VDN Ch 19

He was dressed sharply in a shirt and slacks, a change from his usual attire, with his bangs swept halfway back. He looked so effortlessly stylish that, if not for the tray he was holding, one could easily mistake him for a young CEO from a prestigious company.

It was as if his good looks had been given wings.

“…….”

“…….”

The two of them looked at each other’s faces for a moment without saying a word. Even though Nam-woon knew Seo-oh would be here, seeing him in attire so different from his usual made it hard to tear his eyes away. Nam-woon soon regained his composure and spoke first.

“Hi.”

“…….”

Seo-oh just stared at Nam-woon’s face without responding. Feeling awkward under that intense gaze, Nam-woon fiddled with his bangs. Seo’s eyes followed Nam-woon’s fingers to his hair.

Why is he looking at me like that? Is it that weird?

Today, he was wearing the suit Yong-deuk had arranged, and he’d even had his hair done at a salon owned by Deok-chil’s friend. Even looking in the mirror, he felt a bit awkward and out of place, and it seemed Kwon Seo-oh felt the same.

With Seo-oh’s gaze fixed on him, Nam-woon found it hard to speak. Then, Nam-woon remembered he had something to give to Seo-oh, so he approached him and started awkwardly opening his mouth.

“Do you work here?”

“…….”

“Uh, how much was the bill at the pork belly place last time?”

Kwon Seo-oh suddenly asked as Nam-woon rummaged inside his jacket.

“Never mind that, do you like baseball?”

Nam-woon looked up at Seo-oh’s unexpected question.

“Well, I guess I like it.”

“Then, have you eaten jajangmyeon^[1] recently?”

At this point, Nam-woon started to get a faint idea why Seo-oh was asking such questions.

I’ve played baseball and had jajangmyeon with Se-han recently.

It was a sudden interrogation. Nam-woon brazenly replied,

“I haven’t eaten jajangmyeon in a year. And I don’t really care for jajangmyeon. When I go to a Chinese restaurant, I always order jjambbong^[2], and I’ve never really craved jajangmyeon from way back when, so I don’t eat it much, and the reason for that is…”

Nam-woon stopped mid-sentence, worried his long-winded explanation might give him away.

“I told you. Don’t lay a hand on Se-han…”

Just as Seo-oh was about to speak, Nam-woon quickly tried to change the subject.

“Ah, I’m thirsty! Give me a glass of that too.”

Nam-woon pointed to the tray Seo-oh was holding, but Seo-oh flatly refused after a moment’s thought.

“No.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not giving it to you, Hyung.”

Then Seo-oh turned and walked away from Nam-woon.

‘Why won’t he give it to me?’

Nam-woon awkwardly scratched his head, about to look at the perfumes again, when someone approached from behind and gently wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

“Mr. Nam-woon.”

“Uh, you startled me!”

Startled by the sudden approach, Nam-woon turned his head to see the man, revealing a bright smile.

“Mr. Nam-woon, it’s been a long time! Oh, you look even more handsome today!”

The man tried to touch Nam-woon’s hair, but Nam-woon frowned and stepped back quickly. The man’s hand, failing to touch the hair, naturally went into his pocket.

“You haven’t seen me in so long, you haven’t forgotten my face already, have you?”

“I have forgotten.”

Nam-woon’s blunt response made the man laugh heartily and wrap his arm around Nam-woon’s shoulder again.

“Our Mr. Nam-woon’s jokes are so cute. Are you whining because you missed me?”

Nam-woon’s face turned to stone. Now he understood why Yong-deuk had mentioned Executive Director Moon and told him to ‘just bear with it.’ The man was using a provocative way of speaking that made him want to punch him.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? You really don’t remember who I am?”

“Executive Director Moon…”

Nam-woon barely managed to reply, his voice devoid of energy.

“Oh, you finally remembered me. Very good.”

Executive Director Moon gave a thumbs-up. Nam-woon felt an urge to break that finger. But just then, a large shadow fell over him, and a glass was suddenly thrust forward.

“…?”

Turning his head, Nam-woon saw Kwon Seo-oh with an expressionless face, offering a red glass.

The color is different from everyone else’s glasses.

Nam-woon asked,

“Is this alcohol?”

“Hyung can’t drink alcohol. Drink this.”

Kwon Seo-oh said firmly, forcing the glass into Nam-woon’s hand, and added

“Drink only this and go home quietly today.”

Then he moved his long legs and walked away. Nam-woon lifted the glass and took a sip, and his mouth filled with cherries. Oh, it’s not alcohol, it’s cherry juice. Nam-woon stared blankly at the spot where Seo-oh had passed when Executive Director Moon suddenly asked from beside him,

“Who is that man? You seem to know him?”

Nam-woon chose his words carefully for a moment before replying.

“He’s a younger acquaintance.”

“A younger acquaintance? Aha!”

Executive Director Moon snapped his fingers.

“Is he perhaps the Kwon Seo-oh you mentioned?”

Nam-woon’s eyes widened as he looked at Executive Director Moon. How did he know instantly when he had only said “younger acquaintance”?

“Haha, why are you so surprised? That’s Kwon Seo-oh, right?”

“How do you know?”

“How do I know? You’ve mentioned it hundreds of times. I thought my ears would bleed.”

Executive Director Moon took a step closer, and Nam-woon stepped back.

“My heart was bleeding too. With jealousy.”

“…….”

Damn it, at this point, he just didn’t want to talk anymore. He couldn’t stay here any longer. Nam-woon turned his head and, as if he’d discovered something incredibly interesting, raised his voice.

“Oh! Over there! Executive Director Moon, just a moment. I’ll be right back.”

“Mr. Nam-woon? Where are you going?”

Ignoring Executive Director Moon’s shouts from behind, Nam-woon hurried through the spacious store. After a while, he sighed with relief, feeling he had put some distance between himself and Executive Director Moon.

Should I go get more drinks? Where is Kwon Seo-oh? While Nam-woon was looking around, someone crashed into him.

“Ouch!”

At the same time, something splashed onto Nam-woon’s body. The liquid, not much in quantity but smelling faintly of fruit, drenched him. The man who had collided with Nam-woon and fallen got up with a distressed face.

“Sir! I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Nam-woon looked down at his wet shirt and replied dazedly. The employee bowed several times, shouting loudly,

“I’m so sorry. Really sorry!”

“It’s okay.”

Nam-woon quickly got up. Anticipating that the employee might kneel and cling to his trouser legs, Nam-woon decided it was better to leave before that happened. He turned and headed for the exit.

However, there was a problem. Near the exit was the perfume corner Nam-woon had been browsing earlier, and Executive Director Moon was still guarding it.

Nam-woon sighed.

I have no choice then.

Executive Director Moon, who had spotted Nam-woon, waved cheerfully and suddenly stopped moving. Nam-woon approached him and said,

“Executive Director Moon, I think I need to leave now.”

However, Executive Director Moon didn’t reply, just stared at Nam-woon with a strange look, as if his mind was elsewhere. Then, he suddenly wiped the smile from his face and said

“Right? We should probably leave early.”

“Yes. Then I’ll be going first.”

Nam-woon was about to walk past Executive Director Moon when he suddenly grabbed Nam-woon’s arm and pulled him close.

“Why, what are you doing!”

Nam-woon, startled by Executive Director Moon’s sudden strange behavior, tried to pull away, but Executive Director Moon ignored him and pushed his face into Nam-woon’s neck. He exhaled deeply and muttered,

“Ah… Mr. Nam-woon. Did you finally spray it for me?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden!”

“Stop playing hard to get. Nam-woon-ssi, you too, in the end… wanted to become my Omega, didn’t you?”

“You’re crazy…! Get away from me!”

Executive Director Moon began to push his entire body against Nam-woon, as if he would never let go. Executive Director Moon was quite large, so Nam-woon, with his injured shoulder, found it difficult to shake him off. As the two engaged in a small struggle, Executive Director Moon’s palm suddenly struck Nam-woon’s forehead.

“Ugh.”

Nam-woon stopped moving for a moment as the pain in his forehead surged. In that instant, Executive Director Moon wrapped his arms around Nam-woon and rubbed his face against his neck.

According to Yong-deuk, Executive Director Moon was an important business figure, and even the fictional Seok Nam-woon maintained a good relationship with him, so it was best not to cause trouble. However, how could he not cause trouble in such a situation?

The moment Nam-woon clenched his fist and raised it, a shadow suddenly fell over them.

“I told you to get lost.”

A low voice came from above, and the body of Executive Director Moon, who had not moved no matter how hard Nam-woon pushed, suddenly fell down with a thud. Nam-woon looked at the man standing in front of him with wide eyes.

Kwon Seo-oh lifted the bottle of alcohol with a blank expression on his face. Then, the sweet-smelling alcohol poured down in a stream over Executive Director Moon’s head.

Drip, drip, drip.

Kwon Seo-oh emptied the large bottle of alcohol over his head and then shook the empty bottle. Then he calmly said,

“You shouldn’t do this here. Sir.”