VDN Ch 119

Before he had the time to think about how to overcome this crisis, tears welled up in Se-han’s eyes.

“Do you really not like Hyung?”

Nam-woon immediately changed his words.

“No, no. I answered wrong….because I was embarrassed.” 

“……”

At that, Se-han’s tears seemed to disappear. Looking at Se-han’s innocent face, staring intently at him, Nam-woon lowered his voice significantly.  

“It might not be that I… like him, but it could be…”

“What? I can’t hear you!” 

At his rather sharp voice. Nam-woon flinched and shrank back. His face had long since turned red.  

“Ah, maybe… It seems like that.”

“What seems like that?”

“I… like him?”

Se-han’s wooden skewer finally lowered after hearing the voice smaller than an ant. Nam-woon quickly added.

“It’s embarrassing, so keep it a secret from Seo-oh.”

“Phew. Okay, Wooni Hyung, you were scared, right? I’m sorry I scared you today.”

Se-han came to Namwoon’s side, hugged him tightly and patted him on the back, like a parent soothing a child after scolding him. At this gesture of affection, Nam-woon stroked the child’s soft and warm head with a complicated expression.  

***

Seo-oh, who been in the library since the early morning, looked down at his book and twirled his pen. Then he closed the book down and headed to the break room. He grabbed a drink from the vending machine and looked out at the scenery.

Perhaps because it was summer, the day was bright even at this early hour. Naturally, he pictured Nam-woon, with messy hair resembling a magpie’s nest, waking up with half-opened eyes. He looked even cuter in the morning. His body was soft and squishy. Again, he felt a sense of longing for not being by Nam-woon’s side. 

“Sigh…”  

A soft sigh escaped Seo-oh’s lips as he habitually continued to calculate the remaining time until he would finish his medication. 

It had already been four days since he had avoided Nam-woon. When he saw his face, he wanted to touch him, and if he touched him, he wanted to kiss him, and if he kissed him, he wanted to have sex, so he had no choice but to choose to completely avoid him. The reason he resorted to such extreme measures was entirely because Nam-woon was too cute. 

After taking a sip of his drink, he accessed the part-time job app. He scrolled through the posting. Is there a place that pays a lot in a short period of time? His fingers moved quickly as he scrolled down. While scrolling past a highly suspicious ad seeking a physically fit alpha male in his 20s for a high-paying job, his finger stopped at another post.

[Looking for a well-groomed male part-time worker for a high-end Korean traditional restaurant – Short-term]

This seems good. He immediately clicked on the post and skimmed through the post. It looked like if he worked for just a few days, he would earn a decent amount of money. He promptly left a message on the restaurant’s phone number.

Seo-oh was planning to gift Nam-won a new bicycle soon. In fact, he had wanted to give him one for a while, but when he looked into it, he found that bicycles varied widely in price. Some were really expensive, reaching three digits, while others went into four digits. It would be hard to afford that much, but he wanted to gift something much better than the old pink bicycle that Hyung currently had.

He had been thinking about it for a while, and the reason he finally made up his mind this time was not only because his current bicycle was old but also because he had decided to confess to Nam-won.

The reason he had decided to confess was this. A few days ago, Se-han had sent Seo-oh outside, saying he had something to ask Nam-won alone. For a moment, he was curious about what the two of them were talking about, but soon his attention was caught by the messy yard that had been neglected for some time. While he was busy tidying up the yard, Se-han’s sharp voice came through the open window.

“Do you like Hyung?”

The hand that was feeling the dirt floor and pulling out weeds suddenly stopped. Naturally, all of his attention turned toward the window. Seo-oh unconsciously bit his lips in nervousness and focused on the voice. He held his breath at Nam-won’s answer.

“I… like him?”

Seo-oh slowly raised his hand to cover his lips and chin.

Did Hyung just say… he likes me?

His eyes, which were as big as lanterns, shook violently. Thump. Thump. His heart began to pound heavily. The sound was so loud it was deafening. His earlobes were burning with excitement that he couldn’t hide.

Seo-oh paced the yard anxiously. If Hyungs likes me, how should I respond? His heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest as he clutched his chest tightly. Now that I think about it, the word “like” was just a word he overheard in Se-han’s conversation, and he hadn’t actually heard a direct confession from Hyung.

Come to think of it, I haven’t confessed to him either.

Seo-oh wanted to slap himself hard in the face at the sudden realization. After living together and doing everything, he had forgotten such an important confession. His foolish behavior was truly shocking.

At some point, it started to feel completely natural to have Nam-woon by his side. When he woke up in the morning, he was sleeping next to him, breathing steadily, and at the end of the day they would go to bed together after chatting with each other. However, there was still no clear word to define their relationship.

Simply living together didn’t satisfy him. He needed a more solid and definite definition that tied him and Hyung together.

So he made a decision. He would confess to Nam-woon formally.

In his heart, he wanted to go to Nam-woon right away and say that he liked him but he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t do something so important without being able to have the slightest contact with him. Seo-oh couldn’t help but postpone his confession until after he finished his medication.

Will he accept me right away?

He imagined Nam-woon’s surprised face upon hearing his confession. Would he nod shyly, or would he grumble and shout as a way to avoid it? Nam-woon has a tendency to raise his voice and make a big fuss when he’s embarrassed, so the latter seemed more likely.

It’s only a few days away. The day was approaching when he would confess for the very first time in his life.

He felt his heart racing with excitement, nervousness, and a little bit of fear. Suddenly, a burning thirst arose in his throat, he emptied the can of drink in one go.

***

[When are you coming today?]

[Why?]

[I’m going to look for electric fans later.]

[I’ll be late today.]

[Today too?]

“……”

Nam-woon stared at his phone screen for a long time. It had already been three hours since he sent the last message, and there was no reply.

“Ah, what’s wrong with this guy these days?” Recently, Kwon Seo-oh’s attitude had been a bit strange.”

It all started a few days ago. When he woke up in the morning, Seo-oh was not beside him, so he called him. 

– Yes Hyung.

“Hey, it’s me. Where did you go so early in the morning?” 

– …I think I need to leave a bit earlier for a while. I started a new part-time job, and there’s a lot to do. I’ll come home late today, so go ahead and sleep first with Se-han.”

“Ah, is that so? Don’t overdo it and take it easy.”

After saying this with a worried expression, Nam-woon hung up. He thought maybe he was trying to take on more work since it was vacation.

But the problem arose after Seo-oh returned home.

“Oh, you’re back? It’s late.” 

Hearing the sound of the door opening, he got up from the futon. It seemed like he must be very tired, so he reached out to take his bag, but there was nothing to grab. When he opened his eyes properly and looked ahead, he saw Seo-oh standing at the edge of the shoe rack with his head down.

“I’ll do it.” 

Then he turned his body and headed straight for the bathroom to avoid Nam-woon. Nam-woon froze in place, with his hand reaching out. 

…Did something happen? It seems like he won’t even make eye contact.  

While he was pondering this, a wave of emotions hit Nam-woon, and he lay back down on the blanket. Just then, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped, and when Seo-oh washed up and came out, Nam-woon naturally shifted over to the side. After all, he was occupying all of Seo-oh’s space.  

But suddenly, Seo-oh walked over to Se-han and started to gently nudge his body aside.  

“Se-han, could you move over a bit?”  

“Ugh.”  

As Se-han scrunched his face and squirmed over, creating barely enough space for one person to lie down. Nam-woon lifted his head and asked,  

“Huh? Are you going to sleep there?”  

“…It feels cooler here.”  

A small doubt arose—aren’t they all pretty much the same? But at that time, he thought it must be nothing and didn’t think much of it. However, as this continued for a day, two, three, and four days, it became worse.  

Kwon Seo-oh was avoiding him.  

There was no other way to describe the situation. Just moments ago, they were all cuddly, talking about kissing and having sex so how could a person change so drastically overnight? Why the hell was he avoiding him? He felt frustrated not knowing the reason.  

He tried to find a chance to ask casually, but even the slightest brush of skin seemed to surprise him, making it difficult for him to ask first.  

Is he mad at me for something? Nam-woon reflected on the past few days. Did I break a dish while doing the dishes? Did I mix the white laundry with the dark? Or did he find out I bought Se-han some Choco Mushrooms? …Or did he realize I borrowed his underwear? There were so many things that pricked his conscience, it was hard to find a clear answer.

At some point, he couldn’t even sleep properly because he was waiting for Seo-oh, who was late every day. Is this how someone with a spouse who comes home late feels?

Did Kwon Seo-oh feel like this when I came home late after drinking?

He used to call and message me a lot too.

All sorts of thoughts crossed his mind, and now it was him who wanted to send hundreds of calls and messages. It was when Nam-woon let out a deep sigh and fixed his gaze on the message window with no reply. The sound of Deok-chil and Haeng-won whispering reached his ears.  

“I feel a bit awkward saying this, but it seems like you might have been ghosted, Hyung.”

“What?”  

Deok-chil was furious at Haeng-won’s words. Haeng-won continued,  

“She suddenly starts avoiding you. You can’t reach her, and she won’t meet you. It seems like she’s already lost interest.”

“Does that make sense? Just last week, she acted like she couldn’t live without me.”

“Some people are like that. They lose interest the moment someone falls for them. It’s like not feeding a fish once it’s already been caught.”

“……”

“Or maybe she found someone else quickly. People like that tend to move on fast.”

Fuck… Deok-chil muttered under his breath, looking like he was about to cry.

Fuck…

Nam-woon next to him also mumbled a curse. Is it true? Did I get played by Kwon Seo-oh? His face crumpled as he mulled over Haeng-won’s shocking words.

Just then, a familiar sound rang out:

Ding!

[Updating begins.]

[…Updating in progress…]

[Update successfully completed!]

Suddenly, the update was completed as quickly as frying beans. Then, a series of notification windows popped up.

[Role Fulfillment Clause No. 6, Seok Nam-woon interferes with Jin Hae-geon’s matchmaking date.]

[Update Celebration Mission Activated! Fill up Kwon Seo-oh’s ?? Gauge]

[?? Gauge: 0]

[Completing Role Fulfillment Clause No. 6 and the mission will grant you a special reward. Please work hard to fulfill them!]

My head is already complicated enough, what is this now?

Nam-woon’s expression was grim as he stared at the system window.