VDN Ch 34

Nam-woon, with a puzzled look, stared at where the man was pointing. There, two very excited men were entwined, kissing. Jin-sang gently placed a hand on Nam-woon’s shoulder and quietly asked

“What do you think?”

“You motherfucker.”

Just then, a man with a pretty face and slender build poked his head out and said,

“You brought the wrong suppressants. You should’ve brought the ones for Omegas.”

“Ah, I’ll bring the right one.” 

Jin-sang replied with a gentle smile before turning his gaze back to Nam-woon and saying,

“Why are you so surprised? You look like a fool with your mouth hanging open.” 

“You foul-mouthed slut.”

At that, the man burst into laughter as if he were delighted. After laughing like a madman for a while, he turned around and said, “Keep in touch”. Nam-woon, with the help of a passing woman, barely managed to open the door and rushed down the stairs, his footsteps echoing loudly.

Once outside, Nam-woon looked up at the towering apartment building with fresh eyes. Fortunately, it wasn’t Jinhae. Jin Hae-geon was a year younger than Nam-woon and definitely did not like Omegas. The man who had been calling for Jin-sang from inside was clearly an Omega, and from their atmosphere, they seemed to be in a relationship.

Based on past experiences, Nam-woon knew that reporting rich jerks like Jin-sang to the police would only cause trouble for himself.

“Damn it, the world really does belong to the rich.”

Was it because he had seen such a spacious apartment, something he could never dream of in this life, that the dream of getting rich that he had buried in his heart was coming back to him? That’s why Nam-woon stopped by a convenience store on his way. His heart swelled with anticipation as he picked up a lottery ticket and a pen.”Ah, what if I win first prize? 8, 15…”

Suddenly, the system appeared.

[Marking Experience +25]

[Only the “First Marking” will apply experience points!]

[As a reward for the “First Marking,” you’ll receive one voucher!]

Marking? Nam-woon looked down at the signing pen and paper he was holding with a puzzled look. Then, a flashy special effect appeared.

[Congratulations! The chance to use a drawing ticket due to marking experience is now open!]

[Fortune Slot Machine!]

[Please shout STOP!]

With a clang, a slot machine he had never seen before appeared. The three picture slots were spinning wildly. Nam-woon put down his pen and ambitiously shouted,

“Stop.”

The first slot gradually stopped. A picture of a man showering.

Then the second slot stopped. Again, a picture of a man showering.

Finally, the third slot. A showering man.

“What’s this?”

Nam-woon blinked his eyes, and as always, the system had bright lights and sent out congratulatory messages. 

[Congratulations!]

[A sub-mission has been activated: Get hit by “??? Shower”!]

[I’ll be generous. There is no set deadline to complete the sub-mission.]

Hit by showering? And it’s called a fortune slot machine. Why are you giving me a mission?

Nam-woon sighed and picked up the pen again to check the numbers. 21, 24… It wasn’t the first day the system made strange missions, so he seemed to be getting used to it a little.

Hae-geon looked at the door where the man had disappeared with interest. There are a few strands of hair sticking out at the crown of the head and a faint scar remaining on the forehead. It was definitely the man he had met when he went to see Chairman Seok. He approached thinking he was an Alpha, but unexpectedly, there was no scent at all. Too bad. Betas are not interesting. But it was better than an Omega. At least he could have a little fun.

Hae-geon pretended to check his scent and subtly marked the man with his pheromones. To Hae-geon, it was an act equivalent to writing his name on an item he liked. Since he was a beta anyway, he wouldn’t know anything, which made things easier.

Then, at that moment, a man approached Hae-geon and called him hesitantly.

“Uh, H-Hae-geon.”

“Ah, Sang-i Hyung.”

When Hae-geon asked, “What?”  the man called Sang-i fidgeted before pointing at the wallet in Hae-geon’s hand. Hae-geon let out an “Ah” and smiled.

“Oh right, is this yours, Sang-i Hyung?”

“Y-yeah. You, uh, mistook it for yours?”

“Hmm? No?”

Hae-geon responded cheerfully.

“Your boyfriend asked me to bring him Omega suppressants.”

“Ah, uh… really? But why would he ask you to—”

“My dick caught his eye. But I’m not into Omegas.”

Why don’t you get a dick enlargement?  Hae-geon added helpfully before walking away, muttering to himself.  Seriously, does he just walk around with his mouth hanging open? Doesn’t even look the type. Pathetic.

***

“Kwon-Seo-oh you’ve arrived?”

 Nam-woon’s subordinates, who were sitting closely together on the sofa, naturally greeted him.

“Your spot’s over there.”

Yong-deuk gestured his chin to a corner. As Seo-oh placed his bag on the desk, Deok-chil muttered softly.

“Still, this is too much. Why shove Seo-oh in here? Even the chairman… tsk.”.”

“Probably on purpose to piss off the young master,” Jang-mi replied. And that was exactly it.

While Seok Nam-woon was away from his home for a few days, Seo-oh received a call from one of Chairman Seok’s subordinates. As usual, Seo-oh expected he would go work part-time at Chairman Seok’s business or a newly opened store, but the words on the other end of the phone had surprised him.

– Work at the center for a few weeks and keep an eye on Seok Nam-woon.

It was Chairman Seok’s punishment for his son. A threat that his position could easily be taken by someone else. It was something that should have been refused, but for some reason, Seo-oh couldn’t bring himself to say no.

Unlike before, the subordinates didn’t pick a fight with Seo-oh and they huddled together, deep in serious discussion over something spread out before them.

“So what’s this character supposed to be?”

“A four-character idiom? No idea. Too damn hard.”

The big guys at the table threw down the newspaper and pencil they were holding. Jang-mi’s face twisted along with the scar on his cheek as he frowned.

Where’d the young master go? If he were here, we could solve this faster.”

“Huh? Jang-mi Hyung, what are you talking about? If the young master were here, it’d take longer!”

“Still, this one’s not too bad. The English one looks serious, though…”

“Don’t even. It’s not just serious—it’s impossible.”

Jang-mi glanced at Seo-oh sitting in the corner and called out,

“Hey.”

“Are you smart?”

Seo had no words. He’d never been asked something like that before

“Hey, I asked if you’re smart.”

“Better than you lot, at least.”

“What was that?”

While Deok-chil looked around as if searching for a weapon, Jang-mi casually approached Seo-oh with a newspaper and tossed a piece of paper onto the desk.

“Take a look at this.”

[Good and bad events always change and are difficult to predict.]

Seo-oh picked up a pen rolling nearby and scribbled in the blank space.

[Saeongjima]

Jang-mi looked at the newspaper intently and then shouted.

“Wow, this is right! Behind it! It continues!”

Deok-chil hurried over and said, “Oh, it’s true.” Then he picked up the pen and continued his writing.

“You must have learned a lot at school, huh?”

Seo-oh wasn’t in university to learn idioms, but he quietly observed the naive big guys. Their joy over such trivial things seemed so out of place and almost creepy.

The big guys began to ponder again what starts with a word. Then suddenly, Yong-deuk asked.

“But where has the young master gone again?”

“Well, well… don’t you know? He’s been riding his bicycle around lately. These days he hardly drives, and he’s never in the office.”

Deok-chil lowered his voice.

“Recently, it seems he’s been eating and sleeping at some new person’s place… Well, he’s always had plenty of lovers, so he probably just rotates between their houses. But lately he’s been sleeping in the office too? Did he have a fight with his lover?”

Seo-oh’s face hardened abruptly. The house where Seok Nam-woon had been eating and sleeping was likely his own. But the latter part was problematic. “He’s always had plenty of lovers?” It seemed Nam-woon had been a regular houseguest at his lovers’ places in the past.

Yong-deuk sighed deeply.

“Who knows? He’s always had enough contacts to fill a truck. Though it seems he’s cut ties with some of them.”

“Hey, Hyung, don’t you think the young master has been acting a bit strange lately? And he’s gotten kind of cute, don’t you think?”

“Tsk. Deok-chil, watch your mouth when talking about the young master.”

“Sorry.”

Deok-chil bowed his head in apology. With that, the three of them returned to their discussion.

Seo-oh stared blankly with dark eyes, lost in thought. Just a few months ago, he wouldn’t have cared who Nam-woon was seeing, who he was contacting, or where he was sleeping. He already knew Nam-woon lived recklessly.

But now, Seo-oh felt uneasy when he thought about Nam-woon. The fact that he wasn’t coming home bothered him greatly, and it irritated him.

Normally, he would have refused this ridiculous office work assignment, but he had accepted it and come in immediately. However, Nam-woon had ended the call saying he was at “acquaintance house” hanging out. The music in the background had been loud, and it sounded like there were many people around. The image of Nam-woon partying wildly filled his mind.

Seo-oh clenched his fist tightly.

Just then—

Creak.

“The young master has arrived!”

“Uh, don’t get up. Just stay seated.”

The voice sounded inexplicably exhausted. Seo-oh stared fixedly at that face. In just a week, what had he been doing? His cheeks had become more sunken, making his already sharp jawline stand out even more, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

“Young master, the new guy has arrived!”

At those words, Nam-woon looked around the office and spotted Seo-oh sitting at the desk. His eyes widened in surprise.

“Kwon Seo-oh?”