VDN Ch 69

Nam-woon suddenly asked him a question, causing Seo-oh to pause and reply softly, “That’s right.”

“At that time, I’ll grow up quickly, to be just like Hyung in no time!”

“You don’t need to be as big as your brother.” Se-han, who hadn’t heard Nam-woon’s follow-up words, shouted to Seo-oh, “Hyung, buy chocolate milk and make dried anchovies for me tomorrow!” Haeng-won shook his head. Seo-oh, who had been expressionless since entering the house, finally showed a faint smile. Then, after examining Se-han’s textbook and finding an error in the problem itself, he added that Nam-woon’s answer was correct.

Kim Haeng-won hesitated and spoke softly.

“But can’t you reschedule the tutoring for just one day on the weekend?”

Seo-oh turned his head again, his expression indifferent as if wondering when he had last laughed.

“No.”

“Why not? When I Se-han asked earlier, he said you don’t usually go out on weekend evenings.”

“Because I have work.”

“Why? Even Seok Nam-woon doesn’t work on weekend evenings?”

“……”

Seo-oh remained silent. Wow, look at this guy. He wants to spend the weekend with Seok Nam-woon. And they’re not even dating?

Haeng-won didn’t press further and looked down at his English vocabulary quiz, only to find he got everything wrong. Meanwhile, in the small room where the four of them were busy, the front door opened.

“Is anyone there?”

It was a child’s voice, but the tone was different. Hearing the voice, Se-han suddenly threw down his pencil and jumped to his feet.

“Se-han, you need to put the pencil in properly.”

At Seo-oh’s scolding, Se-han looked at Nam-woon and said, “Wooni, please put the pencil in for me!” and hastily put on his slippers. Following Se-han, Nam-woon also squeezed his feet into shoes and went out to the yard.

Min-chan was waiting there.

“Hello.”

“Hi!”

Se-han greeted Min-chan cheerfully. When Min-chan noticed Nam-woon behind Se-han, he nodded politely and said,

“Hello.”

Min-chan looked at Se-han and spoke.

“Se-han, we agreed to meet in front of Samjeong Laundromat today. You didn’t show up, so I came to your house.”

“Oh, sorry! I forgot!”

Se-han hurriedly turned back toward the door. Then he poked his head through the door and shouted loudly,

“Hyung, I’m going to the playground with Min-chan!”

“You need to clean up first.”

Seo-oh spoke, and Se-han rushed over to Nam-woon. The child looked up at Nam-woon with an innocent face, grabbed his hand, and said, “Will you take care of my things?”

“Min-chan, let’s go!” 

“Wait a minute.”

Nam-woon stopped them and poked his head into the doorway like Se-han had earlier.

“Hey, Kim Haeng-won.”

Kim Haeng-won, who was gathering textbooks and a pencil case, looked up at Nam-woon.

“Is the tutoring session over? Can you take the kids somewhere?”

“The kids? How far?”

“To their playground.”

“Ugh, it’s a hassle.”

Kim Haeng-won scratched his head, then nodded in agreement and headed outside. When Nam-woon told them to go with him, they nodded in understanding and headed out the door. The sound of two small footsteps and the sound of sneakers followed.

Min-chan turned to Se-han.

“But Se-han-ah, Nam-woon Hyung lives with you guys, right?”

“Uh-huh. But I’m not sure when he’ll run away again.”

Se-han sighed. Haeng-won, overhearing their conversation, muttered, “He ran away from home and scolded me.” Se-han’s face darkened, and Min-chan tried to comfort him.

“That won’t happen anymore, because Wooni Hyung promised me last time that he wouldn’t run away.”

”But still…What if they get into a fight because of me?”

Haeng-won interjected.

“Do you think they’d fight because of you? It’s not about that. It’s just that Seok Nam-woon has a bad temper.”

“Don’t say bad things about Hyung!

Se-han glared at Haeng-won fiercely.

What are you going to do by glaring at me like that?” 

“Your grades are 9s…”

“What?”

Se-han opened his eyes wide and Min-chan quickly intervened.

“Se-han, don’t look at him like that. Don’t bring up grades.”

Then, with a sincere gaze, Min-chan addressed Haeng-won.

“Nam-woon Hyung is a good person. Please don’t say things like that.”

“Fine.”

Haeng-won was left speechless by his unexpected scolding. Then, as if something came to mind, he casually asked Se-han.”

“Hey, kiddo. But are you sure your brother and Seok Nam-woon aren’t dating?”

“Uh well, no.”

“What? Aren’t they dating each other?”

Min-chan widened his eyes in surprise. Se-han hesitated before answering.

“It’s not like that. Nam-woon Hyung didn’t say they were dating, and Hyung didn’t say anything either.”

Min-chan was thinking about something and said to Se-han.

“Have you ever seen them hug?”

“No?”

“Or maybe a kiss?”

“Kiss?!”

Se-han asked back in surprise while Haeng-won pretended to vomit next to him. Se-han’s eyes widened as he shook his head.

“Oh, no! I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

“I guess so. Maybe they’ll try it someday.”

Se-han’s eyes widened as if they were going to pop out. He seemed too shocked to speak. Min-chan, who was either pretending to chew gum or actually chewing gum, spoke up.

“Maybe they secretly do it somewhere you don’t know. Considering your brother’s personality, maybe Nam-woon Hyung will try it first?”

Se-han gasped.

“Don’t be too surprised if you see something like that in the future.

It’s natural. Min-chan patted Se-han’s shoulder. Se-han remained speechless, staring blankly at Min-chan.

***

As Se-han and Haeng-won left the house, silence came into the room.

Seo-oh flipped through the middle school English workbook, checking where Haeng-won would study next. While Nam-woon stole glances at Seo-oh, he stuffed the writing utensils and math books Se-han had left behind into his backpack. Seo-oh’s neat profile caught his eye. Beneath rosy lips, a clean line formed a graceful neck. Unintentionally, Nam-woon swallowed.

“Why does he look so pretty?

Ever since he did something unspeakable with Seo-oh, Nam-woon felt flustered whenever he looked at him, and his heart raced. On the outside, he was acting the same as usual.

Nam-woon couldn’t overcome the awkwardness, stood up, and headed toward the door. Then suddenly, the sound of pages turning stopped. He turned his head to find Seo-oh looking at him.

“Oh, I’ll be back from work.”

“From the office?”

Seo-oh, who had just stood up, went to the sink drawer and pulled out something. Nam-woon looked down at what he handed him.

[Genetic Trait Diagnostic Kit]

“Do it here before you leave.”

“Why should I do this?”

“It’s a saliva test, so just wet the paper inside for a moment.”

As Nam-woon stood there, Seo-oh took the medicine box and pulled out the instruction manual.

“If the yellow turns green, it means you’re an omega. Hospital tests are more accurate, but let’s start with this.”

“But I’m a beta.”

“Some people show late manifestations. Try it quickly.”

Nam-woon reluctantly took a small piece of paper and put it in his mouth.

“Ugh, do I just leave it in my mouth like this?”

As soon as the test was done, Seo-oh snatched the paper. He looked at it, nervously biting his lips, and stared. Even after some time passed, the paper remained yellow, and Seo-oh muttered to himself.

“That’s strange.”

“What’s strange? I’m telling you, I’m a beta.”

Nam-woon snatched the paper out of his hand and tossed it into the trash can.

“I’m not going to the hospital. It’s a waste of money. I’m leaving.”

Seo-oh followed Nam-woon, who was heading towards the door, and asked,

“When will you come today, brother?”

“I don’t know. In the evening? I’ll be back.”

Thud. Seo-oh, who was looking at the closed door, rummaged through the trash can. It had already been 10 minutes, but it was still yellow. It was the same even after waiting for 30 minutes.

He thought Nam-woon was an omega, but maybe not? He picked up his phone.

[Diagnostic Kit Error]

[Adult Omega Manifestation]

[Male Omega Diagnostic Kit]

[Adult Omega Manifestation Diagnostic Kit]

After searching with various words, he found a post. When he clicked on it, a forum page appeared.

[I had sex with my girlfriend yesterday, but there’s fluid coming out of her ass. Is this a disease? But why is this happening so suddenly? My girlfriend is an alpha]

ㄴKitna Hospital

ㄴIt’s 99 percent likely that she’s Omega.

ㄴI’m excited by the girlfriend’s pheromones.

ㄴI’m a practicing doctor. Even betas can manifest in adulthood, and there are often such cases. For some individuals, this won’t be detected in kits and hospital tests during the pre-manifestation incubation period. Omega pheromones won’t come out during that time either. It could be a few weeks or even months of incubation period.

ㄴSo, manage stress well, eat well, and maintain your condition.

ㄴSeriously, I’m also a practicing doctor, and that’s all lies. Everything shows up in the kit.

ㄴAre you gathering for the comment above? There are times when it doesn’t show up in the kit. Do you have a license?

ㄴI have a driver’s license.

ㄴHave you resolved your issue? Then, what do you do when you’re with your girlfriend? I’m in the same situation, and I’m going crazy right now. ㅜㅜ

Snap. Seo-oh captured the comment of the person claiming to be a practicing doctor. The back is wet, but no pheromones come out. It doesn’t show up in the diagnostic kit either. It was similar to Hyung’s situation. It must be the incubation period.

Seo-oh searched for something again.

[Foods good for omega incubation period]

He clicked on a post he stumbled upon.

[The best foods recommended for male omega vitality enhancement]