Chapter 17: Let’s seduce him.

After completely knocking himself out on just three shots of soju, Yooha collapsed the moment he finished washing up, and only woke up the next morning when it was nearly nine.

For Yooha, who usually got up around seven thirty even on weekends, it was an unusually late hour.

Maybe there was still alcohol in his system, because his head throbbed relentlessly.

After pressing down on his temples, brow bone, and the center of his forehead over and over for a while, Yooha frowned when he sensed no movement beside him and turned his head.

For once, Wootae’s bedding was neatly put away.

‘Isn’t today Saturday?’

‘There’s no way he went to school….’

Knowing that Wootae usually didn’t even crawl out of bed until around lunchtime on weekends, Yooha felt puzzled.

After blinking a few times, he finally forced himself upright, folded his bedding, and went out to the living room.

There, Wootae was sitting cross-legged with his arms folded, wearing a grave expression.

“…Wootae, what are you doing?”

When Yooha asked from a distance, Wootae only then seemed to notice him and turned his head.
He uncrossed his arms and gestured Yooha over.

“Hyung, come here and sit down.”

“…Why?”

“Ah, hurry up.”

Tilting his head in confusion, Yooha still did as he was told and sat down nearby. They faced each other diagonally across a small table.

Not understanding what was going on, Yooha just blinked, when Wootae suddenly began scrutinizing him from head to toe with wide eyes.

Feeling self-conscious, Yooha touched his face with his fingertips, and Wootae snapped sharply.

“Hyung, who was that guy yesterday? He said he was your school sunbae—was that true?”

“That guy yesterday? Ah….”

Murmuring hoarsely, Yooha soon recalled Shin Joowon’s face and let out a faint sound.

Come to think of it, Shin Joowon really had taken him all the way home last night.

He didn’t remember giving his address, nor how he ended up in Joowon’s car, and his head quickly filled with questions.

“…Wootae, but what actually happened to me yesterday?”

Hoping Wootae might know something, Yooha asked instead of answering.
But instead of the answer he wanted, he got scolded.

“I asked first. That guy yesterday—was he really your school sunbae?”

“Yeah….”

Overwhelmed by Wootae’s intensity, Yooha nodded cautiously as he replied.
Wootae’s eyes, more animated than ever, sparkled like freshly polished glass.

“Hyung, are you close with that sunbae? How did you even meet him? How did you end up getting a ride in his car?”

As Wootae fired off questions without hiding his excitement, Yooha felt cornered.

He couldn’t tell where to start or what he should explain first.

Chewing on his lip for a long moment, Yooha finally began to speak carefully.

“We’re not close… I haven’t known him that long. And… he’s the one. The sneakers….”

“Sneakers? Ah! The sixty-million-won ones?”

“Yeah… And it’s true I got a ride.

“I don’t really remember much.”

“He said he’d take me home if the subway stopped running, but I fell asleep halfway, so… I don’t really know what happened.”

Come to think of it, I didn’t even thank him yesterday….

Realizing he’d once again been indebted to Shin Joowon, Yooha felt uncomfortable and swallowed a sigh.

He resolved to at least send a message, even if it was late.

‘How am I supposed to repay all this?’

‘Should I treat him to a meal or something?’

While Yooha was deeply worrying, Wootae paid him no mind and instead started talking rapidly, eyes gleaming with interest.

“I called because I saw your message late, but that sunbae guy answered. He said you drank and fell asleep, even though you’re not someone who usually drinks. For a second, my heart dropped—I thought you’d been kidnapped or something.”

“…….”

“But he didn’t sound like a kidnapper, so I asked him to wake you and put you on the phone. I could hear him struggling, groaning because you wouldn’t wake up, so I just gave him the address.”

“Ah…….”

Only then did Yooha finally understand what had happened, letting out a quiet sound of realization.

It must have been hard enough just moving him into the car after he passed out on a few drinks, yet Shin Joowon had brought him all the way home without showing the slightest irritation.

Instead of repaying the favor, Yooha felt like he was only piling on more debt, and shame weighed heavily on him.

“Hyung.”

“Huh?”

What would it take to pay all this back?

As the burden settled heavily in his chest, Wootae called him in a serious voice.

The tone sent a shiver up Yooha’s arms.

The expression on Wootae’s face also felt strangely familiar.

“Let’s seduce him.”

“…What?”

“That sunbae. Let’s try seducing him.”

‘Seduce him—what was he even talking about all of a sudden…?’

As Yooha frowned in disbelief, Wootae slammed his fist on the table repeatedly, venting his frustration.

“Hyung, do you know how much the car you rode in yesterday costs? It’s over two hundred million won. Two hundred million.”

“What…?”

“How could a normal college student be driving a car worth over two hundred million? That means he’s loaded. That’s why he wears sixty-million-won shoes like it’s nothing.”

‘That car I rode in yesterday costs over two hundred million…?’

Yooha muttered the unreal number under his breath.

He didn’t know much about cars and wasn’t interested in them either, but even he knew a car worth that much was far from ordinary.

And honestly, Shin Joowon himself had always seemed like someone born into an extraordinary background.

“He doesn’t demand compensation for the shoes, he drives his drunk junior all the way home.

“That’s a hundred percent proof he’s interested in you.”

“…….”

“If you weren’t close, why would he bother? If it were me, I’d be annoyed and just dump you on the street.”

‘Is that really how it works…?’

Yooha nearly got swept up in Wootae’s passionate argument, but quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts.

He didn’t know Shin Joowon well, but seeing how he was always smiling and kind even to him,

Yooha figured he was just that sort of person—gentle and considerate toward everyone.
Thinking that such kindness was something special reserved only for him felt presumptuous.

More than anything, what made it absurd was that there was no reason for Shin Joowon to be interested in him at all.

Yooha knew better than anyone how insignificant he was compared to someone like that.

He had nothing, wasn’t particularly charming or outgoing, and only ever seemed to trouble Joowon instead.

In the end, Yooha concluded that Shin Joowon was simply a good person a kind person who treated even someone like him with consideration.

“I thought my hyung had decided to ruin his life, but I’m so touched to see that’s not the case…You were really taking everything I said to heart, weren’t you?”

While Yooha remained lost in thought and unable to respond, Wootae seemed to have reached his own conclusion.

Only then did Yooha finally realize what that sense of déjà vu was.

It was the exact same expression Wootae always wore whenever he told Yooha to seduce a rich alpha and marry well.

“That’s not it. If you say things like that again, I’m really going to get mad.”

Yooha was genuinely worried about Wootae.

His aunt and uncle had never taught him values like this, so how had he ended up thinking this way?

Yooha stiffened his expression and put force into his voice, but Wootae didn’t even blink, clearly confident that Yooha would never truly get angry at him.

Instead, Wootae suddenly grabbed both of Yooha’s hands, his eyes shining brightly.

Faced with such earnest intensity, Yooha was left speechless.

“Hyung can do it. I believe in you.”

“…….”

“Seduce a rich alpha and live comfortably for once. You can’t keep suffering like this your whole life, right? Yeah?”

Seeing the sharp intelligence gleaming in Wootae’s eyes, Yooha could only let out a deep sigh.

That carefree, innocent smile made Yooha smile along despite himself, but guilt pricked his chest when he thought of Shin Joowon, who was being turned into the unwitting target of Wootae’s fantasies.

****

Compared to the dining room on the first floor, the small dining room on the third floor was modest, but fully equipped, and filled with the rich aroma of coffee.
Espresso was pouring into a glass filled with ice and cold water.

“Shin Joowon, you got back pretty late yesterday.”

Watching the coffee being prepared, Shin Joowon turned around at the sound of someone calling him.

Standing there was a woman much shorter than him but still taller than the average woman, her face messy with sleep.

Her bare, makeup-free face felt strangely unfamiliar, perhaps because it had been a while.

Without thinking too deeply, Shin Joowon said the first thing that came to mind.

“Who are you?”

“…Hey.”

As the woman bristled and raised her fist sharply into the air, Shin Joowon stared at her blankly, not the least bit intimidated.

Clicking her tongue in irritation, she leaned against the island counter connected to the sink.
After alternating her gaze between Shin Joowon and the espresso machine, she brushed her hair back and spoke again.

“Please pour me a drink too.”

“Who are you, exactly?”

“Hey, you really….”

Shaking her head as if she couldn’t deal with him, the woman poured herself a glass of cold water from the purifier instead of coffee.

When the espresso machine stopped and the noise died down, Shin Joowon lifted the cup and took a sip.

Despite not drinking a drop the night before, his head had been throbbing like a hangover, but the cold coffee eased it somewhat.

“Be careful, Oppa, because you came home late. You didn’t do anything to get caught, did you? Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out on your own, but…”

Shin Joowon, who had shown no reaction until now, paused at those words.
When his gaze shifted to her, she shrugged lightly, as if to say she was innocent of any wrongdoing.