“I was good at studying from a young age. I was what you’d call a prodigy, and luckily, people appeared who said they’d sponsor me. I followed them to America.”
Yeonrok had vaguely assumed that since the other person was a doctor with a PhD, he must have been good at studying. But hearing it like this, Moon Gyeonwoo was truly an intelligent person.
Even in that distant foreign country, he skipped grades and graduated high school early. As his sponsors wished, he entered medical school before even becoming an adult and obtained his medical license at a young age. However, the profession of doctor didn’t suit Moon Gyeonwoo’s disposition at all.
“I just thought of it as a business relationship. But I didn’t like how they were gradually trying to act like adoptive parents…”
However, Moon Gyeonwoo’s words trailed off. An expression of chewing over bitter memories briefly appeared. Yeonrok sensed the same kind of deficiency in that expression as his own.
“No, to be honest, I thought they might become my parents. But it was just like trophy shopping for wealthy sponsors. I was just a particularly boast-worthy trophy among them.”
Only then did Yeonrok’s heart grow bitter as he realized that what he had in common with his Name Partners wasn’t character flaws. They were simply people who were deficient or hurt from not receiving faithful love from their families. But because of that… Yeonrok liked that point even more. It was an unseemly inner feeling he couldn’t reveal to anyone.
“I was always lonely because I had no one to give love to.”
Yeonrok could deeply empathize with the loneliness Moon Gyeonwoo was revealing.
He had expected affection and been faithful, but was rejected. So thinking he’d shown enough loyalty to his sponsors at this point, Moon Gyeonwoo majored in biology this time. He graduated with excellent grades, then got his doctoral degree, and after that entered Genexa, and then… to the Korea branch…
And so the night deepened along with Moon Gyeonwoo’s story.
* * *
Someone was carefully stroking his head. Yeonrok keenly read that this was a touch filled with affection. Half-asleep, he enjoyed this contact. But something was strange. Swish, swoosh, swish… A peculiar noise accompanied it.
‘Huh? Rather than stroking, this seems closer to combing…’
His mind gradually awakened from sleep. Someone is combing my sleeping head right now…? Why would they do such a thing…? What he faced when he lifted his heavy eyelids was Moon Gyeonwoo, who with a face full of joy was carefully putting several strands of hair into a plastic bag. He froze when his eyes met Yeonrok’s.
“Hyung, what are you doing…?”
Am I dreaming right now? Yeonrok traced back his memories from last night. Moon Gyeonwoo had a talent for talking in a different sense than Yeom Cheonho. Even though he listened with his ears perked up as much as possible, he couldn’t help but fall asleep as Gyeonwoo explained in detail from his undergraduate courses at university to his major subjects, his master’s and doctoral theses, and even the content of projects he conducted at Genexa. Seeing this now, he wondered if it was done on purpose to put him to sleep.
“…Are you collecting my hair right now?”
Yeonrok rubbed his eyes and sat up groggily. It was already bright outside, showing how deeply he’d slept. On the other hand, Moon Gyeonwoo’s appearance was impeccably neat, making it unclear whether he’d slept at all. When Moon Gyeonwoo didn’t deny it with a reddened face, Yeonrok asked again in disbelief.
“You really were collecting my hair?”
He didn’t ask because he’d seen wrong. He asked because he couldn’t understand why he was doing this. Moon Gyeonwoo closed his eyes tightly with an expression of having made a mistake. Then he spoke honestly.
“Well, I have blood samples but I didn’t have any hair.”
“What? Blood… Why do you have my blood samples…?”
When he went to the research lab last time, they didn’t do anything special. Meaning they definitely didn’t draw blood. So he had no idea when his blood had been taken. Could it have been drawn while he was asleep? To Yeonrok searching his arm for needle marks, Moon Gyeonwoo said:
“You had a health checkup last time. That’s when the blood was drawn.”
“But why is that blood…?”
The more he heard, the more it was full of question marks. He did go for a health checkup with Secretary Kim Jeongseong the day after entering Yeom Cheonho’s house. What he was curious about was why his blood drawn then was with Moon Gyeonwoo.
“It’s really just a sample. Too much time has passed so now it can’t even be used for anything.”
“Then, if it can’t even be used for anything, why do you have it… More importantly, what were you going to use the hair for?”
“I needed a sufficient amount of melanin…”
“What?”
What’s melanin? What is he talking about? Moon Gyeonwoo spoke in a voice that showed he’d made quite a big decision.
“But I’ll only use this privately.”
“I don’t know what it is, but don’t use it privately either!”
How can you use my hair privately! Yeonrok jumped up. Wasn’t the atmosphere really warm and nice between us last night? Come to think of it, he’d forgotten. Moon Gyeonwoo’s personality that he’d observed so far wasn’t exactly normal.
“You, you’re a pervert? Why are you doing this!”
Forgetting that he’d been calling him hyung, Yeonrok pointed his finger and asked. Then Moon Gyeonwoo’s face, which already had a reddish tinge, turned even redder as he answered.
“You’re right. I suppose it might seem that way to you…”
“What do you mean ‘you’re right’!”
“I guess I’m a pervert when it comes to you specifically.”
“Aaah! Don’t admit it!”
“Yeonrok-ah, this is a first for me. I really like everything about you. Even your hair. So I want to have it all.”
When Moon Gyeonwoo said this with a pretty smile, Yeonrok put distance between them. Why is he acting like this when he looks perfectly normal? While Yeonrok’s mind was in confusion, Moon Gyeonwoo calmly continued speaking.
“Anyway, I’m sorry. It really is something I shouldn’t do… Even if I want to have a part of the person I like.”
“Could you not say it like that…”
“Even if desires arose while watching you sleep all night.”
“Ugh! I said don’t say it like that!”
The more shocking thing was that Moon Gyeonwoo seemed to genuinely mean what he was saying. As Yeonrok put even more distance between them, he interrogated him again.
“So, why did you take my blood during the health checkup?”
Only then did Moon Gyeonwoo’s voice regain a somewhat PhD-like coldness.
“Obviously for testing purposes. Having four Name Manifestor links is worthy of academic reporting. Put differently, it means there might be some differentiating factors or genetic risks unlike ordinary Name Manifestors. President Yeom Cheonho wanted to know those details, and I happened to be suitable both in terms of security and knowledge level.”
“I, I didn’t know about that? Why did you take my blood without my permission?”
Yeonrok asked sharply, raising the corners of his eyes fiercely. Then Moon Gyeonwoo looked at him with a face that said, why don’t you know?
“Didn’t Secretary Kim Jeongseong give you a consent form during the health checkup? It should have been written there.”
Tracing back his memory, he was given something. Secretary Kim Jeongseong also told him to read it carefully and check. But thinking there wouldn’t be anything particularly important, it was Yeonrok who just checked through it quickly.
“Something that important should be said verbally…”
Did he? Come to think of it, he seemed to have said something about how it could be provided as research material… Yeonrok decided to admit that he had a clumsy side. Naturally, he thought Choi Hwan probably wouldn’t have known either, but that wasn’t very comforting. Watching such Yeonrok, Moon Gyeonwoo spoke in a voice without malice.
“Normal people don’t usually read those clauses one by one carefully. That’s how they get scammed, Yeonrok-ah. Read them carefully from now on.”
It was correct, but annoying. It seemed like neither Yeom Cheonho nor Moon Gyeonwoo were the type to roughly read and consent to such things, which made it even more so. Yeonrok sighed, feeling sad that he’d been downgraded to the same level as Choi Hwan.
“…I’ll give you the hair. But only for official use. Only for research purposes!”
Moon Gyeonwoo nodded while looking regretful. Then he rustled around and pulled out more collection bags.
“Then since we’re doing it anyway, can I take a bit more?”
Fine. Take it, take it. Yeonrok obediently submitted to combing and provided a bit more hair. Moon Gyeonwoo, happier than usual, carefully packed away the hair and ordered Yeonrok’s breakfast through room service. Since today also had its own schedule, while he heartily filled his stomach, Moon Gyeonwoo just sipped a cup of coffee.
Though he always seemed sensitive normally, today he seemed quite gentle. Perhaps because he’d had enough physical contact yesterday while giving rehabilitation therapy, his condition seemed good too. While swallowing the vitamins Moon Gyeonwoo had prepared for him, Yeonrok realized.
‘Wait… Something’s a bit strange about this.’
