VDN Ch 160

He pushed the shopping bag to a corner of the room, covered it with clothes, and checked Se-han’s summer vacation homework. At that moment, the front door opened with a click.

“Hyung!”

“You’re back?”

“Mhm. Sundol kept begging me to go play… I’m tired…”

Se-han had gotten much closer to Sundol recently, and they went for walks ten times a day. It seemed like Se-han had been running around a lot today as he collapsed onto the floor, panting heavily and rolling around. Seo-oh immediately got up and opened the refrigerator door. As he took out a bottle of cold water, a surprised voice rang through the room.

“Wow. Hyung, what’s this?”

“Se-han! Don’t touch that!”

When he turned around, he saw that the clothes he had placed on top of the shopping bag were scattered on the floor, and Se-han was standing there holding handcuffs and a collar. Seo-oh quickly rushed over and snatched the items out of Se-han’s small hands. Se-han asked curiously, looking at his brother who was very flustered.

“Is that Sundol’s collar?”

”…Yeah.”

“But why are there handcuffs?”

“It’s just… a toy. I need to do some volunteer work. And I was preparing to play with younger kids like Se-han.”

“Oh, I see! You’re playing police? That sounds fun!”

Se-han, who didn’t know anything, smiled brightly. Watching Seo-oh quickly pick up the shopping bag and stuff it deep into the closet, Se-han suddenly asked,

“But Hyung, when is Wooni coming? You said he called last time.”

“He’ll be here soon. I’ll tie Wooni Hyung up with… No, I’ll hold his hand tightly and bring him here.”

“Yeah. You have to bring him! And make sure to give him the paper I gave you!”

Seo-oh nodded seriously. He had to tie him up so that he couldn’t escape again. His eyes were fierce with determination.

***

“Ah, what am I going to do…”

Nam-woon had been pacing in front of the perfume shop for over ten minutes. He couldn’t bring himself to go inside because the thought of Mr. Park waiting inside made it hard to take a step forward.

After being shocked by Mr. Park’s bombshell remark asking if three was okay, Nam-woon accepted his proposal for two reasons. First, he thought that accepting Mr. Park’s offer would fill the promiscuous gauge. Second, he believed it would be more helpful to have a third party who could deal with Mr. Park, besides himself, to find the perfume.

If it were just him and Mr. Park alone, they would inevitably be stuck together, making it very difficult to search through the perfume shop. So, having someone else to keep Mr. Park occupied seemed like the better option.

But who’s coming today?

Nam-woon thought of the acquaintances of Mr. Park, whom he didn’t know and ruffled the back of his hair. Worry suddenly crept in. What if Park actually wanted them to lie down together? I shouldn’t have said anything about lying down earlier… As he was killing time by fiddling with his new phone in his overwhelming sense of despair, he suddenly remembered Bong-nam’s request.

“If you buy a new phone, you have to give me your number first.”

He had been so distracted that he hadn’t even contacted Bong-nam… Nam-woon quickly began typing a message.

[Bong-nam, How are you? This is Nam-woon. Save this number.]

The reply didn’t come right away. Unable to find another way to avoid the situation, Nam-woon checked the time and reluctantly stepped into the perfume shop.

The interior was quiet, almost as if the shop had closed for the day. Only the soft lighting scattered around the store seemed to welcome Nam-woon. The cool silence made him take slow, deliberate steps, with the sound of his footsteps clacking against the smooth floor echoing loudly in the empty space.

Is Mr. Park waiting in the breakroom?

Nam-woon suddenly stopped as he headed toward the lounge, his eyes fixed on the transparent display case. He carefully examined the colorful glass bottles, but when he couldn’t find what he was looking for, he turned around. Soon, two doors—one painted white and the other light gray—appeared in front of him.

“Staff only.”

He clearly said it was a white door, right?

Nam-woon recalled Mr. Park’s words as he passed the white door. He then grabbed the handle of the gray door at the end of the hallway. The creepy creaking of the hinges made him glance behind him before stepping inside. He carefully closed the door so as not to make a sound.

Inside, it was dark. Groping along the wall, he found the light switch and flicked it on, revealing large boxes scattered messily around the room. It seemed to be a store warehouse. The only furniture was a shelf, filled with boxes. Various scents floated in the air, so strong that they stung his nose. Nam-woon muttered as he looked around, “When am I ever going to get through all of this?”

But he couldn’t give up now. He let out a deep sigh and moved quickly. He had hesitated for so long already, unsure of when Mr. Park would call. He had no time to delay. Rolling up his sleeves, he started pulling boxes from the shelves one by one, rummaging through them.

He swallowed the cough that threatened to burst out from the thick dust and repeatedly lifted and opened boxes. The tendons in his arms bulged with every lift. Before he knew it, beads of sweat were flowing from his temples, and his shirt clung to his back.

How much time had passed? Suddenly, a loud vibration echoed through the storage room. Startled, Nam-woon quickly checked his phone.

[Where are you?]

It was Mr. Park. He seemed to have become more familiar with Nam-woon, as the tone of his messages had become more casual. Nam-woon checked the time and moved his hand, his face anxious. It had been 20 minutes since he last looked.

[I’m almost there.]

[Hurry up.]

The informal speech he spoke was so natural, as if he had always spoken that way. He thought it was a little strange, but he soon forgot about it. He didn’t have time to worry about the changed speech.

If he was too late, Mr. Park would think it was strange. Nam-woon quickly pushed the box in and shook off the dust from his shirt and black pants. Then, just like when he came in, he quietly closed the door and headed towards the break room.

His phone vibrated again in his hand. This time, Bong-nam’s name appeared on the screen. Nam-woon hesitated but then pressed the refused button. This wasn’t a good time for a call. But the phone rang again almost immediately.

Could something have happened?

After repeated calls kept coming in, Nam-woon finally answered the phone.

“Hey, Bong-nam.”

– Mr. Seok!

The voice was very urgent. Nam-woon furrowed his eyebrows and asked.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

– Mr. Seok, where are you now?

“I’m outside. Why?”

– You’re not at the perfume shop, are you?

At Bong-nam’s words, Nam-woon was taken aback and asked:

“How did you know I was here?”

On the other end of the line, he could hear Bong-nam’s heavy breathing, followed by the sound of an engine starting.

– Get out of there quickly! I borrowed a scooter, so let’s escape together!

“What? What are you suddenly talking about?”

– I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I told that jerk that Mr. Seok was going to the perfume shop! I’m coming to get you, so just get out of there quickly. If that guy catches you, it’ll be a real disaster!

“That guy? Who’s that guy?”

– That piece of trash…Hope’s dad!

“I can’t hear you well. Who’s dad?”

It was when Nam-woon asked again. The break room door swung open. Then a dark chest came into view. Nam-woon slowly raised his head while holding the phone to his ear. Soon, his mouth dropped open when he saw the other person.

“I was wondering why you weren’t coming.”

A strong finger wrapped around Nam-woon’s wrist. The intense grip caused the phone to drop to the floor. Through the other end, Bong-nam’s voice echoed repeatedly, saying, “Mr. Seok? Mr. Seok! No…!” But Nam-woon, who was just opening his mouth like a carp, barely managed to utter a word.

“…Kwon Seo-oh?”

At the same time, his body was suddenly pulled into Seo-oh’s embrace. A chillingly low voice struck his eardrums.

“I’ve been waiting, Hyung.”

Realizing that the Seo-oh in front of him was not an illusion, Nam-woon’s eyes widened as he took a step back. But he was already trapped by Seo-oh’s thick arms, unable to move an inch. His body was helplessly dragged away, and the break room door firmly closed shut.

“How did you get here… Ugh!”

His body was pushed against the wall. Then, warm lips covered Nam-woon’s lips as if they were going to devour him. Seo-oh wrapped his arms tightly around Nam-woon’s waist and began to rub their lips together. The hot tongue quickly penetrated through the gap like slithering like a snake, exploring every corner inside Nam-woon’s mouth. The flesh that wrapped around the tongue pulled the root of the tongue tinglingly.

The room quickly filled with wet sounds. His nose and mouth were being pressed down, and his body was trapped and blocked on all sides. Nam-woon struggled like a person drowning in water.

What the hell is wrong with him? Did you come here to mess with me?

Kwon Seo-oh was like a wild beast with its prey right in front of him. He couldn’t handle the force of his fierce charge. Nam-woon felt fear rather than his pride being hurt. His cheeks were constantly brushed by heated breaths, and his upper lip and chin were smeared with saliva. He struggled hard with his arms and legs in the unusual momentum, but he was not strong enough to shake off the man, who was like a boulder that weighed down his entire body.

The relentless kisses only stopped when Nam-woon’s resistance eased. Their lips parted with a wet sound. Nam-woon wiped his damp lips and gasped for air, his chest heaving heavily.

Seo-oh, who also had glistening lips, looked at Nam-woon as if he were savoring him. Then he buried his nose into Nam-woon’s exposed neck and inhaled deeply. A sigh-like breath escaped his lips. Seo-oh hurriedly inhaled Nam-woon’s scent. As if someone had been underwater for a long time and was finally coming up to the surface to take their first breath.

“You, what are you doing? How are you suddenly…?”

When Nam-woon asked in a trembling voice, Seo-oh slowly lifted his head. His hot palms cupped Nam-woon’s cheeks.

“Did you have fun playing hide and seek with me all this time?”