect to get rid of me in front of Chairman Seok. With a face well-known, I’ll be kicked out immediately if I were a scandalous celebrity.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

At the added words, Seo-oh snorted. At this rate, he wouldn’t even be able to get along, let alone become close. Nam-woon, trying to soothe his frustration, poured a little soju into his beer glass. Holding the beer bottle, Nam-woon said to Seo-oh,

“If you don’t want to do it, then don’t. Want a drink?”

“No.”

“Try it once. I mix a good soju beer.”

“How do I know what you put in there?”

Nam-woon, busy downing his drink, didn’t quite catch Seo-oh’s last muttered words.