VDN Ch 92

“…….”

Seo-oh turned around without a word. His furrowed eyebrows and puzzled expression clearly showed he was questioning what he had just heard.

“Hit me once, no, twice.”

Right here, right now.

At Nam-woon’s desperate words, Kwon Seo-oh brushed his hand over his head as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Then, the bloodied knuckles on his fingers stood out even more. It looked chilling upon a second glance. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked him to hit me? Nam-woon swallowed nervously.

“Hyung, really… You can make a joke like that even after looking at my face?”

“…No, I’m not joking. I really want you to hit me.”

Kwon Seo-oh hesitated for a moment before speaking with difficulty.

“At home… when Se-han’s not around.”

“Huh? Why?”

Confused by Kwon Seo-oh’s answer, Nam-woon looked startled before lowering his eyebrows and pleading again. He was in a hurry because he didn’t know when the system would finish selecting his penalty.

“Just hit me now, okay? Before everyone leaves.”

Seeing Nam-woon’s pleading face, Kwon Seo-oh gently placed his bloodied hand on Nam-woon’s cheek. Nam-woon’s eyes widened at the light touch.

“I know you have unique hobbies, Hyung. But not here.”

Seo-oh added softly.

“Let’s do it at home later, with the condom we didn’t use last time.”

“…….”

Nam-woon was speechless. What was he talking about? Why is he suddenly talking about condoms? Nam-woon, who was lost in thought, quickly grabbed Seo-oh’s large, firm hand and tapped his own cheek with it.

“Ah, just hit me quickly. Here, hit me here. Hard.”

At that, Seo-oh’s expression hardened.

“I won’t hit your face.”

“…Why? You hit me before.”

Nam-woon asked curiously. Seo-oh bit his lip slightly, then spoke slowly and clearly in his characteristic low voice.

“I don’t want you to get hurt anymore.”

Nam-woon stared at Seo-oh. Seo-oh gently stroked Nam-woon’s cheek and said,

“And I don’t want you to have a scar on your face.”

Let’s go. Seo-oh said and grabbed Nam-woon’s wrist.

What’s wrong with you? Why are you going to hit me at home? He was full of questions. Nam-woon stared dumbfoundedly at Seo-oh’s back as he walked ahead. That’s when he heard a crowd of people behind him.

Without thinking, Nam-woon turned his head and gaped at the face of the man coming down the stairs. A tiny face and broad shoulders. The one descending the stairs with model-like long legs was none other than Jin Hae-geon.

His appearance was not much different from Seo-oh’s. For some reason, his face was paler than usual, which made the red bruises on his face stand out more. His elegant appearance and clothing were completely ruined by blood and dirt. It was a strangely familiar sight.

Jin Hae-geon, who had been walking leisurely with his hands in his pockets, stopped when he spotted Nam-woon. He stared at Nam-woon with an expressionless face and then, as usual, slightly lifted one corner of his mouth. Some people watching from the side let out admiring exclamations at the inappropriate time.

“Jin Hae-geon?”

Nam-woon muttered in disbelief. Seo-oh’s hand tightened as if he heard the softly murmuring voice.

At the same time, red letters appeared in the system.

[Warning! Seok Nam-woon does not call Jin Hae-geon “Jin Hae-geon”!]

How did Seok Nam-woon call Jin Hae-geon? As he was trying to remember, Seo-oh suddenly gripped Nam-woon’s wrist tightly and started walking forward.

“Ah, Kwon Seo-oh. Wait!”

But Seo-oh did not stop walking, as if he couldn’t hear him. Nam-woon resisted being dragged away, tensing his body and turning his head back. Jin Hae-geon was still looking at him. Locking eyes with Nam-woon, Jin Hae-geon opened his lips, which were redder from the wounds after the fight.

What is he saying?

Nam-woon stared intently at Jin Hae-geon’s moving lips.

At that moment, Seo-oh, who had finally stopped walking when Nam-woon didn’t follow him obediently, called out, “Hyung.” Without responding to him, Nam-woon frowned and kept watching Jin Hae-geon’s lip movements. When Nam-woon realized what he was saying, his face instantly hardened.

A smile rose to Jin Hae-geon’s lips, confident that Nam-woon had read his lip movements. Then he picked up his phone and put it to his ear. It seemed like he had received a call.

Nam-woon, with a hardened expression, cast a glance at Seo-oh.

“Hey, Kwon Seo-oh.”

Despite the low call, Seo-oh was looking behind Nam-woon with a murderous look in his eyes. There was no doubt that he was looking at Jin Hae-geon.

“That guy…”

Then, once again, a notification sound rang out.

Ding—! 

[Seok Nam-woon does not call Jin Hae-geon “that guy”.] 

[When in the same space as Jin Hae-geon, only one form of address for Jin Hae-geon is allowed.]

“Did you fight with Hae-geon?” 

“Hae-geon?” 

At the affectionate name, Kwon Seo-oh glared fiercely at Nam-woon.

Nam-woon, filled with a mix of confusion and bewilderment, let out a few breathless sighs before placing a hand on Seo-oh’s shoulder.

“Ha… Seo-oh. Why did you suddenly hit Hae-geon?”

“…….”

“Say something. What happened? Did Hae-geon-i badmouth you?

Seo-oh kept his mouth shut, but the atmosphere noticeably changed. Earlier, when he had wanted to go home, he had looked calm. However, as soon as the name “Hae-geon” was mentioned, it was as if something had snapped, and the atmosphere suddenly turned sharp.

“Kwon Seo-oh.” 

Nam-woon urged again out of frustration, and Seo-oh’s mouth slowly opened. However, the words that came out were not about the fight.

“You said he’s a client, right?”

“Huh?” 

“I heard that bastard has a lot of money. But isn’t he your client? That doesn’t make sense. Are you doing some other job behind my back?”

“Ah…” 

Nam-woon remembered. He had told Seo-oh that Hae-geon was a client. How should he explain this now? Nam-woon frowned in embarrassment and mumbled vaguely.

“Well, it’s complicated… Let’s talk about that later. This comes first now. Why did you fight?”

“No, let’s talk about it later. Tell me now.”

“No, is that so important? The fact that you hit someone at school….”

“Yeah. To me, this is more important.”

Seo-oh tilted his head at an angle and stared straight at Nam-woon, showing no sign of backing down until he got a proper explanation. Nam-woon, mindful of Hae-geon, who was on the phone behind him, reluctantly parted his lips with an unhappy expression.

“Actually…Hae-geon scammed me a bit, so I was trying to get revenge, and that’s how we ended up signing a contract at the office.”

Seo-oh’s face showed no sign of believing. Nam-woon continued,

“I really did lend him money too… We do have a debtor-creditor relationship.”

As he spoke, he remembered that Hae-geon had written the name “Jin-sang” on the contract.

Ah shit, isn’t the contract void now?

Nam-woon was shocked by the realization he had come too late, while Kwon Seo-oh turned his head and let out a sigh. There was no smile on his face.

“Revenge? Are you filming your own drama? You expect me to believe that?”

“He is my client. Believe it or not, that’s up to you. What, should I beg and plead, grab your pant leg and cry for you to believe me?”

“You always avoid talking about important things. You’re so desperate to dodge questions that you only come up with unconvincing stories…”

“Sorry my explanation isn’t convincing enough?”

Before they knew it, the fight had spread to the two of them.

Nam-woon glared at Seo-oh with sharp eyes, but he soon snapped out of it. There were still people watching them, and Seo-oh was injured, this wasn’t the time or place. To steer the conversation away from the pointless back-and-forth, Nam-woon sighed and tried to speak calmly.

“Seo-oh, why did you hit someone from the same school, especially Jin Ha…Hae-geon.” 

“So what if I hit him.” 

“What?” 

“What’s the big deal about beating up an annoying bastard?”

Nam-woon was lost for words. What’s wrong with beating up? Did Kwon Seo-oh just say that? He sometimes acted impulsively, but only when Nam-woon and his family were involved, otherwise, Seo-oh was relatively well-behaved.

Nam-woon’s tone changed as if scolding a rebellious child. 

“Is beating people up something to be proud of? Are you some kind of gangster?”

Seo-oh rolled his eyes sideways in disbelief and let out a hollow laugh.

“It’s really funny to hear ‘are you a gangster’ from an actual gangster. Why, you can’t stand me hitting that guy?

“What kind of talk is that?”

Jin Hae-geon was the heir to the Mooyoung Group. On the other hand, Kwon Seo-oh was just a broke college student. A poor college student like Kwon Seo-oh throwing the first punch at the heir of a massive conglomerate.

“I’m going to sue.”

Even with Jin Hae-geon having mouthed those words, it was a very unfavorable situation for Seo-oh in many ways. However, unaware of these circumstances, Seo-oh stared at Nam-woon with cold eyes.

“You’re not even curious about why I hit that bastard. Why have you only been taking his side since earlier?”

“When did I ever side with him?” 

“You called me a gangster. You asked why I hit him specifically. Can’t you even see that I’m injured?”

“Hah, that’s not what I…”

At that moment, a calm voice came from behind.

“Hey, Nam-woon.”

Before Nam-woon could turn around, Seo-oh reacted first. 

“Get lost. Want another beating?”

“Haha. Nam-woon, you always look like a total college kid at school. You’re freaking adorable.”

Seo-oh lunged at Jin Hae-geon again for completely ignoring his words. Nam-woon frantically tried to stop him as As Seo-oh grabbed Hae-geon by the collar,

“Hey, stop it!” 

Nam-woon squeezed between Seo-oh and Jin Hae-geon, trying to pull Seo-oh away while shouting. Then, as if he didn’t even want Jin Hae-geon and Nam-woon to touch, Seo-oh pulled Nam-woon to himself and stepped back. Jin Hae-geon looked leisurely at the action that seemed to shield Nam-woon.

Nam-woon lifted his face from Seo-oh’s chest and looked back at Jin Hae-geon with an anxious gaze. Jin Hae-geon maintained his calm demeanor.

After a moment’s hesitation, Nam-woon opened his mouth.

“Kwon Seo-oh.” 

He called his name in a low voice and stepped out of Seo-oh’s embrace. Seo-oh’s dark eyes, still fixed on Hae-geon, were filled with uncontrollable anger.

Nam-woon spoke to Seo-oh in a quiet but firm voice.

“Apologize.” 

“…What?” 

“Apologize. To Hae-geon.” 

Taken aback by Nam-woon’s sudden words, Seo-oh’s eyes widened, then his face contorted. 

“Apologize?” 

The look in Seo-oh’s gaze was intense. Instead of apologizing, the air around him seemed filled with the intent to charge at Jin Hae-geon again. But it couldn’t be helped. It was better than Seo-oh ending up behind bars.

Seo-oh clenched his teeth and spat out in a low voice,

“Why should I? Why are you taking his side over…” 

Seo-oh trailed off before saying it in a firm voice.

“I can’t, no, I won’t.”