IPSTDS Chapter 79

Chapter 79

Sitting on the sofa, Kim Daon seemed more composed than when he first arrived.

That didn’t mean the sorrow clouding his face had disappeared.

It might not be the best comparison, but even when a shop you frequent closes down, you feel downhearted for a while.

Then how much heavier must it feel to end things with someone you once thought you might share a future with? Maybe it even left him with a sense of emptiness about relationships themselves.

This time, Nahyuk managed to bring over a drink without spilling and set it down in front of him.

“Drink.”

“Thank you.”

“No, I didn’t have any plans today anyway. I was free. I should be the one thankful you came. I like seeing your face, Daon.”

“……”

At the gentle words layered over his soft voice, Daon gave a faint laugh and took a sip.

Nahyuk sat down close beside him and asked what he hadn’t dared to ask at the door.

“Can I ask what happened with Seo Dowoong?”

“You don’t have to be careful about asking. I came here to talk about that.”

“Okay.”

“The day I texted you, I met with Seo Dowoong separately. And the moment I saw his face, I knew I had to end it with him.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know exactly when or where our feelings went wrong. But what’s certain is, I no longer felt about him the way I used to. The desire to know him more, the longing to spend even a little more time with him… those feelings were gone.”

“……”

“It was dry, I guess you could say. I couldn’t picture a future with him anymore. And the ridiculous thing is, it wasn’t just me. Seo Dowoong felt the same.”

“You two… you’ve been strained ever since the day I was hospitalized.”

Daon blinked as if recalling that moment.

“Yeah. But I don’t want to put the blame on you.”

“Right…”

“I’ll admit it. When you saved me from the accident, and then I saw Seo Dowoong treat you so harshly… that was when my heart started to cool. It just didn’t look right. I couldn’t understand why he’d push someone who was hurt.”

So that was the first crack—the part where things diverged from the novel. Nahyuk frowned unconsciously.

He had guessed that Daon and Seo Dowoong’s relationship had fallen apart differently than in the original because of him, but hearing it directly made him feel worse.

Of course, he thought Seo Dowoong, with his unpleasant personality, was hardly suited for Daon. If anything, he wanted Daon to meet someone better.

Even so, he felt guilty toward him. Maybe it was because he had just seen them happy together in the original story.

“Daon, you said it isn’t my fault, but still, I’m sorry.”

“No apologizing. That’s banned.”

Though Daon was the one who should have been comforted, he reached out and gently tousled Nahyuk’s hair, as if to console him instead.

Then, as though to change the subject, he asked something else.

“Hyung, don’t you ever think about getting back together with Seo Dowoong?”

To think he’d hear that tiresome question even from Daon.

Nahyuk answered with a sigh in his voice.

“Why would I think that? You still don’t believe me? I really don’t like Seo Dowoong.”

“I thought I believed you. But I still wondered if you might turn your attention back to him. Because I was the one who saw you closest, for the longest time, liking him.”

“……”

“You were sincere toward him.”

Yes, I know better than anyone how sincere the Noah in the story was.

But Nahyuk wasn’t Noah. That’s why he could shake his head firmly.

“No matter what happens, I won’t like Seo Dowoong.”

“Is it because you like someone else now?”

“…What?”

“Do you like Lee Kangil?”

Nahyuk didn’t want to lie to Daon. Daon had been honest with him—he couldn’t do otherwise.

“I do.”

He liked Kangil. Even knowing he shouldn’t expect love from him, his heart leaned toward him.

“Do you love him?”

“I’m not sure.”

He couldn’t say for certain that it was love.

He didn’t know if his excitement for Kangil came from his desperate longing for another’s warmth, or if it truly was love.

“Phew, that’s a relief.”

“Hm?”

“It’s nothing.” Daon gave a faint reply, shaking his head slowly.

“You did change your feelings quickly, didn’t you. You don’t love him, but you like him.”

“That’s true.”

“And I like you just as much.”

“…Yeah.”

At that, Daon smiled for the first time. Nahyuk didn’t know why, but he was glad for it.

“Then you understand that people’s feelings can change in an instant, right?”

“I… guess so?”

Something about the conversation felt off.

“But why are you asking me this?”

“Well… I don’t know. Ha, but I feel so much lighter after telling you.”

Shifting the topic naturally, Daon exhaled a long breath.

“I’m glad you feel lighter, but still…”

Maybe you’ll find happiness because you’ll fall for someone else?

Nahyuk held the words in his mouth, unspoken, as he looked at Daon. Meeting his gaze, Daon tilted his head slightly.

Daon studied every part of Nahyuk’s face, his eyes filled with a heat Nahyuk couldn’t place.

“Say what you want to say.”

Then, like a devil skilled in temptation, he whispered.

And Nahyuk’s lips, weak to temptation, began to move on their own.

“…You’ll be happy, won’t you?”

Nahyuk never doubted that resolute Daon wouldn’t trap himself in misery, but would move forward in search of happiness.

So he expected a firm answer.

But instead of seriousness, what came back was laughter.

Kim Daon suddenly burst out laughing with a loud “Puh-ha,” and what he said next was absurd.

“Hyung, you’re really cute.”

“I was being serious!”

“Yes, I know.”

“Then why are you laughing?”

“Because objectively speaking, you’re the one who should be wishing for happiness, but instead you’re seriously wishing for mine. That’s just so cute, and…”

In that moment, Daon’s hand reached out suddenly. His pale, long fingers gently caressed Nahyuk’s cheek. That touch carried nothing but tenderness.

As if he had never been weighed down with sorrow, Daon confessed softly, almost like a love confession.

“…I laughed because you’re lovely.”

“D-don’t say things like that so carelessly.”

If you do, I might get the illusion that you could actually love me.

“But it’s true.”

No, you’ll never love me that way. Not even if the sky split in two, Nahyuk thought.

He must just be teasing me because he finds my blushing face cute. And yet, even though he was being teased, it didn’t feel unpleasant. Probably because Daon was smiling.

That beautiful smile, softening the air around them, tickled Nahyuk’s heart.

“And I think I could be happy if you keep spending time with me.”

“……”

“You’ll stay close with me, right?”

He hadn’t asked for money, nor anything excessive—just simply to spend time with him.

Of course Nahyuk could do that. Even if everyone else tried to stop him, he could.

“Yeah, I’ll spend time with you.”

“Then what should we do today?”

“Hmm. How about a movie?”

“A movie, all of a sudden?”

“Just… whenever I feel bad, I watch movies.”

When he watched stories completely separate from his own life, his heart felt at ease. As if the pain of reality could be forgotten for a while.

That was why even before becoming Yoon Noah, Nahyuk had watched all kinds of films. He liked to call it appreciation, but really it was closer to escapism.

But the movies he watched after becoming Yoon Noah weren’t out of desperation to escape reality. After all, he had rarely felt unhappy since becoming Noah.

Even if his body hurt, he didn’t feel misfortune—because there was Kim Daon, and there was Lee Kangil.

“Alright, what should we watch?”

Nahyuk began to pick out a film that might make Daon happy. If nothing else, he had watched so many that he knew most plots by heart.

So the film he chose was one that contained nothing but dreams and hope. There were no major hardships, which made it a bit dull, but the runtime was short, and they managed to finish it without trouble.

“It wasn’t boring, was it?”

“Of course not. You chose it for me, so it was fun.”

How could he say such pretty words?

“What I especially liked was…”

And Daon wasn’t just saying it. He listed the parts he enjoyed, and Nahyuk wholeheartedly agreed, adding his own thoughts.

The longer the conversation went on, the more Nahyuk thought,

“I’ve never met anyone I can talk this well with.”

He could talk with Kangil too, but it wasn’t the same as with Daon. With Kangil, it was always a battle where Nahyuk came out on the losing end.

With Daon, though, it felt like he could keep talking all night, for days on end. Even his lack of eloquence didn’t matter.

He had thought the only miracle was for two people’s hearts to align and fall in love. But wasn’t finding someone he could talk so easily with just as miraculous?

Forgetting Seo Dowoong, forgetting even the sense of time, their endless conversation was abruptly broken off by someone’s voice.

“Yoon Noah!”

It was Lee Kangil’s voice.