VDN Ch 147

While Bong-nam went to work, Nam-woon gradually cleaned up the house that had an eerie atmosphere like an abandoned house. He swept the yard with a broom and pulled out the weeds growing around it. As he was pulling out the weeds, he remembered the time he and Se-han cleaned up the yard together.

“A big, wiggly worm!”

“Ah!”

Nam-woon smiled slightly, thinking about Se-han’s chubby cheeks. Thinking back to that time, he pulled out the weeds one by one and soon the yard became clear.

He fixed the doorknob that had become loose the day before. When he had lived here, he had been so busy running the shop that he hadn’t bothered to fix the loose doorknob, which now seemed like a very dangerous thing to do. In such a remote and sparsely populated area, it could lead to dangerous situations if something went wrong. 

He had a strong and rather intimidating appearance, so no one would approach him carelessly, but Lee Bong-nam was different. His fists seemed much stronger than mine, but from the outside, he looked like a delicate, pitiful flower. For that reason, it instinctively triggered a protective instinct in Nam-woon. For Bong-nam’s sake, Nam-woon decided that once he finished fixing the doorknob, he would definitely reinforce the security bars.

Nam-woon, who was drilling all over the house with his toolbox, was stopped by Bong-nam in an urgent voice.

“Mr. Seok, please stop working. What if something goes wrong?” 

“What do you mean something goes wrong? I’m just putting in a few screws.” 

“Why are you acting like this? You weren’t like this before.” 

“I’ve turned over a new leaf. Bong-nam, is there anything else that needs fixing?” 

“No there, haah…. Then could you check the bathroom lock? The door doesn’t lock.” 

Eventually, Bong-nam gave up trying to stop Nam-woon and sighed. Nam-woon cracked a joke with a smirk.

“Bong-nam, why? You still don’t trust me? Is that why you lock the bathroom door when you go? I’ve changed for the better, you know.”

Bong-nam raised his voice, saying, It’s not like that! Nam-woon chuckled at Bong-nam’s immediate reaction and started fixing the bathroom lock. Bong-nam sneakily glanced at Nam-woon.

***

Today, Nam-woon had planned to surprise Bong-nam by installing security bars early in the morning, but he ended up oversleeping. When he checked the time, he realized he had slept for a full thirteen hours straight.

He felt embarrassed that he had slept so peacefully. Nam-woon glanced at Bong-nam and asked quietly.

“Do I sleep too much? I guess it’s just that I feel so comfortable here that I keep falling asleep…”

“It’s okay. It’s understandable.”

Though he said this with a hint of embarrassment, Bong-nam answered casually. 

When I first came here, was I that pitiful? Bong-nam pretended not to care and took care of me with utmost sincerity. He bought a lot of snacks, like fruit and encouraged me to eat more and more even when I refused because I was full.

Given that he had quit his job due to the original Seok Nam-woon’s actions, it would be understandable if he treated me like an enemy, but Bong-nam showed no signs of resentment and treated me too well. Was there anyone else who would extend such kindness to someone who had brought them trouble? Lee Bong-nam was clearly an angel without wings.

In fact, I didn’t expect to enjoy such luxury, but thanks to meeting a kind homeowner, I felt at ease for a while. Also, I seemed to gain some weight because I kept eating the food Bong-nam gave me.

Nam-woon, who was chewing an apple, suddenly looked down at his stomach. Since I was just eating without doing anything, my belly fat felt like it was rising. Nam-woon, who had a serious expression, gently stroked his lower stomach with his palm. My stomach really did stick out a bit.

I let out a faint sigh and raised my head, and my eyes met with Bong-nam, who was watching me. Bong-nam was startled and avoided eye contact. Then, after a while, he asked Nam-woon a question.

“…Is the apple good?” 

“Yeah. It’s really sweet and tasty.”

“That’s good. I’ll buy some peaches for dinner. But Mr. Seok, I think it would be better if you stopped using words like ‘fuck’ anymore. There are ears listening, after all.”

“Oh? Uh, okay, I will do that.”

Nam-woon looked puzzled for a moment before nodding obediently. Since the virtuous landlord disliked hearing such language, it was only polite to comply.

Bong-nam watched until Nam-woon finished eating the apple, then stood up and packed his bag. Nam-woon rose to see Bong-nam off as he headed out.

“Are you going to your part-time job at the convenience store?” 

“Yes. I’ll be back soon.

Lee Bong-nam, who had been naturally accepting Nam-woon’s farewell, made an awkward expression for a moment, as if the situation were strange. He tapped the tips of his sneakers on the floor a few times, then turned around and opened the front door.

Just as Bong-nam was about to leave, Nam-woon grabbed his forearm.

“Wait a moment.” 

“Yes?” 

Bong-nam looked down at his wrist, which was caught by Nam-woon in surprise. A large hand was holding his thin, white arm. As Bong-nam stared at it, Nam-woon pulled a sticky note out of his pocket and held it in front of Bong-nam’s eyes.

“Do you know what this is?” 

“……”

“Bong-nam-ah?”

“Oh, yes! T-This?”

[Meeting ID: 6969 8282 6969 

Passcode: 0000]

It was a set of numbers that the system had given Nam-woon as a reward. Since he couldn’t figure it out on his own, he decided to ask someone else. Bong-nam seemed to know something and replied,

“It looks like an ID for a video call.”

“A video call?”

“Yes. Just enter that info on the site, and a window should pop up. Since the laptop doesn’t have a password, feel free to use it. Click the blue icon on the desktop and type that.”

“Ah, I got it. Thanks.” 

Bong-nam glanced at Nam-woon’s face and stomach, then pushed away Nam-woon’s hand that was on his arm and hurriedly went out the door. Nam-woon went straight to his desk and opened his laptop. A video call? He didn’t even think about that. Why would the system tell him this? Who should he have the meeting with and what would he talk about?

Nam-woon clicked the blue icon as Bong-nam had told him and then entered the ID he had received from the system into the input window.

Tap…tap.

After entering the passcode with his index finger, his own face appeared, filling the screen.

It was a rather dazed-looking face.

“Oh, that scared me.”

Startled by his own face on the screen, Nam-woon instinctively pulled back. At that moment, a small square at the top of the monitor displayed a white wall.

“What? Is this someone else’s room?”

Nam-woon squinted his eyes at the screen. Soon, a low voice flowed out of the laptop speaker.

– What? I logged out. So why am I back in?

It was a voice that sounded familiar. I think I’ll know if I listen a little more. Nam-woon unconsciously brought his face closer to the monitor, and the other person’s face suddenly appeared on the small screen.

“……!”

Recognizing the man’s face, Nam-woon fixed his gaze on the monitor in shock. It was the same for the other person. They looked at each other with eyes as if they had seen a ghost. Soon, a sharp shriek erupted from the other side.

– Nam-woon Hyung?

Nam-woon shouted in response.

“L-Lee Ju-ham?”

It was Lee Ju-ham, a part-time worker at his taiyaki store and Nam-woon’s only friend and younger brother. It felt like it had been decades since he had last seen him. Nam-woon shouted in surprise.

“What the hell! Why are you here?”

– That’s what I should be asking you! Why are you in our school’s class…? Aren’t you supposed to be at Uncle’s house?

“Uncle?”

– Yes, the Uncle who’s taken care of you since you were young. Hyung, you were dragged off to get a proper lesson from that old man just a while ago for acting up.

“What? What are you talking about?”

Shocked by Ju-ham’s unexpected words, Nam-woon opened his eyes wide for a moment before hurriedly replying.

“Hey, stop talking nonsense and help me out. I’m so confused right now….”

But Ju-ham just looked at him for a moment, his expression softening as he said,

– The way you speak, your expressions… It’s just like the old you.

I was dying of anxiety, but Ju-ham had been saying nonsense since awhile ago. Nam-woon furrowed his brow and opened his mouth, but Ju-ham scratched the side of his head and spoke.

– Hyung, you’ve been acting a bit strange recently.

“What are you talking about? We haven’t even seen each other in months!”

– Huh? What do you mean? We saw each other just last week.

“What? I haven’t seen you since I got here.”

“……”

“……”

Their conversation paused for a moment. Something felt off. There was a strangely disconnected feeling in their dialogue. Staring at each other’s yellow-tinged faces on the screen, Ju-ham cautiously asked first.

– Here? Where are you right now, Hyung?

Nam-woon moistened his dry lips with his tongue and moved closer to the screen. “

“So, where I am is… Haa… damn, hey, Ju-ham. Listen carefully. You might think I’m crazy when I say this, but everything I’m about to say is true.”

Ju-ham also looked nervous at the unusual atmosphere. Nam-woon swallowed once and said with a determined expression.

“I’m inside a novel.”

– …What? A novel?

“Yes. I was working at the store, and there was this paper lying around. It looked like a novel, so I read it, and….”

– Wait, was it on the counter?

Ju-ham suddenly shouted, his face visibly contorting as if he recognized something. Nam-woon quickly asked,

“What do you know about it?”

– I know it too, I read it!

“What?”

Lee Ju-ham covered his mouth with one hand in surprise and said, ‘Wow, crazy.’ Then with a meaningful expression on his face, he began to tell the first time he had read the novel.

– When was it…? It must have been around half a year ago. I was cleaning the store alone, and there were some papers on the table. It looked like a novel. The condition of it was so clean that it didn’t seem like something to throw away. I thought I’d keep it safe and try to return it to its owner, but curiosity got the better of me. So, I started reading it out of boredom.

And the name of the villain in the novel was exactly the same as his Hyung.