VDN Ch 8

After visiting Haengwon Restaurant, Nam-woon somehow found it difficult to stay in the office.

He felt that his subordinates were watching him. So he decided to go out and do some deliveries on his bicycle. As usual, he put the delivery food in the basket and pedaled away. Perhaps because it was evening, the cool breeze tickled Nam-woon’s cheeks today. The smell of seasoned chicken wafted up his nose.

The delivery location was a Japanese restaurant on the main road. Even Japanese restaurants serve chicken. I’ll just do one more delivery and then go back to the office to eat. He felt drained from running around all afternoon.

He quickly parked his bicycle on the side of the road, and as he was turning around with the rustling bag of chicken in his hand.

Thud.

“Ow!”

He collided with a man walking from the opposite direction, and the chicken bag in his hand was pressed against the man’s arm. Nam-woon took a step back due to the impact against the man’s solid body.

Looking down at the man’s clothes, Nam-woon gasped. There were splotches of sauce on the man’s black suit jacket. It was obviously because of the chicken he was holding. It seemed that the sauce had been on the bag.

“I’m sorry.”

The man’s clothes looked expensive at a glance. When Nam-woon looked up at the man, he was surprised.

There’s another person as handsome as Kwon Seo-oh.

The man was looking down at his sauce-stained jacket. His light brown hair fluttered in the evening breeze. Under his lowered eyelashes, his eyes blinked, the same color as his hair. The man seemed to have naturally light pigmentation. Is it because it’s a novel? They say the streets are a mess, but here, even the people you meet on the street look like celebrities. No, this isn’t the time for that.

“First, the dry cleaning fee…”

Nam-woon hurriedly fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a wad of crumpled bills. As he was unfolding them, he heard the man’s soft voice.

“Manager Jung.”

“Yes, boss.”

A middle-aged man standing behind approached the man’s side. The man handed over his jacket to him and said,

“Throw it away.”

Then he walked past Nam-woon. Nam-woon, who was unfolding bills, stared at the man’s retreating figure with his fingers frozen. The person called Manager Jung took the jacket and hurried after the man. Nam-woon’s mouth fell open by itself. Throughout this whole process, the man never once looked at him. Nam-woon muttered, feeling as if he had become invisible.

“…I think it would’ve been okay to just take it to the dry cleaners.”

Putting the bills back in his pocket, Nam-woon walked away with a grimace. Let’s just finish the delivery. It’s not like I’ll ever meet him again anyway.

With that thought, Nam-woon grabbed the door handle of the Japanese restaurant.

After completing the delivery and returning to the office, it was already late at night.

He had told everyone to leave early, so he thought no one would be there, but someone was sitting in the office.

“Who’s… huh?”

It was Kwon Seo-oh. He looked at Nam-woon by the door with his upright posture and gestured with his chin.

“Sit down.”

Who was the owner of the office? Nam-woon sat across from him and asked bewilderedly,

“What’s going on?”

“You don’t know and you’re asking?”

“Yeah. Oh right, I got some side dishes today…”

“What’s with the rice?”

Nam-woon’s eyes widened at the sudden question. Could it be that he came all the way here because of that? He had expected Se-han to talk about it, but he didn’t expect him to come directly to the office. Moreover, by the tone of his voice, it seemed something had upset him. Nam-woon tried to feign ignorance first.

“What rice?”

“Why did you leave rice in front of my house?”

“What are you talking about? I don’t know what you mean, but that wasn’t me.”

“I heard it from Mr. Nam-nam that it was you.”

As expected, Mr. Nam-nam. While one shouldn’t judge a person based on a single encounter, the grandpa from Nam-nam Super seemed to be a very loose-lipped individual. He’d been worried, and here it was, spilling out in just one day. Kwon Seo-oh seemed to have come with certainty, so any further denial seemed impossible. Nam-woon reluctantly confessed.

“I saw it on my way and bought it for you guys to eat.”

“…….”

“…And the price was cheap, so…”

“Who asked you to do that?”

At the sharp question, Nam-woon looked up. Kwon Seo-oh’s black eyes were staring straight at him.

“When my family and I first moved there after leaving Chairman Seok’s house, I remember perfectly how much you mocked me, Hyung. Though you’ve probably forgotten.”

“…….”

“You said you prayed every day for our house to collapse. That it would be better if it collapsed at least once.”

Nam-woon’s lips were parched. He had nothing to say. Would Kwon Seo-oh believe him if he said he didn’t say such things and that he didn’t know about them?

To some, that house might look like a ruined building ready to collapse but Nam-woon knew. To someone, that place is a precious home. If the person who laughed at that house and cursed him were to leave rice in front of it, even Nam-woon would have thought it wasn’t left with good intentions.

Kwon Seo-oh let out an empty laugh as he watched Nam-woon remain silent.

“Now you’re treating us like beggars?”

“No.”

“Then what is it? Looking at me now, do you suddenly feel sorry for me? Because I look like I’m not living a human life?”

“I didn’t think that. I just… I wanted you to not be like me…”

But Nam-woon couldn’t continue. How could he say that he wished Kwon Seo-oh wouldn’t have to live a similar life to his own? In the meantime, Kwon Seo-oh continued.

“Se-han and I, at least, live more like humans than you do.”

“…….”

“Take the rice back.”

“…It’s too heavy, I can’t take it back, just eat it.”

As Nam-woon spoke with a somber expression, Kwon Seo-oh pulled something out of his pocket and threw it at Nam-woon’s chest. Thud. The envelope fell onto his lap. Nam-woon picked it up.

“What’s this?”

“I put in 60,000 won. I included the interest too, so check it.”

Nam-woon’s hand trembled slightly as he held the envelope. He placed it on the table and pushed it towards Kwon Seo-oh.

“You take this.”

Perhaps because the day had been tough, a sudden wave of fatigue hit him. He knew his kindness could be seen as overstepping or even malicious by someone else. But wouldn’t they accept it if he explained it and persuaded him well? Nam-woon thought of Se-han’s crooked but sincere handwriting.

Just as he was about to speak again,

“I don’t want to take money you’ve swindled from people.”

Nam-woon stiffened at the words that flowed from Seo-oh.

A suffocating silence passed between them. Nam-woon quietly observed Seo-oh, who did not avert his gaze. He couldn’t read Seo-oh’s eyes properly, but they likely contained contempt.

Nam-woon leaned back against the sofa and ran his hand through his hair.

“Then throw it away.”

At Nam-woon’s words, one of Kwon Seo-oh’s eyes twitched. Nam-woon drove the point home again.

“If you don’t need what I gave, just throw it away.”

There was no answer from Kwon Seo-oh. The office was filled only with the occasional sound of motorcycles passing in front of the building.

He frowned at Nam-woon’s words. He thought Seo-oh would immediately get angry and leave, but why was he still there?

After a moment, Kwon Seo-oh quietly asked,

“Throw it away?”

“Yeah.”

Thinking the conversation was over, he tried to get up. But Seo-oh, who had been observing Nam-woon’s expression as if he were observing something, spoke again.

“If I throw it away, you’ll just say something else.”

“I won’t say anything else.”

“You don’t think I know you? Choose one, either take it or take the money.”

“It’s yours since I gave it to you, so do whatever you want with it, throw it away or give it to someone.”

“From the beginning…”

“Kwon Seo-oh.”

Nam-woon, looking tired, pressed his temples with one hand and said,

“That rice, it’s nothing to me.”

Of course, it was a big deal. But Nam-woon wanted Kwon Seo-oh to just leave. After all, the other party wasn’t listening to him and was doubting his intentions so it didn’t seem like anything he said would change his mind.

Kwon Seo-oh raised one corner of his mouth and asked,

“Are you saying you actually did a favor for me?”

“Figure it out yourself. I don’t want to waste time on this, so just go.”

Kwon Seo-oh closed his mouth at Nam-woon’s dismissal. Nam-woon watched the motionless man and pulled a piece of paper that was carelessly placed on the table.

“Or do you need me to write a receipt or something?”

Kwon Seo-oh stared intently at Nam-woon. Then he suddenly blurted out,

“You’re strange, Hyung.”

At that single sentence, Nam-woon’s body stiffened. He continued speaking without taking his eyes off Nam-woon.

“They say when a person suddenly changes, it means they’re about to die.”

“…….”

“You weren’t like this before.”

“…What are you talking about?”

[Seok Nam-woon throws things when he’s angry!]

What do you want me to do? Is it telling me to throw something? When Nam-woon didn’t move, the words reappeared.

[Warning! Seok Nam-woon throws things when he’s angry!]

Damn it. Nam-woon quickly grabbed the envelope on the table and threw it at Kwon Seo-oh.

“I don’t need this.”

That’s when it happened. Buzz, buzz. Nam-woon’s phone, placed on the sofa, vibrated. Nam-woon immediately answered the call.

“Hello.”

Nam-woon knew well that it was impolite to interrupt the person he was talking to to answer a call. But today, he didn’t want to speak with Kwon Seo-oh anymore, especially not about such a topic.

Nam-woon said in a low voice,

“Yes. That’s right.”

Kwon Seo-oh was still standing in the same spot even when Nam-woon answered the phone. Nam-woon, listening to the other person’s words on the receiver, suddenly adopted a serious expression.

“He’s someone precious to me.”

Hearing Nam-woon’s words, Kwon Seo-oh’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Just a moment,” Nam-woon said, pausing his call with the person on the phone, and looked at Kwon Seo-oh.

“Hey.”

With an unusually cold expression, Nam-woon spat out,

“You should go now.”

Then he stood up and turned his back to Kwon Seo-oh, as if he didn’t even want to see his face.

His face, as he answered the phone again, looked soft and comfortable, unlike when he was dealing with Kwon Seo-oh earlier. Kwon Seo-oh stared blankly at Nam-woon’s face, then picked up the envelope on the table and slowly got up.

He stood there for a while longer, then quietly made his way out. This time, the sound of the door wasn’t as loud.