As they finished their meal in a rather warm and friendly atmosphere, Yeom Cheonho made this proposal.
“I’ll try to make time as much as possible, so it would be good if we could have dinner together like this about once a week. What do you all think?”
It was very welcome news for Yeonrok. He’d half given up on Choi Hwan and Moon Gyeonwoo, but he felt like he could do well with Yeom Cheonho.
Beyond simply liking or disliking someone, it was a matter of health. Even though he’d been unlucky in everything, he’d been relatively healthy, so his current state of declining condition felt unfamiliar and a bit scary. He had to become close with someone somehow.
“Well, I’ll adjust my schedule as much as possible.”
“…I can make time about once a week.”
Choi Hwan and Moon Gyeonwoo also readily agreed. Since all three people’s gazes were directed at him, Yeonrok nodded to show his agreement as well.
“I’m fine anytime too.”
Yeonrok thought it was fortunate, but on the other hand, it was somewhat sad that even though he’d met the Name Partners he’d waited for so long, he had to seek opportunities to make contact somehow. The thought fleetingly crossed his mind that perhaps it would have been better not to have Name Manifestation at all. Amid these not-so-pleasant feelings, the first dinner came to an end.
* * *
Several days after the first dinner, in the afternoon.
“…I’m bored!”
After endlessly fiddling with his phone, Yeonrok sprang up. Having always lived working diligently, this was the first time in his life he’d been this idle.
The post he’d been reading just moments ago appeared on his phone screen, titled “Are there people who don’t get along with their Name Partners?” The conclusion was that though things could be bad at the beginning, they eventually get better, and only rarely do things end catastrophically when matters get unluckily tangled.
And Yeonrok knew very well that he was an unlucky person…
‘Surely my luck isn’t so bad it would be that bad.’
Trying to console himself, he picked up the doll that had fallen to the floor from his sudden movement and placed it back on the bed. The doll’s name was Yeondoo. The old brown puppy doll, whose stuffing had died making it perfect to use as a pillow, had been with him since who knows when. Even when leaving the orphanage, he absolutely couldn’t leave it behind, and had carried it with him constantly even after becoming an adult. Yeondoo was a good friend who soothed his loneliness.
“I should get a job though…”
Though he said that with his mouth, in truth Yeonrok wasn’t searching for work very actively. After working up to two shifts a day for the purpose of maintaining his livelihood and repaying loans, resting fully like this honestly made his body comfortable and felt good. Now that he’d found some leisure for the first time in a while, he also wanted to try living doing work he really liked, so lately he’d been searching for certifications.
Anyway, disliking being alone in his room, he opened the door and came out. His steps headed toward the kitchen. If he hung around that area, he could talk with Mrs. Park, or the manager or secretary.
However, unexpectedly, the one in the kitchen was Choi Hwan, who had made a bird’s nest of his hair and was collapsed face-down in the kitchen. Yeonrok narrowed his eyes and stopped.
With disheveled hair, Choi Hwan was groaning while clutching his head. Though there was quite some distance, even from here a faint smell of alcohol wafted over, so he seemed to be suffering from a hangover. Just as Yeonrok was inwardly feeling gleeful, Choi Hwan, who’d sensed someone’s presence, lifted his head. Even in his disheveled state, his shadowed face was simply splendid. Squinting one eye like a pictorial, he said.
“…Hey. Get me some water.”
“What, me?”
“Ah, my head’s pounding. Then who else is here besides you?”
It was absurd. He wasn’t Choi Hwan’s subordinate, and there was no reason to attend to him. So what if he had a hangover? Ignoring him completely, Yeonrok brought over the soufflé Mrs. Park had carefully made and sat at the dining table to eat it. Mrs. Park made not only Korean food but also delicious desserts.
“Urgh, I’m gonna puke.”
Right in front of Yeonrok eating his food, Choi Hwan blatantly dry-heaved, killing his appetite, then grumbled while looking for his manager.
“Hyung! Junhooo hyuuung! Get me a sports drink!”
His attitude of trying to order around his manager who was probably somewhere far away just to wet his throat seemed extremely arrogant, showing what a precious body he had. However, when the manager didn’t appear either, Choi Hwan finally groaned and got up to rummage through the refrigerator. While watching the back of his head suffering from a headache and thinking thoughts like ‘I need to go to the salon too but it’s annoying,’ Choi Hwan, who’d been gulping down water, glared.
“Hey. I forgot to say this, but if you dare tell anyone anywhere that you’re my Name Partner. How embarrassing, where did this thing even come from…”
Yeonrok, who’d been inwardly intimidated lately about this very point, flinched inside. However, regardless of how he felt inside, without showing it outwardly, he took out his phone. Making a show of moving his fingers, he said loudly.
“A certain Mr. Choi celebrity everyone knows is my Name Partner but he’s such a fucking asshole… Let me show you what he looks like for a second… Scheduled to post in 1 minute…”
“Hey!”
Choi Hwan, who shouted, rushed over and snatched the phone. But when he actually checked the screen, instead of an internet window, the selfie camera screen was up. While Choi Hwan gaped at his own face displayed on the screen, Yeonrok took his phone back and snapped.
“I’m more embarrassed that an asshole like you is my Name Partner.”
“You, you… This…”
Dumbfounded, Choi Hwan’s mouth moved wordlessly. Before he could properly get angry, Yeonrok quickly fled. Moon Gyeonwoo, who was just coming in, seemed to have heard Yeonrok and Choi Hwan’s conversation and sent them a look of contempt beyond pity as he passed by coolly.
Oops. He should have brought the soufflé. Should he go back and get it? Unable to bring himself to go back in and wandering around, Yeonrok’s feet stopped. For some reason, Yeom Cheonho was at home.
“…Oh.”
Yeonrok’s eyes widened, seeing the homeowner at home for the first time since the last dinner. He was working with documents piled up like a mountain on the solid wood table in the reception room on the way to the kitchen. Secretary Kim Jeongseong was also beside him assisting with his work.
Would talking to him be a disturbance? While he was hesitating, Yeom Cheonho discovered Yeonrok first. His thick eyebrows that had been tense from concentrating relaxed and curved.
“Lee Yeonrok-ssi. Have you eaten?”
“Y-yes. …You too, President?”
At the Name Partner’s friendly greeting, Yeonrok felt awkward. “President?” Yeom Cheonho raised his voice at the end and laughed quietly as if amused. Then he gestured. On his wrist, a watch and cufflinks that must cost who knows how much glinted.
“Come over here.”
Come? Over there? Yeonrok, who’d given Kim Jeongseong a nod in greeting, approached Yeom Cheonho hesitantly one step at a time. In the meantime, Yeom Cheonho, who’d finished reviewing documents and passed them to Kim Jeongseong, tapped the sofa with his fingertips.
“No, over here. Sit here.”
Yeonrok, who’d been standing still at a distance, approached with stiff steps and sat down. Then he was startled when Yeom Cheonho suddenly grabbed his hand. He was startled once more when his declining condition instantly returned to normal.
“You looked unwell. …And I needed it too. As you know, I’ve been so busy lately I couldn’t even come home.”
“R-right. Because we’re Name Partners. Because we need contact.”
He was aware he was speaking somewhat stupidly, but he couldn’t help it. The first contact with a Name Partner was extremely fascinating and surprising. And even though they were the same gender, it wasn’t as bad as he’d thought. The warmth transmitted from the hand seemed to breathe life into him. Yeom Cheonho reviewed documents while holding Yeonrok’s hand like that.
Yeonrok swallowed dry saliva as he looked at his own hand held by another person. Though he wasn’t that small-bodied himself, this person’s build was really impressive. His chest trapped in the suit was thick. The grip firmly holding his hand and the wrist were quite large-boned, and though he seemed to have lived preciously his whole life, his palm was unexpectedly firm. There was also a scent of some good perfume.
He was a type of person Yeonrok had never encountered in his life. He gathered courage and asked.
“Um, how old are you?”
“I’m thirty-two.”
He was a full seven years older than Yeonrok. His attitude automatically became polite in front of the age difference. When Yeonrok opened the conversation, Yeom Cheonho also asked.
“Come to think of it, I’m curious about something regarding Lee Yeonrok-ssi.”
“Uh, yes. Please speak comfortably. You’re older than me.”
“No. I’m comfortable with this. …Ah, don’t misunderstand that I’m keeping my distance. I’m like this with everyone.”
At Yeom Cheonho’s words, Yeonrok just nodded diligently, but strangely his face grew hot. He gradually felt like his palm was sweating and it bothered him too much, but Yeom Cheonho had no intention of letting go of his hand. Yeonrok just wiggled his fingers and asked.
“What are you curious about?”
“I wanted to know why you haven’t used the card I gave you even once.”
“Ah… It’s not really a particular reason.”
He tried to gloss over it vaguely, but while turning over documents with one hand and tapping the laptop keyboard with tap-tap-tap sounds, Yeom Cheonho asked again.
“What might that ‘not really a particular reason’ be?”
Yeonrok was a bit flustered, feeling the intense will to definitely hear it.
