VDN Ch 60

“I told you I wasn’t in a relationship.”

He could also understand from his perspective. If he had seen such a message on Seo-oh’s phone, he would have been just as surprised. Of course, Kwon Seo-oh’s reaction at the time was a bit intense.

After that, the conversation paused for a while. In the silence, only the creaking sound of the swing filled the air. It seemed like the misunderstanding had been cleared up, so maybe it was time to leave. Just as Nam-woon was about to awkwardly get up, Seo-oh, who had been looking at Nam-woon’s profile, suddenly spoke.

“Remember that day when you came home late and we were fighting in the yard.”

“What about it?” 

“You asked me why I didn’t tell you in advance through a message when I told you to come in quickly.” 

He remembered. That day, Seo-oh sent a message telling him to come home early but refused to say why. It wasn’t until the next morning that he found out it was because of Se-han’s award dinner. Seo-oh hung his head and blurted out.

“I did it because I wanted to see you.”

“…?”

“I thought you would be happy if Se-han said he received an award.”

Seo-oh pursed his lips once.

“But if I text you, I can’t see your face.”

“…….”

“I wanted to see the face you would make.”

I’m sorry for getting angry at you. Seo-oh apologized.

Nam-woon couldn’t say anything. He just felt a gentle ripple in his heart, like a sudden warm breeze on a windless sea. Seo-oh’s clear eyes were fixed on Nam-woon.

“Did you really just stop by our school on a whim?”

The ice cream he was holding melted, dripping drop by drop onto Seo-oh’s hand. But Seo-oh didn’t even notice. Nam-woon still didn’t answer and just kept his head down. But Seo-oh saw the answer in Nam-woon’s flushed nape.

You missed me too.

***

“Wooni Hyung!”

Se-han ran fast with his short legs into Nam-woon’s arms. “Have you been well?” Nam-woon asked awkwardly with a smile, and Se-han burst into tears.

“Why are you crying, Se-han?”

“Waaah… I, I, waaah… Hyung, hic, sob…”

Se-han, with his face smeared with tears, couldn’t speak properly and buried himself in Nam-woon’s embrace. Seeing this, Nam-woon’s heart ached, and he gently wiped Se-han’s face with his palm.

“Hic… I did something, hic, wrong.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Se-han.”

“Sob.”

Se-han let out a mixture of crying and breathing. His back still trembled intermittently. Just looking at Nam-woon’s face made him feel sad, and he lowered the corners of his mouth again. But perhaps he cried too much, as a droplet of mucus formed on Se-han’s nose. The droplet from his right nostril kept shrinking and getting bigger.

Nam-woon looked at Se-han, who was trembling with a serious expression. Se-han’s large eyes, soaked in tears, met Nam-woon’s gaze with innocence.

“Did you put soap in your nose?”

“Huh?”

“Look, Se-han. It seems like soap got into your nostrils. Bubbles keep coming out.”

Nam-woon took a Dal-kong’s pencil case from Se-han’s bag and reflected Se-han’s face. The pencil case they bought together at the shopping center had a mirror on one side. In the mirror, Se-han’s nostrils showed bubbles repeatedly forming and expanding. Se-han raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised. Not missing the opportunity, Nam-woon asked,

“Can you make soap bubbles for both nostrils?”

“Hahahahaha…!”

Se-han cried and then laughed. Seeing his own snot bubbles must have been funny to him, as he was busy wiping his tears and laughing for a while. Only then did Nam-woon feel relieved and pull Se-han into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry.”

“I was wrong.”

“It was my fault, Se-han didn’t do anything wrong.”

Se-han kept apologizing even though he hadn’t done anything wrong. Nam-woon looked at Min-chan with a perplexed expression. What should we do? He keeps crying. Then Min-chan sighed deeply and said,

“Kwon Se-han, Hyung says you didn’t do anything wrong, so why do you keep apologizing? If you think about it, the Hyungs were the ones who fought.”

“That’s right, Se-han, stop crying. Otherwise, the first graders will look down on the second graders.”

“Uh, okay.”

Se-han wiped his tears with his small hands after being scolded by Dong-soo and Min-chan. Min-chan looked at Nam-woon with a cold gaze and said,

“My mom said that if you run away from home, you’re a troublemaker, so you should stop running away from home.

“Huh? Uh, okay…”

Min-chan glanced at Seo-oh standing beside him, then turned his head and said nothing. Hey, what’s this? Picking and choosing who to nag? It was a bit ridiculous, but he held it in since he was a cute kid.

Se-han, no longer crying thanks to the support of his friends, suddenly hugged Nam-woon tightly. When Nam-woon asked why, Se-han said with determination.

“I’ll protect you, Hyung!”

“Huh? Uh, sure…”

Nam-woon patted Se-han’s head.

“I’ll protect Se-han, too.”

“Let’s protect each other!”

“Okay”

“But did you and Hyung really make up?”

“Probably.”

When Se-han’s sorrow seemed to have been relieved, Nam-woon took Se-han’s hand, walked over to Seo-oh and said.

“Let’s go home now.”

But suddenly, Se-han let go of Nam-woon’s hand and boldly declared,

“I’m staying overnight at Min-chan’s house today.”

“What?”

“I’m sleeping over at Min-chan’s house!”

“Why?”

Seriously, why? You said you missed me when you were crying earlier. Se-han, confirming that Nam-woon and Seo-oh had reconciled, turned to his friends and said,

“I have to sleep with the kids tonight. So, the Hyungs can just sleep together.”

Nam-woon couldn’t help but be appalled by the words, because the one night he’d slept without Se-han was the night he’d almost gotten his ass opened at super speed. Nam-woon shouted urgently.

“What are you saying, Se-han? Tonight, all three of us should sleep together!”

“What? Why?”

“Because it’s the day we made up!”

“Yeah, that’s why we’re having a celebration party.”

It was ridiculous.

“Wait, the reconciliation was between the Hyungs, but why are you guys celebrating?”

At those words, Dong-soo stepped forward as if it were obvious.

“Of course, we should be the ones celebrating. We put in the effort to reconcile!”

After all the effort it took to get here. Dong-soo suddenly shot Nam-woon an annoyed look. Nam-woon glanced at Min-chan, who also stood there with crossed arms, wearing a stern expression that seemed to agree with Dong-soo’s words. Nam-woon turned to plead to Se-han.

“You said you’d protect me, Se-han. It’s dark at night, you have to protect me.”

Se-han said, “Ah,” and pointed his short index finger at Seo-oh.

“When I’m not around, my brother will protect you!” 

What are you talking about? The one who tried to open my ass was your brother.

Whether Se-han knew Nam-woon’s inner turmoil or not, he turned his back coldly and put both hands in his pants pockets. Then he shouted in a loud voice,

“Hey guys, let’s go!”

Min-chan and Dong-soo followed little Se-han behind him. Nam-woon stared at the backs of the three kids. As they walked, they chattered among themselves.

“Baek Jang-mi Hyung said the movie we watched today will have a sequel next year.”

“Wow, really?! Baek Jang-mi Hyung will watch it too?”

“Yeah. We were supposed to gather at the office to watch it together. And there’s a pop-up store opening at Central Shopping Center in October!”

“Oh, I’ve been to Central Shopping Center! Last time, with the Hyungs.”

“Awesome! Did you like it?”

“Yeah. It’s huge there. So many people, long lines, and tons of claw machines…”

Se-han was constantly moving his lips, he didn’t even glance back once. Nam-woon stared at him with his mouth open.

“Mrs. Soon-i said that when he is older, he’ll hang out more with friends his age than with his Hyungs.”

From the side, Seo-oh offered some consolation to him.

“……”

After the noisy kids and employees left, the office suddenly fell silent. Ah, this is so awkward. Nam-woon cleared his throat.

“Should we go home now?”

Seo-oh hesitated slightly at Nam-woon’s words and then spoke up.

“Can’t we go to your place tonight?”

“…Huh?”

“I want to go to Hyung’s house.”

The unexpected words came out of his mouth.

“I’ve never been to Hyung’s house before.”

Nam-woon’s face turned white.

I’ve never been there either.

Nam-woon had always made excuses to Seo-oh about going home. Even earlier, when Seo-oh asked where he had been all this time, Nam-woon claimed he was at home. But the truth was that Nam-woon was actually homeless. If it weren’t for the office, he would have been living on the streets, just like a homeless person.

“Uh, well, you see…”

Nam-woon hesitated, unable to give a straightforward answer. and Seo-oh’s expression darkened more and more. Nam-woon made up his mind. Yes, it was time to be honest. How could he lie after they had just reconciled? It might be too late, but he had to say it.

“Seo-oh.”

When his name was suddenly called seriously, Seo-oh raised his head.

“Actually, I don’t have a home.”

“…What?”

“I’ve been living at your house because I don’t have a home. I’m sorry.”

“What do you mean, you don’t have a home?”

Seo-oh frowned and turned to face Nam-woon.

“But, you know…”

“So, you’re saying that all this time, you’ve been clinging to our home like a bug because you didn’t have one?”

It was a blunt statement, but it was true. When Nam-woon was about to make the announcement that he was actually homeless.

Ding dong!

But just then, a notification interrupted their conversation:

[Emergency Sub-Mission occurs: Find Seok Nam-woon’s Home!]

What? Whose home? Nam-woon couldn’t believe it.

[Sub-Mission Objective: Make Kwon Seo-oh Happy!]

[Reward: Seok Nam-woon’s house address and front door password]