VDN Ch 85

Nam-woon’s entire body throbbed with pain after colliding with the asphalt. The pain in his shoulders and back, where he had taken direct hits, was especially intense. Meanwhile, the van carrying Kwon Sang-moon was getting farther and farther away. As Nam-woon stood up and limped to follow the car, a hand grabbed his back from behind. It was Kwon Seo-oh

“What are you going with that body!”

Seo-oh pressed Nam-woon to the ground with a rough hand and frantically chased after the van’s rear bumper. From behind, Nam-woon tried to zoom in on the van’s license plate using the camera, but the plate had been turned. Gasping for breath, Seo-oh stood in the middle of the road, staring blankly in the direction where the van had disappeared.

“…….”

Seo-oh remained silent, gazing at the road for a long time, until the errand center staff came looking for them.”

***

“Your bones seem fine, but the bruises are severe. Be cautious with movement for a while. I’ll prescribe some medicine and treat the wound.”

Arriving late in the parking lot, the Umpyeong employees were stunned by the sudden turn of events. Seo-oh, having come to his senses, ignored their questions about what happened and urged Nam-woon to go to the hospital. Although Nam-woon insisted he was fine, he was dragged to the hospital. Fortunately, Nam-woon’s injuries weren’t serious.

After receiving simple treatment for a simple bruise and coming out of the hospital, Nam-woon looked at Seo-oh and opened his mouth.

“Seo-oh, um…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Seo-oh suddenly hugged him. “Ah!” Nam-woon groaned at the sudden contact, and Seo-oh quickly pulled away in panic.

“Are you okay?”

Nam-woon nodded. Seo-oh carefully observed his expression and then became angry.

“How could you act so recklessly! What if you had been hurt worse? Do you think I would be happy if you got hurt instead of me?”

“I saw you in danger…”

“I can take care of my own body. So don’t ever try to save me like that again, okay? And don’t ever jump into a car like that again. Do you think those people would care if you got hurt? You could have been in an accident!”

“It’s okay because there wasn’t an accident.”

Nam-woon added, looking at Seo-oh’s angry face. He thought Kwon Seo-oh would lose his mind because Kwon Sang-moon had been kidnapped again. He thought he needed to take care of Seo-oh, but it was actually the other way around.

Even though his mind must have been completed enough, Seo-oh didn’t leave the hospital for a long time, checking every part of Nam-woon’s body, including how he felt here and how he felt there, before heading home.

“Sorry for coming so late.”

“Oh my, why are you so late?……What happened?”

Mrs. Soon-i glanced between Seo-oh and Nam-woon, then asked. After a short answer, Seo-oh lifted Se-han’s small, sleeping body from the bed. Se-han murmured “Wooh…” as he nestled against his brother’s chest like a koala. With Se-han in his arms, Seo-oh bowed to Mrs. Soon-i and stepped outside. They quietly walked home together, without a word, until they arrived home.

Seo-oh carefully placed Se-han in bed and then tirelessly attended to Nam-woon without rest. Even though he had repeatedly said that he was fine after being treated at the hospital, Seo-oh would get up first every time Nam-woon moved and readily bring him whatever he needed. Nam-woon, unable to make a sound because Se-han was sleeping, could only accept what Seo-oh offered.

When Seo-oh urged him to lie down, Nam-woon lay down next to Se-han, and Seo-oh, sitting beside him, quietly said,

“Get some sleep.”

“And you?”

Nam-woon, with his eyes wide open, looked at Seo-oh. A large hand gently pressed against his eyelids. Normally, Seo-oh had a high body temperature, but today, for some reason, his hand was cold. Nam-woon blinked, his eyelashes lightly brushing against Seo-oh’s palm.

“I’ll stay like this until you fall asleep. Close your eyes.”

I’ll just pretend to sleep. Today, Kwon Seo-oh must be having a harder time, so Nam-woon needed to watch over him. Feeling the dull pain in his shoulder, Nam-woon slowly closed his eyes.

How long had he been lying here like this?

He tried to not fall asleep, but he couldn’t overcome the drowsiness, and he drifted off. Fortunately, not much time had passed, and the room remained dark.

When he turned his head, he noticed Se-han’s small body lying on the futon with his belly exposed. Nam-woon gently pulled down Se-han’s shirt, tucked him into the blanket as he always did, and looked around. Seo-oh was nowhere to be seen.

Nam-woon stood up carefully and opened the door. As he slowly scanned the yard and walked toward the wooden table, he noticed a dark silhouette appearing at the edge of his vision. Seo-oh sat on the edge of the low table with his head bowed. Nam-woon watched him quietly, then slowly approached and sat beside him.

Even though Seo-oh must have sensed him sitting down, he remained motionless. Nam-woon gently placed his hand on his shoulder and hesitantly spoke.

“We’ll find your dad again soon. I’ll help.”

With those words, silence fell over the yard. After a moment, Seo-oh spoke up.

“It’s my fault.”

“…….”

“Because of me, you got hurt, and I lost Dad too.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“It’s always like that. Se-han always cries because of me, and on the day Dad went missing.”

Seo-oh slightly raised his head. His expressionless side profile looked pitiful.

“I was actually relieved.“

Nam-woon stared at Seo-oh at that.

“It seemed like it was too hard for him to raise Se-han and me by himself. That’s why I tried to act like a grownup in front of Dad. I tried to act like he didn’t need to take care of someone like me, so that he wouldn’t have to worry about me.”

His voice continued, almost like a confession.

“In middle school, I really hated you…I always tried not to talk back to you to not put a burden on Dad. I never went on school trips or picnics because I didn’t want to make things difficult for him. Even on days when I was sick or injured, I went to work. But one day, we had a big argument. That day, dad cried, saying it was too hard for him to raise Se-han and me alone. It was the first time I ever saw Dad cry like that….and the day after that, he didn’t come home.”

“…….”

“At first, I thought there had been an accident nearby, so I visited all the hospitals and even went to the police station several times. But I still couldn’t find him. So I thought, Dad must have run away. Because of me, because raising me was too hard… Dad couldn’t handle it and ran away. Even though I’m an alpha, I can’t even sense pheromones properly, and I’m just a nuisance who racks up a lot of money in hospital bills.

“Seo-oh…..”

“Se-han is still so young, and now I’m alone. What am I supposed to do now?”….I was a high school student and could only think about myself… I hated myself so much for being someone my family doesn’t even like. It was horrible.”

Seo-oh’s long eyelashes glistened with moisture in the dark surroundings.

“But because of Se-han, because Se-han couldn’t do without me, I just endured it. I just tried not to think about Dad. That’s how I got through it.”

“…….”

“Honestly, I had almost given up on finding Dad. Deep down, I believed he abandoned us because of me. But now that I know he didn’t leave because of me, I feel such a relief. Selfishly, it’s what makes me happiest and reassured.”

Seo-oh lowered his head again.

“I hate myself so much, Hyung.”

His voice, which had been getting quieter, was almost a whisper by the end. After listening to his irregular breathing for a moment, Nam-woon moved a bit closer to him and gently hugged Seo-oh’s large body.

“I was really surprised when I first saw Se-han.”

“…….”

“He’s such a kind and lovey child.”

Nam-woon unconsciously recalled his own childhood. A child who always wore dirty, smelly clothes and who had bruises all over his body. And the people around him who always pointed fingers at him.

“When I was young, I heard adults say that you can tell if a child is loved. It shows in everything they do… I didn’t believe that at all at first. But after seeing Se-han, I changed my mind.”

“…….”

“I could tell right away. That he was raised with lots of love from his brother.”

He could hear Seo-oh take a deep breath. His breathing was damp.

“Even though you’re young, you worked hard to take care of your brother. It must have been tough alone. If it were me, I couldn’t have done it.”

Nam-woon hugged Seo-oh’s large body. Pain surged from his bruised shoulder and back, but he didn’t care at all. No matter what happened to his body, he wanted to hold him tightly right now.

“Who would dislike someone like you? You work so hard.”

“…….”

His gentle hand softly patted the back of his neck. With a wet breath, Seo-oh burrowed into Nam-woon’s arms. Nam-woon spoke quietly.

“You’ve been through a lot. All this time.”

Nam-woon felt the back of his neck getting slightly damp where Seo-oh had buried his face. His large body now felt as small as a child. The breath scattering over his skin carried a tremble.

After a moment in Nam-woon’s arms, Seo-oh whispered in a wet voice,

“You’re not going anywhere, are you, Hyung?”

“…….”

“You’ll stay here, right?”

Seo-oh rubbed his forehead against Nam-woon’s neck, pressing his body closer. He urged for an answer like a child whining.

When Nam-woon didn’t answer immediately, Seo-oh asked in a gloomy voice,

“Do you not like me too?”

“No, I like you.”

This time, Nam-woon answered without hesitation. Then Seo-oh asked again,

“Then you’ll stay here, right?”

Yes…Nam-woon answered quietly, but he had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to keep that promise. Even now, the main quest given by the system was quietly floating before his eyes. Reading it made the corner of Nam-woon’s heart ache.

Seo-oh, who had finally gotten an answer, hugged Nam-woon with all his might. Feeling the strong embrace as if he would never let go, Nam-woon could only pat Seo-oh’s broad back.