VDN Ch 183

“……”

What just happened? Nam-woon felt his vision darken for a moment in shock. Then a hearty laugh was heard, mocking him. It was Chairman Seok.

“Your precious Seo-oh is now worthless.”

A sharp glint filled Nam-woon’s eyes. He immediately grabbed Chairman Seok by the collar and shook him roughly.

“What did you do?”

“…You are my son, but you’re too stupid. I was wondering who you took after, but it turns out you’re the spitting image of your mother.”

With that, Chairman Seok finished speaking with a sneer on his lips. It was ominous. The sight of Chairman Seok happy and Seo-oh sitting on the floor clutching his neck with a syringe lying on the ground.

No.

Nam-woon threw Chairman Seok, who seemed unwilling to say anything more, to the ground and ran toward Seo-oh. The short distance felt longer than ever.

Chairman Seok, who was following closely behind, swung the blunt weapon he picked up from the ground with great force. Bam! With a loud noise, Nam-woon lost his balance and staggered. Chairman Seok, not missing the opportunity, ran to him and reached out his hand. Nam-woon tried to hold on, enduring the pain that felt like his head was going to burst, but his weak body couldn’t take it.

As he was being pushed further and further, Chairman Seok suddenly stopped. Feeling a chill from behind, Nam-woon managed to straighten up and lower his head. Below him was a steep downhill cliff.

A dark and deep cliff with no end in sight….

“……”

Whoosh. The wind rustled through the dense trees, creating an eerie sound. Nam-woon instinctively tensed his body. Even the slightest movement to avoid falling caused the dirt beneath his feet to tumble noisily. Cold sweat poured down his back, and his throat felt tight.

“Hyung!”

“Seok Nam-woon!”

A loud shout rang in his ears. Seo-oh, who was out of breath, ran straight towards Nam-woon, and Hae-geon, who was dealing with the remaining gangsters, also turned around with an urgent expression. Chairman Seok shoved the body in front of him with a thud before anyone could stop him. Flutter, flutter. White papers scattered through the air.

Everything that happened after that seemed to move in slow motion. Jin Hae-geon shocked expression as he ran forward, Chairman Seok shouting as papers fluttered in all directions, and Seo-oh’s pretty face distorted. And his hand reaching forward…

He was falling.

Just as he realized this, something large enveloped Nam-woon’s body. A warm and comfortable embrace, a lovely and cozy scent. Before he could properly perceive it, a huge blow was soon poured down on his body.

After that, there was only darkness.

***

Blink.

His eyelids moved slowly. The dense trees and dark sky filled his vision.

“Ugh.”

Nam-woon slowly raised his upper body with his hands on the ground. A dull pain came over his entire body as if he had been beaten, but fortunately, he was able to move without any problems. He felt the fallen leaves piled up under his palms. It seemed these had served as a cushion. It was a stroke of luck.

Nam-woon frowned and leaned against the wooden pillar behind him. What happened? It seemed like Seo-oh had wrapped around me just before I fell…. Nam-woon thought about that and suddenly raised his head.

“Seo-oh!”

Nam-woon limped as he raised his body and looked around. Not far away, he found a bundle of paper scattered on the ground. Then, he saw a man lying dead in the middle of them. Nam-woon ran without hesitation.

“Kwon Seo-oh.”

He quickly approached and called his name, but Seo-oh remained motionless with his eyes closed. Feeling anxious, Nam-woon grabbed Seo-oh’s shoulders and shook him gently. Still, there was no response.

Nam-woon’s breath quickened. The last expression he saw on Seo-oh’s face, along with the warm embrace that had enveloped him, flashed in his mind. No, no… In a panic, he bent over and pressed his ear against Seo-oh’s broad chest. Thump, thump, thump… He could definitely hear a slow but steady heartbeat. Just to be sure, he placed a finger under Seo-oh’s nose. A shallow breath tickled his fingertips. Only then did Nam-woon let out a sigh of relief.

But why was he unconscious?

“Seo-oh, get up.”

“……”

“Get up!”

No matter how soft the ground was, if he had fallen from this height, there was a high chance he had gotten hurt somewhere. Nam-woon felt Seo-oh’s head and checked his clothes to assess his condition. There were no visible injuries, but that alone wasn’t enough to make him feel safe.

Nam-woon put his arm around Seo-oh’s back to lift him up. That was the moment.

“Hyung…”

“Seo-oh! Are you conscious?”

“……”

“Do you recognize who I am?”

Seo-oh slowly blinked and looked at Nam-woon, smiling faintly. Only then did Nam-woon let out a sigh of relief, his tension suddenly gone. It was fortunate that he quickly regained consciousness, but he had to hurry to the hospital because he didn’t know when things would get worse. Nam-woon grasped onto Seo-oh’s arm.

“Can you stand? I’ll help you, so move slowly.”

“…Are you okay, Hyung?”

Seo-oh said weakly, grasping Nam-woon’s hand that touched his body. Nam-woon nodded.

“You can see for yourself. I’m fine. Thanks to you shielding me…”

Nam-woon’s face darkened as he thought about what could have happened if the fallen leaves hadn’t cushioned their fall. He bit his lips tightly, imagining the terrible outcome. He wanted to yell at Seo-oh for doing something so dangerous. What would have happened if something had gone wrong, and whether he thought about the family that was anxiously waiting for him. But he held it all in.

Even if his words came from worry, he shouldn’t scold Seo-oh. Seo-oh had only tried to protect him in a life-or-death situation. If there was a problem, it was with himself for getting into this situation because of someone like Chairman Seok.

Nam-woon swallowed his curses and tried his best to lift Seo-oh. However, for some reason, Seo-oh didn’t move. Nam-woon’s face grew more serious than ever.

“What’s wrong? You’re not… hurt somewhere, are you?”

He examined Seo-oh’s body again. He noticed that the end of his pants, from his thigh to his calf, was torn, with bright red blood flowing out. Nam-woon opened his eyes wide and shouted.

“Your leg! Are, are you okay?”

 “…Yeah. I’m fine.”

“Does it hurt so much you can’t walk? Do you think the bone’s broken? Can I carry you?”

“It’s not broken. It doesn’t hurt, I’m fine.”

“……”

Seo-oh kept insisting he was fine, but his body didn’t move at all. He was conscious, speaking well, and had no broken bones or serious injuries. So why? Nam-woon’s expression turned slightly perplexed.

Seeing Nam-woon’s face, Seo-oh smiled faintly. It was a rare, playful smile.

“But why… why aren’t you getting up?”

He asked with a trembling voice. Seo-oh quietly replied, I… don’t want to get up.

Nam-woon’s heart revealed his anxiety. Feeling the rough rising of his chest, he tightened his grip on Seo-oh’s arm again.

“Hey, this isn’t the time for jokes. We need to go to the hospital. Hold on to me.”

“I told you I’m fine. I don’t need to go to the hospital.”

“What do you mean you’re fine! “

Nam-woon was now yelling. He could no longer fall for Seo-oh’s lies.

“You’re not fine. Get up!”

As he shouted in a fit of anger, Seo-oh suddenly confessed as if bringing up a casual topic.

“I like you.”

Nam-woon stared blankly at him with his lips parted. Seo-oh laughed out loud perhaps he must have found that funny and folded the corners of his eyes. But Nam-woon couldn’t laugh along. His head was a mess.

Seo-oh, who had been quietly watching Nam-woon in silence, opened his mouth again.

“I like you, Hyung.”

“……”

“A lot more than you think.”

“Y-you… why…”

“I probably like you more than anyone else in the world.”

It’s a secret from Se-han. Seo-oh added softly.

Nam-woon’s chest heaved at his confession. He couldn’t breathe well. Tears began to well up in his reddened eyes.

“Why are you saying this now?”

“I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time. Always.”

“But why now?! You said you wanted to tell me in a good place! Is this a good place? This is…”

Nam-woon looked around wildly with tear-filled eyes, shouting.

“This place is fucking awful right now! Shit…”

At that, Seo-oh let out a low laugh.

“Why? I think it’s nice here. Cozy and quiet. And I like anywhere as long as I’m with you, Hyung.” 

“What’s nice about it? It feels like ghosts could show up… Maybe they’re already next to us.”

Nam-woon clung to Seo-oh’s chest as he sobbed.

“You said you’d confess in a nice place… Kwon Seo-oh, you told me that, ugh…”

It was becoming harder to hold back the tears. Clear drops fell, wetting Seo-oh’s cheek. Slowly, Seo-oh raised his hand to wipe the tear-streaked face.

“This is the first time I’ve seen you cry like this, Hyung. You look cute even when you cry.” 

“Stop talking nonsense and get up. Please…”

Nam-woon sobbed and shook his strong shoulders. Seo-oh’s lips opened slowly.

 “…I’m sorry for hitting you so much before. And for calling you ugly and insulting you for being stupid. Actually, I never once thought you were ugly. But I did think you were stupid. I’m sorry, I used to be cold to you… I’m sorry for getting angry over trivial things, Hyung.”

“I won’t accept your apology. I won’t accept it. I absolutely won’t accept it, so stop…”

However, regardless of Nam-woon’s shouts, Seo-oh continued speaking.

 “I was really happy and glad to be with you, Hyung.” 

“Don’t say that, I…!”

Nam-woon yelled, as if he were having a fit, trying to block Seo-oh’s words.

Status window! Do something about this.

[…….]

The status window frustratingly remained unresponsive. While Nam-woon anxiously searched for the status window in his mind, Seo-oh had stopped speaking and closed his eyes. He looked like he was dead. Shocked, Nam-woon stammered out his words.

“Seo-oh, no, you don’t need to apologize. I… I’m not the Seok Nam-woon you know. So you don’t have to apologize.”

“…What do you mean?”

 “I… I came from somewhere else.”