VDN Ch 141

Understanding the situation, Nam-woon gave up finding his bag and said goodbye to Auntie Soon-i.

“Auntie, thank you for everything. I’m leaving now!”

“Nam-woon, where are you going? Oh, Seo-oh, he said he’s saying he’s leaving. What? You want me to catch him?”

“I’m sorry, I’m going to borrow that bicycle over there! I’ll definitely pay you back 30,000 won later!”

“Nam-woon, wait! Seo-oh said that if he doesn’t get caught, he’ll die? What kind of accident did you cause… Wait a minute, Nam-woon!”

Nam-woon Ignored the shouts from Auntie Soon-i behind and hopped on the pink bicycle and grabbed the handlebars. The grip felt different. Looking down, the bicycle was shiny as if it were brand new. I’m sorry, Auntie. Apologizing inwardly, Nam-woon pedaled while wearing bathroom slippers.

“Ouch! That hurts like hell!”

However, he could barely make it halfway down the alley before urgently stopping the bicycle in front of the Namnam Supermarket. The pain in his backside made it impossible for him to ride any further.

Nam-woon staggered like someone with hemorrhoids and slammed the supermarket door open.

“Grandfather! Can you take the bicycle in front of the store to Auntie Soon-i?”

“Who opened the door so roughly? And what do you think you’re doing, a young man like you, trying to boss around an old man! Take it yourself. I’m busy.”

As usual, Grandpa was watching a rerun of a daily drama.

“I have to go quickly!”

“Where are you going?”

“I don’t know. Thank you for everything.”

“You, you…! Are you fighting with Seo-oh again? You two should stop fighting. They say a couple’s quarrel is like cutting water with a knife!”

Nam-woon barely registered Grandpa’s nagging and hurriedly went down the alley. As soon as he reached the main road, he quickly flagged down a taxi and hopped in.

“Sir, please drive away!”

***

The place Nam-woon arrived was the neighborhood where he sold taiyaki in the previous world. The only place he could think of was the office, but he felt like Seo-oh would chase him if he went there. Since he couldn’t think of a place in particular, he went wherever his feet took him and he ended up here.

[World Tteoksoontwi]

Gurgle. When he saw the snack shop sign, his stomach automatically made a loud noise. Now that he though about it, he hadn’t eaten anything for a whole day. All he had was a few sips of water that Seo-oh had given him.

Nam-woon made his way to the tteokbokki shop, clutching his hungry stomach. The owner, who was watching a video on her phone, looked up as she sensed someone approaching. Upon seeing the customer’s face, she greeted Nam-woon warmly.

“You’re back? It’s been a while.”

“Hello.”

After greeting the owner, Nam-woon rummaged through his pockets to check how much money he had left. He still had over 20,000 won. It seemed like he could eat here and then called the good people center to get more money.

“Please give me just one serving each of tteokbokki, assorted fried snacks, and sundae.” 

His hunger was so intense that it felt like his stomach was sticking to his back. Nam-woon picked up a fish cake that was next to him. As he bit into the fish cake, a warm and salty taste filled his mouth. Not wanting anyone to steal his food, he chewed diligently, and the owner who saw him chuckled as he watched.

“Who’s chasing you? Eat slowly or you might choke.”

“Uh, yes…”

Nam-woon blew on the hot food as he spoke. He needed to eat quickly and leave. Staying in one place for too long made him anxious. It felt like a large man with a heavy chain would come chasing after him at any moment.

While he chewed and swallowed his food without stopping, the owner stood in front of him and joked.

“Anyone who sees you would think you’re carrying a baby inside. I ate like that when I was pregnant too. Are you expecting a second child?”

At that moment, Nam-woon dropped the toothpick from his hand. His pupils shook back and forth.

“What, what did you say?”

“It’s just a gut feeling of mine, but I have a feeling that the baby inside of you is eating because it’s hungry… Wait, why does your face look like that? Isn’t it your second?”

“Of course not…”

No…. He couldn’t even finish the sentence properly because of the shock.

Nam-woon’s complexion turned pale. He swallowed the food in his mouth and cautiously asked,

“Madam, here, I mean…if you’re an Omega, you can get pregnant, right?”

The owner made a face that seemed to say, Why was he asking such a thing?

“Of course, why would you ask such an obvious thing? You already have a child!”

“So, if it’s… rut? Can that lead to… pregnancy?”

“Oh yes, that’s definitely possible. But do I really have to explain this out loud? It’s so embarrassing to say in broad daylight. Why is someone who should know acting like this?”

The owner waved her hands dismissively and laughed heartily. Nam-woon turned his pale face and looked across the intersection. The pharmacy sign was emitting bright lights in the same place as before.

***

Meanwhile, Seo-oh, who had just returned from the hospital, hurriedly climbed up the alley. He thought it would just be a simple injection, but the examination and prescription were unexpectedly long, delaying the time.

Worried about Nam-woon staying home alone, Seo-oh was half out when he had a feeling to call Auntie Soon-i and rushed outside. He never imagined that Nam-woon would leave the house naked. The nurse’s words that the treatment wasn’t finished yet didn’t register in his ears.

Gasping for breath, Seo-oh opened the front gate, his face hardening at the sight that greeted him. The yard was filled with all kinds of vegetables. The boxes of vegetables he borrowed from Auntie Soon-i’s house were placed at the front door to prevent Nam-woon from running away.

Seo-oh stared at the scene for a moment before striding across the yard to stand in front of the front door. He slowly turned the doorknob. Clunk, the unlocked door creaked open, revealing a messy blanket inside.

“……”

Seo-oh’s mouth fell open. Hyung… Just as he inadvertently let out a small groan, Auntie Soon-i entered the yard holding a small basket. Seeing Seo-oh standing there in a daze, she spoke.

“Seo-oh, you’re back? I’m going to clean up some fallen vegetables in the yard. Can you help me?”

“Auntie.”

“Yeah?”

“Did you see where Hyung went?”

Seo-oh asked, keeping his gaze fixed on the empty room. Auntie Soon-i answered while bending down and picking up a couple of carrots.

“I didn’t get a good look, but since you told me to catch him, I went outside the front gate and saw him chatting with Mr. Nam-nam as usual. Just then, my daughter called, so I couldn’t hear their conversation… ”

Auntie Soon-i’s words trailed off as she glanced at Seo-oh’s expression. As soon as she finished speaking, Seo-oh quickly rushed outside.

“Hyung, Nam-woon!” 

First, he searched the neighborhood. He figured that since he had been tormenting Nam-woon for over half a day, he wouldn’t be able to have gone far with his condition. Not only that, since he had secretly hidden Nam-woon’s phone, wallet, and belongings, he thought it would be hard for him to go far with everything left behind.

Seo-oh suddenly suspected that he might have gone to Jin Hae-geon, so he took out Nam-woon’s cell phone and checked all the calls he had received while he was gone. And when he saw Jin Hae-geon’s numerous messages and missed calls, which made him angry just by looking at his phone, he gave up the suspicion that Nam-woon had gone to him. After that, he called the Good People Center and Deok-chil, but no one answered.

Seo-oh searched every nook and cranny where Nam-woon might be hiding, looking like a man possessed. Watching him, Auntie Soon-i and the other neighbors, including Grandpa Nam-nam, widened their eyes in surprise. It was unusual to see Seo-oh, who was usually calm and collected, so agitated as he roamed the neighborhood, except in matters related to Se-han.

Grandpa Nam-nam lost his temper and tried to stop Seo-oh from coming to his house even after he even searched through the entire supermarket.

“I said I didn’t hide him, why are you acting like this! He talked to me for a bit and then went straight down!”

“……”

Seo-oh looked at Grandpa Nam-nam with bewildered eyes. Auntie Soon-i, who had followed Seo-oh, couldn’t stand it any longer and added.

“Right, Seo-oh. He doesn’t seem like he’s here. Oh! Speaking of which, Nam-woon borrowed some money from me.”

“…He borrowed money?”

“Yes. He borrowed 30,000 won.”

Seo-oh didn’t say anything and just kept pounding his chest. Grandpa Nam-nam was about to get angry again, but when he saw Seo-oh’s bewildered expression, his face softened. He felt sorry for Seo-oh, who was standing there blankly like a lost child.

“Hey, is there somewhere else where Nam-woon would go? If you’re that worried, why not check his workplace? He’s stayed there before after he ran away. But…seeing how your expression is right now, Nam-woon would probably run away if he saw you! So come on, ease your expression a bit.”

After finishing his words, Grandpa Nam-nam clicked his tongue a few times and abruptly closed the door and went back inside. Seo-oh recalled Nam-woon’s words from earlier.

“Where else? To my house…”

“…Yeah, home. That’s where he’ll be.”

Seo-oh murmured softly as he exited the building. He dashed down the street at a fast pace, caught a taxi, and headed straight for Nam-woon’s house. It was so hard to wait for the elevator that he ran up the stairs to the 7th floor in one go. It took him only about five minutes to stand in front of Nam-woon’s door.

He immediately input ‘0000’ into the door lock keypad.

Beep, beep.

However, the door did not open. No matter how many times he pressed the buttons, it was the same. Eventually, the keypad locked him out, preventing him from entering the password anymore. Has he already changed the code? The thought of being rejected by Hyung made Seo-oh’s face turn pale, and he stood there in a daze before urgently knocking on the door.

“Hyung, I know you’re in there!”

Bang, bang!

“Let’s talk. Open the door, Nam-woon Hyung!”

Seo-oh continued to knock and yell. Then the front door on the other side of Nam-woon’s apartment burst open instead of Nam-woon’s.

“Who the hell is making all this noise? Don’t you know the etiquette of shared living?”

A middle-aged man who looked to be in his fifties stuck his red face out through the crack in the door and shouted. He glared at Seo-oh with a fierce expression.

“Who are you to cause such a ruckus?”

But Seo-oh gave him an indifferent look and then grabbed the doorknob and shook it again. The man muttered softly as if he were dumbfounded.

“Hah, what a crazy guy… Why are you banging on an empty house?”

Even while he was busy looking for Nam-woon, there was one word that caught his ear. Seo-oh turned his head.

“Empty house?”

“Yeah, you little…”

The man, who was about to swear at Seo-oh, flinched instinctively and stepped back when he made eye contact with Seo-oh. Although he looked much younger than him, with a fresh head, there was an invisible sense of intimidation emanating through his eyes. His gaze was fierce, as if he were ready to pounce at any moment.