‘I’m really glad that Park Yeoin-nim is such a good person too.’
Yeonrok thought as he ate the duck baeksuk. It was already disheartening to be treated coldly by his Name Partner, but if the people around him had also shown signs of disliking him…
‘I would’ve abandoned this filthy household and just left!’ He would have run out long ago. Fortunately, Yeom Cheonho’s people were all kind and warm-hearted to him. Even though they served a Name Partner with incomparably better conditions than the three of them, which would be reason enough to dislike him, they really treated him well. Thanks to them, Yeonrok was able to barely attach his heart to this house even in the midst of his deep disappointment.
‘…Huh? Now that I think about it, what about these people’s families?’
Yeonrok tilted his head. Come to think of it, he had never once seen the families of these three people. He himself was originally an orphan without parents, but this was a bit strange. That question was soon forgotten because of someone who appeared in the kitchen.
“Yeonrok-ssi, good morning!”
Jo Junho, Choi Hwan’s manager, was just as good-natured. Jo Junho, who had come to pick up Choi Hwan today as well, saw the duck baeksuk and swallowed his saliva. Park Yeoin, who was generous in both her servings and her heart, sat down Jo Junho, who wasn’t even part of this household, and ladled him a bowl of steaming duck baeksuk. A little later, Kim Jeongseong also joined them for breakfast.
“This is my first time eating duck baeksuk and it’s really delicious.”
“Me too, Yeonrok-ssi. Chicken baeksuk doesn’t even compare, does it?”
“Park Yeoin-nim’s cooking skills have even been acknowledged by Yeom Cheonho-nim.”
As they exchanged such friendly conversation, his low spirits improved somewhat. He was absentmindedly taking a big spoonful of rice and mixing it with the broth when Kim Jeongseong, who had emptied his bowl in an instant, spoke.
“Yeonrok-nim, Yeom Cheonho-nim has proposed dinner this evening, how would that be?”
“…Dinner?”
Yeonrok gulped and quickly nodded his head. It had been almost two weeks since he’d requested to meet with Yeom Cheonho, but given his current circumstances, even that belated news was welcome. However, the composition of the dinner party was somewhat different from Yeonrok’s expectations.
“What the hell?”
At the long-awaited dinner time. Choi Hwan saw Moon Gyeonwoo and Yeonrok, who had arrived early, and his handsome face crumpled terribly. That’s right. Yeom Cheonho’s dinner invitation hadn’t been for Yeonrok alone. Choi Hwan sat down reluctantly, looking extremely displeased, and grumbled something.
Yeonrok, unsurprised by the reaction he’d already anticipated the moment Choi Hwan appeared, quietly observed the two.
Choi Hwan couldn’t leave that glamorous face alone and kept changing his expression. Sitting with his chin propped crookedly, he frowned, then raised his eyebrows, then stuck out his lips—but there wasn’t a single moment where he looked ugly. Perhaps it wasn’t for nothing that he became an actor; he was endlessly handsome from any angle. When their eyes met, he opened his eyes wide as if to say, ‘What are you looking at?’
On the other hand, Moon Gyeonwoo had no interest in his surroundings. A smile would occasionally rise and fall on his delicate, pale face as if drawn with a fine brush. His long, white fingers tapping on his phone had no intention of resting, busily contacting someone or other. Sensing the gaze, he raised his head, glanced coldly at Yeonrok, then fixed his eyes back on his phone.
Just as that heavy silence was flowing, Yeom Cheonho finally entered.
“Oh my, I’m sorry. I’ve kept you all waiting. I was a bit late because of work.”
Yeom Cheonho apologized politely. His words about being busy weren’t a lie, as fatigue showed in the corners of his eyes. The face sitting atop a body overflowing with the most male hormones among them was handsome. Dressed in a suit as if he’d just come straight from work at the company, with a large build, he somehow seemed a bit gaunt too.
However, if you looked carefully, it wasn’t only Yeom Cheonho whose complexion was bad. From Yeonrok’s perspective, it seemed none of them had properly made contact with their Name Partners, so they all appeared to lack energy.
“You must be hungry, shall we eat dinner first?”
As soon as his words ended, people began bringing out luxurious Korean set meals one after another as if they’d been waiting. These were dishes lovingly prepared with all her might by Park Yeoin, upon hearing that the four would be having a meal together for the first time.
As Yeonrok was peering at an unfamiliar food wondering what it was, Park Yeoin whispered softly that it was sinseollo and left. Yeonrok quickly ladled two or three scoops of sinseollo into his personal bowl. It was delicious, as expected. Meanwhile, Yeom Cheonho spoke to Choi Hwan.
“I heard Choi Hwan-ssi has been busy filming recently. Are you managing your condition well?”
Choi Hwan, who was still on a diet and had been glaring fiercely at the food while only picking at vegetables, answered curtly.
“Well, if you’re a pro, managing your condition is basic.”
“That’s right. By the way, I’m curious if the coffee truck arrived well.”
“I was a bit surprised that you sent it without saying anything… but I enjoyed it.”
Yeonrok was inwardly somewhat surprised. Choi Hwan, who always maintained a rude attitude toward him, had surprisingly given Yeom Cheonho a rather polite and sincere answer. He glanced between Yeom Cheonho and Choi Hwan, both dressed neatly and properly, then looked down at his own sleeve. Even though he’d chosen and worn his nicest clothes, looking at them now, they seemed shabby.
‘Should I have gone out to buy some clothes? The burden of going out with bodyguards was too much, so I just stayed home…’
Even when going to a convenience store or taking a walk around the neighborhood, two sturdy bodyguards in suits followed along, which was unbearably burdensome. Naturally, he refrained from going out. No matter how resolutely Yeonrok tried to act, he couldn’t help but feel intimidated by the suddenly changed environment and new people. Yeom Cheonho then spoke to Moon Gyeonwoo as well.
“I heard Moon Gyeonwoo-ssi recently started a new project at the research institute?”
Moon Gyeonwoo, who had been constantly glancing at his phone even during a shared meal, answered in a reluctant tone.
“…Yes.”
“It’s a field I’m personally interested in, so could I hear about it sometime when you’re free? I’d like to invest a bit.”
“Contact me through my work email.”
Moon Gyeonwoo, who seemed like he would consistently ignore even Yeom Cheonho, surprisingly answered quite readily, though gruffly. Now that he looked at it, both Choi Hwan and Moon Gyeonwoo seemed to have quite a favorable impression of Yeom Cheonho. It was different from their attitude toward him.
‘Is it natural if you think about it…?’
It would be strange not to have favorable feelings when he’d provided them with a nice house to live in, given them cards to buy what they wanted, and treated them generously. Even Yeonrok’s image of Yeom Cheonho wasn’t bad. While competently wrapping up gujeolpan, he suddenly wondered.
‘That aside, are they all… gay?’
Maybe it was just his imagination, but as he quietly observed them, the way both Choi Hwan and Moon Gyeonwoo looked at Yeom Cheonho seemed somewhat subtle. While neatly deboning and eating the grilled okdom fish, Yeonrok, who still found these three people unfamiliar and even felt a wall between them, pondered seriously.
According to what he’d read on the Name Manifestor community, since they were Name Partners, their sexual preferences should all be similar. So that meant everyone here was basically open to men. Yeonrok’s face was quite serious as he looked over the three people.
‘But I’m not gay, am I? …Or am I? Maybe?’
He’d even had a girlfriend when he was in high school. While deliciously eating bossam dipped in the particularly savory salted shrimp, Yeonrok agonized. Was I actually open to both women and men? But no matter how much I look at those three people, I’m not particularly turned on. …Is this too vulgar a thought?
While the three engaged in friendly conversation, Yeonrok was feeling left out and just focusing on eating.
“Is Lee Yeonrok-ssi doing well these days?”
He’d tried to dress up and make an effort to look good for his girlfriend, but he didn’t feel that way at all toward these people. Something really was wrong, wasn’t it? Should he request to be examined again at the Name Matching Center? Or maybe there were Name Manifestors who lived with their partners like friends or family…
As he was thinking such thoughts while gnawing on galbi, Yeonrok looked up in surprise. He’d been so disappointed lately that he hadn’t had much expectation for Yeom Cheonho either, so he was moved by this first warm word he was hearing from his Name Partner.
“Me?”
Thanks to that, he asked back in bewilderment, earning Choi Hwan’s ridicule. Yeom Cheonho, without ridiculing him at all, spoke in a polite voice.
“It’s a belated apology, but I wanted to say I’m sorry for suddenly making you quit your job due to security issues. If there’s anything you want, please tell me.”
“Oh, um… thank you for your concern. I’m fine for now.”
He’d actually been quite upset, but now that Yeom Cheonho said this, his heart felt considerably better. After that too, there was some hope to be seen in his attitude of caring about this and that and speaking fairly to his Name Partners. It meant there seemed to be a better possibility of forming intimacy with Yeom Cheonho than with Choi Hwan or Moon Gyeonwoo.
Unlike Choi Hwan or Moon Gyeonwoo, he was mature and serious. He was an incredible wealthy person, thoughtful, tall, and even handsome, which was amazing. He’d thought such people only appeared in dramas. Yeonrok glanced at Yeom Cheonho with fascination.
