VDN Ch 56

Nam-woon’s body froze as he tried to escape from the detective. The detective stared at Nam-woon’s stiff profile and continued speaking.

“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 and joked lightly and suddenly, deep-seated anger welled up within Nam-woon. Finally, the calm expression vanished, replaced by a cold gaze.

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

“Then you and I are in the same boat. Come on, tell me. Huh? Then I won’t dig into your background.”

“You’ve already dug into it, so what’s the point?

At Nam-woon’s sarcastic remark, the man looked at him as if genuinely surprised.

“Why are you being so fussy…? That’s strange. I was told your brain was an empty can.”

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

Nam-woon didn’t respond and instead waved away the cigarette smoke with his hand, frowning.

“Quit smoking.”

As Nam-woon was about to leave, the man grabbed his arm.

“You didn’t answer. What happened with the Mooyoung Group contract?”

“I told you, I don’t know.”

As Nam-woon roughly pulled his arm away, the man scrutinized Nam-woon’s face and continued speaking. 

“Do you still want to secure a position under Chairman Seok? You know that Chairman Seok is not the type of person to hand over his things to anyone, even if it’s his own son.”

“Excuse me, detective.”

Nam-woon turned to look at the man.

“Why are you asking me what he is doing? I don’t know what Chairman Seok is up to.”

“But it’s really fascinating, isn’t it?”

The man grinned at Nam-woon.

“Seok Nam-woon always calls his father Chairman Seok. He has never once called him, Dad.”

Jang Myung pulled out a business card from his pocket and slipped it into Nam-woon’s pocket. For a moment, Nam-woon’s expression stiffened then he smiled casually.

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

Nam-woon left without looking back. The detective muttered in bewilderment as he watched Nam-woon disappear down the alley.

“That’s strange. Why isn’t he getting angry?”

“If you provoke that guy just a little, he’ll fall for it. His head is completely empty.”

Relying only on his subordinate’s words, he tried to provoke Seok Nam-woon, who is stupid to figure out Chairman Seok’s current situation. But unexpectedly, Nam-woon slipped away smoothly. The man clicked his tongue in disappointment as he watched Nam-woon disappear into the alley.

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.

Is it because he met a new character who didn’t appear in the novel?

He felt that way even more today.

“You’ve been beaten by your father since you were a child.”

In the novel, Seok Nam-woon, who had been abused by Chairman Seok since childhood, was very similar to his own situation in his previous life. Although most aspects like personality and occupation were different from Nam-woon, there were strangely similar parts if you looked closely. 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 warmth from behind his back and the words heard in his ears.

Nam-woon didn’t forcibly suppress the memories that came to mind this time. The focused face that had treated his forehead wound, the rough hands, the warmth of a child, the small hands that handed over a chicken box, the figure lying on a small wooden table with a large body, the scent of fresh flowers, and the tense moment during artificial respiration.

And then…

“It’s okay, Hyung.”

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

On a rainy day, the firm hand that held him.

Nam-woon stopped the bike he was pushing, thought for a moment, and then climbed into the saddle.

It was time to admit it.

Nam-woon missed Kwon Seo-oh.

***

“Kwon Seo-oh, class is over!”

Seo-oh couldn’t focus on anything lately. He couldn’t turn in assignments on time, studies and part-time jobs were all being neglected. In the future, if he kept this up, he might lose his scholarship. It was a disaster. It was a situation he hadn’t encountered before. This is the first time something like this has ever happened to him.

“Hyung, I really hate you… Ugh…”

Until the day before yesterday, Se-han cried every day. Se-han had clung to Seo-oh’s clothes, tears and snot streaming down, begging for Nam-woon to be brought back. But for some reason, he hadn’t cried yesterday. Instead, Se-han had silently picked up his backpack with a sulky expression.

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.

Especially the image of Nam-woon’s wounded face at the end could not be erased, no matter what he did.

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

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 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.

“He said they have a wide variety of items this time. Maybe you’ll find the doll you were looking for.”

“…….”

“Did I mention that I went with my younger sibling 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 had reached the school gate. As usual, Seo-oh absentmindedly scanned the surroundings.

“…….”

“…….”

Seo-oh felt like he was seeing something wrong. Nam-woon’s pink bicycle, which he had imagined countless times, was parked right in front of the gate.

“Seo-oh.”

And Nam-woon was standing there, staring at him.

***

He stood there, staring blankly at Seo-oh. Strangely, even though it hadn’t been months or years, Nam-woon found Seo-oh’s face incredibly unfamiliar.

“What’s wrong?”

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

It was the person who had been in the lecture hall with Seo-oh when he first made a delivery to Korea University. In response to the question of “What’s wrong?” Seo-oh took his eyes off Nam-woon and grabbed the woman’s wrist.

As Seo-oh walked in the opposite direction of Nam-woon, So tilted her head with a look of confusion and looked at Nam-woon. Seo-oh was getting farther and farther away from Nam-woon. Finally, Nam-woon raised his voice a little louder than before.

“Seo-oh.”

“…….”

Seo-oh didn’t stop walking even at Nam-woon’s call. Sol looked up at Seo-oh and asked in a nervous way.

“Do you know that person?”

“No.”

Seo-oh turned his head to look at Sol. With a cold expression on his face, he said firmly,

“I don’t know him.”

Thud.

Nam-woon’s heart sank to the floor.