VDN Ch 2

The man put Se-han down and glared at Nam-woon. Murderous intent swirled in his eyes.

As the man took a step, Nam-woon instinctively sensed danger and stepped back a few paces. But in an instant, a heavy hand grabbed him by the collar.

“Ugh!”

Nam-woon, choked by the man’s strength, let out a strangled sound.

“Why are you like this?”

His voice was quiet, yet strangely, it echoed throughout the office. Nam-woon struggled to free himself from the hand gripping him. His hands, as big as pot lids, were so strong they wouldn’t budge.

“Even in this situation, you turn away.”

“Please, p-please this…ugh.”

These guys were blankly watching their young master being held captive by a strange man like this.

Help me. As Nam-woon sent a pitiful look to the bald man, Yong-deuk, who had twitched his nose a few times, grabbed Kwon Seo-oh’s arm and said.

“Kwon Seo-oh, stop it.”

However, Kwon Seo-oh didn’t even look at him. Yong-deuk continued.

“Don’t you know? Since the incident when the young master fell off the bed and hit his head when he was young, well… Anyway, you should understand.”

Whose side is he on? Nam-woon struggled to break free from Kwon Seo-oh’s grip, but then he saw a large fist coming towards his face. Just as he thought he might be knocked out by the massive fist, it flew towards his left cheek instead.

Thud!

Groaning weakly, Nam-woon was slammed into a corner filled with dust.

“Young master!”

One of the subordinates with a scar running vertically down his left cheek screamed.

“Kwon Seo-oh! Have you lost your mind?! Are you acting like this because the Chairman’s not even here!?

“Jang-mi, stop.”

“But Brother Yong-deuk Until a few years ago, we had to pretend he was living as if he were dead. If we were ordered to do so, but this is ridiculous!”

Yong-deuk shook his head.

“The situation was different back then. Have you forgotten the Chairman’s words to treat him as an equal to the young master?”

“But isn’t it the same whether it’s back then or now! It’s because we let him be the young master’s shadow all the time. Every time we give him an inch, he takes a mile!”

“…….”

Kwon Seo-oh was silent as he listened to Yong-deuk and Jang-mi raise their voices next to him. He took a deep breath before speaking.

“Hyung.”

Nam-woon, still holding his cheek where he was struck out of nowhere, lifted his head in surprise. Kwon Seo-oh remained expressionless.

“Did you hurt Se-han?”

He punched him, yet he was pretending not to know anything afterwards, was extremely insincere. Nam-woon wanted to say something, but his mouth was different from his head.

“No, I didn’t.” (*slurred Korean words*)

Even though he had been hit, his lips didn’t seem to want to admit it. Kwon Seo-oh’s gaze fell on Nam-woon’s hand. Nam-woon followed his gaze.

“…….”

“…….”

Huh, why are the pilers still in his hand? Nam-woon, realizing that his current look might look threatening, discreetly hid his hand behind his back. Kwon Seo-oh’s expression was unreadable.

“Se-han is in second grade now.”

Nam-woon hurriedly shook his head.

“It’s not what you think.” 

“Did you try to pull a tooth out?”

“No, it’s a misunderstanding.”

“If you were going to pull out a tooth, pull mine instead. Why are you touching a child?”

Before Nam-woon could explain further, Kwon Seo-oh added.

“You don’t seem like a real human being, Hyung.”

Nam-woon felt a pang at his last words. So he endured the pain in his cheek and spoke as calmly as possible.

“Hey, is that something coming out of your mouth right now? And do you think you’re the only one with a family? I have a father too.”

A bitter smile appeared on Kwon Seo-oh’s lips.

“It must be nice. I might not have one.”

His mouth clamped shut. It was a slip of the tongue. Kwon Seo-oh’s father, Kwon Sang-moon, was missing.

“So you hit Se-han because you can’t stand to see me with a family?”

“It’s not like that. Your younger brother, I didn’t mean that. He was just here from the beginning.”

Nam-woon couldn’t say any more. Because this was something Seok Nam-woon had done. It wasn’t something he had done. As he hesitated to answer, his subordinate, with a sullen expression beside him, opened his mouth.

“Hey, young master, how angry must you have been to order the guys to turn the house upside down until his younger brother had been captured?”

“……..”

“……..”

Kwon Seo-oh clenched his fist with a furious expression. If he took one more hit here, he would wake up in the hospital. Nam-woon quickly shouted.

“Now, grab him!”

All except for Yong-deuk, the other two subordinates grabbed Kwon Seo-oh’s shoulders and arms. But it was of no use. With a few of Kwon Seo-oh’s ear-splitting punches, the subordinates fell like reeds being blown in the wind. Nam-woon was watching with his eyes wide open for a moment before quickly regaining his senses and calling out to the man.

“Kwon Seo-oh! Stay still! Or else…”

In Nam-woon’s eyes, scanning the surroundings, a square-shaped backpack caught his attention. He swiftly picked up the yellow bag and shouted.

“Or else, I’ll ruin this!”

“Hyung, hyung!”

Then Se-han stamped his feet in an uproar.

“No! Hic, it’s the bag dad got me for a birthday present!”

He had happened to pick the perfect item. Nam-woon smiled in spite of himself, thinking he had chosen the right item in a time of urgency. It was a sinister smile. Kwon Seo-oh spoke softly as Se-han cried.

“Just touch the bag with your fingertips.”

Nam-woon, with the cute bag hanging off his shoulder, stepped back. Then, standing by the window, he stared silently at Kwon Seo-oh with his hands in his trouser pockets. To others, it might have seemed like he was contemplating how to handle the situation with the two brothers, but the truth was different. Nam-woon was sweating bullets inside.

What do I do now? Of all times, why did I have to possess him now?

Nam-woon recalled his memories. This seems like the beginning of a novel.

Why did Seok Nam-woon suddenly kidnap Kwon Seo-oh’s younger brother here? It must have been for some useless reason.

[Warning: Please note that system support may occur to assist Seok Nam-woon’s role performance!]

What’s system support? And what’s role performance? If he continues to play the role of a villain and heads towards the ending…

“It seems like being buried alive is right around the corner.”

His subordinates flinched when he heard his muttering, and Kwon Seo-oh chewed on his lip.

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on Se-han.”

After saying that, Kwon Seo-oh took something out of his pocket and threw it towards Nam-woon. It was a car key.

At that moment, he remembered what the scene was. Chairman Seok gives a car as a gift to Kwon Seo-oh, who has become a college student. Ignoring Kwon Seo-oh’s strong refusal. Naturally, Nam-woon, feeling jealous of him, brought Se-han to the office to do something unforgivable.

Nam-woon looked at him, trying to maintain a poker face. Kwon Seo-oh said with a blunt expression.

“Just do it to me like you usually do. Hit me if you want. But Se-han did nothing wrong.”

Hearing his brother’s words from the side, Se-han held back his tears and said, “Hyung…” Nam-woon witnessed that scene and felt once again that Seok Nam-woon was a bad guy.

I can’t believe you torment those who are already living such a difficult life.

He let out a deep sigh, but now that things had come to this, there was no turning back. He had no choice but to do well from now on.

And to do that, the first thing Nam-woon had to do was.

“I’m sorry.”

It was an apology.

“……!”

“Young Master!”

“What?”

The response to Nam-woon’s apology came not from Kwon Seo-oh but from his subordinates. Kwon Seo-oh widened his eyes for a moment, then quickly furrowed his brow. Nam-woon also apologized to Se-han. He was holding onto Kwon Seo-oh’s long legs like a tree trunk.

“I’m sorry to you too.”

Se-han hesitated, hiding further behind his brother’s legs. Seo-oh growled softly.

“What’s your plan this time?”

“There’s no plan.”

“Shut up. Playing with people as much as you can.”

Nam-woon sighed and spoke.

“I’m going to tell Chairman Seok, no, Father, that I won’t be associating with you anymore.”

“…What?”

Kwon Seo-oh asked back as if he thought he had heard wrong. Nam-woon continued.

“And about Kwon Sang-moon’s disappearance, I’ll help if I can.”

Kwon Seo-oh, who was two years younger than Nam-woon, was a young man with lots of potential. Chairman Seok recognized this at first glance and soon began to place him next to his successor, Nam-woon, to inspire him. But the Nam-woon in the novel, lacking the ability and only being greedy like his father, only harassed Seo-oh further instead of being inspired.

Kwon Seo-oh’s face twisted angrily.

“Don’t mention my father’s name out of your dirty mouth.”

“I’m serious. I’ll help you.”

[Warning! Please stay true to your role. Seok Nam-woon (B) is a “villain.”]

The system window appeared again with bright red letters. Do warnings like this exist? He suddenly felt anxious. If there are warnings, there might be penalties.

It was better to get one now. Isn’t it better to know what’s coming ahead of time rather than panic later? Should he test it out?

While Nam-woon was lost in thought, Kwon Seo-oh scoffed and said,

“Stop pretending to be the successor when you’re useless. Chairman Seok can abandon someone like you at any time.”

“I know.”

Kwon Seo-oh paused at the answer of Seok Nam-woon, who silently acknowledged what he hated to admit the most.

“Yong-deuk, can you get my phone from the desk over there?”

Yong-deuk hesitated before handing the phone to Nam-woon. Taking it, Nam-woon quickly found “Chairman Seok (Father)” in his contacts.

“I’ll call him now…”

[! Warning ignored!]

[Support is activated!]

[The first grand opening event for the system! Congratulations!]

[Pheromone sensitivity is applied at 90%.]

[※ Caution: When your pheromone sensitivity is high, encountering negative emotions from others can trigger unusual physical and sensory reactions.]

Suddenly, everything in front of him turned red.

“Gasp.”

“Young Master!”

His body collapsed downward. Nam-woon clenched his chest and breathed heavily. His eyes widened at the unfamiliar symptoms. His confusion quickly turned to fear.

“Ugh…”

His whole body trembled as if in convulsions. Nam-woon reached out a hand to the nearby sofa and lowered his head deeply.

I’m scared.

…What exactly am I afraid of?’

Nam-woon’s body, which continued to shake uncontrollably without even knowing the cause of his fear, struggled to lift his head, and he saw Kwon Seo-oh looking at him in astonishment.

“Ugh….”

It was difficult to make eye contact. It was a strange feeling, as if some invisible energy was emanating from Kwon Seo-oh. He twisted his face away from the overwhelming sensation, feeling as if sharp sensations were piercing his skin, making it hard to breathe. He felt as though Kwon Seo-oh was pressing down on his entire body.