VDN Ch 161

Hide and seek? Nam-woon looked at Seo-oh with trembling eyes.

The eyes that met his gaze seemed cold at first glance, but inside he could see they showed hot emotions boiling inside. He flinched and tried to step back, but the wall behind him blocked his movement, so he couldn’t move any further. Seo-oh, noticing Nam-woon’s gestures, grabbed his shoulder tightly.

“Why did you run away?”

“Hey, let go of me and talk.”

“I’m asking why you ran away from me.”

Each word contained suppressed excitement that was conveyed in the voice that was forcefully uttering each word. It seemed like he was holding back the urge to scream at any moment. Nam-woon avoided eye contact, grabbing the thick arm that was on his shoulder.

Why did he leave without saying anything? It was because he wanted everyone, Seo-oh and Se-han, to be safe. And that thought remained the same.

“I didn’t run away! I told you, I stayed too long at your place. I need to start looking for a place to live on my own… Besides, you’re already struggling to take care of Se-han so having me there would just be a burden.”

“You said you didn’t think of me as a beggar.”

Nam-woon opened his eyes at the soft voice. Beneath Seo-oh’s thick, long eyelashes, he saw a melancholy look in his eyes. It seemed as if even the moisture was struggling to come out.

Seo-oh bit his lip for a moment before continuing to speak.

“You said you didn’t think I was a beggar. I can take care of you just fine! Wasn’t I reliable enough? Or… did you hate me? Is that why you abandoned me?”

“No, no! I didn’t abandon you! How could I abandon you…?”

At first, I thought he was angry, but now I saw that the man’s eyes were red as if they were covered in flower petals. Nam-woon fidgeted and raised and lowered his arms, and Seo-oh’s grip tightened.

“Ugh.”

As a small groan escaped him from the pressure on his shoulder, Seo-oh immediately released his grip in surprise. He carefully observed Nam-woon’s expression and slowly lowered his head. His hot forehead came to rest gently on Nam-woon’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Hyung. It’s all my fault. I got emotional seeing you… I’m sorry for getting angry. Sob...”

Hearing Seo-oh’s sobbing voice made Nam-woon’s heart plummet. When he saw Seo-oh’s broad back shaking slightly, he became very flustered and placed a hand on his wide back. He then hesitantly opened his mouth.

“Hey… why is a grown man crying like this? Damn… I didn’t leave because I wanted to.”

“……”

“Hey, Seo-oh. Look up. Hey? Don’t cry.”

As Nam-woon gently hugged the large body and patted his back.

Click

Huh? Did I think I just heard the sound of something being locked? Nam-woon instinctively raised his hand to the cold sensation around his neck.

“What is this?”

Nam-woon groped his neck with a bewildered expression. A thick leather collar was wrapped around it! He stood there, blinking in confusion, when he heard the sound of metal locking again. Lowering his gaze, he saw a thin iron chain extending from his neck to Seo-oh’s hands. At the end of the chain was a round cuff, secured around Seo-oh’s wrist.

“Shit…!”

Nam-woon, who had been standing blankly, soon realized the situation and grabbed the collar with both hands. As he tried to tear at the sturdy collar, the metal chain rattled as it connected to Seo-oh’s wrist. Nam-woon glared at Seo-oh and shouted angrily.

“Hey, what is this? Take it off!”

At that, Seo-oh frowned and held onto Nam-woon’s body.

“Calm down. If you get too worked up, it’s not good for your body.”

“Should I be calm right now? Damn it, where’s the key?!”

Nam-woon, extremely agitated, grabbed at Seo-oh’s clothing and raised his voice. But this bastard… His face is fine? Seo-oh’s eyes, which looked like they would burst into tears at any moment, were now completely clear without a single tear stain. There was no trace of his distorted expression or sobbing voice.

Could it be that he was just pretending to cry? Kwon Seo-oh…?

Feeling betrayed, Nam-woon shouted a string of curses. He then frantically searched Seo-oh’s chest, digging his hands into his pockets. But the key he was looking for was nowhere to be found.

“You crazy bastard! Where are you hiding the key?!”

“Ah, Hyung, don’t! Stop! Ah…! If you touch me like that…”

As Nam-woon’s fingers, who were haphazardly searching through his pockets, touched a hard object at the same time Seo-oh let out a strange moan. Nam-woon’s gestures stopped. In the meantime, Seo-oh took out a key from his other pocket and quickly threw it to the side.

The key flew through the air in an arc and landed on the sofa. Nam-woon shifted his gaze to the key and then spotted a figure huddled in a corner of the sofa and shouted,

“Fuck, you scared me!”

On the sofa sat a man who was curled up tightly. The sight was quite shocking. His upper body was completely bare, and his pants buckle was undone. But it wasn’t just his clothing that was strange. A black sleep mask covered his eyes, and a round gag was stuffed in his mouth. Handcuffs similar to the ones Seo-oh wore were fastened around his wrists. He also had large headphones placed over his ears.

As Nam-woon stared in shock at the bizarre sight, he soon recognized the man’s identity.

“Mr. Park?”

At Nam-woon’s shout, Seo-oh exclaimed, “Ah,” as if he had just remembered something. Then he walked over to where he was. Because they were connected by an iron collar, Nam-woon was dragged along with him. Seo-oh took off the headphones covering Mr. Park’s ears and spoke softly.

“Nam-woon’s here now, so just wait a little longer, okay?”

Nod. Nod

Mr. Park nodded obediently. Nam-woon was extremely surprised when he saw President Park up close. This was because President Park’s genitals were swollen!

In a situation like this, a normal person would be scared to death, so why is…?

He couldn’t understand what was happening. As Nam-woon stood there with his mouth open in a daze, Seo-oh naturally led him toward the door and explained nonchalantly.

“Don’t worry. I just tied him up for a while.”

“Are you crazy? Why would you tie someone up like that? That’s a crime!”

“Mr. Park likes this kind of thing.”

At Seo-oh’s blunt words, Nam-woon doubted his ears. Seo-oh turned to Mr. Park to confirm.

“Mr. Park, if it’s too hard, can I take off the gag?”

Shake. Shake. Mr. Park shook his head. His expression was very assertive for someone who had been restrained.

So he was tied up because he liked it… That was even more shocking. Nam-woon was still in disbelief over Mr. Park’s masochistic preferences when Seo-oh subtly observed him and added,

“I didn’t lay a hand on him. All I did was put on the headphones and handcuffs on him. When Mr. Park saw this, he begged me to use handcuffs instead of the collar… I brought this so Hyung could have it when you arrived. But I think it was a good choice to put the collar on you. It suits you well and looks pretty.”

Seo-oh, who seemed satisfied, kissed Nam-woon’s temple. Nam-woon felt like his blood pressure was rising and he was about to fall backwards, but he barely managed to hold onto his senses and headed toward the door. Seo-oh followed him obediently. Nam-woon came out of the break room and closed the door, making a fierce face.

“Hey, we don’t have time, so hurry up and take this off. If not, I’m really not going to see you again.”

“Hyung, don’t say things like that, even as a joke.”

Seo-oh stepped closer to Nam-woon and spoke in a soft voice, casting him a sly glance.

“Do you think I would hurt you? If you listen to me until you come to my house, then I’ll take it off.”

“Are you kidding? How could I go out like this? How did you even know I was here? What are you doing here, anyway?”

“What are you here for, Hyung?”

It was an unexpected question. I was speechless and at a loss for words, but Seo-oh let out a deep sigh and grabbed my hand.

“I know exactly what situation you’re in right now.”

“What?”

As Nam-woon looked at Seo-oh with startled rabbit eyes, Seo-oh said quietly as if he knew everything.

“You’re hiding something from me.”

“No, there’s nothing like that.”

“When are you going to stop treating me like a kid? I’m grown up now! Why don’t you tell me? It’s okay, just tell me. I already know everything.”

Seo-oh furrowed his eyebrows and raised his voice. Nam-woon’s face turned pale in an instant. You know everything? Does that mean he knows everything that Chairman Seok is doing and that Chairman Seok ordered Nam-woon to sort out Seo-oh and meet Jin Hae-geon? Detective Jang clearly said he didn’t say anything…

No way, did he look at my phone?

Nam-woon swallowed hard and asked,

“Where’s my phone?”

As if waiting for the question, Seo-oh pulled Nam-woon’s phone out of his pocket.

“I’ve had your phone the whole time.”

“You… you… Did you unlock it?”

Nam-woon asked with a trembling voice, and Seo-oh’s cold eyes returned.

“So what if I did? Is that what’s important now? The fact that you tried to handle such a big thing on your own, that’s what upsets me!”

“….!”

At this point, Nam-woon couldn’t deny it any longer. It was clear that Seo-oh knew everything.

Since he had entrusted the phone to a private company, it must have been easy for Seo-oh to unlock it. Ever since he contacted Detective Jang, he even set a password that Seo-oh hadn’t known but it was all in vain. Since he was smart, he might have figured out the relationship just by looking at the messages.

Seo-oh’s face contorted as he saw Nam-woon, whose face was full of conflicting emotions.

“Does it make you feel better to carry it alone? Even though it’s something related to me, why are you trying to solve it by yourself? Do you think it would it make me feel better?”

“I… didn’t want to burden you.”

“What do you mean by burden! How did you see me?”

As Nam-woon hesitated, Seo-oh grabbed his shoulders and shook him with heightened emotion.

“I know how much I haven’t been able to do for you, Hyung. I’m sorry… But for this problem, we need to carry it together and solve it together. Why are you trying to carry it alone?”

“There could be problems in your future because of this. How should I say it? It’s better if I just solve it on my own.”

“Hyung, please don’t think like that. If you keep doing this, I’ll be upset.”

Nam-woon looked at Seo-oh, who had a heartbroken expression with complicated eyes. He slowly ran his thumb over Seo-oh’s shoulder. It felt like warmth was spreading through his body from that touch.

“Let’s do this together now, Hyung. I’ll protect you.”

“……”

Nam-woon bit his lip. As he quietly listened to his words, something welled up inside of him. Seo-oh was saying he would protect him and that they would face it together. But there was no laughter. Nam-woon’s heart warmed little by little as he saw Seo-oh’s more serious face than ever.

But no laughter came. The seriousness in Seo-oh’s face made Nam-woon’s heart slowly grow warmer.

“Kwon Seo-oh…”

“Yes, Hyung. Come here.”

Seo-oh stepped closer to Nam-woon and gently wrapped his arms around both of his shoulders. As Nam-woon leaned his face into Seo-oh’s warm embrace, he smelled the fresh, clean scent of grass, which was his favorite. He felt the heavy, clouded feeling in his head and heart gradually begin to clear.

Ah, I’ve been missing Kwon Seo-oh all this time.

Nam-woon realized once again how important Seo-oh was to him. As the long-awaited sense of relief and comfort spread through him, his body relaxed, and Seo-oh tightened his hold on him. They hugged each other for a long time, feeling each other’s embrace.

But then… Seo-oh’s hand suddenly moved to an unexpected place.

“Hmm?”

Nam-woon furrowed his brows slightly. For some reason, Seo-oh was gently rubbing his stomach.

“Huh? Why… my stomach?”

“Isn’t it here?”

“What do you mean?”

“The fruit of our love.”