NB | Chapter 6

Woohyun almost found himself smiling.

What happened the day he received that business card?

It took him a long time to gather his thoughts after Kim Sungmoon and the gold chain guy left. The fishy smell that lingered on his face forced him back to reality.

He rushed home but didn’t even have the energy to make it to the bathroom, ending up vomiting into the sink.

Thanks to that, reality was firmly etched in his mind. In a world soaked with that fishy smell, there was no room for the sweet scent of vanilla.

“I lost the business card.”

The card was crumpled and stuffed in his pants pocket. So technically, he hadn’t lost it yet, but once he did laundry after work, it would be truly gone.

Woohyun felt Kang Jiwon’s gaze from above, as if he was looking right through him. Those neutral-colored eyes seemed to see into his soul.

His face showed no desperation or regret for losing it, and it was clear that even if he found it later, he would have tossed it in the trash. Yet, Kang Jiwon accurately caught the gloomy look of someone who would occasionally recall that memory in life.

“You didn’t lose it; you threw it away.”

He was caught. Woohyun realized he had been making a self-deprecating expression. His face felt hot. He tried to think of an excuse and spoke without much thought.

“Becoming an actor is like winning the lottery for me. Instead of clinging to something that won’t happen, it’s better to live as I am now. I think getting something without effort is like stealing.”

“Have you ever bought a lottery ticket?”

“I think it’s a waste of money…”

“Exactly.”

Kang Jiwon interrupted. Woohyun didn’t find it rude, as he was already aware he was making excuses.

“How can you talk about winning or losing when you’ve never even bought one?”

“…”

“No one buys a ticket thinking they’ll win. That’s a scam. People see the possibility that maybe this time they’ll win.”

“I don’t like that kind of false hope. I don’t want to start something and get addicted to slim chances.”

To Woohyun, the lottery was a form of gambling. The idea of changing one’s life overnight with a windfall was just a fantasy. In his reality, it was better to use a few thousand won to buy a meal than a piece of paper.

Woohyun lowered his eyelashes, avoiding eye contact. He saw Kang Jiwon’s hand move smoothly beside his thigh.

“Let’s do this.”

He whispered, pulling something rectangular from his suit jacket pocket. From a leather cardholder came a black business card he had never seen before.

“This is a lottery limited to you as the winner. The minimum is guaranteed, and there’s no ceiling. That’s up to you.”

A shiny black card was held out in front of him. The gold lettering seemed to form numbers, creating an illusion of an ever-increasing jackpot, making his vision blur for a moment.

“Does this interest you?”

Even if he didn’t believe in windfalls, he vaguely understood that a golden opportunity was being offered to him. The idea that he couldn’t gain wealth without effort, but whether to try or not was up to him, struck a chord.

Yet, he hesitated to seize the opportunity immediately. The illusion of an ever-increasing jackpot seemed to blur the line between reality and fantasy. Woohyun stood precariously on the edge, swallowing dryly.

“On the flip side, I could be a dud for you.”

“If I wasn’t confident in you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. You said getting something without effort is like stealing, right?”

Kang Jiwon was a man whose job was to assess people’s value in monetary terms. Through a newfound realization, Woohyun could guess why he was being scrutinized.

So, what did this man see in me to assess my value?

“Even if that’s the case, I won’t blame you, so don’t worry.”

Woohyun accepted the black card with both hands. The texture was smooth yet not slippery, which was intriguing.

In a world where misfortune often targeted the weak, and Woohyun was always that target, Kang Jiwon was a strangely unfamiliar adult. But he didn’t dislike the ticklish feeling this unfamiliarity brought.

Still feeling a bit dazed, Woohyun found himself mouthing words. A question he should have asked before receiving the card came out belatedly.

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

Kang Jiwon blinked slowly, as if puzzled.

“This is my job. I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do.”

Though his tone was businesslike, it was much more pleasant to hear. It felt like he was objectively confirmed as a high-potential lottery ticket to Kang Jiwon, not for personal reasons.

“I see.”

Seo Woohyun whispered softly, smiling slightly.

Jiwon looked down at his hands, holding the card politely. Unlike his long, slender fingers, his palms were rough with calluses. Inside the sleeves of his uniform shirt, small scars were visible.

Just by looking at his hands, it was hard to see him as a typical college student from an ordinary family. More like someone exposed to long-term physical labor.

Come to think of it, Seo Woohyun was quite slender. Though tall and broad-shouldered, if stripped, he’d likely have little fat, with prominent collarbones and hips—a slender build. His expression and demeanor were firm, so he didn’t appear weak, but his muscles seemed more honed by a tough life than by exercise.

Jiwon recalled the brief moment he sensed Woohyun’s pheromones at the shoot. The pheromones, triggered by the word “baby,” were surprisingly sweet and refreshing. Knowing he was an alpha, he didn’t mistake it, but if he hadn’t known, he might have believed him to be a robust omega.

If lying is a hobby, that’s a bit troublesome.

Jiwon’s chin tilted slightly. But there was no need to demand the truth immediately. Not revealing personal information to someone you barely know was a commendable self-defense, and more importantly, learning about Seo Woohyun didn’t necessarily require going through him.

Just as he straightened his head, as if he had never been skeptical.

“Director Kang!”

A young man in a suit approached down the hallway.

“I texted you about changing rooms, but you didn’t check, so I came to get you…”

The man then turned his gaze to Woohyun. Seeing him in uniform, he seemed to recognize him as an employee and laughed heartily.

“Perfect timing. Let’s not bother the staff and go.”

Whether it was a drinking appointment with friends or something else, Woohyun realized it was time to step aside. He took a step back, slightly bowing his head to let them pass.

Jiwon glanced at Woohyun, who was politely showing the top of his head, and turned on his heel.

“Take care, Deokbae.”

˚˚˚

Woohyun blinked, looking up at the ceiling. The wallpaper, once white, had faded to a yellowish hue over time, and one corner was darkened with mold from last summer’s rain.

He rolled his eyes to the side. Next to the aluminum front door were the sink, gas stove, and refrigerator lined up. In the past, the memory of his mom standing there would make him so sad, but now it didn’t even bring tears. It only ached in his chest, just enough to bear.

He turned his head the other way. The wooden door, with its peeling paint, was firmly closed. It was the room his brother Seo Minhyun used during his adolescence and where their mother stayed briefly before she passed.

Having never had a room of his own, even now living alone, Woohyun rarely entered that room. He only went in occasionally to dust during a big house cleaning.

Sorting through his troublesome brother’s belongings would make him so angry that he’d throw an item or two into the trash bag each time, leaving few of Seo Minhyun’s things now.

Cleaning had become a sort of countdown, and Woohyun decided to move out once all his brother’s belongings were gone. If he hadn’t come back by then, it meant he was doing fine without him.

Then I can leave here and live well, too.

By now, it wasn’t strange that the landlord felt more like family. When Seo Minhyun took off with the deposit without consulting him, the landlord, upon hearing his situation, waited until he could gather the deposit again.

The kindness his mother had shown the landlord in life had come back to him over time. So if he ever moved out, he wanted to express his gratitude to the landlord.

“To do that, I should call…”

Muttering to himself, he sat up abruptly. In the past, his side hair would have fluttered, tickling his cheeks, and his bangs would have covered half his vision, but not now.

On his way home from work yesterday, Woohyun had been drawn into a hair salon and had his messy hair cut. The stylist didn’t show it, but seemed quite surprised by his roughly trimmed long hair.

When asked if he had been styling it himself, he awkwardly nodded. During his time as a sailor, he had spent four months without docking, getting used to trimming it himself, making even the cost of a haircut feel wasteful.

Woohyun blew air at his short bangs, feeling awkward. It had been a long time since his vision was clear without having to tuck his side hair behind his ears.

His attention, uncharacteristically shy, soon shifted elsewhere. Inside his phone case was the stiff black business card.