VDN Ch 159

Nam-woon swallowed hard. He had meant to phrase it more subtly, but somehow he ended up being direct. He felt the tightening in his throat due to the tension. In contrast to Nam-woon’s stiff expression, Mr. Park nodded with a calm demeanor. 

“Oh, you’re talking about that product. It is a bit pricey, but VIP fragrances definitely work better than regular ones. They can easily fool most people, you know. The scent is also extremely luxurious.”

Nam-woon’s eyes sparkled at the thought. So it can easily fool most people…

“…Do you drink it?” he asked, lowering his voice as if afraid someone might overhear.

Mr. Park frowned and replied, “Huh? What do you mean by that…?” Had he not heard? Just as Nam-woon was about to speak again, Mr. Park burst into a bright laugh.

“Mr. Seok, you’re quite the jokester. How can you drink perfume? You spray it, not drink it. If you did, you’d end up in the emergency room. Haha.”

“Ah… haha. Right.” 

As Mr. Park laughed and waved his hands dismissively, Nam-woon straightened his previously leaned posture. He pretended to sip his wine while closely observing Mr. Park’s expression. The way Mr. Park covered his mouth with one hand while laughing seemed very natural.

What’s going on? Ju-ham wouldn’t lie.

Is he acting? But it didn’t seem like he was. Confused, Nam-woon’s words became noticeably fewer. Perhaps sensing his unease, the alarm warning him to fill the promiscuous gauge rang loudly in his ears. At the same time, Mr. Park’s gentle voice broke through.

“It’s better to choose a fragrance yourself rather than just talking about it.”

Mr. Park glanced at Nam-woon’s face. He took a sip of wine, which seemed to quench his thirst, he pulled his chair closer to the table.

“Mr. Seok, since we’re talking about it, how about you visit our shop? We have some new fragrances that just came in.”

Nam-woon had been waiting for that suggestion.

“That sounds good. But I’d like to meet with you, the boss alone.”

[Promiscuous Gauge +2%]

“Alone with me?”

“Would that be a problem?”

“No? It’s fine! Of course, it’s fine!”

Mr. Park, who shouted loudly, With his face flushed, he then cleared his throat as if conscious of his surroundings.

“But for that to happen, you’ll need to come after the shop closes. Is it okay if it’s late?”

“Actually, that would be even better.”

“……”

“……”

[Promiscuous Gauge +2%]

They made deep eye contact with each other for a moment. There was a moment of silence at the table.

Nam-woon, who had been enduring the situation to raise the gauge, couldn’t withstand the other person’s hot gaze and turned his gaze away first. Why is your gaze so sticky…! The gauge was rising painfully slowly. It had risen quickly at the club, but this was just pathetic.

In the meantime, Mr. Park hesitantly continued speaking.

“Then… how about tonight? There’s a breakroom in the back of the shop that’s quite spacious, and the sofa is big enough for you to relax comfortably.”

“You can lie down too.” At Mr. Park’s small addition, a cold sweat broke out on Nam-woon’s back. What is this? Is he trying to seduce me? Nam-woon didn’t know what to do, rolling his eyes around before shaking his head slightly.

“No. Lying down is a bit…”

“Do you not want to?”

[Promiscuous Gauge -3%]

As soon as he uttered his polite refusal, the Promiscuous gauge dropped. Damn the system. Nam-woon clenched his teeth and silently screamed,

Why not let me know how to raise it before cutting it down!

[Contact with others greatly helps increase the Promiscuous gauge.]

It was telling him that if verbal seduction was difficult, he should at least engage in some physical contact. While Nam-woon was fuming alone, he slowly reached his hand across the table. Thump. Nam-woon’s rough palm landed on Mr. Park’s smooth hand. Despite the clumsy contact that lacked any mood, Mr. Park flinched and he bit his lip.

[Promiscuous Gauge +5%]

Nam-woon closed his eyes for a moment as he checked the rising number. Seok Nam-woon, you can do this. I’m the legendary licentious man, the kind of trash that can’t even be recycled… After calming his dizzy mind with self-affirmation, he softly said,

“I don’t want to lie down alone. Is it okay if we lie down together?”

“……”

“……”

Once again, silence fell over the table. In the stillness, the only sound was the loud notification alert.

[Warning! This is too cheesy! ᅲᅲ]

[Cringe Gauge +15%!]

[Promiscuous Gauge -10%!]

[If the Cringe gauge reaches 20% before the Promiscuous gauge, Seok Nam-woon’s heat will occur regardless of time or place.]

What the hell! Isn’t this too much? I said that despite the shame!

His anger made the back of his neck tense. Just as he was about to explode from the system’s unfair treatment, Mr. Park called out to him in a trembling voice.

“But, Mr. Seok.”

Nam-woon settled his breathing and looked at Mr. Park. I guess it’s fine to pull my hand away now, right? If I do it too quickly, will I lose points…? Mr. Park’s large hand, which Nam-woon had been covering, moved restlessly. Feeling the strange movement, Mr. Park’s neck flushed deep red, and he slightly parted his lips.

“Um, please don’t take this the wrong way… Mr. Seok, you must have had many experiences and met various people. I mean, I’m not saying I’ve heard anything, but since you’re tall and have such outstanding looks, I just thought… you might have…”

Though he couldn’t understand any of it, Nam-woon waited expectantly for the next words. Then, Mr. Park suddenly took his hand. A chill ran down Nam-woon’s spine, and he stiffened like a statue. Holding Nam-woon’s hand tightly, Mr. Park finally spoke with the clearest pronunciation he had used all day.

“Is it okay if it’s three of us?”

“…What?”

When Nam-woon asked in confusion, Mr. Park, his face flushed with embarrassment, turned his gaze away.

“If you unfold the back of the sofa… three people can lie down.”

“……”

***

[Seo-oh, you can come to the shop by 9:30 today.]

Seo-oh checked the message Mr. Park had sent and looked at his watch.

It was 7:18 PM. There were about two hours left until the appointment. Seo-oh, who had been organizing his fall and winter clothes in advance, quickly went into the bathroom and turned on the water. He had already washed up in the morning, but he wanted to get himself ready for the day he met Nam-woon. He washed his face with a very nervous expression.

It was just two days ago that he found out that Nam-woon and Mr. Park had made dinner plans. That same day, Seo-oh had called Mr. Park aside and said,

“If Seok Nam-woon says he is coming to the store, let me know right away.”

“Huh? Why?

When Mr. Park asked why, Seo-oh clenched his fists.

‘I’m worried about the two of you being alone.”

“……”

To be exact, he hated the idea of the two of them meeting each other. It was obvious that Mr. Park had feelings for Nam-woon. Seo-oh wanted to warn him, ‘He’s mine, so don’t even think about it,’ but he held back with all his patience. He didn’t want to tell Mr. Park the details of his relationship with Nam-woon, and he was worried that the loose-lipped man was saying anything to Nam-woon.

At Seo-oh’s last words, Mr. Park took a deep breath and clutched his chest with both hands. Seo-oh, watching him with an expression of confusion, then coldly added,

“The same if Seok Nam-woon says he’s going to your house. Be sure to report it to me.”

“Why? If Mr. Seok wants to come to my house… Could it be that Seo-oh is planning to come too?”

Seo-oh nodded with cold eyes. At that, Mr. Park suddenly gasped for breath. Was he hyperventilating? As Mr. Park staggered unexpectedly, Seo-oh quickly grabbed his shoulder with one hand. Then, in a low voice, he asked,

“Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah. I’m fine… Of course, it’s fine if he comes to my house.”

That wasn’t what he asked, but I was glad that he was cooperative. After Seo-oh let go of him, he made one last earnest request.

“Don’t ever mention me to Seok Nam-woon. If you do, he’ll never come to meet you.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Having received the man’s firm answer, Seo-oh immediately left the place.

The first thing he did afterward was order a sturdy set of handcuffs. At first, he had considered purchasing chains, but after realizing how heavy they were, he changed his mind. Hyung’s physical strength had likely deteriorated from wandering outside, and dragging around a large chain seemed like trouble. In the end, he did the next best thing and searched the internet for handcuffs and brought the most expensive and study-looking ones online.

He was worried that it wouldn’t arrive on time, but fortunately, the package arrived this morning. Seo-oh, who had just come out of the shower, dried his hair with a towel and hurriedly sat down in front of the delivery box. 

Rustle.

“……”

Inside the box, in addition to the handcuffs, there were some strange items. After rustling through and checking all the products, Seo-oh picked up his phone to look at the details of the products he purchased.

[SM beginner’s restraint play kit. Handcuffs, gag, collar, plugs, whip, sleep mask…]

“I ordered the wrong thing.”

In a hurry, he bought it after only reading the customer reviews, but for the first time in my life, he made a mistake in ordering. He was embarrassed he made such a stupid mistake, but he didn’t have time to request a refund. Seo-oh carefully observed the remaining items besides the handcuffs and put them all in a large shopping bag. After thinking it over, he realized that the other products could still be put to good use.