VDN Ch 182

Nam-woon slightly pulled his head out and grabbed Seo-oh’s arm tightly at his rough actions of rubbing and caressing. At that moment, fierce pheromones burst out.

“Seok Nam-woon…”

The voice was cold, as if suppressing emotions. The pressure intensified. Nam-woon, overwhelmed by the pheromones erupting around him, covered his mouth and stepped back, only to trip and fall.

“Ah!”

The pain was indescribable as another shock was applied to his buttocks, which had already suffered from coming down the steep slope. As he was unable to get up with a frown, Seo-oh suddenly came into the hole and pulled Nam-woon tightly. Before Nam-woon could even process the firm arms wrapping around his waist, his body was swiftly lifted.

“Hey, what are you doing!”

Seo-oh, who had easily lifted up the sturdy adult male, sat Nam-woon down on the edge of the pit and hugged him tightly. His jawline, which had become sharper overnight, rubbed against Nam-woon’s chest, making him feel a strange sensation.

“Nam-woon Hyung…”

Looking down, Nam-woon saw his disheveled hair. The suit he had put on neatly that morning was now a complete mess. As Nam-woon stared at him, he gently placed his hand on Seo-oh’s tangled hair. At that, Seo-oh visibly flinched and then burrowed closer to Nam-woon’s belly. He continued to call out.

“Seok Nam-woon, Hyung, Nam-woon Hyung…”

A sense of foreboding washed over Nam-woon, as if Seo-oh would continue like this all day. He hadn’t bathed, so he was sure he smelled of sweat. Moreover, for some reason, it felt like Seo-oh’s face was gradually descending toward his groin. Startled, Nam-woon grabbed both of Seo-oh’s cheeks and lifted his face up. Fortunately, there was light returning to his dark eyes. Yet, the sinister atmosphere seemed to linger.

As they were silently looking into each other’s eyes, Seo-oh suddenly closed the distance between them. Pressing his forehead against Nam-woon’s, he whispered softly.

“I want to lock you up.”

“What?”

“I want to hide you somewhere where no one can see you, and only I can see you. From now on, you can only meet me. We’ll only eat and talk together. Then you won’t have to suffer like you did today with Chairman Seok.”

“……”

A dark desire was rising from the depths of Seo-oh’s black pupils, a desire that one shouldn’t reveal to others. Nam-woon felt a sense of unease and discomfort, but he tried to remain calm on the outside.

“Then how will I make money?”

“I’ll take care of it. You just have to stay with me.”

Seo-oh answered firmly and stared at Nam-woon. His eyes seemed to be asking for permission to do so. He was dumbfounded by the words that didn’t sound realistic at all, but on the other hand, he felt a little sorry. How tough must it have been for him to think like this? He imagined Seo-oh desperately searching for him. 

Nam-woon moved his fingers without answering. The dry dirt on Seo-oh’s smooth cheek touched his fingertips. His cheeks, forehead, and everywhere else were covered in unidentifiable stains, like a dog that had been rolling around in the yard for days.

“What were you doing outside that you came back in this state?”

Should I wipe it with my saliva? While having such pointless thoughts, Nam-woon wiped his cheeks. Seo-oh silently turned his head to the other side, then leaned his face forward. Nam-woon’s mouth twitched slightly. Seo-oh was acting inappropriately cute in this situation, and Nam-woon’s lips curled up on their own.

Nam-woon finished wiping Seo-oh’s other cheek and straightened the wrinkled collar of his shirt. Suddenly, Nam-woon stood up. Seo-oh also climbed out of the pit and stood closely beside him. Only then did Nam-woon’s gaze fall on the person lying on the ground. Judging by the shape of his body and head. It was definitely Chairman Seok.

Nam-woon froze and asked without even thinking of approaching him. 

“…He’s not dead, is he?”

“No.”

Seo-oh, replied firmly.

“I was just scaring him. He is your father, after all.”

The system’s urgent warning and the deep hole he had dug felt far too serious for that statement to be true. Nam-woon swallowed his words and slowly approached Chairman Seok. Fortunately, his chest was rising and falling. Letting out a sigh of relief, Nam-woon spoke to Seo-oh in a serious tone.

“Hey, even so, how could you do something like this?”

“I…”

Seo-oh started to speak but fell silent, pressing his lips together with a gloomy expression. It was a pitiful sight but if he didn’t address things properly here, it could lead to serious trouble later. Nam-woon, who had made up his mind, continued.

“No matter how angry you are, there are things you just shouldn’t do. Doesn’t a smart guy like you know that?”

“……”

Seo-oh, who had been silent, raised his eyes. The corners, clear just a moment ago, were now red and showed a look of discontent.

“I thought you were hurt really badly.”

“……”

“I was worried that something might happen to you, that I might fail to protect you… I was so scared of that…”

Hearing his pitiful words, Nam-woon paused. Until now, he had worried about whether something had happened to Seo-oh, whether he was seriously injured. So he understood Seo-oh’s feelings.

But if he had been just a moment late, as the system warned, Seo-oh could have done something terrible. Knowing this, Nam-woon shook his head. There was no need to dwell on something that hadn’t happened yet. He did need to scold.

However, seeing Seo-oh with drooping shoulders and moist eyes, Nam-woon gently said

“Still, don’t ever do this again. Got it?”

Seo-oh nodded obediently. Nam-woon wrapped his arms around the large frame and gently stroked his back and hair. Seo-oh blinked his dark eyes softly, nestling into Nam-woon’s embrace.

While mechanically patting Seo-oh’s head, Nam-woon glanced over at Chairman Seok with a worried expression. They needed to get him down quickly, but what about the pit? Doesn’t it look too suspicious?

Should I fill it in beforehand?

As Nam-woon was lost in serious thoughts, a loud noise was heard from somewhere. 

“Ah! I found you, damn it!”

When he turned his head, he saw a group of gangsters coming up from the narrow road on the left. They were swinging their weapons in their hands and casting fierce glances at Seo-oh and Nam-woon. Nam-woon was shocked when he saw a familiar man leading them.

“You bastard! I swear I’m going to fuck you today.”

“Fuck me?”

It was that smelly bastard! If Nam-woon hadn’t checked his outfit first, he wouldn’t have recognized him at all. His face was red and battered as if he had been beaten up by someone.

“Who are you fucking?”

Seo-oh tilted his head at the man’s words. The man continued to move his mouth thoughtlessly.

“You’re going to be screaming and writhing under me today.”

Before he even finished speaking, Seo-oh grabbed a shovel. The veins bulged in the hand gripping the handle. Nam-woon grabbed Seo-oh’s hand and hid him behind his back.

“What are you doing! Get them!” 

The men ran toward them with a shout. At the same time, Seo-oh’s large hand roughly shoved Nam-woon. Nam-woon’s body was thrown back into the pit again.

“Ah! Kwon Seo-oh, why did you…!”

His words were cut off by something flying through the air with a threatening sound. Nam-woon, who had hurriedly lowered his head, slowly opened his eyes. A hammer was flying quickly right above him. 

Shit, if I had been hit by that, my skull would have been shattered!

Nam-woon looked back at Seo-oh. He was confronting the large guys alone. Even though he was outnumbered, his skill in focusing on the smelly bastard was amazing. His long legs mercilessly tore at the big guys’ bodies, and his large hands reached out and landed in their throats and collarbones. Blood spurted out of their mouths, and groans of ‘Ugh!’ came from all directions.

No matter how well Kwon Seo-oh fought, he was too outnumbered. It was an unfavorable situation.

“Kwon Seo-oh!”

It was the moment Nam-woon went out of the pit to help him. Chairman Seok, who he thought had lost consciousness, suddenly stood up and attacked Nam-woon.

“Give me that!”

He knew what the documents in his hand were. Nam-woon raised his hand high to avoid having his things taken away and pushed Chairman Seok away, but his strength was surprisingly strong. Sensing that he was being cornered, Nam-woon frowned deeply in response to the fierce resistance.

At that moment, something flew past from behind with a whoosh. As he bent his upper body to avoid it, Chairman Seok took advantage of Nam-woon’s distraction and tackled him, climbed on top of him, and started to strangle him.

“You ungrateful bastard! They say you should never take in a black-haired beast and how right they were! I should have gotten rid of you along with your mother when she left!”

“…Keuk!”

Nam-woon gripped Chairman Seok’s hand tightly. Despite the suffocating pain, he repeatedly struck Chairman Seok’s face. However, Chairman Seok didn’t budge. Even though there was blood oozing from his mouth and nose, he didn’t let go of his grip on Nam-woon’s neck, as if he had taken some kind of drug.

“Fuck, they’re fighting again.”

Surprised, Nam-woon barely managed to move his gaze to confirm the owner of the familiar voice. It was Jin Hae-geon!

As soon as he arrived, he joined Seo-oh in knocking down the large men. However, it seemed none of them noticed the struggle between Nam-woon and Chairman Seok. Just before Nam-woon felt he might lose consciousness, Seo-oh, now with a bit of breathing room thanks to Hae-geon’s arrival, turned to shout.

“Hyung!”

Nam-woon barely managed to move his eyes in time. He saw Seo-oh rushing frantically toward him, with someone behind him raising their hand.

“Ah… No!”

Something unknown pierced Seo-oh’s neck. Immediately sensing something was wrong, Seo-oh grabbed the face of the man behind him and threw a punch. He also yanked out the small object stuck in his neck.

But it was too late. The syringe was already empty.