VDN Ch 195

Nam-woon wasn’t in a good mood either. It wasn’t like he had called the manager. He aimlessly wandered around with his phone, organizing the day’s sales log, when Seo-oh quietly called out to him.

“Hyung, sit here for a second.”

Seo-oh, sitting cross-legged, tapped the floor in front of him. Nam-woon asked in a blunt tone,

“Why?”

“It’ll just be a moment.”

Reluctantly sitting opposite him, Seo-oh kept his mouth shut and didn’t speak for a long time. What on earth was he trying to say? With the continued silence, Nam-woon also felt a bit uneasy and just stared at the floor when Seo-oh suddenly blurted out,

“Hyung, can’t you… not do the business anymore?”

“…What?”

Nam-woon’s eyes widened. Unlike him, who was surprised, Seo-oh still had a calm expression.

“I’m asking if you can stop the business a little earlier. Winter will be over in a month anyway. You’re not planning on doing it in the spring too, are you?”

“Ha…”

Nam-woon let out a frustrated sigh. This was getting ridiculous. No matter how much he disliked the business, this wasn’t the right way to say it. Seo-oh was doing well at his company, yet he had so easily told Nam-woon to quit his job. Sure, as Seo-oh had mentioned, it was just a seasonal business and not something for life, but that didn’t justify his attitude.

They say there’s no such thing as an unimportant job, but Kwon Seo-oh apparently didn’t think so. Whether Nam-woon was feeling absurd and angry inside or not, Seo-oh continued to speak.

“I’m worried your body will hurt from working outside in the cold, and there are so many strange people these days. I feel uneasy that someone might do something to harm you.”

Nam-woon couldn’t take it anymore. He cut off Seo-oh’s words.

“Hey, don’t make excuses and just be honest. Are you embarrassed that I sell taiyaki?”

“…Huh?”

Seo-oh frowned and asked back. He was pretending not to know anything, with an expression that said, “What are you talking about?” That hypocritical look made Nam-woon even angrier.

“If I suddenly told you to quit your company you’re doing well at, would you just say ‘okay’ and resign? No, you wouldn’t. So why should I immediately close my shop just because you say so?

“Hyung, it’s not like that. Don’t suddenly get angry…”

Nam-woon interrupted Seo-oh’s words.

“I knew you’d bring this up eventually, ever since you started sighing heavily and making a sour face whenever I talked about the shop.”

“What? I never did that.”

Nam-woon scoffed at Seo-oh’s reply.

“You’re lying through your teeth. You did it at the restaurant the other day too. As soon as the assistant manager asked where my shop was, you deliberately changed the subject.”

“That’s not because I was embarrassed of you, Hyung, it’s because…”

“No, you definitely are. I know you’re doing well. You worked hard to get a good job at a nice company. But I work just as hard as you do. Is working at a company such a big deal that you have to act like that?”

Nam-woon finished speaking, his chest heaving. For some reason, the more he talked, the more his anger rose. He hadn’t meant to talk this angrily, but as he spoke, the pent-up emotions he had been holding in burst out like an overflowing dam.

Ugh, why am I acting like someone with an inferiority complex?

Nam-woon inwardly cursed his own pathetic self, unable to shake the feeling of hurt. When he had first mentioned selling taiyaki, Seo-oh had cheered him on, and that support had made him happy. But he never imagined things would turn out like this. Staring gloomily at the floor, Nam-woon finally got up from his seat, deciding that if things continued this way, it would only lead to a huge fight. Startled by the sudden movement, Seo-oh quickly stood up as well.

“Wait a minute. It’s not what you think, Hyung! I can see how hard you work.”

“Someone who can see… ha, never mind.”

Nam-woon turned his back on Seo-oh and headed for the front door. But a strong hand grabbed him from behind.

“Where are you going?”

Nam-woon shook off the hand holding him and moved forward. Seo-oh followed closely behind.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m leaving because I can’t sleep in the same bed as you right now, that’s why!”

At Nam-woon’s shout, Seo-oh’s eyes widened, and he froze before shouting.

“Are you crazy? Don’t you remember that no matter how angry we are, we always sleep hugging in the same bed?”

“How can I sleep in the same bed when I’m this angry?!”

“That’s exactly why we should! Especially when you’re angry!”

“I don’t care. Just hug your pillow or something and sleep.”

“Seok Nam-woon!”

Ignoring him calling his name loudly, Nam-woon immediately grabbed the doorknob. Then Seo-oh suddenly hugged Nam-woon tightly from behind.

“Nam-woon Hyung, just come inside. Let’s talk again.”

Talk? What was there to talk about? Nam-woon had already figured out Kwon Seo-oh’s true feelings. He clenched his fists tightly and opened the door. At the same time, Seo-oh, who strongly pulled Nam-woon back, pleaded,

“I’ll explain everything. Don’t go.”

“……”

Nam-woon let out a big sigh and took a step out. It was the first time he had gotten this angry. Perhaps because the business was what had helped him escape his bleak past even a little bit. When Nam-woon didn’t show any sign of coming back in, Seo-oh hurriedly spoke.

“It’s because I was jealous!”

Jealous…?

At the unexpectedly blunt word, Nam-woon finally turned his head. Seo-oh, not missing the opportunity, immediately grabbed Nam-woon’s hand and led him back inside. As Nam-woon reluctantly followed the hand pulling him, the front door slammed shut.

Jealous? What are you talking about? Nam-woon’s eyes demanded an explanation, but Kwon Seo-oh kept his head lowered, silent. It was only after Nam-woon let out a deep sigh that Seo-oh finally mumbled something under his breath.

“It’s because I was jealous… that you were laughing and talking and holding hands with customers.”

“Huh? Customers?”

Nam-woon asked back with a dazed expression. Wasn’t it natural to talk to customers while doing business? He couldn’t do business without talking. Besides, he had never held a customer’s hand. As Nam-woon looked confused, Seo-oh started rummaging through his pockets. Then he pulled out his cell phone. Seo-oh, who seemed to be searching for something while tapping the screen, bit his lip and held out the phone.

“2 minutes and 38 seconds. You held the hand of the man wearing a hat. Twice.”

Nam-woon took the phone and looked at the screen. Surprisingly, Seok Nam-woon, which was him, was appearing on a YouTube channel!

“What! This is our shop?”

– Yes. Honey taiyaki.

On the small screen, a video of him doing business was playing in very clear quality. Seeing his own face on screen felt strangely unfamiliar. Nam-woon, who was watching the video, blurted out

“Ah, why are my lips so chapped? I look like someone with malnutrition. I should use the lip balm you bought me last time…”

“……”

Then he felt a piercing gaze directed at him and shut his mouth tightly.

Right. They were in the middle of a fight right now. Nam-woon cleared his throat and checked the timestamp Seo-oh had mentioned: 2 minutes and 38 seconds.

“This isn’t holding hands; The customer was about to drop the bag, so I just helped. …Huh? Wait a minute.”

Nam-woon, who had been absentmindedly scrolling down, frowned. He felt like he had just seen something strange. There were replied comments posted one by one among the numerous comments. Nam-woon quickly tapped on one.

[We’re married.]

[5781 Likes]

And below it, a chain of critical replies followed one after another.

[Cyber Police: @Nam-woon’sHusband I reported the account, but they came back with a different ID.]

[nogari: @Hoenam-dongTaiyakiShopCo-owner, is he really your husband?]

[savage-bab: LOL]

Nam-woon’s husband? No way….

Seo-oh avoided eye contact as Nam-woon looked at him with suspicious eyes

“I couldn’t help it. There were so many weird comments, so I was trying to crack down on them.”

No, your comment is the weirdest one here.

While it was a bit obsessive in analyzing details about faces and body types, it seemed like it wasn’t a serious issue but rather a trend these days. Nam-woon couldn’t speak for a while before finally uttering a word.

“You can just ignore them. They’re just comments anyway.”

Seo-oh raised his head in anger. His expression was filled with frustration.

“How can I ignore this? I’m your husband! How can I just sit here while people say stuff like this? These people are really awful. No matter how many times I say you’re married, they still leave sexually harassing comments saying you’re delicious or that they need to zoom in on your lips 1.5 times. The channel owner is the same. I’ve sent hundreds of emails asking them to take down the video, but they’ve never listened, saying, you gave permission for it.”

“……”

“Did you really give permission?”

Actually, a customer had asked before if they could upload a video of the shop on social media. I think I agreed without thinking much. I thought it would be good if it was promoted well in this day and age with social media being so active.

But what was all this…? Seo-oh’s replies went on endlessly no matter how many times he scrolled down. It was to the point that he had a reasonable suspicion that maybe Seo-oh’s recent overtime work was this. Nam-woon swept his bangs back and turned off his phone screen, then said seriously with a deep frown,

“Hey, Seo-oh. Who cares if people see this and talk about it? You’re the one living with me anyway.”

“……”

“Why bother worrying about something like this?”

“…I’m anxious.”

Nam-woon paused at the sudden word that came out. Seo-oh, who had tightly bitten his lip, continued in a low voice,

“I’m anxious that everyone in the world will find out how amazing and good of a person you are. How can I be sure that a bastard like Jin Hae-geon won’t appear again? That guy was a psycho, so you rejected him, but what if someone with an even better personality appears? What if someone more pitiful than me shows up? Then I’ll lose you, Hyung. I’m scared of that…”

Does he think I have a fetish for pitiful people? He was speechless at the unexpected words. And at the same time, he felt a little sorry for him. He hadn’t realized that Seo-oh was carrying such anxieties.