“…!”
Yeonrok clenched his fist. Choi Hwan, who had been grinning while checking his phone, froze. The moment he saw the caller’s name, Yeonrok was a bit surprised to visibly see stress surge onto Choi Hwan’s face. The guy who had been saying he needed to breathe now had an expression like his breath was completely cut off. On the screen he’d glimpsed, it said “Mom.”
“I’m going to take this call.”
Choi Hwan, who had a nonchalant face as if nothing had happened, abruptly stood up and left his seat. Watching his retreating figure, Yeonrok thought.
‘It seems he doesn’t get along well with his family.’
Yeonrok recalled anew that not a single person had appeared claiming to be his Name Partner’s family. Did they all not get along with their families?
As he spent time having various such thoughts while sipping his drink alone for quite a while, Yeonrok thought the call was taking too long. Thinking maybe he was fighting with his mom, he waited longer, but even after what felt like an hour, Choi Hwan didn’t return.
“…No way, right?”
A sudden ominous feeling came over him, but Yeonrok tried hard to think it wouldn’t be the case. Since there was no clock nearby, he was just meaninglessly people-watching when suddenly cheers erupted from all directions. It was the 10 o’clock event Choi Hwan had mentioned. Yeonrok was momentarily captivated by the lasers shooting from all directions and the waves of confetti and balloons fluttering about. And around when the event ended, he realized.
“Did this bastard leave without me?”
Yeonrok bolted up from his seat. And he wandered through the gaps between people who were more crowded than before, searching for Choi Hwan’s fine face. After wandering around for quite a while, shuddering at the hands that slyly brushed against his body, Yeonrok finally caught an employee and asked.
“Do you happen to know where Choi Hwan went?”
“I’m sorry, sir. I’m not sure.”
Only after repeating this several times did Yeonrok realize that the employees here must receive many questions looking for celebrities. And that they wouldn’t answer because of that. After searching the club until his feet hurt, convinced that the person wasn’t there, Yeonrok screamed.
“I’m really going to kill Choi Hwan!”
This bastard had left him at the club without a wallet or phone! First, Yeonrok rushed out of the chaotic club. When he checked the parking lot, Choi Hwan’s car was still there. However, since the important car key was missing, Yeonrok ground his teeth.
“Where is this?”
Furious, Yeonrok wandered around the club without even feeling the cold, then spotted a subway station and figured out the location. And he agonized. It was an ambiguously close distance from home. It was past midnight—wouldn’t making contact just to get home comfortably bother several people? Sighing, he started walking, dragging his feet. And he regretted it before long.
“…Isn’t it early spring now?”
Why the hell is it so cold? His body shivered in the cold wind, and if he wasn’t careful, it felt like he’d catch a chill. How long had he been walking like that? On a deserted street, a drunk person who’d been staggering picked a fight with Yeonrok.
“Hey! Hey!”
Fuck, what now? Yeonrok, who was already pissed off, glared at the drunk. But he let out a sigh, held it in, and moved his steps, which seemed to have greatly offended the drunk’s mood.
“You bastard, ignoring me! Don’t you walk away!”
Already dying from exhaustion, and now unluckily getting picked on by a drunk too. Yeonrok ignored him and earnestly moved his steps. He planned to just quickly pass by before getting caught up in the confrontation. Since it was quiet behind him, Yeonrok figured the drunk must have given up on him. But then he heard running sounds and roughly grabbed his shoulder.
“Ugh!”
Having been on edge from the drunk’s harassment, Yeonrok instinctively sensed the other person’s malice and moved unconsciously. In other words, the self-defense techniques he’d been earnestly learning every morning these days reflexively came out. Only after throwing the person to the ground did Yeonrok belatedly think “oh no.” And secondly, he was surprised. The person he’d thrown wasn’t the drunk who’d been picking the fight.
The person Yeonrok had thrown to the ground made a sound and trembled before going limp. Yeonrok, who couldn’t grasp the situation and was in a daze, came to his senses at the sound of applause from the drunk watching blankly from afar.
“Woaaah! That’s fucking awesome!”
This is driving me crazy, really… What the hell is with this person too? He wanted to cry. Today too was a damn unlucky day as expected.
Since there was no movement, he fearfully checked if the person might be dead, but fortunately they were breathing. While examining the body with concern for the person, Yeonrok discovered a stun gun in the person’s hand and was at a loss for words. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed they’d tried to use it on Yeonrok but got thrown and used it on themselves. …What the hell is this really? Was our country’s public safety this bad…?
Did I almost just get kidnapped?
“Hey! Hey!”
The drunk started picking a fight again. Yeonrok, who’d been in a daze, grabbed the collar of the unconscious person in frustration and shrieked.
“Won’t you shut your mouth?! Should I make you the same? Get lost!”
Only then did the drunk mutter something and go on their way. Yeonrok first leaned the unconscious person against a nearby building. Too cold, absurd, and miserable, he sat there blankly for a moment before Yeonrok came to his senses.
“Phone… Let’s find a phone.”
Yeonrok, who rummaged through the person’s belongings, was again at a loss for words. It was because he’d found a bundle of cable ties that looked very ill-intentioned. Since the person seemed to be stirring, just in case, he first tied the person’s wrists and ankles with them before finding the phone. It was fortunate he’d memorized Kim Jeongseong’s phone number. The person answered right away, before the ringtone even rang a few times.
—…Hello?
The voice, unusually cold unlike usual, was so unfamiliar that Yeonrok wondered if he’d called the wrong number and asked cautiously.
“Is this Secretary Kim Jeongseong’s phone?”
—Lee Yeonrok-nim!
The moment he spoke, Kim Jeongseong let out a scream-like sound. Actually, he’d been unsure, but fortunately he’d called correctly.
—Where are you now? I’ll come pick you up right away!
“Uh, well, Secretary hyung. Actually, I caused an accident…”
—Yes?
Only then did Yeonrok report the situation to Kim Jeongseong in detail with a relieved heart. He curled up his body as he said lastly.
“I’m going to call 119 first.”
—No. Just don’t do anything and stay there. I’ll arrive within a few minutes. Please absolutely don’t do anything.
At Kim Jeongseong’s words, Yeonrok said he would do so. He even wasn’t allowed to hang up the call, so they had occasional conversations while waiting for the other to arrive. Shortly after, several black sedans arrived and parked in a row on the street, then people in suits poured out. Kim Jeongseong also practically jumped out of the car and hurriedly separated Yeonrok from the person. And after confirming he was tied with cable ties, he praised him.
“I can’t tell you how fortunate it is that nothing happened to you. You handled it appropriately well. From now on, I’ll escort you home.”
Yeonrok, who got up from his seat with a groan, glanced at the person who appeared to be an attempted kidnapper. Kim Jeongseong subtly blocked his view as if to prevent him from even looking. Still, he was worried about knocking them unconscious. Yeonrok opened his mouth.
“That person over there…”
“We’ll handle it ourselves.”
“No, but. Don’t we need to take them to the hospital?”
Kim Jeongseong made a pitying expression as if looking at a very gentle and foolishly kind person, then gestured with his head. One of the men who’d been moving the unconscious attempted kidnapper pinched their side hard. The attempted kidnapper jumped and screamed.
“Ahhh!”
“As you can see, they’re wide awake. They’re fine. We’ll hand them over to the police properly. There sure are a lot of crazy bastards in the world.”
Yeonrok flinched. What? They were awake? Since when exactly? …Or did they wake up from being pinched? While he was confused, Kim Jeongseong gently pushed Yeonrok into the car where warm heater air was blowing and said kindly.
“Don’t worry. You must be tired, so now you just need to go home and rest well. You really worked hard.”
Once he sat in the seat with the heating function turned on, he felt like whatever, who cares. He just wanted to hurry home and rest well. As Yeonrok, who’d been frozen solid, half-melted and pressed into the seat, Kim Jeongseong pulled something out from his chest and held it out.
“Oh right, and this is Yeonrok-nim’s phone.”
Yeonrok’s eyes, which had been relaxing as he received back the phone Choi Hwan had stolen, stopped and sharpened.
“…Did Choi Hwan by any chance get home?”
Hearing the voice burning with anger, Kim Jeongseong paused for a moment before slowly nodding his head.
“Yes. He returned home two hours ago in a completely drunk state.”
Two hours? Two hours ago? This bastard really went home leaving me behind? Angry, Yeonrok closed his eyes tightly. Even though he was treated like trash by Choi Hwan, not even as a Name Partner, wasn’t this behavior really too much? However, tired and cold, he didn’t even have the energy to be angry today.
