VDN Ch 176

“Wooni Hyung, when is Hyung coming?”

“Uh? He said he’d come tomorrow.”

“Can we call him and ask him to come sooner?”

“Seo-oh, I’m busy right now. Just hang in there for a bit.”

“Sigh.”

This is a big deal. Se-han, who quickly got tired of the “vacation”, started looking for Seo-oh. I want to see Kwon Seo-oh too, but I’m holding back…. Nam-woon swallowed his words and turned around with a cold sweat. It was to get help from Kwon Sang-moon.

“……”

However, everyone was looking at him with desperate eyes, as if they had nothing else to do.

Nam-woon had no particular solution either. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, but in that brief moment, Se-han couldn’t hold back and clung to his pants, whining.

“Wooni hyung, can I have your phone?”

“Phone? What for?”

“I want to call Hyung and then play games.”

Of course, he didn’t have a phone. Strangely, Yong-deuk had taken only his phone, leaving his bag and its contents behind. It seemed that items unrelated to their imprisonment had been left untouched, judging by Se-han’s belongings still being here.

Nam-woon quickly pointed to a small wooden block rolling on the floor.

“There’s Jenga here and the board game we were playing earlier. Why are you looking for a phone game? If you look at your phone, your eyes will get worse. I even tried to reduce my phone time and didn’t bring mine. Same goes for the adults.”

“Really? You don’t have a phone?”

“Yeah. It’s a digital diet.”

“Detox.” Kwon Sang-moon, standing next to him, corrected him with a smile.

Se-han pouted his lips at the mention of not having a phone. It was when Nam-woon was about to comfort the sulking child.

“Hey, you bastards, eat your food!”

“……!”

Everyone was startled by the loud voice from outside and turned to look at the door. Se-han was no exception.

Creak.

A rectangular slot in the middle of the door opened, and a food tray slid in. Just before the soup spilled over, a man quickly approached and caught it. The trays matched the exact number of people in the room.

After placing all the trays on the floor, the man, who had been getting up, met the large, wide eyes staring at him.

Blink, blink. After a brief moment of eye contact, Se-han suddenly started running. He quickly shoved his hand into the slot of the door. Fortunately, no further accidents occurred. Nam-woon hurriedly chased after Se-han, lifted him, and slung him over his shoulder, bringing him back into the living room.

“Let’s eat, Se-han.”

“Wooni hyung, there’s someone outside!”

“There are people who provide room service at hotels. That’s who it is.”

“But why are they swearing?”

The child’s questions kept coming. Kwon Sang-moon, unable to bear it any longer, gently took over from Nam-woon and comforted his son quietly.

“There are all kinds of people in the world. Even those who curse need to have jobs.”

After that, Nam-woon, sweating from Se-han’s barrage of questions, hurriedly set the table and pulled Se-han close, seating him in front of it. He placed a spoon and chopsticks into the child’s tiny, wiggling hands. Just as Kwon Sang-moon, sitting next to Se-han, was about to calm the child down and hand him a glass of water, a loud thud resonated from above. The sound level was too high to dismiss as mere noise from upstairs.

What the hell is going on now? All the adults looked up at the ceiling with anxious expressions as Se-han raised his short arms to cover his head. A trembling voice escaped the child’s lips.

“It’s an earthquake! Everyone get under the table!”

“…It’s okay, Se-han. In places where many people live together, sometimes there’s noise from upstairs.”

Kwon Sang-moon reassured the child, patting his back. Nam-woon raised his voice to lighten the tense atmosphere.

“Let’s eat quickly now. Thank you for the meal!”

Then the rest of the others quickly followed suit and shouted.

“Thank you for the meal….”

The food on the trays looked miserable at first glance. The yellow rice appeared as if it had been cooked ages ago. There was a small amount of kimchi and radish and a watery soup with a couple of unidentifiable floating pieces. It was far too poor for room service from a hotel. At that point, Se-han seemed to sense something odd. He stared intently at the adults who were hastily eating, then began fiddling with his spoon.

Nam-woon, watching Se-han reluctantly put the spoon in his mouth, called for the only way to escape the current situation, his own savior.

Status window.

[………]

Status window!

[Yes. Did you call…?]

The text stretched sideways as if reluctant to answer. Nam-woon furrowed his brows and got straight to the point.

Is there no way to get out of here?

[I’m sorry. You do not have system permissions.] 

Anything will do. Just give it to me quickly.

[I’m sorry. You do not have system permissions.] 

It was the same response, as if it were etched in stone. Nam-woon gritted his teeth and lowered his voice.

Hey, what’s wrong with you? Last time when Kwon Sang-moon was taken in that van, you gave me a lottery ticket or something.

[…….]

Stop the nonsense and give me the lottery ticket. You still have that, right?

Nam-woon opened his eyes wide and shouted. He needed to get out of there as soon as possible. It wasn’t just because of Se-han, he was also worried about Seo-oh, who was left alone. His heart ached thinking about Seo-oh wandering around, searching for him and Se-han.

They had only recently been reunited, and now they had to separate again. He could imagine how desperately Seo-oh was looking for him. Nam-woon poked the air with his chopsticks, trying to pressure the system.

“If I disappear like this, it’s over for you too. Do you think there’s another life as dazzling as mine out there?”

[A life full of ups and downs.]

The system corrected Nam-woon’s words and then floated five small square pieces of paper in the air. The papers moved around and then flew towards Nam-woon’s face. Although they were nothing but just illusions, Nam-woon quickly grabbed one of them. The people around him gasped as he made a sudden movement.

[Wow! Omega Pheromone Attack Ticket Congratulations!]

[You have obtained the Omega Pheromone Attack Ticket!]

Nam-woon tilted his head.

“Do you attack with that? But I’m not good at using pheromones… I’ll be at a disadvantage. What if I get hit a lot?”

[The pheromone attack doesn’t work that way! Omegas don’t get hit. Omegas only get hit by ‘flowers.’]

Staring at the fluorescent sentence, Nam-woon suddenly understood the hidden meaning and exclaimed.

“Not a flower but a dick!”

“Dick?”

“Kek, cough!”

Se-han innocently asked about the sudden words, and Kwon Sang-moon, who was eating soup, coughed painfully upon hearing the words.

[Great progress! You have found an error in the sentence!]

[Your adaptation to Omegaverse has improved even more! Congratulations!]

Oh no, it seems he said the last word out loud. Nam-woon hurriedly made an excuse, ignoring the loud praise from the system.

“Oh… the soup is too spicy. Did you put in chili?”

“Hmm? It’s not as spicy as the kimchi pancakes we had at home last time.”

Se-han said as he diligently scooped up the soup with his spoon. Mr. Taeksoo then patted Se-han’s head.

“Oh, Se-han is grown up. Since the soup might be spicy, let me pour you some water.”

Splash.

The watery soup was mixed with water, making Nam-woon feel a bit strange.

But… Why are the older men looking at him with such pity? When did they start giving him those looks?

Nam-woon sat there without eating, lost in thought, and Mr. Taeksoo took the chopsticks from his hand and fed him a spoonful of rice. It was as if he was treating a kindergarten child. Despite finding it strange, Nam-woon obediently opened his mouth, and the rice went in.

Feeling like a preschooler, Nam-woon furrowed his brows. Meanwhile, the system’s explanation continued persistently.

[The Omega Pheromone Attack Ticket is a special skill that allows you to seduce Alphas with pheromones. We specially grant you the usage right due to your weak pheromone emission, Seok Nam-woon.]

Damn it. How is that an attack ticket?

Nam-woon stared aggressively at the air and finished his meal. Everyone quietly moved their chopsticks as they watched Nam-woon finish his food with a fierce attitude.

After finishing the meal, somehow, the men cleaned the tableware and returned it to the cabinet. During this time, Nam-woon sat at the table, holding his hands together, shaking his legs.

I have to get out of here somehow… but is that really the only way?

Just then, Se-han’s voice, muttering sadly about feeling bored, was heard in his ear. Nam-woon briefly checked on him, stopped his thoughts, and suddenly stood up from his seat. Then, he promptly dropped to the floor and started doing push-ups.

“One, two, three!”

Se-han, who had come closer with curiosity, watched him closely. Nam-woon raised his head and said, “Se-han, it’s time for me to exercise, so I’m going to do some exercises with Dad and the men in the room.”

“Huh? But you don’t exercise, Hyung.”

“I’m starting now.”

Nam-woon stood up for a moment and took off his shirt. Se-han widened his eyes and pointed at Nam-woon’s belly with his short index finger.

“Potbelly!”

“Yeah. See it? I have a potbelly.”

“Oh. So you’re going to exercise because of that?”

“That’s right.”

Se-han nodded as if he understood immediately. Convincing him was easy because the potbelly had not gone away yet. Nam-woon thought it was fortunate and spoke again.

“Uncles, you should come in quickly too. I need to take off all my clothes to exercise because it gets hot.”

The men looked at each other and raised their eyebrows at the behavior that could only be described as erratic. Nam-woon also knew how strange his actions must look to others. However, he had no choice but to continue pushing forward. While doing so, Nam-woon looked at Se-han and reiterated his instructions.

“Se-han, it’s too hot, so I have to take off all my clothes. Make sure the uncles don’t come out of their room. If others see me naked, Seo-oh will get mad.”

“Okay, got it.”

Se-han, with his large eyes blinking, nodded and grabbed the men’s hands, leading them into a small room. Nam-woon hastily grabbed Kwon Sang-moon’s arm as he tried to follow them into the room. Then he roughly dragged him into the large room with the cheap bed.