VDN Ch 62

After buying a few necessary items, the cart was quickly full. They divided the items between the trunk and the back seat and headed back home.

So… Room 701, huh…Nam-woon squinted and checked the dazzling numbers again.

[Password: 0000]

Is Seok Nam-woon crazy? This was practically an invitation for thieves. Nam-woon entered the number password, shielding the keypad with his back to prevent Seo-oh from seeing it. Soon, he heard the door lock open, and he opened the door with a pounding heart.

The inside was ordinary. One living room and two bedrooms. It was a bit small, but for Nam-woon, it was a surprisingly nice house. Damn, it’s nice. He gulped down those words inwardly and entered the house, searching around. There wasn’t much furniture, and the living room was dominated by a sofa and a table, giving it a simple appearance.

Seo-oh, who had entered the house, turned his head and quickly looked around, then opened the door to the rooms. After confirming that the rooms were empty, he headed to the kitchen. He hesitated as he was about to place the supermarket bag on the table. Nam-woon asked,

“What’s wrong?”

Seo-oh stretched out his index and middle fingers and swept the table. A thick white line appeared on the table due to the accumulated dust.

“…….”

“…….”

“When did you last clean?”

“Um, well.”

“Hyung, I’m going to vomit.”

Even to Nam-woon’s eyes, the dust seemed a bit severe.

“I didn’t expect to see such a mess.”

As Seo-oh stood there, he said.

“Just go get a rag.”

There were no rags in the house. In the end, Seo-oh demanded Nam-woon’s clothes, and Nam-woon’s white t-shirt became the mop. Seo-oh energetically cleaned, even wiping the sofa covers. Following behind Seo-oh with the torn shirt in hand, Nam-woon also moved about, but honestly, it seemed like Seo-oh did 90% of the cleaning.

“You stay still.”

At the unsettling use of casual language that seemed to bury a person in concrete, Nam-woon quietly focused on the tasks Seo-oh assigned him.

Finally, Seo-oh, who had finished cleaning, went to the bathroom to wash up, and during that time, Nam-woon frantically searched for the ingredients for soybean paste soup, a chopping board, and a pot.

Suddenly, the system gave him praise:

[Well done!]

[Role Fulfillment Clause 3: Make Kwon Seo-oh do “dirty work” has been successfully completed!]

There was such a clause? And “dirty work” doesn’t seem to mean literal dirty work.

[As a reward, we offer you the “Pheromone- ??? Auto-Link Ticket’]

[The ‘Auto-Link Ticket’ will activate when exposed to pheromones above a certain threshold.]

[We are very pleased to be able to further assist you in your adaptation to the Omegaverse!]

“…….”

He just felt bad. No matter how you looked at it, something seemed off.

While he was reading the suspicious message, he heard a voice calling him from the direction of the bathroom.

“Hyung.”

He approached the door and he asked,

“Yes?”

“My clothes got wet. Do you have any pants?”

“Just a moment.”

He quickly went into the inner room and opened the wardrobe drawers. Fortunately, there were a few sets of what looked like sweatpants. He compared them and picked up the largest gray sweatpants.

The sound of the shower echoed through the house where only Seo-oh and he were present. Why did the sound make him feel so uneasy? It hadn’t bothered him when he was at Seo-oh’s place. Nam-woon pursed his lips and said,

“Should I leave the clothes at the door?”

Before he could react, the door suddenly opened, releasing a rush of warm air. A large hand reached out, causing Nam-woon’s body to stiffen. Then, Seo-oh’s head appeared through the crack in the door.

“Hyung, give me some pants.”

His damp black hair appeared darker than usual, and his moist, gleaming skin looked paler and smoother. Even his black pupils, visible through his wet bangs, seemed more beautiful, glistening with water. Nam-woon swallowed unconsciously.

“Here.”

As Seo-oh took the pants, Nam-woon headed straight to the kitchen. Shit, shit. Then he grabbed a few green peppers and started chopping them on the cutting board. It was to rinse his eyeballs. Clearly, the joy of reconciliation made him lose his mind. Seo-oh looked…so pretty today.

Clang.

“Can’t we just order something to eat today and have the soybean paste soup tomorrow?”

Hearing Seo-oh’s words from behind, as if he had finished washing up, Nam-woon put down the chili he was slicing and picked up his cell phone.

“Okay, sure. What do you want to eat?”

Nam-woon asked, sniffing. His eyes and nose were burning from chopping the peppers. Seo-oh approached him and asked,

“Did you touch the peppers?”

“Yes..” Nam-woon replied.

Suddenly, Seo-oh’s thick thumb touched Nam-woon’s cheek. His finger, which had been tapping on his phone, stopped at the touch.

“I can do it.”

Seo-oh said, wiping away the moisture from his cheek. Nam-woon’s heart felt like it was pounding. Then, Seo-oh leaned in next to him and looked at his phone, his damp hair brushed against Nam-woon’s face.

“Which place has the best food?”

Seo-oh asked, looking at Nam-woon. Nam-woon felt Seo-oh’s gaze on him, a gaze filled with curiosity. Nam-woon hurriedly turned away and headed for the bathroom.

“There’s a card on the table, you can use that to order. I’m going to take a shower.”

Nam-woon said, closing the bathroom door firmly behind him and slumping down onto the toilet seat.

“Why the hell is this happening?”

Why am I so nervous like this? Nam-woon thought, clutching his head.

When Nam-woon got out of the shower, Seo-oh was sitting on the couch. His pants were unusually short, rolled up to his knees. Nam-woon asked,

“Did you order chicken?”

“Yeah.”

“From where?”

“The place we ordered from last time when we had dinner.”

“Oh, that place was good.”

“Yeah.”

Nam-woon stole a glance at Seo-oh, who had been answering calmly and politely since earlier. Damn, he’s so fucking cute. Who knew I’d start thinking like this just because I haven’t seen Kwon Seo-oh’s face for a while? Nam-woon realized how strange it was.

“…….”

“…….”

“Did you ask me something?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you keep looking at me?”

Seo-oh looked at Nam-woon with a sullen expression. He had tried to sneak glances without being noticed, but it seemed like that guy really did have eyes in the back of his head.

“I was just… surprised to see you at my house.”

“…Your house is nice.”

“Isn’t it?”

Nam-woon grinned, oblivious to his situation. His previous house hadn’t just had mold in the refrigerator; the entire wallpaper and ceiling were stained beyond repair. When it rained, water leaked in, and in winter, the wind blew through. It was no different from a house made of planks.

There might have been a small Taiyaki shop nearby, but the house was always shabby. Nam-woon looked around his own house now with new eyes, pausing at Seo-oh’s sudden remark.

“It was uncomfortable, right? Our house.”

Seo-oh wasn’t looking at Nam-woon, only staring at the table. Nam-woon answered immediately.

“No.”

“Even though you had a place like this, why did you keep staying at our house…”

“I like your house more than this one.”

“…….”

Seo-oh said nothing, his expression seemed to not believe it at all.

“You and Se-han aren’t here.”

Nam-woon intentionally said the last part playfully, but he meant it from the bottom of his heart. Having his own place, that in itself was nice. But he hated coming home to an empty house. What if Seo-oh suddenly said he shouldn’t come over anymore because his own place was better? That thought made him nervous, and he glanced at Seo-oh anxiously

But it seemed Seo-oh was also looking at him, and their eyes met. Nam-woon had tried to keep it lighthearted to avoid the awkwardness, but it didn’t work. His smile faded awkwardly.

“…….”

“…….”

There was no TV in the house. Should he suggest watching that ridiculous belly-button video they saw earlier? He fiddled with his phone for no reason when Seo-oh tapped his side.

“Come here. Why are you sitting on the floor?”

Nam-woon had been sitting alone on the floor a little away from the sofa. For some reason today, he couldn’t bring himself to get close to Kwon Seo-oh.

“…I like it here.”

“Come up.”

Reluctantly, Nam-woon stood up. When is the chicken coming? If he could just gnaw on a drumstick, this awkwardness might disappear. Please hurry up….

Nam-woon plopped next to Seo-oh. Silence fell again. It was even more suffocating because they were so close. Nam-woon wanted to cry a little. If you’re going to do this, why did you ask me to come over here?

As he pondered, he decided to break the tension with a silly joke.

“Kwon Seo-oh.”

“Hyung.”

But Seo-oh also happened to call Nam-woon.

“You go first.”

“No, you go first.”

Nam-woon didn’t particularly have anything to say anyway. After a brief back-and-forth, Seo-oh finally spoke up first.

“…Can I check something?”

“Check what?”

Nam-woon gave him a puzzled look, and Seo-oh’s gaze dropped to Nam-woon’s face and the area around his neck. A moment later, his pretty lips parted.

“Pheromones.”