VDN Ch 83

Having had a tearful reunion the day before yesterday, they decided to refrain from meeting each other until Chairman Seok’s surveillance eased. Naturally, Kwon Sang-moon could not return to his own home, nor could Seo-oh freely come and go from the apartment where Kwon Sang-moon was staying.

A meeting with Se-han also could not be arranged. Instead, they arranged to have a video call tomorrow evening, once Se-han returned home from his Taekwondo class. However, when vividly imagining Se-han crying and insisting on going to see his dad immediately, Kwon Sang-moon contemplated whether to hold off on contacting him until he could visit Se-han directly, but he missed Se-han terribly himself.

On the day Seo-oh had safely escaped the club, after he had been by his father’s side and returned home, a detective visited and guarded Kwon Sang-moon’s sleeping quarters. And in the afternoon, it was ironically Nam-woon who took over Kwon Sang-moon’s care whenever the detective had to step away briefly. Someone was needed to care for Kwon Sang-moon, but there wasn’t anyone particularly trustworthy to entrust him to, so Seo-oh personally requested Nam-woon.

Sang-moon strongly expressed his reluctance to have Chairman Seok’s son, Seok Nam-woon, take on this role, but Seo-oh did not back down on this matter. Moreover, since Nam-woon had hidden him during his actual crisis, Sang-moon had no grounds to refuse. Eventually, he nodded, looking somewhat uncomfortable.

After talking to Kwon Sang-moon for a while, Seo-oh asked, “I need to talk to Hyung.” Kwon Sang-moon handed the phone to Nam-woon with an uncomfortable expression.

– Hyung, Se-han is having a snack party at school tomorrow.

“Oh, really? I should have given him some pocket money beforehand.”

– You already gave him some. Call him tonight and tell Se-han not to take his entire frog coin purse tomorrow.

 “Why?”

When Nam-woon asked why, Seo-oh replied.

–  If he takes it, he’ll spend all the money inside. It was the same last time.

“Ah, what’s the harm? Just let him buy a few things.”

– No. Otherwise, he’ll just eat snacks at home and skip meals. He doesn’t listen to me anymore, so you talk to him.

– He doesn’t listen to me either. Besides, he’s only buying a few snacks anyway, so let him buy the Choco mushrooms and things he likes. Se-han always wants to eat those.

– Choco mushrooms are absolutely not allowed. Because you always buy him everything he begs for, he becomes even more disobedient.

“When did I ever buy him everything just because he begged?”

Kwon Sang-moon stared, mouth agape, at Nam-woon conversing so naturally with Seo-oh. It was strange. He felt that conversations about Se-han should be with him, so why was Seo-oh having that discussion with the young master?

Nam-woon, engrossed in his conversation with Seo-oh, subtly glanced at Kwon Sang-moon, then got up and went into a small room located further inside. Perhaps the door wasn’t closed properly, as the sound of the call leaked from the room.

“By the way, what does your dad prefer to eat? What should I get for him?”

– He needs something like broth to eat his meals

“I’ll have to check if there’s anything nearby when I leave later.”

After telling him to avoid anything with chili powder, Seo-oh asked carefully. 

– Hyung, did you go to the hospital?

Nam-woon and Seo-oh also hadn’t been able to meet for some time. This was because they feared Chairman Seok might be monitoring Seo-oh. Nam-woon paused for a moment before replying.

“Yes. They said everything was fine.”

-How were the test results? Are you still Beta?”

“…Yeah. They said, “I’m still a Beta.”

Still? What did ‘still’ mean? Kwon Sang-moon found himself listening intently to their conversation without realizing it. Meanwhile, Seo-oh asked again.

– You didn’t go to the club yesterday, did you?

“Hey, what do you take me for? I didn’t go. The gentleman is here too.”

-Who have you met since then?

“People I met? Uh… the people from Umpyeong and from my office.”

-Is that all? Are you sure?

Responding to Nam-woon’s answer, Seo-oh spoke with a tone full of displeasure.

– Hyung, I told you not to wander around. Why are you going everywhere?

“Hey, Seo-oh. Seriously, what’s wrong with you? I have to live my life and work too….”

Nam-woon replied in a tired voice. There was a hint of annoyance mixed in.

Kwon Sang-moon’s expression became stranger and stranger.

Kwon Sang-moon’s expression became increasingly strange. His son wanted to know Nam-woon’s daily activities as if he were monitoring someone under suspicion. From wake-up time to what he ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and whether he was taking his medication properly, Seo-oh seemed intent on supervising every move. Particularly, he was intensively probing who Nam-woon had contacted and met, where even hearing it was overwhelming.

Seok Nam-woon’s attitude was equally bizarre. Even when Seo-oh delved into his personal life, Nam-woon seemed unfazed, as if it were an everyday occurrence. He aimlessly rummaged through the closet in the room, answering Seo-oh’s questions vaguely but diligently.

What kind of relationship could possibly lead to such questions and answers?

The difference in their conversational tone compared to before caused great confusion in Kwon Sang-moon’s mind. Their voices, which had been exchanging questions and answers for a while, suddenly cut off. Kwon Sang-moon glanced into the room, wondering if they had hung up. Seeing Nam-woon still holding the phone in his hand, it seemed they hadn’t hung up yet.

– Hold the phone up a bit higher.

“Like this?”

In response to Seo-oh’s words, Nam-woon raised the phone, which he had held near his chin, higher to show his face.

-Closer.

Nam-woon pulled the phone closer to his face. Seo-oh, after a moment of silence, hung up the phone, ending with the remark that he had to leave soon. Kwon Sang-moon, startled by how close he had unconsciously moved to the doorway, tried to quickly turn away. But at that moment, a voice from inside the room made him stop moving.

“Even with this crappy angle, he’s still so handsome.”

Nam-woon muttered, staring at the turned-off phone screen. Sang-moon was silently stunned.

***

After watching Kwon Sang-moon finish his meal, Nam-woon did some light cleaning. Nam-woon washed the dishes and cleaned up a bit. The apartment seemed to have been actually lived in, with signs of daily life abundant throughout. Fortunately, it wasn’t as sterile as an office space, otherwise Kwon Sang-moon would have felt even more anxious.

“I’ll be going now.” 

After finishing most of his tasks, he checked the time and headed towards the shoe rack. Seeing him, Kwon Sang-moon awkwardly stood up and gave a slight bow. Nam-woon, with his hand on the doorknob, turned his head and said,

“I’ll buy some soup tomorrow.”

He then scratched his head with an embarrassed look.

“I’d like to make it for you, but I haven’t tried it much, so it might not taste good. I’ll make it for you next time.”

“It’s, it’s okay.

Kwon Sang-moon waved his hand and declined. Nam-woon said he would return tomorrow and exited through the front door. 

What the hell did Seok Nam-woon do in the novel? Kwon Sang-moon felt extremely uncomfortable around Seok Nam-woon. Wouldn’t it have been better for anyone else to come instead of him? Even as he thought this, his hands quickly started searching for nearby restaurants. 

What would be good for the old man to eat? While pondering the menu, Nam-woon got off the elevator and was about to leave the building when he suddenly stopped and stepped back. He had spotted something strange.

“Which room?”

“They said room 504.”

“Let’s finish this quickly and get out of here. I’m starving.”

“Hold on. Hyungnim left the tools in the car and went to get them. He’ll be back soon. But wouldn’t a locksmith be better? This is just a waste of effort.”

“What locksmith? It’ll be done with just two hits.”

Damn, I’m screwed. The elevator had already gone up, and he couldn’t afford to wait for it to come back down. Panic surged through him as Nam-woon bolted up the stairs to the 5th floor.

Bang! As he hurriedly opened the door, Kwon Sang-moon, who was watching TV alone, looked up in surprise. 

“Young master?”

“Get ready to leave.”

What?”

“There are gangsters outside right now.”

Kwon Sang-moon’s face turned pale, and his hand holding the remote control trembled. 

“You said you know a detective, right? Call them quickly.”

Kwon Sang-moon picked up his phone and dialed the number with shaking hands, then asked for an explanation for the situation. After he hung up, he looked at Nam-woon.

 “He, he said he’d be here now…”

“How long will it take?”

“F-fifteen minutes.”

 “That’s not enough time. They’ll be here before then.”

Kwon Sang-moon’s legs gave out, and he sank onto the sofa. Meanwhile, Nam-woon tried calling Seo-oh but couldn’t get through. He had no choice but to quickly summarize the situation and leave a message.

Nam-woon then entered a small room inside and opened the closet door. He was sure it had been here… Digging through the closet, he pulled out two sets of clothes. They were school uniforms. Both the summer uniform top and the autumn sweater had the same name tag.

After a moment’s hesitation, Nam-woon discarded the autumn sweater and chose the summer uniform without the tie. He also picked up a pair of black-framed glasses. Then he scanned the vanity table nearby and picked up a pair of black-rimmed glasses.

When he handed the necktie to Sang-moon, who looked puzzled, Nam-woon simply said,

“Put it on quickly.”

Nam-woon said as he took off his shirt first.

Nam-woon, holding his gym jacket in one hand, draped an arm over Kwon Sang-moon’s shoulder and stepped outside. Several large men stood in front of the building. He could feel Kwon Sang-moon’s shoulder trembling beneath his hand. Feeling sorry for him Nam-woon tightened his grip and tried to nonchalantly lead Kwon Sang-moon past them. Suddenly, a stranger’s voice came from the side.

“Hey, you!”

Kwon Sang-moon flinched at the sound. Nam-woon glanced sideways quickly to see an unfamiliar old man staring at them with a frown.

“Are you bullying your friend? Is this some kind of school violence?”

Thanks to the old man’s loud voice, the attention of the thugs nearby focused on them. Under the gaze of the burly men who were scrutinizing him, sweat broke out on Nam-woon’s neck. Right, let’s just pretend to be delinquent students here. Nam-woon shouted, annoyed.

“Ah, just mind your own business!”

“You shouldn’t bully your friend like that!”

“It’s alright, we’re good friends, aren’t we?”

“Right?” Nam-woon said, hugging Kwon Sang-moon’s shoulder tightly. With his black schoolbag clutched to his chest, Kwon Sang-moon nodded. The old man clicked his tongue, seemingly convinced, and shouted, “Kids like you grow up to be gangsters!” as he passed by slowly. He kept glancing back, seeming concerned about Kwon Sang-moon, but since the person himself insisted they were friends, he seemed unable to interfere further.

It was the moment Nam-woon, having caught his breath, quickened his pace.

“Hey.”

A large man with a fierce expression called out to Nam-woon, chewing gum loudly. Kwon Sang-moon’s breathing became louder with fear.