VDN Ch 58

Click. As Yong-deuk opened the door and stepped inside, he stopped in his tracks. Then he took a few steps back to make sure he was in the right office.

On the office sofa, small children were neatly lined up by height—like the notes of “Do-Re-Mi” in order—sitting daintily. They had been sitting up straight, staring at a dark TV, and when they heard the door, they all quickly turned their heads in succession. When they saw Yong-deuk’s face, they were startled and then looked forward again.

 “…What is this?” 

To Yong-deuk’s question, Jang-mi, who had been wandering around the children, scratched her brow as if embarrassed and answered,

“Kwon Seo-oh’s younger brother and his friends.”

“Huh?”

Frowning, Yong-deuk examined the children’s faces. Among them, the little kid sitting in the “Do” spot looked especially familiar. Was his name Kwon Se-han? The child, remembering being kidnapped, looked startled and looked at the floor when his eyes met Yong-deuk’s.

“Uh…”

His round lips parted, and he asked,

“When is Woon-hyung coming?”

“Wooni Hyung? Who’s that?”

Yong-deuk frowned even deeper. The child flinched but then raised his big eyes again and said,

“He’s the representative here… Nam-woon Hyung, the representative…”

When Yong-deuk hesitated at that, Jang-mi moved closer to him and whispered,

“Doesn’t the young master these days get along so well with Kwon Seo-Oh? It seems like he even moved into his house.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

Yong-deuk then asked Se-han,

“Does Kwon Seo-oh know you’re here?”

“Yes.”

Se-han answered confidently. Yong-deuk immediately tried calling Nam-woon, but it went to voicemail.

“The young master won’t be here for a while, will you keep waiting here?” 

“Yes!”

“Yes…”

“Yes…”

Min-chan and Dong-soo, echoing behind Se-han, also answered in small, timid voices. Although their voices were weak, their faces showed a firm resolve to meet him no matter what. Yong-deuk watched the children quietly for a moment, then opened the refrigerator. From it he took out three cartoon character drinks that Nam-woon had once ordered to be stocked. As soon as Se-han and the others saw the drinks, their faces brightened noticeably. Watching the three kids sipping their drinks, Jang-mi remarked with a wry smile,

“The office has turned into a kindergarten.”

Se-han, having overheard, looked at Jang-mi, wiped a bit of drink from his mouth, and said,

“We’re not kindergarteners, we’re second graders.”

At Se-han’s clear and precise words, Dong-soo, the one sitting at the very end, looked up in surprise at both Se-han and Jang-mi. Then, reaching out his arm, he grabbed Se-han’s sleeve and said,

“Hey, aren’t you scared at all?”

“Um, I think I’m a little less scared than before,”

“Wow.”

Se-han turned his head back to look at Jang-mi. The face looking back at him was so identical to Kwon Seo-oh’s that it made Jang-mi wonder if Kwon Seo-oh had been this cute as a child. Jang-mi, who had been staring blankly at the children just holding their drinks, took out her phone. Tuk, tuk. While fiddling with it, she held the screen up in front of the children and said,

“Hey, do you guys want to go see a movie?”

At that, the children subtly turned their heads and looked at the phone screen Jang-mi had held out. “Oh, this one is really popular.” Min-chan muttered softly. Then they started exchanging glances with each other. Should we go? Do you want to go? What should we do? Jang-mi watched them have a silent conversation with their eyes. Jang-mi put her hand in her pocket and shouted loudly to solve their dilemma in one fell swoop. 

“Kids, let’s go!”

***

Meanwhile, having heard Grandpa Nam-nam say that Se-han was headed over to see Seok Nam-woon, Seo-oh hurriedly stepped out of the main gate. As he made his way to the bus stop, he placed a call to someone—and after a short time, Deok-chil answered.

– Hey, What’s up?

“Are you at the office?”

– What? I can’t hear you.

“Is Se-han at the office!”

– Why are you yelling and freaking out all of a sudden!

The surroundings around Deok-chil were noisy. Deok-chil responded in a loud voice.

– At this hour… he’s probably at Haengwon Restaurant? Go check over at Haengwon Restaurant!”

His heart was racing. He really thought Se-han was sleeping at Min-chan’s house, but he never dreamed he would go directly to Seok Nam-woon’s office. Seo-oh hung up the phone immediately and hurriedly got on the bus as it stopped.

[Haengwon Restaurant]

 Upon arriving at the restaurant with red stickers all over it, Seo-oh pushed open the sliding door with a thud. An elderly person sitting at a corner table peeling garlic got up and welcomed Seo-oh.

“Welcome.”

“Excuse me, but is there an elementary school boy here—?”

“Boss, I’m sorry. I broke a bowl.”

Seo-oh’s eyes widened at the sudden appearance of the man inside. The man holding the broken bowl across from him did the same

“……”

“……”

Why was Seok Nam-woon here? What was he doing in this restaurant? Many questions raced through Seo-oh’s mind, but he managed to tear his gaze away and look back at the old man.

 “Has a young boy come here? A boy who looks like he’s in kindergarten or second grade of elementary school.”

“No. No such child has come…….”

Grandpa replied, glancing at Nam-woon and Seo-oh’s faces alternately. Seeing Seo-oh’s urgent face
Nam-woon leaned closer and asked.

“Is something wrong with Se-han?”

“It’s none of your business.”

 Seo-oh answered coldly, glanced around the restaurant just in case, then went outside and closed the door. Then Nam-woon, who had followed him out, grabbed Seo-oh’s arm as he was about to leave the restaurant. A chill ran down the arm he grabbed.

“Did the guys say Se-han was here? Se-han isn’t here.”

“……”

“Wait a moment. I’ll call again.”

Without releasing Seo‑oh’s arm, Nam-woon made a phone call to somewhere. Meanwhile, Seo-oh stood there anxiously waiting. After a brief conversation with Yong-deuk, “Hey, Yong-deuk” Nam-woon sighed and said in an apologetic tone,

“…It seems that today Se-han and his friends came to the office. Jang-mi took the kids to the movie theater, so if you just wait at the office for a bit…”

Seo-oh turned his back without a word and walked forward.

From behind, not even the slightest sound could be heard, not even the soft noise of the door opening or closing.

He walked out of the alley with a stiff expression, and his phone rang. It was Yong-deuk.

– Jang-mi must have turned off her phone. Come to the office and wait until the movie ends. Don’t worry, the kids went out excitedly to watch a movie.

If that’s the case, then I have to go to the office right now, wait there, and bring Se-han and his friends back. Seo-oh headed toward the traffic light but then suddenly stopped in his tracks. He sighed deeply, then lowered his head and covered his face.

Looking closer, his shirt appeared baggy, and it seemed as though he had lost weight again. Is he even eating properly? Why does he always look so gaunt whenever I see him? Seok Nam-woon had always had a low body temperature, but earlier, his hands even felt terribly cold. Could he have caught a cold?

Perhaps from doing the dishes, the front of his shirt was completely soaked. Just like at Seo-oh’s house, he must have made a mess of the floor while doing the dishes. on top of that, he broke a dish. I wonder if he even put on his rubber gloves properly—thankfully he didn’t cut his fingers. He looked so disheveled that he might not even be aware if he injured his hand or not.

Why had he come all the way to the school when he was so busy?

When did he start waiting? The weather was cloudy today, and it had even rained briefly in the morning. On a rainy day like this, Seok Nam-woon, unable to ride in a car, must have come to school by bike. Even if it was by bike, I wonder if it was like last time when he ran out of breath. And I wasn’t there to see it.

He could picture Seok Nam-woon, with his bicycle in tow, in front of the school’s main gate. Wearing an oversized, loose shirt, paddling with exhaustion.

Standing in the middle of the street, Seo-oh eventually turned around. Heading towards the market alley again, Seo-oh couldn’t understand himself. When Seok Nam-woon was involved, everything felt like an unavoidable force.

“It seems like Se-han’s really grown attached.”

 It wasn’t just Se-han who’d grown attached

***

 “Just rinse it?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll take care of the rest…”

“There’s not much left. I’ve almost finished.”

“Give it to me. And eat something today….”

Clatter.

The conversation from the kitchen caught the attention of Nam-woon and the old man, whose eyes turned toward the doorway. There, standing expressionlessly, was the very Kwon Seo‑oh they had seen earlier. The old man reacted before Nam-woon did.

 “Did you come back to eat? What should I do? Today’s business is already over…”

“Washing dishes.”

At his sudden words, the grandfather’s eyes widened.

 “I came to wash dishes.

Seo-oh, who had just walked briskly into the shop, tightly grasped Nam-woon’s gloved hand.

“Just in case you break another dish.”

Nam-woon looked at Seo-oh’s face with his mouth open. He naturally took Nam-woon’s place in front of the sink and came in, turning on the water. 

“I’ll do it.”

Despite Nam-woon’s words, Seo-oh silently rinsed the dishes. Nam-woon stood awkwardly next to him, watching. The owner of Haengwon Restaurant called out from behind them.

“Eat before you leave! There’s leftover rice soup!”