VDN Ch 56

Nam-woon’s body, which had been trying to get away from the detective, suddenly stopped. The detective stared at Nam-woon’s stiff profile and continued,

“Even if you get beaten up, is your father precious to you? Huh? Do you think if you do well, your father will change his mind and treat you better?”

The man tapped Nam-woon’s shoulder sarcastically. Suddenly, it seemed as if a deep anger was welling up inside him. Finally, Nam-woon’s relaxed expression vanished and was replaced by a cold glare as he said,

“I don’t have such expectations from Chairman Seok.”

“Then that means you and I are in the same boat. Let me know. Eh? Then I won’t snoop around behind you either.”

“Even though you already have.”

The man looked at him as if genuinely surprised and said,

Why are you so blunt… Geez, that’s strange. I was sure you were a dope.”

The man said, pretending to hit his head with his fist.

 The man made a gesture of hitting his head with his fist. Nam-woon  did not respond but frowned and waved away the cigarette smoke with his hand.

“Quit smoking.”

 Nam-woon tried to leave it as is, but the man grabbed his arm.

“You didn’t answer. What happened to the Muyoung Group contract?”

“Ah, I don’t know.” 

After roughly pulling his arm free, the man looked at Nam-woon’s face and continued,

“Do you still want to keep a position under Chairman Seok? You know very well that Chairman Seok isn’t the type to give up what’s his, not even for his son.”

“Excuse me, Detective.”

Nam-woon  turned around and looked at the man. 

“Why should I be the one to tell you what you’re supposed to know? I have no idea what Chairman Seok is up to either.”

“But it’s strange, isn’t it?”

The man grinned at Nam-woon.

“Seok Nam-woon … you always called your father Chairman Seok. But not once have you called him ‘dad.’”

Jang Myung pulled out a business card from his pocket and shoved it into Nam-woon’s. Nam-woon’s expression briefly went blank, but then he let out a small laugh and replied nonchalantly:

“Good luck catching my father. I’ll be cheering you on.”

Nam-woon  left with an expressionless face. As the detective watched his straight-backed figure disappear, he muttered to himself in puzzlement

“That’s strange. Why didn’t he get angry?” 

“That bastard would cave in right away if you just provoked him a little. His head is completely empty.”

He had tried to provoke Seok Nam-woon, whom he believed to be foolish based on his subordinate’s words, to gauge Chairman Seok’s current situation. But unexpectedly, he slipped away smoothly. The man watched the alley where Nam-woon had vanished and licked his lips in a seemingly regretful manner.

Nam-woon quickly walked away from the market alley and took out a business card from his pocket. After briefly looking at it, he tucked it back into his pocket. Anyway, he was a person listed in the setting book. There might come a time when he would need the business card.

“I forgot to collect the money.”

Nam-woon stopped rummaging through his empty pocket and called the system again.

Status window.

[Yes, how may I assist you?]

Information on one more person. Jin-sang.

[One ticket is required. Would you like to use it?

▶ Yes]

[Searching⋯⋯]

[No information found!]

…Even though there’s no information, the ticket was still taken away.

Jin-sang was a person not mentioned in the setting book at all. So he was probably just a passing extra, but Nam-woon couldn’t shake off the uncomfortable feeling about it.

From the first meeting, Nam-woon had thought Jin-sang was unusual, not just in appearance but also in behavior. However, the system had no reason to lie using the setting book, and Nam-woon couldn’t hack into the system to verify. So, he had no choice but to trust the system he had been with for several months.

Lately, Nam-woon couldn’t shake off the feeling that he was an island floating alone in a vast ocean.

In the previous world, and here too, Nam-woon was always alone.

Perhaps it was because he had met a new character who hadn’t even appeared in the novel, but today that feeling was even stronger.

“Ever since you were a kid, you’ve been getting beaten up by your father!”

The Seok Nam-woon of the novel, abused by Chairman Seok from childhood, was in a situation very similar to his real-life self. Although their personalities, occupations, and almost everything else differed, if one looked closely, there were some strangely similar aspects. It was a bit unsettling.

As Nam-woon walked wearily down the deserted street, he suddenly recalled the most recent memory of feeling warmth.

The hot body warmth on his back and the words in his ears. 

Unlike before, he no longer tried to force away the memories that had surfaced. There was the focused face and calloused hands that once tended to the scar on his forehead, the gentle warmth of a child, and the tender hands that handed over a chicken box; the image of a large man lying on a small bench, the pure scent of flowers, and that tense moment of CPR.

And then…

“It’s okay, Hyung.”

“You’ll be okay soon. I’m right here.“

On that rainy day, the firm hand held him.

Nam-woon  stopped the bicycle he’d been riding, paused to collect his thoughts, and then climbed back onto the saddle.

Now, he had to admit the truth

Nam-woon missed Kwon Seo-oh.

***

“Kwon Seo-oh, class is over!”

Seo-oh hadn’t been able to focus on anything recently. He couldn’t even submit his assignments on time, and both his studies and his part-time job had taken a back seat. If this continued, he might end up losing his scholarship. This was a disaster. This is the first time something like this has ever happened to him.

“Hyung, I really hate you… Ugh…”

Se-han had been crying every day until the day before yesterday. Clutching Seo-oh’s sleeve, pleading, “Bring him back, Wooni!” his tears and snot flowed freely. But for some reason, yesterday he didn’t cry. Instead, with a sullen expression, he gathered his school bag without even a word to Seo-oh.

Seo-oh hadn’t even spared a glance at the wooden table that Nam-woon made. Everything in the room reminded him of Nam-woon. So, everything had been packed away in boxes and stored outside.

The image that he could never erase was the wounded expression Nam-woon had worn at the end.

“I don’t want to see you either, not anymore.”

Hearing those words, Seo-oh couldn’t move for a while. Watching Se-han run toward Nam-woon, he couldn’t move from the spot as if a heavy stone on the ground was attached to his feet. Although he was the one who hurt Nam-woon with his words. Nam-woon’s words at the end came as a great shock. It was a contradictory feeling.

Whenever he passed by the school gate, he would unconsciously scan the surroundings. Just in case Nam-woon’s pink bicycle was there. Of course, it wouldn’t be. And even if it was, what would he do? He wouldn’t go up and greet him or pretend to know him. But still, Seo-oh found themselves drawn to the traces of Nam-woon.

The yard, the room—everywhere seemed to be filled with Nam-woon’s memories, becoming more painful as time went on. He wouldn’t have let him in the house in the first place if he knew it would be like this, so Seo-oh accepted Sol’s offer to visit the new pop-up store.

“…So this time, they say there’s an incredibly diverse selection. If you go there, you might even find the doll you were looking for last time.”

“…….”

“Didn’t you say you went with your Hyung to get a doll last time?”

“…….”

“Kwon Seo-oh, are you listening to me?”

“Yeah.”

Seo‑oh responded mechanically. When he looked up, he realized he was now near the main gate. As usual, he casually scanned his surroundings.

“…….”

“…….”

Seo-oh thought he must be imagining things—every day he had pictured Seok Nam-woon’s pink bicycle, and there it was, parked right in front of the main gate.

“Seo-oh.”

And there stood Seok Nam-woon , right there in front of him, looking his way.

***

Kwon Seo-oh just stood there, staring at Nam-woon without saying a word. It hadn’t been months, nor had it been years, but Seo-oh’s face looked so strange to him.

“What’s wrong?”

His gaze suddenly fell on the person standing next to Seo-oh. It was a familiar face.

Suddenly, his gaze went to the person standing next to Seo-oh. It was a face he remembered. It was the person who had been in the classroom with Seo-oh when he first delivered to Korea University. When asked why, Seo-oh turned away from Nam-woon and grabbed the girl’s wrist. Nam-woon’s gaze was fixed on their hands.

“Sol, let’s go.”

“Uh….”

As Seo-oh walked in the opposite direction of where Nam-woon was, Sol turned her head with a confused look and looked at Nam-woon. Seo-oh moved further away from Nam-woon. Eventually, Nam-woon  raised his voice a bit more than before.

“Seo-oh.”

“…….”

Even as Nam-woon  called out, Seo-oh didn’t stop. Looking up at him, Sol asked in an anxious tone,

“Do you know that guy?”

“…No.”

Seo-oh turned his head and looked at Sol. With a cold-looking face, he said firmly,

“I don’t know him.”

Thud.

Nam-woon’s heart sank to the floor.