Chapter 65: Men in Love (2)

Gaeryong Metropolitan City was famous for having the second-highest land prices after Seoul. The apartments in the city center were priced far beyond what ordinary people could even dream of affording.

So what if a high school student was living alone in one of these apartments? That's exactly who Kwon Suho was.

"Wow.”

My jaw dropped at the sight of the premium apartment building – the likes of which I'd never seen before. It was visibly tall and wide, but what was even more surprising was the absence of cars on the ground.

When I'd visited Yang Juhee's place, the apartment complex had been cluttered with all sorts of parked vehicles, making the environment feel chaotic. But here, there were no cars – just the apartment buildings and people.

The women pushing strollers had incredibly pale faces, and even the leashed dogs trotting around looked expensive. This was clearly a rich neighborhood.

"Let's go.”

Eun-jeong said, punching in the apartment code and calling the elevator. We rode up to the 15th floor in smooth, silent motion. When the doors opened, I was surprised to see only one door on the entire floor.

The whole floor was a single residence. Eun-jeong expertly entered the door lock code and we stepped inside.

A chime sounded as the door opened, revealing an interior so spacious it could've been called an indoor playground. A massive TV covered an entire wall, and gathered on the sofa in front of it were a group of chattering students.

"Is that Eun-jeong?"

"Why are you so late today?"

They looked about my age, but their clothes and phones were all expensive, latest models. They exuded an aura of delinquency that I, Ha Young-won, was particularly sensitive to.

"Who's this?"

"Did Eun-jeong bring her boyfriend?"

The students in the living room turned their attention to me. The atmosphere felt like I was about to get shaken down for money.

"Where's Suho oppa?"

Eun-jeong asked.

"He's in his room right now."

A guy with sharp features that made him look like a dinosaur replied, pointing his thumb towards a door.

As Eun-jeong moved to knock, the dinosaur guy quickly stopped her.

"Hey, don't disturb him now. He's with a girl."

"Again? When did they go in?"

"About 10 minutes ago. Give it another 5 minutes."

Everyone seemed used to this situation. I was the only one feeling awkward, and I couldn't help but wonder what was happening behind that door.

I sat down at a nearby dining chair, looking around in amazement at how spacious and comfortable the place was. Sure, Yoo Dahee's house had been even bigger and more impressive, but that had been so far beyond my imagination or common sense that it fell outside the realm of envy or jealousy. It had felt like a fantasy world.

But this place felt real. It hit me that there were actually high school students living alone in apartments like this.

The dinosaur-looking guy turned to me.

"So, are you Bong Ji-yeon's new boyfriend? Is that why you're here?"

"Me? I'm not Bong Ji-yeon's boyfriend."

I replied, feeling suddenly annoyed. Where had such a baseless rumor come from?

The guy frowned.

"You're not?"

Just then, the apartment door opened and an incredibly beautiful woman walked in – so pretty she could've been a celebrity. Her short haircut suited her so well it was astonishing.

"Where's Kwon Suho?"

"Uh... Yoo-jung. Suho's in his room, but..."

"Is he?"

"Wait, you can't—he's with a girl right now..."

Yoo-jung's beautiful face contorted into a fierce scowl. The dramatic change in her expression was overwhelming.

She stormed over to Suho's door and pounded on it. When it opened, the bed inside was visibly shaking, and a red-haired guy poked his head out.

"Shit, what the hell, Kim Yoo-jung? Are you crazy? Why are you barging in?"

"Kwon Suho, you're the crazy one! You asked me to date you! How can you bring different girls here every day after asking me out? And how can you do this with people around? You're disgusting, you bastard!"

"That's because you're playing hard to get. We've been dating for two days and you won't even let me kiss you? You act all precious when you're not even a virgin."

I realized I needed to revise my earlier comparison of Yoo Dahee's house to a fantasy world. This place was the real fantasy – I couldn't believe such a situation could exist in reality.

Having a girlfriend, but right now with another girl... I caught a glimpse of the woman peeking out from under the covers, and she was incredibly pretty too.

"You're such an asshole."

Yoo-jung spat, tears in her eyes as she stormed out of the apartment. My brief crush ended in just five minutes.

Kwon Suho, half-naked, got up and came out to the living room, adjusting his pants. He looked at me.

"Who are you? Here to collect money?"

He must have been at least 190cm tall, with a muscular build that was hard to believe belonged to a high school student. His face was strikingly handsome. So this was Kwon Suho, the leader of Gaeryong's delinquents.

"I'm..."

I started, suddenly remembering what I'd heard about his uncanny ability to detect lies.

"I'm Young-won."

"Young-won? Don't know you. Eun-jeong, did you bring him? Trying to add him to our fam?"

"He's the one! The Gu Hyena guy!"

"Ah."

My attention was drawn more to the girl emerging from the bedroom than to Suho. She had an incredible flower tattoo on her back and another on her thigh. She came out to the living room in just her underwear, opened the expensive-looking fridge, and gulped down water. No one seemed to pay her any attention. How could they not look? Were they that used to it?

Suho spoke up.

"Hey, Young-won. From now on, answer my questions truthfully. You found Gu Hyena, right? Did you happen to see my wallet in her pocket?"

"What? Wallet?"

I hadn't seen anything like that. There hadn't even been time to look.

"I didn't see it."

I replied honestly.

"Damn. Then who could it be?"

Kwon Suho frowned at me. I noticed his eyes were incredibly dark – not just the iris and pupil, but entirely black. It reminded me of the terrifying, unfathomable darkness of the nighttime sea I'd once seen.

"Looks like you really didn't see it. Aren't you Bong Ji-yeon's new boyfriend? Have you slept with her?"

"I'm not her boyfriend. And I haven't done anything with her."

"Then what's your deal?"

"We're not anything. Really."

"Is that so? Well, I'm not anything with her either. Never even got to touch her. Can you imagine how pissed I am? We were supposed to be dating."

“...”

"Put yourself in my shoes. Imagine having a girlfriend who won't let you touch her until marriage. Then she starts ghosting you and rumors spread about her seeing other guys—"

Suho sniffled and twitched, slapping his palm against his head. It seemed like some kind of mental condition. His manner of speaking suggested he wasn't entirely stable.

"So don't touch what's mine."

What a strange guy. Is this what having too much money does to you? I briefly imagined what I'd be like as a third-generation chaebol or super-rich high school student. By comparison, Suho actually seemed down-to-earth. If it were me... hehehe. I'd just say "Water," and Ms. Hong Mi-ri would bring me ice water... No, this isn't the time for such thoughts.

"Sir, I heard you can detect all lies. Is that true?"

Suho frowned at my question, then looked at Eun-jeong.

"Eun-jeong, didn't I tell you not to talk about that to just anyone? Go reflect. Get in the closet and come out in an hour. You've been crossing the line lately."

Eun-jeong obediently went into the closet. It was a bizarre scene all around. Suho seemed to have lost interest in me already.

He pulled out what looked like a blue pill from his pocket and sat at the table, starting to crush it with his phone. The dinosaur-looking guy pushed me towards the exit, so I didn't see what happened next, but it was clearly something a student shouldn't be doing.

Kwon Suho. What a complete nutcase.

『Chapter 1. The Nightmare Corridor begins.』

『Please select players from the list below.』

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『Kwon Suho』

At least I was able to add him to the player list for sure.

***

"Young-won, what took you so long? Your friend came early and was waiting."

When I got home, Mom was making pancakes. Jung-seok was sitting on the floor, eating pancakes from a small table.

"Hey, you're back. I called but you didn't answer."

I hadn't had a chance to check my phone. I whispered to Jung-seok.

"I met Kwon Suho."

"Really?"

"He said he'd kill anyone who touches Bong Ji-yeon."

I filled Jung-seok in on what happened with Suho. Jung-seok seemed impressed and pleased.

"See? I told you Bong Ji-yeon's a good girl. She might not look it, but she's a fortress against guys. It's not just me she's cold to."

My friend sounded like a real pervert, but I could kind of understand the feeling...

"Young-won, have some snacks."

Mom said, offering me freshly made pancakes. They tasted great with strawberry jam. Mom seemed to be in a good mood.

"Look at this. Jung-seok helped me clean up the balcony. Thanks to that, I found my lost wedding ring."

Mom showed me a cheap couple ring, the kind high school students might wear. It was the couple ring – and wedding ring – that Mom and Dad had gotten when they were high school students themselves.

Wedding ring. Suddenly, I remembered the strange plastic ring Mr. Kang Bada had been wearing on his ring finger.

"Mom, did you have a couple ring with Mr. Kang Bada too?"

"No, why would I have a couple ring with him?"

"Really? He was wearing a toy ring on his ring finger."

"He's still wearing that? He's persistent. There are men like that. When they fall for a woman, they go crazy without restraint. Aunt can read faces, and Jung-seok, you're like that too, aren't you?"

"Me? Well..."

Jung-seok mumbled awkwardly. I felt a bit uncomfortable.

"Mom, there's nothing between you and Mr. Kang Bada, right? He told me I might be his son. He's a really weird guy."

"He said that? Haha! He's just teasing you. It's true that he followed me around saying he liked me, but he quit after a week. I beat him up pretty badly back then. I really thrashed him."

"...Really?"

"After that, Bada actually had a girl he truly liked. But to think he's still wearing that toy ring... He must not have gotten over her. What a sentimental idiot."

Mom went to her room and brought something back. It was a blue plastic ring.

"There used to be junk food that came with ring toys when you ate the candy. Jewel rings. This is one of those. I've been keeping it... You can return it to Bada when you see him later."

It was identical to the plastic jewel ring Kang Bada had been wearing. I asked, just in case, "Mom, what was the name of the woman he liked?"

"Her name? That unnie's name was... Yoo In-na. You know the chairman of your school? She was his daughter. Super rich. Always came to school in a black car."

Ah!

It was like lightning struck in my head.

Cheon's daughter, Yoo In-na, and Kang Bada, who had fallen out of favor with the Cheon family!

They had been close enough to use toy rings as couple rings.

And Yoo Dahee, the high school girl Kang Bada was so desperate to get information about, even resorting to shady tactics!

So everything was connected by a red bloodline thicker than water!

Yoo Dahee must be the daughter of Yoo In-na, Cheon Dae-gon's daughter, and the outsider, Kang Bada!