Time had flown by quickly from that lonely and desolate winter, and May was already approaching.
In any case, aside from that, Choi Hwan’s low spirits were quite concerning. Perhaps because he was always so childishly playful and whiny, his quiet demeanor felt unfamiliar. So on a day when both Yeom Cheonho and Moon Gyeonwoo had gone to work and only the two of them remained, when lunchtime came around, Yeonrok worked up his courage and spoke to Choi Hwan.
“Is there anything you want to eat? I’ll keep it a secret from Junho hyung, so just tell me anything.”
“Huh?”
Choi Hwan, who had been dejected and mindlessly staring at his phone, looked up in surprise. After getting his Korean cuisine certification, Yeonrok had become able to make a great many dishes. Choi Hwan blinked his eyes, then rummaged around and pulled out his wallet.
“Then I’ll have tteokbokki…”
And then he habitually held out money. In the past, Yeonrok would have extorted money without any guilt, but now he couldn’t do that, so with a sigh, he pushed the bills back into Choi Hwan’s hand.
“Go buy some drinks and keep the rest for yourself.”
Looking bewildered, Choi Hwan obediently went out with a bodyguard and bought drinks. In the meantime, Yeonrok started cooking. His casted arm was uncomfortable, so he asked Ms. Park to prepare the ingredients and assist with the cooking. He could have just asked Ms. Park to do all the cooking, but he wanted to make it with his own hands like this. He had only just made the seasoning when Choi Hwan was already swallowing his saliva and sitting obediently at the table.
After completing the tteokbokki, he found vegetables in the refrigerator, sliced them up, and made tempura as well. Dumplings, vegetables, shrimp, and sweet potatoes were fried until golden and crispy. He placed cheese on top of the tteokbokki that he’d deliberately made spicier than Choi Hwan’s taste preference, and also cut up two soft-boiled eggs to add. When he set it down along with the tempura, even Yeonrok’s mouth watered.
Choi Hwan ate the tteokbokki with real relish. While constantly going “ssup, ssup,” he also dipped the soft-boiled eggs and tempura evenly. At the end, he was practically sticking out his tongue, but he managed to finish it all, and a satisfied expression filled his face as he finished with a yogurt drink. It seemed some of his gloom had lifted, but Yeonrok didn’t stop there.
“Let’s go out. People need to get some sun and fresh air. You need to exercise too.”
The advantage of a neighborhood where people don’t wander around much is that even a celebrity like Choi Hwan can just wear a hat and walk around.
After feeding him junk food suited to Choi Hwan’s taste for lunch like that and dragging him outside to exercise in the sun for several days, Choi Hwan finally regained his previous brashness. Witnessing him wearing luxury goods that Kim Jeongseong had brought in from overseas and posting photos for his fans on SNS, Yeonrok felt proud. Walking together was quite enjoyable, and it was also nice that he ate his food so well.
Honestly, even while feeding him tteokbokki with ramen, fried rice, or jjamppong-style dishes, he was worried on the one hand. Since he’s an actor, wouldn’t he gain too much weight…? But strangely, it seemed like muscle was gradually building up rather than fat. Choi Hwan already had such a good physique, so feeling the comparison, Yeonrok poked at his own flat stomach as they walked together.
“Want some water?”
Choi Hwan held out a water bottle to Yeonrok, who was panting after walking a bit quickly up an inclined slope. The comparison wasn’t just in physique. Perhaps because he ran around here and there, his stamina was also quite exceptional. His face flushed, Yeonrok nodded while gasping for breath. Since his arm was still in a cast, Choi Hwan kindly opened the cap and handed it to him.
Yeonrok gulped down the water hurriedly. In the process, water leaked and ran down his neck to his chest, which he roughly wiped with his hand, when he felt an intense gaze. Confused, he looked up to see Choi Hwan doing stretches.
Tilting his head, Yeonrok casually returned the water bottle. Flapping his damp t-shirt, he said,
“Haah, the weather’s gotten much warmer. It’s not cold at all even with the outer layer off now.”
Because he’d gotten hot from exercising, his outer layer was tied around his waist. Choi Hwan stared at Yeonrok’s chest, then said quietly,
“It’s all visible.”
“…? What is.”
Since the other person was showing a strange reaction, Yeonrok hurriedly looked down at his chest. He’d worried that perhaps his nipples were embarrassingly prominent. But his chest was just a bit wet, so when he looked back up with a questioning face, Choi Hwan cleared his throat.
“That thing, the name.”
“Ah, I thought it was something else. What’s the big deal about the name showing.”
With a grin, he lightly punched the other person who was acting strangely innocent. Choi Hwan touched the chest area where his own name would be located, then stared at Yeonrok intently.
“…You have something on you here.”
“Where?”
Yeonrok rubbed his face, but Choi Hwan just shook his head. Finally, feeling frustrated, when he requested “Take it off,” Choi Hwan moved as if he’d been waiting. His hand hesitated as it approached, then brushed past his hair and touched his cheek. Since they were Name Partners, a pleasant warmth was transmitted from the point of contact. The distance was excessively close, so Yeonrok blinked. It was close enough that it wouldn’t be strange if they suddenly kissed.
“Did you get it?”
“…I think I’m really lucky that you’re my Name Partner.”
Yeonrok’s eyes widened at the words that came out of nowhere. Suddenly embarrassed by the situation, Yeonrok slightly pulled back his body. Rubbing the cheek that Choi Hwan’s hand had touched, he deliberately said playfully,
“You were the one saying we didn’t match in status.”
“No. Now that I think about it, I… my status didn’t match yours.”
The gaze that looked at him steadily without looking away even an inch, his face was quite serious. Yeonrok was starting to feel flustered. What’s gotten into him? To say such mature things, did he suddenly reform himself or something? For now, he shook his head.
“I don’t care about things like status. There are just differences in tendencies between people.”
“Is that so…”
Choi Hwan meekly agreed with Yeonrok’s words. After learning about his family situation, Yeonrok thought he roughly understood why Choi Hwan had become such a personality. Rather than providing emotional comfort, his family only exploited him, and since he was already a famous actor, people swarmed around him but there were few he could trust.
“I wish you were my family.”
“Huh?”
At these words, Yeonrok truly wavered. Because family had been a goal he’d consistently pursued since childhood. Even up until now.
Choi Hwan’s statement just now had precisely struck at that heart of Yeonrok’s. It didn’t seem like a statement made after noticing Yeonrok’s wish. That’s why it felt all the more sincere. With passionate eyes, with flushed cheeks, Choi Hwan was saying with his whole body that he was focused on the other person.
“You said it before. That Name Partners are considered common-law spouses legally. Then isn’t that practically the same as family?”
“I did say that, but…”
Wasn’t that just something he’d said to drive away Choi Hwan’s parents? Since welcoming his Name Partners had been so eventful, Yeonrok had never thought even the first syllable of marriage with them. In the first place…
‘A group wedding ceremony for four people wouldn’t work anyway.’
So there was no way he could think of a marriage relationship. Whether Yeonrok was confused or not, Choi Hwan still looked at him with a heated face and said this. It was the first time he’d seen such a fresh and innocent smile-filled expression.
“Having a family like this is really nice.”
Those were truly words that Yeonrok’s heart couldn’t help but react to. Not knowing how to respond, his lips just trembled when Choi Hwan grinned and gave him a friendly nudge.
“Let’s go home.”
“Uh, yeah…”
Even after returning home, washing up, eating dinner, and lying in bed like that, Yeonrok was still in a dazed state. Absentmindedly kneading Yeondoo, he finally couldn’t hold it in and blurted out,
“Does he… like me or something…?”
Or was it excessive self-consciousness? Feeling confused, he blankly looked up at the dark ceiling. Moon Gyeonwoo’s and Choi Hwan’s words circled in his head.
‘I guarantee it. No one will like you more than I do.’
‘Having a family like this is really nice.’
And lastly, even Yeom Cheonho.
‘Because Yeonrok-ssi is my precious person.’
Yeonrok silently screamed and clutched his head. Now he couldn’t even fall asleep. Eventually, he picked up his phone and entered the Name Manifestor community. And he earnestly wrote a post.
[What do you think it would be like if you had multiple Name Partners]
This is just hypothetical
What do you think it would be like if you had multiple Name Partners
They say Name Partners are originally drawn to each other
Then if there are multiple, would you be drawn to all of them?
Should I do polyamory?
His finger trembled particularly hard when typing “polyamory.” Perhaps because of the attention-grabbing title, even though it was late at night, replies came quickly.
Is the update delayed? Waiting for it as it is already wednesday 😭