VDN Ch 51
by STAR“Hyung, Se-han needs sunscreen.”
“Sure.”
Nam-woon accepted the sunscreen from Seo-oh’s hand and approached Se-han. The child playfully dodged Nam-woon’s touch, swaying left and right like a wiggling octopus. When Nam-woon wrapped both legs around Se-han’s legs and held him firmly, the child finally surrendered, allowing Nam-woon to apply sunscreen to his face. However, Se-han protested.
“I’ll do it myself!”
“Alright.”
As Nam-woon handed over the sunscreen, Se-han squeezed it into his hand and started patting it onto his face. He moved his hand up and down as if washing his face, then looked up at Nam-woon.
“Puhaha.”
Seeing this, Nam-woon burst into laughter. Hearing that, Seo-oh also glanced at Se-han and a small laugh escaped his lips as well.
“Huh? Why?”
Se-han’s white face, now smeared with sunscreen, revealed two round black eyes blinking in surprise.
“Se-han, you applied too much sunscreen.”
Seo-oh said with a gentle smile as he spoke. Nam-woon pointed a finger at Se-han and laughed out loud.
“You look like a baby ghost, haha.”
When Se-han pouted slightly in response, Seo-oh looked at Nam-woon expressionlessly. Nam-woon immediately stopped laughing and placed his palms on Se-han’s pale cheeks.
“Let me wipe some off.”
After removing excess sunscreen from Se-han’s cheek, Nam-woon rubbed it over his face. However, Seo-oh also handed Nam-woon more sunscreen.
“It’s hot today. You should apply more too.”
Nam-woon dabbed sunscreen on his face while Seo-oh checked the items they needed to take with them.
“Water bottle?”
“Got it.”
“Se-han’s hat?”
“Oh, right.”
Nam-woon retrieved a yellow hat from Se-han’s drawer. Then, he noticed a paper bag near the wall and put the hat inside. Seo-oh turned to Se-han.
“Se-han, did you grab your wallet?”
“Oh, right!”
Se-han, who was already outside, kicked off his shoes and rushed back in to retrieve his green frog-shaped coin wallet from the second drawer. With their belongings in order, they headed out.
However, this time, Seo-oh asked them to wait, and he entered the house alone. As they waited for Seo-oh to return, an unwelcoming sound rang out.
Ding!
[Mission arrived! Please fulfill Seok Nam-woon’s main job!]
[Mission success criteria Secure a new contract with the Good People Center (at least one)]
Just as he was excited about going somewhere, he turned instantly annoyed. Missions were usually hard to complete or succeed at. And he’d likely receive support disguised as penalties. Nam-woon waved his hand in frustration at the message in front of him. Then, Se-han asked, “Is there a bug?!” and waved his hand in the air along with Nam-woon.
Just then, Seo-oh came out of the gate, looked at Nam-woon’s face, and came closer.
“Hyung.”
Seo-oh’s fingers suddenly touched Nam-woon’s cheek. Nam-woon’s body stiffened at the sudden contact.
“You didn’t apply sunscreen properly here.”
“……”
Seo-oh gently smoothed the sunscreen on Nam-woon’s cheek. Nam-woon suddenly blinks at the sight of him in front of his nose. He focused on the touch of his fingers on his cheek.
“Done.”
Seo-oh removed his hand from Nam-woon’s cheek and approached Se-han. “Let’s go,” he said, grabbing his younger brother’s hand. Nam-woon watched Seo-oh’s straight back as he walked away, absentmindedly rubbing the cheek that Seo-oh had touched.
Today’s mode of transportation was the bus.
“Two adults and one elementary school student.”
Nam-woon’s voice was awkward as he said that. Se-han slowly climbed the bus stairs, followed by Seo-oh.
“Hyung, let’s sit in the back!”
Se-han grabbed Nam-woon’s hand and pulled him toward the rear seats. Despite Seo-oh’s warning that the back seats were dangerous, neither Nam-woon nor Se-han paid attention.
Nam-woon lifted Se-han’s body and placed him in the back seat. Se-han shouted that he would sit by the window, and Nam-woon sat next to him, with Seo-oh sitting next to Nam-woon. Se-han started talking about the character he was going to pick up today while looking out the window.
The bus was slow, and there were no people. Suddenly curious, Se-han asked where Nam-woon’s company was. Nam-woon only told him the nearest stop and did not give the exact name of the company.
The familiar scent of fresh flowers, which he had smelled before, tickled his nose. He absentmindedly ruffled Se-han’s warm hair, savoring the peaceful moment.
***
The shopping center buzzed with people. Se-han held tightly to his Hyung’s hands, eagerly scanning the surroundings. His desire to go here and there was evident in his face.
“Look over there!”
Finally, Se-han spotted their target for the day. He quickly pushed his backpack to Nam-woon. Nam-woon unzipped the front pocket and pulled out Se-han’s frog-shaped coin wallet.
“Up to five thousand won.”
“Sure.”
Since Kwon Seo-oh confiscated Nam-woon’s wallet, he only had five thousand won left for today. They quickly emptied their pockets and Nam-woon looked at Se-han with a determined expression.
“Let’s go, Se-han.”
“Yes!”
Their five thousand won were robbed in less than five minutes. Se-han’s hands trembled as he pulled out the last coins from his wallet. Se-han’s set aside money was also just five thousand won. The two of them who were disappointed that they couldn’t get the doll, both glanced at Kwon Seo-oh. Give me more money. Seo-oh looked at them and said,
“Come here.”
He opened Nam-woon’s wallet again, smoothly extracting some bills which he confiscated.
Click. The weak claw dropped the Alk-kong more than a dozen times. Considering how often he’d seen the feeble claw fail to grab the doll, Seo-oh opened the wallet once more. Nam-woon was surprised and asked,
“More?”
“I think a little more will do for the doll.”
Seo-oh had the gambling addiction eyes that Nam-woon had once had.
“Hey, Kwon Seo-oh. Just give up for now.”
After a long pause, Nam-woon, who couldn’t watch it any longer, grabbed Seo-oh’s wrist. Se-han, whose face was visibly pale, concluded that he wouldn’t be able to win today. Nam-woon agreed with him. But Seo-oh stood still, his wrist held, Nam-woon patted Seo-oh’s shoulder and said.
“It’s okay. There will be another chance.”
“That’s right, Hyung. There will be another chance!”
Nam-woon looked at Se-han, who was comforting his brother, and said.
“Seo-oh, can I borrow a card from my wallet?”
Seo-oh handed Nam-woon a card from his wallet.
“Se-han, I’ll buy something else for you. Let’s go.”
“Okay!”
Afterward, Se-han and Nam-woon entrusted all their bags and belongings to Seo-oh and headed to the pop-up store. Se-han’s eyes sparkled when he saw the long line.
“Se-han, what’s this?”
“It’s a keychain! I don’t know what will come out!”
Thus, one item.
“Kwon Se-han! There’s only one left!”
“Sure, I’ll take it!”
And another item.
When they checked, there was a whole basket full of stuff. Se-han, who had already forgotten about not winning the dolls, was putting things in the basket with a big smile on his face.
Seo-oh, watching them, put their luggage down on a chair in front of the pop-up store for a moment. Then, Nam-woon’s paper bag fell over and the contents spilled out. Seo-oh’s hand stopped abruptly when he saw what was in the bag that fell out with the phone.
Rut suppressant.
Seo-oh’s face hardened.
“……”
He slowly took out the item from the envelope. A small gel was attached to the side of the white box, and Seo-oh clenched his teeth as he looked at it.
The gel that came with the rut inhibitor was usually for betas.
The main purpose of the inhibitor was to control estrus, which meant that it was also a drug that helped them to have safe sex while maintaining their rationality instead of being left with only their instincts like an animal.
It was extremely rare for an Alpha to be in a relationship with an Alpha, and Omegas don’t use this gel except in special cases of an Alpha’s pheromones. However, it is not uncommon for an Alpha to embrace a Beta, so Seo-oh knew that there were products on the market with this gel attached.
Why would Seok Nam-woon, a Beta, have a rut suppressant used by Alphas?
It was clear that it wasn’t his. Seo-oh had never experienced a rut before. It was abnormal that he hadn’t had a rut even after becoming an adult.
“You shouldn’t try to control your pheromones 24/7. It’s not sustainable in the long run. While some control is necessary, it’s also important to let it out naturally.”
A professor from the university hospital had told Seo-oh this during a previous visit. He had explained that because Seo-oh had been perfectly controlling his pheromones since middle school, he was experiencing side effects like a weakened sense of smell and delayed ruts.
Seo-oh had strived to live like a beta. Without feeling his own pheromones or those of others. People often mistook him for a recessive alpha due to his weak pheromones. He didn’t mind; it was actually better that way.
In the past, except for the times when Seok Nam-woon would infuriate him by bringing up family matters, Seo-oh hadn’t had much trouble controlling his pheromones.
But now, it wasn’t working as well. Since the day Seok Nam-woon returned with someone else’s pheromones clinging to him.
Seo-oh quickly recalled the details. The faint alpha scent on Nam-woon on his first day at the office. The unfamiliar voice he heard when he called Nam-woon was saying, “I want to see you more often.” And the next night, Nam-woon carried the same pheromone scent he had picked up in the office. It was the same artificial scent he had smelled recently…
Seo-oh bit his lip hard. Until now, the scent he had been detecting on Nam-woon was thick, sticky, pheromone-filled with sexual desire. Despite carrying such a scent, Nam-woon always acted ignorant, chatting and laughing as if he didn’t know anything.