The man in the suit knocked on a door with a meeting room nameplate and spoke politely.
“Lee Yeonrok-nim has arrived.”
Then he opened the door and gestured courteously to Yeonrok.
“Please go in. Everyone is waiting for Lee Yeonrok-nim.”
Swallowing dryly, Yeonrok entered and froze with a gasp. There was someone far too famous in the meeting room. It was actor Choi Hwan, whose face even Yeonrok, who didn’t watch many movies, recognized. Yeonrok doubted his own eyes.
‘Huh? Choi Hwan… why is he here?’
What’s going on? Am I dreaming right now? Wondering if he’d entered the right room, he looked at the man who had opened the door. The calm gaze that returned showed no sign of anything wrong, which made him even more flustered. Yeonrok stuttered.
“Wh-which, which person exactly is my Name Partner?”
“The people inside.”
“What?”
The ‘people’ inside? Yeonrok looked into the meeting room again. He’d been too shocked by Choi Hwan to notice, but there were two other people inside.
“That person is Lee Yeonrok? You’re joking right now, right?”
His own name came out of Choi Hwan’s mouth. And before Yeonrok could properly grasp the situation, the conversation flowed on.
“Isn’t this possibly a scammer?”
“I already don’t like this enough to die…”
“Choi Hwan-ssi. Lee Yeonrok-ssi is the person who registered their ‘Hwamyeong’ first among us. So there’s no way they could be a scammer.”
Through the rude conversations and finally the Matching Center employee’s confirmation.
“Yes, that’s correct. Lee Yeonrok-ssi’s Hwamyeong, that is, their Name Partners, total three people.”
The series of events was so absurd and unbelievable that Yeonrok found himself asking back without realizing it.
“What kind of bullsh—. No, I’m sorry. This doesn’t make any sense? Three Name Partners? Three? Are you serious?”
The Matching Center employee nodded as if understanding Yeonrok’s reaction. Then they held out the document envelope they’d been carrying. As Yeonrok, whose mind had grown hazy, received the documents with trembling hands, Choi Hwan snapped irritably and rushed him.
“Ah, seriously. Let’s hurry up and get this over with. I have a schedule.”
Though it wasn’t intentional, guilty of having made these people wait for three hours, Yeonrok sat down feeling intimidated. Without realizing it, he placed both hands on his knees. The Matching Center employee left with a still-awkward smile on their face, closing the door.
“Well then… have a good time!”
And so the door closed, leaving only the four of them.
A heavy silence flowed through the room for a moment. The first to speak was the tallest man among the three. Three business cards were passed around to each person.
“I’m Yeom Cheonho.”
On the black business card was the name Yeom Cheonho, with the company name and position written below.
Yeom Cheonho
CEO HM Capital Co., Ltd.
Next, Choi Hwan also let out a deep sigh and pulled out three business cards from his pocket.
“I’m Choi Hwan.”
Choi Hwan
On the front of the flashily glittering gold business card were only those two characters of his name. You could glimpse something—whether pride or arrogance—that said his name alone was enough. He was indeed a famous enough actor for that to be true. Lastly, the person who had been sitting with arms crossed in a defensive posture the entire time reluctantly pulled out a business card.
“I’m Moon Kyeonwoo. This is what I do.”
Genexa Bio, Inc. Korea Branch
Research & Development Division
Dr. Kyeonwoo Moon, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist
It was just an ordinary and practical-looking white business card, but the problem was that all its contents were in English. After that, the three people’s gazes turned to one place. Yeonrok, who couldn’t even properly read Moon Kyeonwoo’s business card, found himself at a loss for words. Breaking out in a cold sweat trying not to be intimidated by these uniformly impressive-looking business cards, he still answered steadfastly.
“I… don’t have anything like a business card.”
His head had just been blank from earlier, so Yeonrok answered somewhat absentmindedly. It didn’t feel real.
“Just wasted time.”
Choi Hwan, with a frown, got up from his seat. He flung the door open and left, then snapped at his manager who had been waiting outside.
“What did the director say? Is he throwing a fit? Seriously, being late because of something so trivial…”
The conversation cut off as the door closed, but Yeonrok knew well that ‘something so trivial’ referred to him. Next, Moon Kyeonwoo stood up. Without saying a word, he opened the door and left, giving off a cold air. The last to stand was Yeom Cheonho. Smiling at the flinching Yeonrok, he said,
“I’m sorry, Lee Yeonrok-ssi. I have a busy schedule and need to leave first. My secretary will explain the details. Then I’ll see you next time.”
And so, in the place everyone had left, Yeonrok, left alone, belatedly gaped his mouth open. The first impression of his long-awaited Name Partner—or more precisely, Name Partners—was truly the worst. It was the moment when his thought that Name Manifestation was the first stroke of luck he’d encountered in his life came crashing down.
* * *
Yeonrok sat blankly, waiting for someone to appear shouting, ‘It’s been a hidden camera this whole time! Were you really surprised?’ He desperately hoped that even now, Choi Hwan or the other two would return with mischievously smiling faces and apologize with something like, ‘We’re sorry. It was all an act. Lee Yeonrok-ssi’s real Name Partner is right here!’ However, no one returned.
A moment later, with a knock, the door quietly opened and Yeom Cheonho’s secretary appeared, bowing politely in greeting.
“Hello, Lee Yeonrok-nim. My name is Kim Jeongseong. I’ve been assigned to assist with Lee Yeonrok-nim’s schedule today.”
Having been spacing out, Yeonrok belatedly came to his senses, stood up from his seat, and returned the greeting.
“Ah, yes. Kim Jeongseong-ssi.”
“Please speak comfortably.”
“…I’m comfortable with this.”
Only then did Yeonrok finally accept this situation. He picked up the documents he hadn’t been able to read because Choi Hwan had rushed him. It was an official document from the government certifying the four of them as Name Partners. As soon as he opened the envelope, four photos capturing each person’s Name appeared on the very first page. Identical clover patterns were imprinted as if printed. Yeonrok rubbed his eyes.
“I really have three Name Partners? How can such a thing exist in the world?”
It felt like he was having some low-quality dream. Not only did he have three Name Partners, but one of them was even Choi Hwan? Above all, the fact that all his Name Partners were men was shocking. Yeonrok, who until now had believed without doubt that he was heterosexual, couldn’t accept it at all. Even if he were bisexual, shouldn’t at least one of them be a woman?
…Or not? Actually, if this reflected the common preference of all four people? If it was a fairly reasonable result? His head suddenly became complicated.
“I need to meet with a Center employee.”
Yeonrok jumped up from his seat and went outside, ignoring Kim Jeongseong’s words. He planned to grab any Center employee and hear an explanation. He was walking briskly, almost running, when he suddenly heard voices in conversation.
“No, but one of them was such a loser.”
Instinctively realizing they were talking about him, Yeonrok stopped abruptly.
“Are they really a Name Partner? Isn’t it a Name faked for money from somewhere?”
“It’s real. They’re the person who registered first among them, so how could they fake a Hwamyeong? Earlier, showing up looking like a beggar… I was really embarrassed myself.”
“But I heard one of the three is a celebrity. Who is it? Just tell me.”
“Absolutely not. I even signed a confidentiality agreement.”
“Oh come on, just give me the initials~.”
“I said no. I don’t want to see someone’s life ruined… Oh, oh oh.”
The employee who had been bickering with their colleague saw Yeonrok standing there blankly and became flustered. While the employee who’d been properly caught gossiping turned bright red, the other one glanced around and quietly slipped away.
“Wh-when, when did you get here? I thought you’d talk more before coming out…”
The employee broke out in a cold sweat and quickly assumed a polite attitude. Yeonrok replied bluntly.
“Since I showed up looking like a beggar, everyone left.”
“No, that… What I just said wasn’t about Lee Yeonrok-ssi…”
Cutting off the employee’s clumsy attempt at an excuse, Yeonrok demanded an explanation.
“I really can’t accept this. I’ve never heard anywhere of having three Name Partners. Isn’t there some kind of mistake?”
“Ah! You could certainly think that. But we couldn’t believe it either, so we really tested it many times. Just a moment. I’ll show you the data right away.”
The employee floundered even more than just being caught gossiping. Soon, having found the desired data, the employee showed their phone screen and explained earnestly. On the screen was a paper titled ‘Case Study Related to Multiple Matching of Hwamyeong Bearers.’
“Even among those who have manifested Hwamyeong, the probability is about one in a million, so it’s extremely rare, but it’s not completely unheard of. Just in case, we really ran the matching program multiple times to confirm. Above all, the Hwamyeong match rate and manifestation timing between the three people and Yeonrok-ssi are extremely close.”
