VDN Ch 97

Hae-geon furrowed his brow and he pulled away from Nam-woon as if he couldn’t stand it. He took a moment to catch his breath for a moment before leaning back in, tilting his head slightly as if trying to kiss Nam-woon, but that too ended in failure.

“Oh, shit.”

Hae-geon covered his mouth. Nam-woon, who had been groaning below, scrunched his forehead and looked up.

“What the… ugh… are you trying to throw up on my face?”

Nam-woon pressed his palm against Hae-geon’s smooth forehead and pushed him back. If this continued, he might end up receiving Hae-geon’s vomit all over his face.

Ah, but seriously, this is bad. Why does it smell so much like taiyaki? As someone who used to sell them, even Nam-woon thought it was a bit much. How much worse must it be for Hae-geon, who hates omega pheromones? Sure enough, Hae-geon could no longer hold it in and was covering his mouth and nose tightly.

Seizing the opportunity, Nam-woon tried to make a run for it. He grabbed his sagging pants with one hand and stretched one foot off the sofa. But a strong hand caught his ankle.

“Where are you going?”

“Let go of me…ugh.”

Nam-woon kicked wildly, breaking free from the man’s grasp. He quickly stood up, pulling up his pants. Even then, the smell of taiyaki filled the room, and Hae-geon remained seated on the couch with his head down.

As Nam-woon was about to rush out of the living room, he stopped, looked back at Hae-geon, and shouted.

“Hey, if you come at me like that one more time, I swear I’ll break your d*ck into two…Ugh, and if you try to sue Kwon Seo-oh, you’ll be reported as molester…by me. You’re disgusting, damn it. Hah….”

Nam-woon stumbled, hurriedly slipping on his shoes before heading outside and immediately getting into the elevator. Luckily, as he distanced himself from the alpha pheromones, his body began to stabilize.

However…

“……”

When Nam-woon looked down at his half-erect penis in his pants, his face turned to shock. So it seems any alpha would do, huh? I can’t believe I’m such a beast.

In a daze, Nam-woon swayed his body and headed toward the convenience store. What the hell is going on today? Even if there’s a setting for being in rut, this is too much.

Kwon Seo-oh and this guy too, they are just a bunch of animals trying to fuck and fight at any time.

Of course, he included Seok Nam-woon, himself, in that assessment.

It took a while for Nam-woon to regain his composure. His phone had been buzzing with notifications for some time, but he didn’t check the caller ID out of anxiety. Instead, he placed a can of spray deodorant and some band-aids on the counter, items that had become all too familiar to him.

“That’ll be 10,600 won.”

“Oh, and I’ll take this too.”

Next to the other items, he added a small packet of roasted salt. 

***

Spit.

Nam-woon spat out the salt that had entered his mouth, scrunching his face involuntarily at the salty taste. It had been such a bizarre day that he bought the salt for purification purposes, but he doubted whether roasted salt would be effective.

Shaking the plastic bag in his hand, Nam-woon slowly made his way up the alley. The thought of Seo-oh waiting for him at home made it hard for him to walk.

He had told Seo-oh to wait until the treatment was over, but would he be angry again?

As Nam-woon trudged up the hill with a troubled expression, he soon spotted the Namnam Supermarket. In front of the store, two people were sitting side by side. As soon as they saw Nam-woon, they jumped up from their seats. The shorter of the two spoke to Nam-woon first.

“Young man, you’ve finally come!”

“Grandpa.”

Grandpa Namnam flapped a large fan and glanced at the big man next to him.

“You’ve been waiting all this time! Hurry up and go home, wash your feet, and get some sleep! Geez, tsk tsk. You’re old enough to know better, yet you’re still getting into fights. If your father saw this, he would have shed a bucket of tears!”

After shouting this, Grandpa Namnam clicked his tongue again. Only then did Nam-woon turn his attention to Seo-oh. With a frighteningly hardened expression, Seo-oh approached Nam-woon and wrapped his arms around him. His thick forearms held Nam-woon tightly, as if he wouldn’t let go. It was reminiscent of a child waking up alone in the night, searching for their parents.

Seo-oh stood there motionless, pressing his nose against one of Nam-woon’s shoulders as if checking for something. Nam-woon felt a cold sweat trickle down his back. He had drenched his clothes in deodorant just in case, but he still felt like Hae-geon’s pheromones on him.

“Hey…”

Hiding his nervousness, Nam-woon called out to Seo-oh, but the old man who was watching from the side, let out a laugh as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Well, well! Look at that…! Clinging to him right away. Goodness, what will you do if Nam-woon isn’t around later!”

Looking at Seo-oh and himself hugging tightly, Nam-woon felt a bit embarrassed by what Grandpa said. He forcibly pulled away from the large body clinging to him. Then, he checked Seo-oh’s complexion and was slightly startled. The face in front of him was expressionless, but the eyes were dark and intense, as if they had seen through everything. Nam-woon awkwardly smiled and nodded in agreement with the grandfather’s words.

“That’s right.”

Nam-woon playfully asked Seo-oh.

“Kwon Seo-oh, how would you live without me?”

“I can’t.”

At the immediate response, the mischievous smile on Nam-woon’s lips slightly faded. The sound of the old man’s fan, which had been making flapping noise, also stopped. With a serious expression, Seo-oh slowly scanned Nam-woon’s entire face, starting from his eyes and moving down. Then, with his still beautiful, though wounded, lips, Seo-oh spoke to Nam-woon.

“I can’t live without you.”

Nam-woon could no longer smile. As Seo-oh’s face gradually showed signs of sadness, he slowly lowered his head. Seeing this, Nam-woon felt a sting in his chest.

As the two stood there silently, they heard the old man Namnam mutter, “So troublesome, really.” Nam-woon turned around, unsure of the expression on his face. His heart was racing, perhaps because he had just learned that Jin Hae-geon was interested in Seo-oh, and the confusion was overwhelming him.

How long would Seo-oh’s answer remain valid? To hide his awkward expression, Nam-woon shouted as he walked up the alley.

“We’re leaving now.”

He felt a hot palm grab his from behind. The strong fingers interlaced with his, just like in the alley near Korea University earlier. Feeling the large hand gripping his firmly, Nam-woon continued walking the road.

“Wait a minute, come here.”

Before entering the house, Nam-woon led Seo-oh to the table in the yard. As Nam-woon sat on the table and searched the black plastic bag, a bunch of band-aids spilled out. Looking at Seo-oh, who stood there blankly, Nam-woon spoke again.

“What are you doing? Come here.”

He patted the spot next to him, and Seo-oh sat down without a word. As Nam-woon picked out band-aids, a low voice came from beside him.

“Where did you go?”

“I just picked up a few things.”

Without looking up, Nam-woon replied, and Seo-oh scooted a bit closer.

“Why didn’t you wait for me when I was hurt?”

“…Something came up, I couldn’t help it.”

When there was no response, Nam-woon glanced sideways to see Seo-oh with his head turned, his gaze was fixed at something in the corner of the yard.

Neither of them spoke, and silence filled the yard. Nam-woon was the one to break the silence.

“…I’m sorry for getting angry when you were hurt.”

At those words, Seo-oh met Nam-woon’s eyes. This time, it was Nam-woon who looked away. Feeling Seo-oh’s steady gaze on him, Nam-woon struggled to speak again.

“I wasn’t really trying to take his side… It’s just that I was surprised you, who usually doesn’t fight, had such a big fight with someone. I was worried that fighting with him would put you at a disadvantage, so I…”

Nam-woon sighed and scratched the back of his neck. When there was no response for a while, he glanced up to see Seo-oh moving his lips as he asked.

“Is he going to sue me?”

“…Would he? He beat up someone pretty badly himself.”

Nam-woon looked at his face, which was covered with a large gauze bandage, and replied with a frown. After thinking for a moment, Nam-woon spoke firmly.

“From now on, if anyone around you picks a fight, just think, ‘Oh, it must be because I’m too good-looking.’ Then just ignore those kinds of people. That’s what I do when someone picks a fight with me.”

“……”

Nam-woon awkwardly cleared his throat a couple of times as Seo-oh’s dark eyes stared at him, then he rustled through the bag again. A quiet voice came from Seo-oh.

“I’m sorry for getting angry at you and doing… that today.”

Doing that? Nam-woon looked up with a puzzled expression, and Seo-oh continued, lowering his eyes.

“I’ll ask for permission next time.”

Ah, he’s talking about what happened in the alley.

Feeling embarrassed for no reason, Nam-woon licked his dry lips and awkwardly replied, “Oh… okay.” Then he reached into the bag again. The hospital had only treated the large wounds, so there were still small wounds that hadn’t been covered. It was better to treat them before Se-han saw them and got scared.

Just as Nam-woon took out a band-aid, the sound of the front gate opening was heard.

“Hyungs, I’m back!”

It was Se-han, the youngest of the Kwon family, calling out in his clear voice.

“I haven’t finished treating everything yet…!”

Nam-woon quickly looked at Seo-oh, who also had a panicked expression. What should they do? As they exchanged urgent glances, they heard the sound of footsteps.

Se-han seemed to have checked the house and muttered, “Oh, where did my Hyungs go?” Then, they heard the sound of footsteps again. Soon, a small child jumped into the yard where they were.

Se-han, wearing a white taekwondo uniform with a white belt, was holding a green insect collection container in his tiny hand. With flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, he walked towards his Hyungs, who were sitting on the table.

“Ah, you were both here? Guess what I caught today? It’s a centipede…!”

Se-han, who was speaking with an excited look, suddenly widened his eyes and stopped talking. His round eyes were fixed on Seo-oh’s face. Soon, a loud cry filled the yard.

“Hu… Huaaang!”

The green insect container fell from Se-han’s hand with a thud. The lid came off, and two long-bodied insects scurried across the yard. Nam-woon gasped and pulled his legs up onto the table at the sight of the many-legged creatures. Se-han, unaware that the insects he had caught all afternoon were gone, stood in front of the table and cried loudly.

Nam-woon, who had taken his eyes off the bugs, quickly approached and hugged Se-han. Nestled in Nam-woon’s broad chest, Se-han rubbed his flushed cheeks against Nam-woon’s neck and shoulder, then slowly lifted his head. His clear, large eyes looked at his brother again, and big tears rolled down his cheeks.