* * *
The ride from Yeongdeok’s house to Daehan University usually took only 30 minutes, including the wait for the bus.
But thanks to Wonjin’s deliberate detours, they arrived 20 minutes later than expected.
It now seemed that his offer to give Yeongdeok a ride had been a ruse to delay him.
Although Yeongdeok had only recently begun shedding his old feelings, a new sense of mistrust toward Wonjin was starting to grow.
He wanted to voice his dissatisfaction, but a large hand suddenly rested on his head.
The hand touched his hair, leaving Yeongdeok momentarily speechless.
“I’ll head off now.”
Normally, Wonjin would cautiously gauge Yeongdeok’s reaction before initiating any physical contact, but today, he was unusually bold.
“Good luck with Jihoon.”
“Got it.”
Wonjin, after gently ruffling Yeongdeok’s hair, hesitated before pulling his hand away.
Even after mounting his bike, he couldn’t bring himself to rev the engine.
“What’s with you? Just go already.”
“You go first. I need a moment to gather myself.”
Yeongdeok decided not to argue.
Time was tight, and he didn’t want to risk being late.
“Then, I’ll head off.”
“Okay.”
As Yeongdeok walked away, he turned back to glance at Wonjin.
Wonjin stood frozen, staring at him as if rooted in place.
“Get home safely, hyung.”
It sounded like a prompt for Wonjin to leave.
His face twisted briefly before softening into a bittersweet smile.
“…Thanks.”
Yeongdeok didn’t look back again.
Heading toward his meeting with Jihoon, he passed a flower shop near the university.
Despite being pressed for time, he wondered if he should pick something up as a gesture.
“Welcome! Are you looking for any specific flowers?”
Initially planning to grab whatever looked decent, he realized upon entering that the selection was more extensive than expected.
Amidst the vibrant display, Yeongdeok spotted a potted Sansevieria.
Its spiky appearance and mountain-like silhouette made it oddly reminiscent of Jihoon.
“That cactus over there, please.”
“Of course. Just a moment.”
The shopkeeper placed the cactus into a pretty bag and handed it over.
As Yeongdeok left the shop, his phone vibrated.
Assuming it was Jihoon impatiently asking where he was, he reached for his phone to reply.
But when he checked the screen, he froze.
[Blocked Caller ID: Hello.]
[Blocked Caller ID: Long time no see, Cha Dowon.]
[Blocked Caller ID: Jihoon won’t be at the meeting spot.]
[Blocked Caller ID: I have something to tell you.]
[Blocked Caller ID: Come quietly.]
“Just suddenly?” Yeongdeok frowned in confusion.
A sudden, heavy sound sliced through the air behind him.
Reacting instinctively, he raised the cactus high to block it.
Crash!
The pot shattered inside its plastic bag, spilling soil everywhere.
A burly man he had never seen before stood before him, wielding a baseball bat.
“Damn it… Petitrolang!”
That was all Yeongdeok needed to grasp the situation.
He’d thought the author had gone quiet lately, but it seemed they had no intention of leaving him alone.
Just when he’d finally found some peace of mind, Petitrolang was pulling him back into chaos.
“You should’ve gone down in one hit….”
As the man’s words echoed, something hard struck the back of Yeongdeok’s head.
“Ugh….”
Clutching the nape of his neck, Yeongdeok staggered.
The pain at the point of impact was sharp and excruciating, like his skull had been fractured.
Despite his attempts to stay upright, his legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the asphalt.
One of the men surrounding him lifted his limp body. Yeongdeok struggled to remain conscious, but it was futile. A
s his eyelids grew heavy and his vision blurred, a familiar voice pierced through the haze.
“Yeongdeok!”
That voice… Was it Wonjin?
Through his dimming sight, Yeongdeok saw Wonjin rushing toward him.
“Who the hell are you?” Wonjin demanded.
“Not your concern. Walk away, nerd,” one man threatened.
But instead of backing off, Wonjin planted his feet and landed a solid punch on the man’s jaw, knocking him down.
“You little…!”
The others lunged at Wonjin, who, outnumbered, was quickly overpowered.
“Yeongdeok, hang in there….”
The place turned into a brawl in an instant. Yeongdeok, resisting the pull of unconsciousness, watched Wonjin throwing punches, undaunted by the overwhelming odds.
With that image of him burned into his mind, Yeongdeok finally closed his heavy eyelids.
‘Still, in this life, he’s fighting so desperately for me,’ he thought as his consciousness faded.
ꔚ
Dowon grew up in an incredibly privileged environment, where nearly everything could be solved with money.
He had never experienced a single moment in his life where he was left wanting for it.
Storybook: Duck’s Birthday
“The animal friends gathered one by one at the duck’s house, bringing gifts the duck would like to celebrate its birthday.
‘Happy birthday, Duck! We brought you presents!’”
Dowon, who had mastered Korean long ago, could easily read such children’s stories—even if held upside down.
That was just the kind of child he was.
Born into an affluent family, with striking looks and a brilliant mind, he seemed to lack nothing in the eyes of others.
“The squirrel handed the duck a storybook.
‘Duck, you like reading books, don’t you?’
The rabbit gave the duck a carrot as a gift.
‘This is my favorite carrot in the whole world! I hope you enjoy it too, Duck!’”
As Yeongdeok read through the storybook, his brow furrowed.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand the characters’ actions.
Why were the animal friends celebrating the duck’s birthday?
And why would the rabbit give away its favorite carrot just because it was a birthday?
He reread it over and over, obsessively memorizing every line, hoping to understand.
Even so, the characters’ actions never made sense to him.
To Dowon, his birthday was merely the day he was born.
There was no reason it needed to be celebrated, nor did it need to be remembered by others.
He had always thought this was perfectly natural.
When he looked away from the storybook, the empty living room stretched before him.
Everyone had gone off to prepare for his grandfather’s birthday the next day.
This always happened on his birthday.
By now, it wasn’t surprising enough to sulk about why only his grandfather’s birthday was celebrated.
But that day, Dowon felt a rare urge to ask: Did anyone even know what day it was?
“What day is today? Hmm…”
That night, he asked Kyungsook, the first person to return home.
But her attention was entirely on her reflection in the mirror.
Her vanity was cluttered with jewelry boxes, as though she had gone shopping.
Picking through the earrings, she avoided his question.
“But more importantly, Dowon, which ones look better on me?”
From that day forward, his birthday became just a piece of personal information—nothing more, nothing less.
If no one else remembered, why should he?
ꔚ
In Dowon’s world, people were divided into two categories: those who were useful to him and those who weren’t.
Similarly, people treated him the same way.
Nobody ever did something for him without a reason.
Dowon learned that at a young age.
Most people who treated him kindly had ulterior motives for approaching him.
Even Baek Seonwoo was no exception.
The fool latched onto him shamelessly, claiming that Baek Cheongang had told him to befriend him.
After being annoyingly persistent, he turned away in an instant, as though it had all been a whim.
Among such insincere people, Dowon found his first meeting with Eungyeol to be refreshing and extraordinary, like encountering someone from a different species.
“I don’t care what you eat or how you live, but smoking so much is bad for your health.”
“I might be overstepping, but still, I’m just saying.”
That audacious part-timer didn’t know who Dowon was.
His concern for Dowon’s health came from genuine goodwill, devoid of any ulterior motives.
At that moment, a thought crossed Dowon’s mind: ‘Have I ever experienced such pure kindness before?’
* * *
I’ll miss this novel
This is when he steps out of his obsession
Thanks
Thanks
Well